New to NCL. Travel agent or not

[JK B]

Wondering how the best way to book a NCL cruise.  Confused on posts about bidding on suites and getting the best price.  I’d like to book a Caribbean cruise for the end of December first part of January and would like to book a suite in the Haven. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Edited October 29, 2022 by JK B

[casofilia]

@JK B

 

One thing to remember; if you use a TA THEY not you own the booking.   NCL will NOT talk to you.   Everything has to go through the TA,   Use an NCL PCC.

[hallux]

1 hour ago, JK B said:

Confused on posts about bidding on suites and getting the best price

 

1 hour ago, JK B said:

and would like to book a suite in the Haven

The bidding comes into play when you want to upgrade your cabin.  I guess there's a LITTLE room to upgrade in the Haven, unless you book a base Haven room and want to go higher.  You can sometimes get a higher category room for less than booking it initially.  However - SOME TA's don't participate in the bidding process.

 

My first 2 NCL cruises were booked through 2 different TA's, one gave no gifts, one gave a little OBC.  I booked my 3rd direct, no PCC even, and my 4th is booked and I had planned to move it to a TA but they never responded so it's staying as a direct booking unless I cancel it to rebook closer to sail date in hopes of saving money.

[MoCruiseFan]

1 hour ago, JK B said:

Wondering how the best way to book a NCL cruise.  Confused on posts about bidding on suites and getting the best price.  I’d like to book a Caribbean cruise for the end of December first part of January and would like to book a suite in the Haven. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

 

I -> NEVER <- would use a TA for any booking.  They sometimes will be able to get you a minor add on of some sort (on board credit, etc),  but with a little leg work you can almost always get as good a deal on your own.  The biggest PITA is that if you ever have an issue with your booking or need to discuss it with NCL, you CANNOT do that.   You HAVE TO go through the TA, wait for them to contact NCL, then they have to call you back and if the initial go round does not fully resolve things, the loop continues until it all gets settled.  Basically the TA 'owns' your reservation and you cannot do ANYTHING with it without going through them.

[Cruise5life]

I book most all on my own.    Always seem to find good deals.    
only time I use a ta is when I do a group cruise with a bunch of friends every year . And one of the friends is the TA.     
 

I always get OBC.  I own stock in the big 3.    
in January I have 3 cruises all together.   29 days 
Getting 250.00 on my NCl 15 day Panama. 
200.00 from msc only paid 855.00. 7 day balcony Bahamas 

and 200.00 on RC 7 day.    100 my ta friend 100 stock OBC. Caribbean 

 

650.00 total for January.   And an additional 50.00 for excursions on NCl for Panama at each port.   
 

not too bad.    

[BirdTravels]

3 hours ago, JK B said:

Wondering how the best way to book a NCL cruise.  Confused on posts about bidding on suites and getting the best price.  I’d like to book a Caribbean cruise for the end of December first part of January and would like to book a suite in the Haven. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

If you are not an experienced cruiser, then using a big travel agent (e.g., a warehouse store) is best. They can assist you with the booking and they will give you a few extra freebies for your cruise. 
 

Ignore bidding. A couple of thousand passengers have an opportunity to bid on the handful (e.g., 15) unsold suites. There is a near zero chance of winning a bid. 

[Zippeedee]

I would only use a TA if they specialized in cruise travel. Ask as many questions as you need to here before booking and NEVER rely on NCL phone agents to know the specifics of any particular ship or policy. 
The people posting here are mostly long time cruisers who know how everything works.

[www3traveler]

For all of my 38 cruises, I have used a local travel agency.  For a Solo traveler, a an older lady, I am much more comfortable having my travel agent handle the whole package for for me: pre and post cruise flights, hotel accomendations, travel insurance, ground transportation, etc.  I would never go on a cruise without his help and advice.

[EvanBedar]

6 hours ago, Zippeedee said:

The people posting here are mostly long time cruisers who know how everything works.

 

But of course you have to filter those out of the hundreds of bloviators who don’t really know much but can’t resist stating bad information as fact anyway.   Bullies who try to insult you into agreeing with them.  High Horsies who state everything in exaggerated terms, like “Don’t bother doing” this and “always do” that.  
 

Saner advice is to fact check every single bit of advice you get here and on any social media travel forum.   A room full of busy bodies is not necessarily a more reliable resource than the 1 or 2 people who just give you their facts and let you decide.  

[rxlowry]

I'd say use a TA....free gratuities on my next cruise and extra specialty dining!  You can still bid if you like...I get the emails about it.  And the TA waits on hold so you do not have to.  It is like a free personal assistant!

[ontheweb]

10 hours ago, casofilia said:

@JK B

 

One thing to remember; if you use a TA THEY not you own the booking.   NCL will NOT talk to you.   Everything has to go through the TA,   Use an NCL PCC.

That is not totally true. They will not talk to you about things like payments or switching cabins, but there are things they will talk to you about. For instance, you can buy excursions directly through them. Also, in general they will answer general information questions.

[RocketMan275]

11 hours ago, casofilia said:

@JK B

 

One thing to remember; if you use a TA THEY not you own the booking.   NCL will NOT talk to you.   Everything has to go through the TA,   Use an NCL PCC.

Simply incorrect.  I've always used a TA and have had no problems talking with NCL.  I can make certain changes directly with NCL such as making reservations for dinner.  I cannot make other changes if those changes would affect the TA commission.  In any case, I can discuss the options with NCL.  What I get from dealing with a TA is a significantly lower price that includes all the perks offered by NCL.

Edited October 29, 2022 by RocketMan275

[Sailing12Away]

Go to the NCL website and look for the cruise that interests you. Their website is one of the easiest I've used to open multiple options at one time in separate tabs on my browser. Go through all the options online to pick the cabin you want, add on the "free" perks (drink package, specialty dining, etc). Add on the option for airfare if it's included as a choice for your particular sailing.

 

At the end, the price you see is the price you pay - plus tips that are not shown on that last screen. I think for Haven it's up to $20/person/day. If you're happy with that price, then book it. Either online, or over the phone and just read them the ship name, sail date, and cabin info you just picked out and they'll book it over the phone.

 

If you want to do a bit more research, write that info down or print the page out before booking. Take that with you to a TA (or call them on the phone) and have them price it out. If their price beats the one you see online, or theirs includes some free onboard money that seems worth it to you - then book through them.

 

Even if you book online through NCL or on the phone with them, you have 30 days to transfer that reservation over to a TA where they can add on their own bonus perks for you if they choose. So again, if you're comfortable with the price you see on the NCL website, lock it in yourself. Then go shopping for a potentially better rate with the TA.

[BirdTravels]

 Use an NCL PCC.

 

A few PCCs are good. Most are just call center personnel who get paid on selling you a cruise and upselling you on features you don't need (i.e., used car salesperson). If you are an experience cruise and can wade through the upsell, fine. If you are not a really experienced cruiser, you may get that PCC their end-of-year bonus by buying a cruise way more than you need. 

 

We had the [mis-]fortune of sitting next to a NCL Senior PCC at dinner on a cruise in August. He sat with his table of friends and spent the entire dinner bragging how he was a senior PCC after working for 6 year (selling a lot of cruises) and talking to his clients about the NCL ships. But, the cruise in August was the first time he had ever been on a cruise ship, and he was anxious to see and learn about what his clients were talking about first hand. And that he had a busy schedule because he booked every possible optional activity on the ship to learn about it. 

[Cruise5life]

8 hours ago, Zippeedee said:

 
The people posting here are mostly long time cruisers who know how everything works.

And how do you think we started booking our own cruises.   Everyone has to start somewhere.     I’ve been booking my own travel since day one.    
 

[MoCruiseFan]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Simply incorrect.  I've always used a TA and have had no problems talking with NCL.  I can make certain changes directly with NCL such as making reservations for dinner.  I cannot make other changes if those changes would affect the TA commission.  In any case, I can discuss the options with NCL.  What I get from dealing with a TA is a significantly lower price that includes all the perks offered by NCL.

It is absolutely 100% correct.  In your case the TA booked the cruise directly as you and not the standard TA booking.  I am always able to get a much better price booking on my own, often by thousands of dollars.  You just have to know the ropes.  Of course you get the perks that are standard. and the very few additional.  Going through a TA you might be able to get a few bucks extra OBC but it is not worth the hassle of playing phone tag to get things done.

[MoCruiseFan]

9 hours ago, Zippeedee said:

The people posting here are mostly long time cruisers who know how everything works.

 

There are also many who think they know a lot more than they actually do or that they are special/better because they have been here longer than others!  🙂 🙂 🙂

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Simply incorrect.  I've always used a TA and have had no problems talking with NCL.  I can make certain changes directly with NCL such as making reservations for dinner.  I cannot make other changes if those changes would affect the TA commission.  In any case, I can discuss the options with NCL.  What I get from dealing with a TA is a significantly lower price that includes all the perks offered by NCL.

I said pretty much the same thing on the post before yours, but you did a better job of explaining.

[RocketMan275]

24 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

It is absolutely 100% correct.  In your case the TA booked the cruise directly as you and not the standard TA booking.  I am always able to get a much better price booking on my own, often by thousands of dollars.  You just have to know the ropes.  Of course you get the perks that are standard. and the very few additional.  Going through a TA you might be able to get a few bucks extra OBC but it is not worth the hassle of playing phone tag to get things done.

No, it is incorrect.   My TA offers a minimum of an 8% discount from the NCL fare.  Depending on the class of cabin and cruise length, that is hundreds/thousands of dollars.  And, I spend far less time on the phone with my TA than I do with NCL.  BTW, I'm not talking about one of the TA that you'll encounter if you use the 'find a cruise' button at the top of this page.

[RocketMan275]

2 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I said pretty much the same thing on the post before yours, but you did a better job of explaining.

We have a few posters here who are firmly convinced that TA cannot offer prices below the cruise line.   They also have repeat various cliches often heard on CC such as the cruise line won't talk with you if you use a TA.

[EvanBedar]

Boy, you wanna get someone’s dander up?   Get them to reminisce about the time they wasted a ton of money when almost no one else fell for it.   

Edited October 29, 2022 by EvanBedar

[ontheweb]

3 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

We have a few posters here who are firmly convinced that TA cannot offer prices below the cruise line.   They also have repeat various cliches often heard on CC such as the cruise line won't talk with you if you use a TA.

And they also believe they have "control of their booking" even though they have to call the cruise line and speak to one of their employees. And somehow if something goes wrong, they think the cruise line will listen more to them than to a TA agency who does a multitude of bookings with them.

[graphicguy]

My TA’s “perks” are not inconsequential.  I get hundreds of dollars in fare discounts and OBC (like AMEX OBC and specialty dinners, which NCL can’t/won’t offer).

 

Plus, I don’t have to hang on the phone for hours like you would with NCL.  I just call my TA.  She calls NCL and waits on hold to get my requests taken care of.

[RocketMan275]

10 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

And they also believe they have "control of their booking" even though they have to call the cruise line and speak to one of their employees. And somehow if something goes wrong, they think the cruise line will listen more to them than to a TA agency who does a multitude of bookings with them.

I've asked numerous times what 'control of their booking' means. Essentially, it comes down to a lack of trust in TA.

[BirdTravels]

49 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I've asked numerous times what 'control of their booking' means. Essentially, it comes down to a lack of trust in TA.

Have you ever noticed the large number of “complaints” when people “have control of their reservation”?  Everything from “I booked an Oceanview cabin and it was small without a sofa and sitting area” to “NCL nicked and dimes me because I didn’t know about the daily service charges” to “It is outrageous that NCL charges for pay-per-view movies” this week. Those people need help understanding what they are buying and what to expect. 

Edited October 29, 2022 by BirdTravels