Book direct or with TA

[worldlady]

Hello all, Planning New York to Quebec in Sept. My question is are there any advantages to booking direct with HA versus travel agent. In past HA trips I used a TA and found if I had a question about anything HA would not even talk to me, just say call my TA. Do upgrades seem to happen more with one or the other? Will appreciate all replies Thanks

[Scrapnana]

For me, I prefer to use a TA because I always get some kind of perk from the TA and I feel they know the "system" better if there is a problem (and I am a terrible negotiator).

 

There have been a couple of threads on this recently.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2365879&highlight=TA+or+book+direct

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2434559&highlight=TA+or+book+direct

[cabinluvn]

For the first time I am booking with a HAL personal cruise consultant. He gave me wonderful information and really helped me with cabin selection. Depending on what happens before final payment, I may transfer to a TA. I plan to shop around and get the best deal I can

 

 

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[MCC retired]

A good TA will give you a few perks like OBC or an upfront discount on the HAL rate . This is in addition to whatever HAL is offering (HAL permits TA's to discount their best current rate).

A good TA will have HAL contacts to assist with any HAL problem

with your cruise.

[RocketMan275]

Hello all, Planning New York to Quebec in Sept. My question is are there any advantages to booking direct with HA versus travel agent. In past HA trips I used a TA and found if I had a question about anything HA would not even talk to me, just say call my TA. Do upgrades seem to happen more with one or the other? Will appreciate all replies Thanks

 

It depends. I wouldn't consider using anything other than a TA but, then, I know a TA or two who will give me all the benefits of booking directly with HAL and will discount HAL's prices by 10%. I've never had to call HAL since the TA answered all my questions.

[catl331]

A good TA will have HAL contacts to assist with any HAL problem with your cruise.

To me this is the most important reason to use a TA - having someone with connections and clout on my side if there are problems or changes to be made. Once after an across-the-board price drop we called our TA to see what he could negotiate. In a half hour he called back with a cost reduction and a nice upgrade. :) Edited February 4, 2017 by catl331

[DaveOKC]

If you travel on more than one cruise line, I would find a TA to work with. If you are just traveling on HAL, I would use a HAL PCC (personal cruise consultant) so that you get the same person each time and they get to know your requirements.

[kazu]

My preference is TA as well. Perks, OBC/discount to help with the cost of the cruise and someone who will help if there is an issue.

 

The only thing I call HAL for is for a table request, Meet and Greet set up and a potential shore excursion question.

 

A good TA can take care of any of your inquiries.

 

Others prefer having "control" and being able to talk to HAL or a PCC and are willing to forego the savings. The most important thing is what works for you.

 

Oh, and we get upsell offers with our TA. No problem at all. :)

[Krazy Kruizers]

We also use a TA and have been fortunate to have had a good one for over 25 years.

Love the extra perks and if we have a question or a problem, we know we can get hold of her and get things straightened out quickly. Over the years a couple of our cruises were cancelled by HAL and she worked to get us what we and when we wanted a new cruise.

Also if we were to book with HAL we would not get the extra $300 shipboard credit from American Express Platinum.

[dee2673]

We book with a PCC , get all the perks of whatever sale/promo is happening. Then we transfer the booking to the big box store based in Seattle to get extra OBC . Because we booked onboard during the View and Veranda in a Neptune Suite, we got 800. From HAL and the big box store gave us an additional 700. We will monitor price drops ourselves but it would have to be significant to make up that OBC. The price has actually gone up so we're pretty happy all told

 

 

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[worldlady]

Thanks so much to everyone for the quick responses! Looks like the votes prefer a TA. I live in the west and have never seen any of this part of our beautiful country, I'm so excited and sure I will have more questions soon as I get booked with my TA !

[ANSalberg]

In 1990 my father passed away in Boston - 2 days before his 80th birthday, It was the 4th of July!!! I called a LOCAL TA and within an hour had ticket in hand [remember;1990] that got me to my Mom and my sister just after 1PM. Those were years ago but my loyalty is given to a TA -LOCALLY -that has sent us on lovely cruises & vacations -ever since. TA in TODAY'S world have a tough time as people attempt to get the cheapest whatever. Just be careful what you wish for! Anne in Colorado