Seabourn Representative vs. TA

[SLSD]

We are between Travel agents right now and would need to find a new one.  I know who we would call---a cruise specialist in the Ft. Worth area (Ft. Worth being adjacent to Dallas).  One of our Seabourn friends has just emailed me and says that he and his wife have found a particular Seabourn agent who has been very helpful and responsive and they have decided to book with this SB agent this time as they never could figure out exactly what value the TA had added for them.  

 

So---what to do?  I know some of you use TAs and others use Seabourn agents. We had previously been very satisfied with our TA until our last cruise.  She had helped us with great accommodations in Rome, Amsterdam, Athens, Istanbul, Kyoto, Vancouver,  etc along with being a liaison  to some great guides.  Unfortunately, something must have happened in her life, and she is no longer an option.   

 

We have  been anxious about booking a cruise due to the pandemic but are very tempted to join our friends next late May on the Odyssey for another Alaskan cruise.  We loved Alaska on our Kobe to Vancouver cruise aboard the Sojourn and this itinerary goes to some ports and cruises through some areas that we did not see. 

 

Any advice on TA vs Seabourn agent would be greatly appreciated.  

 

SLSD

Edited September 29, 2021 by SLSD

[mcondition]

If you don't mind me to expand the question, as a newb here, I have cruised twice only with SB and both times booked through SB website with my credit card. Is there any advantage to use SB rep or travel agent over booking online?

[marazul]

We get extra OBC or some other perks from our TA.  Most importantly, she keeps track of price changes and re-books us at a lower price when available.  She specializes on the higher end lines and has good connections and advice when needed.

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, mcondition said:

If you don't mind me to expand the question, as a newb here, I have cruised twice only with SB and both times booked through SB website with my credit card. Is there any advantage to use SB rep or travel agent over booking online?

I know I would always want a contact person.  One reason I can think that a TA might be better than a SB rep. might be continuity.  I think most of the SB reps are working from home now--and might not be around forever.  I do lean toward a TA for the reasons Marazul mentions above.  

[tjcox9]

We always used a TA until all this "stuff"  began with cancellations, cruise credits etc. Now we use Seabourn cruise consultant as we feel it will be easier to deal with cancellation, use of cruise credits, refunds etc. She is very good and very thorough and she does work from home. If/when things get back to a more normal state, we may go back to a TA for the savings they provide.

[jill1349]

Not sure this is helpful but this is our story.  We booked a future cruise in August while on the ship.  When we returned home got a call from woman saying she was assigned our booking and would be our point of contact.  She very nice and seemed helpful.   We were interested in making final payment by September 30 because the booking would be eligible for a 10 percent discount.  She said she could handle that and could also offer us additional OBC but would have to wait for her supervisor to return to do so.   

 

In meantime I contacted a TA I used before.  She said she would offer us a rebate that was about 2 and half times more than the additional OBC the Seabourn rep would give us so we decided to go with her.  Now, tomorrow is final payment day so hopefully the figure she was given is the same as what SB told us it would be.

 

So trade off - we getting more with the TA rebate but perhaps if problem be easier to deal with SB.   But as tjcox9 says I think she is working from home and has to call supervisor in another location to deal with any issues.

[markham]

I always use my TA for his good service and especially his discounts. Whether or not Seabourn itself would match or exceed these discounts is impossible to know. But the main reason to use a TA is commonsense: if there were a dispute between what I want and what Seabourn might want to offer, and assuming that is not sufficient for me, why in the world would I expect Seabourn to bend? They would be conflicted. But with a large/powerful and resourceful TA I would certainly have a better chance at success. That is why you should use a TA.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[mcondition]

And this TA has to be domestic or I can use a London TA? Is there any advantage if I meet TA in person?

[SLSD]

3 hours ago, markham said:

 But the main reason to use a TA is commonsense: if there were a dispute between what I want and what Seabourn might want to offer, and assuming that is not sufficient for me, why in the world would I expect Seabourn to bend? They would be conflicted. But with a large/powerful and resourceful TA I would certainly have a better chance at success. 

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

This is a very good point Markham.  We will be consulting with a new travel agent.  

[markham]

I happen to live in London and my TA is in a nearby city’s suburb. I pay in GBP but as your currency is Euros you have to consider any currency risk you face between booking on your credit card with a deposit and then final payment date which can be weeks or months later. Are you ok to do that? 
 

Anyway, all my “Euro” friends tell me they get next to zero discounts, and so they use foreign TAs. I doubt that any have met the TA here unless they make a special trip. Not sure what that would achieve.

 

Why not ask a couple of big cruise specialist UK TAs for their opinions? I would assume first you would get prices for a particular cruise from their website and then from a Euro TA to evaluate terms and conditions. Then decide what to do.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

[Isklaar]

4 hours ago, markham said:

I always use my TA for his good service and especially his discounts. Whether or not Seabourn itself would match or exceed these discounts is impossible to know. But the main reason to use a TA is commonsense: if there were a dispute between what I want and what Seabourn might want to offer, and assuming that is not sufficient for me, why in the world would I expect Seabourn to bend? They would be conflicted. But with a large/powerful and resourceful TA I would certainly have a better chance at success. That is why you should use a TA.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

 

I agree with this,Markham's TA is also my TA.

 

I very much appreciate the generous cruise discount, but more importantly I feel that our TA has considerable leverage when dealing with SB, as Markham points out.

 The TA did a great job dealing with SB on our behalf following an extremely disappointing Odyssey cruise several years ago. I don't think the outcome would have been so positive had we been dealing with SB direct, in which case they would have lost us as customers.

[SLSD]

5 hours ago, Isklaar said:

 

 The TA did a great job dealing with SB on our behalf following an extremely disappointing Odyssey cruise several years ago. I don't think the outcome would have been so positive had we been dealing with SB direct, in which case they would have lost us as customers.

How was your Odyssey cruise extremely disapointing Isklaar?  Was it something about the ship?  

We will use a new TA for this next cruise.  However, I am having just a bit of difficulty deciding to go ahead with it during this lengthy pandemic.  Mr. SLSD is not quite as reluctant as I am.  

[Asquare]

We also live in Fort Worth. This is our first Seabourn cruise and booked through our Fort Worth based airline’s cruise division.  We were assigned to one of their Luxury Cruise Specialists.  We have been very happy working with her, she responds promptly to emails and spent plenty of phone time working out the details.   There were several incentives offered that were unique to airline cruise division offer  in addition to Seaboun incentives.  She was able to combine both for a very generous OBC.

 

Our prior experience booking cruises through a warehouse store while adequate was no where near as personal.  We have a direct phone number and email for our agent.  She is working on the air and land arrangements as well.

[jenidallas]

We are also in Fort Worth and use a cruise-focused (but not cruise exclusive) Virtuoso agency that does a high volume of business with Seabourn (as designated by Seabourn’s own agency sales levels).
 

I like having someone who is a neutral party who can go to bat for me should anything go sideways (it rarely does) and she’s also able to book for me on other lines, luxury or otherwise,  as well. I like being able to use her to book excursions independently of the cruise line (I’ve had a couple amazing ones that the cruise line could not have arranged for the same value), hotels and transfers not directly related to the cruise (pre/post journeys), off us options on travel insurance, and generally be a good sounding board.  
 

We’ve had lunch to discuss future cruising plans so she can keep me on her radar for things she’ll think I’ll interested in (which at various time in my life has been solo cruising, cruising with girlfriends, cruising with my mother, and cruising with my husband) and I like having someone who knows all my travel experiences and dreams outside of just one cruise line.

[SLSD]

1 hour ago, jenidallas said:

We are also in Fort Worth and use a cruise-focused (but not cruise exclusive) Virtuoso agency that does a high volume of business with Seabourn (as designated by Seabourn’s own agency sales levels).

Jenidallas,  I am going to call  your agency.  I think I have figured out who they are--and I will try to find your particular agent there.  It may not be right away.  I do want to know that SB is going to continue to require vaccination.  Did you read about the current cases of Covid on Ovation?  

[mcondition]

7 hours ago, SLSD said:

Did you read about the current cases of Covid on Ovation?  

I have not read it too. Can you point me please?

[CanAmBrit]

We are currently aboard the Ovation but know very few details. SLSD, please direct us to any news source that you may have.

All passengers were retested this morning. Masks have to be worn indoors and all indoor activities have been cancelled for today, a sea day.

[SLSD]

7 hours ago, mcondition said:

I have not read it too. Can you point me please?

A guest who is currently on Ovation reported this in a Seabourn Facebook group--so it is not a rumor or hearsay.  She was not sure how many guests were infected, but those infected were in isolation and everyone else was required to wear masks indoors.  Most all activities moved to the outdoor decks.  There may be a more recent report, but this is what I was reading early this morning. 

[mraven]

it  was reported here as well. In the coffemaker thread. About the same details as above.