The proliferation of online commerce and transactions has made possible various services to be made available online. This also includes booking cruise vacations which has become one of the most popular trends in the field of 'dream vacations.' However, there are obvious pitfalls for booking your cruise vacation so if you want to protect yourself against any potential problems, ask yourself these questions:
1. Does the price that is posted online the actual or total cost that you will pay? A lot of travel agencies, or any other establishments for that matter, that post very cheap and affordable prices online only to find out that there are hidden fees like port charges, service fees and some charges for your documents to be mailed. It is important that you know the actual fees before you sign up for any cruise so that you will not be flabbergasted when your credit card bill arrives.
2. Will you pay a bigger deposit with the online company than what is actually required by the cruise line? Some cruise/travel agencies co-mingle their funds and they put additional charges on top of the deposit that is required by the cruise lines. Some sees this as an acceptable practice, however, there should be some fixed limit on how much these agencies can charge for the deposit.
3. Will the agency or cruise liner provide a specialist that will answer all of my questions? A lot of online travel agencies do not provide a live person who will be personally answering all of your questions. Most agencies only provide email addresses and a phone number to call. Some does not even have any contact details! Emails may not be immediately answered which may eventually result to you boarding the cruise ship with still a lot of questions in your mind.
4. Are you aware that when you book your cruise online, you are practically renouncing your legal rights, if in any case, something goes wrong? A lot of people do not read the fine print but if you are among the elite few that does, you will realize that the prints are not as attractive as it is. These documents are practically disclaimers that tell you that the travel company or agency will not be responsible or liable for any problems or difficulties that you will encounter with your cruise or booking. Here's how it is easily understood: if the cruise does not push through, then the company is not liable and you are to sort the problem on your own. If the travel/cruise agency, for some strange reason, books you on the wrong ship or cruise, then you are also entirely on your own to settle the problem.
5. Do you trust the company or agency that you are transacting with? It is important that the company that you will choose is one that is reliable and trustworthy enough that they will not compromise your personal information and sell these to identity theft criminals. There are even instances when employees of these online establishments uses their client's personal data like credit card numbers for their own advantage and to perpetrate their identity theft activities.
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