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Book through a travel agent or directly with Windstar


Barrycat
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I recently started a new thread complaining about the fact that I have seen a strong tightening of the purse strings at Windstar. I have always booked directly with the company and have usually been able to negotiate bonuses such as upgrades, WiFi, laundry and others. That seem to be a thing of the past based on my recent booking of a 26 day cruise.

That raised my question in the earlier thread about the extra benefits of booking with a TA vs directly with Windstar. Some responses mentioned convenience with a TA. Not sure how but I’ll accept that for some, particularly less experienced cruisers. The EXTRAS I was looking for ranged in the responses from $30 in on board credit for a $5000 booking to $700 obc from another person. It’s just me but if I was dealing with a TA who got 15% on that $5000 and then gave me $30, I’d be looking for a new TA just on principal.

The point is, the benefits of a TA vs Windstar direct clearly depends on what T A you are using. The lesson I learned is, if I decide to use a TA, make sure I’m ok with what they are offering ME as a result of giving them my cruise business. As I mentioned, I have always booked my cruises directly with Windstar, all nine of them, and it’s not hard or complicated. If I’m giving a TA this relatively easy chore, I expect to be reasonably rewarded.

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  • 1 month later...

I wish there was an easy way to explain this to you, but there is not. It is apparent that you have sailed with Windstar quite a bit and may have more specific knowledge of that line than many TAs. A travel agent can give you the personal service which you already know. When you book with a local TA remember that you are also keeping your business local. Many travel agencies are members of a travel consortia (Signature Travel Network, Ensemble, Virtuoso, etc) Those consortia give travel agencies more buying power with the cruise lines in the form of group fares as well as special amenities given the members of the consortia by cruise lines (extra OBC, private car & driver shore ex, etc.) Most TAs will not kick back any of their commission to the client in the form of OBC as that is widely frowned upon by the cruise industry. Even though your booking might be 5K - keep in mind that TAs do not get 15% of that. There are non-commissionables, port taxes and fees that the TA does not earn commission on. Large OTAs do sometimes offer a better rate or more OBC but the volume they book is far greater than your local TA who cannot possibly compete with them and still stay in business.

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  • 2 weeks later...

You do seem to be quite knowledgeable about Windstar--but my advice is to use a travel agent with Windstar due to the commonality of reservation and billing complaints. A travel agent may not save you money (the way prices are done now I would not count on this) but the agent may give you some perks through the agency. The important thing is having someone with a good sized book of business to call Windstar out and help you out when billing/office things , which are a Windstar weak point, go wrong.

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In hindsight, I would only use a TA if it was someone I knew and trusted. My mistake was booking with a TA I did not know, because she offered an OBC.

 

I soon learned that Windstar will not even discuss billing issues with you if you use a TA. And we did have multiple billing problems with Windstar. If your TA is not willing to go to bat for you (and ours wasn’t), then you have no recourse. If you book directly, at least you can advocate for yourself.

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In hindsight, I would only use a TA if it was someone I knew and trusted. My mistake was booking with a TA I did not know, because she offered an OBC.

 

I soon learned that Windstar will not even discuss billing issues with you if you use a TA. And we did have multiple billing problems with Windstar. If your TA is not willing to go to bat for you (and ours wasn’t), then you have no recourse. If you book directly, at least you can advocate for yourself.

 

The other way to look at this is that from much experience WS is fairly inept at handling such things. I happen to be the beneficiary of a relationship with a world class travel agent (only for cruises and the occasional hotel). He went to bat for us during the great Costa Rican grounding incident a couple years ago. WS was in full crisis mode, the agents didn't know squat, WS was sending out conflicting information every day, and you'd be on hold forever. Our agent, who has access to a special group of WS agents, went to bat, repeatedly and over many months and in the end got more compensation that I'd expected. If I'd even had the time to do what he did, I wouldn't have had access to the same resources.

 

In the end I either get some small number of benefits or I pay the same amount. So, I don't see what I'm losing by using a trusted TA.

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Not surprised, some differing opinions.

I didn’t get the impression from responses that booking through a TA resulted in a avalanche of goodies. I have established a relationship with a couple of Windstar planners over the years and in my case it has paid off. Although not predictable and somewhat sporadic, I have received additional liquor packages, obc, WiFi, laundry and other benefits above what is advertised over my nine cruises. I guess if I was new to Windstar or in the future if I decide to try another cruise line, I might seek guidance from a TA, but for me, dealing directly with Windstar has been the right choice.

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