Going through Travel Agents for Carnival Cruise

[SNJCruisers]

9 hours ago, rukkian said:

Yes, but wasn't sure if we could mention TA's here.

You are not allowed to and those that do could get their privileges suspended for a week

[rufflesmom]

We have used a TA only twice.  Our first cruise, we got door to door transportation from the TA.  A driver picked us up at our house, took us to the airport, met us at the airport and brought us back home.  Really nice perk!  Last cruise, Mediterranean.  We booked cruise ourselves online but wanted to use a TA to book airfare (due to time changes flying to Barcelona).  We transferred booking to her.  She was able to save us $400 on airfare, also booked hotel room for us and drivers to pick us up at airport to take us to hotel and then pick up at port to go back to airport.  Didn't cost us anything to use her services and was worth it to us.  The 10 cruises in between those we booked ourselves online and won't hesitate to continue doing that.  I do like having the control of my booking.

 

[Melissalcsw]

What a timely question, I was on the fence with this yesterday. Use my PVP which I've booked my last three cruises with or go with a TA. I like my PVP she's great, I like being able to control my booking, my payments when I wish too. I am a control freak, especially when I am spending a lot of money.

 

The TA I have offered me OBC of $200, plus other extras; she'll also monitor my fare for price differences.

I didn't  pay any fees; but all my payments have to be made through her.

 

It was a leap of faith for sure. I have used a TA on my Disney Cruise, that's worked out great so far. I think it really matters who the TA is.

 

Good luck in your choice, have a wonderful cruise.

[suzytop]

5 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

No, but some do impose a 100.00 pp cancellation charge if you choose to cancel your cruise before final payment.

Good point to mention,  Thank You!

[suzytop]

16 hours ago, sft429 said:

 

You can always book with Carnival then shop it around to transfer it to a TA.  See how much obc you can get.  I've gotten from $100 for an inside to $300 for a balcony from a TA I transferred to after I initially booked it myself with the cruise line.  I saw a price drop and just emailed the TA and she took care of getting it for me.

I had no idea there were so many options! Thank you so much!! I feel I've received such great info from You and Everyone on this board. 

[laststop]

17 hours ago, sft429 said:

 

You can always book with Carnival then shop it around to transfer it to a TA.  See how much obc you can get.  I've gotten from $100 for an inside to $300 for a balcony from a TA I transferred to after I initially booked it myself with the cruise line.  I saw a price drop and just emailed the TA and she took care of getting it for me.

That's what I've done for the last several cruises. Go ahead and get the room I want and lock in the price, get any Carnival bonuses, then transfer to my TA to get their extra OBC. Plus I can put in my requests for dining and such with them. 

[jakesnana]

13 hours ago, dubroben22 said:

I was checking specific carnival journeys through Costco and carnival and noticed a price difference of about 300-400$ for balcony room between sites (before Costco obc and card offers), but I also noticed that a lot of inventory is different. for example carnival site has spa balcony and grand suite available while Costco does not.

for example NCL cruise showed exactly same cost (before Costco offers)

 

It could be that the TA already has group rates for the categories you are seeing, which would make those cabins unavailable to the Carnival PVP.

 

Something to take note of - I called my cable/internet provider the other day to upgrade my service.  While I was speaking to the rep she told me that she had recently started working part-time for a "call center" (I won't mention the name) and would be selling Carnival cruises.  I have to assume that this is where all calls are routed when you call Carnival, unless you have a specific PVP.  I just wanted to point out that this woman has NEVER sold any type of travel and NEVER been on ANY cruise, yet she is the one who could sell you your next Carnival cruise if you just call the 800 number.  Not very reassuring from where I stand :(

[sft429]

4 hours ago, suzytop said:

I had no idea there were so many options! Thank you so much!! I feel I've received such great info from You and Everyone on this board. 

 

There is a site somewhere that CRUISE travel agents COMPETE for your booking.

Sneaky enough? 🙂

[SNJCruisers]

7 hours ago, sft429 said:

 

There is a site somewhere that CRUISE travel agents COMPETE for your booking.

Sneaky enough? 🙂

Like a sledgehammer.