Is there any benefit to booking directly with NCL?

[riekl]

I.e. i hear about upsell offers are those only if you book direct? Most travel agents offer better deals (i.e. free gratuities or OBC in addition to the deals NCL publicly offers) but I don't want to miss out on something?

[hawkeyetlse]

They offer upsells through TAs, too, but I'm guessing that some TAs have a history of not reacting and failing to pass the message on to their clients, and so they don't bother with those customers.

 

But now that they let people call in and ask for upsells, it doesn't matter (people have reported that that you can do this even if you are booked through a TA, if it's shortly before sailing).

[casofilia]

If you get a PCC with NCL then it can be very useful. We have one who is very good at booking and sorting out "problems" associated with them. BUT not good at answering general questions!!

 

Mike

[david_sobe]

Any changes to your reservation are made easier. If the price drops prior to your last payment they can get you an upgrade or OBC. Its nice to be able to contact NCL directly about any changes without having to go through a third person.

[Sizzlechest]

There's no real benefit booking with NCL. The downsides with booking with a TA is that there may be EXTRA cancellation fees. They also might include processing fees, but those can be waived if you know to ask. Everything else is for the better. A good TA or PCC is worth their weight in gold, so if you find a good one, stick with them.

[sweetride]

Not only is there no benefit, there are major downsides. Mainly the perks the TAs throw in with bookings. Our last booking for a suite we got an extra $550OBC on top of the $300OBC NCL gave us. Our TA is WAY more attentive than our couple PCCs ever were and has gotten us upgrades after final payment and OBC and upgrades for price drops before final payment.

[hawkeyetlse]

For people who book lower-end categories, the difference is more like $100 or $200 in OBC or perks. Which is better than nothing, but it's easier to understand why someone might choose to forgo a potential benefit of that amount, if they are happy with the experience of booking directly with NCL.

[brookie848]

One benefit of booking over the phone with a PCC is that there are more cabins available to them, so if there is a particular cabin type or location you are after, that may end up being your best bet.

 

We've been lucky that we've had two very good PCC. When our first one left, she made sure we were transferred over to someone she trusted.

 

While there are benefits to booking with a TA, we're happy enough with the perks our PCC has been able to get for us (OBC, beverage package, gratuities). Plus, we like knowing that there isn't a middle-man between us and NCL.

 

If you use a TA, just make sure they are reputable. There have been a few horror stories on here about those who aren't. A bit of research should be able to give you peace of mind.

[mugtech]

Just a few hours ago my PCC called to let me know a cruise I booked on Monday could add 250 WiFi minutes at no charge. Glad to have him looking out for me, he has done things like this for me many times.

[mvjcruise]

How od you get a PCC?

[lenquixote66]

We have always booked with TA's. Even NCL will encourage you to book with one.

[GLYNAGP]

The benefit that I found by booking directly with NCL in the the UK is that it's only UK£100 pp deposit and final balance is due 2 months proor to departure . With a UK travel agent it's usually much more deposit around £300 pp and the balance is due 3 months prior to departure.

[beerman2]

We have always booked with TA's. Even NCL will encourage you to book with one.

 

" Even NCL would encourage you to book with one." Kinda hard to believe if that was the case NCL would just eliminate PCC's.

[riekl]

How does one get a PCC assigned ? I'm willing to book with NCL but for example i've checked 2 TA's and both offer $180 OBC for my minisuite on 7/3 Escape, but the NCL site doesn't offer anything other then the pick 2 option.

[Demonyte]

" Even NCL would encourage you to book with one." Kinda hard to believe if that was the case NCL would just eliminate PCC's.

 

 

Good PCCs (ones that really care about their customers) really do recommend using TAs for better pricing/perks as they can't match those offers even if they wanted to.

 

That has happened to me too, haven't booked direct since and have always saved about 10%.

[beerman2]

Good PCCs (ones that really care about their customers) really do recommend using TAs for better pricing/perks as they can't match those offers even if they wanted to.

 

That has happened to me too, haven't booked direct since and have always saved about 10%.

 

Yes I've read foreign pax getting better perks ( No service charge on UBP) for one.

 

NCL PCC told me about a $100.00 OBC that I didn't know about. Did she have to No, but obviously she did " care about her customer.

 

It can/does go both ways.

[Demonyte]

Yes I've read foreign pax getting better perks ( No service charge on UBP) for one.

 

 

 

NCL PCC told me about a $100.00 OBC that I didn't know about. Did she have to No, but obviously she did " care about her customer.

 

 

 

It can/does go both ways.

 

 

It has nothing to do with anyone's nationality. I've booked all the cruises I've taken either through NCL's US offices (I have had PCCs located in AZ and FL) or US TAs. I don't like the booking terms they use here in Europe so I don't book here - also the currency rates made booking in US cheaper for several years.

 

But no, it can't go both ways - a TA can get you anything a PCC can, but a PCC can't get you all the things a TA can.

[Heronymous]

I think it depends on the PCC you get. I had one who did great by me last year, and I was working with this year to book a cruise / wedding this summer.. He even gave me his cell#. He abruptly quit and I was provided a new PCC, she promised the world and as soon as she got my deposit it's almost impossible to reach her. She barely responds to emails, when she does I get "I prefer to talk about this on the phone".. and when I call I get her voicemail and only get a return call 1 out of 6 times I try calling her.

 

My room got messed up when she made a change to my promo the other day, I've been trying to get her to fix it and make my final payment which is due in a few days.. and she is totally unresponsive.

 

So... I think it depends on the person you get.

[hawkeyetlse]

Yes I've read foreign pax getting better perks ( No service charge on UBP) for one.

If you want, you can book through one of NCL's "foreign" offices, too. Or book through a TA in a foreign country that goes through one of those offices (although in my experience, there is little advantage in booking through a European TA vs. going through NCL Europe directly). It does sometimes work out to be cheaper, if you choose the UBP/SDP perk, etc.

[halos]

Not only is there no benefit, there are major downsides. Mainly the perks the TAs throw in with bookings. Our last booking for a suite we got an extra $550OBC on top of the $300OBC NCL gave us. Our TA is WAY more attentive than our couple PCCs ever were and has gotten us upgrades after final payment and OBC and upgrades for price drops before final payment.

 

I agree. I always shop and the on line TA I use always gives me better OBC. Fares are always equal to NCL's, but the added OBC always keeps me going back and booking with them.

They have also been very good at adjusting my final cost or upgrading us if the fares go down prior to final payment, or switching cabins, answering questions and helping with any problems. I have used this on line agency since 2004 and have booked with them in all but two of my sailings. One of which I booked direct through the cruise line (CCL) at a better price and one I booked through a 'big box' store for a better price on a Royal.

They charge $50 pp cancellation fee on top of any penalties from the cruise line when you cancel a booking. Fortunately in all my years of cruising, I haven't had to do that. :)

Edited May 19, 2016 by halos

[callmehalia]

I think it depends on the PCC you get. I had one who did great by me last year, and I was working with this year to book a cruise / wedding this summer.. He even gave me his cell#. He abruptly quit and I was provided a new PCC, she promised the world and as soon as she got my deposit it's almost impossible to reach her. She barely responds to emails, when she does I get "I prefer to talk about this on the phone".. and when I call I get her voicemail and only get a return call 1 out of 6 times I try calling her.

 

My room got messed up when she made a change to my promo the other day, I've been trying to get her to fix it and make my final payment which is due in a few days.. and she is totally unresponsive.

 

So... I think it depends on the person you get.

 

We have a good PCC that we're quite fond of. She came right out and said that she's happy to deal with us by email but she has phone quotas to hit, so if we're able to call (it's a local rate number) she appreciates it.

 

It's outdated but I suppose NCL needs some way to quantify the amount of work a PCC is doing... No excuse though for a PCC not answering or returning calls!

[fshagan]

I agree. I always shop and the on line TA I use always gives me better OBC. Fares are always equal to NCL's, but the added OBC always keeps me going back and booking with them.

 

They have also been very good at adjusting my final cost or upgrading us if the fares go down prior to final payment, or switching cabins, answering questions and helping with any problems. I have used this on line agency since 2004 and have booked with them in all but two of my sailings. One of which I booked direct through the cruise line (CCL) at a better price and one I booked through a 'big box' store for a better price on a Royal.

 

They charge $50 pp cancellation fee on top of any penalties from the cruise line when you cancel a booking. Fortunately in all my years of cruising, I haven't had to do that. :)

 

The key is you found a responsive TA. Our experience has been just the opposite with independent TAs. We sometimes book through a large big box store agency when the deal is better, because if the individual agent screws up you still have a supervisor over them to appeal to.

 

That's the case also for the PCCs; you can appeal for a mistake they make. The few times we've used independent TAs for cruises we have been disappointed and they are unapologetic. (That being said, for land vacations to WDW we have an agent we like very much and will go through her most of the time).

[Toliverair]

If you are Interested in saving money, I would not recommend booking direct though NCL. NCL does not want to compete with their TAs, so they will not match prices or perks. NCL definitely ties the hands of their PCCs too much. I wanted to find a PCC that I could trust and depend on and was willing to pay more to have one. However, after two huge mistakes by him where he was unable/unwilling to correct it, I decided it wasn't worth it and went back to TAs and big box agencies.

[toyotaford]

I think it depends on the PCC you get. I had one who did great by me last year, and I was working with this year to book a cruise / wedding this summer.. He even gave me his cell#. He abruptly quit and I was provided a new PCC, she promised the world and as soon as she got my deposit it's almost impossible to reach her. She barely responds to emails, when she does I get "I prefer to talk about this on the phone".. and when I call I get her voicemail and only get a return call 1 out of 6 times I try calling her.

 

My room got messed up when she made a change to my promo the other day, I've been trying to get her to fix it and make my final payment which is due in a few days.. and she is totally unresponsive.

 

So... I think it depends on the person you get.

It does depend on the PCC you get. We had a great guy helping us for several cruises then he left the company. We were reassigned to a girl that we were very unimpressed with. When I finally tried just calling the 800 number and talking to whoever answered they would always tell me that since I already had a PCC they would need to transfer me to her. I finally asked for a supervisor and was able to get a new PCC assigned that was good. Then she left the company I was a reassigned to the best PCC ever. Have been with her for about 3 years and she is amazing.

 

So don't settle. Keep asking til you get someone you are happy with.

[Into Cruising]

anything a TA gives you over the official offerings from the cruise lines, come directly out of their pocket.

 

They may be quite willing to give up part of their earnings to entice you to book so that they at least get something. Often the thought is "some is better than none"

 

All of the commission an agent gets is pay for services rendered. If they do not value their own work, and think that they are overpaid, that money should go back to the cruiseline, who is paying them, not to the consumer.

 

Most agents are willing to rebate back a portion of their commission to the consumer as it has gotten to be necessary to earn a living.

 

Unfortunately many cruisers feel entitled to it, and are demanding more and more. In some cases the consumer ends up with more of the commission that the agent does.

 

I can not imagine going to any of you on payday and telling you that you are overpaid, and I am here to take some of your pay out of your pocket. I know of no place except in the travel agency business that this is a practice.

 

The cruiseline believes that they have adequately priced their product. And the cruiseline believes they are adequately compensating the agents for the job they do. The cruiseline is protecting it's brand by not becoming a discount cruiseline. Many agencies are undermining this by deeply discount from their commissions, under the pretense that it is the normal business practice. If it is , they have made it so.

 

There is nothing wrong with rebating some of your money to keep or grow the business. However it has gotten to be in some cases that the consumer ends up with more of the commission back into their pockets than the agent gets.

 

I have had some on here tell me that an agent does not warrant a $600 commission for booking a suite, and believe that most of that commission should be given back to them. In many cases they demand and expect hundreds of dollars in OBC, when they only book a inexpensive inside cabin, that is only getting the agency $50, which they in turn split with the agent.

 

I am not against the practice as much as I am against the attitude of entitlement.

 

For all of you who disagree, let me come to you on your next pay day, to demand a portion of your pay. If I warrant or deserve the commission, is no concern of yours..that is between me and my employer, and if I choose to reward you with a little, accept it as it is meant a token of appreciation, and not an acknowledgment that you deserve it more than I do.