What should we expect from a TA for transferring a cruise?

[Jane2357]

We booked a 14 night directly with Celebrity and got a OBC for buying during Cruise Week and Captians Club member. We normally use a T.A. but I wanted to be certain that I was able to get a specific type cabin and select the location. If we transfer this to a TA - will I lose the OBC from Celebrity? I've learned that many TA's also give some OBC or pay gratuities, send wine, etc. For a cruise of this value - 14 nights, S1 cat. - what would you expect of your TA. Sign me "tired of being a sucker".

[helen haywood]

You will not lose the OBC from X if you transfer to a TA. Different TAs give different OBCs or offers. Generally speaking the more expensive the cruise the larger the OBC. I'd suggest calling several TAs or companies and comparing what they offer. You have 60 days to transfer the booking.

[yayvacation!]

We booked a 14 night directly with Celebrity and got a OBC for buying during Cruise Week and Captians Club member. We normally use a T.A. but I wanted to be certain that I was able to get a specific type cabin and select the location. If we transfer this to a TA - will I lose the OBC from Celebrity? I've learned that many TA's also give some OBC or pay gratuities, send wine, etc. For a cruise of this value - 14 nights, S1 cat. - what would you expect of your TA. Sign me "tired of being a sucker".

 

Your OBC from X is yours that won't go away when you transfer to your TA.

 

As for what to expect that's all over the board, what your TA has done for you in the past is obviously a good indication of what they will do for you this time. For an example I booked a celebrity suite, 7 day, S class and was offered everything from a bottle of wine to $200 OBC for transferring. On an upcoming 14 night we are in an S1, total cruise price just over $7600 and we have a $450 TA OBC.

 

Hope that helps! Have a great cruise!,

 

Andrea

[Jane2357]

Your OBC from X is yours that won't go away when you transfer to your TA.

 

As for what to expect that's all over the board, what your TA has done for you in the past is obviously a good indication of what they will do for you this time. For an example I booked a celebrity suite, 7 day, S class and was offered everything from a bottle of wine to $200 OBC for transferring. On an upcoming 14 night we are in an S1, total cruise price just over $7600 and we have a $450 TA OBC.

 

Hope that helps! Have a great cruise!,

 

Andrea

 

Wow - thanks! An actual number WAS what I was looking for. I've never gotten anything from a TA other than a crappy bottle of wine :( and until being on here didn't know to ASK for something better. The TA I'm considering (we are in email exchange on the issue) is one that I sent my Dog Group to and we booked 8 cabins (on Carnival) for next Oct. The direct booked cruise on Celebrity was $7,798.00 before tax or gratuities. So I'm going for the $450.00 OBC credit. Thank you!

[Orator]

As others have said you will not lose your OBC for booking onboard when you transfer to a TA. What you will receive from your TA is based largely on the cost of your cruise. The TA receives a commission and that's where the funds come from for additional OBC or pre-paid gratuties. I always book onboard and transfer to a TA for the best deal.

[Leesie6351]

Celebrity does not permit TA's to offer discounts off your cabin price so most TA's offer enticements like free specialty dinners, wine and/or OBC. The amount varies agency by agency. The "discount" online agencies will offer larger incentives than the smaller ones or brick and mortar agencies. My TA that I've used since 1998 basically rebates 8% of their commission in the form of OBC. This is in addition to any OBC you may get from X.

 

I understand your wanting to make the initial arrangements yourself-- you get to ask questions directly and get first hand rather than second hand information. Once you are satisfied, you should definitely transfer the reservation. As others said, you have 60 days.

 

Good luck and enjoy.

[Wine-O]

We booked a 14 night directly with Celebrity and got a OBC for buying during Cruise Week and Captians Club member. We normally use a T.A. but I wanted to be certain that I was able to get a specific type cabin and select the location. If we transfer this to a TA - will I lose the OBC from Celebrity? I've learned that many TA's also give some OBC or pay gratuities, send wine, etc. For a cruise of this value - 14 nights, S1 cat. - what would you expect of your TA. Sign me "tired of being a sucker".

 

You need to shop around. Some small TA's provide minimal OBC whereas larger TA's will provide you quite a bit more. Shop around and get quotes. As a reminder, you have only 60 days after you booked to make the transfer.

[Jane2357]

OK - before now I never knew to ask or expect anything - now that I know better, I just plain asked "what can you do for me?" The TA that I approached came back with a $200.00 OBC and a bottle of wine (thanks but no - I'm picky about my wine). Compare that to what Andrea is getting for a similar cruise ($450. OBC) - this shows my TA isn't offering enough. And I did also get them 8 other bookings on a lower level cruise line.

 

The cruise has a base price of $7,798.00 - Leesie6351 says she gets 8% of her TA's commission - but how much commission is there? Am I expecting too much to ask for the $450.00

[trabeler]

Normal rule of thumb is an OBC from an agent of between 5 and 10% of the commissionable fare. The commissionable fare is not the same as the base fare from the cruiseline, however. I've noticed that almost all TA invoices have different taxes/port fees than the cruiseline rates. In general, the TA reported fees/taxes are 2-4 times the cruiseline fees/taxes.

 

So in order to figure out if an OBC offer from a TA is good, I take the cruiseline fees/taxes times 3 and subtract that from the total price. TA offers tend to be between 5 and 10% of that modified figure. The amount a TA can offer also depends on their agency size (impacts how much commission they get) and it can also depend on what other offers you're getting from the cruiseline. For example, I've had agents tell me that they could give me more OBC if I wasn't also using a stockholder OBC, although the difference never makes it worthwhile to pass on any cruiseline OBC that you can get.

 

Hope this helps.

[Orator]

OK - before now I never knew to ask or expect anything - now that I know better, I just plain asked "what can you do for me?" The TA that I approached came back with a $200.00 OBC and a bottle of wine (thanks but no - I'm picky about my wine). Compare that to what Andrea is getting for a similar cruise ($450. OBC) - this shows my TA isn't offering enough. And I did also get them 8 other bookings on a lower level cruise line.

 

The cruise has a base price of $7,798.00 - Leesie6351 says she gets 8% of her TA's commission - but how much commission is there? Am I expecting too much to ask for the $450.00

 

I would check what some online TAs are offering and use that as leverage. The numbers can sometimes be misleading since a commission is not paid for items such as port charges and taxes.

[Jane2357]

I realize that the commission is not based on Taxes, Fees or Gratuities - but the BASE price of the cruise is $7,798.00 with taxes, fees and gratuities it is $8,484.88. Does anyone know what the commission would be on the base price? And lets not forget that they'll also make money when I buy the insurance that they offer. What I'm asking is if a $450.00 OBC for a cruise of this value is asking too much for a cruise that I found and booked on my own.

[trabeler]

I realize that the commission is not based on Taxes, Fees or Gratuities - but the BASE price of the cruise is $7,798.00 with taxes, fees and gratuities it is $8,484.88. Does anyone know what the commission would be on the base price? And lets not forget that they'll also make money when I buy the insurance that they offer. What I'm asking is if a $450.00 OBC for a cruise of this value is asking too much for a cruise that I found and booked on my own.

 

Using my method with a 3x tax/fee multiplier you're getting about 7% back, which isn't bad, but some agents may do better, particularly if they have group space on your sailing. I've noticed that when an agent has a group, the OBC can be between 10 and 15%.

[Orator]

I realize that the commission is not based on Taxes, Fees or Gratuities - but the BASE price of the cruise is $7,798.00 with taxes, fees and gratuities it is $8,484.88. Does anyone know what the commission would be on the base price? And lets not forget that they'll also make money when I buy the insurance that they offer. What I'm asking is if a $450.00 OBC for a cruise of this value is asking too much for a cruise that I found and booked on my own.

 

Should be about 14%, at least that's what I've been told. There are TAs on the Board who could be more accurate. Should note that some lines are no longer allowing TAs to give any of their commission as extra OBC. There was a great deal of discussion on the Carnival Board about this. Seems that the smaller agencies were at a disadvantage and favored the change in policy. If you don't require service or handholding and want a bigger piece I the pie you might consider one of the online agencies. they tend to give the largest OBC.

[Gonzo70]

It depends on the TA. Some give no perks, some moderate, some large. Those awarding large perks tend to be massive online agencies that do so many bookings, they can stay in business even when only earning a small amount per booking. Smaller agencies would quickly go bankrupt if hey did this - but often have the benefit of providing better service. FYI port fees are a part of the base fare, so the fare agencies receive commission on is less than the base fare. If you do not care about quality of a TA and simply want the most OBC get quotes from three different massive agencies and go with the one that gives you the most. Be advised that this can cost you in the long run if they are slow to respond to issues such as price drops - often the smaller agencies are easier to work with when your reservation reds modifying ad time is of the essence.

[TMLAalum]

We get @7+% OBC from the TA affiliated with our shopping club store. Our first Celeb cruise booked thru a brick & mortar TA we received around 3.5% OBC.

[robtulipe]

I realize that the commission is not based on Taxes, Fees or Gratuities - but the BASE price of the cruise is $7,798.00 with taxes, fees and gratuities it is $8,484.88. Does anyone know what the commission would be on the base price? And lets not forget that they'll also make money when I buy the insurance that they offer. What I'm asking is if a $450.00 OBC for a cruise of this value is asking too much for a cruise that I found and booked on my own.

We got a $170 OBC from our TA for a $2400 total base price X booking so you should be able to get at least, if not more than $450. Typically with our TA, as the booking base cost goes up the % of OBC they give goes up as well.

Some online TA that offer OBC charge change and cancellation fees so this should be cheaked out before you tranfer your booking to them. The one we use doesn't and has always given us great and timely service involving price reductions, cabin and actual cruise changes.

[momofmeg]

Celebrity does not permit TA's to offer discounts off your cabin price so most TA's offer enticements like free specialty dinners, wine and/or OBC. The amount varies agency by agency. The "discount" online agencies will offer larger incentives than the smaller ones or brick and mortar agencies. My TA that I've used since 1998 basically rebates 8% of their commission in the form of OBC. This is in addition to any OBC you may get from X.

 

I understand your wanting to make the initial arrangements yourself-- you get to ask questions directly and get first hand rather than second hand information. Once you are satisfied, you should definitely transfer the reservation. As others said, you have 60 days.

 

Good luck and enjoy.

 

Mine gives us basic gratuities for the first two people in the stateroom, (as long as the cruise cost more than $600 a person for RCI and Celebrity)-a couple of times we have gotten a free specialty meal. They have only given us a bottle of wine when they knew we were celebrating our anniversary.

[Alg63]

What do i expect from a TA. That they find me a fair rate, that they ask about and understand my needs,that they complete my request in a timely manner, keep me posted of where we are with booking or requirements, and assist me to the best of their ability if things go awry.

 

Anything else comes out of their, or the agencies commission. Unless you are a regular with the agency, i don't think you should "expect" anything, if you get something, that's great, if it's part of their initial offering, great, but to expect something more than that.....?

[Jane2357]

Our gratuities (we have to pre-pay as we have Select dining) are in the amount of $266.88 so they are not even meeting that amount :( I am not interested in them sending wine - I like what I like. I'm basically giving them a expensive booking which I found myself and not getting enough in return so I'm going to shop around. I found this TA on my own and booked 8 cabins through them for a different cruise. Now I find this cruise for ourselves and feel like they should be doing everything possible to give us a better OBC. I'll let you know what happens.

[PSU]

What if your cabin's price is reduced? Will the TA check on the prices and and will the OBC be reduced because of the reduction? These are things that you should ask any TA before you book.

 

Would you want a cheaper price or more OBC?

[Gonzo70]

Our gratuities (we have to pre-pay as we have Select dining) are in the amount of $266.88 so they are not even meeting that amount :( I am not interested in them sending wine - I like what I like. I'm basically giving them a expensive booking which I found myself and not getting enough in return so I'm going to shop around. I found this TA on my own and booked 8 cabins through them for a different cruise. Now I find this cruise for ourselves and feel like they should be doing everything possible to give us a better OBC. I'll let you know what happens.

 

Most travel agencies would be out of business if they awarded generous OBC. It is only the extremely large online agencies that are able to do this. If all you care about is OBC book with a massive agency. Just be aware there are cons associated with such agencies that sometimes end up costing much, much more than the extra OBC you received.

[Jane2357]

I've been on 5 cruises and NEVER once has any TA ever come back with a price reduction. I'm not expecting one on this cruise either - those aft, corner cabins are very desirable so YES - give me the OBC!!!:D

[Jane2357]

And I don't need lots of hand holding. I can get myself through the online check-in, print my own luggage tags, don't need another Sail & Sign holder, neck thingie. I'm giving them a commission and just want a cut of it back.

[Alg63]

The comm goes to pay for their work/salaries, their office expenses, their time, the calls they make, the mail they send, the brochures they print. WHY would you expect to get it back? Do you give customers that you do work for money back after you have quoted them a price?

Sorry but i think your "expectations" are bribery. Pure and simple.

[Jane2357]

The comm goes to pay for their work/salaries, their office expenses, their time, the calls they make, the mail they send, the brochures they print. WHY would you expect to get it back? Do you give customers that you do work for money back after you have quoted them a price?

Sorry but i think your "expectations" are bribery. Pure and simple.

 

But they havent had to do anything. At the most they will make more money selling me "their insurance" and will mail me final documents. What more will they do? They didn't research and find me this cruise, didn't find the cabin I wanted. So why shouldn't they be willing to kick back a small percent. If I don't transfer it to them they get zero.