I was just wondering if anyone here has booked their own trip to Sandals using the Sandals booking engine rather than booking through a travel agent?

My fiancé and I are planning our third trip back to Ocho Rios for early May of next year and have used a travel agent in the past, only to find out both times that I've done all the research/work ahead of time and basically had to explain all the deals/discounts to the agent along with paying them a fee for booking it.

My only concern is this time around the trip is for our honeymoon and I would hate to have something get really screwed up because I'm being cheap about the travel agent fee.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks!!

Booking through Sandals engine is a great way to get an initial price so you know how much better you might do from another source. I've found that its best to use a TA that is also a regular Sandals vacationer. These folks often know the management and can submit special requests prior to your arrival. I wrote a brief article on this subject you might find helpful. Good luck on your trip. BTW: I used www.newhorizonsvacations.com when I booked last for the exact reason that I wanted to ensure i'd end up in the correct building and if possible certain room. John Yushack (SP?) goes regularly and it was a good experience.

Here's a link to the article. http://www.sandalspictures.com/bestdeal.htm

I definately wouldn't book yourself because you would pay a higher price. A general travel agent may not have a lot of knowledge or get good discounts from a place like Sandals. There are a lot of All Inclusive travel agent specialists who actually get better deals because of the amount of people they send to these resorts. I have used All-Inclusive Resort Travel, Inc. the last 2 times I went and I got very good prices. I always get a number of quotes to compare. There are a number of other good all inclusive agencies out there as well from what I have read. Their phone number is 800-536-3866 and their web site is all-inclusive-travel.com and have dealt with George both times.

You may also want to stroll over to http://www.tropictravelonline.com and check with Debbie.