Travel Agent or Book yourself

[cruisegirl1976]

Hello everyone.. so in the past I have always used a Travel Agent to book my cruise.. and he even moved to florida and would handle my trips from there.. but he recently fell ill.. and had to retire.. so what should I do.. find a new travel agent or just book the trip on my own?

[Clarea]

Hello everyone.. so in the past I have always used a Travel Agent to book my cruise.. and he even moved to florida and would handle my trips from there.. but he recently fell ill.. and had to retire.. so what should I do.. find a new travel agent or just book the trip on my own?

Can your travel agent recommend someone he thinks can handle your business similar to the way he did?

[cruisegirl1976]

Can your travel agent recommend someone he thinks can handle your business similar to the way he did?

 

He can't.. it was a weird situation.. when he moved to florida.. he ended up working for a different travel agent and he was able to work from home and only had a couple clients.. he was semi-retired.. and I lost contact with him.. I tried to reach out but he's really ill.. so I don't want to push ..

[jamon]

you should do whatever you feel most comfortable with...both have positives and negatives...:)

[hiccups]

We always use a travel agent to get extra benefits such as OBC or paid gratuities. Depending on the price of the cruise, it can be a significant amount!

[Desert Cruizers]

Contact friends who use a Travel Agent to see who they recommend. If your use to planning your trips, selecting your state room, then book on your own.

[cruisegirl1976]

Thanks for all the imput.. I may try booking my next cruise myself.. cause I was thinking.. I pick out everything before hand and used to just tell my travel agent what I exactly to book..

[Beachin2]

Thanks for all the imput.. I may try booking my next cruise myself.. cause I was thinking.. I pick out everything before hand and used to just tell my travel agent what I exactly to book..

 

I did that for years, did all the bookings & details then transferred to an on-line TA for the OBC. That worked well when our cruises were simple, closed loop cruises. We don't change cabins, we book very early so see no price drops and basically it is "set & forget". Involving a TA doesn't work (or at least has not worked) for the less "routine" cruises that we now find ourselves taking.

 

We are divesting ourselves of our TA and RC certainly doesn't make it easy - they (RC) actually told me I had to transfer a new booking we just made with them directly. That conversation didn't last long.

 

I saw the OBC as free $, and it is, but if your cruising turns a bit more sophisticated you may reach a point where it just isn't worth it. JMHO.

[bighairtexan]

Find a TA who gives back some of their commission in the way of discount or more likely OBC (the discount usually comes in when the TA has booked a big block of cabins and you're part of their "group" though it's only for booking purposes. ) Also if I want to change cabins, it takes no time at all to email the TA and I don't have to hang out on the phone. I've never missed out on getting the cabin I wanted b/c I used my TA. Any other changes, even the big box or big cruise only agencies are usually extremely responsive and I'd rather have them hassle over any issues I have.

Do ask up front if they charge a cancellation fee. Factor that in. One of the big cruise only TA's often gives the most in the way of perks but they do charge a cancellation fee regardless of final payment.

[crookedhalo]

I sometimes have to use a TA to get special rates that my DH qualifies for. It's harder to work with them on price drops, but not so hard that it offsets what savings we get with the special rate we get.

 

Hardest part is that I am a control freak and not being able to do what I want when I want sort of freaks me out, but my guy is pretty good and I can always work with his manager if he's not in:D :)

[precious89904600]

I would do my own booking. I went with a TA this time and they haven't given me anything not even a T shirt with their name or a beach bag. I have to call them every time there is a sale and ask them to check if I can get a price drop and they keep telling no and I would loose any OBC I have.

[lenquixote66]

Hello everyone.. so in the past I have always used a Travel Agent to book my cruise.. and he even moved to florida and would handle my trips from there.. but he recently fell ill.. and had to retire.. so what should I do.. find a new travel agent or just book the trip on my own?

 

 

My TA relocated from NY to FLA but was still booking cruises for his NY clients .He retired about 10 years ago and referred people to a NY TA .We have always booked through a TA.

[Desert Cruizers]

I have used a local TA recommended by friends and although I pick out where to cruise, room & want, I merely call her office give her or an associate all the information and never look back. I get an invoice within that day or next. It isn't very often I will change rooms but when I do I can go through anyone of her associates. I never have felt I am not in control of my booking. Either a TA has your booking or a cruise line only main difference is if on a weekend, you can speak to someone from the cruise line. I guess since I am able to get my first choice of rooms, only 2 or 3 times have I requested a change.

[Karma5]

Less complicated to book yourself..................

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I would do my own booking. I went with a TA this time and they haven't given me anything not even a T shirt with their name or a beach bag. I have to call them every time there is a sale and ask them to check if I can get a price drop and they keep telling no and I would loose any OBC I have.

 

I just booked with a TA but I check the prices myself and if I see a change for the good then I get in touch with the TA.

 

No need to call every time their is a new fake sale.

 

It depends what the OBC offered for newest fake sale is. If you had booked during the WOW sale and gotten $225 OBC for a balcony and saw a lower price now you ahve to factor in the fact that they are only offering $100 OBC for a balcony so you would lose $125 in OBC.

 

You just have to factor everything in. Still only takes 2-3 minutes.

 

Bill

[Clarea]

Less complicated to book yourself..................

Not for me, I send one email and it's done. No calls, no dealing with Royal's website.

[Desert Cruizers]

Bob I am the same way, her office knows what we or I now. like and all I need to do is give her the information, Cruise, Ship, room #, she knows dining time and takes it from there.

[jean87510]

I have always booked my own because we usually take the cheapest cabin and don't care about the drink packages. I dont see the need to call someone and give them the details of the homework that I have already done. I have found it much easier just to go through RCCL or other lines. I also have been pretty lucky with snagging OBC and/or upgrade with cabins at times. I definitely prefer calling the cruise line directly.

[Cauzneffct]

Hello everyone.. so in the past I have always used a Travel Agent to book my cruise.. and he even moved to florida and would handle my trips from there.. but he recently fell ill.. and had to retire.. so what should I do.. find a new travel agent or just book the trip on my own?

 

I always book myself. That said, given how aggravating RCI's website is, and the difficulties I have trying to research/book/manage reservations, if we book any further cruises with them we may use a TA just to avoid the hassle.

[renza]

I feel bad for people booking through royal directly. I do all my research and still book through an online agency. I get gratuities paid for both my cabins and always pay less because they have group rates and more OBC. Over all, two cabins I save $600. It’s crazy not too

 

 

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[Little Buddy's Mom]

I book direct with Royal and then transfer booking to my agent within 60 days. I've received several thousand dollars in shipboard credit doing it this way. Since I'm a very low maintenance customer, the only reason I use an agent, is for the credit. She profits and so do I. :)

[Bwana Tom]

We always use Choice Privileges to book our cruises. They guarantee lowest price bookings and you get points for all the dollars spent, including the cost of the cruise itself. On a normal cruise the points you accumulate would be adequate to cover a few nights in their motels for free. Sometimes they even give you double points (10 points per dollar). If you want even more points you can get their no-annual fee credit card. Simply do a search on the internet to pull up their website and become a member. It's a great program! Once you talk with a travel agent and you like them you can contact them directly at their telephone extension.

[LuCruise]

I book myself. I do lots of research (mostly on here...ha ha) and prefer to work directly through Royal rather than a third party in the middle. I suppose though if TA was offering enough of a discount/OBC then it might be worth it...but I've never even looked into it as I prefer to manage the booking myself.

[SandyCam0423]

I tend to research the cruise myself, then book through an agent as they have access t exclusive promos sometimes.

[chill6x6]

My first cruise was booked by a travel agent. Since then I've booked every one myself. It's fun and I enjoy it. It kind of forces you to learn all you can about cabins/cabin types/locations/differences in cabins/itineraries/ships/on and on. No one knows what I like and appreciate but me. I also have the flexibility to change anything about the cruise when I want to. There are MANY websites to help you along the way where you can look at cabin availability(cruise line websites usually leave a few cabins off the table) and pictures and locations of various cabins.

 

I think you should do it yourself!