TA or NCL?

[barb-ottawa]

Is it better to book with a Travel Agent or with NCL directly for cruise and airfaire? I know that when the airfare is booked with the cruise line, they are responsible for getting you to the ship if something happens with your flight, so I am reluctant to try and find better deals on airfaire separate from the cruise line. When flying in the winter, you want to have something to fall back on if your flights are changed or cancelled, but I also don't want to pay a hefty premium when my flights cost as much as the cruise already! Advice would be appreciated.

[inlovewithnolan]

I was wondering the same thing too, also if anyone has booked a cruise through one of the internet agencies. I don't need any info on flights we would drive to ny, just wondering where we would get best deals and if internet can be trusted. Thanks.

[Kryssa]

We try to get the best deal we can and it's usually from a TA. For example, for our next sailing, I saw a free upgrade offer on the NCL website and then called a TA offering OBC and ask if they will combine the NCL free upgrade with their OBC and they did. TAs have more wiggle room in regards to bonuses.

[steviek49]

We try to get the best deal we can and it's usually from a TA. For example, for our next sailing, I saw a free upgrade offer on the NCL website and then called a TA offering OBC and ask if they will combine the NCL free upgrade with their OBC and they did. TAs have more wiggle room in regards to bonuses.

 

We are going on our 9th cruise in April and have always booked with a TA or on-line internet agency.

The price has always been considerably better than booking with NCL. A TA can get all of the promotions NCL is running and can usually throw in considerable OBC, wine, photos into the package while meeting/beating NCL prices.

Also some agencies have group rates.

For example the price of my 2 OCV cabins for our family of 4 in our upcoming April cruise on the SKY was alittle over $800 less using an ON-Line agency than booking through NCL.

In addition they added a bottle of wine per cabin, a photo per cabin and an OBC per cabin. This was a group rate.

Also I believe one should book their own air. You have control over which flight you book, and price. If you are concerned about missing the ship, consider arriving a day early.

[tropicqueen]

Just booked thru an internet co. for 7 days on the Sun 4/16/11.

I checked many different places to see who had the most to offer including NCL. I ended up with $100 obc,coupon book and cabin upgrade.

NCL could only offer the standard upgrade which everyone had.

No good deals on flights for spring break week to Fl, so cashed in our AMX points to help pay for the expensive tickets.

We have used the fly and cruise deal on a Med cruise out of Barcelona because we had to fly back to the U.S. from Rome. Too hard to book 1 way flights for that.

Tropicqueen

[janetz]

Just booked the Dawn. My TA's price was the same as NCL but we did get 100 obc and free insurance. :)

[gargoyle999]

I paying same price as NCL website but got $575 OBC from my TA for a 7 day SF cabin on the Dawn! :D

 

Does NCL really take responsibility to get you to the ship if you are late when you book flights through them?

[tiyana4]

The best advice I can offer is to go with whatever you are comfortable with. It sounds like you are looking for and advocate and some guidance in the event things go wrong with air traffic delays. Just a word of caution, while booking thru the airlines may get you some assistance, proper travel insurance is the only way I know that will cover you should things really go wrong. I have heard horror stories where the cruiselines did little or nothing for stranded guests (i.e. volcano in Ireland, earthquake in Chile, snow in UK, etc.) Don't get lulled into the false sense of security that cruiselines offer with their airfare. Read their terms and conditions very carefully.

 

I personally book our cruises with a TA and book the airfare on my own because I prefer to manage my departure times. I also purchase travel insurance.

[phelios2]

I have always books with PCCs from NCL. The one situation it helped with was in regards to what was supposed to be my last cruise (Dec 2010). I had booked an A3 on the Pearl and had paid amount of the trip already ($2000). Well as things go in the military; I got deployement orders. The PCC (Mandy) changed my trip to the following year; and has kept in touch during the deployment to see how things were going and to notify me of any possible changes (earned $400 OBC). And all of this was at no charge. I agree with the others that say always go with what you feel comfortable with (TA vs NCL) but I have not had any problems by dealing direct with NCL.

 

Take care,

Phelios

[sdmike]

You're going to get a pretty fair split here due to personal preferences (as you can already see). I'm about value, so I go with the cheapest price for the item I want. I have booked all my cruises through a specific agency and in all cases it has been significantly less expensive. On our MR cruise on the Vision, the 11 of us in 3 suites had well over $1k in OBC from our TA, enough to pay out service charges/tips and an excursion or two.

[MMastell]

Go with a TA. They work for you and not the cruise line. If there is a problem who is the cruise line going to go to the mat for? You or the "entity" that signs their check?

 

Second: The cruise line is NOT RESPONSIBLE for any problems with the airline not getting you to your cruise. The cruise line acts as an "agent" of the airline and basically do nothing more than book your airfare for you. If the cruise line does anything for you, if you are late or cannot get to the ship on time, it is a "courtesy" and not a requirement.

 

Don't think the cruise line is required to hold the ship for you if you are delayed or pay for you to get to the next port. Many, many cruisers have found out the hard way this is not always, or usually, true. That's why they have travel insurance that includes "Trip Interruption" protection.

 

Take care,

Mike

[newmexicoNita]

Is it better to book with a Travel Agent or with NCL directly for cruise and airfaire? I know that when the airfare is booked with the cruise line, they are responsible for getting you to the ship if something happens with your flight, so I am reluctant to try and find better deals on airfaire separate from the cruise line. When flying in the winter, you want to have something to fall back on if your flights are changed or cancelled, but I also don't want to pay a hefty premium when my flights cost as much as the cruise already! Advice would be appreciated.

 

you can get an air package regardless of who you book with. There are pro and cons regardless of whether you use the cruise line or a Travel Agent. Two of the positives about an agent, if you get a good one, they will be well informed and able to handle problems if they arrive. Yes, things do come up, beleive me, I have seen my share. Another positive, TAs are more inclined to give perks. A travel agent will have the same price as the cruise line, will offer any promos the cruise line is offering and may, also throw in other perks like OBC, wine, and in some cases insurance. The positive about using the cruise line directly, you have more control over your reservation. If you have questions you can go directly to them and not have to go through an agent. My advise, if you are new at cruising or relatively new, use a good travel agent, they are worth their weight in gold. If you enjoy doing all the work, running around, research etc use the cruise line. Either way the professionalism and the knowledge of the person you are working with can make or break your vacation.

 

Nita

[4774Papa]

Is it better to book with a Travel Agent or with NCL directly for cruise and airfaire? I know that when the airfare is booked with the cruise line, they are responsible for getting you to the ship if something happens with your flight, so I am reluctant to try and find better deals on airfaire separate from the cruise line. When flying in the winter, you want to have something to fall back on if your flights are changed or cancelled, but I also don't want to pay a hefty premium when my flights cost as much as the cruise already! Advice would be appreciated.

 

I always test the on-line airfares before I book with the cruise line. You almost always save booking air separately. Unless you are going to Russia or China, no need to connect the two.

 

I book directly with the cruise lines for our cruises, since the cruises that we like are always fully booked and never discounted.

[roger001]

I shop the NCL web site for their cruise prices. When I've made up my mind as to which cruise and which room I want, I present it to the TA that I deal with. She is an internet TA site located out of state. However, it is a large one and we always have the same TA person. I ask for her best price. It has always been cheaper than NCL. I still continue to monitor that cruise prices, and if I see anything come along that will help me further, I advise the TA, if she hasn't seen it already. I just find it easier to deal personally with the same person either via phone or email, the TA, rather than NCL. For airlines, if I don't drive, I just use SWA and monitor their web prices. We always fly in or drive in a day early.

[CruisinGerman]

From the European perspective (and this opinion is basically for my fellow European cruisers since many of us read and participate in these boards, and is not meant to start a trans-Atlantic debate):

 

It is better to book with a travel agency and it is better to purchase an air/sea package whenever you can and not cruise only plus separate air purchased through another source.

 

Here in the EU, a travel agency takes on joint and several liability together with the cruise line, tour operator, etc. when something goes wrong. So if you book with a travel agency, you have another "spokesperson" through whom to file your claim, who is not allowed to tell you "I'm just the agent -- go to the cruise line".

 

Also, travel agencies are offered the ability to provide discounts and other offers beyond the prices you can find directly with the cruise line.

 

And finally, the advantage of purchasing an air/sea package is that the cruise line is responsible for giving you a full refund (air, cruise and everything else you've purchased in the package) if something goes wrong with the air and you miss the ship, as well as other rights granted by law under these circumstances.

 

Just a different perspective for those participating in the European system.

 

Kind regards,

 

Gunther and Uta

[FLAHAM]

Just bear in mind that from time-to-time a poster on this board is "irate" that NCL won't work with them to resolve a problem, leaving it to the booking TA. You can get some OBC or other concessions from a TA, but you lose the ability to work directly with NCL.

[craig-n-carol]

I just booked a 7 day in Jun 2012 NYC Florida & Bahamas on the Gem for an OS. My TA saved me $1000 off the NCL listed price and $300 OBC and included VIP Trip Insurance. In all I saved $1300 from NCL's asking price with insurance included. Booking my own air so no advice there.

[Burlingtontownie]

Majority opinion favors the TA.

 

I have a cruise in September of this year, and my TA infomed me of an airline flight change that would cause me to not only miss my connecting flight, but I would miss my entire cruise. :eek: With her computer skills, she found another flight, by another connecting route, that would get me to the ship ahead of time, for a Sunday sailing, and no additional charges for the transfer fee. :) God bless her abundantly!

 

I doubt if the cruise line could do that.

 

FRL

[eltigre]

Thats some perks..lower prices, OBC's & added items!!

I want to try this instead of through the Cruise Line where I thought I was getting the best price as they didn't have to payout fees to so many people.

 

To all those booking with TA's are you booking through internet sites or agents in your home towns.

If it is internet how do you end up with the same agent?

How can you tell if you are getting the best deals?

How far ahead do you usually book?

Anything else I need to know before I dive in?

[craig-n-carol]

Thats some perks..lower prices, OBC's & added items!!

I want to try this instead of through the Cruise Line where I thought I was getting the best price as they didn't have to payout fees to so many people.

 

To all those booking with TA's are you booking through internet sites or agents in your home towns.

If it is internet how do you end up with the same agent?

How can you tell if you are getting the best deals?

How far ahead do you usually book?

Anything else I need to know before I dive in?

 

Actually I live in California but my TA (not online) is in upstate NY(recommended by someone at work). For me this was the 2nd cruise I had booked with this agent in the last 2 weeks. We are also going this June on the Pearl to Alaska. On this cruise I saved about $750 from list NCL for our AB Family Suite, but no OBC. So I decided to inquire about next year for the Florida Bahamas on the Gem in June, and this was what she was able to do for an OS - $2001/pp, $300 OBC, VIP Travel Guard Insurance Included. List right now for an OS is $2499/pp. Not sure about OBC with NCL. My TA offer looked really good to me so I jumped on it.

[grannyp]

I have always books with PCCs from NCL. The one situation it helped with was in regards to what was supposed to be my last cruise (Dec 2010). I had booked an A3 on the Pearl and had paid amount of the trip already ($2000). Well as things go in the military; I got deployement orders. The PCC (Mandy) changed my trip to the following year; and has kept in touch during the deployment to see how things were going and to notify me of any possible changes (earned $400 OBC). And all of this was at no charge. I agree with the others that say always go with what you feel comfortable with (TA vs NCL) but I have not had any problems by dealing direct with NCL.

 

Take care,

Phelios

Thank you for your service! As to the T.A. versus N.C.L. I check with online sites and call my N.C.L. consultant and ask if she can meet their price or come close. I might not get some of the extras but I always feel safer with her guidance than an unknown and she gets us the best price. I guess I am a little freaked at an online agency. Maybe one day I will get bold and try one, all those extras sound mighty appealing.

[KevinsCruising]

A good travel agent is worth their weight in gold. Sometimes a travel agent will have group space held on a cruise that they held when the prices were cheaper then what they are now. That savings gets passed on to you. :D

[newmexicoNita]

Thank you for your service! As to the T.A. versus N.C.L. I check with online sites and call my N.C.L. consultant and ask if she can meet their price or come close. I might not get some of the extras but I always feel safer with her guidance than an unknown and she gets us the best price. I guess I am a little freaked at an online agency. Maybe one day I will get bold and try one, all those extras sound mighty appealing.

 

As of about 3 months ago, the prices will be identical so unless you are searching for perks that rarely the cruise line can or will match, you can pretty much just work with your NCL rep. This goes for RCI/Celebrity as well. The other lines might have different prices.

 

Nita

[SilentHill]

I found a TA that will bring me to the pier in NYC and back about 150 miles each way for free. Now that is worth it's weight in gold. I'll def be booking with this TA soon.

[4774Papa]

A good travel agent is worth their weight in gold. Sometimes a travel agent will have group space held on a cruise that they held when the prices were cheaper then what they are now. That savings gets passed on to you. :D

 

 

Perhaps it depends on the cruise. Our cruises are normally to Europe or South America and book up fully. I have never seen the bargains through a TA or groups like vacations to go, etc. I have seen bargains on caribbean crusies, especially in the October-Jan period.