POLL: Travel Agent vs. Do It Yourself

[cruising maniac]

I do all of the research and book the cruise myself and then transfer to my favorite TA. I do so enjoy the 10% OBC!! If I need to make a change of have a price match, I send her an e-mail and she takes care of it for me. Somebody is there 7 days a week so if it is her day off, I give them a call and her co-workers are always glad to assist.

[WeighAnchor]

We never use a TA. I enjoy looking, planning and booking directly. For me it's part of the fun. I have cruise 49 & 50 already booked.[emoji4]

Same here!

[jamesr3939]

We've always been quite pleased with our long time travel agent so will continue to use for booking cruises. :)

 

Us too. A good relationship with a TA really pays off when things go bad. We have had to cancel at the last minute on two cruises due to family emergencies and the last thing I wanted to deal with was the cruise stuff. One phone call and it's all handled by our TA. She won't even touch airfare and hasn't for many years. I do all that, plus hotels and rental cars on my own with no sitting on hold.

 

Besides, who feels there's no control with a TA? I do all my own research then call her to book it. Afterwards, she calls me or I call her when either see's a price drop or better price on a better cabin. I still have total control and with just a single phone call of less than five minutes.

 

She called me last year with a Princess Sip & Sail offer that was about to expire in two days with only a $100 deposit. But you could sail out to the middle of 2018. We found a 15 day RT SF-HI at a good price and locked it in with about $1800 savings on the drink package. If she hadn't called I wouldn't have known about that.

Edited August 22, 2017 by jamesr3939

[Intent2smile]

We booked our first cruise through a TA. We had no clue what we were doing but he was really helpful and even got us a free upgrade after final payment when I called and asked how much it would cost to upgrade. He quoted me the price and I said no thanks but 30 minutes later he called back with RCI on the phone offering a free upgrade.

This cruise coming up I wanted to try to do it myself and there has been several times I have wished to have the TA so I didn't have to be on hold. Next cruise we will use the TA again

 

 

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[Luckynana]

I enjoy searching the Internet for cruises, hotels, etc. After finding a cruise and stateroom Im interested in, I normally contact my TA, telling her what I want booked. This time, however, I saw the Transatlantic I wanted for next Fall didn't have many staterooms in my category left, so I called the cruise line directly. When I went to give my credit info for the booking, he told me I had a cruise certificate that was soon to expire. How lucky for me!! I thought I'd already used it on my last cruise with them. My regular TA wouldn't have known about the certificate. So weird how things sometimes work out!

 

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[quiltsnh]

On line agents are great until you have a problem. I have heard some horror stories.

[grandgeezer]

On line agents are great until you have a problem. I have heard some horror stories.

 

I have heard the exact same things said about brick and mortar agencies as well as the cruise lines.

[travelplus]

Travel Agents are good if you find the right one. I work in Travel and Tourism and I know that having an extra eye can save you money and hassles in the end. Also with regards to making your final payment your Travel Agent takes care of it.

 

A lot of travel agencies have held cabins that you would not see on Royal Caribbean and have Group Rates that Royal Caribbean does not have. With a Travel Agent you are getting extra perks as they are given Tier Credits which can be used for client incentives like wine and cheese in your room.

 

Another benefit to using a travel agent is that they can compare Cruise Air and help you to customize your pre and post cruise. When you book a Royal Caribbean Pre and Post Rate your per night is more vs booking on your own. I have researched the same hotels Royal uses and have saved $$$ as a result.

 

Also you need to have someone who can help you with price drops, if you miss your cruise or miss a port your agent can help work with Royal Caribbean. Also Royal Caribbean encourages the use of using a Travel Agent.

 

Sometimes the Royal Caribbean reps have never sailed but your travel agent has sailed. This is why you should shy away from a big box Travel Online Agent who has never been on a ship vs a travel agent who has been on the cruise. Its worth gold to interview a potential travel agent so you feel comfortable with them.

 

Some questions to ask

 

1. How often do you check for price drops, new perks that ca be combined?

 

2. If I have a problem in the middle of the night who do I call and do you have a backup emergency phone number to call?

 

3. What are your Group Rates? Are you able to give us extra perks through Tier Credits?

 

4. How many times have you cruised? Which cruiselines?

 

I would then look to be sure that they are registered with the CSTA//CLIA/IATA and with the cruiseline as a prefered partner.

 

I hope this helps.

[shipshape sam]

I know a good many use a TA because they can get you some extra frills that you don't get booking direct with Royal Caribbean. However, there are some (like myself) that enjoy planning everything from start to finish and having full control of your itinerary. This poll is to get a feel of how much our fellow cruisers use TA's and to what extent. Feel free to make comments.

 

We plan our cruise and then call our TA to see what deal he can get us. We have been pleased that a number of times over many years, he has got us a better deal, better cabin category, or both. I think he likes the challenge. Secondly, we had a huge issue once of cruise line messing up cabin numbers and since we booked via TA, he went to bat for us and it got fixed fast.

 

Finally, he has also helped us while on a cruise and the OBC was not there as told and expected. Emailed him, went back to enjoying the cruise and next day got email that issue was fixed. Went to customer service and it was there!

 

So........for us, we like the benefit of a TA for cruise portion only. :)

[xpcdoojk]

Depends on what the TA is offering. If it's no better than direct, I'll book direct.

 

If it is the same price, why not put someone else in the loop. I mean if it goes to crAp why not have a person on the hook to bail you out.

 

I do most of my own planning, but still I always use a TA for cruises.

 

JC

[Big_G]

If it is the same price, why not put someone else in the loop. I mean if it goes to crAp why not have a person on the hook to bail you out.

 

I do most of my own planning, but still I always use a TA for cruises.

 

JC

I do all my own research even when using a TA. Without additional perks, I don't see the need to add anyone to the loop. Just my preference.

 

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[josumello]

I do all the "legwork" and know when I want to sail, the ship, the cabin and the cost of it on Royal Caribbean's site. (That is IF I can get it to work.) After all that, I go to another site where people compete for my business. I then look at the offers, read the reviews of the agencies, verify there are no cancellation/change charges other than what the cruise line charges, hours open and any other questions I might have.

 

 

 

I then make a choice based on what I feel is right for me. If all things are equal, I go with the one with the most perks. I do my own follow up regarding price drops and notify the agency when I find one. I don't usually have to have the agency do anything else for me just as I wouldn't have Royal Caribbean do anything else.

 

 

 

I always book my own air, hotels and any excursions I want. I get lots of info on these boards as well as a site that advises trips. So far, I have been satisfied with what I am doing. It works well for me and I also do the bookings this way for my family when they travel.

 

 

 

If I were to do a land based vacation, such as a European tour, I would use a travel agent, but then again, I'd do all the research I could on my own so I could book what's best for me.

 

 

 

That's exactly what I do. It is amazing the money saved and the perks by using the website that competes for my business. Have been doing it for years. No brainer for me.

 

 

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[FOXTROT]

Always, always use a TA. If you book with RCL & have a problem with them, who's going to stand up for you. Friends used our TA, they had to cancel day before cruise. No insurance, the TA got them 70% credit. She has also bailed us out several times with air, even though we did not book it with her.

[xpcdoojk]

I do all my own research even when using a TA. Without additional perks, I don't see the need to add anyone to the loop. Just my preference.

 

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I do exactly the same thing and always use one.

 

Why not have an advocate when you are traveling, maybe they can help maybe they can't but it beats you are all on your own. Now if I can book a better deal, haven't yet in 20+ years, but if I did, then yes, I might book without. That said, if I booked better than they could, I would probably clue them in and have them on my side. Just another ace in the hole. I like having lots of them. I almost never use a TA for land travel. I have only one time, and I must say they did a tremendous job on a very expensive land vacation, but they are not an agency I have used since, because they helped me in an area they had expertise in and I had none. They would love to book my cruises, but I haven't used them since.

 

A good TA has a better relationship with RCI than I a lowly diamond plus has. They book hundreds or thousands of cruises with RCI every year and I book 1 or 2.

 

It really is just math.

 

JC

[agnesd]

To each his own. I have an inline TA. She's great. The best aspect is if I have to cancel, she will hold over our insurance for a year.

 

 

 

 

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[Cruise4Twos]

I go with who has the best deal which is typically online. This site opened my eyes to benefits of TAs that I didn't think of. Unfortunately my preferred TA just retired. The other TA in that office is too impatient. Now that I've learned a lot from doing it myself, I'm not sure that anyone will want to deal with my demands.

[shipshape sam]

I go with who has the best deal which is typically online. This site opened my eyes to benefits of TAs that I didn't think of. Unfortunately my preferred TA just retired. The other TA in that office is too impatient. Now that I've learned a lot from doing it myself, I'm not sure that anyone will want to deal with my demands.

 

Call them requirements to earn your business. :)

[Big_G]

I do exactly the same thing and always use one.

 

 

 

Why not have an advocate when you are traveling, maybe they can help maybe they can't but it beats you are all on your own. Now if I can book a better deal, haven't yet in 20+ years, but if I did, then yes, I might book without. That said, if I booked better than they could, I would probably clue them in and have them on my side. Just another ace in the hole. I like having lots of them. I almost never use a TA for land travel. I have only one time, and I must say they did a tremendous job on a very expensive land vacation, but they are not an agency I have used since, because they helped me in an area they had expertise in and I had none. They would love to book my cruises, but I haven't used them since.

 

 

 

A good TA has a better relationship with RCI than I a lowly diamond plus has. They book hundreds or thousands of cruises with RCI every year and I book 1 or 2.

 

 

 

It really is just math.

 

 

 

JC

 

 

 

I get what you're saying and maybe I'd feel different if I had a problem but so far...knocking on wood...it's worked out for me.

 

 

Gregg

[gr8.guy]

On my very first cruise, we used an agent and the experience with the agent was... not what I was expecting. It was essentially a very nice commission sale on their end cause I planned every detail and pored over books and brochures for months. The agent just collected a fee for not really doing much but being a intermediary.

 

Many years later, I have two dozen families that use me to plan for them. I wish I could be a TA so I could reap the benefits and continue to cruise by proxy.

 

 

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[perfect match]

I usually enjoy booking everything myself. However, I have been lured to using a TA a few times because the RCI website wasn't working (I know you're all surprised to hear that! :eek: ) at the time I wanted to book, or because the TA was offering perks I just couldn't resist! :p

 

We live in central FL, so it is an easy drive to port for us, No flights or hotels necessary! :D

Edited August 23, 2017 by perfect match

[mcatmcat]

Most of the time I book interior or ocean view and the perks are minimal if any, for the last 5 years I book directly with royal

 

 

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[Beachin2]

I couldn't select an option in the poll because we do both. I book everything then transfer the booking to my TA who gives me about 8% in refundable OBC.

 

Book an accessible balcony cabin usually as soon as cruises are released, so have never seen a price drop and upgrade possibilities are nil - so those are not considerations for us.

[gardenbug22]

I use a local TA for my cruises and have been very happy with her. On a whim for a last minute cruise I booked directly with NCL last year, and found I was not a happy camper with the experience. I do better cabin wise as well as with deals and perks with my TA. As far as maintaining control of my trip... I have never found that I lost control of anything when booking with her. She is good about watching the prices and no cost upgrades too.

[pattak619]

depends on what the ta is offering. If it's no better than direct, i'll book direct.

ditto

[oceanlover07]

I've booked through various travel agents many times, having done all the research etc myself and have only ever been given $50 obc! I've also had to look for their mistakes and contact them to correct. Then have to go to the travel agents to collect docs, usually about a week before departure, at a time which suits them. I now prefer to book myself.

 

 

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