I have thought about this but I am too scared to at the moment. I know I should have the confidence to do this but I need someone to hold my hand I think.
Would appreciate any advice.

Sue

I have not used a US agent before but have talked to people and read about peoples experience.

Things to note,

You will be dealing with the US and the US part of the cruise line so you need to consider call costs,(some agents have uk 0800 No. and there is VOIP to keep costs down)

ABTA,ATOL protection does not count,

Your deposit will be refundable up to final payment.

You should be able to get any price reductions.

You will probably be cruise only so need to sort out flights/transfers.

Your UK travel insurance may not cover a missed departure.

IF you get the cruise line confirmation No. then the cruise line will probably honour your cruise if the TA goes bust(same as the UK)

YOU CAN get better deal but not always.

The two cruises I am looking at for this year are at least £100pp cheaper door to door. and there was a Navigator 14night deal for 30Oct under £600 which was £200pp cheaper than the best UK price.

I just got an email(uk agent) for the NCL jewel 7n July UK with flights £599 now that will be hard to better because the DIY flight prices are a lot higher in july.

We have always used a US company called Dreamsunlimited for our Disney cruises - loads cheaper than any British operators, and very easy to deal with.

I know many other UK Disney cruisers that speak highly of Vacationstogo, Walmart, Costco and Allseasons.

I also know that many people book Disney cruises direct with Disney Cruise Line which is again vastly cheaper than booking in the UK.

We particularly like the full deposit return terms; which are valid until up to 75 days out for most cabin categories.

I just got an email(uk agent) for the NCL jewel 7n July UK with flights £599 now that will be hard to better because the DIY flight prices are a lot higher in july.

Well these are coming up on TXT227 for around £450-£500(with LHR flight) Might be worth a followup if you are still looking for a school hols since there are some school hols dates on the NCL Jewel(£499) that may have availability in 3/4berth.

some interesting comments the prices are very competitive, we've just booked through America Vacation Centre, March 8th next year, 1 week, Caribbean from Miami, inside midship for £750 for two of us and flights for £790. We rang an 0800 number which connected to them for free and they were genuinely shocked when I asked what the charge was for credit cards. I also queried how we got ours papers as some sites charge a fortune for sending them abroad. The flights have already gone up £200!!!!

belaurdan- keep an eye on your cruise price.... if you see it go down( and they fluctuate a lot for that early in March depending on how sales are going) give your TA a call and they can get the reduction for you,Royal Caribbean and Princess both agree to do this.

we're going with carnival, do they do the same thing?

Yes,Carnival will honor price drops if you see them. If you are booking with a US agent,get an assurance that they will pass this on to you.
Carnival will not call and bring this to your attention,you have to monitor prices yourself.

You might take a look at CruiseCompete or one of the online cruise agents and see if they will come up with a better price,or if the price is the same,if they will give you perks such as free travel insurance or paid gratuities.

I saved around $300 each recently,on RCCL, by checking prices weekly. My original price was over $1100 each,then it dropped twice,to $819. I called pronto and got the price reductions. By the time I sailed it had gone back up again.

which site do you use to watch for the price drop, do you look at the cruiseline site or the site that you booked it on

Look at the cruiseline's website prices. Just go through the process of making a reservation and see what prices come up. Make sure it is the same category of room as yours and also make sure there is not a disclaimer that says * for new reservations only at the bottom of the page.
They adjust prices up and down all the time so it really pays to check. I was checking daily for a while and when I saw it go down I pounced.

All it takes is a phone call. If you have booked via a TA they have to place the call.

thanks emdia, are you from GB, if so, have you booked a lot of cruises using US agencies? Thanks