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Advantages of travel agents?


Ben2travel
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Assuming I know what cruise I want, are there any advantages/disadvantages to booking through a travel agent rather than directly through the cruise line? I am sure this must have been covered before, but was unable to find it. Thanks so much.

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Assuming I know what cruise I want, are there any advantages/disadvantages to booking through a travel agent rather than directly through the cruise line? I am sure this must have been covered before, but was unable to find it. Thanks so much.

 

 

There's dozens of previous threads on CC regarding the numerous financial (and other) benefits of using a truly good TA. You may want to redo your searching for those threads as a warmup to searching for the right TA.

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The perks that others have mentioned are nice. However, I use a TA because she is on my side when fighting with the cruise line and pushes hard to get me what I am owed and what the cruise line says that I am not owed. Also, if there are problems either before we leave or during the trip, she is available to sort things out.

 

The cruise line is out to cheat you whenever they can. The TA is there to ensure that you are not cheated.

 

DON

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We use one of several high volume cruise agencies who have served us well over the years. Our norm is to get at least 7% and often 10%+ in savings with extra on board credits (OBCs) and other amenities. Since we book longer cruises our savings often exceed $1000 when compared to what we would spend if we book directly with a cruise line.

 

Hank

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Unless you choose a really bad TA, the only real complaint is that you do not "own" your booking. In other words, you cannot talk with the cruise line directly, your TA has to. For me that is a bonus because my TA has years of experience dealing with the cruise lines that I don't (plus I am a rotten negotiator). There are some people though who do not like losing direct control over their booking.

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Welcome to Cruise Critic Ben. As has been suggested, there are lots of discussion threads regarding TAs. If you’re new to cruising you may consider testing a few travel agents like you would car dealerships when buying a new car. Some are complete jack wagons while others are professional and customer-service oriented. It won’t take you long to distinguish between them.

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When Princess offered to add the Sip & Sail package to qualifying cruises at no extra cost, my TA added it to 6 cruises totaling 90 days before I was able to even connect to the internet.

 

 

 

And, therein, lies an example of the evidence of the fallacy held by those who suggest that "maintaining 'direct' control of your booking" is somehow beneficial.

 

"Direct control" usually means the "luck of the draw" when calling a customer services representative at your cruise line (that is, if they even answer in a timely manner when the line's are open). As often mentioned here on CC, many of these reps are low level functionaries with limited expertise and little (if any) decision making capacity. And, for those folks who swear by a company's Personal Cruise Planners (PCP, PVPs), the bottom line remains that, when "push comes to shove" on any disagreement, they are the line's employees - not yours.

 

Moreover, It is important to remember that, even with an expensive cruise, the average customer is less than a "rounding error" in a cruise line's weekly "bottom line." On the other hand, a cruise specialist TA who is a top seller for your preferred line may easily do a million plus dollars of bookings per year. The right one will have the line's regional sales director as a "speed dial" on their cell phone and you will have that TAs 24/7 contact info always handy. That TA has clout. Do you?

 

Beyond the TA's influence and better conduit to actual cruise line decision makers, there is the all important TA commission sharing, which can mean 5-10% of the commissionable fare returned to you as credit, refundable OBC or rebate.

 

So what's the downside of a TA? The only true downside is finding the right one, a process that confuses/confounds many folks who then find it "easier" to book direct and convince themselves that they somehow have better "control."

 

IMO, booking direct may initially be easier than doing the TA research. But, suggesting that it then gives you more "control" is a fantasy.

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The "Direct Control" is more myth then fact and is sometimes fed by the cruise line "clerks" who generally stick to their "scripts" and simply process bookings. A decent cruise/travel agent can become a very big ally when one has a problem with any cruise line. One reason we now prefer only the major high volume cruise agencies is that their volume gives them much more clout then a single cruiser trying to deal directly with a cruise line. Last year on the HAL blogs there was a pretty long back and forth discussion with several folks loving their "PCC's" (Personal Cruise Consultants who are essentially order clerks who work for the cruise line). Around that time we did a future cruise booking while on a HAL cruise (they had a special promo which made using the future cruise person beneficial). When I returned home I immediately "shopped my booking" to two of my favorite cruise agencies and quickly transferred the booking to an agency that gave me an addtional $1050.00 of OBC...not available by keeping the booking with HAL. My comment (at the time) to those who loved their PCCs was did that love equal over $1000 on a single booking! The silence was deafening.

 

We will likely book a Princess cruise this week which costs about $8500. If we do it on the Princess web site (or by calling) we would pay that price less the usual OBCs for things like being a Vet. But if I book through my favorite cruise agency they will give me everything I would get from Princess PLUS another $1200.00 of OBC. That $1200 is like real money and is even refundable (if not used onboard it would be refunded by Princess after the cruise). If some folks think that their idea of "control" is to pay an additional $1200 then I sure hope they are getting a lot of control :).

 

Hank

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When we book with our TA, we get perks like a bottle of wine, OBC and dining in specialty restaurants......

 

You might consider shopping around. Giving one bottle or 2 of cheap wine and a meal in the Pinnacle on HAL is worth less than $100. It is difficult to equate this with agencies that will give over $1000 of OBC (essentially cash). I once laughed at one of my cruise agencies and told her to hold the wine and give me MONEY! I guess she saw the humor because not only did she give me a lot of OBC....but also sent me a very good bottle of wine :). Many years ago it was a tradition for travel agents to send cruisers a bottle of wine (which usually cost them about $20. But now, many of us are looking for the equivalent of at least 7% of the cruise price...and often a lot more.

 

The problem is that an ole bottle of wine might be reasonable for a 3 day cruise in an inside cabin, but is not adequate for a 60 day cabin in a suite :). And consider the person who books a suite on a world cruise for over $100,000! Do you think a bottle of $20 wine would make them happy? Hence my post about looking for a percentage.

 

Hank

Edited by Hlitner
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Unless you choose a really bad TA, the only real complaint is that you do not "own" your booking. In other words, you cannot talk with the cruise line directly, your TA has to. For me that is a bonus because my TA has years of experience dealing with the cruise lines that I don't (plus I am a rotten negotiator). There are some people though who do not like losing direct control over their booking.

 

 

Not true . I have special needs and always call the cruise line to make sure they have the info in the computer.I also book dining times and specialty restaurants with the cruise line.

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I have tried using TAs through multiple agencies for 3 different bookings. The best offer I ever got was an extra $25 OBC. It's probably because I book off-peak season and interior rooms that don't have a thousand dollars+ in markup. It's classic marketing to use perks like wine to make you feel like you got a great deal on a $5,000-10,000 cruise.

 

I haven't really seen many concrete examples of TAs "going to bat for you." Are they making the cruise lines bend their policy? I do all of my booking through Chase UR portal now as my points will cover all of my cruises and give me free travel insurance.

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I have tried using TAs through multiple agencies for 3 different bookings. The best offer I ever got was an extra $25 OBC. It's probably because I book off-peak season and interior rooms that don't have a thousand dollars+ in markup. It's classic marketing to use perks like wine to make you feel like you got a great deal on a $5,000-10,000 cruise.

 

I haven't really seen many concrete examples of TAs "going to bat for you." Are they making the cruise lines bend their policy? I do all of my booking through Chase UR portal now as my points will cover all of my cruises and give me free travel insurance.

 

 

If a TA only offered me a bottle of wine (probably cheap wine) for a $10,000 cruise, I'd be looking for a new TA. As for "free" travel insurance, you may want to read that policy's T&Cs: in most cases, many of the benefits are already provided at no cost by your travel savvy credit card. At the "bottom line," what perks we seek from a TA should always translate to cash in your hand.

 

As for a TA "going to bat," here's one example:

Having purchased a particular cruise via one of my preferred TAs, I later learned of an unpublished promotional "flash" sale that the cruise line historically rotates among its top selling TAs. Though it was not our TAs "time" to have access to the discounted fare, I called him on his cell and, while I waited on hold, he called the regional sales director who made an exception and extended to us the price break. That knocked almost $1000 off the bottom line while not negatively impacting either the cruise line's or the TAs original perks. Total savings (along with the cruise line's regular airfare credit) covered most of the cost difference in upgrading to bizclass for an international flight initially secured with FF points.

On the lighter side (but still worthwhile): We once found ourselves unable to add a "special occasion" table for two (vs sharing) during our pre-cruise complimentary specialty restaurant reservation period. A quick e-mail to our TA (another of that line's top sellers) and her reply informed us of the added reservation we had requested.

 

As I have often posted, the challenge is finding the best of your preferred line(s) top-selling TAs (just like finding contractors, auto mechanics, surgeons.....).

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If a TA only offered me a bottle of wine (probably cheap wine) for a $10,000 cruise, I'd be looking for a new TA. As for "free" travel insurance, you may want to read that policy's T&Cs: in most cases, many of the benefits are already provided at no cost by your travel savvy credit card. At the "bottom line," what perks we seek from a TA should always translate to cash in your hand.

 

As for a TA "going to bat," here's one example:

Having purchased a particular cruise via one of my preferred TAs, I later learned of an unpublished promotional "flash" sale that the cruise line historically rotates among its top selling TAs. Though it was not our TAs "time" to have access to the discounted fare, I called him on his cell and, while I waited on hold, he called the regional sales director who made an exception and extended to us the price break. That knocked almost $1000 off the bottom line while not negatively impacting either the cruise line's or the TAs original perks. Total savings (along with the cruise line's regular airfare credit) covered most of the cost difference in upgrading to bizclass for an international flight initially secured with FF points.

On the lighter side (but still worthwhile): We once found ourselves unable to add a "special occasion" table for two (vs sharing) during our pre-cruise complimentary specialty restaurant reservation period. A quick e-mail to our TA (another of that line's top sellers) and her reply informed us of the added reservation we had requested.

 

As I have often posted, the challenge is finding the best of your preferred line(s) top-selling TAs (just like finding contractors, auto mechanics, surgeons.....).

 

That's what I meant is that my CC will cover it with travel insurance. Plus the cruise itself is paid for by points. Nothing out of pocket works for me.

 

I equate the expensive cruise game to buying a new car. Dealers are looking to wheel and deal to make you feel like you got a deal. Fewer people are going to come in and pay "sticker". It really makes sense to use a TA when there is $1000 to knock off of your cruises. No arguing that.

 

Call me cheap, but there isn't that much that could be taken off of my cruises. That is why I don't agree with all of the stories of people telling how much they got off. It's like saying the dealer got me $7000 off my car, my dealer is the best! What car did you buy? How much was it? Was it their most profitable one? Don't expect $7000 off your Civic.

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If a TA only offered me a bottle of wine (probably cheap wine) for a $10,000 cruise, I'd be looking for a new TA. As for "free" travel insurance, you may want to read that policy's T&Cs: in most cases, many of the benefits are already provided at no cost by your travel savvy credit card. At the "bottom line," what perks we seek from a TA should always translate to cash in your hand.

 

As for a TA "going to bat," here's one example:

Having purchased a particular cruise via one of my preferred TAs, I later learned of an unpublished promotional "flash" sale that the cruise line historically rotates among its top selling TAs. Though it was not our TAs "time" to have access to the discounted fare, I called him on his cell and, while I waited on hold, he called the regional sales director who made an exception and extended to us the price break. That knocked almost $1000 off the bottom line while not negatively impacting either the cruise line's or the TAs original perks. Total savings (along with the cruise line's regular airfare credit) covered most of the cost difference in upgrading to bizclass for an international flight initially secured with FF points.

On the lighter side (but still worthwhile): We once found ourselves unable to add a "special occasion" table for two (vs sharing) during our pre-cruise complimentary specialty restaurant reservation period. A quick e-mail to our TA (another of that line's top sellers) and her reply informed us of the added reservation we had requested.

 

As I have often posted, the challenge is finding the best of your preferred line(s) top-selling TAs (just like finding contractors, auto mechanics, surgeons.....).

 

That is exactly what I mean. We do a lot of cruising on Azamara and one of the perks that you are supposed to get is 2 free days on the ship on the cruise after you change from one status level to the next status level. For some reason that neither she or us could understand, Azamara did not want to give us our free days that we should have gotten. She called her Azamara contact and got us our 2 free days. That was a good chunk of change.

 

It is nice to get some perks but good service is more important to us.

 

DON

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I haven't really seen many concrete examples of TAs "going to bat for you." Are they making the cruise lines bend their policy? I do all of my booking through Chase UR portal now as my points will cover all of my cruises and give me free travel insurance.

 

In a brochure it was stated that solos would get double OBC. The cruise line said that wasn't true. My TA spent some time talking with the various levels of the company and finally got my OBC.

 

Another example - I had booked onboard a cruise and was given some nice perks. I had booked to Seattle but about a month later I decided to disembark in Vancouver because I had added an Alaska cruise. When I was rebooked I lost my perks. My TA went to bat for me and got my perks back.

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We've mostly booked directly, but our second cruise we booked through a company not completely realizing they acted as a travel agency (just ignorance on our part). We got some small perks, but preferred keeping control of the booking for future cruises.

 

On our 4th cruise I stopped at a local office of the same company (before we just called the 800# and had a district office) but it was quickly obvious that I knew more than the "specialist" for what we wanted and she wouldn't be much help.

 

We've only taken 7 day or less cruises to this point for just hubby and me, but we have some big trips planned in the next 5 years that we wanted to find an agent to help us. On our next cruise we are trying a local agent recommended by a couple we met on a cruise. So far we have received an extra $200 OBC and had our booking included in her group which cut the deposit from $1000 to $500.

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  • 1 month later...

I've used the same TA for about 8 years and for me the advantages of using them have varied but depending on the ship I'm on it can be shipboard credit, bottle of wine/champagne or fruit/cheese platter delivered to my stateroom.  Another advantage is that I like giving my TA my cruise parameters (dates, destinations, ships, budget, etc.) and I let them do the research and report back to me their findings for me to choose from. 

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Lots of people tell you that they get perks from their TA.  So do we but that is not why a good TA is invaluable.  You need someone on your side when the cruise companies try to scr**w you over and then don't want to even talk to you.  A good TA will know whom to call at the cruise line and get your problem fixed.  Right now I have a cruise booked on Azamara and the company is giving me a real hard time.  My TA has made a number of calls to Azamara and will hopefully get the problem fixed.  When I tried to contact Azamara about the problem, the basically said "tough".

 

There have been several other times in the past when she has gone to bat for us and gotten problems solved.  

 

To me this is worth far more than a free bottle of wine or a few bucks of OBC.

 

DON

 

Edited by donaldsc
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Similar to the previous post, I primarily use a TA to resolve any issues that arise pre or post cruise. The additional OBC is also nice, but our preferred cruise line does restrict any promotions/OBC/gifts received from the TA.

 

Don't use them for research and at times even make a provisional booking myself, getting a cabin  we want. Prior to confirming the booking I visit our TA, give her the provisional booking and she completes the process and takes the deposit. 

 

Just knowing we have a voice to resolve any dispute make us happy.

Edited by Heidi13
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On 9/23/2018 at 8:13 PM, donaldsc said:

The cruise line is out to cheat you whenever they can. 

 

DON

Why in the world would you even think about doing business with any company if that is truly your view of them? That is mind boggling.

 

OP, having a TA can be advantageous as noted but it can also have a drawback and that's they own the booking, not you, so you cannot communicate with the cruise line if there is an issue. Of course if you have a good TA this isn't an issue, but finding a good TA can be a daunting task. Personally I've never found one that is worth booking with because of price breaks or perks because we don't get cabins that are that expensive and we would have to use an online TA (I'd want to sit down with them face to face if I could).

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