Why You Need a Good TA

[iancal]

I have yet to see anyone post a reason that I can relate to that shows why I would ever have more control over a direct booking than a TA booking.  Other than a feel good or emotional reason. 

 

One thing that I liked about our former TA is that she actually cruised on a number of cruise lines, number of ships.  Not one of these shopping mall agents or cruise line CSR's who may never have dipped their toes in an ocean or been in a row boat.

 

Edited November 26, 2020 by iancal

[sparks1093]

39 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

I believe it's important to remember that some folks spend a whole lot more than others and rightly so, they will get better offers and better treatment.

If I spent $10,000 pp I would expect more from my TA, than if I spent $2,000 pp.

We used to spend a  lot of money on our all-inclusive trips and had a very good TA. They would get us room upgrades, private drivers to the resort and other perks at the resort because they knew the staff very well. The trip was seamless.

But as time went on they fell into the trap of letting their ego get the best of them (lots of awards and accolades), they became opinionated and started to come across as condescending and rude. The final straw was when they made it clear that they were now only dealing with people who spent $______ or more.

So we moved on. My guess is since Covid, they might have had a reality check.

Yep. It's nice to save 10% but for what I'm paying for cruises it's not worth my time for the cruise fares we book. Now if I was spending 10k pp that would be worth my time.

[Flatbush Flyer]

47 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Yep. It's nice to save 10% but for what I'm paying for cruises it's not worth my time for the cruise fares we book. Now if I was spending 10k pp that would be worth my time.

You do make a reasonable point. 

But, even a $2000 cruise cost (while it might only get you a TA's added <$200 SBC) will get you the problem fixing clout of the right TA.

Happy TG.

[rkacruiser]

12 hours ago, ontheweb said:

I agree totally with the first part of your post. As for the last paragraph, I see your point but I think the negatives of allowing recommendations unfortunately far outweigh the positives. I think there would be too much outright advertising and spamming. JMHO.

 

Your point well taken.  And, for those of us who would like to help those new to cruising, that is very sad to think that might happen.  

[sparks1093]

15 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

You do make a reasonable point. 

But, even a $2000 cruise cost (while it might only get you a TA's added <$200 SBC) will get you the problem fixing clout of the right TA.

Happy TG.

If you have a problem to begin with, yes of course having clout might be of some help. So far we've had 9 cruises with no problems and I expect that to continue (and to be fair if we were having continuous problems with bookings to the extent we needed help every time, well, we'd probably have stopped cruising years ago🙂). I would also expect that a TA would have much less wiggle room on a $2000 cruise than they would with a $20,000 cruise. (Just for grins I went to my big box store TA since I'm a member and did a faux booking for the cruise we just booked and they did offer a $120 gift card for the store, but I wouldn't have received the $50 obc offered by the cruise line or the reduced deposit offered by the cruise line...and my fare would have been $120 higher). I hope that your Thanksgiving was a good one!

[nyllrap]

The key is finding a good travel agent, as some have pointed out. I have not been able to find a good one. The few I have used I never felt were all that much on the ball. I also didn't feel like they had that much interest in me and my trip, perhaps because I usually don't spend the big bucks like some do. In general, I prefer to keep control over my trips.

[Markanddonna]

I agree with many points from both sides of this argument. The bottom line, though, is "what type of cruiser are you?"  If you are a frugal cruiser who is content to sail in inside cabins, your experience using a TA will be vastly different than those who book more expensive cabins and experiences.  A TA would have little incentive to pass on those great perks because the margin isn't there. 

 

So, know what kind of cruiser you are and also be cognizant of the type of cruiser who is giving you advice.  They may be speaking with great wisdom for their situation, but not yours.

[Hlitner]

19 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Yep. It's nice to save 10% but for what I'm paying for cruises it's not worth my time for the cruise fares we book. Now if I was spending 10k pp that would be worth my time.

You are right.  A few years ago I posted my theory that there are basically two kinds of cruisers.  The vast majority will take one cruise a year and it is usually something close to 7 days.  Most of them are spending $2000 -$4000 on their cruise.  But then there is the other group that we might call the frequent cruisers (I fall into that group) who will often avoid short cruises and are looking at longer more complex (and more expensive) itineraries.  So, for example, if I am booking 100 days of cruises a year (which is about normal) I have a different point of view then most of those folks doing their single 7 day cruise.  Frequent cruisers are often dealing with 4+ outstanding cruise reservations that will often cost 10s of thousands of dollars or even more.   For me, to save 10% on my bookings will save me big bucks.  I also find a good cruise agency very valuable because when trying to juggle half a dozen reservations (some for cruises measured in months.not days) it is helpful to have an agent to pull it all together and deal with the various cruise lines.  

 

That being said I do think that for many who are only booking one 7 day cruise a year, using a decent discount cruise agency is worthwhile.  The person who is working with a $3000 trip budget really should care about saving $200-$400 dollars.  To those folks that represents real money.  And keep in mind that nearly all frequent cruisers started out with a few short cruises (my first cruise was in the 70s and a 4 day NCL voyage)..   Surely the person who runs out to a sale in order to save 10% on a pair of jeans would be happy to save 10% on their cruise vacation.  

 

You say "worth my time" and I would suggest that having a decent cruise agent is actually a big time saver.  I have booked 60 day cruises in less then 5 minutes by simply sending off a short e-mail to a favored cruise agent.  I know folks who spend a half hour on hold (on the phone) with a cruise line trying to get an answer or make a change.  For me that would take 1 min (enough time to send a quick e-mail to my agent).  Dealing directly with a cruise line can be very frustrating because one will sometimes hear a different story from each customer service person.  My favored cruise agencies deal with this problem and their stories (told to me) are sometimes laughable when they talk about their contacts at the cruise lines.  

 

Hank

[donaldsc]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

You are right.  A few years ago I posted my theory that there are basically two kinds of cruisers.  The vast majority will take one cruise a year and it is usually something close to 7 days.  Most of them are spending $2000 -$4000 on their cruise.  But then there is the other group that we might call the frequent cruisers (I fall into that group) who will often avoid short cruises and are looking at longer more complex (and more expensive) itineraries.  So, for example, if I am booking 100 days of cruises a year (which is about normal) I have a different point of view then most of those folks doing their single 7 day cruise.  Frequent cruisers are often dealing with 4+ outstanding cruise reservations that will often cost 10s of thousands of dollars or even more.   For me, to save 10% on my bookings will save me big bucks.  I also find a good cruise agency very valuable because when trying to juggle half a dozen reservations (some for cruises measured in months.not days) it is helpful to have an agent to pull it all together and deal with the various cruise lines.  

 

That being said I do think that for many who are only booking one 7 day cruise a year, using a decent discount cruise agency is worthwhile.  The person who is working with a $3000 trip budget really should care about saving $200-$400 dollars.  To those folks that represents real money.  And keep in mind that nearly all frequent cruisers started out with a few short cruises (my first cruise was in the 70s and a 4 day NCL voyage)..   Surely the person who runs out to a sale in order to save 10% on a pair of jeans would be happy to save 10% on their cruise vacation.  

 

You say "worth my time" and I would suggest that having a decent cruise agent is actually a big time saver.  I have booked 60 day cruises in less then 5 minutes by simply sending off a short e-mail to a favored cruise agent.  I know folks who spend a half hour on hold (on the phone) with a cruise line trying to get an answer or make a change.  For me that would take 1 min (enough time to send a quick e-mail to my agent).  Dealing directly with a cruise line can be very frustrating because one will sometimes hear a different story from each customer service person.  My favored cruise agencies deal with this problem and their stories (told to me) are sometimes laughable when they talk about their contacts at the cruise lines.  

 

Hank

 

As I mentioned in my initial post, I saved ~$2000 per person in a 15 minute conversation with our TA.  Probably 10 of the 15 minutes was spent asking how she was doing, what was new w her family (we found out that that her son had tested positive) and wishing each other the best of the season.  She got back to us later that day and all was done.  I feel that I know her as a person.  In other word, I totally agree w you.

 

DON

[sparks1093]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

You are right.  A few years ago I posted my theory that there are basically two kinds of cruisers.  The vast majority will take one cruise a year and it is usually something close to 7 days.  Most of them are spending $2000 -$4000 on their cruise.  But then there is the other group that we might call the frequent cruisers (I fall into that group) who will often avoid short cruises and are looking at longer more complex (and more expensive) itineraries.  So, for example, if I am booking 100 days of cruises a year (which is about normal) I have a different point of view then most of those folks doing their single 7 day cruise.  Frequent cruisers are often dealing with 4+ outstanding cruise reservations that will often cost 10s of thousands of dollars or even more.   For me, to save 10% on my bookings will save me big bucks.  I also find a good cruise agency very valuable because when trying to juggle half a dozen reservations (some for cruises measured in months.not days) it is helpful to have an agent to pull it all together and deal with the various cruise lines.  

 

That being said I do think that for many who are only booking one 7 day cruise a year, using a decent discount cruise agency is worthwhile.  The person who is working with a $3000 trip budget really should care about saving $200-$400 dollars.  To those folks that represents real money.  And keep in mind that nearly all frequent cruisers started out with a few short cruises (my first cruise was in the 70s and a 4 day NCL voyage)..   Surely the person who runs out to a sale in order to save 10% on a pair of jeans would be happy to save 10% on their cruise vacation.  

 

You say "worth my time" and I would suggest that having a decent cruise agent is actually a big time saver.  I have booked 60 day cruises in less then 5 minutes by simply sending off a short e-mail to a favored cruise agent.  I know folks who spend a half hour on hold (on the phone) with a cruise line trying to get an answer or make a change.  For me that would take 1 min (enough time to send a quick e-mail to my agent).  Dealing directly with a cruise line can be very frustrating because one will sometimes hear a different story from each customer service person.  My favored cruise agencies deal with this problem and their stories (told to me) are sometimes laughable when they talk about their contacts at the cruise lines.  

 

Hank

I should have finished the sentence, what I meant was "worth my time to do the required amount of research needed to find a reputable TA that would offer good service, discounts and perks". As I said in my reply to Flatbush Flyer I don't think the margins are there for a TA to offer much for a $2000 booking. And many cruise lines provide a point of contact, sometimes called a Personal Vacation Planner, sometimes a Personal Cruise Consultant, but regardless of title this person is like a TA but working directly on the payroll of the cruise line. If I had to make any changes it would be to this person that I would reach out to and so far I haven't had the need to do that. As I said in the beginning it's not a one size fits all proposition- for some people using a TA makes absolute sense, for some it makes sense once in a while and for some it doesn't make much sense. 

[rkacruiser]

6 hours ago, Hlitner said:

You say "worth my time" and I would suggest that having a decent cruise agent is actually a big time saver.  I have booked 60 day cruises in less then 5 minutes by simply sending off a short e-mail to a favored cruise agent.  I know folks who spend a half hour on hold (on the phone) with a cruise line trying to get an answer or make a change.  For me that would take 1 min (enough time to send a quick e-mail to my agent). 

 

That is another reason that I choose to use a travel agent regardless of the length of a cruise that I book.  Who once said:  "Time is money"?  One of the most irritating frustrations in my life is calling whomever/whatever and being placed on hold while "enjoying" elevator music repeated ad nauseam.  

[jtwind]

Are y'all also saying that one can also get a better deal by going to a "cruises 'r' us" type website vs booking directly through the cruise line?

[clo]

5 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

Personal Cruise Consultant, but regardless of title this person is like a TA but working directly on the payroll of the cruise line. If I had to make any changes it would be to this person that I would reach out to and so far I haven't had the need to do that.

Which is the person I've dealt with with two cruise lines for three cruises (one canceled). I couldn't be more pleased with either. 

[Hlitner]

5 minutes ago, jtwind said:

Are y'all also saying that one can also get a better deal by going to a "cruises 'r' us" type website vs booking directly through the cruise line?

Yes although one should conduct their own due diligence when choosing a cruise agent/agency.  You want to know a little about their history, ask is they have their own cancellation penalty, whether they charge a fee to change a booking or reprice it when the price drops, etc.  I use several high volume agencies that all offer substantial discounts (usually 7 - 10% and sometimes more).   Depending on the cruise line you might get a lower cruise price and/or get generous on board credits (OBCs), pre paid gratuities.  On a short 7 day cruise at a lower price your savings may not be much.  But on longer more expensive cruises the savings can easily be in the thousands of dollars.  Finding a great agent is not easy.  I took me a few years to find the perfect agency (who worked for a great agency) and I was in heaven :).  But then Helen (her name) retired so she could spend more time cruising and traveling and I have never found another of her quality.  For the past 5 years I have been trying to "break in" a young agent at the same agency but she is no Helen :(.

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

8 minutes ago, jtwind said:

Are y'all also saying that one can also get a better deal by going to a "cruises 'r' us" type website vs booking directly through the cruise line?

As aforementioned, a TA (whether part of a big box store, a TA consortium or a local B&M Store) can offer you the best deal currently available in a direct booking with a cruise line AND add to that deal a share of their commission and/or other perks (e.g., incentive funds provided to preferred TAs by the cruise line to increase bookings). Also, some TAs book blocks of rooms, which can be sold to you at a discount.

Our most often used TA shares commissions as a rebate. 

If you do the real research (not just a blindfolded point in the yellow pages or Aunt Mary's recommendation), you should be able to find one of your favorite cruise line's top selling TAs who will give you 5-10% of the commissionable fare as a rebate or as refundable SBC.

[rkacruiser]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Finding a great agent is not easy.  I took me a few years to find the perfect agency (who worked for a great agency) and I was in heaven :).  But then Helen (her name) retired so she could spend more time cruising and traveling and I have never found another of her quality. 

 

That is the difficulty.  An agent with whom I worked in a local agency provided excellent service and the agency was able to provide good pricing, etc.  The agency was sold to a national company.  My agent remained and maintained her previous service.  The agency was not willing to provide the pricing, etc. that another Company did.  I left.  The new agency and agent provided excellent service/pricing, etc.  For some reason, I returned to the former agency for a couple of cruises.  Didn't really care for the agent, but pricing was good.  She left; my account was assigned to another agent.  She was OK, but nothing more than that.  I returned to the other agency and worked with them and her until she left and began working with another agency.  Since that has occurred, all of my business has been with them and with her and the quality of service, pricing, perks was been excellent.

 

It's really been a convoluted journey in my search for a travel agent whom I trust, is competent, and provides the pricing, service, and perks that I expect.  

 

What will the future hold, I wonder, in this regard?

[capriccio]

If looking for a 'good' TA, consider attending the meet and greet (meet and mingle) on your next cruise and ask for recommendations from the other attendees.  People tend to like being asked for recommendations and will share their experiences with you.

[Flatbush Flyer]

21 minutes ago, capriccio said:

If looking for a 'good' TA, consider attending the meet and greet (meet and mingle) on your next cruise and ask for recommendations from the other attendees.  People tend to like being asked for recommendations and will share their experiences with you.

Absolutely do this - over and over (and OVER) again - particularly if you have a preferred cruise line where the M&G draws that line's regulars. After awhile, you will hear a handful of Travel Agencies mentioned often in a very favorable light (and perhaps even the same specific agent). 

Assemble a not-so-short list for interviews and add that step to your overall research.

 

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, capriccio said:

If looking for a 'good' TA, consider attending the meet and greet (meet and mingle) on your next cruise and ask for recommendations from the other attendees.  People tend to like being asked for recommendations and will share their experiences with you.

We have traded a lot of TA info when on cruises (although we now tend to skip ridiculous Meet and Greets).  A few folks I know have turned to agencies I recommended.  I have tried a few agencies/agents based on recommendations received on cruises but none of those agencies ever turned out to have really good deals.  There is one particular agency (located in the Northwest) who is very popular with frequent HAL cruisers.  We have met some of their staff (they are often on cruises) and do get their private e-mail offers.  However we have been underwhelmed by their deals which are not even close to what we get from several of our favorite agencies.  I pointed this out to a fellow HAL cruiser who told me she knew this agency did not have great deals but she enjoyed their get togethers on the cruises.  

 

After more then forty years of extensive cruising we now primarily rely on 3 different agencies and constantly check-out the offerings of other recommended agents.  Our 3 favored agencies have all been in business a long time, are high volume, and provide excellent service and prices.  Since we cruise on many different lines we have found that certain agencies seem to have better deals (and contacts) with specific cruise lines.  We recently booked a cruise on our 16th cruise line and finally gave the booking to one of our 3 favored agencies.  But if we do like this particular cruise line I think we will need to seek advice on which agencies have the best deals since I am not overly impressed with the offerings by my 3 normal agencies.   But I will say that all of our favored agencies beat the heck out of any deal offered directly by the cruise lines.  When cruise line reps call (and it happens more then I prefer) I always tell them that they can have my direct bookings when they agree to match the deals offered by certain agencies.   None of them has offered to take me up on that offer although our HAL PCC did try to convince me to book cruises with her and later transfer them to one of my favored agencies.  I do not play this game because it would involve multiple steps when there is no reason.

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

......we now tend to skip ridiculous Meet and Greets).  ...... I have tried a few agencies/agents based on recommendations received on cruises but none of those agencies ever turned out to have really good deals.  There is one particular agency (located in the Northwest) who is very popular with frequent HAL cruisers......we have been underwhelmed by their deals which are not even close to what we get from several of our favorite agencies.   

 

.....certain agencies seem to have better deals (and contacts) with specific cruise lines.  We recently booked a cruise on our 16th cruise line and finally gave the booking to one of our 3 favored agencies.  But if we do like this particular cruise line I think we will need to seek advice on which agencies have the best deals since I am not overly impressed with the offerings by my 3 normal agencies.   But I will say that all of our favored agencies beat the heck out of any deal offered directly by the cruise lines.  .....our HAL PCC did try to convince me to book cruises with her and later transfer them to one of my favored agencies.  I do not play this game because it would involve multiple steps when there is no reason.

A few observations on your post:

 

Whether an M&G is "ridiculous" really depends on the cruise line. Smaller premium/luxury line ships with a very regular customer base often use the opportunity of the equally small M&Gs (arranged here on CC) to reconnect with other regulars, make final plans on shared tours, etc.

 

Some of our best TA recommendations (including our current primary one) came during segments of an Oceania World Cruise where quite a number of ATW passengers I initially met at the M&Gs of our two segments had used the same 2-3 TAs (based on a ton of research before they shelled out $100k for the ATW experience). I'd be surprised if you haven't used one of them too. - at least for Oceania.

 

You are correct that some TAs (and also some TA consortia) have special relationships with particular cruise lines and our regular TAs are preferred top sellers for our favorite line - Oceania. This results in access to "quiet sales," cruiseline incentive funds, and even occasional/reasonable exemptions from certain normally restrictive booking policies.

 

Finally, the value of using the right cruiseline PCC (or other form of direct cruise line initial booking) and then transferring to a TA also depends on the cruiseline and the booking circumstances.

 

For example, we almost always book onboard with Oceania and then transfer to one of our TAs during a 30 day window. That book onboard with an Oceania Ambassador [we know most of them] gets a discount not usually available to TAs, minimal deposits, a price-drop-match guarantee (up to embarkation day), current SBC and one no-penalty itinerary change. And having the 30 day transfer window provides time to see which TA (or consortia) can best "sweeten" the deal - even beyond commission sharing. 

 

And, in the era of "The 'Rona," with constantly changing cruiseline policies/procedures (not the least of which may be varying "book by/cruise by" deadlines for multiple FCCs acquired this year due to cancelled cruises), the "right" PCC can quickly help massage any internal company restrictions related to FCCs. (Of course, the right TA might be able to achieve the same FCC results but, this is one situation where that 15 year veteran O PCC will be faster.  And, you still get the 30 day TA transfer window for the added perks.

 

So, bottom line, like so much else in the cruise industry, circumstances can/should significantly affect decision making and having a good "Rolodex" (even if it's digital) can work wonders.

[gerryuk]

I know i am going to get shot here, but here goes. Cruise lines should stop using travel agents full stop, 

The money cruise lines give to travel agents means that everybody looses out across the board. I can understand people using travel agents years ago, but with the internet cruise lines are just throwing money away with this outdated system. Every dollar that goes in commission to travel agents could be better spent bringing down prices for everybody else. Paying 15% of their overheads to travel agents is just madness, in this day and age.

 

[Hlitner]

A few comments and corrections 🙂  Regarding Gerry's idea of not using TAs, according to two different onboard cruise consultants (with two major cruise lines) the cruise lines actually get about 80% of their reservations (this varies by line) through travel/cruise agents.  The few cruise lines that have tried to exist by handling their own reservations are long gone (bankruptcy).  I cannot speak for the UK, but here in North America the cruise and travel agents do a lot of marketing which helps bring in more bookings.  They also do the "hand holding" demanded by many customers and so costly to cruise lines (and travel agencies) because of the extra personnel time.  

 

Now, I also must admit (and this is painful) that Flatbush Flyer has a point about Meet and Greets.  We have been to a few good ones on the smaller luxury lines and one excellent gathering on a huge MSC ship.  But on most mass market lines they have been pretty awful.  On HAL they have gotten so bad that HAL finally suggested that their senior officers and staff might prefer to skip the M&Gs...with many no longer attending.  Most of my M&G issues have to do with a few folks (they seem to be on every cruise) who anoint themselves as the boss and arbitrarily set (and try to enforce) rules.   And then there are the other get togethers which feel like primary school with folks getting into gift exchanges, skits, speeches, etc.  But the real turn off for me is when some self-appointed M&G cop comes around and insists that folks cannot talk about private tours, ports, etc.  One lady on a HAL cruise told us that the only thing that could be discussed was cruise line excursions!  

 

As to MSC, the first time we went on that line we decided to check out their M&G and were blown away by how well it was run.  Most of the senior staff (including the Captain) attended and stayed for over an hour to socialize.  The ship provided free drinks, snacks, and a live band for entertainment.  Towards the end of the function the Captain had everyone gather around him for a group photo (we were later sent free 8x10s).  

 

I will also agree with Flatbush flyer that there are times and lines where it makes sense to book onboard and later transfer the reservation.  I only do this when there is a good incentive.  I would also again give some praise to MSC.   For those who are in the Yacht Club, booking onboard is a nice experience.  You make an appointment with the Future Cruise person who then comes to the Yacht Club and meets you privately (there are no lines, no waiting, etc).    There are usually some extra On Board Credits and the onboard specialists can be helpful with future Yacht Club reservations which can be difficult to get because they are often sold out.   But on many other lines we have seen the downside.  In many cases the onboard bookings turn out to be a lot more costly then booking through a cruise agency and getting the reservation transferred and repriced (at a much lower cost) has become a pain with some lines.   Just a warning that several cruise lines have been tightening up their rules to transfer reservations including tight time frames.  And there are times when some perks given by cruise agencies cannot happen with a previously made reservation done with a cruise line.  In those cases it can become necessary to actually cancel a reservation and have the cruise agency rebook at a lower cost and with more perks.

 

Hank

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, gerryuk said:

I know i am going to get shot here, but here goes. Cruise lines should stop using travel agents full stop, 

The money cruise lines give to travel agents means that everybody looses out across the board. I can understand people using travel agents years ago, but with the internet cruise lines are just throwing money away with this outdated system. Every dollar that goes in commission to travel agents could be better spent bringing down prices for everybody else. Paying 15% of their overheads to travel agents is just madness, in this day and age.

 

OOPS! It appears that you've forgotten that, if cruise lines removed from the equation the 35,000 travel agencies that sell cruises, they'd need to DIY much of the payroll, marketing/advertising, Info Tech, etc that was supplied by those TAs who have been found to generate significantly more repeat cruise business than do the cruiselines themselves.

https://cruising.org/-/media/research-updates/research/consumer-research/2018-clia-travel-report.pdf

 

Rather than being antiquated, use of travel agencies by cruise lines is a perfect example of the efficacy of outsourcing.

[ontheweb]

38 minutes ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

OOPS! It appears that you've forgotten that, if cruise lines removed from the equation the 35,000 travel agencies that sell cruises, they'd need to DIY much of the payroll, marketing/advertising, Info Tech, etc that was supplied by those TAs who have been found to generate significantly more repeat cruise business than do the cruiselines themselves.

https://cruising.org/-/media/research-updates/research/consumer-research/2018-clia-travel-report.pdf

 

Rather than being antiquated, use of travel agencies by cruise lines is a perfect example of the efficacy of outsourcing.

There is also the shopping around. For instance, when we did an Alaskan cruise we found 3 that fit our criteria for time and ports. We looked at the website of the TA we usually use and found pricing on all 3. We then called, and oddly enough the one with the highest price on his website was the one he was able to give us the lowest price. If not for using a TA, we would have called 3 different cruise lines, and ended up wasting the employee time on 2 of those 3.

 

If the cruise lines really thought they would be better off without TAs they would cut their commission to near zero or even zero and put them out of business. Instead when you see their advertising it says to contact them or your travel professional. As Hank has pointed out, the lines that tried to eliminate the use of TAs are now bankrupt.

[firefly333]

On 11/25/2020 at 4:51 PM, iancal said:

One issue that we have in dealing with a cruise line rep is that we are dealing with the cruise line employee.

 

IF we have an issue with the cruise line we would be much more confident dealing with someone who is not an employee but rather a TA who is part of a large booking firm.

 

Having said that, in 20 plus cruises we have never had an issue with a cruise line.  Not one.

I've never had a cruise line issue resolved, had a few where I left mad. My pvp at carnival always took the cruiselines view. Sweet but company line. Lost my car to ike, dumped a day late in new orleans, never any obc, swore off carnival, went back, got a free upgrade without telling me, except I wanted the cabin I booked, pvp again, it's in the fine print, carnival reserves the right to change your cabin. Now it's some get free cheers on us. I'm at almost diamond, 179, so not a newbie. Swearing off carnival once again.

 

Fast forward to covid, I've had nothing but issues and my new TA has had to go to bat for me time after time. Twice he went to revenue. Once when I got changed from allure to liberty he got right on the phone and snagged a corner aft, hard to get. Other things he doesnt want me to print and give him credit for.