Differences? Booking with TA (Warehouse Club) versus NCL Directly

[KJE Atlanta]

:confused:

 

I am trying to decide whether to book a cruise for next year through the TA/travel department of one of the national cost-saving warehouse membership clubs (If I understand correctly, I can’t name which one here).

 

A little background: We have always booked directly with NCL and I like our PCC. He is responsive and nice to work with. We are, however, very self-sufficient in terms of travel planning. I do all the itinerary, cabin, and pricing research ahead of time, and then just send an email to him with date/cabin numbers, etc. to book. Also, thanks to CC, social media, etc., I usually know which OBC NCL is offering and will request that too. He books it and calls me for the deposit. After the booking, I can see my reservations on the “My NCL” section of the website and I can see/book shore excursions. Since I track fares, if they ever go down (or if a better fare/OBC combo comes along), and it is before the final payment date, it's an easy email to our PCC and he re-prices/re-books. A few weeks before the cruise, I complete online check-in on My NCL and print out the eDocs and we’re ready to go. All things considered, everything has always gone very smoothly booking direct with NCL.

 

I have read many of the threads here on CC with pro and con opinions about whether it is better to book with a TA or directly with NCL. Consensus has always seemed to be that there usually isn’t a big difference in base fare between the TA and NCL (some people have speculated that NCL doesn’t allow TAs to lower the fares unless they are group/block booking). The main difference seems to be OBC and other perks that can be realized when booking with a TA. Some people with great TAs swear by them and talk of large amounts of extra OBC, bottles of wine, and specialty restaurant dinners. On the other hand, there are plenty of people who have had bad experiences with TAs – going out of business, impersonal customer service from large online TAs, screw-ups with the reservation (and then the cruise line blames the TA and the TA blames the cruise line), not being able to talk with NCL directly, extra fees and penalties, etc.

 

So far, I’ve always come down on the side of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and have therefore continued booking directly with NCL. For me, at least, the comfort of familiarity, maintaining control, and avoiding the middle man (the TA) was more important than a little extra OBC or a bottle of wine. But now – and here’s my dilemma – the suite on an NCL sailing that we are looking at for next year is, surprisingly, being offered at a base fare of $400 less per person through the warehouse club’s TA versus direct booking with NCL. That adds up to $800 for the two of us – which is significant. It has obviously got me rethinking my preference for direct booking (because I think I would prefer to have that $800 even more! :D).

 

The first thing I plan to do is to call my PCC on Monday and discuss options with him, though my understanding from reading the price-match guarantee info on NCL’s website is that they don’t price match membership club/warehouse pricing since those fares are not technically available to the general public (even though any member of the public can join for something like $50). Assuming NCL can’t do anything for me, I am mainly curious about what will be different between the time I book and the actual cruise due to booking through a TA. I know price reductions would have to be coordinated through the TA – and may come with a $25 fee or something like that. As far as cruise payments, will I pay the TA or pay NCL (I would prefer to pay NCL so there’s no issue as to whether they received my payment)? What else should I think about or consider when weighing pros/cons/risks?

 

More specifically, here are some of my questions about booking with a TA (or more accurately, in this situation, with a warehouse club’s TA/travel department):

1.

When I make the reservation (I will give the TA my Latitudes number), will the reservation show up under my account on the My NCL section of NCL’s website? If so, will I have the ability to (a) see and book excursions online like I do when I direct book; (b) pre-book dining and entertainment 45 days in advance online instead of having to call up the TA/travel department?

2.

Will I still check in online and print out eDocs from My NCL like I have always done before or do I have to go through the TA for that too?

3.

Will I still receive the “Welcome Aboard” kit with luggage tags from NCL in the mail a month or two before sailing?

4.

Is the $300 OBC from NCL for booking a suite so many months in advance available when booking through a TA or is that just for direct booking with NCL?

5.

Latitudes Rewards perks….We will be platinum. I assume, but want to make sure, a booking through a TA doesn’t change the benefits and perks (laundry, LeBistro, behind the scenes tour, etc.) that we get on board?

6.

Will I still receive all Latitude Rewards points (7 for 7 nights, 7 for booking a suite, 7 for booking 9 months in advance)?

7.

Anything else on-board more difficult of different based on booking with a TA?

Wow, this got to be a bit more detailed than I was expecting when I sat down to type it! :eek: Anyway, thank you all for your help. CC is always such a great source of info! :)

 

Have a great weekend.

[shof515]

i just got home from my cruise that i booked with a web based TA, and i gave them my latitudes number. To answer your questions based on what happen to me:

1 - If your TA has your latitudes number, it should show up once you log in to MY NCL. If it does not, you can manually add it using your booking number. My cruise showed up right away

2 - You can still complete the online checkin and print out edocs from MY NCL, no need to go to your TA. Your TA may tell you to go online and get them since they may not have access to those docs.

3 - Yes, you will get the welcome aboard booklet. On the booklet, will be your TA name incase you forget it

I am sorry for not answering your other questions however if you TA notes your latitudes number correctly then everything should be auto updated

[ansmom]

We book through the same warehouse and I have 3 (1 taken) cruises booked with them. As far as I can tell everything has been exactly the same

1. Yes and yes you can book excursions/dining through myncl

2. From myncl

3. Yes

4. Yes

5. I would think so, this past cruise was our first so not certain

6. Yes bc you can see all your points in myncl

7. I don't think so, I don't think the people on board know who you booked through

 

For payment we paid warehouse but the charge on the cc was directly from ncl

[KJE Atlanta]

Thanks for the replies so far. They give me some comfort already. What I'm gathering is that everything on board should be the same - and the TA versus NCL direct issues mainly surround the booking process, i.e., price, OBC, changes to cabins, passengers, or sail date, etc. But as for all the other stuff that I normally do pre-cruise, i.e., shore excursions, dinner reservations, check-in, printing eDocs, etc., I will still be able to be handle the same way through My NCL.

 

If I do book through my warehouse club's TA department, I will definitely try to do everything early - like make final payment early, check-in online early, print eDocs early - so if there are any issues whatsoever, I have time to deal with them before leaving on the trip. My biggest fear is showing up at the terminal and then discovering there's a problem (and not being able to get the TA reps on the phone to sort it out). Anyone ever have that happen to them? Does NCL work with you at that point to sort out the situation or are they still not able to help because the reservation is booked with a TA?