Booking Direct vs. Travel Agent

[knittinggirl]

Just wondering, is this refusal to deal with you if you have a TA industry wide, or is it a Royal policy. Once I tried to get Royal to make a reservation but it was listed w/ the TA and they refused. "We don't get between customers and our travel partners." I tried to get them to set up a three-way phone conversation w/ the TA, and they refused that too.

[LMaxwell]

Just wondering, is this refusal to deal with you if you have a TA industry wide, or is it a Royal policy. Once I tried to get Royal to make a reservation but it was listed w/ the TA and they refused. "We don't get between customers and our travel partners." I tried to get them to set up a three-way phone conversation w/ the TA, and they refused that too.

 

I currently have two TA booked cruises with RCI; I can make reservations (dining, shows, excursions) direct through the RCI website by linking my reservation to their website, no issues in doing that. What I can't do is make actual major changes to my reservation without the TA (upgrade/downgrade, get price drops, etc) involved.

 

I have had my TA call RCI and then patch me in on 3-way; I have never asked RCI to do that for me. That's my TA's job, not RCI's.

 

As far as I can tell this is an industry-wide policy.

[curiouscat]

Interesting you refer to these OTA as "ta"s ....LOL... If you don't speak with them have professional relationship with them ..which means they actually get to know you, how you like to travel, dislikes , likes etc.. that is NOT a Travel Agent(Advisor) they are OTA's....

 

Somebody you don't talk to and is in a call center, OTA, Online Travel Agency, is completely different !!!!!

 

 

So do you want a travel advisor invested in your cruise holiday or a call center OTA dude... that is really the question.

 

CC

 

PS happy sailing off today on Freedom.. :D

[temple1]

I am not yet sold on TA's but; :D

 

A few months ago I checked rates on Enchantment of the Seas for a cruise with DS and my great niece over the Veterans Day weekend in Nov. The rates were out of line with what we were willing to pay for a 3 nighter. A couple of weeks later I saw that one of the clubs of an organization I belong was sponsoring a cruise on Enchantment of the Seas for that very weekend as part of a service project. The rates were about $200 per person less than what we found on the RCI website. I jumped on it. I know, we have to pay way in advance of the real due date, I had to request specifically for them to use MY credit card to pay our expenses, and we have to pay a fee for changes. But the savings were impressive!

 

I know they cannot charge less than the RCI rates, but they were charging the rate as it was when the package was booked by the club. The agent has been available by phone or email and has been very friendly and helpful. In the past when I've tried to use a TA I had the feeling I was interrupting their canasta game.

 

I am still having issues with the loss of control, but am now a little more open minded about using a TA.

[LMaxwell]

So do you want a travel advisor invested in your cruise holiday or a call center OTA dude... that is really the question.

 

 

With this website and many others I can do a large part of research ahead of time. Both of my TA's had some input when questioned that I feel was useful, but I don't really need them to decide what may or may not appeal to me.

 

I am looking for the best overall deal once I have decided with my spouse where we would like to go. I happen to enjoy the research, I know many don't though, and finding a true adviser like you describe is tough; the exception to the rule.

[internetwhiz]

First two cruises I used a TA but then you're not allowed to talk directly to Royal if you have questions or concerns and you're stuck waiting for your TA to get the information. I book upcoming cruises when I'm on-board the ship. I may not get all the little perks some TA's hand out, but I'm in control and that's just the way I like it!

 

We book things on board to get the onboard booking credit and then we call the TA when we get home and ask what perks they can give if we transfer it to them. If its gratuities and more we transfer it to them, and if its just a little bit, we keep it with Royal. We generally transfer it. For us, the dab of inconvenience is worth it. You can still call crown and anchor with questions, you just can't change the reservation.

 

As far as having to catch them open during the week, if you find a good agent there and have their email and email your request , they will call you promptly the next morning. .

[nin_man]

I used one for my first cruise because I was, to steal a phrase, insecure and didn't know what I was doing. And sure, I got a few gimmes from the agent, but otherwise, I didn't really see the benefit. Generally speaking, I have a problem paying someone else to do something for me that I can do myself. So, using an agent really isn't something that appeals to me in the least, regardless of OBC or bottles of champagne. If you're okay with giving up that control, I don't see why you wouldn't use a TA, with the extras you seem to get.

[dogchopper]

Just wondering, is this refusal to deal with you if you have a TA industry wide, or is it a Royal policy. Once I tried to get Royal to make a reservation but it was listed w/ the TA and they refused. "We don't get between customers and our travel partners." I tried to get them to set up a three-way phone conversation w/ the TA, and they refused that too.

They refused to let me do a 3 way conversation too even though on person on the phone )0(befriend I was transferred) is the one who told me to ask for that .

They actually hung up on me!!! I was shocked !!

 

 

I am still not sire if it is helpful to use a TA or not??

[internetwhiz]

Hope you locate a good one.

[Desert Cruizers]

bostonfred, in the future you shouldn't name a Travel Agency, against CC policy, to late now.:). I believe if you use a TA for a given cruise and they have a lot of people going using their company, they can get a better price because they put you in that block, otherwise they can't charge less then the price set by the cruise lines. I use a local TA whose name was given to us, by friends. I have used her services since 2002. I am perfectly able to call the cruise lines and book directly with them but because we have received excellant service from she and her company, I prefer to give her our business because I know she will look out for our reservations.

[matj2000]

If you are one of "those" people who wake-up at 3AM and decide they need to change cabins for no real good reason.

You probably should not use a travel agency...

[grandgeezer]

:):) any research I have done in the past always shows almost exact prices for all parties RCCL,TA, and online agencies.....if I'm allowed to say this I use Liberty Travel....if they have a large block of rooms booked,there may be some small perks involved,otherwise all seems equal..i always pick a specific midship balcony and due to caring for grandkids we travel peak times.....internet agencies seem only to offer deals off season and on certain categories...would like to know what agencies people are using and what categories they are booking...we have sailed 18 times so we are not rookies..thanks!!:cool::cool:

 

We booked the Christmas/New Years Hawaii cruise on Princess leaving this December 20. We booked through an online TA and paid over $200 p.p. less, for an oceanview (in the area of the ship we want to be), than going right through Princess. I would say that's a peak season time. We've used this agency at least four times before so we know they are legit.

I'm guessing that they have a group space rate as a discount was available for all categories of rooms.

[avatheps]

Can someone outline the pro's and con's of each? We booked through a travel agent for our upcoming Freedom cruise but have wondered on many occasions if we might have been better off booking directly.

 

Any ideas?

 

I started planning for our first cruise over a year in advance. I am very adept at online research and had a well conceived plan in hand within a couple of weeks. Then I joined CC and started reading about other's experiences and decided to play it safe and obtain the services of a TA. There are many that advertise in my area and after a few phone calls I selected one claiming to specialize in cruises.

 

My DW and I went to visit her at her office and asked her many questions, some of which I had already answered for myself, but just wanted to see what she would say. We came away happy that we had done the right thing, after plunking down half the quoted full price.

 

For the next several months we waited for a call for some of those expected perks or price drops that we constantly read and hear about. Every time I would see one advertised online that seem to pertain to us I would call and get the same thumbs down from the TA. For one or the other reason we just never qualified.

 

I finally got smart and came to the conclusion that most of the perks are for many time cruisers and those able to afford the very expensive suites, kind of like the casinos treat the "whales/high rollers" with all the perks. At that point I went to see the TA to pay off the remainder of the cruise.

 

She handed me the contract and it only took a glance to notice at least three very important items that if not corrected would have been a deal breaker or at least would have made us miss our ship and therefore the cruise. We ended up paying an extra $300 out of pocket and going away with a very bad feeling about the entire deal. If not for the fact that DW had her heart set on this cruise, this fine young country gentleman would have told the TA to stick it somewhere that it would never see daylight and be done with cruising before I ever started.

 

With that said, my advice to you is this: Plan early, that's the best way to get the best deal. I have been following my original balcony stateroom for over a year now and it has gone up at least three times. Others are reporting the same. Join a roll call list and get to meet the folks you will be traveling with. You can bet that they will be more quick to provide helpful information you can use instead of you worrying about getting a bum steer from an unscrupulous TA out for perks of their own. Buy some good travel insurance that covers all the "What if's?" If you are reasonably able with the computer, do your own research. I am on SS and still am confident enough to say that I will never again seek the services of a TA.

 

Happy cruising.

 

Bob:)

[grandgeezer]

I think you had a very poor travel agent. As far as who gets the good perks, you are completely wrong on all counts. I've gotten good perks starting from the very first cruise, on all five lines, through the very last one. When I first started cruising I checked with brick and mortar agency, online travel agents, and the cruise line. After I got my offers I took the best one, always the online one, and went back to the other two to see what they could do to earn my business. The brick and mortar sometime increased their obc. Every time, the cruise line held firm. I don't even bother any more, I go right to the computer.

For example, we did the fall transatlantic last year on the Constellation. Fom the TA, we got prepaid gratuities, $200 obc, and dinner for two in a specialty restaraunt. That' s a 620 value.

Celebrity gave us the drink package and that was it. If you can get those from the cruise line, good for you, but I seriously doubt it.

[Cheryl H]

Here's our experience. Back in the 1990's for my first couple cruises, we used a local TA. She was nice and full of info. No perks except for a small gift like a picture frame or maybe a little tote bag. Nothing fancy. We had RCCL cancel one cruise and she got us rebooked on another ship, and air transferred to a different departure city for our group of 6. It was all good. She's no longer in business.

 

Now we book all our own because we like having control of our booking and the power to call for the price adjustments, just as others have said. We since then had 2 other RCCL cruises cancelled by the cruise line. Other than a shock, really the details fell into line. The RCCL Resolutions department helped us with our rebooking, compensation, and how to get our air change fees refunded.

 

Fast forward to now and we have a personal friend who has just become a TA about one year ago. We did call her first before booking our latest cruise to see what incentives she might provide. However, her words were that her placing the booking for us was incentive enough. As in she is doing our work for us and that is really all the incentive we need. So we did not book with her. However, we did contact her to book our Disney trip. She didn't seem familiar with the resort we wanted enough to even know there were no elevators, not familiar with which buildings were preferred locations, and not familiar with Disney normally printing special requests on the invoice....and so forth. Then when we were offered a Disney pin code for a discount, she was out of town. I could not call Disney myself because we did not book it. Her husband did end up making the call for us to have Disney apply the code. It was just a hassle waiting on them to connect back with us to take care of it.

 

However, if I could get some of the many perks that some have listed on this thread, it would be tempting to consider a TA again. Otherwise, it's just not worth that hassle for us.

[grandgeezer]

You have to do what you think is best for you no matter what everyone else is doing. I'm a huge backer on an online travel agent, maybe because I have found one of the best in the business. I don't need anybody to guide me or make reccomendations, just process the order. I don't need anybody to be available 24/7. The only people I need available 24/7 are policemen, firemen, and emts. After the Hawaii, Christmas/New Years cruise I just booked, I have never had any pressing need to contact them via the phone. I get my cabin changes, price reductions, and upgrades via e-mail. It's all about the Benjamin's and I couldn't be happier, but that's just me.

[fromsea2sea]

wow, you must have used the same one we used, never again, we will do it ourselves, i'm sure there are some good ones out there though.

[FLACRUISER99]

I've used both but I am extremely leery of using a TA if the cruise is a long way off. Unless I can save a substantial amount of money I prefer to book direct.

[yknot13]

I can only speak personally of how I have found it. Until my next cruise I have always used an agent and during the last booking and cruise I realised my TA did absolutely nothing for me. She didn't provide information or advice or help, I had done the spade work by knowing what cabin I wanted, the itinerary I wanted etc etc and so she just took the booking and I went along with it. When I upgraded I again said which cabin I wanted and asked her to sort it. I had a phone call from her a little while before the cruise to say all my 'paperwork and tickets' were ready so I trundled round there and couldn't believe it when all she gave me was the ticket booklet which I had already printed out.

 

At that moment I realised she did nothing at all for me so I would be better doing it myself. I have booked my next two cruises for myself and can modify the booking however I want by myself through RCI. So far so good :)

 

I felt the the exact same way the last cruise we booked with a travel agent. We did all the leg work and actualy had more of an understanding of the details than the TA.

[harlekuin]

I used one for my first cruise because I was, to steal a phrase, insecure and didn't know what I was doing. And sure, I got a few gimmes from the agent, but otherwise, I didn't really see the benefit. Generally speaking, I have a problem paying someone else to do something for me that I can do myself. So, using an agent really isn't something that appeals to me in the least, regardless of OBC or bottles of champagne. If you're okay with giving up that control, I don't see why you wouldn't use a TA, with the extras you seem to get.

 

Just to be clear, you don't pay the travel agent. The cruise line does. If you book direct, the cruise line keeps the commission which is, based on the size of the agency, somewhere between 10 and 16% of the cruise fare (which is not the total-it's minus all the fees and taxes).

 

People will say, great, it saves money so the line will charge less... ah no.

[dep]

The last time I booked through a travel agent they had us on the wrong ship. If you have any kind of problem with your booking and you call Royal Caribbean they will tell you to call the travel agent You booked thru .

[internetwhiz]

wow, you must have used the same one we used, never again, we will do it ourselves, i'm sure there are some good ones out there though.

 

We really like ours. Have booked our last five cruises with them, and have four more that we either booked with them or had RC transfer over to them...

[springfire]

I use one of the big boy agency's that give me the most perks. Having gratuity paid is a fantastic perk and I see no reason to leave that money behind. Saying that, I always enjoy researching my own cruise so I know what I am looking for.

[FLACRUISER99]

Just to be clear, you don't pay the travel agent. The cruise line does. If you book direct, the cruise line keeps the commission which is, based on the size of the agency, somewhere between 10 and 16% of the cruise fare (which is not the total-it's minus all the fees and taxes).

 

People will say, great, it saves money so the line will charge less... ah no.

BTY, there are TA that charge a service fee. One post's on this board from time to time.

[mm1251]

Just wondering, is this refusal to deal with you if you have a TA industry wide, or is it a Royal policy. Once I tried to get Royal to make a reservation but it was listed w/ the TA and they refused. "We don't get between customers and our travel partners." I tried to get them to set up a three-way phone conversation w/ the TA, and they refused that too.

 

They refused to let me do a 3 way conversation too even though on person on the phone )0(befriend I was transferred) is the one who told me to ask for that .

They actually hung up on me!!! I was shocked !!

 

 

I am still not sire if it is helpful to use a TA or not??

 

Royal pays the travel agent to handle all aspects of the reservation. If their CSR's need to get involved directly with the customer that books with a TA, there is no reason to pay the TA their commision. I understand why Royal will not handle questions or changes with these type of reservations.

 

I have done both - TA and myself. I like saving money, but I like handling everything myself even more. Now we only use a TA if we book a theme cruise or a cruise with a group.