chrisc71

[quote name='bt0510']

Some people have asked, Why would a TA give perks? My guess at the answer is so that they can stay in business. Why would anyone spend the time going to a TA when they can quickly go online and book the same thing at the same price. There used to be travel agencies, large and small, all over the place. How many do you drive past now? I certainly don't know of many. I know of one local chain of a larger northeast agency, but other than them, I don't know of others.[/quote]

Many TAs are going away from storefront because technology allows it. Lower overhead.

As to why people use them, just look at these boards. A TA will have the answer to most questions on here. Not to mention how many times the same question is repeatedly asked, I disagree that it is that easy for most people.

And a good TA will get you the same price or sometimes better with group pricing. Also the added OBC.

Again a good TA is a real asset.

[quote name='Demonyte']Just because some TAs do not provide exactly the same service as others, does not make them any less TAs.

By definition a TA is someone who or a company that provides travel related services to customers on behalf of the suppliers - what was described above is exactly that.[/quote]

Actually providing service is what a real TA does. Taking an order over the phone makes them a call center rep. There is a difference.

Did the SJ on the Star and it was great. I always hope they add more staterooms in the new builds.

I can drink either but a rum & coke is the way it is supposed to be. A rum & pepsi is not the same.

[quote name='Buford T Justiice']We book Balcony Cabins and pay 93% of NCL Retail price and generally receive $200 - $250 in OBC from the on-line TA; plus whatever promotion NCL is running at the time.

We receive absolutely no customer service from the TA and once when I emailed a question to him, I received a reply of "your answer is here" with a link to the NCL main webpage.

Having said that, I believe that if you are a regular visitor / poster to the NCL forum here on Cruise Critic, you already know more about the NCL product than the average TA[/quote]

That is not a TA. Online agencies are no different than calling NCL. They are just call center reps.

Taking the kids back to Bermuda again this year in the BA.

You do not need to do excursions from the ship. Bermuda is VERY easy to get around. As others posted check the Bermuda board. And go to the Bermuda tourism board, [url]www.gotobermuda.com[/url], and they will send you free guides and maps.

2) Did not see the show yet.

3) Kids did the club a few times. May 31st should not be as crowded since most kids are still in school. My kids lived on the water slides.

Believe it might be to give some privacy to those cabins.

Did the Star a few years ago. It was a nice ship. Totally different than Breakaway, Getaway, etc.

 

You will love Freestyle and going to dinner when you want.

Does anybody get any free perks from their travel agent when booking a cruise , air and travel package. After all they are getting paid from ncl

 

So they should pay for your vacation? What does it matter who pays them?

You formed a bad impression of Sheehan because he didn't hug his employees?

Frankly, I'd consider that a plus: professionalism, good boundaries, etc. :cool:

 

I agree.

 

Also Undercover Boss is everything that is wrong with companies. I cannot watch it anymore. Execs make decisions and do not see or understand how they affect day to day workers; usually because they never worked in the industry. Then on this show they give token solutions to three employees out of thousands. Show is a farce.

Go with the travel agent. Price will always be same or better than direct with cruise line and agents usually have extra perks on top of what the cruise line is offering.

 

A good agent will also monitor prices for you in the event of a price drop. The cruise line is not going to do that.

Love the SJ on the Star. Wish they had more cabins like that. Great for families.

That's where we booked for our upcoming April cruise. There is a Total Wine about 5 minutes walk away, and a water Taxi Stop just a short walk away as well.

 

However I cannot comment on hotel yet as we haven't stayed there yet. Just looking for a place to crash for the night cause our plane takes off at 5:15am Atlantic time... That's 4:15am Eastern time :eek: We'll have been up since 2am basically so I'm planing on being completely played out.

 

dp

 

You will like it. Very clean. Friendly staff. HI Express is a good chain. Stay in them often. In addition to Walgreens there is a strip mall across the street with Starbucks and other food places.

I probably would. It will be tough to go backwards in the future. Haven is a great experience.

I stayed here last year. Free shuttle from airport and they offered a shuttle for $8 per person. Holiday Inn Express Cruise-Airport. Walgreens right down the block.

 

http://www.ihg.com/holidayinnexpress/hotels/us/en/fort-lauderdale/fllcc/hoteldetail?qAdlt=1&qBrs=6c.hi.ex.rs.ic.cp.in.sb.cw.cv.ul.vn&qChld=0&qFRA=1&qGRM=0&qPSt=0&qRRSrt=rt&qRef=df&qRms=1&qRpn=1&qRpp=12&qSHp=1&qSmP=3&qSrt=sBR&qWch=0&srb_u=1&icdv=99618083&cm_mmc=mdpr-_-TripAdvisorUS-_-BLwebsite-_-EX_FLLCC&icdv=99618083

I was on the BA last summer and in the Atrium Cafe they only had items from Carlo's for sale.

 

One of my negatives. Do not mind paying for coffee but Carlo's stuff was not worth paying for IMHO.

This is a tough one. I love Bermuda and have gone many times and cruising back this year.

 

But the Escape looks to have a lot of cool new features.

 

I would go with Bermuda for destination and Escape for ship. Not sure which would be important to you.

Walk The Plank!

When sailing out of NYC port side will let you see the NY skyline from your cabin. Most like to go up on deck for the sail away party though.

Escape will have many new things, dining and beverage options, that are not on the Getaway. I would go with Escape.

The article reporting the approval of the project, which was written 9/27/12, says "Development on the project must begin in the next two years".

 

Since that two year time line has passed with no indication that developmet has started, it's safe to assume this proposal is dead...and I suspect many of us who are regular visitors to Bermuda are just as happy it is.

 

Agree with you njhorseman!

Sick of hearing that "nickel and dime" nonsense. Usually comes from megafans of other lines who are blind to the fact that every line charges for similar things.

And the big money is in California and surrounding states and many people don't want to fly.

 

There maybe money but all cruise lines have had problems filling ships on the West Coast. Add the issues with Mexico a few years back caused most to pull their ships.

First took our children to Bermuda at ages 6 and 2 and they had a good time. Horseshoe Beach is perfect as others recommended.

Taking them back this year.

 

Good thing about this cruise is you are there for three days and two nights so you have time to explore the island and if kids need a rest you can come back to ship for nap and go back out.

When I spoke with Kevin Sheehan a few weeks ago, he indicated that the Bliss would likely homeport in San Francisco.

David

 

Kevin Sheehan is no longer with the company you cannot give any credence to this.

 

 

Bliss will probably be in NY. One of the biggest criticisms of Breakaway was no retractable roof for a ship in cold weather part of the year.