Cruise Planner, Princess Direct or Travel Agent

[Sailaway John]

Hi All,

Just asking how do others feel re booking of their Cruises. I have used Princess Direct and a Travel Agent and now have been directed to a Princess Cruise Planner. I am a bit worried about the time that the Cruise Planner takes to reply to some of my queries. Am I been selfish and not allowing time for her to obtain the info that I want? if so, I am sorry but with all the cancellations that I have been having I do not know what is the best plan to adopt. Please advise or help where you can.

[JimmyVWine]

For my most recent booking I employed the best of both worlds (for me). I did all the research, and placed “Hold” on the cruise I wanted which locked in the price for three days. Then I called my PVP to do the final booking so that she got credit for the booking. Travel professionals took it on the chin over the last couple of years so I wanted to toss her some business even though I really don’t gain anything by her finalizing the booking. But I don’t lose anything either. So why not let her get the credit. 

[cruisingrob21]

I wrote a long thread about this a while ago but the calculus of this all has changed with long hold times at Princess.

 

If you want the most control, and time required, book directly with princess.  You probably won't get the best deal (fare + OBC)

 

If you want a person to reach out to but still want to make sure they are working with princess, book a PVP, it's like having a personal assistant for your vacation that you can call and ask questions.  Note that you may not get a better deal than booking direct but may have the most fare options.

 

If you want the most service, and potentially the best deal, book with a travel agent.  But be wary of the big box online TAs which might give you a slightly better deal, but not much better service than princess vacation planner.  A local TA or someone that you can always call and ask for, that knows you and will be happy to wait on hold FOR you, is the best choice in these days, in my opinion.

 

Good luck!

[AZjohn]

Everyone has their opinion/preference on whom they feel most comfortable to work with for their cruise plans as well as benefits they may receive.

 

if things go wrong with any aspects with the cruise line we are taking, I much rather deal with a TA that is not employed and directed by that cruise line. Feel there could be a conflict of interest if they are working for the cruise line.

 

Much rather have an independent TA working to resolve any issues with the cruise line (JMHO).

[Thrak]

I used to always book directly with Princess. I liked having total control of the booking and it was easy to call for a better fare if one became available. Just before final payment I would transfer the booking to a local TA who then gave me a discount on the fare. (No, I never got a 10% discount like some others here say they get but the local TA is a good guy and always gave me a discount I was happy with.) By doing it this way I retained total control of the booking (and did all the work) until I finally transferred it to the TA, he got a commission, and I got a discount. It was the best of both worlds for both me and the TA.

 

A couple of years ago Princess changed things so that I only have a very short window after booking to transfer the booking to my TA. Now I have to contact him for changes and it really annoys me. He is super responsive - I've sent him email - or left voice mail - about changes or inquiries only to find out he's on the East coast (we are in California) and it's late evening where he is but he always replies almost immediately.

 

If you can find a TA with that kind of service then it is well worth keeping that person as your representative. However, many people find that their TA is unavailable when needed the most. It's a bit of a crap shoot. A good way to find a good TA is to ask people when you are on the ship. Talk to people from your Roll Call Thread here on CC. Ask them for assistance. You will probably find that most of them are nice folks who are really happy to direct you to their "awesome" TA.

 

From what I've read here there are some really great Princess Travel Advisors and there are also some who aren't worth the time. I have no idea how one gets a good one. I really miss the days when I could do all the work myself, get the TA a commission, and get a discount on my fare. I think too many people "used" the Princess Travel Advisors in the worst sense of "used" and caused the change. (Kind of like folks who use a young realtor to do all the work to find what they want and then buy from a friend - also a realtor - to give them the commission instead of the person who did all the work. (Oh, by the way, I did a brief stint as a realtor when I was young. This kind of crap is really common.)

 

These days it's anybody's guess as to whether you will get a good Princess Travel Advisor. I would never say that you won't get one because I simply don't know (and I gave it my all as a young realtor) but there has been soooooooooooooooo much turnover due to the stupid virus that there are likely a ton of inexperienced folks in the Travel Advisor positions. If your Travel Advisor is not responsive look elsewhere. I "think" you can even ask for a different person from Princess. The bottom line is that it is your money that is at stake and, if you are not getting a quick response, it is your money that can "walk" elsewhere. You deserve good representation. Nothing else is acceptable.

[Musky Ike]

These days customer service from both Princess and the huge online TAs have plummeted. Yes I can get a nice discount from the big TA but it comes with a frustration cost. Maybe it is time to think old school and go back to where we started with a local brick and mortar TA. Then they can sit on hold for hours. Hopeful things will improve in the near future, but for now, no matter the path you choose it seems to be quite a chore to make changes.

[susancruzs]

I have a great TA that I know others use here.  She is a top seller for several cruise lines, operates a small office, but does a huge volume.  Sailing single, I get a better price than listed by Princess.  She is part of a web based outlet, which usually have group rates on sailings.  I don't book with Princess.  I get excellent service from my TA, works for me.

[chisoxfan]

48 minutes ago, Musky Ike said:

These days customer service from both Princess and the huge online TAs have plummeted. Yes I can get a nice discount from the big TA but it comes with a frustration cost. Maybe it is time to think old school and go back to where we started with a local brick and mortar TA. Then they can sit on hold for hours. Hopeful things will improve in the near future, but for now, no matter the path you choose it seems to be quite a chore to make changes.

Totally agree. Used to be easy- we did our research and booked with a big warehouse agency. We got some credits and they were always available on the phone. No longer- 2 hour waits not uncommon for the past year.

I communicated to CEO and management and was told they were working to improve but nothing seems to have changed. I booked and tried another large internet provider and got a good price (IMHO) and responsive phone service, but when I attempted some other bookings their prices were not much better than Princess direct. If you have a brick and mortar TA that can help that is a wonderful option- but I am afraid the Industry wants us to do everything online.  I just feel sorry for inexperienced cruisers

who may be seeking intelligent guidance and some handholding when they book. 

In the long term I think this will be negative for the Cruise Industry.

Thank heavens for CC where an education is extensive and free.

[Coral]

42 minutes ago, susancruzs said:

I have a great TA that I know others use here.  She is a top seller for several cruise lines, operates a small office, but does a huge volume.  Sailing single, I get a better price than listed by Princess.  She is part of a web based outlet, which usually have group rates on sailings.  I don't book with Princess.  I get excellent service from my TA, works for me.

I am guessing we use the same agent. She is excellent! 🙂 We have the best of both worlds as she is super responsive and we don't feel a need to be "in control" as if we want anything changed - we just contact her.

[Coral]

8 hours ago, Thrak said:

I used to always book directly with Princess. I liked having total control of the booking and it was easy to call for a better fare if one became available. Just before final payment I would transfer the booking to a local TA who then gave me a discount on the fare. (No, I never got a 10% discount like some others here say they get but the local TA is a good guy and always gave me a discount I was happy with.) By doing it this way I retained total control of the booking (and did all the work) until I finally transferred it to the TA, he got a commission, and I got a discount. It was the best of both worlds for both me and the TA.

Technically - you were one of the reasons why Princess changed the policy (not you personally but people who acted like you). You would call Princess and make price adjustments, use their staff until right before final payment and then transfer it to your agent to get a better price. Your TA had to do very little compared to what Princess did and he got the commission. In your situation - Princess probably should have gotten the commission for making all the adjustments for you before transfer.

 

So it was the best of both worlds for you and your agent but not for Princess who was servicing your booking until the transfer.

 

The odd thing is that you don't see the difference between this and the real estate realtor situation you compared this to. I am guessing you were not calling Princess daily or weekly but they were still doing the work on the booking.

 

I value my travel agent's knowledge. I will continue to support her. She worked for her clients continually booking and rebooking them during the time in COVID when ships were not sailing and did not receive any pay because she only gets paid when ships are sailing. 

[JF - retired RRT]

3 hours ago, Musky Ike said:

These days customer service from both Princess and the huge online TAs have plummeted. Yes I can get a nice discount from the big TA but it comes with a frustration cost. Maybe it is time to think old school and go back to where we started with a local brick and mortar TA. Then they can sit on hold for hours. Hopeful things will improve in the near future, but for now, no matter the path you choose it seems to be quite a chore to make changes.

I tried that. There's one near our town. Called their phone # and got a msg. machine to leave a msg. & they'd get back to me. Nothing happened. Went on their website and tried to book a cruise, their website insisted that I give name/address/phone#/email before it would allow me to go further. Did that. Chose a cruise and was informed that they'd "get back to me". That was 2 weeks ago.

Already finished booking my cruise w/a TA that I'd used previously (big company based in FL)...so NOW they'll probably finally call me. HUH!!

[Coral]

3 hours ago, Musky Ike said:

These days customer service from both Princess and the huge online TAs have plummeted. Yes I can get a nice discount from the big TA but it comes with a frustration cost. Maybe it is time to think old school and go back to where we started with a local brick and mortar TA. Then they can sit on hold for hours. Hopeful things will improve in the near future, but for now, no matter the path you choose it seems to be quite a chore to make changes.

I used a local agent for 2 cruises back in the 90's. I didn't think she was that good. Thankfully another board hooked me up with the agent that I currently use. I only know of two brick and mortar TA in town. A friend used one of them and thought they were probably great for Disney or Sandals but didn't know a thing about cruising. Or maybe they had been on one cruise. I referred them to my agent and they couldn't believe how much she knew and that they were going to get $800 back after the cruise from the agent.

 

I would look for those small home agents that do a ton of business and have low overhead.

[sonomaphil]

For me, I have never used a PVP or a true TA.  I am an independent traveler who likes doing research in my own and doesn't need hand holding.  I do my price research at various web sites and get quotes where ever I can.  I book the best deal I can get for what I want. 

[Coral]

5 minutes ago, sonomaphil said:

For me, I have never used a PVP or a true TA.  I am an independent traveler who likes doing research in my own and doesn't need hand holding.  I do my price research at various web sites and get quotes where ever I can.  I book the best deal I can get for what I want. 

I think many of us who use TAs don't need hand holding. The most experienced travelers out there realize the benefit of Travel Agents and the benefit of having them on their side. If all goes well - they do our bookings and all is well. It is when things go wrong - we realize their weight in gold.

 

Most of us who have Travel Agents do our research on our own before we contact them.

[memoak]

We love our PVP because she is super responsive and gets us good deals. She has been known him find price drops before I do and calls me to ok any changes.  When we tell her of upcoming cruises we are interested in she knows when they will go on sale and put a suite on hold for us and then call. I don’t know if we are just lucky with her or if it because we book 2-3 cruises a year with Princess but we are very happy all my calls get returned within 24    weekday hours

[Thrak]

6 hours ago, Coral said:

Technically - you were one of the reasons why Princess changed the policy (not you personally but people who acted like you). You would call Princess and make price adjustments, use their staff until right before final payment and then transfer it to your agent to get a better price. Your TA had to do very little compared to what Princess did and he got the commission. In your situation - Princess probably should have gotten the commission for making all the adjustments for you before transfer.

 

So it was the best of both worlds for you and your agent but not for Princess who was servicing your booking until the transfer.

 

The odd thing is that you don't see the difference between this and the real estate realtor situation you compared this to. I am guessing you were not calling Princess daily or weekly but they were still doing the work on the booking.

 

I value my travel agent's knowledge. I will continue to support her. She worked for her clients continually booking and rebooking them during the time in COVID when ships were not sailing and did not receive any pay because she only gets paid when ships are sailing. 

 

Actually I rarely had to make any changes and, if I did, Princess was still doing the same thing they would have had to do if my TA made the changes. As a young realtor I spent countless hours researching properties for people. Driving all over heck, inspecting homes, etc. I put in a ton of time and then got zip for the effort. In contrast, the Princess employees were sitting on their behinds in an office and were being paid to be there. They got a salary for doing their jobs. I got zip for working my butt off.

 

When I worked in IT I was sometimes asked to help staff with their personal laptops. I was offered payment or gifts (such as Scotch) to do so but I always refused payment as I was already being paid to be at work. (I only did this stuff when I had extra time and my supervisor was well aware that I did so.)

[Coral]

6 minutes ago, Thrak said:

 

Actually I rarely had to make any changes and, if I did, Princess was still doing the same thing they would have had to do if my TA made the changes.

Correct - but your agent got paid the commission and Princess staff made the changes. You have said that you would have Princess re-fare your cruises. That is the difference. Princess was servicing you as a client and then did not make the commission off of you.

 

With today's model - Princess has to employ less people to service clients who use travel agents. 

 

I have friends who work in the cruise industry - most of them are working really hard right now. It may not be as easy as you think.

Edited March 20, 2022 by Coral

[Thrak]

Princess got the full fare for the cruise. The discount came from my TA. If I had simply paid Princess they would have made zero dollars more than if the TA paid the full fare and gave me a discount.

[Coral]

23 minutes ago, Thrak said:

Princess got the full fare for the cruise. The discount came from my TA. If I had simply paid Princess they would have made zero dollars more than if the TA paid the full fare and gave me a discount.

When you switched to an agent - Princess lost approx 15% cost of the cruise fare (not taxes). Princess has to pay benefits which probably costs more than $1000 per employee per month plus their salary. 

 

There is a difference.

Edited March 20, 2022 by Coral

[TBfrPH]

If I may, I'd like to tag on a question related to the original post. 

 

Often times I see last-minute fare drops, usually called "Drop and Go" fares, that occur AFTER I've made final payments.  Apparently Princess will only allow new bookings for this low fare type, and existing bookings that have made final payments are not eligible for a re-fare.  I've asked my TA to plead my case with Princess for some sort of compensation like upgrades, OBC, or other perks, but that has never worked.   I've read that people who used PVP have been able to access these last-minute re-fares even after final payments, though it's not always clear whether they are referring to the "Drop and Go" fares that theoretically only apply to new bookings.  

 

My TA is from a large clearinghouse, not a local brick/mortar or one-person shop with low overhead.  He is very professional and responsive for the most part, though he doesn't appear to be able to get anything that I couldn't get myself, other than the discounts and incentives that his company offers, of course.   Just to find out if a PVP has some exclusive backdoor to these last-minute fare drops, I'm tempted to try one.  Does anyone have experience that may shed light on whether this would be worthwhile?  Thanks in advance for any tips that you're willing to divulge.

[rdsqrl]

Here's the deal:  you booked the cruise you wanted, in the cabin you preferred, at a price that was acceptable.   Those post-final-payment low fares are specifically for new bookings only. That's the whole point of the cheap fares:  we last-minute bookers have rolled the dice on cruise/cabin availability to save money.  Whereas you choose safety over risk.  Now you shouldn't get to have your cake and eat it, too.  If you want to sail at the Drop and Go fares, then do what we do:   wait and book at the last minute. 

[KLM3164]

12 hours ago, Coral said:

I am guessing we use the same agent. She is excellent! 🙂 We have the best of both worlds as she is super responsive and we don't feel a need to be "in control" as if we want anything changed - we just contact her.

Is there a way for you to share the information on your excellent TA?

[TBfrPH]

5 hours ago, rdsqrl said:

Here's the deal:  you booked the cruise you wanted, in the cabin you preferred, at a price that was acceptable.   Those post-final-payment low fares are specifically for new bookings only. That's the whole point of the cheap fares:  we last-minute bookers have rolled the dice on cruise/cabin availability to save money.  Whereas you choose safety over risk.  Now you shouldn't get to have your cake and eat it, too.  If you want to sail at the Drop and Go fares, then do what we do:   wait and book at the last minute. 

Point taken.  Yet, whether I get to have my cake isn't up for debate here.  If the risk/reward trade-off is as straightforward as you say, I fully understand and accept that.  I'm under the impression, perhaps mistakenly, that people using a PVP are in fact getting their cake.  If that is possible, then the rest of us owe it to ourselves to look into that backdoor to the cake room.  No??  My post was  a question.  Perhaps you mistook it for a complaint.

[kywildcatfanone]

We use a TA.  Typically get a break on the cruise price compared to Princess, and some OBC as well.

[Amtrack Springfield]

We use a TA she is the best. She is my daughter.