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

[villauk]

7 hours ago, teecee60 said:

 

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.

 

 

 

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.

 

I remember you getting that deal on Reflection and many others over the years.

[Steelers36]

19 hours ago, PTMary said:

BTW: We are paying $7299 for a cabin that Princess listed as $9349. I calculated that as a 24.63% savings.

I'd be happy to check into this fare more as I did in Post #27 above.  Perhaps there is another fare code you don't see unless you have access to a good booking engine other than Princess.com which doesn't display all available fares.  I would need the ship and cruise date.  I don't necessarily doubt anyone, but I am certainly interested in knowing if there is a good agency out there that has better discounting than the two I have used in that past 6 years or so.

 

[PTMary]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

I'd be happy to check into this fare more as I did in Post #27 above.  Perhaps there is another fare code you don't see unless you have access to a good booking engine other than Princess.com which doesn't display all available fares.  I would need the ship and cruise date.  I don't necessarily doubt anyone, but I am certainly interested in knowing if there is a good agency out there that has better discounting than the two I have used in that past 6 years or so.

 

 

We booked this cruise 11 months ago. Hawaii RT from SFO Mar 12, 2023. Category ME. Today the price is $9,224 for other cabins in this category. Princess had it listed at $9,349 when we booked it. We are paying $7,299. 

 

There. I have given you all the ammunition you need to try to prove that I am making this up. 😈

 

BTW:  We always choose the stateroom next door to the next highest priced category room. That way we are just a door further than rooms that cost hundreds more. When we booked this the room next door, A220, was several hundred dollars more. Even today it's $9,816, almost $500 more than the room we are in per Princess prices, and about $2,500 more than we are actually paying. 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2022 by PTMary

[Hlitner]

I love folks that book direct with the cruise line because I own CCL stock and those folks give a nice contribution to the bottom line.  But Princess is among the most generous when it comes to deals (and OBDs) they allow for high volume cruise agencies and travel consortiums (who represent many agencies).  It is pretty common for us to save 10% (and more) with Princess bookings.  While some of the savings might come in a reduced cruise fare, the majority comes in the form of On board credits (OBCs) and other amenities such as pre-paid gratuities.  For us it often means we get a very nice check from Princess (about a month after our cruises) for all the unused OBCs.  

 

A few years ago we actually called Princess and asked if they would match the deals we could get from several of our favorite cruise agencies.  The Princess rep simply told us that they do not compete with their authorized cruise/travel agencies.  She also offered to handle our booking and then transfer it to our favorite cruise agency so we could get the "best of both worlds" (her words).  My response was I did not want to deal with two entities and would continue to book throgh cruise agencies.

 

Hank  

[dog]

11 hours ago, teecee60 said:

 

My best deal ever on Celebrity was the last transpac cruise of Century... 23 nights for $799pp. Had drinks with a guy who paid $12,000 for the same cruise. HE now uses the same smelly website that some hard heads refuse to believe.

 

I've been with Princess almost exclusively for the last several years... as Celebrity prices have been astronomical.😉

Thanks for sharing. I appreciate your posts!

Congratulations on those great fares you scored.

dog

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

We have never used a TA but did for my husbands 60th in March since we have 6 cabins. There’s no difference once you get onboard right?  
 

My travel agent messed up really bad and if I didn’t catch the mistake myself we would have had one less cabin and wouldn’t have realized until final payment. I want to switch back to the company but at this point why bother. It’s fixed and they can’t screw anything else up. I think. 

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

We have never used a TA but did for my husbands 60th in March since we have 6 cabins. There’s no difference once you get onboard right?  
 

My travel agent messed up really bad and if I didn’t catch the mistake myself we would have had one less cabin and wouldn’t have realized until final payment. I want to switch back to the company but at this point why bother. It’s fixed and they can’t screw anything else up. I think. 

Once 60 days has passed, you cannot switch booking.  That said, I have read of a rare case where, say the TA was making some egregious errors or became non-responsive, a guest might write Customer Relations and request Princess to take back the booking as the person was firing their agent.

 

Are your bookings marked No Upgrade, or Accept Upgrade?  You might get an Upgrade offer or just done and if your agent doesn't notify you promptly, you might not be able to act fast enough to get your cabin back.  Has the agent cross-referenced all six bookings?  If this is done PCL should realize that you are all together and shouldn't move one cabin to someplace else on the ship.  I would put that in a screw-up category if you are not promptly notified.

 

The other thing is to make sure when Final Payment comes that the agency applies payment to all six cabins.

 

[lots-of-km2]

Noted.

 

21 hours ago, lots-of-km2 said:

I'm always curious to check out the options, to better understand how this all works, and to get the best value for money.

 

As for your own TA, they sound equally intriguing - care to drop some hints?   I'm located where you are and don't mind paying in USD for a compelling deal. 

 

19 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I cannot really say much about them at all and remain within guidelines for posting on CC forums. 

 

12 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

I am just interested if there is a great agency out there I am not yet aware of that has better deals than I have been getting.

 

[Bwana Tom]

Personally we always use a TA for our bookings and almost always find our fares less doing so with our TA than those published on Princess. Don't be put off by the arguing here. The simple rule I would recommend using is a simply: check fares on the web from a variety of sites and make a decision based on those fares. 

Aside from this simple advise I would add: 1) if you or your spouse is a vet be sure to send in a copy of DD214 in to get on board credit (OBC), 2) Carnival stock prices is low right now and if you purchase 100 shares you can also get OBC by sending a statement into Princess, and 3) if you find you like cruising be sure to purchase future cruise deposits while on board (this is no loose proposition that is a great benefit). You must do so while on board and there are a long list of benefits to be derived by doing so.

OBC is great because it can be used for on board purchases, excursions, or even to pay off your tips on board.

I hope all the back and forth this thread has generated hasn't muddied the water for you. I just wanted to make this as simple as possible to assist you.

Happy Cruising!!

[donaldsc]

On 7/19/2022 at 7:19 PM, KikiKruiser said:

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.

 

 

4. and most important to us - if there are problems they are on your side and a good TA will fight for you.  Someone who works for the cruise line basically doesn't care about you.

 

DON

[Steelers36]

54 minutes ago, donaldsc said:

Someone who works for the cruise line basically doesn't care about you.

I am sure they do care - at least to a good certain extent - because one of their goals is to have a happy customer that wants to book again.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Coral said:

Remember that Princess does targeted pricing towards certain guests (maybe those who don't have any cruises booked, those that live in certain states, those who have reached a certain level, whatever criteria that they can dream of). There have been situations when 1 qualify for a certain rate and my friend's rate is entirely different. This is why Princess always enters your phone number or Captain Circle's number when they quote a price as you and I may have different prices.

Yes, and a guest may have a variety of eligible fare codes they can avail themselves of.  However, Princess.com only shows you one fare code (and doesn't indicate the actual code it is using).  Supposedly, it is showing the best fare for you for that particular voyage, but I have found this is not 100%.   ETA:  Technically, three fare codes as there is the Standard, Plus, and Premier variations on the basic code.

 

The best thing - for self-service - is have access to a 3rd party booking page that gives all the possible fares and indicates both the Fare Code and the rules.  Within the rules, you can see the applicable geographic zones (e.g. all North America, Canada only, selected States, etc).  The rules should also indicate the from/to dates for the fare code.  In order for this to work, the booking page should ask for name, birthdate and CC Member number.

 

When looking at Fare Codes, any that are Uxx are targeted marketing promos to a specific set of members (you won't be the only one).  Chances are you may have received a mailing about the offer.  We had a couple of these along the timeline of first booking our October cruises and up to recent time. 

 

I like being able to do my own research and know what I am after as I can relay that to my TA as to what I want to book or refare to.  I have had situations where they don't see the fare code at first for some reason in POLAR, or the PCL agent they get when they call doesn't see it.  That said, any TA with POLAR access or any CVP at Princess should be able to see all the fare codes applicable to a guest and be able to explain what you get or don't get with each one.  Sometimes there are just a couple and sometimes four or so.

 

Another note is that it only takes one of the two sharing a cabin to qualify under a fare code in order to book it for both.  Typically a couple are going to have all the same eligible codes, but two friends who live in different areas may have some differences in their fare codes as Coral rightly points out.

Edited July 24, 2022 by Steelers36

[Tedferg]

1 hour ago, Steelers36 said:

Yes, and a guest may have a variety of eligible fare codes they can avail themselves of.  However, Princess.com only shows you one fare code (and doesn't indicate the actual code it is using).  Supposedly, it is showing the best fare for you for that particular voyage, but I have found this is not 100%.   ETA:  Technically, three fare codes as there is the Standard, Plus, and Premier variations on the basic code.

 

The best thing - for self-service - is have access to a 3rd party booking page that gives all the possible fares and indicates both the Fare Code and the rules.  Within the rules, you can see the applicable geographic zones (e.g. all North America, Canada only, selected States, etc).  The rules should also indicate the from/to dates for the fare code.  In order for this to work, the booking page should ask for name, birthdate and CC Member number.

 

When looking at Fare Codes, any that are Uxx are targeted marketing promos to a specific set of members (you won't be the only one).  Chances are you may have received a mailing about the offer.  We had a couple of these along the timeline of first booking our October cruises and up to recent time. 

 

I like being able to do my own research and know what I am after as I can relay that to my TA as to what I want to book or refare to.  I have had situations where they don't see the fare code at first for some reason in POLAR, or the PCL agent they get when they call doesn't see it.  That said, any TA with POLAR access or any CVP at Princess should be able to see all the fare codes applicable to a guest and be able to explain what you get or don't get with each one.  Sometimes there are just a couple and sometimes four or so.

 

Another note is that it only takes one of the two sharing a cabin to qualify under a fare code in order to book it for both.  Typically a couple are going to have all the same eligible codes, but two friends who live in different areas may have some differences in their fare codes as Coral rightly points out.

Is the Fare Code site known publicly?

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Tedferg said:

Is the Fare Code site known publicly?

It is not a site.  Sometimes the info is displayed on Princess.com.  I was going to answer this one way, but I checked current situation and not seeing any of these codes.  There are some codes I just know - like NL1 is the Standard Public Fare for basic cabin booking with no Plus/Premier.  

 

It used to be if you clicked on Deals link at top of home page, the info on the deal would include the offer codes.  Another way to see it, was if looking at a cruise with a red banner and click on that, the pop-up display would include the Fare Code(s). 

 

I don't see the Fare Codes at all for the current 40% off 2022 cruises and up to 25% off on 2023 cruises.

 

However, if you click on Cruise Deals and then click on the Kids Sail Free offer, and then pick a Region, a list of cruises comes up with the red banners.  Click on one and the pop-up window appears to describe the Kids Sail Free and up to 25% off offer.

 

If you scroll and read down in the offer details, you will find this line:

 

Reference Promo Code: N7A/N7B/NR7

 

These are promo fare codes and these particular codes have been used in the past to represent other promotions.  The three codes are for Standard, Plus, and Premier (not necc in that order).  I can tell these codes are general for North American market. 

 

If you have ever received a PCL mailer promo flyer, the small print text in the flyer includes the Fare Codes. 

 

Although you don't always see them on Princess.com, they are readily available on better 3rd party booking sites.  (If I told you some examples, I'd be recommending an agency - or appear to).

 

 

Edited July 24, 2022 by Steelers36

[dog]

On 7/22/2022 at 4:17 PM, PTMary said:

 

We booked this cruise 11 months ago. Hawaii RT from SFO Mar 12, 2023. Category ME. Today the price is $9,224 for other cabins in this category. Princess had it listed at $9,349 when we booked it. We are paying $7,299. 

 

There. I have given you all the ammunition you need to try to prove that I am making this up. 😈

 

BTW:  We always choose the stateroom next door to the next highest priced category room. That way we are just a door further than rooms that cost hundreds more. When we booked this the room next door, A220, was several hundred dollars more. Even today it's $9,816, almost $500 more than the room we are in per Princess prices, and about $2,500 more than we are actually paying. 

 

 

This was a cruise we were considering since ours from Vancouver got cancelled.

congratulations on getting such a good discount. Appreciate your sharing.

[Maui Girl]

I booked a cruise about a month ago directly because my old travel agent retired during Covid.  Is there any advantage to transferring it to a TA now?    Would they still receive a commission?   I don't imagine I would get any extra perks if they didn't get a commission.  It seems like there is an upside and downside to having a TA.  

[caribill]

36 minutes ago, Maui Girl said:

I booked a cruise about a month ago directly because my old travel agent retired during Covid.  Is there any advantage to transferring it to a TA now?    Would they still receive a commission?   I don't imagine I would get any extra perks if they didn't get a commission.  It seems like there is an upside and downside to having a TA.  

 

You have 60 days from when you made a booking directly with Princess to transfer it to a TA as long as you have not yet made the final payment.

 

Yes, the TA would get his/her commission if you transfer the booking.