Better deal to book with cruise line agent or with regular travel agent?

[caterpillars]

I'm only interested in a particular cruise (Alaskan cruise for summer of 2019 on Princess departing from SF only) but I'm flexible on dates (any date during the summer works).  Would I get a better deal working with Princess directly or using a regular TA?  Thanks. 

[sparks1093]

A lot depends. TA's offer some pretty good perks the more you are paying so if you are booking a suite you are likely to receive a much better offer than if you were booking an inside cabin. There is presently a thread on the First Time Cruiser board about TA's and how to find a good one (since we can't mention any by name).

[neverbeenhere]

Negotiations with a few travel agencies will net you the best deal. Call get an agencies best offer, call another to see if they will beat it and so on. 

[sparks1093]

9 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Negotiations with a few travel agencies will net you the best deal. Call get an agencies best offer, call another to see if they will beat it and so on. 

I would only consider doing this if the potential gain is worth that effort. For the cabins that we book (regular balcony cabins) I seriously doubt that any offer would be worth that sort of effort. If we were booking a suite and spending several thousand per person or more than it might be worth it.

[iancal]

We book through an on line TA.  Always a balcony cabin.  We typically realize a saving, in the form of TA provided on board credits, of 8-12 percent.  Not much negotiation.  We email here what we want...ship, date, cabin type and she gives a quote with an attached OBC amount.

 

We would rather deal with a TA rather than a cruise line agent/employee.  Why...more than once she has suggested a better offer on an similar ship/itinerary.  She will provide feedback from other customers that a cruise line agent/employee may be reluctant to or does not have the comparative knowledge base.

[LuckyStar]

I book directly with the cruise line because I'm a control freak and manage well myself and its hard to find a TA in my area.  They all want to handle corporate accounts.  Many swear by them, they can get lots of OBC, which is a huge incentive.  You can always get a quote from both a TA and the cruise line.  

[OCruisers]

5 minutes ago, angie7911922 said:

If you are going to choose between those 2 options - travel agent. They have your best interest in mind. The cruise ship agents have the cruise ships best interest in mind.

 

 

 

Your TA will have your best interest in mind and make every effort to keep you happy so you'll book with him/her again.  

[Cruise Lover Kathy]

I have used a TA and an Online agent all with success.  I recently found out that an airline we sue has their own cruise agency so booking with them will give up miles to add to our accounts toward flying to the port.  Next cruise...

[Reina del Mar]

We have been fortunate booking directly with cruise line and also using both an online travel agent and a local one. 

 

We now choose the cruise and cabin we want. Speak to two agencies and the Cruiseline. Then take the price and 'perks' to a local agent who will usually price match and give us the same offers. It's a little bit of work, but to us, is worth it. 

 

Don't let agents persuade you that you want something different from what you originally ask for and we always have them mark bookings ' no upgrades'.

[Kmangel]

So far my TA has gotten me much better rates for my cruises than I can see when I look on line at prices, plus he throws in OBC and other perks.  I still look in case I catch a price lower than I already have for a cabin, but so far my originally booked cabin is as low as it ever gets.  I am fairly new at cruising, so maybe that will not always be the case, but until things change I will keep using my TA when booking a cruise.