No Travel Agent For Me

[Rod&Deb]

I book direct with all Travel.  Celebrity gave me the best price by over $1500 with the perks I got booking direct.  I have travelled extensively and haven't used a TA in years as once I had a problem and got stuck the airline said contact your TA and guess what it was on a weekend and late at night and no one to help.  When you book direct the buck lands with the person in front of you.

[Umbarger]

11 hours ago, Brattle said:

I am booking a 7k Sky Suite on Celebrity. After hearing about all the great TA deals I decided to do my due diligence and offer it to a travel agent. I used bigbox stores and the biggest online cruise sales companies that I could find. I probably used 9 different agents. Figuring that they make a 10-12% commission (or more) I thought there might be some room to make this profitable.-NOT  The worst offer that I got was a $65 pp obc and the best offer was $150 pp obc. I also found that some bigbox companies came in with higher prices and then offered larger rebates that brought the price back to what everyone else was offering. 

Good luck to those who have success with a TA and maybe it is just this particular cruise but I just did not find the value in giving up control of my 7 thousand dollar booking for a few hundred bucks. I hope that you do better.

 

I must agree.  I prefer a lower or no OBC than to lose control of my booking.  After 30 cruises I know how to do everything myself. Also I give myself excellent customer service.  😉 

[4774Papa]

We have done 20 cruises since I retired in 2010 (11 with Celebrity, 7 with NCL and 2 with Royal C.).

 

At first I booked direct with the cruise line, but after a few cruises, tried checking with big box travel agencies to get bennies.

We always book a balcony and usually the cheapest balcony category.  Also, we almost always book early and find that prices go up, not down.  Still, we have had 3 cruises where prices dropped (sometimes 2-3 times).   I was always able to get the new lower prices without a hassle.   Had some friends that booked with a TA on the same cruise and were not able to get the TA on the phone in time to get the last price drop.  

 

Still, I know that with a TA you can usually get some good bennies.  However, now that we have done so many cruises (we don't like repeating the same cruises-except for transatlantic), the cruises that we pick are usually transatlantic or repo cruises.  These are inexpensive.   What we are finding for those cruises is very little in the way of benefits.

 

Perhaps we could find a TA that was not a big box.  OK, but what happens if they go bankrupt.  Think Thomas Cook!  We booked a hotel in Venice for a post cruise stay several years ago with an online company that went bankrupt the week before we arrived at the hotel.  We lost the advance payment we had made.

 

I still check for good TA deals, but when you book a transatlantic cruise where the fare is around $1200 pp for 14 days, you won't get much.

[micheleata]

I always use the same TA.  They have a group rate that is always cheaper than booking direct.    There is always some OBC thrown in also.   I use a large online TA, and even on the weekend the girls I deal with will usually get back to me.  If not, I call the 1-800 number and they will help with whatever I need.   

 

I don't worry about them going bankrupt, as the cruise line gets your deposit and your final payment,  not the TA.

[miched]

9 hours ago, fleckle said:

 

The same thing could have happened to you regardless of which type of travel agent you used.

We had a similar experience years ago when using an agent from a well-known and highly regarded outside travel agency. 

 

That is why it is important to get everything in writing

Any agent who tells you "he couldn't do that and don't worry" is waving a big red warning flag at you right there.

 

 

On another cruise using the TA that we still  use our account didn’t show the premium upgrade that we paid for in advance.  We told them  about it when checking in and we were told we have to go to GR when in Board.

 

Proceeded to GR and there was a very long line.  There were also gate keepers that were trying to resolve issues that didn’t need GR.  One of them was for those requesting a free upgrade ( way before the move up program).   It appeared as most were in line for that as soon as he put their name on his list they left.  We told them our issue and were allowed to stay in line but also asked for a upgrade just because we were there and was curious if anything would result.   I am sure the list went straight to the round file.

 

At GR they said it wasn’t in the system that we paid.  I showed them the emails and receipts.  They  said emails, and those receipts  don’t mean anything.   Thankfully  we were still in port and they  let us call out TA on their phone.  GR said it might take a few hours and to continue as we had the Premium Pack and come back later.   We went back and the problem was resolved.  There  was also a message on our cabin phone that it was.  

 

Emails aren’t considered considered in writing according to them.

 

Reading some comments on this forum others have also had problems with purchasing things before the cruise such as room I set ups or special occasions packages.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

Edited September 25, 2019 by miched

[Brattle]

I know that specific TA agencies cannot be named and I am good with that. If that were allowed this board would turn into nothing but sales pitches.

At this point I have exhausted the list of the largest TA's online and the best that I can do is not close to what others are reporting. It might be the date, the cruise or the ship but I am booking direct and maybe I will talk to people on my upcoming cruise and find someone with a good recommendation.

[Kartgv]

I think what many people miss in using TA's is the fact that none of them will offer great perks and/or prices on all cruise lines/sailings, all of the time; to get the really good offers depends on timing.    We're on our favored TA's list for notification of specials perks coming up and do all of our cruise booking then.    Our last 3 cruise bookings have gotten us either 3 major onboard perks (Premium drinks, free internet, free gratuities) plus a small OBC, OR a large (about 10% of cruise base price ) plus 1 other perk.    We've never had any "control" problems, always receive very clear and complete contracts spelling everything out in writing.   

[CharmCity2000]

After reading this thread, I went searching online last night.  I have a far out future cruise that I needed to book.  There was enough information on the website to entice me to calling this morning.  I was able to to save $1100 off of the direct prices and the deposit was 1/3 of what booking direct would cost me.  The cost when I spoke to the agent directly was $100 less than what was advertised on the agent website.

 

I didn't get 10% in OBC but I'm happy with my savings.

 

Edited September 25, 2019 by CharmCity2000

[Orator]

My opinion based on my experience:

In deciding on a TA you may want to consider:

-Cancellation policy as some TAs charge you a fee if you cancel a reservation.

-Do they have a group price for the cruise? Sometimes a TA has reserved a block of cabins or has a group. They can offer a better price if they do.

- Reputation for service. Some TAs are known to really work for their clients while others are only "order takers" and you are referred to Customer Service if you have problems or questions. Service is very important to me.

- Connections with the cruise line. Some Agents have a unique relationship with some of the people in the cruise company and can get "special" benefits like upgrades.

- Experience cruising with the line. Some TAs have cruised often while some I've spoken to have never cruised on Celebrity.

This list is most certainly not all inclusive. 

[jelayne]

15 hours ago, Orator said:

If your cruise is a Trans Atlantic or repositioning cruise very few offer any significant benefits. That's when you can you Shareholder credit if you own at least 100 shares of RCL stock. Now, if you book while onboard you might get some additional benefits. Once I booked a TA while on a TA and received gratuities. This is rare, but can happen. There have been many threads on benefits of booking directly with Celebrity, booking on board, or using a TA. Might search for these threads to gain further insights.

 

Recently X started offering perks for TA, TP and repositioning cruises.  We have a spring TA booked with 2 perks from X, TA group pricing and $450 OBC- R.  

We have a TP booked  which had no perks offered when we booked and gratuities from the TA  A few months later X offered perks so TA redid the booking resulting in 4 perks from X added plus substantial TA OBC. 

[Orator]

3 minutes ago, jelayne said:

 

Recently X started offering perks for TA, TP and repositioning cruises.  We have a spring TA booked with 2 perks from X, TA group pricing and $450 OBC- R.  

We have a TP booked  which had no perks offered when we booked and gratuities from the TA  A few months later X offered perks so TA redid the booking resulting in 4 perks from X added plus substantial TA OBC. 

I was told about that at Future Cruises on Equinox, but the increase in cost was not worth the perks. You need to do some math since sometimes the paying for perks is a good value. I consider a real perk to be one that is added without adding to the cost. I've found this from time to time. For example: I was on a TA when they offered gratuities if you book another TA on board. This added nothing to the price and I jumped on the deal.

[grandgeezer]

2 hours ago, Brattle said:

I know that specific TA agencies cannot be named and I am good with that. If that were allowed this board would turn into nothing but sales pitches.

At this point I have exhausted the list of the largest TA's online and the best that I can do is not close to what others are reporting. It might be the date, the cruise or the ship but I am booking direct and maybe I will talk to people on my upcoming cruise and find someone with a good recommendation.

 

Not all travel agencies list all their perks online. The online agency I use doesn't, I just call and talk to them, you'd be surprised what's available. Except for transatlantics, I always get 10%+. The best part is when I accept the deal, they put the room on hold, and send me a written conformation including what I'm getting from the cruise line and what I'm getting from them. When I reply back, if it's what I agreed on, the cabin is booked. I guess, if it isn't what I agreed on, I'd have to call them back, it's never happened in 20+ cruises booked through them. This gives me written conformation on what we agreed on.

Talking to people about who they use is a good idea to find out what's working for other people. 

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, Orator said:

I was told about that at Future Cruises on Equinox, but the increase in cost was not worth the perks. You need to do some math since sometimes the paying for perks is a good value. I consider a real perk to be one that is added without adding to the cost. I've found this from time to time. For example: I was on a TA when they offered gratuities if you book another TA on board. This added nothing to the price and I jumped on the deal.

 

I agree about doing the math and in the both cases the cost of the adding the perks was a fraction of the cost pf the beverage package for 1 of us.

[tbenson81]

TA's are a thing of the past. With the wealth of information at everyone's fingertips-  someone who does their due diligence can get the same or better deal as an agent, have 100% control and not be at the mercy of a travel agents schedule anytime they want to make the slightest of changes.  The only time an agent makes sense are for those who do not have the time / want to be bothered with doing all of the legwork. 

 

To think you are getting much better of a deal is just wishful thinking. The cruise line discounts the rates to the TA who in turns marks them back up to you to make their profit. Sometimes you can save a little if they take a commission cut or have blocks of rooms but often the savings is negligible.  As others have pointed out above, the true savings comes in the form of the perpetual pricing changes that happen from the minute a cruise has been booked. I have called and rebooked the same cruise 7-8 times because of price drops or additional perks. Sometimes a great price is only obtainable for an hour and its often tricky to get a TA to call instantaneously. By the time they get around to calling, the price could be back up.

 

The worst as others have noted is if there is a problem on board and the cruise line says you have to deal with the agent. Nobody wants to deal with that hassle and its really not worth it to save a buck or 2. (it really is only a buck or 2 if you do your homework)

 

 

Edited September 25, 2019 by tbenson81

[tbenson81]

You have to do the final out the door math though as well. Every cruise line plays the same game with their fares. You might think the cruise dropped 500 bucks, but all they did was take away an included perk. You might think you are getting a free upgrade to a balcony or suite when its baked into the price anyways. Its a marketing game played by the cruise line and TA's. Always do the final out the door math for cruise fare, taxes and perks and compare from there. If you are one who keeps checking, you can beat an agent every single time. Person A feels robbed because he paid 7,000 for a cruise and only got 50 in OBC. Person B thinks they scored a killer deal because they paid 8,000 and got 1000 in obc! Wow. Do the math everyone

Edited September 25, 2019 by tbenson81

[Hlitner]

For those that prefer to do business directly with the cruise lines, we say go forth and be happy.  For those that like the idea of saving 7-10% on every cruise, and understand that it can take a little shopping around, we also say, go forth and be happy.  Our own experience (based on more than 40 years of extensive cruising) is that the savings for those who shop can be quite amazing.  We personally save thousands of dollars on most of our bookings (we tend to book longer more expensive cruises) every year!  In fact, we recently booked a month long Princess cruise while we were on a another cruise.  We actually got a decent Princess promotion that was only available to those who booked while aboard a cruise.  Once we returned home we immediately transferred that reservation to one of our favorite cruise agencies who gave us an additional $1800 in On Board Credits.  The situation would be the same with all the mass market lines although the rules are somewhat different when you deal with the ultra luxury lines (i.e. Seabourn, Silverseas, etc).  There are also some excellent cruise agencies that are authorized to charge lower prices (then you get by booking directly with the cruise line) for certain lines.  Instead of getting savings at the "back end" with on board credits you actually can save the same or more money up front (at the time of your final payment).  But not all cruise lines allow this "quiet" discount pricing.  The lower pricing is generally not permitted to be advertised online (or via mail) but is only available to those who are registered with these agencies (no cost) or who specifically request those lower fares.  We do not generally see these deals on RCI products (including Celebrity)…..but generous On Board Credits, complementary pre paid gratuities, and other amenities are pretty routine.

 

Hank

[Baron Barracuda]

We've been booking through a very large online ta for about 15 years.  Generally get at least the value of grats.  That's fine with us.  We more greatly value their 24/7 customer service.  Over the years we've found ta has greater success resolving problems than us. 

 

Would be willing to book direct if call center reps were more knowledgeable and online systems worked properly.  The largest expense line in parent RCCI's financials is Commissions, Travel & Other.  They don't say how much of this is ta commissions, but at 19% of revenue the category dwarfs salaries (12%), fuel (9%) and food (6%).  If they could get their systems fixed more customers would book direct.  That could save a ton of money without negatively impacting passengers.  Certainly a better area of focus than footstools, movies, chocolates, water, etc.

[Fouremco]

27 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

For those that prefer to do business directly with the cruise lines, we say go forth and be happy.  For those that like the idea of saving 7-10% on every cruise, and understand that it can take a little shopping around, we also say, go forth and be happy.  Our own experience (based on more than 40 years of extensive cruising) is that the savings for those who shop can be quite amazing.

I couldn't agree more. While our dollar amount might be slightly lower than yours, our savings percentage is consistently in the same range. I don't just think I'm getting a better deal booking with our TA, I know that I am. But, to paraphrase you, everyone do their own thing and be happy! 

[bigbenboys]

We have the same TA maybe 19 or 20 years now. I normally book while on a cruise and transfer to my TA. I used to get more obc in the past from my TA, but not as much now. I dont want to be in control of the cruise. I want my TA to handle all my problems. She gets back with me normally really quick. We leave Monday for our next cruise. I handled the airline tickets, 2 hotels, train tickets and transfers. It is my understanding the a TA can form a group with just 2 cabins.

[hiccups]

1 hour ago, tbenson81 said:

TA's are a thing of the past. With the wealth of information at everyone's fingertips-  someone who does their due diligence can get the same or better deal as an agent, have 100% control and not be at the mercy of a travel agents schedule anytime they want to make the slightest of changes.  The only time an agent makes sense are for those who do not have the time / want to be bothered with doing all of the legwork. 

 

I disagree.  An individual isn't going to be able to get a group booking rate.

[grandgeezer]

1 hour ago, tbenson81 said:

TA's are a thing of the past. With the wealth of information at everyone's fingertips-  someone who does their due diligence can get the same or better deal as an agent, have 100% control and not be at the mercy of a travel agents schedule anytime they want to make the slightest of changes.  The only time an agent makes sense are for those who do not have the time / want to be bothered with doing all of the legwork. 

 

To think you are getting much better of a deal is just wishful thinking. The cruise line discounts the rates to the TA who in turns marks them back up to you to make their profit. Sometimes you can save a little if they take a commission cut or have blocks of rooms but often the savings is negligible.  As others have pointed out above, the true savings comes in the form of the perpetual pricing changes that happen from the minute a cruise has been booked. I have called and rebooked the same cruise 7-8 times because of price drops or additional perks. Sometimes a great price is only obtainable for an hour and its often tricky to get a TA to call instantaneously. By the time they get around to calling, the price could be back up.

 

The worst as others have noted is if there is a problem on board and the cruise line says you have to deal with the agent. Nobody wants to deal with that hassle and its really not worth it to save a buck or 2. (it really is only a buck or 2 if you do your homework)

 

 

This has got to be the biggest trollers post of all time, especially he part about getting deals. Sounds like someone who can’t find the deals  and can’t accept the fact that other people can.

Except for when I got group rates, I paid EXACTLY what I would have if I would have by booking direct. We’ve booked 47 cruises and this was true for every single one of them. 10%+ is the norm and since we usually book longer cruises, in a higher category the $$$ are pretty significant. Last cruise was $1,125.

If you need someone to hold your hand, keep on booking direct. That helps the line make their profit goal so they can continue to pay the agency so they can pass the savings on to me.

[Marelaine]

I like to book directly with my vacation planner at Celebrity. I usually do all my research before I call. I'm always surprised when he finds me a little extra something. I know he will return my calls within hours if I have questions and I enjoy talking to him. He's given me money saving tips for future cruises.

I've dealt with a few big box TAs. One gave me an amazing deal, then he passed my booking to another agent. Turned out he had double dipped and she got stuck honoring the deal. To repay her, I booked a cruise through her at Celebrity's price + $50 OBC. When shopping around for a Princess cruise, I noticed one cruise was hundred of dollars/pp less than Princess. I called the box box agent. She told me it was pre-launch group booking available only through that big box TA. Sadly, I couldn't take advantage of that.The deals are out there, but I unless I happen upon one of those, I'll stick with a direct booking.

[tbenson81]

41 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

This has got to be the biggest trollers post of all time, especially he part about getting deals. Sounds like someone who can’t find the deals  and can’t accept the fact that other people can.

Except for when I got group rates, I paid EXACTLY what I would have if I would have by booking direct. We’ve booked 47 cruises and this was true for every single one of them. 10%+ is the norm and since we usually book longer cruises, in a higher category the $$$ are pretty significant. Last cruise was $1,125.

If you need someone to hold your hand, keep on booking direct. That helps the line make their profit goal so they can continue to pay the agency so they can pass the savings on to me.

This make zero sense whatsoever. Booking with a TA is getting your hand held. I hate to break it to you but you arent saving any money. I guarantee that if we were traveling on the same cruise, in same category with the same perks - I could end up with a lower cost out the door at time of sailing by doing everything on my own than your TA. To each his own though, your TA is doing a great job of making you think you are getting a great deal. Not to mention the cruise lines will usually match any 3rd party offers and obc while still allowing you to maintain control of the booking. Godspeed Grandgeezer

Edited September 25, 2019 by tbenson81

[richstowe]

I have booked direct and with a TA . We book direct when the TA savings aren't great or when the cruise line has a generous Cdn $ exchange rate . Twice our exchange savings were greater then any TA rebates .

The biggest TA saving we ever received was a cautionary tale  . We got a total of $600 in  savings including free gratuities and OBC which was more then 20% of the cruise fare before port fees . We then allowed the TA to book Choice Air for flights . She missed booking us a direct flight for only 100 more each . All of a sudden this sweet lady  wanted nothing to do with me and actually told me it's my problem refusing to do anything about it . I spoke to Choice Air direct and with much begging they allowed us to change flights . Once on board RC Mariner , they had no knowledge of our included tips . Thankfully I brought printouts . So yes I saved but it made me very careful going forward . 

[JOVERNITE]

We used to use a TA but she wasn't diligent about checking for price drops.  We book directly with X now. If I see a price drop and call them, they make it happen plus if there are any other offers the agent would bring it to our attention. We got an additional $300 OBC. We book hotel and air independently too. I will admit that we used a TA for a Med cruise. Way too many variables.

 

We do Future Cruise while onboard.They always have a sweet deal. Unless you have an non-refundable deposit you can move it to another ship, different dates, etc. The $100 dep p/p is nice. If you use a TA, give him/her the reservation number & they can have it switched.  Or maybe get a better deal?