Cruise Vacation Planner or Not??

[teecee60]

On 8/10/2020 at 6:15 PM, 13cheermom said:

So, do you feel that having a Cruise Vacation Planner has any positive benefit or advantage as far as booking with them? I have always done my own booking online and handled every aspect of my cruise details regardless of any line that we have sailed.  

 

On 8/10/2020 at 9:35 PM, Renmar said:

By the way, Princess is offering those items -cc-rider-69/ is mentioning to everyone at the moment so it is not something the PVP is doing as an extra? Now if they would offer a larger discount like the big box sellers and some TA's are doing than we might consider switching. As for now we will stay with our local brick & mortar TA.

 

On 8/10/2020 at 11:57 PM, Steelers36 said:

IMO, I think most PVP's are of little added benefit to experienced Princess customers (like Platinum/Elite).  Despite what is written above, I am not sure a PVP is getting customers anything different than what is currently on offer.  I prefer to do my own thing and I prefer to use my discount TA who I also do not rely on for cruise info - just great prices and great service.  

 

On 8/11/2020 at 9:26 AM, voljeep said:

"flash sales" ??

 

If you are completely new to cruising, have no experience with the travel industry or the internet, need/want someone else to do it all for you, and don't mind paying more/saving less... then go with the "Vacation Planner."

 

In 34 cruises... I have NEVER heard of ANYONE who books directly with Princess, (or other lines) who got as good a deal as I got from an online TA. I have had several Princess reps tell me that they could not come anywhere CLOSE to the deal (including "last minute" and "flash sales") that I was booking online.   

 

Many people still think that T/As (online or otherwise) can't offer lower prices than the cruise lines... this is COMPLETELY false.  In addition to lower prices, they offer all of the perks/bennies offered by the cruise lines, and quite often, even more/bigger perks.

 

Anyone can believe what they want, but booking direct is GUARANTEED to cost you more.   

Edited August 14, 2020 by teecee60

[caribill]

11 hours ago, coco2/27 said:

Based upon respondent’s positive feedback in some, but admittedly not all instances, I decided to reach out to PVP that has reached out to me in the past.  She  responded promptly, completed follow up as promised, and saved me $1,400 without losing any other additional benefits of specialty dining, and also answered other questions with further information that I hadn’t known with my previous independent Princess interactions. 
I’m adding my positive vote / feedback for at least giving a PVP a try!

 

How did she save you $1,400 over what you could have done if you had booked the cruise without using a PVP?

[Mary loves to travel]

I've been skeptical of PVPs in the past, and have used travel agents for the discounts.   But, I started reading that sometimes upgrade offers don't come through agents in time for people to take advantage of them.   So.... on our Mexican Riviera cruise last Jan, I just booked directly through the Princess website.   At the last minute, got an offer to downgrade from a Caribe balcony to a (very) obstructed OV, AND we'd only have to pay the taxes and port charges.   We took it.   Within 20 minutes all spots had been taken & the offer was no longer available (as I learned from others who called later).

 

So, for our upcoming cruise, when we booked last Dec, I again booked via the website, was assigned a PVP.   I noticed she sent the introductory email (likely pretty automatic), but also contacted us from time to time about other specials.   I did email back and forth about one promotion, etc.    THEN, our ship for the upcoming cruise, Grand, was switched out for the Regal.    I wasn't sure our PVP was even still there....but she was.    I watched to see what cabin we'd be assigned, very pleased with the change (upgrade from a minimally obstructed OV on Grand to an obstructed Balcony on Regal) but wanted a different cabin.    I emailed her, within minutes she'd made the change and corrected some of the pricing errors that happened to many with the changes.

I read of people whose travel agents spent hours on hold, waiting to talk to Princess about "fixing" the changover.   Our PVP handled it in minutes.   Call me a happy camper.

[Sea Hag]

I have a great PVP. I only call on her for things that I can't do through the website, and she's always been perfect.

[Kamloops50]

On 8/10/2020 at 5:19 PM, Paula_MacFan said:

I had a PVP call me not long ago asking if I wanted to book another cruise since our September one had been cancelled.  I initially thought 'this will be a great thing' but a few minutes into the conversation it was obvious they were either new or just didn't know much about Princess.  I asked about using my FCD and they didn't even understand the OBC amounts that come with the FCD.  I gave up and decided to keep doing my own thing.  Hopefully others have had better experiences.  

Maybe it was a scam.

[Kamloops50]

On 8/13/2020 at 8:39 PM, teecee60 said:

 

 

 

 

If you are completely new to cruising, have no experience with the travel industry or the internet, need/want someone else to do it all for you, and don't mind paying more/saving less... then go with the "Vacation Planner."

 

In 34 cruises... I have NEVER heard of ANYONE who books directly with Princess, (or other lines) who got as good a deal as I got from an online TA. I have had several Princess reps tell me that they could not come anywhere CLOSE to the deal (including "last minute" and "flash sales") that I was booking online.   

 

Many people still think that T/As (online or otherwise) can't offer lower prices than the cruise lines... this is COMPLETELY false.  In addition to lower prices, they offer all of the perks/bennies offered by the cruise lines, and quite often, even more/bigger perks.

 

Anyone can believe what they want, but booking direct is GUARANTEED to cost you more.   

I disagree . Most TA's can't refare a cruise after final payment. On one cruise my PVP refared my cruise four times . The last two after final payment . I asked a TA friend , she said that once final payment is made . Princess will not allow them to refare .

Extra perks depends on the TA willing to pay for out of their commission. Where I live (Canada) the local TA's usually don't give any extra perks or lower price , only if they have a block of cabins on hold.

Edited August 30, 2020 by Kamloops50

[voljeep]

Our PVP just extended our deposit date out another 60 days ... hopefully by then our FCC's will hit our account to be used for that deposit and all of the 'cruise fare'

[Ombud]

Heres another thing: FCCs needed to be dated before booking date. There's another entire thread where those using a TA are having to wait up to 3 weeks for the process to be completed. Something a PVP does immediately 

[caribill]

3 hours ago, Ombud said:

Heres another thing: FCCs needed to be dated before booking date. There's another entire thread where those using a TA are having to wait up to 3 weeks for the process to be completed. Something a PVP does immediately 

 

Even better would be Princess making a programming change to their booking system to remove this restriction for FCCs generated by the pauses.

[Ombud]

Agreed, ideally Future Cruise Credit would be just Cruise Credit. Fortunately there's a work around 

[Grego]

On 8/10/2020 at 7:34 PM, CC Rider 69 said:

I use one. She always seems to get me a little extra perk added, whether it be a couple bottles of wine, free wi-fi, or specialty dining. Plus she let's me know ahead if a certain promo is about to launch.

I totally agree.  Our CVP has been fantastic and we have used her exclusively over the last 10 years and 29 of our 45 Princess voyages. 

We are so involved with her that call us her "East Coast Parents" and share lots of personal information.

The important thing is that she is on top of all of our upcoming bookings, checking fares and promotions, surprises us with a flower arrangement, letting us know of upcoming deals and takes care of any and all issues immediately.

Lots of independent TA's do a fantastic job as well and if they do, don't change if it isn't broken.  However, at the end of the day it is working with those that you trust that makes the difference.

What is also important is that you continue working with someone and booking future voyages.

[voljeep]

we currently have a 'courtesy hold' and our PVP just keeps extending the deposit due date for our 4/2021 cruise ... current due date now is 10/29, and hopefully the FCC will be posted by then - which will pay our cruise fare in full - we would then owe about $420 in port fees and taxes by final due date - sometime in Feb 2021

[Ombud]

@13cheermom, so the things PVPs seem to be able to do easier than TAs are:

1. Set deposit due dates up to 2 months later to use FCC rather than $$s for deposit ( @voljeep )

2. Backdate FCC immediately 

3. Refare after final payment (@Kamloops50)

4. My PVP read all the notes Customer Service Supervisor put on my account to let me know the exact date my final reimbursement would be made. Did not need to call anyone. She said "let's give it until Friday" and it was there Friday. Now I've told her she's on the clock for the final cancelation that was 08/27/20. Just $434.32. My FCC on that cruise was in my 'bank' by the time I was off the call. Hope it's not another few months for the $434.32 

 

I'm not saying TAs do a bad job. I'm just saying that in these confusing trying times a good PVP can cut through the BS

 

FWIW: I get perks from her that aren't visible or available if I book it myself. 

Edited September 6, 2020 by Ombud

[13cheermom]

2 hours ago, Ombud said:

@13cheermom, so the things PVPs seem to be able to do easier than TAs are:

1. Set deposit due dates up to 2 months later to use FCC rather than $$s for deposit ( @voljeep )

2. Backdate FCC immediately 

3. Refare after final payment (@Kamloops50)

4. My PVP read all the notes Customer Service Supervisor put on my account to let me know the exact date my final reimbursement would be made. Did not need to call anyone. She said "let's give it until Friday" and it was there Friday. Now I've told her she's on the clock for the final cancelation that was 08/27/20. Just $434.32. My FCC on that cruise was in my 'bank' by the time I was off the call. Hope it's not another few months for the $434.32 

 

I'm not saying TAs do a bad job. I'm just saying that in these confusing trying times a good PVP can cut through the BS

 

FWIW: I get perks from her that aren't visible or available if I book it myself. 

Okay thanks for the input. Like I said I have never used a TA before, probably since our honeymoon 40 years ago, lol. But have had PVP with Carnival in the past and didn't really see an advantage, so was curious if it were any different with Princess. Maybe I was just lucky, but everyone I talked with randomly calling into CSR was very helpful and informative. The one person who kept emailing me wanting to be my PVP and wanted us to go ahead and re-book with her wasn’t as helpful. I guess thats why I didn't see any real benefit from her services. We did finally receive all of our refunds from our 2 bookings from just regular CSR help. Also when calling in for the discount rate to be applied to our new booking, she was also very thorough and took care of everything correctly within minutes. Like I said maybe I just got lucky, but think I will just stick to handling it myself based on this recent experience. Thanks to everyone for all the input and past experience!   

[Ombud]

I've been assigned a Carnival CVP who's useless. But my Princess PVP is worth it to me. Plus I can call the 800# if I want because I am with a PVP. Lately the hold times are so long I just email her

[caribill]

15 hours ago, Ombud said:

 

I'm not saying TAs do a bad job. I'm just saying that in these confusing trying times a good PVP can cut through the BS

 

 

Just like many have found a good TA and many have not been able to find one, a PVP can be good or bad.

 

You are lucky that you have found a good PVP. Not everyone is that fortunate.