Do you use a Travel Agent or book direct?

[Hammer61]

I have been burnt a bit (not a lot) by using Travel Agents over the years, both online and the shop variety as although the initial price of a cruise maybe a little less and/or you get some extra $50 OBC etc, if prices change, then dealing direct with the cruise company is so much easier and avoids the “admin” charges the Agents often apply as well as chasing them to get it done, 2 recent experiences have seen me not use them anymore and although I paid a bit more for the initial booking of cruises since, in each case the price dropped and it was a quick phone call to switch to the new deal and I will have ended up paying about the same or less than had I had to pay cancellation/re booking fees! On an Azamara cruise the price dropped by quite a bit twice! But all matched in a quick phone call each time.

 

Can fully understand Admin charges or loss or deposit or part of it if you cancel but when a cruise line cancels the agents will often charge you as well! Book direct and that has never happened, if anything they offer a sweetener for the inconvenience.

[NSWP]

Always booked direct with several cruise lines I have travelled with, except for P&O UK, they did not accept direct bookings for Aussie pax.  Had to book through P&O Australia with them, but all ok.

[Cbtours]

1 hour ago, Hammer61 said:

I have been burnt a bit (not a lot) by using Travel Agents over the years, both online and the shop variety as although the initial price of a cruise maybe a little less and/or you get some extra $50 OBC etc, if prices change, then dealing direct with the cruise company is so much easier and avoids the “admin” charges the Agents often apply as well as chasing them to get it done, 2 recent experiences have seen me not use them anymore and although I paid a bit more for the initial booking of cruises since, in each case the price dropped and it was a quick phone call to switch to the new deal and I will have ended up paying about the same or less than had I had to pay cancellation/re booking fees! On an Azamara cruise the price dropped by quite a bit twice! But all matched in a quick phone call each time.

 

Can fully understand Admin charges or loss or deposit or part of it if you cancel but when a cruise line cancels the agents will often charge you as well! Book direct and that has never happened, if anything they offer a sweetener for the inconvenience.

Have always booked direct with princess. However this time used a princess planner who has been brilliant!

[MicCanberra]

I can see your point, although a good TA will still look after you. We do a mix of booking with an agent or direct, so far we have fared alright, although there are 2 TA companies we will not use again due to their policies.

[gogo65]

I do a bit of both, Ive currently got a RCI transpacific booked myself, and generally standard cruises I book myself unless the TA can give a significant discount or a special like $1 deposits. I have a good TA that doesn’t charge any fees (particularly credit card fees), but also not happy to handover control with price drops etc.

However for our expedition cruises we’ve booked them all through a TA, as they are able to give a significant discount ($3-$4k), in which case I’m more than happy to hand the booking over. I always ensure there is no credit card fees or change/cancellation fees (particularly after hearing crazy stories about Covid cancellations), but there are no price drops as such, so them owning the booking doesn’t really impact us.

[Ozwoody]

I guess it's a bit hit and miss, and depends on the TA you have.

We have been using the same TA for a number of years, and have found him excellent, He contacts us and tells us about price variations, or upgrades, and arranges adjustment as required.

We have never had to chase him.

He will also contact us if he sees a special that he feels we would like, to see if we're interested.

But you should go with what your happy with or feel comfortable with.

So far, a TA has been good us, but as I said above it seems it can be a bit hit and miss with a TA.

 

 

[subaru94]

1 hour ago, Ozwoody said:

I guess it's a bit hit and miss, and depends on the TA you have.

We have been using the same TA for a number of years, and have found him excellent, He contacts us and tells us about price variations, or upgrades, and arranges adjustment as required.

We have never had to chase him.

He will also contact us if he sees a special that he feels we would like, to see if we're interested.

But you should go with what your happy with or feel comfortable with.

So far, a TA has been good us, but as I said above it seems it can be a bit hit and miss with a TA.

 

 

You are very fortunate to have such a wonderful TA, there are not many who will do this. 

[MicCanberra]

I think Covid and all the cancellations has found quite a few TAs out either through lack of information and or policy and service.  Some have shown that although service has slowed due to lack of staff, they are still looking after their customers as best they can.

[arxcards]

We have found a great agent who works for a great agency. Everything was refunded or rebooked with no fees taken over the past two years.

 

Covid weeded the garden, and did highlight the roses from the thistles. There are some agencies that have been knocked off their lofty perches, but even then some were just between a rock and a hard place living off no income for two years. They are rebuilding, but through word of mouth, we know who stiffed their customers. The better agencies were working for nothing while rebooking accommodation and flights just to get customers home while border after border was closing. I would much rather have that support than trying to do it all myself in a foreign country.

 

I also consider myself a bit lazy. A month or two back we looked through the dates we could travel and emailed a request for 4 cruises. Prices came back 1/2hr later, we emailed an OK and confirmed cabin numbers, and had 4 booking numbers 1/2hr after that.

 

Our agency does charge card fees, as do most. It is a cost incurred, so they have to include it as a charge or build it into the fare. There is no fee for EFT though, and that works for us. The prices are marginally less than the cruise line, and with extra OBC.

 

To each their own, and I feel for anyone that has been burnt over the past couple of years. 

[Ozwoody]

8 hours ago, subaru94 said:

You are very fortunate to have such a wonderful TA, there are not many who will do this. 

Yes he's always been very proactive, that's why we like him.

[Ozwoody]

20 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

I think Covid and all the cancellations has found quite a few TAs out either through lack of information and or policy and service.  Some have shown that although service has slowed due to lack of staff, they are still looking after their customers as best they can.

Yes your right there, the bad one's have been caught out these last couple of years, the good ones have shown their worth I believe.

[Ozwoody]

34 minutes ago, arxcards said:

We have found a great agent who works for a great agency. Everything was refunded or rebooked with no fees taken over the past two years.

 

Covid weeded the garden, and did highlight the roses from the thistles. There are some agencies that have been knocked off their lofty perches, but even then some were just between a rock and a hard place living off no income for two years. They are rebuilding, but through word of mouth, we know who stiffed their customers. The better agencies were working for nothing while rebooking accommodation and flights just to get customers home while border after border was closing. I would much rather have that support than trying to do it all myself in a foreign country.

 

I also consider myself a bit lazy. A month or two back we looked through the dates we could travel and emailed a request for 4 cruises. Prices came back 1/2hr later, we emailed an OK and confirmed cabin numbers, and had 4 booking numbers 1/2hr after that.

 

Our agency does charge card fees, as do most. It is a cost incurred, so they have to include it as a charge or build it into the fare. There is no fee for EFT though, and that works for us. The prices are marginally less than the cruise line, and with extra OBC.

 

To each their own, and I feel for anyone that has been burnt over the past couple of years. 

Well said Geoff, exactly as I feel about it😃