Book Direct or through Travel Agent

[vacation44]

Any suggestions for a travel agent to book an upcoming December cruise on the Escape or book directly through NCL. There will be 12 of us and need either 4 or 6 cabins depending on the quotes. Any feedback would be welcomed. Thanks!

[triptolemus]

I realize people don't bother reading the forum rules or browsing previous threads before posting anymore, so...

 

1) Read the forum guidelines. These guidelines will explain that naming travel agents is not permitted.

 

2) Thread on page 2 with this exact topic: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2225434

[pizzalady1]

Hey Trip--cut him/her a break, it is only their 1st post.

 

OP--Reading this article may help you. http://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=62

 

Many travel agents offer obc or other gifts for their cruisers. It pays to check around. You could also google "discount cruise agents" and a bunch of agencies come up.

 

Good Luck!

Edited June 26, 2015 by pizzalady1

[Imasima752]

You may also want to check here:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/shipshop/

 

Compare the prices with that of NCL if you have a specific date in mind. I've used the first two listed and the best prices I've received have been from the first one though the second tends to provide more obc. Just depends on the offers they have going on. I've booked directly with cruise lines as well. I find it great to use a TA that offers prices less than the cruise lines but it has meant losing the ability to deal directly with the cruise line if I have a specific question about a reservation. So far, the TAs have been really good about taking care of things for me and given their prices and extras, I'll continue to use them.

Edited June 26, 2015 by Imasima752

[vacation44]

Thanks for help pizzalady1 and Ismasima752! I just needed to be pushed in that direction.

[AnitaVacation]

I used to always book our cruises directly....until my favorite cruise consultant left and I really did not like the new one that seemed to be assigned to us ...(personality of a wet mop)...

 

So we started booking with an online travel agency....they charge us $25 to book with them, but we usually get atleast a $100 obc...same prices as booking direct, same rules (for the most part)...and we deal with the same person everytime (and I like her)...and even better, we've booked several cruises thru her and now we can book anything without even having to put a deposit down....

[newmexicoNita]

Any suggestions for a travel agent to book an upcoming December cruise on the Escape or book directly through NCL. There will be 12 of us and need either 4 or 6 cabins depending on the quotes. Any feedback would be welcomed. Thanks!

 

There is no right answer to the question. It is sorta like Ford or Chevy. I am a huge supporter of using a good travel agent. They can be worth their weight in gold. Especially when you are booking several cabins. A good travel agent will work with you on any other details of your vacation as well. I have done it both ways; now, I always use an agent, plus they can advise it the case of something going wrong, which is rare. If they are a good agent, with a large company they have a little more clout when help is needed.

 

On the other hand, many will tell you they prefer to control their own reservation which can't be done if you go through an agent.

 

As for recommending an agent, that can not be done here. You can directly get a message to anyone on here and get the name of their agent, but we can't post the info here. I wish we could.

Edited June 26, 2015 by newmexicoNita

[MCAT48]

I book myself using an online travel agency. I pick what I want but if I need anything I can call them and the people are really great that I've spoken with. They also have their own loyalty program when you book with them which is great now I'll be getting extra obc for it!

[mrobstad]

Hey, I'd ask if I went free for organizing a large group! You'd be free on a land tour![emoji6]

[Demonyte]

As for recommending an agent, that can not be done here. You can directly get a message to anyone on here and get the name of their agent, but we can't post the info here. I wish we could.

 

 

There are no private messages on this board and even asking for TA recommendations via email is clearly forbidden in CC rules - and for a good reason, allowing recommendations in one way or another would turn this place into an endless source of spam by TAs recommending themselves while pretending as fake customers as well as writing bashing posts about other TAs.

 

As an active netizen on multiple Usenet groups and message boards of almost 20 years now, I find the policy well justified.

[Demonyte]

Hey, I'd ask if I went free for organizing a large group! You'd be free on a land tour!

 

 

I believe all cruise lines offer free cabins for large enough groups, IIRC with NCL you get one free cabin for every eight paid cabins and you can arrange the bookings through a TA or directly with NCL, just like you can with regular reservations.

[Markanddonna]

If you are the type who just wants to book and not do lots of research, go with a TA after you think you got the best price. There are some who love to keep checking for good advice on different aspects of their cruise and others who don't want to be bothered.

 

So, if you want to learn a lot about cruising, keep reading these boards and then book yourself directly through the cruise line. Learn the cancellation policies first.

[Demonyte]

If you are the type who just wants to book and not do lots of research, go with a TA after you think you got the best price. There are some who love to keep checking for good advice on different aspects of their cruise and others who don't want to be bothered.

 

So, if you want to learn a lot about cruising, keep reading these boards and then book yourself directly through the cruise line. Learn the cancellation policies first.

 

I have to strongly disagree with that, especially the second paragraph.

 

Thanks to these boards I've learned not to pay list prices to cruiselines by booking direct, but instead to book through a TA that offers me better service and usually 10% better price than the cruiseline does direct.

 

And yes, I tried several PCCs but for me the last straw was the moment when the last one (IMO the best I had) apologized about the fact that they can not match TA prices and recommended me to transfer my booking if I was able to get a better deal somewhere else. I did and have not booked direct since (except once to get the promo I wanted and then to transfer the reservation to my TA little later).

 

I do all my research myself, so for me using the TA is only about the money - I don't feel that my current TA rep is any less capable contacting NCL for making the changes I request than I'd be if I called NCL directly.

Edited June 26, 2015 by Demonyte

[burm]

I don't feel that my current TA rep is any less capable contacting NCL for making the changes I request than I'd be if I called NCL directly.

 

Going through a middleman can waste a lot of time. One question often generates another, and this can mean several calls going back and forth when one direct call would answer all questions in a 2 minute conversation.

 

Also, going through a TA means that you have one individual to go to (although a supervisor can usually help in an emergency). I call my TA with a simple question and hear, "Sorry, he has gone home for the day and will not be in until Monday". If I book through the cruiseline, any one of dozens of reps can answer my questions 7 days a week.

 

In the case of our next cruise, there is a huge advantage to our booking through the cruiseline. We are locked in at a very reasonable exchange range on our Canadian dollar. No TA can touch this financial advantage.

 

Situations and offers change, so I book with whomever suits me best at the time. I am more likely to book with a TA if arranging a complicated land vacation.