Booking Princess Direct vs. TA vs. 3rd Party....Pros and Cons

[anw015]

I have located a cruise that I plan to book for Feb. leaving out of LA. I am East Coast transplant to the West Coast and Princess is a new cruise line for me. I see some minimal prices differences between booking direct and various 3rd Party sites. However looking through the boards I see TA's can provide really good coupon books for Princess cruises. So any and all suggestions are welcome! 

[Tedferg]

If the price difference is minimal, I would go directly to Princess and get a personal cruise planner. I booked using a big box agency but find it impossible to get through to them. The Coupon books are pretty worthless IMHO. Depends how much hand holding you need and how available the TA is. I have booked via a TA, got a nice discount and did not need to make any changes. I have had other instances where I had to make changes and found that Princess referred me back to TA.

[Coral]

The coupon books are not worthy.

[alolewis]

I use a travel agent that discounts the cruise.  She is easy to work with and very quick to respond to e-mails, etc even on weekends.  Rules don't allow me to list her contact information but others on the boards do use her.  She was recommended to me several years ago by a person who was very active on the Princess boards.

The only drawback to using a TA is that all correspondence go through her.  Princess will not talk to me, only the TA.

[geoherb]

I booked my next cruise through one of the major travel websites that had a sale last month that offered great onboard credit. The price was the same as booking through the Princess website, but I would have missed out on the onboard credit. I researched prices through other agencies and found some that had better initial prices without as much onboard credit.

 

[anw015]

1 hour ago, alolewis said:

I use a travel agent that discounts the cruise.  She is easy to work with and very quick to respond to e-mails, etc even on weekends.  Rules don't allow me to list her contact information but others on the boards do use her.  She was recommended to me several years ago by a person who was very active on the Princess boards.

The only drawback to using a TA is that all correspondence go through her.  Princess will not talk to me, only the TA.

I tried to look through and get someone like this but because if the rules no success. 😕

 

18 minutes ago, geoherb said:

I booked my next cruise through one of the major travel websites that had a sale last month that offered great onboard credit. The price was the same as booking through the Princess website, but I would have missed out on the onboard credit. I researched prices through other agencies and found some that had better initial prices without as much onboard credit.

 

Ok I’ve done that before and ended up with a bunch of free drinks. Maybe I’ll wait a while and see what promotion I may can find. 

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, anw015 said:

I have located a cruise that I plan to book for Feb. leaving out of LA. I am East Coast transplant to the West Coast and Princess is a new cruise line for me. I see some minimal prices differences between booking direct and various 3rd Party sites. However looking through the boards I see TA's can provide really good coupon books for Princess cruises. So any and all suggestions are welcome! 

The price differences you are seeing may be the same or minimal because agencies are not allowed to advertise lower prices than Princess.  The coupon books are mostly useless these days, so don't get excited over them at all.

 

Even if the agency you are looking at has a booking page to get pricing, unless you are logged in with your Captain's Circle number (assuming you have one), you won't see the best pricing for you. 

 

Not all agencies will offer a discount - or much of a discount.  Some agencies give a gift card or some OBC on-board.  Perhaps you might want a lot of OBC on-board if your plan is to book Princess excursions (not what we do - we book independent private 3rd party tours).  I am not interested in these rewards.  I'd rather have an agency that is going to give us a good cash discount off the cruise fare.  We get enough OBC from the agency group OBC, FCD OBC, and Shareholder OBC (and sometimes Princess OBC). 

 

My suggestion is to keep looking and actually talk to the agencies you find because once you talk to them, they can then quote you lower prices - IF they offer them at all.  Another option for a newbie at this is to shop for the cruise you want on Princess.com and even book it or put on courtesy hold.  Then look for agencies that will compete for your cruise business and you can decide if any of their quotes/offers are better than Princess.  You have at least 30 days (or is it 60) from time of booking to transfer it to a TA.  

 

I can tell you that you ought to be able to find 10% off the commissionable cruise fare with using the above method.  I used to get 15% off and that agency stopped doing that during Covid and now I get 12% with another agency.  No one beats that.

[LACruiser88]

For years, we have used a TA that specializes in cruises and love her!  She handles all the headaches and ensures that we always receive the lowest possible fares.

[KikiKruiser]

Three advantages of a good TA who specializes in cruises:

1.  They will always have the same price as the cruise line or better and  if they have special group pricing for the sailing you're interested in, it will be lower than the Princess website.

2.  They will keep track of your pricing and if a lower fare comes available they will adjust;  Princess won't let you know.

3.  Their agency might offer extra Onboard Credit with a group rate.

 

[chubbypiggy]

Instead of calling Princess and booking my cruise with them on the phone, if I choose to use a Princess CVP, can I still call Princess for assistance if I can't get a hold of my CVP and would like assistance ASAP?  For example, want to change my cabin to a different cabin or take advantage of a 2-day sale, etc.)?  I know if I booked through an outside TA, Princess will not assist me at all; so just curious if that is the same situation using Princess CVP?

[Tedferg]

13 hours ago, KikiKruiser said:

2.  They will keep track of your pricing and if a lower fare comes available they will adjust;  Princess won't let you know.

 

I think that is a stretch for most TAs, WE have a good one, but she does not have the bandwidth to check all cruises for all customers. I check and she rebook / re=fares etc. Certainly Big Box TAs do not do this.

[cruiser113]

39 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

Instead of calling Princess and booking my cruise with them on the phone, if I choose to use a Princess CVP, can I still call Princess for assistance if I can't get a hold of my CVP and would like assistance ASAP?  For example, want to change my cabin to a different cabin or take advantage of a 2-day sale, etc.)?  I know if I booked through an outside TA, Princess will not assist me at all; so just curious if that is the same situation using Princess CVP?

Yes  you  can  call princess and  talk  to  whoever answers phone  to  change  cabins...if  you  can't  get  through to  your  CVP

[chubbypiggy]

9 minutes ago, cruiser113 said:

Yes  you  can  call princess and  talk  to  whoever answers phone  to  change  cabins...if  you  can't  get  through to  your  CVP

Thank you.

[SiliconCruiser]

I made the mistake of booking a cruise directly with Princess and it was a total nightmare.  (It's been 2.5 years since our last cruise and I've grown rusty and forgetful.)  Unfortunately the booking was one of those drop & go ones, and I couldn't get it transferred to a real TA.  We made another booking while on the cruise but all of it started to come back and I asked all of the pertinent questions and the cruise was far out enough that transferring it to another agent is going to be a breeze.  You do not want to have Princess as the booking agent, unless you never want to hear from them again and will never be able to reach them.

 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, SiliconCruiser said:

I made the mistake of booking a cruise directly with Princess and it was a total nightmare.  (It's been 2.5 years since our last cruise and I've grown rusty and forgetful.)  Unfortunately the booking was one of those drop & go ones, and I couldn't get it transferred to a real TA.  We made another booking while on the cruise but all of it started to come back and I asked all of the pertinent questions and the cruise was far out enough that transferring it to another agent is going to be a breeze.  You do not want to have Princess as the booking agent, unless you never want to hear from them again and will never be able to reach them.

 

I understand where you are coming from but, even with a TA booking, you may want/need to get in touch with Princess for some things other than the basic cruise booking and faring and cabin selection. 

 

I do use an independent TA that gives generous cruise fare discounts.  If I was going to book with Princess, it is clear from many posts I have read in various threads, that the way to do that is to get a good CVP since they are easier to reach (directly).  Guests can get one assigned but, much like 3rd party TA's, there are good ones and not so good ones, so s person may not strike gold on the first attachment. 

[teecee60]

On 7/18/2022 at 8:07 PM, Steelers36 said:

The price differences you are seeing may be the same or minimal because agencies are not allowed to advertise lower prices than Princess. 

The above statement is totally, completely, absolutely, demonstrably and utterly false.

 

The 17 night Sapphire Princess Cruise on 2 December is listed at $1198per person on Princess.com.

 

The same cruise, on the same ship, on the same date is listed at $779pp on a well known online site.

 

 

The 18 night Sapphire Princess cruise on 19 March is listed at $1398pp on Princess.com.

 

The same cruise, on the same ship, on the same date, is listed at $909pp on a well known online site.

Edited July 21, 2022 by teecee60

[Steelers36]

12 minutes ago, teecee60 said:

The above statement is totally, completely, absolutely, demonstrably and utterly false.

 

The 17 night Sapphire Princess Cruise on 2 December is listed at $1198per person on Princess.com.

 

The same cruise, on the same ship, on the same day is listed at $779pp on a well known online site.

Well, it's news to me, but you are putting a stamp on it here for sure.  This is the list price ($779) and not net of discount or OBC?  I have no idea which site you refer to.  I tried one biggie and saw same price as Princess.  You are on a public webpage and not the agency "hidden" booking engine for customers? 

 

Anyway, I believe what you saw, but if there is a rule, there is always an exception.  AFAIK, TA's are not allowed to publicly advertise lower fares than PCL.  That said, they can sell at lower fares via discounts, OBC, gifts, etc.

 

[SiliconCruiser]

27 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Well, it's news to me, but you are putting a stamp on it here for sure.  This is the list price ($779) and not net of discount or OBC?  I have no idea which site you refer to.  I tried one biggie and saw same price as Princess.  You are on a public webpage and not the agency "hidden" booking engine for customers? 

 

Anyway, I believe what you saw, but if there is a rule, there is always an exception.  AFAIK, TA's are not allowed to publicly advertise lower fares than PCL.  That said, they can sell at lower fares via discounts, OBC, gifts, etc.

 

There is a lot of confusion because a lot of TAs are only listing Princess Plus fares (more of a cut for the TA) rather than the Princess basic fares. And vice-versa.

 

[caribill]

a) The coupon books are provided by Princess for TAs to "give out" several times a year. As others pointed out, they are not worth much (most are spend a bunch a money and save a few $$$ on that purchase). Never pick a TA based on getting this coupon book.

 

b) There are good Princess CVPs and poor ones. There are good TAs and poor ones. Thus you can have a good or poor experience booking either way. The best way to find out which ones are good is when you are on board and can meet with other Cruise Critic members.

 

c) Booking directly with Princess you will always pay the current list price and get the current promotion perks.

 

d) Any TA that wants to charge more than the Princess posted price should be avoided like the plague.

 

e) Some TAs offer discounts and extra perks. Many do not. As pointed out by others, TAs are not supposed to publish prices lower tha what Princess displays. You need to contact the TAs to find out about any lower pricing they may have.

 

f) Discounts and perks from TAs can come from several sources. One is the TA may set up a "group" booking and get a discount for doing that which is passed on to the customer. Another is that a TA may give some of their commission to the customer via a discount on the pricing. A third is that a TA may get "points" for booking a number of cabins on a cruise. These points can be reserved for perks for the customer such as OBC, a bottle of wine, a specialty dinner, etc. They can also be used instead by the TA to get a higher commission instead of something for the customer.

 

g)  Big box stores may have great pricing and perks, but will have very poor customer service once the booking is made., For example, they are unlikely to pass Princess offers for upgrades on to the customers.

 

h) If you book with a TA, Princess will not discuss anything involving pricing or cabin changes with you. You must do that with the TA. Princess will still work with you on other issues and with booking on board experiences such as specialty dining and shore excursions. EZAir and any problems with it are doine directly with Princess and not with a TA.

 

i) The agent or CVP is an employee (contract or direct) of Princess. Their first loyalty is to Princess, not to the customer. (Some CVPs are willing to be a better advocate for the customer than others.) For a TA, their first loyalty is to the customer, not to the cruise line.

 

j) Many Princess reps and even CVPs are inexperienced and do not really know enough about what Princess offers, Princess policies, etc. Most have never even been on a cruise ship. A good TA have been on a number of different cruise ships, knows the cruise line policies, and may have good contacts at the cruise line for resolving problems.

 

k) If using a TA, pick one that will have an alternate contact person if your main contact is unavailable (illness, vacations, on a cruise, etc.,)

[Steelers36]

6 hours ago, SiliconCruiser said:

There is a lot of confusion because a lot of TAs are only listing Princess Plus fares (more of a cut for the TA) rather than the Princess basic fares. And vice-versa.

 

Looking at the post I responded to, there is no way the numbers are correct because the implied discount is way beyond anything possible/reasonable.  Doesn't pass the smell test without more details.

[PTMary]

2 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Looking at the post I responded to, there is no way the numbers are correct because the implied discount is way beyond anything possible/reasonable.  Doesn't pass the smell test without more details.

 

They are possible. We use a TA that routinely provides around a 25% discount on the exact same cabin, ship and itinerary as the cruise line's posted price shown during a mock booking. The TA provides no other benefits, such as vouchers for specialty dining, bottles of wine, trinkets, etc. Just a discount, which is much better than unused gifts. Plus, they are very responsive to questions and requests for changes. 

 

You don't have to believe it. I still enjoy that discount whether you believe it or not. 😇

 

 

Edited July 21, 2022 by PTMary

[Tedferg]

Well done, @caribill, excellent response. I saw another difference between Princess and TA. Princess site only had 'Guarantee' for a class of cabin I wanted, big box had a list of cabins available. I guess some TAs have blocks of cabins reserved, initially.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, PTMary said:

 

They are possible. We use a TA that routinely provides around a 25% discount on the exact same cabin, ship and itinerary as the cruise line's posted price shown during a mock booking. The TA provides no other benefits, such as vouchers for specialty dining, bottles of wine, trinkets, etc. Just a discount, which is much better than unused gifts. Plus, they are very responsive to questions and requests for changes. 

 

You don't have to believe it. I still enjoy that discount whether you believe it or not. 😇

 

 

Well done is all I can say.  You are the first I have seen to be getting anything more than 15% of the Commissionable fare (discounts are always calculated off that fare as agents subtract the Non-Comm portion from the base fare and that amount is most often $25/day).  (In fact no one else has ever indicated getting as much as 15% with Princess that I have read).

 

BTW, I presume when you are doing a mock booking, you are logged in to Princess.com.  Otherwise, you won't be seeing the correct fare for you as a Princess customer.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Steelers36

[PTMary]

4 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Well done is all I can say.  You are the first I have seen to be getting anything more than 15% of the Commissionable fare (discounts are always calculated off that fare as agents subtract the Non-Comm portion from the base fare and that amount is most often $25/day).  (In fact no one else has ever indicated getting as much as 15% with Princess that I have read).

 

BTW, I presume when you are doing a mock booking, you are logged in to Princess.com.  Otherwise, you won't be seeing the correct fare for you as a Princess customer.

 

Yes, always logged on as a Princess customer to ensure any loyalty benefits or specials will be factored in. 

 

The discounts we have received have also been with other cruise lines as well as Princess. I sometimes wonder why the TA's prices are so good, but don't question the results. I prefer not to "look a gift horse in the mouth". Or maybe "rock the boat" is a better saying? 😉

 

BTW: We are paying $7299 for a cabin that Princess listed as $9349. I calculated that as a 24.63% savings. That may have been our best deal yet, but others have been close. For instance, a 14 day Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity Reflection several years ago was pretty close in savings percentage. We're not wealthy, so these savings allow us to afford a higher category room than we would otherwise feel comfortable booking. 

[teecee60]

12 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

Looking at the post I responded to, there is no way the numbers are correct because the implied discount is way beyond anything possible/reasonable.  Doesn't pass the smell test without more details.

 

Try "the proven experience test" as opposed to a demonstrably defective "smell test."

 

I just did an 18 night Panama Canal cruise on Caribbean Princess in a balcony cabin for $899pp... AND got $200 OBC from the agency, $250 OBC from military and $250 OBC from shareholder. 

 

Next spring's 20 night Transatlantic and Med cruise on Enchanted is listed at $1299pp on Princess but only $974pp on that smelly web site that I have used to book 35 cruises over the last 10 years.

 

9 hours ago, PTMary said:

They are possible. We use a TA that routinely provides around a 25% discount on the exact same cabin, ship and itinerary as the cruise line's posted price shown during a mock booking. 

 

You don't have to believe it. I still enjoy that discount whether you believe it or not. 😇

 

1 hour ago, PTMary said:

The discounts we have received have also been with other cruise lines as well as Princess. 

For instance, a 14 day Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity Reflection several years ago was pretty close in savings percentage. We're not wealthy, so these savings allow us to afford a higher category room than we would otherwise feel comfortable booking. 

 

In April of 2013,  I did Reflection's 15 night transatlantic for only $449pp by booking only five days prior to departure!  I am FAR from wealthy... but take another approach... cruising MUCH MORE OFTEN than I could if I paid the prices listed by Princess, Celebrity or Royal Caribbean.