How to transfer booking from Princess to outside travel agency

[rjack22]

I had to fax or email a request in writing asking Princess to transfer the booking to my travel agent. I guess it varies from agency to agency.

[Pia1913]

I had to fax or email a request in writing asking Princess to transfer the booking to my travel agent. I guess it varies from agency to agency.

 

Several years ago that was what we had to do, but no longer. I guess it does matter with whom you book.

[Av8tor]

Just did this within the last two weeks. Princess did tell me that I had to fax or e-mail an authorization to transfer the booking, but I guess you could have the agent do it for you.

 

Unless you're getting a good discount from the Princess price, I wouldn't advise doing it because you lose "control" of the booking. After the transfer, almost everything has to be done through the agent. While this might not be a problem with a good agent, sometimes response times can be a bit long if the agent is super busy or on days off and another agent from the agency has to step in.

 

Also, be exactly sure what price/discount you're getting from the agent and whether or not there will be any changes to the OBC you might have been getting from Princess. Sometimes Princess rates/credits you have are not directly transferrable to an agents/agency's discount structure.

[pmd98052]

Good grief, I have no idea what kind of experience some of you have had with travel agents but you need to look around. There is NEVER EVER a reason to book direct and then switch to a travel agent.

 

Well there can be - Last Fall we were late in booking a 41 night cruise on HAL (long story). There was only one cabin left on the ship. In order to grab it we called HAL one night and put a 24 hour hold on the room. Since we were not 100% locked on the trip until the next morning and the TA we wanted to use wasn't open it worked. Next morning I called the TA and asked them to transfer the room to us and pay for it - They handled everything with HAL while I was on the phone with them including a simple 3 way conf call with HAL to confirm the transfer on my end. This got us a $1,400 OBC that we wouldn't have received otherwise.

 

So sometimes you can find yourself in that situation!

[jcw0313]

Does anybody know how to get a cruise that was booked directly with Princess transferred to an outside travel agency. I have done this many time with cruises booked with Celebrity and then have transferred the booking within 60 days to another travel agent using a form provided by Celebrity, but can't find any form or information on Princess website on how to transfer booked cruises to another travel agent.

 

Robin

 

Thanks to all that have participated in and offered information on this thread. I just today saved $2228 on a 28 day cruise booked for October, originally with Princess. Thanks to the information gleened from this thread, I hunted up an agency and rate that provided this substantial cost saving. Ain't CruiseCritic GREAT!!!! :) :)

[Pia1913]

Thanks to all that have participated in and offered information on this thread. I just today saved $2228 on a 28 day cruise booked for October, originally with Princess. Thanks to the information gleened from this thread, I hunted up an agency and rate that provided this substantial cost saving. Ain't CruiseCritic GREAT!!!! :) :)

 

We're on the same cruise, but we're getting off in FLL. Come over and join the roll call.

[janetz]

We booked a cruise while on the Ruby. The price booked with Princess and the TA were the same, so no benefit to transfer the booking to the TA right away. We are not sure we will take the cruise, may change our mind and do a different cruise. If we transferred the cruise to the TA and cancel we end up paying the TA a cancellation fee. If we cancel with Princess there is not a cancellation fee. We also get an OBC with Princess, TA may or may not give OBC.

 

 

 

Some TA's charge for a cancellation and some do not. Find one that does not. :)

[RetiredNTraveling]

we are not supposed to contact TA's through CC. ;) But I am not having much luck in contacting a TA that seems to know much about what I have been reading in this forum.

 

Up to now I have done my own scheduling. I would not want to miss out on the "Upsell's" that we have had on our last 3 cruises.

 

My email is: mikeandbetty22@sbcglobal.net. I sure could use some help in finding a reputable TA. ;) Our next cruise is a ways off, we are looking at either a "15 Day Hawaii in 2015" or a "28 Day Hawaii & Tahiti in 2016"? In the mean time we will just have to settle for Las Vegas! (w/Free Rooms).

Edited March 6, 2014 by RetiredNTraveling

[Colo Cruiser]

Some TA's charge for a cancellation and some do not. Find one that does not. :)

 

Those are the ones to avoid. :mad:

[moki'smommy]

I attempted to book thru my TA within the last 2 weeks, but I was able to see a better price on the Princess web site than the TA was able to get, despite her calling Princess. SO, I booked it on line and transferred to the TA. It took only telling the TA my confirmation number; she took care of everything from there. She is with a privately owned agency but they belong to an umbrella group; we got OBC because we booked thru a member of this group. In addition, the TA gave us a dining experience. No, it isn't a huge difference, but I believe in "every little bit counts."

 

And my TA gives excellent service. Any time there is a problem or issue, she works it out. That's the reason I started using the agency--super reputation and an OBC on another line. This agent just happened to be the person who answered the phone the first time I called, and I've been using her for a decade. They are true professionals; no one in the office has less than 20 years of experience, most of them have cruised recently on most of the major lines...no extra fees for cancelation or anything else. And a phone number to call for help "if....." such as when I was at O'Hare being told that because I hadn't done a 24 hour advance check in, I might be bumped from my international flight. But I'd tried; I'd even called the agent when I couldn't make it work. She was able to give me a whole run down of "If they bump you, these are your rights, this is what you do." When we needed to file an insurance claim, her office did almost all of it for us. Just super service!

[satxdiver]

I transfered a cruise to a local TA and later I pulled several cruises from him later. I was very dissatisfied with his service and constant whining about my bookings. I watch the price and notified him when the price went down - he did not watch the price. So I decided to dump him and go with Princess several years ago and have no regrets. My only advice is to select a TA with extreme caution.

[DreamflightPat]

Does anybody know how to get a cruise that was booked directly with Princess transferred to an outside travel agency. I have done this many time with cruises booked with Celebrity and then have transferred the booking within 60 days to another travel agent using a form provided by Celebrity, but can't find any form or information on Princess website on how to transfer booked cruises to another travel agent.

 

Robin

 

I tried doing this last year and as I live in the UK they said I had to transfer the booking within 24 hours of making it.

[kjg46]

Just did this within the last two weeks. Princess did tell me that I had to fax or e-mail an authorization to transfer the booking, but I guess you could have the agent do it for you.

 

Unless you're getting a good discount from the Princess price, I wouldn't advise doing it because you lose "control" of the booking. After the transfer, almost everything has to be done through the agent. While this might not be a problem with a good agent, sometimes response times can be a bit long if the agent is super busy or on days off and another agent from the agency has to step in.

 

Also, be exactly sure what price/discount you're getting from the agent and whether or not there will be any changes to the OBC you might have been getting from Princess. Sometimes Princess rates/credits you have are not directly transferrable to an agents/agency's discount structure.

 

 

I agree.. I usually book directly with Princess. I know what cabin I want etc. As you stated, I too Fax the transfer to my TA a few weeks before. final payment. During the year leading up tp the final payment, I track any price reductions and talk to Princess direct. Price changes after a transfer to my TA have to go through them. In general, most TA's don't track price reductions and promos then compare the promo benefits with your existing booking.

[land lover]

Who pulled this old thread..from the actives.

 

 

Process has changed.

 

I just did this on Jan 31, 2018.....Call Princess for details needed to be included

 

I hand wrote info requested, signed(they want a written signature) scanned, then emailed it...at 7:50am.... at 10am looked at my personalizer showed TA's info, called her and then she called princess to officially take it over.

[moki'smommy]

More inconsistency from Princess.

 

On Jan 24, 2018 I booked my upcoming reservation on line. I actually had my travel agent on the phone when I did it because we wanted a specific cabin. I had originally called her to make the booking and sent her a screen cap of exactly what I wanted but she couldn't get the same price that I could see on line; thus she put a hold on the cabin and got back to me.

 

On Jan 24, she called Princess to cancel the hold. As soon as she canceled it, I hit the button to make the reservation, fully prepared to keep repeating till the released cabin showed up. It probably took 2 seconds--it showed up on my first "click." I then gave her the reservation number and she interfaced with Princess from there. I didn't scan or sign anything. My personalizer had the TAs info in place the first time I looked, but in fairness I don't remember how long after making the booking that was. She also got me some OBC that I wasn't expecting thru the umbrella group that her agency belongs to. The OBC is from Princess, but is on a TA code of some sort.

 

I do not know what the problem was with the pricing. What I could see on line when signed in under my account was significantly lower than what she and Princess could come up with, and of course I wanted to book at the lower price.

[BJS]

Very easy to transfer booking to your TA just send an email to Revenuesupportdepartment@Princesscruises.com

 

If possible I just put a hold on what I want then contact her with booking number and she takes over. No email to Princess unless you have put a deposit on the booking.

 

I do have a great TA :Dbut always watch my bookings for price reductions. She is good so she is busy and could not possibly track all of the bookings she has. Always gets back to me almost immediately even on her day off should that hold require final payment the next day.

[moki'smommy]

Very easy to transfer booking to your TA just send an email to Revenuesupportdepartment@Princesscruises.com

 

If possible I just put a hold on what I want then contact her with booking number and she takes over. No email to Princess unless you have put a deposit on the booking.

 

I do have a great TA :Dbut always watch my bookings for price reductions. She is good so she is busy and could not possibly track all of the bookings she has. Always gets back to me almost immediately even on her day off should that hold require final payment the next day.

That explains it--I went on line and put a hold on it and the TA took over with the payment. I wanted to lock in that cabin, so didn't want to waste time typing in credit card numbers.

[land lover]

More inconsistency from Princess.

 

On Jan 24' date=' 2018 I booked my upcoming reservation on line. I actually had my travel agent on the phone when I did it because we wanted a specific cabin. I had originally called her to make the booking and sent her a screen cap of exactly what I wanted but she couldn't get the same price that I could see on line; thus she put a hold on the cabin and got back to me.

 

On Jan 24, she called Princess to cancel the hold. As soon as she canceled it, I hit the button to make the reservation, fully prepared to keep repeating till the released cabin showed up. It probably took 2 seconds--it showed up on my first "click." I then gave her the reservation number and she interfaced with Princess from there. I didn't scan or sign anything. My personalizer had the TAs info in place the first time I looked, but in fairness I don't remember how long after making the booking that was. She also got me some OBC that I wasn't expecting thru the umbrella group that her agency belongs to. The OBC is from Princess, but is on a TA code of some sort.

 

I do not know what the problem was with the pricing. What I could see on line when signed in under my account was significantly lower than what she and Princess could come up with, and of course I wanted to book at the lower price.[/quote']

 

That is because no money was put down on your booking or the hold......if money is put down on a booking like in my case paperwork must be sent....Also...you did not have the cruise you r referring to booked with your travel agent, she just had it on hold.

 

 

 

I have transferred held sailings before.....just as u described but with much less hassle.......I don't understand why you were doing the work of keeping that cabin TA and Princess should of been handling it.......

Edited February 6, 2018 by land lover

[Gracie115]

I realize this is an old thread but can anyone provide an update on how to transfer to a TA, has it changed from what the above posters describe?  Can't find anything on the Princess website.

[fishywood]

11 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

I realize this is an old thread but can anyone provide an update on how to transfer to a TA, has it changed from what the above posters describe?  Can't find anything on the Princess website.

It has changed significantly from even the most recent posts in this thread, never mind the ones from six years ago.

Here's a thread from last week (fancy that) with current info, including a link to the relevant form:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2659624-transfer-booking-to-your-ta/

 

[Gracie115]

1 hour ago, fishywood said:

It has changed significantly from even the most recent posts in this thread, never mind the ones from six years ago.

Here's a thread from last week (fancy that) with current info, including a link to the relevant form:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2659624-transfer-booking-to-your-ta/

 

 

 

Thank you for the link..very helpful!!!  Just made a reservation this morning to link up to one I made at the beginning of the year....at least it was only a 5 night cruise...at the time I was unaware of the new 60 day transfer rule so I guess that one can't be transferred now, but at least I know this one can.  

[rwilk1129]

My experience as of yesterday is my Princess booking  that I tried to transfer Tuesday to my travel agent. I knew about 60 window for transfer and used deposit confirmation date as my booking date. When transfer was not done I phoned Princess to follow up. They told me  I was past 60 day window. I had phoned Princess for a price  in March and a cabin was put on hold while I checked with spouse and dogsitter to make sure date would work. Before hold was up I phoned and put down deposit on the cruise. Princess used prior date and I was using date of deposit as booking date. They told me I was past date and could not transfer booking and would have to cancel and rebook to transfer. I asked for supervisor but said I would have to wait for written verification of denial first. Cruise was a casino offer past expiration I might add so would lose big time. Suprisingly booking suddening was transferred last night. So afterall turned out ok. Lesson:  If you talk to Princess and put hold on cabin. THAT is booking date.

[JF - retired RRT]

Another "oops! Gotcha" that I recently ran afoul of...

I was entering credit card during the booking process (out of FCDs ) and my fingers did their own little dance, ended up with the wrong card #, so of course I got the "denied, try again" message. As I went through the clicks to try again, I didn't notice that it had defaulted back to "pay for the whole cruise". AGGHH!! No, just wanted to pay the deposit (the cruise isn't until Sept. 2020). Called Princess, got the charge reversed. Sent email to TA for a "take over" and was denied.

ONCE YOU PAY FOR THE WHOLE CRUISE, EVEN IF IT'S REVERSED LATER, YOU CAN'T USE A TA. 

I have to cancel the cruise and rebook. Taking a BVE this Sunday, will buy more FCDs and then try again. 

Be careful with the buttons you click when you're entering your booking info.

[dog]

I've had to fax Princess the form to transfer my recent bookings to my TA. They would not accept an email letter from me or let my TA just take it over, like we did in the past.

May 2019

[jangor]

Although I have used a TA for land trips, I have always used Princess for our cruises.  About four cruises ago, my husband won a tidy sum in the casino and since then we have used the Princess Casino agent to book our cruises.  But I always read about cruisers who have gotten lower prices and perks using a TA.  So, we went to a TA, did not tell them our casino rate and asked what they could do for us.  They said that they could not book for less than the Princess book rate.  They could give us a specialty dinner and $25 OBC.  So my question is...are most TA's giving discounted rates for cruises?  I know Casino rate is better, but I am not sure how long they will give us this, since my husband's win was a bit of a fluke (we usually lose money).