We are planning on taking a cruise next summer in Northern Europe.
This will be our first cruise experience.  We are trying to gather
some information on this. For example, what should we be aware of so
that we don't get into a bad deal?  Should we plan the trip ourselves
and buy air tickets separately, or just go with a travel agency?  Do
you know which travel agency has the best deals and which cruise line
offers most interesting route?
Please provide me a list of 20 GOOD web sites - For each URL you give,
please tell me why it's good - what do they do, why I should trust
them or spend my time reading their opinions. Thanks very much.

Hello hemv2003-ga:

It was a pleasure to answer your question. I am answering this
question because I have myself been involved in the research for a
couple of travel businesses. As you may see that the two comments
posted here suggest that it is important to shop around because it is
true that reading a webpage is reading a brochure.

Anyway, I am providing you a list of online travel agencies and cruise
agents that not only provide a good service but are known for their
variety (ships, price etc). Also, I am including the websites where
you can go to read the reviews of the cruise ships. There are websites
that have rankings for the cruise ships as well as websites with the
sanitation reporting and other factors. I will also provide you the
website that lists online travel agencies which offer the best
discounted air fares from each country. You will also find a couple of
websites where you can shop around for cruise vacation deals and
airfare to Europe with out browsing through several websites,
yourself.

MY ADVICE is that first of all you should try to make your own
itinerary by shopping around these very reputable websites. You can
select the cruise and book the airline tickets separately. The second
step is to consult a list of USTOA enlisted cruise tour operators and
see what price (air + cruise) they offer you. Last of all consult your
local travel agent and see what price they might offer
you.--------------Search for a cruise agent near you by logging onto
http://www.cruising.org. Also see the list of USTOA cruise tour
operators to get their prices at http://www.ustoa.com/byactivity.cfm

I have traveled extensively in Europe. Most of the times (90 percent)
I am able to plan my travel by booking air, hotel and car etc without
a travel agent and in the process get a better price. The only time I
consult a travel agent is when I really have special interest or am
looking for something special (After all they are specialists in their
fields). My experience has shown that a vacation package for cruise
will probably be more expansive than booking independently (if you
know where to book).

AGAIN HERE IS THE PLAN! First, see what price you can get from the
very reputable travel websites that I am providing you (by planning
independently). Secondly, call the USTOA cruise operators and see what
price you get. Lastly and more importantly, call your local travel
agent and see what price they have. You might also want to book with a
travel agent if you have very special needs.

Here is the list:

 4 CRUISE TRAVEL AGENTS & TOUR OPERATORS

All of these are highly recommended but the one on the top might be
better than the one listed below.

http://www.cruise.com     (My Choice)
The authority on the discounted cruise travel with a variety that is
unparalleled on the web.


http://www.cruiseone.com
It is one of the best discounted cruise specialists for the Caribbean.
Call them to see what they can offer you for Northern Europe OR shop
around on their website.

http://www.cruisedirect.com
It is Simple and trustable for Northern Europe cruise. You can find
many choices on their website BUT than you might have to call their
representatives to get the prices for some ships.

http://www.cruise411.com/
This is a very reputable website when it comes to discounts fro cruise
ships but I am not very sure what they might have for Northern Europe.
_______________________________________________________________________________

CRUISE LINE RANKINGS

Here is the list of travel industry’s famous sources for rankings on
everything from Cruise to hotels and what not:

Conde Nast Traveler (My choice)
http://www.concierge.com/interest/cruise
Also see best cruise spa’s
http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/lists/spapoll03/cruise/

Look for yourself, which is the best cruise ship company in the
industry. It is the definite source of rankings from thousands of
actual travelers. Please see all, ‘The best cruise ships’; ‘Gold list’
and ‘Reader’s choice’.

Travel & Leisure (My choice)
http://www.travelandleisure.com/worldsbest/results.cfm?cat=otherccruises

It is the only rival to the authority of Conde Nast and as reputable,
if not more. Get a taste of what is best like.

Frommers 
http://www.frommers.com/destinations/alaska/0210024436.html
I am sorry I couldn’t put it as my favorites because this is just the
opinion of the GREAT Frommers experts rather than the travelers. Also,
the study is not based on a survey.
_______________________________________________________________________________

CRUISE LINE REVIEWS & REPORTS ON QUALITY

http://www.cruiseopinion.com
It is not my choice BUT my personal best among this category. The best
thing that I like about this website is its critics of individual
ships on every aspect by the general public. You can also see who
reviewed the ship and the detailed information about every reviewer.


http://www.cruisemates.com/Index.cfm
It is a very informative resource for the first time traveler. It has
great statistics on every ship with a lot more information.

http://www.cruisecritic.com/index.cfm
Cruise Critic presents the reviews of the general public that is
presented in a nice easy navigational format.

http://www.cruisereviews.com/
It provides general reviews on many cruise ships.
_______________________________________________________________________________

EUROPEON & NORTH EUROPEAON CRUISE RESOURCE

Following is the list of the best cruise resources for Northern
Europe.

http://www.cruiseeurope.com/index.cfm
This is a great resource for every Northern Europe Cruise Port. You
will definitely want to check on this information.

http://www.smallshipcruises.com
This website lists small cruise ships that sail around the world. You
will also find many of the small cruise ships that sail in Northern
Europe.

http://www.cruisescandinavia.com/
They are the well known specialists for Scandinavian cruise.
_______________________________________________________________________________

VERY IMPORTANT CRUISE ORGANIZATIONS

http://www.cruising.org  (My choice)
It is the website for the Cruise Line International Association
(CLIA). It will also provide you the names of the travel agents who
specialize in cruise, area by area. You definitely want to check the
travel agents in your area.

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/default.htm
This is the website that represents the cruise sanitation program for
the government. See if your future ship is really clean.
*** Also see http://www.cdc.gov/travel/cruiships.htm
_______________________________________________________________________________

INTERNATIONAL DISCOUNT FARES

http://www.etn.nl/
***** http://www.etn.nl/discoun2.htm  (country by country)
Without any doubt, this is the best website to find the international
airfare. It also provides the best website for an international ticket
to OR in that country. See the second link.
_______________________________________________________________________________

LOOK FOR DISCOUNT INTERNATIONAL AIRFARE & VACATION PACKAGE

http://www.travelzoo.com
It is the best known website for the best deals on nearly everything.
I will suggest you to consult this website for the best airfares to
Europe.
_______________________________________________________________________________

CHECK THE TOUR OPERATOR’S PRICES

United States Tour Operators Association
http://www.ustoa.com
***** http://www.ustoa.com/byactivity.cfm  (cruise tour operators)
Go to this website and look which famous tour operator specialize in
Cruise and than check their prices.
_______________________________________________________________________________

OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES

There is a guide published by Conde Nast in 2002
http://www.concierge.com/cntraveler/articles/CNT1029345300282085/
that lists the best travel agents. See if you can get this guide. 

Scan tours is one of the largest tour operators for Scandinavian
countries. It also offers cruise packages. Visit them at
http://www.scantours.com

See a list of some of the cruise brokers and much more at
http://www.msnbc.com/news /793659.asp

Silver Sea cruise line is famous for its operations in Europe. Visit
them at
http://www.silverseaships.com/destinations/europe.html

Enjoy alternate cruising information in Scandinavia at 
http://www.freighterworld.com/general.html#Scandinavia

I hope this will help. Please clarify, if needed. Thanks for using
Google Answers and I wish you good luck with your first cruise
experience.

Sincerely,
leader-ga.

looking/reading a webpage is no different than reading a brochure. 
Interview several qualified travel agents....find one with experience
in the area you are interested in.  Ask for references from previous
clients.  Don't let ANYONE pressure you into buying something you are
not 100% positive about.  Remember that this is your vacation and it
is worth a couple of extra dollars to do it the way you want to. 
Don't end up with less than you want just to save a dollar or two.
funfest-ga

Where have you got in mind by 'Northern Europe'?

I have had good and bad experiences cruising (a) in the Med (where the
air conditioning broke down during a heatwave) and (b) going to the
Canaries and Madeira.

For the latter, I collected brochures from Dutch and British travel
agents. (I was living in Holland at the time.) And I found exactly the
same cruise was much more expensive in Holland. So, naturally, I
booked the cruise in England.

It certainly pays to shop around.

You should consider Hurtigruten (http://www.hurtigruten.com/uk/).  It
is not a proper cruise, but a very special experience on a working
freight/passenger ship.