Why would I book through a travel agent??

[golfadj]

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

 

 

TA has been in business for over 25 years and is offering much more than $ 25.

 

Ask me again in 5 years if TA is still in business.

[dude_hdt]

We always use one of those online website TA and always got some OBC. Don't know if $25 is per person or not but its greater than that for cabin. Best thing for us is we book ES & if we see price go down on CCL website, we just email the TA and they take care of all paperwork submital to get us the lowered price.

 

When we book multiple rooms, we usually get 1 bottle of wine per room...nice.

[zqvol]

Why use a TA? For every person that is savvy enough to book on their own there are 10 who are not. Those 10 are not reading cruise critic or anything else on the web, and have no clue how to begin to book a cruise without a TA. If you want valid results ask somewhere other than on a Internet message board.

[RWolver672]

We usually cruise with a small group of less than eight couples. If we book directly with Carnival, one person has to book all of the cabins (in a row) and put the downpayment on their credit card to hold the cabins. That's the only way an individual can do it.

 

If we book through a TA, she can call and put a hold on the cabins, then each one of us can send her the downpayment. It's a no brainer for us.

[elcuchio24]

Why use a TA? For every person that is savvy enough to book on their own there are 10 who are not. Those 10 are not reading cruise critic or anything else on the web, and have no clue how to begin to book a cruise without a TA. If you want valid results ask somewhere other than on a Internet message board.

 

Exactly right. Those are the folks that TA's make their bread and butter on. But with technology being what it is today, those who don't understand/choose not to use it are dying off and being replaced by more tech savvy folks, spelling the end of the TA within the next 20 years.

[mompolo]

We don't use a local TA or a PVP but we have booked our cruises through an online website for many years. We have always gotten excellent prices, some obc and usually a bottle of wine/champange in our room (none of those but the excellent price are deal breakers for us). However, over the years we have referred tons (and I do mean tons) of people to her and for each booking we are given a "credit" - we have earned 8 free cruise fares. This - is why we still use her and still send people to her all the time. Everyone has been very happy and have gone back time and time again.

[QTPieRye]

I continue to use my TA because:

 

1. She has always given me a better price than CCL's lowest price and has given me great OBC's in the past;

2. She offers more payment flexibility.... which is a huge factor when I am paying for 6+ people that all require a deposit of $200 to $250;

3. She takes good care of my friends that I've referred to her;

4. Overall she is awesome~

[bbishop1983]

I have booked my last 2 cruises thru a TA. We were able to get $150 obc per cabin on top of the best deal. She also has helped find rental car, flight, and hotel deals for the same trip at no extra cost. Also she is very knowledgeable because he has sailed on many of carnivals cruises and visited their ports of call as well. IMHO the only draw back is when you make a payment you have to call the TA.

[QTPieRye]

Exactly right. Those are the folks that TA's make their bread and butter on. But with technology being what it is today, those who don't understand/choose not to use it are dying off and being replaced by more tech savvy folks, spelling the end of the TA within the next 20 years.

 

Totally Disagree! Using a TA does not mean I am not tech savvy... for me it simply means a lower price than CCL's advertised and sometimes a nice OBC. If the day should ever come that her price is not lower than CCL's, then at that time, I will book through a PVP. Until then, I will continue to use her because it makes me happy to know that I might be helping a fellow American business owner stay in business during these economic times......

[bbishop1983]

Totally Disagree! Using a TA does not mean I am not tech savvy... for me it simply means a lower price than CCL's advertised and sometimes a nice OBC. If the day should ever come that her price is not lower than CCL's, then at that time, I will book through a PVP. Until then, I will continue to use her because it makes me happy to know that I might be helping a fellow American business owner stay in business during these economic times......

 

Great post. I agree with you 100% these TAs for the most part work their butts off for us. I thinks it's great to keep the money in the US as much as possible.

[elcuchio24]

Totally Disagree! Using a TA does not mean I am not tech savvy... for me it simply means a lower price than CCL's advertised and sometimes a nice OBC. If the day should ever come that her price is not lower than CCL's, then at that time, I will book through a PVP. Until then, I will continue to use her because it makes me happy to know that I might be helping a fellow American business owner stay in business during these economic times......

 

How is it that your TA gets you a lower price then CCL offers, when CCL expressly forbids TA's from offering anything but the same rate as is offered on CCL dot com?

[QTPieRye]

How is it that your TA gets you a lower price then CCL offers, when CCL expressly forbids TA's from offering anything but the same rate as is offered on CCL dot com?

 

I am not sure~ I don't know the details of her business contracts :)

[finsupcruiser]

Why use a TA? For every person that is savvy enough to book on their own there are 10 who are not. Those 10 are not reading cruise critic or anything else on the web, and have no clue how to begin to book a cruise without a TA. If you want valid results ask somewhere other than on a Internet message board.

 

I am savy enough to book my own cruise on CCL but why should I when my local TA knows which cabins we like which deck,which dining time.

 

I tell her dates she finds best deals on 3 cruises we prefer--handles everything including OBC credits as well as gives us perks.

 

Why not use her--she is awesome:)

[CCLNCLRCICRUISER]

I am not sure~ I don't know the details of her business contracts :)

 

How much cheaper? Can you give a comparison. Is she booking you in group space?

[crusing_guy]

The credit card I use with my credit union gives me points for every dollar I spend. I try to use the credit card for most of my purchases. (Gas, food, car & house insurance payments, etc.) I then pay the credit card in full at the end of the month but I am able to accumulate a lot of points. However to use the points, I have to use the travel agent which is affiliated with the reward system. I have earned enough points in the past that at least one of us has always traveled for free. That is the only reason I use a travel agent. If I did not have the points, I would probably just book the room myself online or use a Carnival PVP.....

[elcuchio24]

I am not sure~ I don't know the details of her business contracts :)

 

Me neither. But since CCL is pretty strict on these things, you might want to check around and confirm your TA is really giving you the deal you think they are, and not go on faith alone. There can be a vast difference between 'brochure price' and the bottom line.

[Warm Breezes]

Totally Disagree! Using a TA does not mean I am not tech savvy... for me it simply means a lower price than CCL's advertised and sometimes a nice OBC. If the day should ever come that her price is not lower than CCL's, then at that time, I will book through a PVP. Until then, I will continue to use her because it makes me happy to know that I might be helping a fellow American business owner stay in business during these economic times......

 

I agree with you. I do a lot of research on-line before I book through an on-line TA who have always gotten me a better deal than the cruise lines even after their rule changes.

[carncruiser1964]

Me neither. But since CCL is pretty strict on these things, you might want to check around and confirm your TA is really giving you the deal you think they are, and not go on faith alone. There can be a vast difference between 'brochure price' and the bottom line.

 

This is very interesting and will be keeping an eye on this thread as I just read Carnival's TA policy today and they are very clear that no TA can offer a lower fare than what is offered to the general public on Carnival's website. :confused:

[scott_gallant]

I use a TA because they offer 12 equal payments with no interest. Makes it easier to pay in installments rather than all at once when we have to fly from Canada's smallest province....very pricey

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

[ZooTycoon223]

Both of our cruises were booked through a TA. He gets us the best deals possible and is willing to help us with any questions. He has our best interests in mind, and anything we want he tries to do for us. Our last cruise Carnival had a few sales before sailing, and we called him to ask about it. We couldn't get anything because we had the best deal possible which he helped us get.

[QTPieRye]

Me neither. But since CCL is pretty strict on these things, you might want to check around and confirm your TA is really giving you the deal you think they are, and not go on faith alone. There can be a vast difference between 'brochure price' and the bottom line.

 

 

So true on the difference in pricing.....

 

Before I ever contact my TA, I ALWAYS thoroughly investigate the prices.... both direct on the CCL website and then call CCL to check military rates and other rates that may not be published on the website. I always tell her I've shopped around and give her the lowest published fare (which nowadays is almost always ES) and she always beats the price.... several years ago, she beat the price by quite a bit, recently just by $37.00.

 

For us, we will continue to book thru her even if the savings isn't tremendous, because she offers great service! Not to mention there are other non-cruise vacation related perks :)

[CCLNCLRCICRUISER]

I use a TA because they offer 12 equal payments with no interest. Makes it easier to pay in installments rather than all at once when we have to fly from Canada's smallest province....very pricey

 

 

Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk

 

You do know you can make payments with Carnival. As many as you like 24/7 365

[Kryssa]

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.

 

In the past we have gotten $100-250 OBC per stateroom. Plus with their loyalty program, for every cruise we take, we get a $50 credit toward our next cruise and every friend we refer gets extra $25 OBC on their first cruise with this TA and we also get an additional $25 credit for referring them.

[Kryssa]

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

 

LOL Do you think you know everything? Sorry, but it is a large online TA and they are very reputable.

 

We always book balcony cabins and always cruise for at least 7 days. We've gotten $100-250 OBC per room every time. You say this isn't allowed, but if you know anything about booking a group, Carnival will give you points to use toward OBC (or other things) depending on how large your group is. I believe our TA just books us into their large group and because the TA is so large, they get a big group OBC on every sailing. I am pretty sure that is where the OBC comes from.

 

Also, they have a loyalty program. Every time we book a cruise, we get $50 off our next cruise. Also, any friends we refer get $25 extra OBC on their sailing and we get $25 off our next cruise for referring them!

 

I understand many of you like to book with Carnival for complete control and access to their customer service. For us, we just can't give up all the extra OBC and loyalty discounts for that service. We have never had an issue getting what we needed with our TA.

 

For those saying there is a $25 limit on OBC, I believe that is only a limit on what you can advertise. If you are looking for a deal, do not hesitate to call some of these TAs and say "I'm looking to book this sailing and the lowest price I can find is X. Can you match that price and give me $250 OBC? If so, I'm ready to book with you right now." That is how we found our TA and we have stayed because we like their loyalty program.

[toby #1]

This is very interesting and will be keeping an eye on this thread as I just read Carnival's TA policy today and they are very clear that no TA can offer a lower fare than what is offered to the general public on Carnival's website. :confused:

 

I agree with you. Just about every cruise we have booked with a pvp from carnival we have checked with a ta and carnival was ALWAYS cheaper then the price the ta gave us. We do have to check with the carnival site and if the price of our cruise goes down we do let our pvp know, don't know about ta's if they keep checking for you. Also our pvp will let us know if we book a bad cabin and he will steer us to a better one. I wish I could find a ta that gave me a better price but so far haven't