Booking resource

[anitsiva]

I am looking to book a cruise for April.  Is it worth using a travel agent? I enjoy the research and planning and already have my eye on a cruise.   Do you use a travel agent? If yes, why? Thanks 

[klscaz]

I got free tips from my TA for my next 15 night cruise. 

[MNcruisingcouple]

I've use an online TA for about 8 years.  They give me extra perks and OBC.

[BirdTravels]

6 hours ago, anitsiva said:

I am looking to book a cruise for April.  Is it worth using a travel agent? I enjoy the research and planning and already have my eye on a cruise.   Do you use a travel agent? If yes, why? Thanks 

The C warehouse store gives lots of freebies. 

[hallux]

I've gone on 4 cruises and used 4 different agencies/agents.  The first two were not by my choice (someone else did the planning, I just paid my fare), the last 2 were because I wanted to give business to an agent people spoke highly of but when she didn't give me any bonus with the booking (I guess she doesn't do much NCL business) I went with a different one that does.  I'll probably go through them again if I still have them available to me, I say that because they were available to me as a perk through work but I actually don't know if I benefitted any as a result of that or if that OBC they gave me was something they give everyone.

 

Bottom line - a TA can give you perks, some may result from loyalty to that TA, others may just be what they offer to anyone but that's part of researching that avenue.  I got the same price as I could get booking on my own through NCL, another difference is the TA assisting with other bookings such as flights and hotels and being the one that sits on hold with the cruise line if you want to make a change.  In the case of my last cruise, the TA put in some work and gave me prices to book in 2 different ways (Studio with airfare out of pocket or balcony with free/reduced airfare from NCL) and found I could sail in the balcony for only $60 more when all costs were factored (no brainer!!!).

 

All that said, some people feel more comfortable booking direct.  One benefit to that is that you have full control of the booking and can call to make changes as you wish, if you book with a TA it has to be them calling to make those changes.

[julig22]

You can also book yourself if you like the planning, then transfer the booking to a TA if they can offer you additional OBC or other perks.  I believe you have 30 days to do the transfer (TA will send you the forms) if it is before final payment, only a day or so if it's after.

If you use a TA, you have to go through the TA to make changes but your TA is the one on hold with NCL if there is an issue.  That can be good or not - if your TA has developed a working relationship with someone at NCL, they can get things done quickly.  If your TA isn't NCL-savy, then you might be better going it alone so you can always play the dissatisfied customer when asking for an upgrade for example.

Depending on your TA, they might be able to help with other arrangements as well.  Mine only deals with the cruise part, but that's fine with me.  I have no problems doing my own research.

[raitch]

Went through a local travel agent, got extra perks and she watches pricing and contacts NCL if my cruise fare goes down which has saved me thousands.  And it feels good to support a local business.

[SouthLyonCruiser]

I do all of my own research but always use the same travel agent. We usually get some OBC from her but the main reason I use her is to take care of problems and make reservations that are a pain for me to deal with. A good agent will handle your on board reservations for you and help solve any issues you have with the cruise line without your having to spend time on hold waiting to get, what you hope, is the correct information on any issue.

[disneyochem]

I enjoy the researching and planning that goes into booking a cruise.  I like to book directly with a cruise line on a particular sale and transfer it to the big C warehouse agency for OBC and perks.  I do need to monitor price drops/promotions (which I like doing).  I call the agency and get refared on the cruise. One drawback using this agency is that I don’t get up sell offers from the cruise lines.  

[anitsiva]

Thanks all for your responses.  I have to consider the pros and cons.  I look forward to the upsell emails so if using and agent means this feature is unavailable, it might just be better to book direct.  

[disneyochem]

2 minutes ago, anitsiva said:

Thanks all for your responses.  I have to consider the pros and cons.  I look forward to the upsell emails so if using and agent means this feature is unavailable, it might just be better to book direct.  

I can only speak to working with the big warehouse travel agency regarding upsells.  They do not forward the information.  I do know that some TA forward emails/offers.

[disneyochem]

Another reason why I use the big warehouse agency is that we get a cash rebate from being members and having their Visa card.  5% back in what we pay is nice.  

 

The OBC is also refundable.  So if we don’t use it all (which happens a lot), we get a gift card that we apply to our next cruise.

 

No, not a commercial for the agency, but an explanation of why we use them.

[sprint180]

I book my own because my local travel agent charges me almost $200 to book our first cruise. I would prefer to use one but not paying that much. Would like to find a trustworthy online one but don’t know who that would be

[julig22]

1 hour ago, sprint180 said:

I book my own because my local travel agent charges me almost $200 to book our first cruise. I would prefer to use one but not paying that much. Would like to find a trustworthy online one but don’t know who that would be

Well, it's against the rules to post names, but if you search online for cruises, any of the sites that come up are TAs and will probably give you additional perks or money back.  I found mine through my cc (when they offered a travel benefit).  A well known membership club offers travel services, as does my auto club.  No reason to pay to book a cruise, as they get paid by the cruiseline.  However if they are making other arrangements as well, then they should get paid for their time.