Cruises-N-More
reviews and complaints

I booked a cruise through Cruises-N-More and received a "final payment received" confirmation number and e-mail. I then registered on-line through the cruise website. I thought everything was in order. Today, I called the cruise line and they said that my cruise was "auto cancelled" because my credit card was declined by Cruises-N-More. I called my bank and confirmed that no charges had ever been declined on my card.

No one contacted me from Cruises-N-More. The TA Eric had my e-mail and phone number. I doubt if he ever booked my reservation in the first place. His excuse when I called earlier was that he was sick, but he would work on it over the weekend.

Due to their error, I didn't have a reservation for the cruise even though I had a receipt confirming final payment was received and confirmed.

Luckily, the cruiseline was able to rebook my cruise and flight with only a slight fee increase.

Cruises-N-More really dropped the ball.

In my opinion Cruises-N-More is a legitimate cruise retailer. I do not believe they are a "bait and switch operation" as someone commented on this board. It is my understanding that they are a very large seller of cruises and that they do a very good job. It is my understanding that they also have very good pricing on the cruise they sell.

I have also used Cruises N More multiple times with no problems whatsoever.

I am sorry Meredith did not know that price quotes are time sensitive. This is always the case, but I suppose a new cruiser might not realize that prices invariably change as staterooms become less available. Little a TA can do about it.

Dr. Lockett,

I'm glad you had good service from cruises n more, but I think your the rare exception.

I agree, cruises-n-more is a terrible company and I would never do business with them again!

They are nothing but a "bait and switch" company. They lure you in with extremely low rates and then when you get your invoice its hundreds of dollars more then you agreed upon. When you try to complain all you get is voice mail and no one will return your calls. Then when you've had enough and want to cancel your socked with a $75.00 cancellation fee on top of their $29.00 customer service fee (what a joke). I hope someone will file a class action lawsuit against this company.

I am so sorry to hear that this individual had problems with Cruises-n-More. My wife and I have had them help plan about 12 of our 18 cruises and nearly 5 cruises for each of our sons and their wives without any problems.

We always buy the extra cruise insurance, and that helps with potential problems. On one trip - our plane had problems - so we called the emergency number given to us. We were told that IF we missed our flight that they had us on standby to fly to Puerto Rico and had a hotel room on standby in order to catch the ship at it's first stop...

It turns out that we barely made it for the sailing. we were met at the gate by staff - had someone help pull luggage for us - were the ONLY ones on a large bus that sped us to the port and had someone take our tickets as we went up the escalator to have the doors of the ship almost hit us in the behind as we got on board.

Perhaps we will find problems on some future cruise - right now - I have to say that Cruises-n-More has provided us the best service possible. We have particulatly been impressed with our agent (LOIS) and how hard she has worked to get us exactly the accomonations in the price ranges we look for. AND - for the record, she has booked cruises for a number of our friends as well.

So - to the person(s) who wrote this review - I feel badly for them and wish them better luck on their next trip. However - in fairness to cruises and more - we think they are GREAT!

Sincerely,

Dr. Michael Lockett

I used Cruises-n-More from Florida for my cruise to Alaska this June... I'm in the destination travel business in Hawaii and I give Cruises-n-More a superb service rating.
To research my initial options, I used a cruise bid website, some of the agents that replied were not knowledgeable enough to sell me. Steven from Cruises-n-more was fabulous from the get go! Not only did he get the lowest price, he patiently guided me through all my options and got me a fabulous deal. As you can imagine, I have lots of questions and need lots of service, Steven was a real pro! I will book again for sure, as well as recommend this agency to friends and family... Note that there is another company in the midwest with a similar name; the company I am referencing is based in Florida.

Cruises-N-More provided bottom-line service. They didn´t answer e-mails, until finally they tried to tell mee the rate they had quoted was not longer available. I strongsy suspect they were giving me an unexisting low rate just to hook me up, to sell me a more expensive cruise. If the rate was correct but had changed - well, who´s to blame, when the agent doesn´t reply for several days? My contact with a supervisor wasn´t very uplifting. She told med the agent was reprimended - I don´t care about that, I expected some kind of compensation to sort out the problem. But there was no willingness to do anything. An unhappy customer apperently doesn´t mean anything to this agency. There are som many travel agents on the Internet - no need to use this lousy one!

Cruises-n-more has been nothing short of remarkable with the three cruise vacations they have helped me plan. One such vacation included 13 guest and their representative was very helpful in placing all reservations. I would highly recommend this company.

We've used Cruises-n-more and they were wonderful.

You all should do yourselves a favor and find a local brick & mortar travel agency and create a relationship with an agent you can actually sit down face to face to discuss your plans. Be sure to pick an agency that has been in business for a long time and go in and "interview" the agent. Find an agent who has traveled extensively and you can benefit in more ways than just saving money. Remember, the cheapest price does not always provide the best cruise experience. Here are some good reasons to do this-
1. You get to sit face to face with an agent. If not satisfied with the agent, you can go elsewhere. So it is important to find a good one - its not that hard to do.
2. The agent can quote several cruises & categories at one time thus shortening the selection process.
3. The agent can compare for you, again the cheapest price is not always the best value for your hard earned money and the agent can point this out to you.
4. An experienced agent will spend time with you (at no cost to you) and will assist in planning your cruise including recommendations for shore excursions. Possibly offering shore excursions not offered by the cruise line and often for less money.
5. After you have booked, a good agent will monitor your booking(s) for any price reductions, upgrades & amenities and will apply them to your booking according to the cruise line's rules & regulations..(I have known cases where the cruise rate has gone down and the agent will keep the difference and the client knows nothing about it.). Periodically check prices yourself after you have booked the cruise - just to keep your agent on their toes.
6. Most importantly, if problems do arise, you can go and sit down face to face and discuss the situation. You won't be frustrated with your calls and emails not being answered
7.You are spending a lot of money, it is wise to seek out a travel professional and not an on-line order taker.
8. Many, not all, agencies that take online leads are desperate for sales and will kick back their commissions to offer you a competing price. Beware of this practice - the cruise lines do not condone it, and if detected, some cruise lines will not honor the booking or will seek to collect the difference. Cruise lines like Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Norwegian, to name just a few have taken online discounters to task by not honoring bookings that show pricing other than the official cruise line rates. The cruise lines are monitoring most sites to detect aggressive price discounting.
9. Remember there is value to an agent's experience, knowledge, service and follow-up that is afforded to you at no cost.
10. There are many other things, but this gives you the general idea - stay away from booking through the internet - even the cruise lines suggest you use a good agent rather than book directly with the cruise line itself. Booking a cruise is a lot more complex than most people think, and it is best to have some knowledgeable help.
11. If a problem occurs during your cruise a good agent is your best advocate. The agent will help you deal with the cruise line.
By now you have probably figured out that I am a travel agent. Have been for over 28 years and a have a loyal clientele which continues to use my services, and refers others, because of the reasons stated above and more. Good Luck to you all in finding that "brick & mortar agent". We out here waiting for you!

I went with cruisecompete twice and never will use that site again, Cruises-n-more are a mortar and brick agency which means they need to sell lots of cabins to get a good price, heres the problem though if they dont sell the cabins they need to sell price that was offered will not be legit,

I booked a Royal Caribbean cruise three weeks before my cruise I was told by a rep of royal that I owe $400.00 still on cruise and I said I paid in full and told them the price they told me that they discounted the cruise and it's against there policy, DONT book with cruises-n-more and I wont ever deal with cruisecompete again, I taled to Bob Levinstein and he told me there the top agency and probably was a mistake, I very much doubt that,

I found a agency that I use and will always use there name is vacationsnbeyond.com, there site is under construction but I used them now 4 times and are truly the best.

I agree completely that you get what you pay for. There is another saying that also applies. Buyer Beware. The buyer also has a responsibility in any transaction. When dealing on line, you must read all of the details. I am sure that agents like Reece give the type of personal attention that most often avoids the situation that is being discussed in the above comments. All of the online agencies advise that until purchase has been made, the price is not guaranteed. This also affects folks like Reece, the difference being that at that moment the buyer is in actual contact with the seller and the seller can immediately explain that the lower priced cabins have been sold and these are now the current best price. There will always be customers that want that type of contact with the selling agent. I will admit, if as Reece says I was saving $10.00, I would deal with my local travel agent. I must point out that the saving amounts to hundreds of dollars per person. I travel with my wife and this now doubles my savings. That said, as I said the buyer is responsible to ensure that they know what they are buying. These large tour companies are here to stay, just like Costco, Walmart and Home Depot. That does not mean all of the small shops will go away. The inefficient and outdated ones will fall by the wayside, but the smart & aggressive ones will succeed, as they have over the years in every industry. Even Reece has made the adjustment ... he is not the typical storefront agent ... he states that he is the owner of his “homebased” agency ... low overhead, no employees, all profits are all based upon his own effort and initiative. I will continue to deal on line for all my travel needs; I have found that most "agents" do not source the best deals the way you can do it yourself and the savings are substantial if you are aware of what is required. So, like Reece. I also am rewarded for my effort and initiative. Thanks for your time, KKPMI

The old saying you get what you pay for! I have been selling cruises for 6 years now & it is said to see that people treat buying an expensive item like a cruise the same way they buy a toaster. Looking to save 10.00 may cost you a bundle! I may not always be the cheapest price on every cruise but I give personal attention & excellent customer service. I am the owner of my homebased agency so you deal with the decision maker from start to finish. These huge internet agencies that are being discussed cant service like a small company. Will you save a few dollars sometimes but not always. How do some of the large agencies have the lowest price, simple. They give back all or most of the commission they are getting from the cruiseline. Great for the consumer but anyone who owns a business knows if you dont make a profit guess what happens? Yes they go out of business like many travel agencies have! Another inside tip never purchase direct from a cruiseline. You will never save money & you will give up the perks a good agent will get you. The cruiselines dont give the commission they save on direct bookings to the consumer they just make a higher profit. Any questions on the cruise industry or other agencies please contact me to discuss
Thanks
Reece Oslinker
Smooth Sailing Cruises

We have used CruiseCompete many, many times. I must admit, not everything went smooth on every cruise, but on most it did. The cost benefit to me is substantially better than the risk factor involved. I always, always pay by credit card (Credit Card Company also guarantee my purchase). My credit card deposit and subsequent payments are always direct with the cruise line, so unless the cruise line goes out of business, there is very little risk. The satisfaction numbers quoted by Bob Livingston are astounding in any industry. I imagine if you compared the actual satisfaction rating of the cruise lines, you would be hard pressed to match these numbers. More industries could use sales tools similar to CruiseCompete. Can you imagine buying a car under this competitive system ... I would love it!
KKPMI

Hi, Bob Levinstein CEO of CruiseCompete.com here.

I was just made aware of this thread this morning, and wanted to respond and apologize for any frustrations our customers experience.

1. As CEO I handle all service complaints personally. Though about 50, 000 people a year find cruises through our site, we only see a handful of problems each month or two. Even with these, I find that in almost every case getting the agency management involved clears up the issue very quickly.

2. Cruises-n-More. CnM is a very high-volume agency booking thousands of passengers each month. Here are their ratings from consumers on our system:

Positive: 99% 3, 763
Negative: 1% 39

I can't really comment on the scenario described above except to say I wish the user had contacted me immediately to help get it resolved. I have known CnM to be an agency that takes responsibility for their mistakes, so this seems out of character for them. That the agent who was so mishandled this customer left the agency in the middle of the transaction is no surprise, however.

2. Cruise Vacation Outlet. This is another high-volume agency highly rated by our customers:

Positive: 99% 1, 738
Negative: 1% 9

Though the user says she contacted us, I don't recall this particular issue. The first thing I would have done would have been to get Todd Elliot, the owner of CVO, involved, so that certainly tracks. I do know that I was not made aware that anyone was having trouble reaching Todd, as I would have been glad to follow up and make sure to put the customer in touch.

3. Cruise Value Center. Yes, CVC went bankrupt. However, very few people lost any money at all. The worst thing that happened to anyone who paid with a credit card (as we advise every customer) is that they ended up having to pay the same price they would have if they booked directly with the cruise line in the first place. Not a great result, but not the tragedy described. Booking directly with the cruise line and paying the higher price in the first place to avoid the unlikely event of an agency going bankrupt between your booking and final payment so you have to transfer the booking back to the cruise line and pay the higher price doesn't strike me as the best advice.

CVC was no fly-by-night operation: this was 15-year-old, $70 million travel agency. After 5 years of quoting and selling through CruiseCompete with glowing customer reviews and never missing a payment to us, they went out of business with no notice and no warning.

This is probably because the agency itself was doing just fine. However, it had been sold to another company which (I've been told) was siphoning off revenues to support other, failing ventures and all of their enterprises went bankrupt. I'd like to tell you that we've taken steps to prevent similar problems in the future, but frankly there's absolutely nothing we could have done differently. We'd had no hint of any problems until the general manager e-mailed me to tell me they were closing their doors.

Finally, here is a link to our "Contact Us" form for customers:

http://www.cruisecompete.com/contactmail.php/?desc=cruisers

E-mail sent via this form come directly to me. If you ever have an issue with any of our member-agencies, please do let me know right away. While CruiseCompete is technically a 3rd party to all transactions (we match customers with the agencies with the best offers who ultimately do business together), I can usually get the attention of the right people to get problems solved.

We do our best to work with customers and agencies to help everyone both have the best experience in booking their cruise vacations and get the best deal. For those of you where we've fallen short of that goal, I do sincerely apologize.

Sincerely,

Bob Levinstein
CEO
CruiseCompete, LLC.

BTW-I've used CruiseCompete about 6 times and never had a single problem, I swear by them.

Used this agency and Shannon on a Med cruise and a Mex cruise this year and found her to be excellent. She had all the answers, always answered the phone or returned my calls immediately. Too bad you had a poor experience with her, I will use her again. ecruise store is one that a friend had a terrible experience with.

I would caution anyone in using CruiseCompete. You have no idea what kind of travel agent they will connect you with. In my case, it was with My Cruise Value. They are now out of business and have left ripped off many people. I feel it is worth it to go through a reputable travel agency, or deal directly with the cruise lines. You may pay a few dollars more, but you will have peace of mind that you're not going to lose your money.

We used cruise compete many time but had a nightmare when we booked 8 cabins for a cruise a week ago. We booked through them using CRUISE VACATION OUTLET.
My quote was from Mark but he quickly dumped us onto his wife Shannon who just seemed to mess everything up day after day and when you asked her more than one question at a time it seemed to be too much for her to comprehend.
We all complained bitterly, complained to her company and cruise compete - all to no avail!
Cruise Vacation Outlets President Todd assured me that if we had any further issues to contact him directly but contacting him was impossible. Emails were returned because his inbox was full. Same with voice mails.
We take several trips/year and have been on many many cruises and this was the worst experience of ever! We all (16 of us) agreed.