Booking With US Sites & US TA's

[NSWP]

The internet/on line cruise agents is/are the high street travel agents worse nightmare.

 

I never use a high street Travel Agent now, do it all myself on the 'net, as many of us do. Much easier to scan prices re flights, cruises, hotels yourself and buy cheaper.

[The_Big_M]

Just give us one international price for cruises and include the autotip and we would be happy and content little cruisers.

 

Actually, far from it. That would mean then that people would be risking adverse currency movements, unless they paid everything upfront.

 

Given the adverse reactions last time the AUD fell, and abuse that was passed on to the cruise lines/TAs for the increase in cost, that definitely wouldn't go down well. People don't want to pay 100% up front either given mentions about risking deposits and using other booking letters.

 

The only alternative therefore is local pricing, though local offices.

 

But I doubt it will ever happen. The Cruise Lines want to attract their mass market - North Americans.

 

I think people would criticise P&O massively if they appeared to favour overseas customers over Australians... yet that appears to be what you are implying something is wrong with here.

 

The companies being talked about are mostly American, and have most of their customers from there, so it's both sensible and reasonable that they would primarily cater for them.

[JindaleeJan]

My husband and I did a Mediterranean cruise in June-July this year. I had been following prices through a large US travel agent's newsletters and naively thought a year ago that an Aus travel agent would match their prices.

 

We were keen to go on Ruby Princess in a balcony cabin because dates and ports of call suited us best. The US price converted to Aus dollars was about $3400AUS, whereas the Princess price in Australia and from the Aus travel agent was about $4650 (per person cruise only for 12 nights). I let the Aus travel agent scare me and did not want to take the risk of booking with the US agent.

 

I felt ripped off by this price difference so did further research. By comparison, Royal Caribbean's price, $3378 (also for 12 nights balcony) was only $200 or $300 dearer than the US price. We voted with our feet and had a brilliant time on Brilliance of the Seas in a huge balcony cabin. I think with taxes and tips, it was $3740 each, still a lot less than Ruby Princess.

 

On the Brilliance roll calls, I was chatting with another Aussie who had booked the same cruise for May using the US online agent. All went fine for her but she said when she got back that she did not think she would be able to book through them in future.

 

I am interested to know how recently those of you who have had no trouble with US bookings have travelled. Has it been in the last few months?

[nenasmum]

Hi

We went on Independence of the Seas this year- absolutley brilliant- booked with a US travel agent. We changed cabins and dates and the US agent was fantastic - getting us a balcony cabin when none were showing up on the RCL website. In comparisons I was tentatively trying to book Princess with a few Australian agents and they either did not follow up on my initial visit to the agency or did and then did not follow up on future questions.

My 4 cruises next year are all either booked with US agencies or directly with the line- Carnival in this case- in the US. As well as superior service I like the flexibility of cancellation/changes as well as the cruise credits offered by the US booking system. It is my understanding that only SOME lines- Princess and I think HAL - won't let Australians book through the US. RCL did stop it for a short while but now seems to have revearsed the decision. Carnival itself has no problems with bookings direct form Australial to their US site.

[kenexx]

Some companies are more strict than others. I use an 'interline' site in the states for industry discount on my cruises. Lately HAL have been not allowing non us residents to book through them. I also heard Princess was doing the same. I last cruised out of the states 12 months ago and no such problem and have cruised with RCCL, HAL and CCL in the USA.

 

Flygirlb737 I am also eligible for interline deals. I contacted the large Canadian interline agent about a year ago and specifically asked about booking Princess.

They said it was fine. However about a month ago after enquiring about a Panama Canal Princess cruise they said they could not book us. There are however still agents out there in the US that will book us. We have never had any trouble boarding after being booked by US agents.

 

Just a very annoying scare campaign but Aussie agents to frighten people.

[Annabelle100]

Cruising is new to us. We, naively, paid too much, I fear , for our forthcoming cruise . We looked at online prices and chose the cheapest but it was Aus sites .

 

I've now learnt that price depends on nationality. We are learning.

 

How do we find a TA, in Aus or OS, that we can trust to know how this dark industry works ?

[flygirlb737]

My friend did a cruise with HAL and booked through a US agent and they told her not to complete the 'cruise personaliser' until the day before incase they offloaded her because the was from Australia. The agent figured they wouldn't be able to cancel her the day before after she had flown from OZ.

[Annabelle100]

Hello Elisha,

 

It adds some stress if you are not sure you can get on the ship, despite having paid in full. Are cruise personalisers still open that close to leaving?

 

If I can find a US agent to sell me a cruise in the future, I'll pick an embarkation port in Aus. If the worst happens, at least I am still "home".

Ann

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

My friend did a cruise with HAL and booked through a US agent and they told her not to complete the 'cruise personaliser' until the day before incase they offloaded her because the was from Australia. The agent figured they wouldn't be able to cancel her the day before after she had flown from OZ.

 

 

How could HAL offload her, if she has paid in full for the cruise, and the cruiseline had both accepted her deposit and the balance paid for the cruise.

Seems strange to me, maybe something dodgy with the T/A there.

 

Jillybean:)

[Guest012]

How could HAL offload her, if she has paid in full for the cruise, and the cruiseline had both accepted her deposit and the balance paid for the cruise.

Seems strange to me, maybe something dodgy with the T/A there.

 

Jillybean:)

 

 

Something dodgy about the other posters statement full stop....by that late in the day HAL would already have all the pax details including their passport,nationality etc.....:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: shiona

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

We are currently in Fort Lauderdale Florida and disembarked off the Celebrity Constellation this morning. We had a wonderful cruise and cruised with some wonderful people. The Celebrity Constellation is an amazing ship, the service was fantastic, the food wonderful, the atmosphere was friendly and everyone had a ball.

 

We didn't book with an aussie TA. What does that tell you?

[MMDown Under]

We are currently in Fort Lauderdale Florida and disembarked off the Celebrity Constellation this morning. We had a wonderful cruise and cruised with some wonderful people. The Celebrity Constellation is an amazing ship' date=' the service was fantastic, the food wonderful, the atmosphere was friendly and everyone had a ball.

 

We didn't book with an aussie TA. What does that tell you?[/quote']

 

It tells me that if the cruise industry wants to encourage more Australians/NZs to cruise overseas more often, they have to permit them to buy cruises, at competitive prices, on the open market, like other members of the travel industry do.

 

Pleased to hear you had a wonderful cruise on Celebrity Constellation, Eileen. Have a safe flight home.

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

It tells me that if the cruise industry wants to encourage more Australians/NZs to cruise overseas more often, they have to permit them to buy cruises, at competitive prices, on the open market, like other members of the travel industry do.

 

Pleased to hear you had a wonderful cruise on Celebrity Constellation, Eileen. Have a safe flight home.

 

Thanks Marion! Talk to you soon on our thread :D

[thied]

Just recieved an email from two ta's one is an usa based TA is 10day cruise with free air from usa to usa and the cruise is to Barcelona to Athens price $3499 for a balcony cabin plus to $1000 OBC

 

The auzzi TA's price for the same cruise and same cat cabin is $5230 plus all air fares.

both prices are in usa

[cotton93]

FYI ......... we booked 2 cruises whilst on Oasis of the Seas in September ...... as you already know the booking goes to your T/A, no problems with the bookings going to our US agent.

 

Then when we contacted our US agent when we arrived home we received more OBC :).

[NSWP]

I don't really think the cruise companies care how many Aussies book cruises away from Australia. For instance take Crown Princess last year in the Med and British Isles, ship had 3100 pax on board, sailing full, guess how many Aussies on board? 8 !

 

That is the reason the discounting goes to the North American market.

 

Sure they like to fill up the Sun Princess and the P&O Australia ships up around Oz/Nz and the Islands and the Dawn Princess on the 104 day World Cruises with the lure of no auto tips, but apart from that they don't give hoot about us, if they did we too would be able to book with US t/a's. The Aussies booking with US T/a's or using a defacto Aussie t/a to book through USA must be given a US address to slip through the wire, so to speak. Otherwise I don't know how they get away with it.

[MMDown Under]

I don't really think the cruise companies care how many Aussies book cruises away from Australia. For instance take Crown Princess last year in the Med and British Isles, ship had 3100 pax on board, sailing full, guess how many Aussies on board? 8 !

 

That is the reason the discounting goes to the North American market.

 

Sure they like to fill up the Sun Princess and the P&O Australia ships up around Oz/Nz and the Islands and the Dawn Princess on the 104 day World Cruises with the lure of no auto tips, but apart from that they don't give hoot about us, if they did we too would be able to book with US t/a's. The Aussies booking with US T/a's or using a defacto Aussie t/a to book through USA must be given a US address to slip through the wire, so to speak. Otherwise I don't know how they get away with it.

 

Not all cruise lines.

 

On my last transatlantic cruise with MSC in September, from Kiel Germany to New York, Australians were in the majority - approx 1800 passengers out of 3000, from memory.

 

On MSC's recent transatlantic from Venice to Rio, 180 of the 300 English speaking passengers were Australian.

 

I think MSC, a privately owned company, is being very clever by building up brand loyalty amongst Australians, which will pay dividends when they eventually cruise to Asia and Australia.

 

I suspect that there are US TAs who provide so much business to the cruise lines, the cruise lines turn a blind eye to residency restrictions, as long as the US TAs are discreet. Those I know, who use US TAs, for overseas cruises, use their Australian addresses.

[dougo in oz]

I think MSC, a privately owned company, is being very clever by building up brand loyalty amongst Australians, which will pay dividends when they eventually cruise to Asia and Australia.

 

A good marketing campaign and very cheap fares / air fares thrown in etc will snare many people but if the passengers don't like the cruise line, they may not go back.

 

I did an 18 night cruise with MSC in 2006 and you'd have to pay me to do another one with them and even then I would think about it for a while. Based on some reviews I've read over the past few months, I know that others feel the same way - it seems that people either like them or loathe them.

[jued1]

I don't really think the cruise companies care how many Aussies book cruises away from Australia. For instance take Crown Princess last year in the Med and British Isles, ship had 3100 pax on board, sailing full, guess how many Aussies on board? 8 !

 

That is the reason the discounting goes to the North American market.

 

Sure they like to fill up the Sun Princess and the P&O Australia ships up around Oz/Nz and the Islands and the Dawn Princess on the 104 day World Cruises with the lure of no auto tips, but apart from that they don't give hoot about us, if they did we too would be able to book with US t/a's. The Aussies booking with US T/a's or using a defacto Aussie t/a to book through USA must be given a US address to slip through the wire, so to speak. Otherwise I don't know how they get away with it.

We booked a cruise in June through a US TA and we never had to supplier anything but our own address and details. The statement we received was that the shipping lines turn a blind eye and do not enforce the issue. The ship was the Ruby Princess and we never had any issues!

[NSWP]

Yes MSC is marketing very nicely to Aussies, I had friends on the MSC Poesia - Kiel to NY cruise in September, 2 for 1 fares and same next year I believe. I was told plenty of Italian food on MSC.

 

Good on MSC for looking after the Aussies and winning some loyalty.

[flygirlb737]

Bagderbill,

 

Nothing dodgey about me at all and I take offence to your implication.

 

My comments are, as I have written in previous posts, related to Interline bookings in the USA for Australian travellers. Unless you are a Travel Agent in the USA dealing with Interline travellers in Australia, I suggest you keep ignorant comments to yourself in future.

[mikeyg0]

The Aussies booking with US T/a's or using a defacto Aussie t/a to book through USA must be given a US address to slip through the wire, so to speak. Otherwise I don't know how they get away with it.

 

Well I book through a US TA, and I never have to provide a US address.

 

When booking, the website asks you to pick what US state you live in. I pick 'Florida' (this is what the TA I spoke to told me to do) but then when it asks for the passenger details (the next step) you can pick your citizenship as Australian, and then finally when it asks for your billing address, Australia in available in the drop down list.

 

Once booked, I go into cruise personalized and enter my Aussie address etc for Princess. Easy ;)

[Guest012]

Bagderbill,

 

Nothing dodgey about me at all and I take offence to your implication.

 

My comments are, as I have written in previous posts, related to Interline bookings in the USA for Australian travellers. Unless you are a Travel Agent in the USA dealing with Interline travellers in Australia, I suggest you keep ignorant comments to yourself in future.

 

 

Show me where it says you're dodgy:confused::confused::confused::confused:....the statement is dodgy .... Trade customers aren't special the same rules apply when it comes to the pax cruise personalizer .. no matter where you live or pretend to.. so i stand by what i said....and yes i have been in the trade so i am not the complete ignoramus you so obviously think i am...perhaps the ignorant comment maker here is in fact the interline travel consultant.........

.

 

Les we never use a bogus address, now that would be giving the cruiseline a valid reason to offload you, and have no problems booking through our U.S agency....cheers Shiona

[crestaone]

i have been dealing with booking through the usa for a while, u should know that its not a government thing its a cruise company thing, there are some who allow it others dont- my understanding is that the following companies allow booking from outside of the usa (this means all countries except mexico)

carnival,regent,disney,silversea,windstar, crystal,seabourne,norwegian

all others are no go. even though I have a good history with princess, i they wont allow me to book direct, I wrote to the CEO who did not give me the curtosey of a reply.

 

why well theres more profit for them if we book in OZ the way the $ exchange rate works:mad:

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

Why would anyone need to use a bogus address when booking with a US T/A. No matter who you book your cruise through one of the first things you provide with your deposit for your cruise is your Loyalty number for the cruise line, that number is attached to your address and personal details. So obviously both the T/A and the cruiseline know your address from the beginning..

 

I rest my case..... this is all about Australian T/A's trying to scare the public because they know they are loosing their customers to the better overseas T/A's.

Jillybean:)