Princess Rep or Cruise Agent to Book??

[Lovincruisin1321]

I am planning a cruisetour including EZ Air. I just read a thread about multiple problems and checking with airline, etc.

 

Is it safer and less of a headache to have a cruise agent (not Princess) manage all the arrangements?

[riffatsea]

It is only better if the agent is a good one!

I booked my own cruise with Princess and my own EZ air with no problems.

Then I looked around to see if an agent would offer me a better deal.

I did not find one so I am just handling it myself.

[Kamloops50]

I booked with Princess direct. I ose a personal vacation planner for all my bookings.

You still have control of your reservations including EzAir. You can also pay at your own

 

schedule directly online.

[moki'smommy]

If you use a good travel agent who knows what they are doing with Princess, they can save you a lot of headaches as well as giving you a better price than Princess....either thru OBC or a discount on your cruise price. In addition, you are supporting their business. Many of the best agents are with family owned small businesses; these seem to know more and give the best service in my experience.

 

If you book directly thru Princess, whether you use one of their "personal vacation planners" or not, you allow them to save the commission they'd have to pay an independent agency/agent. That's good for me because you improve the Princess bottom line, so they may be less likely to raise fares on my next cruise.....but it isn't good for you as you're not getting the benefits of an independent agent. If you think that a Princess Personal Vacation Planner works for you, think again.

[Thrak]

Our first cruise was booked through a local TA. After that I always booked directly with Princess. I do my own research and booking and follow fares, sales, etc. Shortly before final payment I send the booking info to my TA (the same one we originally used) and ask what kind of fare discount he can give me. It's not a much as some folks here report getting but it's a decent percentage off the top. Once I have his email reply - one should always have things in writing - I transfer the booking to him. If, for some reason, he should someday decide he can't give me a discount I won't transfer it to him but will, instead, transfer it to a well-known membership store that gives crazy good OBC.

[Micahs Grandad]

I booked with Princess direct. I ose a personal vacation planner for all my bookings.

You still have control of your reservations including EzAir. You can also pay at your own

 

schedule directly online.

 

Have always used a TA with princess and using EZair have always had control of my flights. When we have had a problem with flight no problem calling Princess to fix

 

Do get nice discount/obc by dealing with TA.

[Kamloops50]

Have always used a TA with princess and using EZair have always had control of my flights. When we have had a problem with flight no problem calling Princess to fix

 

Do get nice discount/obc by dealing with TA.

 

My local TAs don’t give any perks for booking. If booked with TA I can’t pay Princess direct . TA handles all payments to Princess.

[Potstech]

Several members of my family ran into a problem getting to their tour portion of their Alaskan cruisetour. If they hadn't used a TA they would have missed way more than just the 1st day. It is a petsonnal choice.

[txwriter]

I originally booked our Alaska cruise with a TA. I hated it. I had to do the work monitoring prices then wait for my TA to contact Princess then wait for TA to get back to me. It was tedious—especially on weekends or after hours when I just wanted a quick answer and Princess reps could only give limited info since my booking was with a TA.

 

I couldn’t see my balances in the cruise personalizer and had to get new invoices when I made payments. It was a hassle. I had my booking moved back to Princess and was totally happy. I had to contact my Princess rep while on vacation to try and get help with renting a wheelchair at the last minute. She was able to quickly answer my question and provide me with options. I never regretted switching to booking directly with Princess.

 

I understand some TAs are above and beyond, but most are not. If you find a good one, they can be a true gem. The suggestion of booking with Princess then looking for a TA is a good one.

[moki'smommy]

Several members of my family ran into a problem getting to their tour portion of their Alaskan cruisetour. If they hadn't used a TA they would have missed way more than just the 1st day. It is a petsonnal choice.

And that's a huge point. My TA is very big on service. I get some OBC, but not nearly as much as people discuss here. But when I'm sitting at ORD being told that I'm likely to be bumped from my international flight because their system hadn't allowed me to do a 24 hour ahead check in (and I'd called the TA when I had the problem...and she called the airline).....or any of a few other issues while traveling, it is great to have a number to call and get some assistance and support.

 

It was rather funny when the Sunday duty agent called us to inform us of a delay as she'd gotten the e-mail from Princess. We got it too....as we were on Princess transportation on the way to the port. But she also sent a list of places near the terminal that would deliver food--would have been great, but the cops were stopping all traffic into the terminal area. None the less, she tried.

[cruzsnooze]

I book with Princess and choose my ezair. Then before final payment and all the changes I've been able to make I give it to a big box membership TA who does nothing but give me a big OBC and 5% back on their citibank credit card so I gain roughly 13-15%. On some of my cruises that's thousands, not hundreds back.

[caribill]

If you book directly thru Princess' date=' whether you use one of their "personal vacation planners" or not, you allow them to save the commission they'd have to pay an independent agency/agent. [/quote']

 

That just means Princess, instead of paying a commission to an outside agent, has all the expenses of staff, phones, training, etc. to cover itself.

 

This is why once your booking is with a TA, Princess has you deal with the TA for booking matters since the TA is in effect getting paid to deal with these.

[caribill]

My local TAs don’t give any perks for booking.

 

Many, if not most, who get discounts/perks when booking with a TA use TAs who do not live in the area the people do.

 

If your local TAs are giving you great personalized service and advice, then that is a reason to stick with them.

[moki'smommy]

Many, if not most, who get discounts/perks when booking with a TA use TAs who do not live in the area the people do.

 

If your local TAs are giving you great personalized service and advice, then that is a reason to stick with them.

The amount of commission a TA gets is dependent, in part, on how much booking the agency does with a particular cruise line. There is a base amount that everyone gets just for doing a booking, but as their volume increases, their percentage of cruise fare as commission also increases. Logically, an agency that gets 15% commission can do more in terms of perks than an agency that gets 10%.

 

You really have to consider the value of great service along with perks when you make decision. 30 years ago, we were dependent on TAs for their experience, information, etc. Now we can get most of that on line. However, when/if the proverbial hits the fan, an experienced TA on your side is a wonderful thing.

[Thrak]

Many, if not most, who get discounts/perks when booking with a TA use TAs who do not live in the area the people do.

 

If your local TAs are giving you great personalized service and advice, then that is a reason to stick with them.

 

My TA lives and works in the same town where I live. He gives me a nice percentage off the top of the price. I could get a "better" deal through a big box as they give killer OBC but I prefer to get "close enough" to that deal with a discount off the top and keep my business local with a TA who is a great guy in addition to being a great TA.

[Kamloops50]

My TA lives and works in the same town where I live. He gives me a nice percentage off the top of the price. I could get a "better" deal through a big box as they give killer OBC but I prefer to get "close enough" to that deal with a discount off the top and keep my business local with a TA who is a great guy in addition to being a great TA.

Where I live, no TAs give any perks or discounts. Most are more expensive than going direct because of added fees for using EzAir. Many charge cancellation or change fees as well. Only national membership agency gives any type of perks.

[cdngrl]

Where I live, no TAs give any perks or discounts. Most are more expensive than going direct because of added fees for using EzAir. Many charge cancellation or change fees as well. Only national membership agency gives any type of perks.

all of the travel agents i looked at in canada gave the same price as on the website. i asked one agency (who just had the 3 day sale) why i should book with them instead of doing it myself if they don't offer me anything extra. they had no answer.

my travel agent is in the states. she can price in canadian or USD and always can get me a better price than princess.

on your next cruise, ask at your meet and greet which agents others use.

i hope you find one who works for you!

[Kamloops50]

all of the travel agents i looked at in canada gave the same price as on the website. i asked one agency (who just had the 3 day sale) why i should book with them instead of doing it myself if they don't offer me anything extra. they had no answer.

my travel agent is in the states. she can price in canadian or USD and always can get me a better price than princess.

on your next cruise, ask at your meet and greet which agents others use.

i hope you find one who works for you!

We don’t go to Meet and Greets anymore. We find that people have their own little groups and don’t really talk with any body else.

[piescruises]

use a travel agents, they negotiate rates in the masses for discounts

[geoherb]

My local TAs don’t give any perks for booking. If booked with TA I can’t pay Princess direct . TA handles all payments to Princess.

Why do you need to pay Princess directly? If you're paying by credit card, all of the charges for your cruise should be to Princess. All I have to do is call my TA when I'm ready to make a payment and have him do it for me. It still appears on my statement as being to Princess.

[Kamloops50]

Why do you need to pay Princess directly? If you're paying by credit card, all of the charges for your cruise should be to Princess. All I have to do is call my TA when I'm ready to make a payment and have him do it for me. It still appears on my statement as being to Princess.

 

 

I like to use my own credit card to collect points.

[cdngrl]

I like to use my own credit card to collect points.

you give your agent the credit card info and they pay princess with it. its still your card that gets charged. you will still get your points. it will still show up in your bank statement as payable to princess cruise lines.

[moki'smommy]

you give your agent the credit card info and they pay princess with it. its still your card that gets charged. you will still get your points. it will still show up in your bank statement as payable to princess cruise lines.

And ALL reputable agents will use your card to pay directly to Princess. If your card shows a charge to XYZ travel, you have no proof that Princess ever got paid or that you have a reservation with them! I haven't read of it for several years, but maybe 5 years ago there was a rash of agencies going out of business and never having paid the cruise line for cruises their clients had booked thru them.

 

If a payment shows up to an agency rather than to the cruise line, you've got a problem!

[grooker]

We have found no substantial benefit from booking via a TA so far.

[pris993]

I vote for neither, I book everything myself... worth it... I know what am getting, manage it completely... no problem.