Obtaining a new PCC?

[fann1sh]

My former PCC is gone from HAL.   AFAIK, no one has been assigned, as I got no email when he left.   While I do have a travel agent, there are times when I want to book directly.

 

I've called the toll free number a couple of times, but - *sigh*

 

Anyone have any suggestions, either about how to do this, or to recommend a PCC they like? 

[kazu]

5 minutes ago, fann1sh said:

My former PCC is gone from HAL.   AFAIK, no one has been assigned, as I got no email when he left.   While I do have a travel agent, there are times when I want to book directly.

 

I've called the toll free number a couple of times, but - *sigh*

 

Anyone have any suggestions, either about how to do this, or to recommend a PCC they like? 

 

We can’t recommend PCC’s here just like we can’t recommend TA’s.

 

I suspect a PCC has been assigned to you - just haven’t emailed.  Try your old PCC’s extension and see if that is your new PCC and see if you “like” them.

 

Assuming I am in error or you wish to change -, call the toll free #, press 0 and then ask for the manager - there are several so have your mariner # ready.  Explain what you would like and it should be taken care of.  I had no problem switching PCC’s but that was the procedure I had to follow.  

[Himself]

10 minutes ago, fann1sh said:

My former PCC is gone from HAL.   AFAIK, no one has been assigned, as I got no email when he left.   While I do have a travel agent, there are times when I want to book directly.

 

I've called the toll free number a couple of times, but - *sigh*

 

Anyone have any suggestions, either about how to do this, or to recommend a PCC they like? 

Try Marcos Garcia.  He can be reached at 1-800-355-3017 ext. 29341

[*Miss G*]

Mine left as well.  Maybe we had the same one.  If you click on this link you will be assigned a new one or if you’ve already been reassigned you will be be contacted:

 

Have a Personal Cruise Consultant Contact Me

[fatbob66]

New to HAL and cruising. Pro's and con's of a PCC for HAL?  Opinions on booking direct or using a TA also appreciated.

[*Miss G*]

4 hours ago, fatbob66 said:

New to HAL and cruising. Pro's and con's of a PCC for HAL?  Opinions on booking direct or using a TA also appreciated.

 

Welcome to Holland America and cruising!  Be warned, though.  It’s addictive.  😅

 

Here are a few recent threads on the topic to get you started:

 

One Reason I Book with a HAL PCC

 

Why Book With a Personal Cruise Consultant

 

What is the Advantage of a Travel Agent vs the Cruise Line Direct

[Hlitner]

4 hours ago, fatbob66 said:

New to HAL and cruising. Pro's and con's of a PCC for HAL?  Opinions on booking direct or using a TA also appreciated.

You have opened a real can of worms with the question as it has been discussed many times.  I will try to give you a balanced answer, which will likely draw a lot of criticism (what else is new).  PCC's are simply HAL's version of reservations clerks.  They work in their little cubicles and do their best to market HAL and help cruisers.  What makes HAL a little different then most cruise lines is that they will often assign a specific PCC to each cruiser.  Some HAL customers really like that more personal approach and appreciate their PCC.

 

But we have a contrary point of view.  We had actually booked about 400 days of HAL cruises (all through various favorite cruise agencies) before we decided to cancel a HAL reservation for multiple reasons.  For the first time in our long history with HAL, we started getting e-mails from the person who said she was our PCC!  When we failed to respond to her marketing attempts it was followed up by several phone calls.  The lady was friendly, polite, and knowledgeable about HAL.  However, she was not able to offer me any deals (on HAL cruises) that even came close to what we could get by using various decent high volume cruise agencies.  In fact, if we had booked with our PCC (and not transferred the reservation) we would have lost at least 10% on each booking!  

 

After a few phone calls I finally challenged our PCC and told her if she could match the deals we get from our various cruise agencies, she could have our bookings.  She quickly explained that HAL does not compete with cruise agencies and they would not match those deals.  But she suggested that we book with her (the PCC) and then could later transfer the booking to any cruise agent.  My response was basically, "why on earth would I want to go through multiple steps to book a cruise when I could just do it with a few clicks of the mouse (with a cruise agency) and save hundreds or even thousands of dollars!  She did not have a good answer.  And that was the last time we talked to our PCC :).

 

Finally, having been an avid (and frequent) cruiser for over 40 years...we have not found a single good reason to book any cruise directly with any cruise line!  Put simply, by shopping around among multiple reputable cruise agencies we can save 7-10% on every cruise and sometimes a lot more!  We have never seen a post here on CC that has convinced us that using our PCC is worth spending hundreds or thousands of dollars more.....then booking elsewhere.  We also have another motive.  DW and I cruise on many different lines (our 16th cruise line is coming up later this month) and appreciate having a cruise agent that understands the differences between lines and can handle any line.  There are times when our favorite cruise agents have suggested  decent alternatives (an upcoming Seabourn cruise is the result of one such suggestion).  We currently have 6 cruises booked with 5 different lines and the thought of having to deal directly with 5 different cruise lines is enough to force me to do a self-drive European trip :).

Hank

[crystalspin]

My PCC just confirmed and booked a cabin that HAL itself had set aside for fulfilling Guarantees. I do not know if a non-HAL travel agent could do the same or not, but I know for sure I could not have booked it myself without her -- the screen just went white when that cabin was specified, requiring the search be started over. 

 

The price she got us was also lower than the other Large Insides that WERE showing on other decks (that we did not want). We are satisfied with our PCC!

[OVgirl]

We are like many others here and very happy with our PCC. If I could, I would readily recommend him.

[DaveOKC]

6 hours ago, crystalspin said:

My PCC just confirmed and booked a cabin that HAL itself had set aside for fulfilling Guarantees. I do not know if a non-HAL travel agent could do the same or not, but I know for sure I could not have booked it myself without her -- the screen just went white when that cabin was specified, requiring the search be started over. 

 

The price she got us was also lower than the other Large Insides that WERE showing on other decks (that we did not want). We are satisfied with our PCC!

Recently we have had the same experience.  Were able to book a category (selecting a specific cabin) through our PCC that was blocked off for guarantees only on the HAL and other travel websites.  Worked great for us in both cases as we got cabins that we really liked.  Not sure if another TA could have done this, but we are happy for using a PCC since we also save money by refaring almost every cruise at some point.

[fatbob66]

Thank you for all the info and opinions.