booking direct vs. travel agent?

[robinlynn]

I used a travel agent on my last two Celebrity European cruises and wasn't thrilled. The last one gave me a nice TA onboard credit,i but kept telling me she couldn't take advantage of the many Celebrity special deals and rates that became available well before my final payment. In the end I think it probably cost me more. She gave me wrong information on several issues, and I was very frustrated at my inability to speak to Celebrity direct because I had a TA.

But with the wacky Celebrity site, dealing with them can be frustrating as well.

 

 

I have since gotten a recommendation for someone I believe would be a good TA,(from a very frequent Celebrity cruiser we met on our last cruise) but before I make a decision, what are other advantages to using a TA besides the agent OBC?

 

What should a GOOD agent do for me?:confused:

 

 

Thanks,

Robin

[CateW]

For me the difference really boils down to the on board credit I get from out TA which is a large cruises only company. I do all my own research, book the cruse directly and then transfer it with 60 days. Typically I get an additional price reduction and the Obc. Since we typically do 14 day cruises, the Obc is normally $300, which is worth it.

[fredflint]

also having someone you can contact as everyone knows dealing with celebrity direct can be a challenge.

 

there are plenty of good agents that deal with celebrity a lot so they have some really good deals some agencies will buy blocks of cabins and can offer special deals due to their size.

[flames9]

I'm not a big cruiser--only taking our 3rd this May.....But don't see why one would book directly with Celebrity as it appears a Good TA can give you whatever Celebrity if offering AND give you OBC..... I love my TA, even on her days off she will answer my questions, etc etc!! I actually make an effort NOT to contact her, so she doesn't answer me,lol I got the 1,2,3 GO promotion--free classic pkg and Gratuities paid for and my TA gave us $500!! So pretty happy.

[TKS]

One of the biggest advantages of having a good TA is when things go wrong (weather delays, missed flights, etc.). Having their help in a bad situation can be the difference between having a good cruise experience, or having a really difficult time - or even missing the cruise.

 

A good TA will also help you out immensely with their knowledge of the ins and outs of the cruise lines and can make recommendations for opportunities to jump on, and some to pass up.

 

My recommendation is talk to people on your next cruise and if you find several options contact them and see if their knowledge and experience fit your cruise style. Once you find a good TA, their worth increases with each cruise, since they learn your likes and dislikes and can steer you toward experiences you will like best.

 

OBC's are great, but a really GOOD TA is well worth way more than all the perks offered to secure your business.

[Putterdude]

While Celebrity does not allow discounting of fares. TAs who do a lot of cruise business will book large blocks of cabins that they call "groups" at a savings. Most will pass some portion of the savings on to their clients thru OBCs, prepaid insurance, transfers and or other perks. We book entirely thru a TA, he gives us great service, re-prices fares to there is a reduction in fares, and is there for us if there is a problem with the cruise line....and that does happen.

[GeorgesGal]

also having someone you can contact as everyone knows dealing with celebrity direct can be a challenge.

 

there are plenty of good agents that deal with celebrity a lot so they have some really good deals some agencies will buy blocks of cabins and can offer special deals due to their size.

 

We have used TA's in the past, but for the last several cruises, we have dealt directly with the cruise lines.

 

My experience using Celebrity's Cruise Consultants has been outstanding! Here's what I do: find the cruise I want, go through the booking process on line, determine which s/r's are available in the category we are interested in. THEN call my favorite X consultant (Enid) and have her book for us. She will also check for addl rooms which might be available, then I check the two threads on CC for details and make my selection based on that info.

 

Haven't been disappointed yet!:D Perhaps those who have had problems are completing their booking on-line and not having someone personal to deal with after the fact.

 

Of course, if I see a spectaular offer from some on-line agency offering pre/post hotels along with grats and obc's, I will, and have, deal with them instead.

 

Donna

[Macadian]

We have always used the same TA for all of our cruises. Makes the whole process 'too easy' and looks after us too. I guess it all depends if you have a regular TA that you know by experience is ahead of the game

 

Were I starting from scratch I would probably go direct to the cruise line concerned.

[Hlitner]

We book a lot of cruises (101 days in 2012) and use a very basic rule. We simply shop around among several major online TAs (we have our own favorite short list) and compare their offerings to what is available on the cruise line's web site. In booking more then 65 cruises (about 3 years on ships) we have only had one time when it made sense to book direct with a cruise line. Our savings, by shopping around, will vary from as little as $100 on some short cruises (such as 7 day) and thousands of dollars on our longest cruises. We actually know a guy who once saved over $10,000 on a single Princess Cruise by booking though a certain TA. That is the exception, but it does happen. We personally have saved as much as $3500 on a single cruise (it was on HA) by shopping between several or our favorite TAs.

 

As to easy, most of the large online TAs have very good booking engines where you book with a few clicks of the mouse. Our next cruise (35 days on the Westerdam) was booked a few weeks ago in about 10 min at a TA site. It was just a few clicks of the mouse ...and a little typing and it was done. It immediately gave me a cruise line booking number (all in real time) and I was able to go to the cruise line's web site and immediately view my reservation. Our saving when compared to the HA web site was several hundred dollars.

 

Hank