Question about transferring booking to Travel Agent

[5kitty]

I recently booked a cruise through Princess. We often use a Travel Agent but have never passed a cruise booking over to ours. What exactly are the benefits you get by giving it to your TA rather than just keeping it through Princess? If I do transfer to our TA, can I still look up the cruise on the Princess site? Use the Cruise Personalizer? What about payments? Would I have to go through my TA to do this? Thanks.

[paul929207]

Each TA is different. Some will give you a lower price. Others will give you OBC or some other perk (bottle of wine, photo, etc). Others will give nothing. Talk to you TA and ask what they will give you.

[Toto2Kansas]

I recently booked a cruise through Princess. We often use a Travel Agent but have never passed a cruise booking over to ours. What exactly are the benefits you get by giving it to your TA rather than just keeping it through Princess? If I do transfer to our TA, can I still look up the cruise on the Princess site? Use the Cruise Personalizer? What about payments? Would I have to go through my TA to do this? Thanks.

I would transfer ONLY if you can get a better price through your TA (that is the main reason passengers will transfer the booking over). Princess still allows TA's to discount and we have never paid close the Princess advertised price for a cruise to date.

You still have access to your Princess personalizer if you transfer to a TA, but payments must be made through your travel agent. You are hiring that travel agent to be your booking agent, not Princess, so everything must be done through them. Princess doesn't even want to talk to you about your booking if you book or transfer to a TA is you have hired that TA to do your talking for you. Search around, it can save you a lot to transfer to a discount travel agent. And for us, it is well worth giving up the direct contact with Princess to save that large of an amount. Good Luck!

[Jasperdo]

And yes, you can still do everything on your Cruise Personaliser, even if you use a travel agent: fill out immigration forms and personal info, print boarding passes, book shore excursions, etc.

 

EDIT: Sorry Toto...I was typing this as you were posting.

[sun&sea]

I have a little different question, but still under this topic, so forgive me. We have our b2b cruises booked thru Princess because we wanted to secure a particular cabin and we were not totally sure we would be going ahead with the cruise (pretty sure, but wanted to avoid a cancellation fee). I was wanting to pay some on the cruises over the next few months, then late summer, transfer the bookings. Any problem with paying some and then transfering later?

 

Thanks for any advice I might receive!!!!

 

Janet

[Toto2Kansas]

I have a little different question, but still under this topic, so forgive me. We have our b2b cruises booked thru Princess because we wanted to secure a particular cabin and we were not totally sure we would be going ahead with the cruise (pretty sure, but wanted to avoid a cancellation fee). I was wanting to pay some on the cruises over the next few months, then late summer, transfer the bookings. Any problem with paying some and then transfering later?

 

Thanks for any advice I might receive!!!!

 

Janet

Janet, I am not exactly sure about the answer to your question, but there are a lot of discount travel agents out there that do not charge a cancellation or change fee. The only fees involved would be if you cancelled after final payment and those are imposed by the cruise line. In fact, I would never book with a travel agent that does charge those fees. Good Luck, I hope someone can actually answer your question completely.

[sunshine nana]

Get everything in writing from the TA. I learned the hard way. Ours gave me a quote and I moved our booking to her from Princess. The TA then added $600 to the price and has given us only $40 off when the Princess price has dropped by $400. She also charges a cancel fee. She promised $75 OBC which is now only $60. She takes days to answer a phone call or email. This is all before final payment, but I'm stuck. Never again with her!

[chamima]

Get everything in writing from the TA. I learned the hard way. Ours gave me a quote and I moved our booking to her from Princess. The TA then added $600 to the price and has given us only $40 off when the Princess price has dropped by $400. She also charges a cancel fee. She promised $75 OBC which is now only $60. She takes days to answer a phone call or email. This is all before final payment, but I'm stuck. Never again with her!

 

If it's before final payment you can still change the booking back to Princess or to a new agent. You'll need a change form from the new agent. You might have to pay that cancellation fee but it might be worth it!