Book with a Travel Agent vs. Online

[dogtaur]

Hi all! We are looking to book our first cruise in October (with 2 small kids) and I am wondering if there is any advantage to booking with a travel agent or just doing it myself online?

 

Thanks! We are excited!

[mexicobob]

If you do not have a clue as to what you are doing would probably be best to go with a travel agent. They can answer questions and help. A great source of information is Cruise Critic. You can find out anything, if you have the time. I book directly with the cruise line and never have a problem. Carnival has a decent web site. Never talk to a human but the computer provides information and takes care of everything.

[hftmrock]

advantage for TA - they might give you perks.. example OBC

 

disadvantage for TA - they own your booking and you cant call carnival for much if anything. you have to go through the TA. Carnival wont talk to you. they also might have different penalties if you cancel or make changes.

[laurieb]

Use a travel agent! A good agent will make sure you're taken care of. And will take care of any problems that might arise. Most don't charge you anything for their assistance and most don't charge you a fee if you need to cancel

 

 

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[hftmrock]

personally I would vote for using the online site and not a TA

[laurieb]

personally I would vote for using the online site and not a TA

 

 

Why?

 

 

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[cindirellar]

I research to see who has the best deals. I have found that several online T'S give you great incentives. I just booked with one that I got free gratuity, free specialty dinner, and OBC. You just have to research.

 

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[hftmrock]

Why?

 

 

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Ive been on this site for many years and overwhelmingly the amount of MAJOR problems people have had when using a TA is quite a lot

 

• TA not being available when you need them
  
• TA telling you that you cant get a price match
  
• TA charging you for price matching
  
• TA making mistakes on your behalf and carnival not being able to fix it (this one is about even since carnival makes mistakes too... but carnival can fix their mistakes sometimes but wont fix a TA mistake.
  
• TA going out of business (just read about this)
  
• Carnival not talking to you at all about anything with your reservation
  
• TA not making changes for you or charging you for them
  

 

This is what I have seen off the top of my head. I am NOT saying all TA's are bad but you roll the dice unless you know know know the TA and are 100% sure that they will be there for you. WAY too many times they say they will and then they are not.

 

 

Some TA's ARE GREAT and if you can get benefits from these then you definately should but if you are not totally sure... then I say go for online and manage your own booking

[Crusingdiva62]

I like having complete control over my booking!

[Djaesmom]

I will be going on my first cruise so I don't have much experience but my advice would be to book directly online. I booked with a travel agent and she has done absolutely nothing for me. I haven't asked for much but something as simple as separating our beds has not even been taken care of yet. A second family decided to come with us and by going directly through RC she got everything she asked for, OBC and some extra perks. When a third family decided to join us we contacted two travel agencies and they could not get a family room for 5. Both TA insisted they needed 2 cabins. Today, by calling RC directly, they saved approx 700$, received perks and had the choice of 3 different family cabins. The RC agent insisted we keep in touch and she wants to help us plan everything. My TA said that it was not necessary to reserve meals or shows in advance. Good luck

 

 

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[Lerin]

personally I would vote for using the online site and not a TA

 

 

Ditto.

We used a TA one time and won't ever again. We find great deals on our own, websites or calling the cruise line directly have always been very simple.

[drifter42]

I booked my first one with a TA, but from here on out I will do my own thing. Availability was my main issue.

 

 

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[Dawnn.Marie]

Hi,

I will be going on my first cruise in a couple of weeks. I researched a ton of very useful information via this website. I booked with an online agent and they have been phenomenal! I have absolutely no complaints. No matter which way you go, my only advice would be to make sure your flights line up with your cruise dates, I had a very difficult time lining up my flights with my cruise. However, by watching the different airlines I was able to get airfare at a pretty reasonable price.

Best Wishes in whichever way you decide to go.

[easyboy]

We like booking online and readily react to new perks and price deals on booked cruises.

[Flatbush Flyer]

I like having complete control over my booking!

 

 

Until there's a problem related to a disagreement between you and the cruise line.

A top producing TA for any particular line may do more than a million dollars in bookings with that line annually. Your direct purchase, on the other hand, amounts to a "rounding error."

Who do you think would have more weight in getting the cruise line to come around to your way of thinking?

 

 

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[Mrs.Kearns]

We went on our first cruise 3 weeks , I booked online . Never even thought of a travel agency . I don't think I would go with one either . I like controlling it all myself and making sure it all goes right . It was a little overwhelming but when we book again I believe it will be much better since I know what I'm doing .

 

 

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[Flatbush Flyer]

We went on our first cruise 3 weeks , I booked online . Never even thought of a travel agency . I don't think I would go with one either . I like controlling it all myself and making sure it all goes right . It was a little overwhelming but when we book again I believe it will be much better since I know what I'm doing .

 

 

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Beyond the clout of the right TA, there are the added perks. True that it won't add up to much extra OBC on discount lines like Carnival. But, if you ever do a higher end cruise line and/or extended journey, you'll find that 5-8% sharing of the commissionable fare could easily exceed $1000.

 

 

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[ExpatBride]

I'm a researcher, so I don't need any guidance when it come to choosing a line, ship, itinerary, etc., so a TA has nothing to offer me on that front. I've always booked the best deal could find online and haven't had any problems rebooking to save money if the price drops, etc. I see no downsides to booking online.

[sonicbuffalo]

I've always used a PVP, or booked when I'm already on a cruise. That being said, I booked our next cruise when we were on our last cruise. I also did some serious research and found that Carnival's pricing when booked through a PVP was over $150 higher than the quote I got from a TA. I booked with the TA, and so far, I'm happy with that decision. I might not have gotten OBC, but I saved over $150, so that's my OBC.

[teknoge3k]

Unless a TA is going to give you something substantial, I see no reason to use one in 2017 unless you're just not comfortable using the Internet and managing your own vacations. Now if they are going to give you $100 OBC then perhaps, sure. But if they're going to give you some strawberries or a piece of chocolate, then it's not worth it to me. It's my vacation and I want to be in control of what goes on and what happens.

[King10Sooted]

There is so much information out there, especially on this site, that using a TA seems like a waste. You can get great deals just by doing a little research. You can also probably score some OBC with no problems just by asking. If you call to book a cruise and have your deposit ready and just tell them you would book it today if they could offer you $50 credit or something they will I'm sure.

 

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[ray98]

The info is out there for anyone to find on their own unlike a couple decades ago where you needed someone with experience to guide you. You have as much info as they have these days. I no longer need hand holding or advice figuring out what we want, I find out myself if I don't know. Unless you are getting some serious kickback from them then do it yourself and avoid all the pitfalls that can come when using a middleman.

Edited May 19, 2017 by ray98

[cruisemom67]

Unless a TA is going to give you something substantial, I see no reason to use one in 2017 unless you're just not comfortable using the Internet and managing your own vacations. Now if they are going to give you $100 OBC then perhaps, sure. But if they're going to give you some strawberries or a piece of chocolate, then it's not worth it to me. It's my vacation and I want to be in control of what goes on and what happens.

 

I used PVP up to this year. I met a travel agent I liked and booked 2 cruises with them. I did group cruises for 4-5 cabins each time, and got additional OBC with a TA. I saw a price decline on the RCI cruise and texted her about it. She called me back and had it taken care of without me doing anything else. I don't know if she will give us anything extra, but I will see next month when we take our June cruise.

[drifter42]

The one I used didn't know that you could use carnival gift cards to pay the balance. I said let's try it and see lol

 

 

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[cellfree]

We have been on 10+ Carnival cruises - I do all my research initially on-line and decide what Cabin I want - I then call the PVP I have worked with for several years and book through her. She gets the credit for a 'cruise booked' and I get various perks - for instance, if I see that the price drops I email her and she takes care of it for me (I do realize that there is a form I can fill out and submit to Carnival) - she will also hold a Cabin for me for 24 hours if I am a little undecided. I do like having a PVP that knows me and will do what she can for me.