VERY inexpensive site for Caribbean Deals!

kurt · Post by **kurt** » December 18, 2004 7:37 am

Just want to let everyone know about this site that a few of my friends used (and were very happy with) which influenced me to head off to Aruba this February...

http://www.Cheapcaribbean.com

Really GREAT PRICES!!!

nycparrothead · Post by **nycparrothead** » December 18, 2004 8:02 am

WHOA DUDE!!!! This rocks!! Thanks Kurt!

island_hopper · Post by **island_hopper** » December 18, 2004 10:18 pm

NICE! Thanks for sharing!

NJPhinPhan · Post by **NJPhinPhan** » December 18, 2004 11:53 pm

Checking prices with internet sites like this is fine but you should always back yourself up and check with a reputable travel agent as well. More than likely, an agent will be able to find a better price. Not always, but usually.

For instance, I just priced the exact same trip that I am taking in April with cheapcarribean.com and their price was more than $700 above what I'm paying and I JUST booked it yesterday so the time of booking isn't really an issue. Same flights, same hotel. I then checked another trip that I booked for someone else last night and same thing...$500 more expensive.

I'm not saying that you should never use sites like this, I'm just saying that sometimes it a good idea to have someone "in the know" behind you to check out if you really are getting the best deal possible. If you're rate is better, then book it!

kurt · Post by **kurt** » December 19, 2004 6:48 am

NJPhinPhan wrote:Checking prices with internet sites like this is fine but you should always back yourself up and check with a reputable travel agent as well. More than likely, an agent will be able to find a better price. Not always, but usually.

For instance, I just priced the exact same trip that I am taking in April with cheapcarribean.com and their price was more than $700 above what I'm paying and I JUST booked it yesterday so the time of booking isn't really an issue. Same flights, same hotel. I then checked another trip that I booked for someone else last night and same thing...$500 more expensive.

I'm not saying that you should never use sites like this, I'm just saying that sometimes it a good idea to have someone "in the know" behind you to check out if you really are getting the best deal possible. If you're rate is better, then book it!

I do appreciate your input but I did go to TWO travel agents (Omega and Liberty Travel) who quoted me prices – for the exact same dates and the exact same destination/resort- it was TWICE as much as on Cheapcaribbean.com. Of course everyone should do their homework but I thought that since I found this awesome site I would share it with everyone else.

Regardless of where you are going, if you are traveling that’s a good thing!

Bob Roberts · Post by **Bob Roberts** » December 19, 2004 8:48 am

NJPhinPhan wrote:Checking prices with internet sites like this is fine but you should always back yourself up and check with a reputable travel agent as well. More than likely, an agent will be able to find a better price. Not always, but usually.

For instance, I just priced the exact same trip that I am taking in April with cheapcarribean.com and their price was more than $700 above what I'm paying and I JUST booked it yesterday so the time of booking isn't really an issue. Same flights, same hotel. I then checked another trip that I booked for someone else last night and same thing...$500 more expensive.

I'm not saying that you should never use sites like this, I'm just saying that sometimes it a good idea to have someone "in the know" behind you to check out if you really are getting the best deal possible. If you're rate is better, then book it!

What agency did you use?

Bob Roberts · Post by **Bob Roberts** » December 19, 2004 8:48 am

NJPhinPhan wrote:Checking prices with internet sites like this is fine but you should always back yourself up and check with a reputable travel agent as well. More than likely, an agent will be able to find a better price. Not always, but usually.

For instance, I just priced the exact same trip that I am taking in April with cheapcarribean.com and their price was more than $700 above what I'm paying and I JUST booked it yesterday so the time of booking isn't really an issue. Same flights, same hotel. I then checked another trip that I booked for someone else last night and same thing...$500 more expensive.

I'm not saying that you should never use sites like this, I'm just saying that sometimes it a good idea to have someone "in the know" behind you to check out if you really are getting the best deal possible. If you're rate is better, then book it!

What agency did you use?

NJPhinPhan · Post by **NJPhinPhan** » December 20, 2004 11:40 pm

Bob Roberts wrote: What agency did you use?

Well, I'm a travel agent so I have access to most all vacation companies and usually check prices with all of them before I book anyone's trip, including my own. I booked my land only trip (have airfare already) with Apple Vacations, who gave me a price of $1728 for 8 nights at the Bahia Principe Mexico in April while cheapcarribean gave me a price for the same dates of almost $2,600. I could have gone through US Air Vacations and saved even more but I'm going to try and use some points that I have with Apple to take some more money off.

Kurt, I've never heard of Omega but Liberty is pretty notorious for having some abnormally inflated pricing. They use Go Go Vacations a lot and I find Go Go to be higher in price than say Apple, Funjet, MLT/WorryFree and a few other vacation companies. I end up with quite a few Liberty "runaway's" as clients.

But I am glad that you did your homework and when you luck into a great deal (they are out there!), you should grab it while you can.

Like you said, as long as you're traveling, it's all good!

Enjoy your trip, Aruba is a beautiful island!

The Lost Manatee · Post by **The Lost Manatee** » December 21, 2004 4:14 pm

Liberty Travel owns GoGo tours and thus only quote them if they are in the market. The biggest risk to just using the web is that you never know who you are dealing with and when things go wrong who is going to be there to help you.

As for Omega, they haven't had a great reputation for bargain hunting and/or getting and keeping experienced agents. At one point they had a contract with the State of N. Carolina to have the state provide inmates to work in the call center. Needless to say a lot of consumers weren't too thrilled by the prospect of giving a credit card to a guy doing time.

I've spent a lot of time and money traveling and in my experience one is generally better off using a professional travel agent for complex trips and/or vacations to destinations that one isn't well acquainted with.

Having said that, the key is finding a good professional agent who really is into helping you find the right trip. Regretfully there are too many out there who don't listen to the clients and thus make bad agents. I used to work with one agent until she retired. The first agent I tried after she retired didn't listen to me. I called wanting to go to Orlando with my family. I wanted to stay in a Suite type hotel, like an Embassy Suites or Residence Inn, I wanted a full size convertible and need passes for all the parks including DisneyWorld and Universal and I didn't want to fly on TWA or Southwest. When she finally called me back her only option was a package for just Disney, flying on Southwest, with a compact car and a single hotel room. Her price was great but it wasn't what I asked for so I asked some friends who they were using and found a wonderful agent who not only listens but offers suggestion and advice. She got me what I wanted plus told me how to get a 2nd day at Universal and SeaWorld for free. With two adults and two kids, that was a nice savings.

meisinger · Post by **meisinger** » December 28, 2004 11:08 am

Great site. Thanks!!

kurt · Post by **kurt** » January 6, 2005 7:43 pm

B4 going anywhere in the Caribbean, check out http://www.cheapcaribbean.com/ -even for Jamaica (Mystica!) BB

...and no, I'm not a travel agent affiliated with the company nor (- ohhh - don't use 'nor' too often!!!) own stock in it// I just know many happy people that I have talked to that have used the site - will be one next month!!!

Happy Trails and you know that we all have 'Boats to Build'!