Online Travel Agencies?

dbright asks: "I am currently planning my upcoming honeymoon, and I was wondering if I should try getting my tickets, and/or making travel arrangements online using one of the many available retailers (cheaptickets.com, priceline.com, etc...). I wanted to ask Slashdot readers about experiences with any of these companies, and their thoughts on making arrangements online."

Comments

Don't take chances on Honeymoon

[GuyMannDude]

I know I'm not answering your actual question here, but I would think twice about trying to save a couple of bucks on your honeymoon. Go the safer, more traditional route for something this important and you can gamble with some fly-by-night online agency for a future trip that is a little less important. Imagine if something goes wrong because of the travel agent, your wife is not going to very happy with your decision to go with a relatively new (a few years experience) online agency.

GMD

Re:Don't take chances on Honeymoon

[rpi1995]

I've got to agree on using a travel agent. I use one for business, and once asked her point blank, "So, are you better than getting things online?"

She actually gave me an honest answer. You can get better prices on airling tickets online, because the agent charges booking fees, so if you have a site you know, (I like Orbitz and Travelocity), use it. She said (and I've had proven to me) that an agent can usually get better deals on hotels, cars and tours. I've used her for a bunch of hotel bookings, and she has always found better deals than I imagined ($160 a night at the Marriot in Hawaii, on 2 hours notice.)

A good office will have a specialist for lots of different things, and I've actually had them tell me "Just use the concierge at this hotel, they'll take care of you." Remember, they're in the business of taking care of peoeple and trying to make them happy, and a good travel agency will do just that.

But hey, that's just been my experience.

Not just one....

[EnlightenmentFan]

Because sites tend to offer a very different, even if overlapping, set of options. So, even if (for example) British Air flies the route you want, their flights might not show up on one site, and be at the top of the list in another.

What works for me is to find a good price or two searching online, then take these to a real, in-person agent and say can you get me something like this or better....and the in-person agent can often do better!

I am going to go back to using the "Preview" button when Slashdot goes back to loading at reasonable speed. Until then, thank you for being able to read my typing.

some tips

[Tumbleweed]

Okay, I have used Travelocity for airline tickets for years with no real troubles. You can definitely save some real cash this way.

But...

For something as important as a honeymoon, I don't think I'd do it. See, the way that online ticket pleaces work is that they offer tickets with all sorts of restrictions (both on time and on convenience). Let's say something happens to your schedule and you want to delay a flight. Well, many of those cheap tickets can't BE delayed, at least, not without fees that often exceed the price you paid for the cheap tickets. No, for something "mission critical" like a honeymoon, do yourself a favour and go with a real (and respected - ask around) travel agent. A travel agent will be even more valuable for the non-flight portions of the trip (hotels, destinations, etc.), as a good and experienced travel agent will often have personal experience with destinations. If you can, go to a travel agent that specializes in your chosen destination(s).

Good luck and have fun!