Why would I book through a travel agent??

[407dm]

no flaming please

 

I have always booked online or just called carnival to book.

 

why would I use a travel agent??

 

am I missing something??

 

I drive to port so I don't need to fly.

 

I know what room I want, the date, the ship and what port before I book.

 

does your TA offer something that I can't get on my own or do they just save you time in booking and figuring out where to go

 

thanks for your input

[Kryssa]

My TA offers a big OBC on top of the best rate I can find. For us it is a no-brainer. Even though we can't communicate directly through Carnival, we usually board with at least our tips covered and sometimes more!

 

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[RiverRat71]

We booked our first cruise through a Carnival PVP and it was a good experience. Our 2nd cruise was with friends and the friend who set up that cruise used a TA that she knew. I liked working with the TA better and we have our next 2 cruises booked with her. She gives some OBC and has a better priced travel insurance. She is also knowledgeable on the other cruise lines and although we have only cruised Carnival so far, we might try one or more of the others in the future. She also handles some other non-cruise vacations which we might want to try. I value her experience and just feel more comfortable working with her.

[girlscruise2011]

I used a TA last year for 2 short family cruises and received nothing. I used a PVP this year for a girls weekend cruise and enjoyed it so much better. Lots of valuable information and when my original cruise was chartered twice, she was very helpful with me dealing with Carnival to get some "extras".

[vermonter16]

I think it all depends.... In the event there is an issue with the cruise, etc. a TA can really help. We were notified months and months and months in advance that our sailing date had to be moved up because the ship was going into dry dock. I was on the roll call board for my sailing and everyone was pretty much switched to the same new sailing. Well, they got a like 100 - 200 OBC per cabin and everyone was pretty happy and I would have been as well. But, because my TA does so much business with Carnival she just went to her rep....got us 400 OBC and 400 p/p for our suite that we were in....that was a total of $1200....I'd say that was better than the 200 OBC.

 

That being said...I wouldn't hesitate to book directly through Carnival either...I think you can't go wrong either way and the above situation was just the luck of the draw that our date go moved.

[Tapi]

My TA offers a big OBC on top of the best rate I can find.

 

How huge? I thought that Carnival prevented TA's from offering more than $25 OBC OR 5%, whichever is LESS. If that's the case, it doesn't sound like a HUGE payback.

 

In my opinion, there's very little benefit these days to book through a TA, unless they could provide better product knowledge than Carnival's own people (doubtful), or quicker service and customer service (once again, doubtful when you are adding a "middle man by booking through a TA).

 

When we book Carnival cruises, we call direct. For other cruise lines where there's a significant price difference between TA's, it pays to shop around.

[Room Service!]

I've only used TA's. Had my insurance paid this time. :)

[uppitycats]

We use a travel agent because we do fly to the port. We've had various things go awry with trips -- my health, airline issues, etc., all of which she was able to handle with great speed, efficiency, at no cost to us. While we haven't gotten OBC's or other 'perks', just knowing she has our backs has made for a much more pleasurable vacation.

[luckycruzer]

no flaming please

 

I have always booked online or just called carnival to book.

 

why would I use a travel agent??

 

am I missing something??

 

I drive to port so I don't need to fly.

 

I know what room I want, the date, the ship and what port before I book.

 

does your TA offer something that I can't get on my own or do they just save you time in booking and figuring out where to go

 

thanks for your input

 

 

I looked at my "sparkley pin y'day...thought of you, and our cruzes 2gether..Elation, Aug 27, and Sept 19....then the B I G one..Magic to G'ton. Dec Dream, Jan Ela/Conq..B2B, sorta..Jan, Ela Feb25..wotn that be time for us to cruze together again..check the Roll Call, I think thatz my date!!! Toni, from OKC may come w/me again. That would round out a table nicely!!

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

I book direct because when I want to contact the cruise line directly (24/7) regarding my reservation, I can get through to them. I don't like the idea of a middle man, regardless of some cheap wine, strawberries, or OBC they might offer. However... for our NCL cruises I use their casino department to book, which is only open during normal business hours. I can't call the 1-800-NCL # and have changes made to the reservation, but the fact that going through the casino for our next Epic sailing was worth about two grand off the room rate, I can live with that... so, I do have "my price"! ;)

 

:D

 

Tom

[masspector]

I used a TA last year for 2 short family cruises and received nothing. I used a PVP this year for a girls weekend cruise and enjoyed it so much better. Lots of valuable information and when my original cruise was chartered twice, she was very helpful with me dealing with Carnival to get some "extras".

 

 

I know everyone can only speak of their own experience, but what kind of cruise and cabin are these people that say that they are getting OBC and insurance paid by TA's booking? Is it a suite or a balcony on a high demand cruise that is not discounted? If Carnival is offering a 5 day cruise for $249 for an inside what can a TA add?

 

I checked one online TA site that said they paid your insurance on any cruise 5 days or longer. When you read the details, it was a joke and pretty much insured against nothing. Of course for an up charge they had a real insurance policy that they would sell you.

[finsupcruiser]

We have always used a TA mainly because of insurance her agency offers.

We do fly to ports and she has handled several situations involving insurance claims. No hassle for us she handled everything.

 

If you are happy with what you do don't change:)

[Room Service!]

I know everyone can only speak of their own experience, but what kind of cruise and cabin are these people that say that they are getting OBC and insurance paid by TA's booking? Is it a suite or a balcony on a high demand cruise that is not discounted? If Carnival is offering a 5 day cruise for $249 for an inside what can a TA add?

 

I checked one online TA site that said they paid your insurance on any cruise 5 days or longer. When you read the details, it was a joke and pretty much insured against nothing. Of course for an up charge they had a real insurance policy that they woudl sell you.

 

We do book balcony cabins. Wouldn't consider the cruise "high demand", and the insurance seems comparable to what others offer. :)

[golfadj]

Was using a pvp but he left early this year and now using a TA who gave us very nice obc.

 

So far so good but will do these next two cruises with Ta and than decide what to do long term.

[Warm Breezes]

I comparison shop everytime I book a cruise and have TA's compete for my business online. On our last Carnival Cruise I received 2 photo vouchers for $15 each and a Carnival Jacket. The TA also did all the work of sending in our FCC form and filling out our ES forms a couple of times and getting me the rate drops.

 

On our upcoming NCL cruise a different TA got me a break on the rate from NCL's pricing because he had a group cruise on the same sailing. He also gave me $190 OBC for each room and a bottle of wine for each room.

 

I always know going in what ship, when, and what type of rooms I want. I know what the cruiseline is showing as the going rate. From there I let the bidding begin. The best deal wins. I call them up to book telling them exactly what I want. I send e-mails when I see ES drops and when I am ready to make final payment. I have never had an issue with any of the TA's I have used and there have been at least 3 different ones.

[elcuchio24]

My TA offers a big OBC on top of the best rate I can find. For us it is a no-brainer. Even though we can't communicate directly through Carnival, we usually board with at least our tips covered and sometimes more!

 

Sent from my HTC Glacier using Tapatalk

 

Sure. Is it over $25, because if it is expect your TA not to be in business for long.....

[elcuchio24]

no flaming please

 

I have always booked online or just called carnival to book.

 

why would I use a travel agent??

 

am I missing something??

 

I drive to port so I don't need to fly.

 

I know what room I want, the date, the ship and what port before I book.

 

does your TA offer something that I can't get on my own or do they just save you time in booking and figuring out where to go

 

thanks for your input

 

 

Reasons:

Your sister in law is a TA.

You are 81 years old.

The internet frightens you.

 

Thats about the only reasons.

[RoofingPrincess]

I sail with a friend, and we have occasionally used her TA (although we got such poor service from her the last time that I doubt we'll be using her again).

One big advantage was that we wanted a particular cabin on a particular sailing for an Alaska cruise. The TA knew it was very important to us, got in the moment bookings opened and snagged it for us. Otherwise, we probably would have been distracted by something at our own jobs, gotten in later in the day, and missed out on that cabin.

We've never received OBC or anything else from the TA, though. Either that or my roomie was holding out on me! ;)

[xxxxxxx#1BullsFan]

Where are all of these great TA's located. I can't find any in my area that are willing to give any OBC, etc.

[blondietink]

When I attempted to use our local travel agent to book cruises, her price quote was substantially more than what the Carnival website was offering. No OBC or anything with it.

 

I have also looked at the travel webistes that deal with cruises, even the big ones and have not found any better deals than going with the Carnival website.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Thay may give you extra pirks that direct buying may not

[pjhootch]

Since Carnival's policy about TA bookings changed, my TA isn't able to offer anything that Carnival can't. I still stay with her, however. For me, it is the simplicity. Originally she was able to get us great upgrades that weren't available by going through a PVP since she did so many carnival corporate bookings. Those days are gone, but when I'm interested in a cruise all I do is send her an email and she responds with a variety of choices.

 

Since we've been traveling through her for years, she has all our passport info, past guest numbers and everything else, so when I make my choice I just sit back and wait for the confirmation to come through.

 

I just decided to upgrade our cabin location for our next cruise and sent her an email. A couple of hours later she called to give me my choice of cabins to choose from.

 

There is no monetary or OBC benefit at all, but it makes my life simpler. I just get to do as much research as I want to and none of the details. Works for me. I wouldn't want to go through a large travel agency though, this woman is an independent agent that works from home.

[carsastic]

I was recently elected to run our family reunion trip.

Since there are a number younger families just starting out in life and are on tighter budgets , the group decided on a carnival trip.

I have always booked direct , and like all of our other cruises we knew what ship, time and types of cabins and pricing.

What I didn’t want was to be the focal point of 10 cabins and the issues that go with it..

I decided to go to a local T/A who specializes in cruising… pretty well known

Well after about 20 mins ( she tried talking us into another line, with all the catch phrases( low end, walmart…) I left and decided that we just work thru a pvp/group sales.

They really handled everything ( Im sure my fickle group drove her nuts!) but they did a great job

With todays technology and available resources , I believe the T/A industry is going the way of dinosaurs.. not there yet but certainly on the horizon

[okwriter]

I tend to stay with whatever is working. I could easily do it myself online but instead have used a specific PVP at Carnival. He has a list of issues that have been reported in some cabins, which helps when it comes to choosing a cabin.

[golfadj]

How huge? I thought that Carnival prevented TA's from offering more than $25 OBC OR 5%, whichever is LESS. If that's the case, it doesn't sound like a HUGE payback.

 

In my opinion, there's very little benefit these days to book through a TA, unless they could provide better product knowledge than Carnival's own people (doubtful), or quicker service and customer service (once again, doubtful when you are adding a "middle man by booking through a TA).

 

When we book Carnival cruises, we call direct. For other cruise lines where there's a significant price difference between TA's, it pays to shop around.

 

We are getting more than $ 25 from TA we just started to use.