Book Through Carnival or Agent?

[ldarcy]

The TA I was talking to is one of Carnival's "picks" for an agent. They didn't charge a fee unless I cancelled, so after the cruise I would have been up $100 when they sent their refund. The initial price was the same.

 

I don't need to find a bottle of wine in the room or other gifts, my main concerns is being able to manage my booking the way I want to.

 

On this thread I was reminded of headaches I've had in the past when my TA wasn't available or didn't care enough to look after things the way I thought they should be - and honestly, who is going to look after me any better than I can?

 

I'm happy I booked with Carnival and I have no problem watching for future sales or perks myself.

[Beezle82]

On this thread I was reminded of headaches I've had in the past when my TA wasn't available or didn't care enough to look after things the way I thought they should be - and honestly, who is going to look after me any better than I can?.

 

I totally agree, and this is exactly the issue I'm having. I feel like my TA is being so nonchalant about everything. About a month ago the airline rescheduled our post-cruise flight to a time that is impossible to make. It's now 2 1/2 weeks till sailing and my TA still doesn't have things ironed out, so I'm not 100% sure yet how or when we're getting home. Irritating beyond belief. :mad:

[dhdelrod]

Book through Carnival with a PVP

[LeisaH3067]

So if I book with an agent I lose the ability to call Carnival directly with issues?

 

I had that happen with an all-inclusive last year and was totally frustrated when the provider wouldn't speak to me and the TA had gone home for the day... very frustrating!

 

That gives the decision to book directly with Carnival a little more weight!

 

 

Yes! Carnival will not be able to assist you. I learned this lesson the hard way with the cruise we are leaving on in a few weeks. I will always book directly through Carnival from now on.

[Paumavista]

We've always booked directly for our personal family.....but now we've got a large group traveling....coming in from different areas of the country. People will need airfare, hotel, transportation and cruise reservations. Getting a good TA to handle these things - One single point of contact for everyone is worth ALOT....yet it doesn't cost us anything!!!!

 

I can't imagine trying to coordinate everything myself......and our PVP already told us she could not help with airfare, hotels, or transportation since many of us were coming in the night before sailing.

 

Thanks to our TA we will hopefully manage some discounts at the hotel & on coordinating transportation......as well as our group rate booking on the ship.

 

So it matters who's sailing......can't beat a TA for groups!!

[jpurdy]

I am finding that through the years I am looking for the biggest bang for my buck too. We are experienced 20+ cruisers and kind of enjoy playing the game of finding the best incentives. The agents we use have never let us down (of course no guarantee it will never happen) and they actually helped us yesterday working directly with Carnival.

The cruise price is the same across the board. We've booked directly with Carnival too and never had any problems. Can always ask for a supervisor. It's all about what feels most comfortable to you.