is it better to use a TA or book directly with NCL

[dmf208]

Why use a TA? We want to book an owners suite on Gem, the price is the same with TA and NCL.

The TA is going to give us $100, which frankly is nice but when the cruise costs over a $8000, a 100 dollar credit is no big deal.

 

I have always booked directly with NCL. (after final deadline I have always gotten obc for a price drop)

 

Why do people use a TA? Do they get a lower price as well?

 

Thanks for any info?

[wasiii]

Why use a TA? We want to book an owners suite on Gem, the price is the same with TA and NCL.

The TA is going to give us $100, which frankly is nice but when the cruise costs over a $8000, a 100 dollar credit is no big deal.

 

I have always booked directly with NCL. (after final deadline I have always gotten obc for a price drop)

 

Why do people use a TA? Do they get a lower price as well?

 

Thanks for any info?

 

.....to you to make it more enticing to book with them, along with other perks.

 

But if you go through a TA, then you have to make all your changes through the TA not through NCL.

 

wasiii

[Zoey]

Personally, I am SUCH a control freak, that even though over the years I have seen great extras provided by TA's, I've forgone those and booked all dozen or so of my cruises directly with the cruiseline so anytime I have a question or want to change something I can call them directly and not have to go through a TA and take their word on the subject.

[L3GWG]

Others will disagree but always book through NCL for piece of mind

 

 

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[deladypilot]

I think it is a personal preference. What makes you feel comfortable.

 

Some people get some great perks from their TAs, others do not. I live in an area that has only 2 TAs, one is very big into one of the All Inclusive resort places on the islands and the other does a bit of everything. Neither could do any better than NCL directly, so we chose to stick with booking ourselves.

 

I too am a control freak and it would drive me crazy to have to call someone who in turn was going to call someone to get the information. That being said, if there was a close TA that could get me extra perks I would at least give it a try once and see how it all worked out

[deeleecox]

I have a TA and when I called her, she didn't call me back for 3 days. I'm the meantime, NCL called me back immediately and gave me a great rate on "the last room available" for the kids sail free promo on my specific sailing. I booked with NCL directly. 2 days AFTER I booked with NCL she called me and she of course told me there were no rooms in my category available (duh, by now I knew that) so her rate was much higher for a better room which I didn't want. I then told her I already booked with NCL directly and she said I can call them and have them transfer my reservation to her and she can give me a $25.00 OBC. Huh? How is that worth it or even fair to the wonderful NCL cruise consultant that helped me? No thank you!

 

 

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[che5904]

I think it is a personal preference. What makes you feel comfortable.

 

Some people get some great perks from their TAs, others do not.

 

I too am a control freak and it would drive me crazy to have to call someone who in turn was going to call someone to get the information.

 

Ditto

 

Just remember OP if you book with a TA they own your reservation. So as the above poster notes. No matter what change you may want to make, it always has to go through your TA. You say you have always been successful in getting NCL to offer you something with a price drop after final payment. That also would have to go through your TA.

[KeithJenner]

It is what you prefer really.

 

Some people feel more comfortable booking through a TA, and they seem to get reasonable OBC at times as well.

 

Personally, I have only ever tried dealing with a travel agent once, and after they spent more time trying to convince me I wouldn't like what I was planning and that I should do what they suggest instead, I've never spoken to one again. I book with NCL direct, and sort all my own flights, hotels etc. I like the planning and will happily forego a bit of OBC to be in control. The same applies to any non cruise holiday I take.

 

Basically, I don't see it any different to other holidays. If you are more comfortable booking through a TA the do it that way. If you like to keep full control then book it yourself. If you really don't care then see if you can get a good deal through a TA and book whatever is cheapest.

[acharris1]

I am technically a travel agent, although I only use it to save money on my own travel. I can't remember the specifics, but I know the NCL and all of the other cruise lines have recently restricted what kind of OBC that travel agents can provide to their clients. Before the changes, for example, if my commission was $500, I could entice you to book with me by offering you $499 in OBC. Now, there are significant restrictions placed on that to where it may not be as enticing to use a travel agent. I know some people manage to break these rules, but they are in place. That being said, I think it's more of a personal preference. I've done it both ways.

[kirsty_r]

i go with the best deal at the time - my last 3 cruises have been direct with NCL, with only 1 with a TA. But in the UK, the TA and direct with NCL offer the same, very limited OBC anyway.

[heckofagator]

For our upcoming trip, the OBC was significantly different between a TA and NCL direct, something like $250 OBC for a $500 interior room with TA vs $50 OBC direct. I'd probably prefer to book direct, but with that big of a difference, TA works for me!

Edited March 21, 2014 by heckofagator

[graphicguy]

I've booked directly with NCL and with a TA. In all frankness, I don't see much of a difference between having changes done through a TA, or directly with a PCC who works for NCL. Matter of fact, I feel a TA gives better service and certainly gives more "perks" than NCL's PCC did.

 

Even when my last reservation went a little sideways, my TA really was on top of resolving the issue. Not saying NCL wouldn't. But, I really had to hand it to my TA. Issue resolved, on a Sunday, while we're pulling out of port (NYC), while I'm talking to the TA on my cell phone, before we were out of my cell phone range.

 

It was a change of cabin issue. I could have waited in like at the customer service desk. But, my TA resolved it over the phone in 5 minutes.

[sunshine113]

We have always dealt directly with NCL. If you book with them directly and the price of your cruise drops, you can just call them back and they will give you the new price. I don't think you can do that with a TA. On this last cruise our price dropped by $100@ and we were upgraded to a mid ship balcony..we started from an obstructed ocean view. I have never used a TA..but I don't think we could have pulled that off with one.

[psbtrvlr]

We have always dealt directly with NCL. If you book with them directly and the price of your cruise drops, you can just call them back and they will give you the new price. I don't think you can do that with a TA. On this last cruise our price dropped by $100@ and we were upgraded to a mid ship balcony..we started from an obstructed ocean view. I have never used a TA..but I don't think we could have pulled that off with one.

 

Yes you can. The TA takes care of it for you.

[ksmcali]

Why use a TA? We want to book an owners suite on Gem, the price is the same with TA and NCL.

The TA is going to give us $100, which frankly is nice but when the cruise costs over a $8000, a 100 dollar credit is no big deal.

 

I have always booked directly with NCL. (after final deadline I have always gotten obc for a price drop)

 

Why do people use a TA? Do they get a lower price as well?

 

Thanks for any info?

 

For comparison, we just booked the Gem in an owners suite through our TA who we love and have used before. Our OBC from the TA was over $500 plus the additional NCL OBC we received for booking during a NCL promotion. If you look around these boards, you will find that this is on par based on the $ you spend per room, especially on a suite. I use to always book direct until I read through these boards and realized I may be missing out on OBC by not shopping TAs.

 

If you plan to book a $$$ suite, it's in your best interest to shop around with TA and see what they can offer you. Just request a quote.

 

Some TAs are better than others. You just have to find the right one. Mine has always been quick to respond and quick to make adjustments. I've never had issues while on a cruise, so I can't speak to how well that is handled, but I've had lots of issues pop up in planning that my TA has always handled with efficiency.

 

Hope this helps!

[AF-1]

I was on NCL website and they were offering $300 OBC for booking a suite. I called my buddy who is a travel agent and he booked the suite with the OBC. I know it was NCL giving the credit; but my buddy will add something later on. He normally has food and goodies delivered to our cabin during the cruise. So to answer the question; I have never booked directly with any cruise line.

[nbsjcruiser]

Personally, I am SUCH a control freak, that even though over the years I have seen great extras provided by TA's, I've forgone those and booked all dozen or so of my cruises directly with the cruiseline so anytime I have a question or want to change something I can call them directly and not have to go through a TA and take their word on the subject.

 

The thing that I dislike (and DW especially) is when one of us notices a price drop and calls the TA and gets either voice mail or a slow reaction to get at the price drop. We've used 3 different TA's and always the same result. Phone calls not returned or price drops missed because she took too long to action our request. Booking direct means its one phone call and the issue is immediately resolved. I like that.

[disfan13]

Many use a TA because they like to have things taken care of for them. All of my clients use me, not because of perks, but because of service. I actually offer very few, if any perks, don't need to. ;)

[mizLORInj]

Why use a TA? We want to book an owners suite on Gem, the price is the same with TA and NCL.

The TA is going to give us $100, which frankly is nice but when the cruise costs over a $8000, a 100 dollar credit is no big deal.

 

I have always booked directly with NCL. (after final deadline I have always gotten obc for a price drop)

 

Why do people use a TA? Do they get a lower price as well?

 

Thanks for any info?

 

I would think you'd get more than $100 OBC for a $8K suite! So I would price it a few places, both NCL and a few TAs. If you belong to a warehouse club, some of them have TAs too. Just beware that some charge for changes you make, so make sure you ask.

Our TA gets back to us quickly, whether a quote, a price drop, or sometimes a cabin change. As someone said, if you book with a TA, yes, you have to deal with them for all changes. But it hasn't even been an issue for us.

Enjoy your suite! :)

Edited March 21, 2014 by mizlorinj

[TifffanyD]

Well I wouldn't want to use a bad TA... but I love my TA and use her to book all my cruises. It's great because I can just send her off an email or an IM when I want a change made or a price drop instead of dealing with calling myself. Also... she has a bit more weight with the cruiselines than I do when things go wrong. She also keeps copies of our passports in case something happened and we need them, advises me when I have questions about travel insurance, and is just a great person.

 

If you don't want someone else to do these things for you, then that's fine too and you can call NCL and use their planners. But it's kind of like having a personal assistant... not having to do everything myself. Plus she can give me opinions on things I don't know much about.

[SissasMomE]

Why use a TA? We want to book an owners suite on Gem, the price is the same with TA and NCL.

The TA is going to give us $100, which frankly is nice but when the cruise costs over a $8000, a 100 dollar credit is no big deal.

 

I have always booked directly with NCL. (after final deadline I have always gotten obc for a price drop)

 

Why do people use a TA? Do they get a lower price as well?

 

Thanks for any info?

 

You definitely need to find a different TA. A suite has the commission built in - well, all the cabins do, but a suite the commission is anywhere from $900 - $2,000. You need to find a TA that is going to do a little more than the measly $100 lol

[SissasMomE]

Personally, I am SUCH a control freak, that even though over the years I have seen great extras provided by TA's, I've forgone those and booked all dozen or so of my cruises directly with the cruiseline so anytime I have a question or want to change something I can call them directly and not have to go through a TA and take their word on the subject.

 

For a regular cabin, I do agree with you ... but the commission on a suite is so high, it's worth it to give up the control to a TA that you trust.

[hominid]

We've only ever booked through a TA. Our last trip was a suite on the Star and the TA's price was $700 cheaper than NCL's price AND we got an extra $150 in OBC.

 

Just booked one a few weeks ago and I was going to try NCL, but the TA company we used was $200 cheaper with an extra $50 OBC. No brainer. That's an extra $250 to spend on the cruise:D

 

Never had a problem changing anything. Just changed the room number and I call them they call NCL while I'm on the phone and get me confirmation numbers or whatever I need.

[arf2005]

Many use a TA because they like to have things taken care of for them. All of my clients use me, not because of perks, but because of service. I actually offer very few, if any perks, don't need to. ;)

 

Same here. I can't compete with what some of the large internet agencies offer, but no one can beat the service we provide. If you are wanting to nickel and dime it then we aren't for you, but if you want service we definitely are!

[mistshar]

Well I wouldn't want to use a bad TA... but I love my TA and use her to book all my cruises. It's great because I can just send her off an email or an IM when I want a change made or a price drop instead of dealing with calling myself. Also... she has a bit more weight with the cruiselines than I do when things go wrong. She also keeps copies of our passports in case something happened and we need them, advises me when I have questions about travel insurance, and is just a great person.

 

If you don't want someone else to do these things for you, then that's fine too and you can call NCL and use their planners. But it's kind of like having a personal assistant... not having to do everything myself. Plus she can give me opinions on things I don't know much about.

 

Your TA sounds like mine. I enjoy being able to send off an email and get an answer right back. I don't have time to stay on hold on the telephone as some have had to do. She is nearly always available and if she isn't she has someone else contact me. She also price matches, which is really nice. I have used her for years and have never had a problem getting her to take care of whatever I need. I like having her take care of any issue and then I don't have to waste my time.