Transferring to a TA

[Bgwest]

Tried searching before posting but couldn't find anything. I apologize for going over what is surely old ground. 

 

After booking directly with Carnival, how long do I have to transfer the reservation to a Travel Agent?

 

Thanks

[dave_k58]

50 minutes ago, Bgwest said:

Tried searching before posting but couldn't find anything. I apologize for going over what is surely old ground. 

 

After booking directly with Carnival, how long do I have to transfer the reservation to a Travel Agent?

 

Thanks

The one thing to remember is- once you transfer to a TA you are done dealing with Carnival. Any questions about your booking,price reductions, dining times etc MUST be done through your TA.  I did that once and wish  I hadn't

 

[SNJCruisers]

It's  60 days.  And make sure you get some worthwhile perks.  If you book the cheapest inside cabin during the cheaper times of the year to cruise, then you'll get 50 in OBC at a minimum.  The more you spend, the more you get back.

[jimbo5544]

I always scratch my head on this topic, if you want a TA to have the booking then start with a TA. 

[teknoge3k]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

I always scratch my head on this topic, if you want a TA to have the booking then start with a TA. 

 

Agreed. If the TA isn't giving you something substantial for the booking, why use them? While we're a family that would never deal with a TA, I am always intrigued as to why others do what they do. 

[soonernstlouis]

1 hour ago, jimbo5544 said:

I always scratch my head on this topic, if you want a TA to have the booking then start with a TA. 

I put a 48 hour hold on my next cruise a few months ago because it was the last one available of that category on the deck level we wanted.  I hadn’t yet got 100% buy in yet from the boss (wife).  Once she had time to review & agree we put the deposit down and gave the info to our TA.  I guess I could have started with having the TA put the courtesy hold but I wanted immediate assurance in this case.

[jimbo5544]

28 minutes ago, teknoge3k said:

 

Agreed. If the TA isn't giving you something substantial for the booking, why use them? While we're a family that would never deal with a TA, I am always intrigued as to why others do what they do. 

Well that is not where I was going, Ivan argue their value, it as the switching that I pondered.

[jimbo5544]

16 minutes ago, soonernstlouis said:

I put a 48 hour hold on my next cruise a few months ago because it was the last one available of that category on the deck level we wanted.  I hadn’t yet got 100% buy in yet from the boss (wife).  Once she had time to review & agree we put the deposit down and gave the info to our TA.  I guess I could have started with having the TA put the courtesy hold but I wanted immediate assurance in this case.

I GT it, but that is what they are there for.  Of course it is your option.

[soonernstlouis]

17 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

I GT it, but that is what they are there for.  Of course it is your option.

Again I wanted it reserved immediately & wasn’t going to assume my TA would place that hold at 9pm on a weekday.  I had been doing mock booking on that particular cruise for a couple of weeks and the available room were dropping fast.  Glad I did since the price jumped about $200/cabin for similar rooms about a week later & never went back  down to what I paid.

 

Since you are a TA, it would be helpful if you confirm the courtesy hold works the same as an individual 48 hour hold.

Edited January 25, 2020 by soonernstlouis

[jimbo5544]

41 minutes ago, soonernstlouis said:

Again I wanted it reserved immediately & wasn’t going to assume my TA would place that hold at 9pm on a weekday.  I had been doing mock booking on that particular cruise for a couple of weeks and the available room were dropping fast.  Glad I did since the price jumped about $200/cabin for similar rooms about a week later & never went back  down to what I paid.

 

Since you are a TA, it would be helpful if you confirm the courtesy hold works the same as an individual 48 hour hold.

There are no differences when it comes holds.  Prices change all the time, it is after all supply and demand driven.  What a TA (or PvP) offer to the scenario is their expertise and knowledge, that said, I am not trying to go off topic, but instead support my posts.    

Edited January 25, 2020 by jimbo5544

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

2 hours ago, teknoge3k said:

 

Agreed. If the TA isn't giving you something substantial for the booking, why use them? While we're a family that would never deal with a TA, I am always intrigued as to why others do what they do. 

 

We use a TA because we get something very substantial (in terms of money).  Our TA has access to rate codes not available on carnival.com, for instance, and they give incentives out of their commission.

 

Others use a TA to get individualized concierge  customer service.  While, personally, I wouldn’t do this for a relatively simple vacation (i.e.a cruise), I would consider it for a complicated vacation with lots of individual bookings (like Alaska DIY, or Europe cross-continent tour) where it is MUCH easier to deal with a single booking agent, and pay a single entity, then make each individual booking yourself and separate PIF dates.

[Bgwest]

3 hours ago, teknoge3k said:

 

Agreed. If the TA isn't giving you something substantial for the booking, why use them? While we're a family that would never deal with a TA, I am always intrigued as to why others do what they do. 

Easy answer. 8-10 % discount off the published cruise fare. The cruise line simply isn't going to do that. 

We are a family who will ALWAYS deal with at TA. 

I am always intrigued as to why others do not. 

[Bgwest]

5 hours ago, jimbo5544 said:

I always scratch my head on this topic, if you want a TA to have the booking then start with a TA. 

Lots of reasons. To each his own. 

[Bgwest]

11 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

It's  60 days.  And make sure you get some worthwhile perks.  If you book the cheapest inside cabin during the cheaper times of the year to cruise, then you'll get 50 in OBC at a minimum.  The more you spend, the more you get back.

The only answer to my question of the entire bunch of mostly editorializing. 

Thanks very much. I was thinking either 60 or 90.

[EmmasNana]

Actually with Carnival you have 90 days to transfer.  I recently did this on day 84 of booking my cruise online.

[SNJCruisers]

On 1/25/2020 at 7:37 AM, jimbo5544 said:

I always scratch my head on this topic, if you want a TA to have the booking then start with a TA. 

Have to respectfully disagree with you on this one Jimbo.  The best way is to take advantage of on board specials while cruising, place a deposit on a future cruise and then switch it to a TA to gain even better perks.

 

On our recent Celebrity Edge cruise, we were able to get 5 perks (drinks, grats, 300 cabin OBC, internet, drinks upgrade) for the price of 3 and an additional 150 OBC just for booking on board.  I then flipped it to my TA who was able to give me additional savings upfront, not refundable OBC on my credit card post cruise.

[Saint Greg]

23 hours ago, EmmasNana said:

Actually with Carnival you have 90 days to transfer.  I recently did this on day 84 of booking my cruise online.

 

I believe 90 is what my TA said.

[Saint Greg]

On 1/25/2020 at 6:37 AM, jimbo5544 said:

I always scratch my head on this topic, if you want a TA to have the booking then start with a TA. 

 

I can't speak for everyone but I came into a situation where I booked a couple of future cruises directly before I started using a TA. Then later decided I wanted to move those to Panorama and Mardi Gras cruises. I'd love to get the TA's OBC for those but since the original bookings were more than 90 days before I moved them, I couldn't.

[jimbo5544]

1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said:

Have to respectfully disagree with you on this one Jimbo.  The best way is to take advantage of on board specials while cruising, place a deposit on a future cruise and then switch it to a TA to gain even better perks.

 

On our recent Celebrity Edge cruise, we were able to get 5 perks (drinks, grats, 300 cabin OBC, internet, drinks upgrade) for the price of 3 and an additional 150 OBC just for booking on board.  I then flipped it to my TA who was able to give me additional savings upfront, not refundable OBC on my credit card post cruise.

We can disagree, all good   

[SNJCruisers]

3 minutes ago, jimbo5544 said:

We can disagree, all good   

You said that the best way is to start with a TA if you're going to use a TA.  I just pointed out the best way that I know of for the general public to save money on a future booking.  As usual, things are never black or white, always a shade of gray and I think I proved that.

[jimbo5544]

6 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

You said that the best way is to start with a TA if you're going to use a TA.  I just pointed out the best way that I know of for the general public to save money on a future booking.  As usual, things are never black or white, always a shade of gray and I think I proved that.

My point was bouncing around for a couple bucks is not worth the time or effort

[pacruise804]

On 1/25/2020 at 7:37 AM, jimbo5544 said:

I always scratch my head on this topic, if you want a TA to have the booking then start with a TA. 

It might vary by line.  We are taking a Carnival cruise this May and we booked directly with our TA.  We are also taking a Viking Ocean cruise this November for our anniversary (Carnival was using a FCC from a previous cruise) and contacted Viking with a few questions but mentioned we would be booking with a TA.  The Viking rep requested we book with her and transfer, and our agent confirmed that is standard so both parties receive credit.  It really wasn't much time or effort to switch.

 

[PrincessArlena'sDad]

3 hours ago, pacruise804 said:

It might vary by line.  We are taking a Carnival cruise this May and we booked directly with our TA.  We are also taking a Viking Ocean cruise this November for our anniversary (Carnival was using a FCC from a previous cruise) and contacted Viking with a few questions but mentioned we would be booking with a TA.  The Viking rep requested we book with her and transfer, and our agent confirmed that is standard so both parties receive credit.  It really wasn't much time or effort to switch.

 

It also varies by TA. Some will give the same perks whether you book with them originally or not. Others don't. 

[Tatertottie]

On 1/25/2020 at 7:37 AM, jimbo5544 said:

I always scratch my head on this topic, if you want a TA to have the booking then start with a TA. 

Just sharing my experience. I typically always book our cruises through Carnival and have a Jan 2022 cruise on Mardi Gras. We decided to upgrade our room from an Aft Premium View Balcony to the Excel Aft Suite. I called Carnival to upgrade and was told that I was going to lose my $100 OBC that I had been given if I upgraded. Needless to say I was not pleased to literally be giving Carnival thousands more and have an OBC that was already given to me taken away.  I transferred my booking to a TA, upgraded my room, and received tons of perks including a $250 OBC. What’s even crazier is that this is an anniversary cruise for us and tons of our friends (other couples) are going. They’ve all booked with the same TA. 

[jimbo5544]

8 hours ago, Tatertotttie said:

Just sharing my experience. I typically always book our cruises through Carnival and have a Jan 2022 cruise on Mardi Gras. We decided to upgrade our room from an Aft Premium View Balcony to the Excel Aft Suite. I called Carnival to upgrade and was told that I was going to lose my $100 OBC that I had been given if I upgraded. Needless to say I was not pleased to literally be giving Carnival thousands more and have an OBC that was already given to me taken away.  I transferred my booking to a TA, upgraded my room, and received tons of perks including a $250 OBC. What’s even crazier is that this is an anniversary cruise for us and tons of our friends (other couples) are going. They’ve all booked with the same TA. 

Good for you, your response begs the question, where would you book your next cruise with?