Business History Books » Business Plans » Discount online cruise sites?
Discount online cruise sites?
Question:
Charlie… The fact is that your company acquired the domain www.cruisebazaar.com the very same day we issued a national press release announcing CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar. Had you simply used it as a domain for a cruise agency I would not have said anything. But seeing the obvious attempt to mislead the public by making it appear as if there are many "travel agent partners" on the site, as the real Cruise Bazaar has, when indeed there are none of note went further than I could tolerate silently. Who are your travel agent partners? I do not see any travel agencies mentioned on the website at all. There are cruises there for sale, but they are all offered by cruisebazaar.com, owned by Rainbowtravel. I am well aware of the cruise content on your site because it is provided by OurVacationStore in Phoenix AZ. They license our cruise reviews for ALL of the cruise agents who license their booking engine including cheaptickets.com, BestPriceCruises and many more… I refrained from saying you intentionally chose OVS as your booking engine BECAUSE of the CruiseMates content they license that is now included in "the imitator." But since you mentioned it, it does add to the (false) illusion that the "Imitator" is somehow affiliated with CruiseMates. Aren’t you worried that this blatant attempt to mislead the savvyier-than-you-think Internet cruise public will ruin your credibility as a cruise agency?
Response:
>Charlie… >The fact is that your company acquired the domain www.cruisebazaar.com >the very same day we issued a national press release announcing >CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar.
Pissing contest betwen two morons deleted. >Aren’t you worried that this blatant attempt to mislead the >savvyier-than-you-think Internet cruise public will ruin your >credibility as a cruise agency?
Paul, aren’t you worried that this **savvyier-than-you-think** newsgroup realizes that the articles and reviews on Cruisemates are little more than regurgitated cruise line propaganda? Is it true that Cruisemates has the best articles and reviews that money can buy? How much did Oceania pay your writer to cut and paste her **articles** from the material on their website or did she do it for a free cruise? It probably doesn’t mean anything that your former employee Tim Rubacky now works for Oceania. Isn’t he in charge of publicity? I am sure that is just a coincidence. Quotes from http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/about/ "CruiseMates is not responsible for any inaccuracy, whether intentional or unintentional, within the CruiseMates Website." "CruiseMates does not guarantee the veracity, reliability or completeness of any information provided in our forum or in any hyperlink appearing on our site." "CruiseMates will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in articles or postings, for hyperlinks embedded in messages, or for any results obtained from the use of such information." "CruiseMates makes no claims or representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or truth of any material contained in our areas."
Response:
>This document you are quoting out of context is a legal statement >written by lawyers, not a mission statement. If you are going to quote >it accurately you must include the entire article.
Isn’t it odd that you say I must quote the entire article but you choose to post only selected quotes? >The part you are leaving out is enclosed in *** below:
The part that you are leaving out is that you are nothing more than a shill and your reviews and articles are cut and paste jobs. Free cruise, much?
Response:
The reason that I mentioned Anne Campbell reviews is that I did not want you to falsely accuse us of not disclosing somthing that really is not relevant. No we did not choose the software company because of Anne’s reviews in order to confuse anyone. It just happend to be included. I am so sorry that you are angry at yourself. I do not think that it should be directed at me. I did acquire the domain name prior to your press release. You should of verified that it was available and purchased before any press release or name choice. I am using the Bazaar name in other areas as well for almost 2 years now. We set up a travel agent area on another site called Coupon Bazaar and the owner of that domain name is not upset. I would like to have it but it is not available. We also have other plans for the use of Bazaar in the future. Cruise Bazaar prices are very competive based upon comparing apples to apples. It is unfair to compare a price on a cruise that was book at any time different to the comparision. Prices do increase, prices do decrease, promotions are made available, promotions are discontinued. Because the prices might be higher today that just means you made a good decision on making your reservation at the time you did.
Response:
> Paul I am very surprise with your comments. In all of the years that > we have known each other and have done business together, including > advertising on your site. I never expected such comments from you. > The only relationship between Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com) and > Cruisemates is similar names. We have a web site (url) using > cruisebazaar.com and you have an area using the cruise bazaar name.
You took the name they use and set up a similiar business, and are surprised Cruisemates objects? I think you are off the wall. I would not say using a similiar concept is objectionable, but using the Cruise Bazaar name is crass. — Charles
Response:
FWIW, I just checked Cruisebazaar’s price on my upcoming cruise (for which I paid several hundred dollars less through Lori). There are several cabins available in our category, but the deck plans offered are from some other *dam ship. I hope no one used them to actually choose and book a cabin… they’d be rather disappointed as the cabin numbers are not the same. Candy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I want to reply to Paul in reference to his comments about Cruise > Bazaar http://www.cruisebazaar.com
Response:
This document you are quoting out of context is a legal statement written by lawyers, not a mission statement. If you are going to quote it accurately you must include the entire article. The part you are leaving out is enclosed in *** below: >—snip—<
You also agree that CruiseMates will not be liable for any decision made or action taken by you or others based upon reliance on news, information or any other material published by CruiseMates. ***CruiseMates relies on various sources of information that we believe to be accurate and reliable.*** However, we make no claims or representations as to the accuracy, completeness or truth of any material contained on our site. >— snip —<
In other words, while we strive to be as accurate as possible, we are not flying a flag that says "This is accurate at all times, and if it isn’t, you are welcome to sue us". Saying "we make no claims" is not the same saying "we don’t care". Anyway – I can’t imagine how bored you are to be reading fine print disclaimers for amusement. I hear parking lot disclaimers can be quite controversial. You might find some good reading there.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Charlie… >The fact is that your company acquired the domain www.cruisebazaar.com >the very same day we issued a national press release announcing >CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar. >Pissing contest betwen two morons deleted. >Aren’t you worried that this blatant attempt to mislead the >savvyier-than-you-think Internet cruise public will ruin your >credibility as a cruise agency? >Paul, aren’t you worried that this **savvyier-than-you-think** >newsgroup realizes that the articles and reviews on Cruisemates are >little more than regurgitated cruise line propaganda? Is it true that >Cruisemates has the best articles and reviews that money can buy? >How much did Oceania pay your writer to cut and paste her **articles** >from the material on their website or did she do it for a free cruise? >It probably doesn’t mean anything that your former employee Tim >Rubacky now works for Oceania. Isn’t he in charge of publicity? I am >sure that is just a coincidence. >Quotes from http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/about/ >"CruiseMates is not responsible for any inaccuracy, whether >intentional or unintentional, within the CruiseMates Website." >"CruiseMates does not guarantee the veracity, reliability or >completeness of any information provided in our forum or in any >hyperlink appearing on our site." >"CruiseMates will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in >articles or postings, for hyperlinks embedded in messages, or for any >results obtained from the use of such information." >"CruiseMates makes no claims or representations as to the accuracy, >completeness, or truth of any material contained in our areas."
I am sorry. I forgot to add a standard disclaimer to the end of this post. My apologies. Trans Mission is not responsible for any inaccuracy, whether intentional or unintentional, within any Trans Mission posting.
Response:
If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post link. I could not find it. We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, August 22-25. We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in price. I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, and a few others. They all have the same prices. wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute cruise prices? 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or will everyone always have the same price? TIA
Response:
It all depends upon what ship, what date you’re going, etc…as the pricing. I found the cheapest for my cruise on bestpricecruises.com but it varies depending upon alot of factors. Your’s may be more expensive there or cheaper. — Helen http://home.comcast.net/~hkolln66
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post > link. I could not find it. > We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > August 22-25. > We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > price. > I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, > and a few others. They all have the same prices. > wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute > cruise prices? > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or > will everyone always have the same price? > TIA
Response:
> We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > August 22-25. > We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > price.
I would think considering today is August 4, the prices might already be last minute. — Charles
Response:
> We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > price.
Seeing what I’ve been seeing in air availability, any reduction in cabin rate (if they exist) may well be offset by an increase in air prices. Call soon. 
— _Deirdre http://deirdre.net "I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done." – Steven Wright "A Sword Called Rhonda" forthcoming in anthology TURN THE OTHER CHICK
Response:
>> We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > August 22-25. > We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > price.
There’s no reason to wait. Book the cruise then monitor the price on Royal Caribbean’s web site. When the price goes down you simply call and ask for the current price. They’ll give you the lower price. When the price goes up you just sit back and smile…
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post >link. I could not find it. >We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, >August 22-25. >We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in >price. >I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, >and a few others. They all have the same prices. >wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute >cruise prices? > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or >will everyone always have the same price? >TIA
You may want to consider posting a request for the best deal, via cruisemates.com on the bargain finder site. TA’s will contact you with their best deals. I snagged an excellent deal for my upcoming trip.
Response:
Try Bestfares.com or Hot-fares.com, recently featured in an AARP article. Check out the "If you snooze, you lose" link on the Bestfares website.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post >link. I could not find it. >We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, >August 22-25. >We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in >price. >I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, >and a few others. They all have the same prices. >wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute >cruise prices? > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or >will everyone always have the same price? >TIA
Vacations to Go purports to have "last minute specials" on their 90-day ticker, but I have not noticed them to be any less expensive than a travel agent. "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee." — Abraham Lincoln
Response:
We have also been searching for online prices and found a web site Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com). They seem to be very responsive to questions and the prices are very competitive. One thing that I did find is that also offer phone support. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post >link. I could not find it. >We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, >August 22-25. >We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in >price. >I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, >and a few others. They all have the same prices. >wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute >cruise prices? > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or >will everyone always have the same price? >TIA > Vacations to Go purports to have "last minute specials" on their > 90-day ticker, but I have not noticed them to be any less expensive > than a travel agent. > "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee." > — Abraham Lincoln
Response:
Regarding the site "Cruise Bazaar" at www.cruisebazaar.com; I think it is very important to point out that this site has NOTHING to do with CruiseMates which has an on-site feature called "Cruise Bazaar". http://www.cruisemates.com/CF/bazaar/ CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar offers specials from dozens of travel agents, all with the ability to update their listings in real time at a moment’s notice. So, in my (admittedly biased) opinion, this means CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is a very convenient way to find up-to-the-minute low prices from a large number of cruise agents all in one place. The other "Cruise Bazaar," which I will refer to as the imitator because it is a fact that they created that site only after we started marketing our own Cruise Bazaar, states the following: "Through Cruise Bazaar’s unique model we bring together many travel agents who are members of one of the largest growing travel communities today." I believe this statement is FALSE ADVERTISING deliberately meant to convey to the reader that this site is CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar. I say this because: 1) that is the model of CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar 2) There is ONLY ONE travel agent on the imitator, so there is no competition and no variety of listings. Please beware of the imitator, and also question whether you want to patronize a website that was purposely created to mislead the public and capitalize on confusion about the identity of the actual web site you are seeking. CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is well-known and established, www.cruisebazaar.com is not. For the record; www.cruisebazaar.com is owned by the same people that own AllCruiseAuction, though you don’t see that anywhere on the site. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> We have also been searching for online prices and found a web site > Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com). They seem to be very responsive to > questions and the prices are very competitive. One thing that I did > find is that also offer phone support. > We have also been searching for online prices and found a web site > Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com). They seem to be very responsive to > questions and the prices are very competitive. One thing that I did > find is that also offer phone support. > >If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post > >link. I could not find it. > >We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > >August 22-25. > >We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > >price. > >I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, > >and a few others. They all have the same prices. > >wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute > >cruise prices? > > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or > >will everyone always have the same price? > >TIA > Vacations to Go purports to have "last minute specials" on their > 90-day ticker, but I have not noticed them to be any less expensive > than a travel agent. > "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee." > — Abraham Lincoln
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Regarding the site "Cruise Bazaar" at www.cruisebazaar.com; I think it >is very important to point out that this site has NOTHING to do with >CruiseMates which has an on-site feature called "Cruise Bazaar". >http://www.cruisemates.com/CF/bazaar/ >CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar offers specials from dozens of travel >agents, all with the ability to update their listings in real time at >a moment’s notice. So, in my (admittedly biased) opinion, this means >CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is a very convenient way to find >up-to-the-minute low prices from a large number of cruise agents all >in one place. >The other "Cruise Bazaar," which I will refer to as the imitator >because it is a fact that they created that site only after we started >marketing our own Cruise Bazaar, states the following: >"Through Cruise Bazaar’s unique model we bring together many travel >agents who are members of one of the largest growing travel >communities today." >I believe this statement is FALSE ADVERTISING deliberately meant to >convey to the reader that this site is CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar. I >say this because: >1) that is the model of CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar >2) There is ONLY ONE travel agent on the imitator, so there is no >competition and no variety of listings. >Please beware of the imitator, and also question whether you want to >patronize a website that was purposely created to mislead the public >and capitalize on confusion about the identity of the actual web site >you are seeking. CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is well-known and >established, www.cruisebazaar.com is not.
Pot. Kettle. Black. Cruisemates takes material from other websites and passes it off as original content. Can you say "Oceania Cruise Line"? Paul Motter says he is not responsible for intentional inaccuracies found on his website. "CruiseMates is not responsible for any inaccuracy, whether intentional or unintentional, within the CruiseMates Website." Why would anyone read a site where the editior admits they include intentional inaccuracies?
Response:
> 1) that is the model of CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar > 2) There is ONLY ONE travel agent on the imitator, so there is no > competition and no variety of listings.
It does seem to be an imitation of the Cruisemates Bazaar idea, though some might say though that imitation is a form of flattery, and I suspect "anycruise" could be a shill, but I do see three travel partners listed, not one. Interestingly, one of them Cruise Planners, splashes an ad for a Cruisemates group cruise on their web page. — Charles
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post > link. I could not find it. > We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > August 22-25. > We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > price. > I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, > and a few others. They all have the same prices. > wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute > cruise prices? > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or > will everyone always have the same price? > TIA
Response:
I want to reply to Paul in reference to his comments about Cruise Bazaar http://www.cruisebazaar.com Paul I am very surprise with your comments. In all of the years that we have known each other and have done business together, including advertising on your site. I never expected such comments from you. The only relationship between Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com) and Cruisemates is similar names. We have a web site (url) using cruisebazaar.com and you have an area using the cruise bazaar name. Suggesting that our prices are not current and your prices are up to the minute is completely incorrect. All listed sailings have real time availability directly with the cruise lines. You can not get any more up to the minute pricing. Your agents have to manually update ours is done automatically for every cruise line, cruise ship, sailing date and category. There is literally thousands of sailing listed with every available category with real time booking capability. The cruising public does not have to call or fill out a request form to find out what the availability is for a specific category or the total price. All of this is at their fingertips. We also have over 250,000 pages of cruise content including deck plans, pictures, port information, weather information for ports of call, 360 tours of ships, ship reviews and much more. Maybe I should also say that the cruise reviews are provide by Anne Campbell. In reference to false advertising saying that is false. Our travel agent members can enter their cruise specials (groups) into the real time inventory. Again no calling or filling out any forms. No need to click a listed special to be taken to another web site to find out more details. Then need to call or fill out a form to get further information or make a reservation. To bringing up all cruise auction as if that should make a difference on who owns the site. How many companies own other companies and do not put that information on their product. Philip Morris owns Kraft foods and all of the companies underneath them. So they should add that to the labels of Maxwell House coffee, Ritz cracker, Oreo cookies, KoolAid, Planter peanuts and so on. What other companies (websites) does Paul or Ann own that you have not disclosed on you web site. So trying to say that we are not reputable because of the name Cruise Bazaar does not really mean anything. Why not find a client that is unhappy with us or any of our travel agent partners. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Regarding the site "Cruise Bazaar" at www.cruisebazaar.com; I think it > is very important to point out that this site has NOTHING to do with > CruiseMates which has an on-site feature called "Cruise Bazaar". > http://www.cruisemates.com/CF/bazaar/ > CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar offers specials from dozens of travel > agents, all with the ability to update their listings in real time at > a moment’s notice. So, in my (admittedly biased) opinion, this means > CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is a very convenient way to find > up-to-the-minute low prices from a large number of cruise agents all > in one place. > The other "Cruise Bazaar," which I will refer to as the imitator > because it is a fact that they created that site only after we started > marketing our own Cruise Bazaar, states the following: > "Through Cruise Bazaar’s unique model we bring together many travel > agents who are members of one of the largest growing travel > communities today." > I believe this statement is FALSE ADVERTISING deliberately meant to > convey to the reader that this site is CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar. I > say this because: > 1) that is the model of CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar > 2) There is ONLY ONE travel agent on the imitator, so there is no > competition and no variety of listings. > Please beware of the imitator, and also question whether you want to > patronize a website that was purposely created to mislead the public > and capitalize on confusion about the identity of the actual web site > you are seeking. CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is well-known and > established, www.cruisebazaar.com is not. > For the record; www.cruisebazaar.com is owned by the same people that > own AllCruiseAuction, though you don’t see that anywhere on the site. > We have also been searching for online prices and found a web site > Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com). They seem to be very responsive to > questions and the prices are very competitive. One thing that I did > find is that also offer phone support. > We have also been searching for online prices and found a web site > Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com). They seem to be very responsive to > questions and the prices are very competitive. One thing that I did > find is that also offer phone support. > > >If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post > > >link. I could not find it. > > >We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > > >August 22-25. > > >We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > > >price. > > >I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, > > >and a few others. They all have the same prices. > > >wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute > > >cruise prices? > > > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or > > >will everyone always have the same price? > > >TIA > > Vacations to Go purports to have "last minute specials" on their > > 90-day ticker, but I have not noticed them to be any less expensive > > than a travel agent. > > "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee." > > — Abraham Lincoln
Response:
If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post link. I could not find it. We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, August 22-25. We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in price. I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, and a few others. They all have the same prices. wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute cruise prices? 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or will everyone always have the same price? TIA
Response:
It all depends upon what ship, what date you’re going, etc…as the pricing. I found the cheapest for my cruise on bestpricecruises.com but it varies depending upon alot of factors. Your’s may be more expensive there or cheaper. — Helen http://home.comcast.net/~hkolln66
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post > link. I could not find it. > We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > August 22-25. > We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > price. > I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, > and a few others. They all have the same prices. > wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute > cruise prices? > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or > will everyone always have the same price? > TIA
Response:
> We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > August 22-25. > We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > price.
I would think considering today is August 4, the prices might already be last minute. — Charles
Response:
> We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > price.
Seeing what I’ve been seeing in air availability, any reduction in cabin rate (if they exist) may well be offset by an increase in air prices. Call soon. — _Deirdre http://deirdre.net "I’m writing a book. I’ve got the page numbers done." – Steven Wright "A Sword Called Rhonda" forthcoming in anthology TURN THE OTHER CHICK
Response:
>> We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > August 22-25. > We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > price.
There’s no reason to wait. Book the cruise then monitor the price on Royal Caribbean’s web site. When the price goes down you simply call and ask for the current price. They’ll give you the lower price. When the price goes up you just sit back and smile…
Response:
- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post >link. I could not find it. >We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, >August 22-25. >We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in >price. >I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, >and a few others. They all have the same prices. >wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute >cruise prices? > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or >will everyone always have the same price? >TIA
You may want to consider posting a request for the best deal, via cruisemates.com on the bargain finder site. TA’s will contact you with their best deals. I snagged an excellent deal for my upcoming trip.
Response:
Try Bestfares.com or Hot-fares.com, recently featured in an AARP article. Check out the "If you snooze, you lose" link on the Bestfares website.
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post >link. I could not find it. >We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, >August 22-25. >We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in >price. >I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, >and a few others. They all have the same prices. >wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute >cruise prices? > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or >will everyone always have the same price? >TIA
Vacations to Go purports to have "last minute specials" on their 90-day ticker, but I have not noticed them to be any less expensive than a travel agent. "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee." — Abraham Lincoln
Response:
We have also been searching for online prices and found a web site Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com). They seem to be very responsive to questions and the prices are very competitive. One thing that I did find is that also offer phone support. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post >link. I could not find it. >We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, >August 22-25. >We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in >price. >I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, >and a few others. They all have the same prices. >wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute >cruise prices? > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or >will everyone always have the same price? >TIA > Vacations to Go purports to have "last minute specials" on their > 90-day ticker, but I have not noticed them to be any less expensive > than a travel agent. > "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee." > — Abraham Lincoln
Response:
Regarding the site "Cruise Bazaar" at www.cruisebazaar.com; I think it is very important to point out that this site has NOTHING to do with CruiseMates which has an on-site feature called "Cruise Bazaar". http://www.cruisemates.com/CF/bazaar/ CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar offers specials from dozens of travel agents, all with the ability to update their listings in real time at a moment’s notice. So, in my (admittedly biased) opinion, this means CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is a very convenient way to find up-to-the-minute low prices from a large number of cruise agents all in one place. The other "Cruise Bazaar," which I will refer to as the imitator because it is a fact that they created that site only after we started marketing our own Cruise Bazaar, states the following: "Through Cruise Bazaar’s unique model we bring together many travel agents who are members of one of the largest growing travel communities today." I believe this statement is FALSE ADVERTISING deliberately meant to convey to the reader that this site is CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar. I say this because: 1) that is the model of CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar 2) There is ONLY ONE travel agent on the imitator, so there is no competition and no variety of listings. Please beware of the imitator, and also question whether you want to patronize a website that was purposely created to mislead the public and capitalize on confusion about the identity of the actual web site you are seeking. CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is well-known and established, www.cruisebazaar.com is not. For the record; www.cruisebazaar.com is owned by the same people that own AllCruiseAuction, though you don’t see that anywhere on the site. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text -> We have also been searching for online prices and found a web site > Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com). They seem to be very responsive to > questions and the prices are very competitive. One thing that I did > find is that also offer phone support. > We have also been searching for online prices and found a web site > Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com). They seem to be very responsive to > questions and the prices are very competitive. One thing that I did > find is that also offer phone support. > >If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post > >link. I could not find it. > >We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > >August 22-25. > >We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > >price. > >I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, > >and a few others. They all have the same prices. > >wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute > >cruise prices? > > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or > >will everyone always have the same price? > >TIA > Vacations to Go purports to have "last minute specials" on their > 90-day ticker, but I have not noticed them to be any less expensive > than a travel agent. > "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee." > — Abraham Lincoln
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Regarding the site "Cruise Bazaar" at www.cruisebazaar.com; I think it >is very important to point out that this site has NOTHING to do with >CruiseMates which has an on-site feature called "Cruise Bazaar". >http://www.cruisemates.com/CF/bazaar/ >CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar offers specials from dozens of travel >agents, all with the ability to update their listings in real time at >a moment’s notice. So, in my (admittedly biased) opinion, this means >CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is a very convenient way to find >up-to-the-minute low prices from a large number of cruise agents all >in one place. >The other "Cruise Bazaar," which I will refer to as the imitator >because it is a fact that they created that site only after we started >marketing our own Cruise Bazaar, states the following: >"Through Cruise Bazaar’s unique model we bring together many travel >agents who are members of one of the largest growing travel >communities today." >I believe this statement is FALSE ADVERTISING deliberately meant to >convey to the reader that this site is CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar. I >say this because: >1) that is the model of CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar >2) There is ONLY ONE travel agent on the imitator, so there is no >competition and no variety of listings. >Please beware of the imitator, and also question whether you want to >patronize a website that was purposely created to mislead the public >and capitalize on confusion about the identity of the actual web site >you are seeking. CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is well-known and >established, www.cruisebazaar.com is not.
Pot. Kettle. Black. Cruisemates takes material from other websites and passes it off as original content. Can you say "Oceania Cruise Line"? Paul Motter says he is not responsible for intentional inaccuracies found on his website. "CruiseMates is not responsible for any inaccuracy, whether intentional or unintentional, within the CruiseMates Website." Why would anyone read a site where the editior admits they include intentional inaccuracies?
Response:
> 1) that is the model of CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar > 2) There is ONLY ONE travel agent on the imitator, so there is no > competition and no variety of listings.
It does seem to be an imitation of the Cruisemates Bazaar idea, though some might say though that imitation is a form of flattery, and I suspect "anycruise" could be a shill, but I do see three travel partners listed, not one. Interestingly, one of them Cruise Planners, splashes an ad for a Cruisemates group cruise on their web page. — Charles
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post > link. I could not find it. > We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > August 22-25. > We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > price. > I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, > and a few others. They all have the same prices. > wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute > cruise prices? > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or > will everyone always have the same price? > TIA
Response:
I want to reply to Paul in reference to his comments about Cruise Bazaar http://www.cruisebazaar.com Paul I am very surprise with your comments. In all of the years that we have known each other and have done business together, including advertising on your site. I never expected such comments from you. The only relationship between Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com) and Cruisemates is similar names. We have a web site (url) using cruisebazaar.com and you have an area using the cruise bazaar name. Suggesting that our prices are not current and your prices are up to the minute is completely incorrect. All listed sailings have real time availability directly with the cruise lines. You can not get any more up to the minute pricing. Your agents have to manually update ours is done automatically for every cruise line, cruise ship, sailing date and category. There is literally thousands of sailing listed with every available category with real time booking capability. The cruising public does not have to call or fill out a request form to find out what the availability is for a specific category or the total price. All of this is at their fingertips. We also have over 250,000 pages of cruise content including deck plans, pictures, port information, weather information for ports of call, 360 tours of ships, ship reviews and much more. Maybe I should also say that the cruise reviews are provide by Anne Campbell. In reference to false advertising saying that is false. Our travel agent members can enter their cruise specials (groups) into the real time inventory. Again no calling or filling out any forms. No need to click a listed special to be taken to another web site to find out more details. Then need to call or fill out a form to get further information or make a reservation. To bringing up all cruise auction as if that should make a difference on who owns the site. How many companies own other companies and do not put that information on their product. Philip Morris owns Kraft foods and all of the companies underneath them. So they should add that to the labels of Maxwell House coffee, Ritz cracker, Oreo cookies, KoolAid, Planter peanuts and so on. What other companies (websites) does Paul or Ann own that you have not disclosed on you web site. So trying to say that we are not reputable because of the name Cruise Bazaar does not really mean anything. Why not find a client that is unhappy with us or any of our travel agent partners. – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > Regarding the site "Cruise Bazaar" at www.cruisebazaar.com; I think it > is very important to point out that this site has NOTHING to do with > CruiseMates which has an on-site feature called "Cruise Bazaar". > http://www.cruisemates.com/CF/bazaar/ > CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar offers specials from dozens of travel > agents, all with the ability to update their listings in real time at > a moment’s notice. So, in my (admittedly biased) opinion, this means > CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is a very convenient way to find > up-to-the-minute low prices from a large number of cruise agents all > in one place. > The other "Cruise Bazaar," which I will refer to as the imitator > because it is a fact that they created that site only after we started > marketing our own Cruise Bazaar, states the following: > "Through Cruise Bazaar’s unique model we bring together many travel > agents who are members of one of the largest growing travel > communities today." > I believe this statement is FALSE ADVERTISING deliberately meant to > convey to the reader that this site is CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar. I > say this because: > 1) that is the model of CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar > 2) There is ONLY ONE travel agent on the imitator, so there is no > competition and no variety of listings. > Please beware of the imitator, and also question whether you want to > patronize a website that was purposely created to mislead the public > and capitalize on confusion about the identity of the actual web site > you are seeking. CruiseMates’ Cruise Bazaar is well-known and > established, www.cruisebazaar.com is not. > For the record; www.cruisebazaar.com is owned by the same people that > own AllCruiseAuction, though you don’t see that anywhere on the site. > We have also been searching for online prices and found a web site > Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com). They seem to be very responsive to > questions and the prices are very competitive. One thing that I did > find is that also offer phone support. > We have also been searching for online prices and found a web site > Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com). They seem to be very responsive to > questions and the prices are very competitive. One thing that I did > find is that also offer phone support. > > >If the following question can be answered in the FAQ instead, please post > > >link. I could not find it. > > >We are planning on going on a cruise, Royal Caribbean, Majesty of the Seas, > > >August 22-25. > > >We have not booked our room yet, hoping for a last minute reduction in > > >price. > > >I have checked the official Royal Caribbean site, Orbitz.com, Expedia.com, > > >and a few others. They all have the same prices. > > >wondering: 1) if there is an online site that offers discounted last minute > > >cruise prices? > > > 2) Does Royal Caribbean allow discounting of rooms, or > > >will everyone always have the same price? > > >TIA > > Vacations to Go purports to have "last minute specials" on their > > 90-day ticker, but I have not noticed them to be any less expensive > > than a travel agent. > > "If this is coffee, please bring me some tea. If this is tea, please bring me some coffee." > > — Abraham Lincoln
Response:
Charlie… The fact is that your company acquired the domain www.cruisebazaar.com the very same day we issued a national press release announcing CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar. Had you simply used it as a domain for a cruise agency I would not have said anything. But seeing the obvious attempt to mislead the public by making it appear as if there are many "travel agent partners" on the site, as the real Cruise Bazaar has, when indeed there are none of note went further than I could tolerate silently. Who are your travel agent partners? I do not see any travel agencies mentioned on the website at all. There are cruises there for sale, but they are all offered by cruisebazaar.com, owned by Rainbowtravel. I am well aware of the cruise content on your site because it is provided by OurVacationStore in Phoenix AZ. They license our cruise reviews for ALL of the cruise agents who license their booking engine including cheaptickets.com, BestPriceCruises and many more… I refrained from saying you intentionally chose OVS as your booking engine BECAUSE of the CruiseMates content they license that is now included in "the imitator." But since you mentioned it, it does add to the (false) illusion that the "Imitator" is somehow affiliated with CruiseMates. Aren’t you worried that this blatant attempt to mislead the savvyier-than-you-think Internet cruise public will ruin your credibility as a cruise agency?
Response:
>Charlie… >The fact is that your company acquired the domain www.cruisebazaar.com >the very same day we issued a national press release announcing >CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar.
Pissing contest betwen two morons deleted. >Aren’t you worried that this blatant attempt to mislead the >savvyier-than-you-think Internet cruise public will ruin your >credibility as a cruise agency?
Paul, aren’t you worried that this **savvyier-than-you-think** newsgroup realizes that the articles and reviews on Cruisemates are little more than regurgitated cruise line propaganda? Is it true that Cruisemates has the best articles and reviews that money can buy? How much did Oceania pay your writer to cut and paste her **articles** from the material on their website or did she do it for a free cruise? It probably doesn’t mean anything that your former employee Tim Rubacky now works for Oceania. Isn’t he in charge of publicity? I am sure that is just a coincidence. Quotes from http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/about/ "CruiseMates is not responsible for any inaccuracy, whether intentional or unintentional, within the CruiseMates Website." "CruiseMates does not guarantee the veracity, reliability or completeness of any information provided in our forum or in any hyperlink appearing on our site." "CruiseMates will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in articles or postings, for hyperlinks embedded in messages, or for any results obtained from the use of such information." "CruiseMates makes no claims or representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or truth of any material contained in our areas."
Response:
– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text ->Charlie… >The fact is that your company acquired the domain www.cruisebazaar.com >the very same day we issued a national press release announcing >CruiseMates Cruise Bazaar. >Pissing contest betwen two morons deleted. >Aren’t you worried that this blatant attempt to mislead the >savvyier-than-you-think Internet cruise public will ruin your >credibility as a cruise agency? >Paul, aren’t you worried that this **savvyier-than-you-think** >newsgroup realizes that the articles and reviews on Cruisemates are >little more than regurgitated cruise line propaganda? Is it true that >Cruisemates has the best articles and reviews that money can buy? >How much did Oceania pay your writer to cut and paste her **articles** >from the material on their website or did she do it for a free cruise? >It probably doesn’t mean anything that your former employee Tim >Rubacky now works for Oceania. Isn’t he in charge of publicity? I am >sure that is just a coincidence. >Quotes from http://www.cruisemates.com/articles/about/ >"CruiseMates is not responsible for any inaccuracy, whether >intentional or unintentional, within the CruiseMates Website." >"CruiseMates does not guarantee the veracity, reliability or >completeness of any information provided in our forum or in any >hyperlink appearing on our site." >"CruiseMates will not be responsible for any errors or omissions in >articles or postings, for hyperlinks embedded in messages, or for any >results obtained from the use of such information." >"CruiseMates makes no claims or representations as to the accuracy, >completeness, or truth of any material contained in our areas."
I am sorry. I forgot to add a standard disclaimer to the end of this post. My apologies. Trans Mission is not responsible for any inaccuracy, whether intentional or unintentional, within any Trans Mission posting.
Response:
This document you are quoting out of context is a legal statement written by lawyers, not a mission statement. If you are going to quote it accurately you must include the entire article. The part you are leaving out is enclosed in *** below: >—snip—<
You also agree that CruiseMates will not be liable for any decision made or action taken by you or others based upon reliance on news, information or any other material published by CruiseMates. ***CruiseMates relies on various sources of information that we believe to be accurate and reliable.*** However, we make no claims or representations as to the accuracy, completeness or truth of any material contained on our site. >— snip —<
In other words, while we strive to be as accurate as possible, we are not flying a flag that says "This is accurate at all times, and if it isn’t, you are welcome to sue us". Saying "we make no claims" is not the same saying "we don’t care". Anyway – I can’t imagine how bored you are to be reading fine print disclaimers for amusement. I hear parking lot disclaimers can be quite controversial. You might find some good reading there.
Response:
FWIW, I just checked Cruisebazaar’s price on my upcoming cruise (for which I paid several hundred dollars less through Lori). There are several cabins available in our category, but the deck plans offered are from some other *dam ship. I hope no one used them to actually choose and book a cabin… they’d be rather disappointed as the cabin numbers are not the same. Candy – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – > I want to reply to Paul in reference to his comments about Cruise > Bazaar http://www.cruisebazaar.com
Response:
> Paul I am very surprise with your comments. In all of the years that > we have known each other and have done business together, including > advertising on your site. I never expected such comments from you. > The only relationship between Cruise Bazaar (cruisebazaar.com) and > Cruisemates is similar names. We have a web site (url) using > cruisebazaar.com and you have an area using the cruise bazaar name.
You took the name they use and set up a similiar business, and are surprised Cruisemates objects? I think you are off the wall. I would not say using a similiar concept is objectionable, but using the Cruise Bazaar name is crass. — Charles
Response:
The reason that I mentioned Anne Campbell reviews is that I did not want you to falsely accuse us of not disclosing somthing that really is not relevant. No we did not choose the software company because of Anne’s reviews in order to confuse anyone. It just happend to be included. I am so sorry that you are angry at yourself. I do not think that it should be directed at me. I did acquire the domain name prior to your press release. You should of verified that it was available and purchased before any press release or name choice. I am using the Bazaar name in other areas as well for almost 2 years now. We set up a travel agent area on another site called Coupon Bazaar and the owner of that domain name is not upset. I would like to have it but it is not available. We also have other plans for the use of Bazaar in the future. Cruise Bazaar prices are very competive based upon comparing apples to apples. It is unfair to compare a price on a cruise that was book at any time different to the comparision. Prices do increase, prices do decrease, promotions are made available, promotions are discontinued. Because the prices might be higher today that just means you made a good decision on making your reservation at the time you did.
Response:
>This document you are quoting out of context is a legal statement >written by lawyers, not a mission statement. If you are going to quote >it accurately you must include the entire article.
Isn’t it odd that you say I must quote the entire article but you choose to post only selected quotes? >The part you are leaving out is enclosed in *** below:
The part that you are leaving out is that you are nothing more than a shill and your reviews and articles are cut and paste jobs. Free cruise, much?