I think a newbie mistake is to not use a TA, or at least get a quote from a TA. I book my own hotel rooms, book my own rental car and book my own airline travel, so my assumption was that I would book my own cruise as well. From my outside perspective, it seems the cruise industry is very much still aligned with travel agents, while those other travel related industries not as much. I am happy with the price I got via booking directly with RCI, but I will admit I will use a TA or get a 2nd quote from a TA for my next cruise.
