Use a travel agent or do it alone?

[littlemeagain]

My bf and I just booked the Epic 9/6 out of Barcelona followed by the 9/19 Jade sailing out of Venice. It will be my first time to Europe. We plan on arriving in Barcelona 3-4 days before we sail and flying to Paris between cruises.

 

We will rent a car after the second cruise and drive around northern Italy. The whole trip will take the month of September. We haven't booked our flights as of yet and or our hotels/b&b's or rental car.

 

I feel overwhelmed at the whole process. I'm thinking a good TA would definitely be worth it with all of these changes we will be encountering. My bf seems to think we can handle it and wants to be more spontaneous. This just causes me anxiety.

 

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

Thanks,

 

Liz & Mike

[deb_buffy]

Book it yourself. With planning you can book amazing deals and get what your after. Last year we booked a 3 week break from UK to US 7 flights(upgraded) multi destination and 4 star half board hotels for 2 adults for less then £5k so go for it I would say.

[bruadhin]

There is no harm in using a GOOD TA. With the hotels and if you transfer over the cruises, there shouldn't be any fees to you. I believe those are commission-able to the TA while airfare isn't. Also, if you tell them what you want, they should be able to give good recommendations, particularly since you've never been before.

 

Of course, there is no guarantee you find a good one. I would ask friends and family if they have anyone they use and have had good experiences with.

 

You don't have to plan out everything, but I would definitely want rooms and cars lined up before heading to Europe. Also, their car sizes are not the same as ours, although online booking sites should be better about showing you what you'll really get.

 

The only thing I would say, don't ask a TA to plan it all out, and then go book it on your own without the services of the TA who did all the work.

[Jantoo]

This sounds like an absolutely wonderful vacation!! If it were me, I would use a TA. It appears to be a vacation with the potential of complications that could be worked out before you go. Have a grand time.

[littlemeagain]

Thanks for the tips. The Epic cruise is through an online cruise travel agency, actually. The bonuses were so great because we booked a haven spa suite that came with gratuities paid, UDP, UBP, 250 internet minutes, $75 toward excursions at 4 ports. Plus the use of the haven, which I have never done before.

 

The Jade cruise is actually comped by CAS so it has to be booked through NCL. Therefore, I couldn't transfer the booking.

 

-So there probably isn't much commission for a TA on the land portion of our trip alone. I would never use a TA and then book ourselves with the information.

Edited June 22, 2015 by littlemeagain

[bruadhin]

Thanks for the tips. The Epic cruise is through an online cruise travel agency, actually. The bonuses were so great because we booked a haven spa suite that came with gratuities paid, UDP, UBP, 250 internet minutes, $75 toward excursions at 4 ports. Plus the use of the haven, which I have never done before.

 

The Jade cruise is actually comped by CAS so it has to be booked through NCL. Therefore, I couldn't transfer the booking.

 

-So there probably isn't much commission for a TA on the land portion of our trip alone. I would never use a TA and then book ourselves with the information.

 

Except the gratuities, all those promos came from NCL. That may have as well, not sure if they ran that one for suites or not. If so, it owuld be easy to move it to another TA, who may or may not give you something on top of it.

 

I have no idea what they make off hotels and whether it would be worth it to them or not. It doesn't hurt to ask.

[FreestyleNovice]

DIY. Preparation and researching is half the fun!

 

Use Booking.com, Tripadvisor and RentalCars.com for example! :)

[Sauer-kraut]

I agree, DIY! Go online or ask on the PORTS OF CALL boards for local rental car places...the big 3 are over there Avis, Hertz, etc. But you might get a deal from Sixt or some other European agency.

 

I wouldn't book hotels!! what happens if you find a lovely area and decide to stay the night and you miss the hotel you've already booked in another city.

You can also find great little B&B places along the road. You can do it! Don't worry, and just get a good guide book for Italy that way you have a few maps to follow as well as the interest stuff therein.

[bruadhin]

 

I wouldn't book hotels!! what happens if you find a lovely area and decide to stay the night and you miss the hotel you've already booked in another city.

You can also find great little B&B places along the road. You can do it! Don't worry, and just get a good guide book for Italy that way you have a few maps to follow as well as the interest stuff therein.

 

That is a very, very stressful way to travel for a planner. If the OP is a planner, that won't work. Based upon her post, she is a planner and he is spontaneous. Hopefully they find a nice compromise they can live with.

[FreestyleNovice]

Using Booking's free cancellation policy could ease her mind, I am not sure what's the threshold or penalty when canceling too late but I thought it was up to some x hours before arrival?

 

Anyway, if you have your rental car and an internet connection (think prepaid 3G sim card which I would consider being a month abroad) you will always find a hotel, Booking even has a "find the nearest unsold bed" thingy as feature on their app.

 

Not trying to plug any 3rd parties here but any brick-and-mortar TA in the States will get his or her info from the internet about lovely littles places, in the case of any unforeseen circumstances the timezone difference won't be any help too and often you will have settled a potential issue yourselves before a TA gets back to you.

 

Anything beyond that will be travel insurance company stuff. ;)

 

Europe is easy to travel around, DIY and enjoy. It will a trip of a lifetime, with two cruises! Ports of call is also a good recommendation!

[BamaVol]

I'm a planner type and love researching and booking on my own. In addition to the websites already mentioned, I would add Venere.com for hotels in Europe.

[4774Papa]

I book early and always check the major online TAs, Most of the time they don't even list the cruise that I want to book. When they do, they never offer any special extras.

 

I also like controlling my own reservation. I see a price drop, I call and get the new price ASAP.

[ppstateofmind]

For flights and hotels, I like to do it myself.

 

When it comes to booking a cruise ship, I've done it for the first time a few weeks ago and I found a better price through a TA than on NCL.

[Sizzlechest]

The ONLY time I use a TA is if they can get me discounts I cannot get on my own. Otherwise, they're a middleman that just adds a layer of complexity. I've always used a TA for NCL cruises because they offer discounts I wouldn't get through NCL.

[littlemeagain]

Thanks! Tomorrow night I am getting together with the bf to research together. This will lessen my anxiety if we at least have our air booked for the overseas portion.

 

We still need to decide on excursions in the ports as well. This will keep me busy for the next few weeks/month. I will take all of this advice with me and try to relax (take a xanax) and have fun!