Suggestions for booking a B2B

[SoBaycruiser]

We are thinking of booking a B2B next year (30 days total). It is not offered as one large trip. Our local TA is a nice guy but provides nothing extra if we book through him...not even a bottle of wine. So that leaves me an Internet TA or booking directly through Princess. I'm somewhat of a control freak so am leaning towards going directly with Princess so I don't have to speak through someone else. But then am I missing any perks from a TA? Last cruise we booked through Delta Skymiles and got a lot of extra points. Any suggestions?

 

Is it best to call them (vs use internet) so you can choose the same room for both cruises? We only have one FCC each, so do we have to pay a regular deposit on the second segment?

 

I'd appreciate any suggestions to make this process easier or more profitable.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

find a new TA....

[paul929207]

If you search around, you can find TAs that offer perks for booking. These can be lower prices, OBC, pre-paid gratuities, bottle of wine, etc.

 

Booking it as two cruises, you can use 2 FCCs each and get OBC for each leg. Also, if you own Carnival Corp stock and/or are eligible for the military benefit, you will get the OBC for each leg.

 

We book our b2b's early, so we get the same cabin for each leg and don't have to move in the middle.

[Pam in CA]

find a new TA....

Yup. A good TA is accessible by phone or email no matter where they are or whether they have an Internet presence. Heck, if they aren't on the Internet, they're about ten years behind the times.

 

If you do your research and tell a TA what you want to book and they give you a good discount (which can be 10-20%) and perks, you're not losing control IMHO. When I contact my TA, I ask for a quote for 2-3 cabin categories on a specific ship and itinerary. I then have the choice of which I want or willing to pay for and book it, saving money. What's not to like about that? Plus, some TAs have $100/pp deposit promotions.

 

My advice is to find a good discount TA who books a lot of Princess cruises and have them go to bat for you with regard to the B2B deposit.

[SoBaycruiser]

So how do you find a good TA that will give you perks? Just make a lot of calls to different travel agencies?

[paul929207]

I do it online. I have built a list of TAs over the last few years that others say offer discounts. I go thru the list requesting a quote. I keep track of the prices. I then take the lowest and call my local TA usually she matches the price. Lately, she has not been able to match the price, so I have booked it with others.

 

When we cruise, if someone says they got a great deal, I ask for the name of their TA and add it to the list. I find some do offer good prices, others have the same price as Princess