New to Cruising

[Harryjacobs]

Good morning all. 

I have booked our first ever cruise for this September on the Iona.  I booked direct with P&O via the telephone as I was trying to book 2 cabins on the Internet without success.  I'm not sure why the P&O website cannot handle booking multiple cabins but hey Ho the lovely lady on the phone put me right. 

Now the question I have is, do you all book directly with P&O or do you use a cruise specialist travel agent.  If you do use an agent who is best? 

Regards 

Harry

[hollyjess]

We always book direct with P.O. and have never had a problem. We need an accessible cabin as hubby used a mobility scooter and have found the P.O. telephone staff very helpful. Another advantage is you do not pay balance until 12 weeks before sailing. When you use agent it's 18 weeks. Enjoy your cruise!

[Jennizor]

Hi Harry, we have booked both directly with P & O and a Scottish TA more recently. With them the balance is payable 14 weeks before sailing date. They also give us

a discount. They are also a lot easier to contact than P &O. Enjoy your first cruise.

[john watson]

2 hours ago, Harryjacobs said:

Good morning all. 

 If you do use an agent who is best? 

Regards 

Harry

 

Hi Harry,

 

There are a few topics which are considered contentious on the Cruise Critic website and effectively banned.  One of them is travel agent recommendations. Notice how posters give vague answers to this question?

 

Having said that I hope you enjoy your first cruise.  It is a very convenient way of taking a holiday and comparatively stress free.  You may find a tendency to book a second cruise as soon as the first is over and it becomes quite expensive.  At that point you will be hit with the dilemma of going for inside cheap cabins or more luxurious cabins. Followed by cruise line excursions or privately arrange excursions and so on.

 

Regards John

Edited August 19, 2021 by john watson

[wowzz]

1 hour ago, hollyjess said:

When you use agent it's 18 weeks. 

Absolute rubbish ! Our TA requests payment one week before P&O. 

[Harry Peterson]

We started booking direct originally, but soon switched to an agent. Three reasons:

 

Much better service

Ability to specify numbered chosen cabins when booking early

Discounts, over and above any P&O discounts 

 

Has to be the right, non High Street, specialist, cruise agent though.  Many of us here use the same agent, but unfortunately we’re not even able to leave clues without the post being deleted.

 

 

[lindylooellalouise]

It’s personal choice really but I’ve had an extremely bad experience from a TA who is  very well known, so now I choose to book direct with the cruise companies and are happy with them. I’m sure you will enjoy your first cruise but a word of warning you will be addicted I can’t think of any other way to holiday now.👍

[wowzz]

21 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Ability to specify numbered chosen cabins when booking early

That is a really major advantage that TAs have over P&O.  Tell your TA the cabin numbers you want, and, if you use the right TA you will get your preferred cabin on the day of release. With P&O, all you can do is select  a cabin grade. Hopeless!  

[Bobblehat71]

No Simple answer to this relatively simple question  I'm afraid so its going to be down to everyones individual experiences and preference.

 

Personally I always book direct when I can. Not fussy about booking specific rooms and I've always had good service when needed direct from the cruise operator. I've always found any additional agent discounts / perks to be fairly insignificant and they can just add another layer of complexity the booking process.

 

However if I'm booking a fly cruise (non P&O) then I will use an agent as it massively simplifies the process and good hotel/flight package deals can be had.

[Harry Peterson]

1 minute ago, Bobblehat71 said:

Personally I always book direct when I can. Not fussy about booking specific rooms and I've always had good service when needed direct from the cruise operator. I've always found any additional agent discounts / perks to be fairly insignificant and they can just add another layer of complexity the booking process.

 

For us the position of the cabin or suite is critical to the full enjoyment of the cruise. So much so that there are only 4 suites on Azura or Ventura that we’d go for, and the agent we use has found them for us every time - whereas P&O refuse to do so.

 

And 5% off several thousand pounds is quite a lot of money!

[Bobblehat71]

6 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

For us the position of the cabin or suite is critical to the full enjoyment of the cruise. So much so that there are only 4 suites on Azura or Ventura that we’d go for, and the agent we use has found them for us every time - whereas P&O refuse to do so.

 

And 5% off several thousand pounds is quite a lot of money!

 

Fair point. If I was paying for a suite I'd want to know where it was to. 😁

[Valfan]

1 hour ago, wowzz said:

Absolute rubbish ! Our TA requests payment one week before P&O. 

Yes, my travel agent is always 7 days before the money is due to P&O as well - probably the same TA!

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, Harryjacobs said:

Good morning all. 

I have booked our first ever cruise for this September on the Iona.  I booked direct with P&O via the telephone as I was trying to book 2 cabins on the Internet without success.  I'm not sure why the P&O website cannot handle booking multiple cabins but hey Ho the lovely lady on the phone put me right. 

Now the question I have is, do you all book directly with P&O or do you use a cruise specialist travel agent.  If you do use an agent who is best? 

Regards 

Harry

Harry, there are other forums that do allow TAs to be mentioned, and members will gladly give you their advice, the one that Zuchini fellow set up, and another cruise community thats not critical.

Edited August 19, 2021 by terrierjohn

[terrierjohn]

38 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

For us the position of the cabin or suite is critical to the full enjoyment of the cruise. So much so that there are only 4 suites on Azura or Ventura that we’d go for, and the agent we use has found them for us every time - whereas P&O refuse to do so.

 

And 5% off several thousand pounds is quite a lot of money!

Are you still getting 5% discount Harry, or haven't you booked any cruises since the pandemic? If so I must have words with my agent. 

[wowzz]

44 minutes ago, Bobblehat71 said:

No Simple answer to this relatively simple question  I'm afraid so its going to be down to everyones individual experiences and preference.

 

Personally I always book direct when I can. Not fussy about booking specific rooms and I've always had good service when needed direct from the cruise operator. I've always found any additional agent discounts / perks to be fairly insignificant and they can just add another layer of complexity the booking process.

 

However if I'm booking a fly cruise (non P&O) then I will use an agent as it massively simplifies the process and good hotel/flight package deals can be had.

You mention good service,  and then a new thread appears concerning the lack of reply on the P&O phone lines!

Everyone, as you say, has different attitudes. I prefer to pay a cheaper price and get better service, and so use a TA. 

[Harry Peterson]

17 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

Are you still getting 5% discount Harry, or haven't you booked any cruises since the pandemic? If so I must have words with my agent. 

Nothing booked post-pandemic John. I’m probably out of date on current discount levels, but I haven’t checked. Have they gone down? Presumably they’ll return when normality returns.

[BrianI]

Some information here on Cruise Critic

https://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/articles.cfm?ID=5292

I assume it’s ok to post this as it is on the website

Brian

[Les_ldh]

42 minutes ago, Harry Peterson said:

Nothing booked post-pandemic John. I’m probably out of date on current discount levels, but I haven’t checked. Have they gone down? Presumably they’ll return when normality returns.

I got the usual 5% TA discount on the Caribbean cruise on Aurora that I booked last month.

Les.

[Harryjacobs]

Good evening good people.  Many thanks for your replies I have enjoyed reading every single one of them.  I didnt realise that talking about a TA is taboo here.  After going deeper into this forum I now understand why.

I would happily book direct with PO again if only they would sort out the mess that is their website booking, frankly its dreadful.

Once again many thanks people!

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, Harry Peterson said:

Nothing booked post-pandemic John. I’m probably out of date on current discount levels, but I haven’t checked. Have they gone down? Presumably they’ll return when normality returns.

Let's hope so Harry, it's only 3% at present.