Booking at Celebrity vs travel-agent?

[sonnenstrahl]

I would like to know the plus and minuses to book with Celebrity direct or with a travel agent. I have a travel agent, she is with a small company so no bonuses.

Thank you for your opinion.

[gsu_paintballer]

We just booked our 11th cruise while we were onboard the Reflection in December. Prior to our Reflection cruise, we've NEVER used a TA.

 

I used a site where online TAs bid on your business (not sure if I'm allowed to post here) and found an online TA with a rate cheaper than Celebrity was offering. As it turns out, we had a last minute issue with the Silhouette that we were originally booked on, and our TA got us moved to the Reflection and upgraded.

 

I used the same site this year and booked through a different TA. In the process, I saved $200 and got an extra $75 OBC.

 

If you don't get any bonus, I don't see the benefit.

Edited January 11, 2015 by gsu_paintballer

[cle-guy]

I book thru a small independent agent as well, and always get some sort of perk.

 

Figure your Agent is getting a commission calculated like this:

 

Cruise fare (net of the Port fees and taxes) less around $100 in fees the line takes out at 15%.

 

So if you pay $1000 plus $120 in point fees and taxes,

the agent is getting:

$1120 Cruise cost

- $120 taxes/fees

- $100 line fees

--------

$900 net cruise fare at 15% = $135 is your TA's take on your sailing, or close to it.

 

From there it's time to decide just how much you'd expect them to share, perhaps on this amount, I'd say $25-$50 OBC is about fair. If you cruise several times a year, maybe more.

 

Sail in suites or longer term the perks become far better.....

 

So depending on what you book, would decide if it is worth seeking a TA, or just keep with X.

 

I tend to book with X then transfer to my agent to get any perks she will give me. You never LOSE anything by transferring to an agent, but always can stand the GET something.

 

That said, if you book with a LARGE agent, they may contract blocks of cabins, in which case they will probably offer lower fares, than you can book direct with X but some of the X granted perks may not apply (123 for example), so in these cases you may NOT get the x perks, relying on the agent to provide them, but with a lower fare, are likely ahead.

[fleckle]

.......If you don't get any bonus, I don't see the benefit.

Some people use a TA who is a friend or family member just so that person can be the one who gets the commission.

 

But the drawback (other than giving up better perks that you may get if you book elsewhere) is that in case of a problem, it can result in bad feelings between the family members or friends.

 

[Ohana Travel]

my first cruise, i found cruise critic more than 60 days after booking and knew nothing about the benefits of using a TA until too late. this time, i used the same celebrity rep to book my cruise, then shopped around and found an agent willing to give me OBC. then i called my rep and after he checked, he gave me the same OBC i would have gotten by switching.

then keeping an eye on things, i found the 123 all inclusive deal and rebooked my cruise. it did increase the cost by $200 but i received $150 OBC more than my first deal plus the grats and drink package so definitely money well spent. in addition, i will still have the OBC from my rep.

 

from what i have seen, if you have a good TA, it is worth it to use them. but i have been very happy with celebrity direct. even if my rep is not available, someone is always there to help me.

[Cruise Raider]

Some of the reps at Celebrity are really good....and when I get one of them, I stick with the booking directly through Celebrity. I have asked them before to match what I could find at any particular TA (has to be listed as such online) and they have done that for me. Some are not quite so helpful though...so you really have to do your homework.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Some folks on CC don't like using a TA because you lose some control over your booking (i.e. Celebrity won't talk to you directly--you have to go through the TA with certain questions and changes). After reading all the threads about the Celebrity website :eek: and waiting on hold a few times :(, I figured giving up control wasn't an issue. ;)

 

If the website is working, I put a courtesy hold and then email my TA (I can't give the name, but it's one of the big advertisers on CC) to make the booking. Even if I'm still debating, she can get a 7-day courtesy hold (vs 24 hours on the website). Also she calls in to a completely different department at Celebrity, staffed with people who know more and can do more than we get on the retail side. And then she always throws in some OBC beyond the best deal Celebrity can offer. Also, if there's a price reduction she gets it for me and keeps my carefully selected cabin (even though this reduces her commission), and if I cancel she never charges me a fee. So why wouldn't I use a TA?

[Giorgi-one]

Never book with cruise line. Lose benefits. Just booked 7-day cruise concierge class. Saved $400 on cabin cost and got additional $300 OBC. This is a larger agency so if there is any problem, they can fix it way quicker than I can. Why give up $700?

[alldantia]

I stick with the booking directly through Celebrity.

[waterbug123]

People typically cite 2 potential pros to booking with a TA.

1. Perks given by the TA (which come out of their commission). But since your TA isn't offering any, this doesn't apply.

2. Help given by the TA if something gets screwed up with your cruise. Ex. you book far in advance and then the cruise line cancels because the ship gets chartered for the week. If you don't like the alternatives offered by the cruise line to rebook, a good TA may be able to step in and help. The more business that particular TA does with that particular cruise line, the more they may be able to do. People report vastly different experiences with TA's when it comes to this sort of thing.

 

The main advantage with booking directly with the cruise line is that you control your reservation. If you decide to change anything, you can do it, whereas if you booked with a TA, the TA "owns" the reservation and they would have to be the one to make changes (to sail date, cabin, dining time, etc.) Some people find that to be a pain and like to control their own res.

[Sapphire723]

I book thru a small independent agent as well, and always get some sort of perk.

 

Figure your Agent is getting a commission calculated like this:

 

Cruise fare (net of the Port fees and taxes) less around $100 in fees the line takes out at 15%.

 

So if you pay $1000 plus $120 in point fees and taxes,

the agent is getting:

$1120 Cruise cost

- $120 taxes/fees

- $100 line fees

--------

$900 net cruise fare at 15% = $135 is your TA's take on your sailing, or close to it.

 

From there it's time to decide just how much you'd expect them to share, perhaps on this amount, I'd say $25-$50 OBC is about fair. If you cruise several times a year, maybe more.

 

Sail in suites or longer term the perks become far better.....

 

So depending on what you book, would decide if it is worth seeking a TA, or just keep with X.

 

I tend to book with X then transfer to my agent to get any perks she will give me. You never LOSE anything by transferring to an agent, but always can stand the GET something.

 

That said, if you book with a LARGE agent, they may contract blocks of cabins, in which case they will probably offer lower fares, than you can book direct with X but some of the X granted perks may not apply (123 for example), so in these cases you may NOT get the x perks, relying on the agent to provide them, but with a lower fare, are likely ahead.

 

I believe the Non-commisionable Fare can vary a lot by cruise and cruiseline and not all agencies are big enough to get 15%. Also, some cruiselines place a limit on how big of a "gift" can be given to guests from the TA.

[Sapphire723]

People typically cite 2 potential pros to booking with a TA.

1. Perks given by the TA (which come out of their commission). But since your TA isn't offering any, this doesn't apply.

2. Help given by the TA if something gets screwed up with your cruise. Ex. you book far in advance and then the cruise line cancels because the ship gets chartered for the week. If you don't like the alternatives offered by the cruise line to rebook, a good TA may be able to step in and help. The more business that particular TA does with that particular cruise line, the more they may be able to do. People report vastly different experiences with TA's when it comes to this sort of thing.

 

The main advantage with booking directly with the cruise line is that you control your reservation. If you decide to change anything, you can do it, whereas if you booked with a TA, the TA "owns" the reservation and they would have to be the one to make changes (to sail date, cabin, dining time, etc.) Some people find that to be a pain and like to control their own res.

 

Personally, I always book through a TA. I would recommend choosing a TA for reason number two. Because in the end, you will want someone who makes booking, changing, cancelling, etc easy breezy for you. You want someone who doesn't mind sitting on hold with Celebrity for 30-45 minutes to get your question answered. You want someone who will get back to you even though you've already put your money in. Price drop on your reservation? You want someone who will do extra work to sacrifice part of their pay just so that you are happy. Problem with the booking? You want someone who will fight for you. Something go wrong? You want that TA who will be in your corner and help take care of it so you can relax and enjoy the trip.

 

If you've got a TA you can trust for all of the above, then any extra OBC or presents are just gravy (and usually a good TA will try to throw a little something on there depending on how much they are making on the booking). If you go to the lowest bidder, you might not receive the service you need and you might not build loyalty with someone who can really be an asset to you.

[waterbug123]

Personally, I always book through a TA. I would recommend choosing a TA for reason number two. Because in the end, you will want someone who makes booking, changing, cancelling, etc easy breezy for you.

 

To each his own. I guess I'm just not high maintenance enough to need a TA, LOL. I can make reservations myself far more easily and quickly than I could relay the info/requests to a TA, and then wait for them to confirm, and then check myself to make sure they did as asked.

 

And in all my cruises I have never had the need to change a reservation, get a question answered that couldn't be answered on the website, or had a problem with a booking except once, and that time it was actually BECAUSE of the TA not doing her job. YMMV, but for me, I prefer not using one.

 

That said, I do have a friend who is a TA and who puts together a big group cruise every year and obviously I book with her for the group cruise, because I enjoy this particular group and because she uses the GAP to offer stuff to the group.

[matt0148]

I always use a TA - only reason is the additional OBC.

[Nebr.cruiser]

I always use a TA - only reason is the additional OBC.

 

That's why we use TA's. We have booked with the cruise line if the price is right, but usually use Cruise Compete to get the best deal.

 

Our cruise in Dec. is an example. Booking direct; $100 OBC. Booking with a TA: same price for the cruise, but an additional $425 in OBC--which was refundable. They both included free grats (or the bev package or OBC--but we don't drink and the grats were worth more that the OBC offered.)

[RocketMan275]

I book thru a small independent agent as well, and always get some sort of perk.

 

Figure your Agent is getting a commission calculated like this:

 

Cruise fare (net of the Port fees and taxes) less around $100 in fees the line takes out at 15%.

 

So if you pay $1000 plus $120 in point fees and taxes,

the agent is getting:

$1120 Cruise cost

- $120 taxes/fees

- $100 line fees

--------

$900 net cruise fare at 15% = $135 is your TA's take on your sailing, or close to it.

 

From there it's time to decide just how much you'd expect them to share, perhaps on this amount, I'd say $25-$50 OBC is about fair. If you cruise several times a year, maybe more.

 

Sail in suites or longer term the perks become far better.....

 

So depending on what you book, would decide if it is worth seeking a TA, or just keep with X.

 

I tend to book with X then transfer to my agent to get any perks she will give me. You never LOSE anything by transferring to an agent, but always can stand the GET something.

 

That said, if you book with a LARGE agent, they may contract blocks of cabins, in which case they will probably offer lower fares, than you can book direct with X but some of the X granted perks may not apply (123 for example), so in these cases you may NOT get the x perks, relying on the agent to provide them, but with a lower fare, are likely ahead.

 

Thanks Curt, I'm a numbers guy and that's one of the more useful posts I've seen on CC. I guess that 15% may vary some from TA to TA but it's probably close enough for estimating purposes. Thanks again.

[Iamcruzin]

The key is to find a good TA. You probably have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find one. The last time I used a Travel Agent she never even called to remind me of final payment. Thank God I set an alert on my phone. I called her to make final payment on the last possible day. Princess allows TA's to discount as well as give OBC. This TA didn't offer either. I also feel that I'm better at fighting my own battles over someone who is managing hundreds or thousands of clients. I don't know what time of day that people are calling but I have never been on hold with any cruise line for more than a few minutes. I have called three times with questions and a room change since I booked my cruise this past November. Did not wait long and I got an instant confirmation of my room change and update of credits for the All inclusive perks. To me it's not worth the $25 to $50 OBC to hand my booking over to some fly by night TA who works for a big online site and may not be there by the time final payment is due.

[Sapphire723]

To each his own. I guess I'm just not high maintenance enough to need a TA, LOL. I can make reservations myself far more easily and quickly than I could relay the info/requests to a TA, and then wait for them to confirm, and then check myself to make sure they did as asked.

 

And in all my cruises I have never had the need to change a reservation, get a question answered that couldn't be answered on the website, or had a problem with a booking except once, and that time it was actually BECAUSE of the TA not doing her job. YMMV, but for me, I prefer not using one.

 

That said, I do have a friend who is a TA and who puts together a big group cruise every year and obviously I book with her for the group cruise, because I enjoy this particular group and because she uses the GAP to offer stuff to the group.

 

Some people prefer to take care of everything themselves, and I think whatever fits your style is fine. I say use whatever works for you. I do wonder, however, how it makes your friend feel that you don't find value in her services unless she's arranged a group.

[Iamcruzin]

Some people prefer to take care of everything themselves, and I think whatever fits your style is fine. I say use whatever works for you. I do wonder, however, how it makes your friend feel that you don't find value in her services unless she's arranged a group.

 

What service does a TA provide booking a cruise other than a discount or freebies? Everyone on CC pretty much knows the ins and outs of cruising and those new members are learning. I can understand if you never cruised before needing advise from a TA. However, my guess is that they will sway you towards the line that pays the best commission. I would be more inclined to use a TA for a land trip in Europe or for a combined cruise and land trip. If you already know the line you like to sail, the room category and the itinerary you really don't need a TA to walk you through the steps. It seems the majority here on CC only use a TA for discounts and OBC. If I was taking a long expensive cruise where a discount and OBC would mean something than I would use a TA as well.

[GeorgesGal]

We are now using on-line TA's for our cruises. It took CC to open my eyes to what I was missing out on. Prior to the on-lines, I either booked locally (and got a bottle of wine from TA) or directly with the cruise line (and usually got nothing from them but the cruise we had purchased.

 

Now, we find a cruise on-line that goes where we want to go this time, place a temp hold on it through the cruise line, then turn it over to a great on-line TA. This time we netted $400 obc over what the cruise line was offering. AND his service is great! We don't really need hand holding, we want money to spend on-board!

 

Happy cruising, all.