Why should you book direct with RC?

[immy619]

I'm really struggling to understand why I should book with Royal direct. It seems lately if I go to a travel agent I get all sorts of free things (free gratuities, meals, beverage packages, internet, etc) unlike when I call or go online to the RC website and do everything with them. All those free things have the same net cost as booking direct with RC. Can someone shed some light on things I'm not seeing that'd make it wise I go to them direct in the future?

[kba1988]

waiting for replies on this....I booked with a travel agent, but now thinking maybe I should have simply done everything on my own, by myself with the RC website.

 

would love to hear both sides of the coin....:confused::confused:

[Ourusualbeach]

One reason to book with Royal is so that you maintain 100% control over your reservation and don't have to go through a TA to make changes.

[daze6399]

One reason to book with Royal is so that you maintain 100% control over your reservation and don't have to go through a TA to make changes.

 

And the flip side to that is that if you have a GOOD agent, if there are any issues they may be able to help, see the story of the person who got left behind who's TA worked over and beyond to help him get back on the ship.

 

Also, you can get some deals when booking through a TA.

 

I typically book myself because I've been prone to midnight price checking and cabin changing, but that's me, and YMMV of course.

 

It depends a lot on each person, and each trip even. I'm looking at using a TA for a land based vacation because they can package things up a little neater than I can on my own.

[kba1988]

One reason to book with Royal is so that you maintain 100% control over your reservation and don't have to go through a TA to make changes.

 

^^^^

THIS!!!!

 

....that's why we're thinking we should have done it on our own, by ourselves thru the website....

[molly361]

Some of us (like me) are control freaks when it comes to their bookings and the perks are not worth (for me) losing control of them ;);)

[Ourusualbeach]

Some of us (like me) are control freaks when it comes to their bookings and the perks are not worth (for me) losing control of them ;);)

 

That makes 2 of us.:)

[Ocean Boy]

Some of us (like me) are control freaks when it comes to their bookings and the perks are not worth (for me) losing control of them ;);)

 

That makes 2 of us.:)

 

Three of us.

[immy619]

One reason to book with Royal is so that you maintain 100% control over your reservation and don't have to go through a TA to make changes.

 

So you're willing to pay / lose out on a few hundred dollars of perks to keep the control from a 'what if' scenario? (Playing devil's advocate here) I'm really curious on this topic as I feel like I've now paid for things that a reputable TA would have covered for me - which means I could cruise quicker with those savings.

[lambstew]

you probably need to look at it on a cruise by cruise basis.

On the last cruise we booked we looked at both direct with RCCL and through a traval agency. The travel agencies price was $300 lower per person than RCCL and we got a modest $75 OBC. The TA probably had reserved a bunch of rooms. We booked about 8 months before the sail date.

[kba1988]

to the "control freaks" ...so who do you call if you need to cancel & rebook to take advantage of a new promotion, or a new deal... WITHOUT losing your original booking date or your original cabin? are you assigned a personal cruise consultant once you book online? Can you work with the same RC agent all the time??

Edited January 30, 2017 by kba1988

[retire2cruise55]

I use a big box store for TA who is awesome. I call them to make changes and get price adjustments. Also like the extra perks.. Got $125 cash, ship board credit, soda package, speciality dinning & spa treatment for last cruise which was cheaper than Royal who wasn't offering anything. Can't beat that!

[Ocean Boy]

..so who do you call if you need to cancel & rebook to take advantage of a new promotion, or a new deal... WITHOUT losing your original booking date or your original cabin? are you assigned a personal cruise consultant once you book online? Can you work with the same RC agent all the time??

 

You can request to talk to a specific agent but I do fine just calling Crown & Anchor and talking to whom ever answers the phone. If you want to speak to a specific person there is no guarantee that they will be working at the time that you call and then you will have to wait for a call back.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Ocean Boy

[daze6399]

..so who do you call if you need to cancel & rebook to take advantage of a new promotion, or a new deal... WITHOUT losing your original booking date or your original cabin? are you assigned a personal cruise consultant once you book online? Can you work with the same RC agent all the time??

 

I've never had an issue booking through the website and getting RCCL to give me any updated promotion pricing, and I don't think I've ever lost a cabin in the process, unless I'm moving up a category, in which case I'm getting a new cabin anyway. As for losing a booking date...I honestly don't know, I've not run into a scenario where it mattered all that much to me apparently.

 

You can work with the same agent if you call in for your original booking, and know their work hours, or at least you used to be able to.

 

When booking online you're not assigned a personal consultant, but that's not a worry to me, as I do all my own consulting with the help of my good friends here at CC. :D

[Ocean Boy]

I use a big box store for TA who is awesome. I call them to make changes and get price adjustments. Also like the extra perks.. Got $125 cash, ship board credit, soda package, speciality dinning & spa treatment for last cruise which was cheaper than Royal who wasn't offering anything. Can't beat that!

 

It is unfortunate that we are no longer allowed to discuss specific agents any longer as that was quite helpful in the "old" days.

[daze6399]

I use a big box store for TA who is awesome. I call them to make changes and get price adjustments. Also like the extra perks.. Got $125 cash, ship board credit, soda package, speciality dinning & spa treatment for last cruise which was cheaper than Royal who wasn't offering anything. Can't beat that!

 

 

That's the key....a GOOD agent. A bad one can certainly be a pain, and probably not worth the extra bennies, but a good agent can be worth it without any extras.

[WhenIsLobsterNight]

Honestly, the online reason to book directly through RCCL now is if you want to manage your reservation easily through the website. You will pay more for your cruise then the person in the exact same room next door to yours that booked through a travel agency that offers perks. The perks travel agencies now offer include come combination of: on board credit, free gratuities, free drinks, gifts to the room, free excursions and many others. For a seven day cruise for a family of four, we often receive an average of $200-350 in freebies. So if the freebies are your thing, book with a TA. If you want control of your reservation, book through RCCL. Its really that simple.

[Ourusualbeach]

So you're willing to pay / lose out on a few hundred dollars of perks to keep the control from a 'what if' scenario? (Playing devil's advocate here) I'm really curious on this topic as I feel like I've now paid for things that a reputable TA would have covered for me - which means I could cruise quicker with those savings.

 

One thing to keep in mind is that I live in Canada. Generally our TA's do not offer perks like the American TA's do. I also refuse to use a US online TA as then I would have to book in US$ as opposed to Canadian.

 

As I stated earlier, it is about control of the booking. For my upcoming cruise I have name so many changes to the initial reservation that any travel agent would no longer be returning my calls. It was booked as a placeholder booking on board, transferred to a 5 day Navigator, changed to a 6 day Freedom, cabin changed, changed finally to a 7 day Harmony, called for a price drop.

 

I've also found significant price drops in the middle of the night on several cruises.

 

For many it's worth using a TA but not for me.

[Ourusualbeach]

You can request to talk to a specific agent but I do fine just calling Crown & Anchor and talking to whom ever answers the phone. If you want to speak to a specific person there is no guarantee that they will be working at the time that you call and then you will have to wait for a call back.

 

^^^^This.

 

I've never had a personal cruise consultant (or one that I've ever bothered to call back). A quick call to C&A (press the number for new bookings after hours);) and everything is adjusted. I've never had to cancel and rebook, they just found it automatically and you keep the same reservation number.

[Lizcourt]

to the "control freaks" ...so who do you call if you need to cancel & rebook to take advantage of a new promotion, or a new deal... WITHOUT losing your original booking date or your original cabin? are you assigned a personal cruise consultant once you book online? Can you work with the same RC agent all the time??

 

I posted this story on the boards when it happened, but my answer to that question is this. About seven years ago my extended family booked a cruise on the Oasis, in several of what would now be Star-class suites, directly through RCCL. Less than 40 days before the cruise, we learned that my sister had early-stage breast cancer (she is, thank God, fine now) and would just have been completing radiation therapy a few days before we left, which would mean, among other things, that she would have to stay out of the sun -- a pretty significant restriction on a Caribbean cruise. Prepared to take a bath on the fare (and not sure our cruise insurance would cover it, since she was medically "able" to cruise), I called RCCL to cancel and rebook for six months later. They put me on hold for so long a time I thought they had forgotten about me, but when the cruise consultant came back to the phone, she told me that under the circumstances and because we were re-booking, RCCL would forego the cancellation fee, and apply our entire amount paid to the later cruise (we even saved something on the separately booked air fare).

 

Would a TA have been able to do the same? Maybe -- since I've never used a TA since, and never had to ask a TA on earlier cruises to do anything like this, I really don't know. But to the question of who you deal with if you have issues when you've booked directly with RCCL, I would never hesitate to say RCCL has your back.

Edited January 30, 2017 by Lizcourt

[kba1988]

thanks to all the contributors!! Next time - were definitely gonna do it on our own, direct with RCCL. :p:p

Edited January 30, 2017 by kba1988

[2hearted]

Never had an issue with a TA. Just saved over $700 for an OV cabin on the Freedom to Europe. The TAs tend to have great group rates plus gratuity. I think most people that don't care about saving a few bucks are the ones that can afford 8 to 12 cruises a year and would rather pay for convenience.

 

 

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[rum & monkey]

We've done both and there is nothing wrong with either. We mostly do it direct for the sole purpose anytime you want something changed you have to go through the travel agent and it is a hassle in my opinion. We have gotten great perks with travel agents before (gratuities paid for plus additional onboard credit) but it seems to come at a cost of convenience.

The last time I used an agent I was checking prices and the price had lowered, had I booked it direct I could have called Royal and had the price dropped immediately. Instead it was after hours for the travel agent, I had to leave a message, and by the next day when they got back to me the prices had already gone back up.

I enjoy being able to go into my reservation and changing whatever I want without having to call someone and ask them to do it. Our last trip I gave my dad an on-line agency to use because he was paying for my sister and her family and I was trying to save him some money with the pre-paid gratuities and some extra on-board credit. The week before we were making plans (shows, dinner, etc.) and he had to call the travel agent four times one evening just over switching from 8:00 to MTD and trying to get the reservations linked. He asked why I didn't have to call and I said because I didn't use a travel agent, he quickly asked why I told him to if I wasn't. I explained to save him the extra money on the extra cabins he was paying for and he told me it wasn't worth it (however in his case I think it was, as he had free gratuities for 2 on each of his 3 cabins).

I think it is a personal choice and nothing wrong with either way. What's important to one person is not always important to another.

 

 

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[retire2cruise55]

I personally like having a TA as they go to bat for you when there are issues.... The one I use generates a lot of business for Royal so I feel taken care of when otherwise the answer would have been "no" to some requests. Just my two cents[emoji3]

[retire2cruise55]

Also remember you can book direct and transfer to TA within about 30 days of booking. So, there's opportunity to try both sides....

Edited January 30, 2017 by Luxurycruise2