TA vs. Personal Cruise Rep

[zorrosuncle]

Hi --

 

Can a travel agent get a better price on a cabin than the personal cruise rep commissioned by the cruise line? Can a TA from a large firm do best?

 

Thank you,

 

ZU

[Bonnie J.]

Carnival & I believe Royal Caribbean do not allow TAs to charge less than their price. I think some cruise lines limit the amount of an OBC a TA may give.

We now usually book directly with the cruise line on line. My husband is up at 5AM and checks prices. He has found the price may go up two or even 3 times that day. So, we no longer use a TA as they usually aren't in their office until 9 or later and the price may have gone up by then. We have never had a problem booking on the cruise line's site.

[paul929207]

Princess allows a TA to discount their cruises. We usually get about 15% off the current price on Princess.com. A TA cannot advertise a lower price, but can provide when asked for a quote.

[dioxide45]

We use a travel agent. Though our travel agent is a group and membership based, so they have rates that are usually less than the cruise line websites.

 

We have also booked through our frequent flyer programs. Often you can earn frequent flier miles by booking through them. Even with Carnival where you really can't find prices or other offers through TAs that are different from what Carnival offers on their website. You can earn even more miles if you have their affiliated credit card and use it to purchase the cruise. Looking at our cruise with one of the agencies, I see that they are offering 2 miles per $, plus 2 miles per $ if you are a credit card holder. An additional 2 miles per $ if you book a suite or balcony and another 1 mile per $ if you are booking a suite or balcony and have their credit card. That can amount to 7 miles per $. For a $1000 cruise fare, you would earn 7,000 miles. Not bad and free when in most cases the price of the cruise is the same as booking through the cruise line directly.

 

So it does help to shop around sometimes. If you belong to any frequent flier programs, check out their prices and promotions. Some frequent flier miles are better than nothing if you have the ability to use them.

[Krazy Kruizers]

If we were to book directly with the cruise line, we would not get the extra $300 ship board credit from American Express Platinum which is combinable with various other ship board credits that we get.

Plus our TA can get his lower prices.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Hi --

 

 

 

Can a travel agent get a better price on a cabin than the personal cruise rep commissioned by the cruise line? Can a TA from a large firm do best?

 

 

 

Thank you,

 

 

 

ZU

 

 

You really need to do a "search" on this topic.

 

You'll find that truly savvy cruisers use TAs. But it has to be the right TA. Choose a top producing TA for the cruise lines you are considering. And you need to go beyond just picking an agency. It should be an individual who is a cruise specialist, preferably one recognized for excellence (check out Conde Nast Traveler's "Best of ...." listings or look on the TA's website for evidence, e.g., Oceania's Connoisseurs' Club, for starters).

 

Mass market lines' "personal vacation planners" or equivalent titles are employees of a cruise line. They may attend to your questions. But they work for the line - not you. A top-producing TA can work wonders.

S/he may have access to special partner sales (cruise line and the agency), which may mean generally unadvertised cabin discounts of up to 10-15% on select sailings, incentive OBC funds from the line or from their own commission, etc. And this is in addition to whatever perks the cruise line is offering (which is the most you'll get from its PVP or on your own).

On premium lines, like Oceania, the right TA can save you hundreds to thousands of dollars.

For example, last year to Alaska, our TA booked the itinerary and cabin we wanted, gave us hundreds in additional OBC and then secured an almost $1k refund for a special private sale that occurred after we had made final payment. This year, to the Med, our TA made a quick telephone call and matched another agent's private sale for an $800 savings. Last week, when O added more perks to that same upcoming cruise, out TA secured them while I was on the phone with him (value of added perks: about $500). We have his cell phone number. So, action is immediate with no hassles ever.

 

At the same time, don't expect the world on cheap cruises (like an inside cabin for less than a week on Carnival). There's so little $ there for some TAs that they'll refer you to using a PVP.