So why would you use a discount agency?

[Jade13]

I actually don't know and didn't ask. I honestly don't know the specifics of how a group rate might work and if it applies to a number of cabins in a specific category or cuts across the whole inventory. We booked a specific cat S so not even a guarantee. Obviously the savings, due to the category, was a nice chunk of change.

 

Thanks.

[NoWhiners]

We booked online through one of those warehouse type stores..saved right around 11%, plus received a nice little OBC, quite pleased with how easy it was.

 

We book our cruises this way all the time--great service and prices. get other things too, plus their insurance costs less than HALs and includes pre-existing conditions if purchased at time of cruise. Not a big deal for us now but maybe someday!! Also, if price goes down, they charge $25 to rebook and you don't lose any of your previously booked stuff-cabin, dining, etc. For our next cruise to panama canal, we told our cousins what prices were. they couldn't find any place to beat the prices, so we are now on the hook for final payments for 3 cabins in January !!!! We are happy to use our membership to help but it will stress out credit cards that month!!

 

ML

[cruise kitty]

We book our cruises this way all the time--great service and prices. get other things too, plus their insurance costs less than HALs and includes pre-existing conditions if purchased at time of cruise. Not a big deal for us now but maybe someday!! Also, if price goes down, they charge $25 to rebook and you don't lose any of your previously booked stuff-cabin, dining, etc. For our next cruise to panama canal, we told our cousins what prices were. they couldn't find any place to beat the prices, so we are now on the hook for final payments for 3 cabins in January !!!! We are happy to use our membership to help but it will stress out credit cards that month!!

 

ML

 

Yeah, I couldn't believe how cheap the insurance was, & how much it covers, good deal!

[James_TheVirus]

Through an online agency, I got a price that was 13% lower than the advertised HAL price. I also got a Cat E guarantee instead of a Cat H guarantee, and a small OBC/PG for 2. It really wasn't a comparison once it was laid out that way.

[NoWhiners]

Yeah, I couldn't believe how cheap the insurance was, & how much it covers, good deal!

 

I just can't figure out why more people don't use this option? fast, cheap, and no loss to "rebook" if price goes down. Almost too good to be true.

 

I get that everyone has their own criteria but we really like this option and have saved a bunch of money (and book our pre-and post-cruise hotels by using priceline and hotwire!!)

 

ML

[lovetocruise2020]

Why use a discount agency? The answer is simple, To save money." Sure there are price controls enforced by the cruise lines (some might call this price fixing) but there are still savings to be had by those willing to do a little shopping. Some agencies will often have group rates or certain promotional rates which are discounted. And there are other incentives such as on-board credits. We recently booked a Princendam cruise with a discount agency and received a $1050 on board credit which was not available from HA. The savings do vary by cruise but it always pays to shop.

 

Hank

 

HANK!

How did you get that?

OMG!

[Hlitner]

HANK!

How did you get that?

OMG!

 

It was actually just a few clicks of the mouse. We do a lot of cruising (like many HA cruisers) and have developed our own "short list" of favored online TAs. Whenever we book a cruise we simply check each of our favorite agencies plus the cruise line web site (this probably takes me about 15 min) and book with whoever has the best overall deal. For the Prinsendam cruise two of my "favorite" TAs had pretty decent OBCs. Keep in mind that we are talking about a 41 day cruise, so the $1050 is nice but not surprising. This agency also had a rate that was slightly lower than the HA rate which added to the savings. About the only time we could not find a decent deal was on a recent Queen Mary 2 TA cruise where everyone had nearly the same price and there were no OBCs. We also add to our savings by using Stockholders OBCs which are available to anyone who owns 100 shares of CCL stock.

 

Hank

[m steve]

when we receive our net bill w/ all her discounts, obcs and other allowances we are billed on our credit card by HAL and not her office or master company so HAL must know there are price consessions and they don't care. Maybe they are only concerned about advertising the price. Just received a special email offer from HAL and thought we would book an additional cruise this year and thry a Deluxe suite. When I called to book it she advised our price would be $200 less pp than HAL was offering. I guess they had a block of rooms they needed to sell. I gather that HAL send them a check once the cruise is complete rather than having them deduct their commission.

[AZNative2000]

We also add to our savings by using Stockholders OBCs which are available to anyone who owns 100 shares of CCL stock.

 

Hank

 

We were able to do that this time too. And as long as you own the stock and keep cruising, you can get the OBC each time.:)

[Shippy]

TA's are no longer (I believe) allowed to advertise a lower price. So, you have to call. Sometimes they will have a group rate or will just kick back part of their commission. The best prices these days are with TA's who have a group rate. It might only be on certain category cabins, but not the one you want.

 

It is about what the agency CAN ADVERTISE !

Some of them have specials that get emailed to people to people who have signed up with them.

We just sailed on a Royal Carribean cruise for hundreds less than advertised anywhere else because of an email sale from an online agency. RoyalC. was one of the first for this 'price fixing' but it is for ADVERTISED prices.

We also enjoy getting OBC, spa services, etc. thrown in from these agencies.

Also, I ALWAYS get to talk to someone before final click to book. I think there is a lot of confusion about the ability to really get to speak to a live person if you book online. Look at the different sites, they all have help phone numbers you can call.

[Host Walt]

The trick is finding one like that. CC doesn't allow anyone to answer if we ask.

 

 

That's very true, but we all had to do our own homework... ;) It takes some searching. to find a good TA...

 

We also happened to use a TA which advertised on Cruise Critic in the beginning..

 

In addition on your first cruise, join the Roll Call...When you meet other posters you can ask them in person the name of their TA..Just don't do it on these boards..

 

Cheers....Betty

 

We don't permit recommendations of travel agents for several reasons; the main ones being that there are a whole lot of variables that can influence a member's evaluation ranging from unreasonable expectations of the services to promoting a brother-in-law's business.

 

For those who don't have a "go to" agency yet, or who handle all details themselves, Cruise Critic has this article that you might find helpful:

 

Finding a Cruise Travel Agent

Consider joining the 75 percent of cruisers who book through a travel agent for expert advice and personal service.

[world~citizen]

 

 

We don't permit recommendations of travel agents for several reasons; the main ones being that there are a whole lot of variables that can influence a member's evaluation ranging from unreasonable expectations of the services to promoting a brother-in-law's business.

 

For those who don't have a "go to" agency yet, or who handle all details themselves, Cruise Critic has this article that you might find helpful:

 

Finding a Cruise Travel Agent

Consider joining the 75 percent of cruisers who book through a travel agent for expert advice and personal service.

 

Also if you did, I have a feeling CC would become saturated with TA testimonials and recommendations.

 

Might become TA Critic. :D

[serendipity1499]

Good article Walt...Thanks for posting it..

Cheers...:)Betty

[grammie2maddie]

We will be sailing in November on the NA for our 40th anniversary. We used a local TA to originally book this cruise, although we found the cruise, itinerary and details ourselves. When we used her previously she was great - even got us a 2 for 1 deal on our balcony cabin. This time she charged us top dollar with no perks - nearly $3000 more than we ended up finally paying.

We then found the same cruise much cheaper and booked it (after we had cancelled with local TA). The internet happily took our money, but then we could never get her to answer our phone calls for questions, dinner seating, etc.. We were not allowed to talk with anyone else at the agency either - we had to talk to the orignal sales person only. We called multiple times, left messages, emailed with no response.

We then found out we could transfer the booking to an agency that is used by our banking/insurance institution, which we did. We ended up with a much lower price than the local TA - however, WE did all the work. We have no perks at all added.

We would love to find a local TA, but we have to friends that cruise or other people that could refer someone to us.

I've read all the comments on the various boards, and I know that CC can't do recommendations, but is there any other way someone could help us find an agent or internet TA that is trustworthy and honest? I honestly do not know how to find a TA or agency. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[Jade13]

We will be sailing in November on the NA for our 40th anniversary. We used a local TA to originally book this cruise, although we found the cruise, itinerary and details ourselves. When we used her previously she was great - even got us a 2 for 1 deal on our balcony cabin. This time she charged us top dollar with no perks - nearly $3000 more than we ended up finally paying.

 

We then found the same cruise much cheaper and booked it (after we had cancelled with local TA). The internet happily took our money, but then we could never get her to answer our phone calls for questions, dinner seating, etc.. We were not allowed to talk with anyone else at the agency either - we had to talk to the orignal sales person only. We called multiple times, left messages, emailed with no response.

 

We then found out we could transfer the booking to an agency that is used by our banking/insurance institution, which we did. We ended up with a much lower price than the local TA - however, WE did all the work. We have no perks at all added.

 

We would love to find a local TA, but we have to friends that cruise or other people that could refer someone to us.

 

I've read all the comments on the various boards, and I know that CC can't do recommendations, but is there any other way someone could help us find an agent or internet TA that is trustworthy and honest? I honestly do not know how to find a TA or agency. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I am surprised you did not have a problem canceling with the first two agents. Or that you didn't have a problem transferring a booking from the second agent to another.

[iancal]

We follow some very basic steps when dealing with an on line TA or a B&M agency (for some reason people seem to think that B&M agencies don't go out of business)..

 

-our credit card payment must be made through the cruise line....we always pay by cc in order to get points and for added protection. If this is not the case, we will not book, no matter the price saving.

-once we get confirmation, we immediated check our cruise line reservation number on the cruise line web site

-we never take or assume that the TA insurance is good...frankly if they have NOT paid their insurance for any reason whatsoever, then our coverage is gone. If we want insurance, we buy it ourselves from a primary insurer

-we never book with an agency that charges for cancellation, charges for repricing if the cruise line has reduced prices, or charges for changing cabins (if the cruise line has shrunk the pricing table allowing us to move up at no charge)

-we place no value on freebees such as a bottle of wine. We only take into account the fare charged plus applicable taxes, less any OBC's that are included. For us, this is net price

Following these basic steps have saved us a considerable amount of money over the past few years.

[serendipity1499]

We will be sailing in November on the NA for our 40th anniversary. We used a local TA to originally book this cruise, although we found the cruise, itinerary and details ourselves. When we used her previously she was great - even got us a 2 for 1 deal on our balcony cabin. This time she charged us top dollar with no perks - nearly $3000 more than we ended up finally paying.

 

We then found the same cruise much cheaper and booked it (after we had cancelled with local TA). The internet happily took our money, but then we could never get her to answer our phone calls for questions, dinner seating, etc.. We were not allowed to talk with anyone else at the agency either - we had to talk to the orignal sales person only. We called multiple times, left messages, emailed with no response.

 

We then found out we could transfer the booking to an agency that is used by our banking/insurance institution, which we did. We ended up with a much lower price than the local TA - however, WE did all the work. We have no perks at all added.

 

We would love to find a local TA, but we have to friends that cruise or other people that could refer someone to us.

 

I've read all the comments on the various boards, and I know that CC can't do recommendations, but is there any other way someone could help us find an agent or internet TA that is trustworthy and honest? I honestly do not know how to find a TA or agency. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I'm surprised too that you were able to change TA's .However as we've said you have to go on-line & call the Agents..

Read the article that Host Walt posted on Cruise Critic..It's very informative & a good start..It also tells you how to check out your Travel agent..

Call them several times & ask them if you can have a direct line to them or their extension..Our TA is not in our hometown..He works with a large Florida Agency from Tuesday to Saturday only..I have no trouble getting our TA on the phone..We can call & talk to him any time..If I'm looking for a quote or something else, I'll sometimes e-mail him directly & then he'll normally call me back within a few hours..When the price of our cruise came down before final payment, my Friend & I phoned him & he immediately returned our call & quoted the new price..We received the written e-mail confirmation within an hour..

We had a cabin change & HAL put the wrong dining time in the new cabin..I discovered it last Sunday when printing our boarding passes..Since the TA was not working until Tues. at 10:a.m., I e-mailed him on Sunday about the errror..On Tuesday morning at 10:45 he called me & had the new dining time confirmed in our HAL PNR..I was able to print our boarding passes within the hour.In case of emergency I can call the main number of our TA & get someone else to help me if our Agent is not in the office..

As mentioned before, join your roll call..You will meet people on board who might be able to give you a recommendation, but always check out the agent..

good luck...

Cheers....:)Betty

[grammie2maddie]

I am surprised you did not have a problem canceling with the first two agents. Or that you didn't have a problem transferring a booking from the second agent to another.

 

Well, with the the local TA - we just cancelled the entire cruise - no problem - we had only put down a deposit. The $ went straight to HAL, so they refunded our cc.

With the online agency - after we had decided on the final agency - a form had to be sent to the internet agency which they had to sign to release the booking. They had (by law) 48 hours to respond. We called the internet agency to explain the situation and to see if they would comply and sign the release. We finally talked to a supervisor who told us they would not sign or even acknowledge the form. We were told they would just ignore it. We waited the required 48 hours - the online agency didn't sign, and the booking was automatically transferred to the final agency.

In the meantime we had called HAL because we feared that somehow our cruise and all the reservations, shore excursions we had planned would be cancelled. My husb talked to a very nice, knowledgeable woman at HAL who assured us this transfer procedure happened 'all the time'. She put everything we had planned on hold until the final agency finalized the transfer. It was a little nerve wracking waiting, but it did, in the end, go very smoothly.

Now I'm VERY hesitant to use any online agency - that's why I posted the orignal post. We need help!

[grammie2maddie]

I'm surprised too that you were able to change TA's .However as we've said you have to go on-line & call the Agents..

 

Read the article that Host Walt posted on Cruise Critic..It's very informative & a good start..It also tells you how to check out your Travel agent..

 

Call them several times & ask them if you can have a direct line to them or their extension..Our TA is not in our hometown..He works with a large Florida Agency from Tuesday to Saturday only..I have no trouble getting our TA on the phone..We can call & talk to him any time..If I'm looking for a quote or something else, I'll sometimes e-mail him directly & then he'll normally call me back within a few hours..When the price of our cruise came down before final payment, my Friend & I phoned him & he immediately returned our call & quoted the new price..We received the written e-mail confirmation within an hour..

 

We had a cabin change & HAL put the wrong dining time in the new cabin..I discovered it last Sunday when printing our boarding passes..Since the TA was not working until Tues. at 10:a.m., I e-mailed him on Sunday about the errror..On Tuesday morning at 10:45 he called me & had the new dining time confirmed in our HAL PNR..I was able to print our boarding passes within the hour.In case of emergency I can call the main number of our TA & get someone else to help me if our Agent is not in the office..

 

As mentioned before, join your roll call..You will meet people on board who might be able to give you a recommendation, but always check out the agent..

 

good luck...

 

Cheers....:)Betty

 

We did call - several times - before we booked with the online agency. As I said, they were VERY helpful - until they got our $ - then we could not get the agent on the phone - AT ALL. She kept emailing us, saying the phones were out of order, she would call the next day, when she got back in, etc., etc.. The ONLY time she called us was when she found out we had transferred agencies - she didn't understand why we had switched. I felt that we had done our homework - maybe we just got a 'bad' agent. It was very difficult, though.

[m steve]

I know we can't say who our TA is or how to contact them but then I get several email messages from Cruise Critic about booking a cruise with them or their agency. Isn't this a little hypocritical? I never see anyone posting about using them as their agent.

[sunny54]

Use an online agency....all the cruise prices are the same (any agency or through HAL), but they will offer OBC, insurance, dinners at specialty restaurants, etc.

[m steve]

from my TA. Lower prices, obcs,and a discount on every cruise. Because they are part of a national group they often have blocks of cabins reserved and they get a better price for buying a bock of cabins from HAL. I haven't found an online agency that was less.