How do you book your cruise?

[MCC retired]

Carnival just recently announced to the TA world , that 17% of their bookings are made directly with them (online & PVP).

 

Reading CC postings you would think that most people book direct?:confused:

 

TA's still book 83% of their cruises. That's down from the 95% that I recall

from my early years as a TA. Mainly due to the internet is my guess.

 

Yes, my friends still in the TA buisness dislike ES .

Some charge a fee for ES changes , most do not (yet) .

There is still money to be made but not on those 3/4/5 night cruises.

 

Seems , despite TA's explaining the rules and penalties for booking ES , clients still blame them, and not CCL , when the ES rules come back to bite them ($).

[crusinpsychRN]

I'm going to start using the big auto club b/c I'll get free insurance!

[mrpayroll]

Used to do it on Carnival website, but now call PVP to get ALL the available cabins.

[Haoie]

My first was with a TA, who was super helpful.

 

I think I'll go with that for next time.

[BlueC5Kitten]

Private TAs, local TAs, credit card travel groups and online at Carnival.com...mostly, the results have been the same regardless with whom I booked. :)

[halos]

I book on line with a cruise only TA.

The rates are the same across the board because of the regulations but this agency has points per dollar spent that you can use towards a list of nice 'gifts'...I always opt for OBC and usually get anywhere from $50 to $300 per sailing, depending on how much I spend (which usually is based on how many days the sailing is).

 

If I have any issues, there is always a humna to speak with. I've been using them since 2004 and I love them. The only time I haven't used them was when I was joining a group cruise.

[Ditchdoctor]

We book directly through Carnival. We have actually used the same agent for our last three Cruises. We have actually got to know him pretty well.