Travel Agent Vs. Royal Caribbean Operator

[Preemie]

Any recommendations on making a reservation through a travel agent or dealing directly with Royal Caribbean? I'm wondering which option might get me the best price. Any suggestions??:confused:

[Nitra]

They are telling you the truth. This is off the TA side of RCCL. I know it was a general press release too but not sure it is still on the regular part of the site or not

 

 

August 20, 2004 - Royal Caribbean International® and Celebrity Cruises® Announce Policy Change

 

 

 

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises appreciates the praise and support from our travel agent partners on the recently announced new Rebate Policy. To ensure a full understanding and compliance with the new policy, the following procedures are to be adhered to when marketing, advertising and selling Royal Caribbean or Celebrity cruises or cruisetours.

 

No agencies can advertise, market or sell below our published or contracted pricing programs. Any rebating or incentive programs that can be converted to cash or currency, (e.g., a $50 credit card certificate), are not permitted. Any incentives that are used to promote either of our brands, such as a department store or Home Depot gift card, must be pre-approved by either a Royal Caribbean or Celebrity Sales Director. Agencies in violation of these policies will be subject to a reduction in the co-op support provided by the cruise lines and other effects such as a reduction in the base commission paid on all future cruises booked by that agency. The marketing, advertising and selling mediums shall include, but not be limited to, TV, radio, phone, newspaper, catalogs, direct mail, call centers, and all on-line vehicles such as search engines, websites, e-mail, pop-ups, and banners. Our existing marketing policies with respect to group bookings will remain, for the time being, unchanged.

 

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises new Rebate Policy was effective as of Monday, August 16th, 2004. The 5-day implementation period to ensure all agencies are within compliance ends at end of day Friday, August 20th, 2004

[SRQfireman]

if you do a search for *travel agents* you get a zillion hits...people ask this same question about 2-3 times a week:mad:

[Nliedel]

We are not allowed to suggest specific agents on this site however there are several who pay to advertize here that people love.

[friedshrimp]

We are not allowed to suggest specific agents on this site however there are several who pay to advertize here that people love.

 

Sorry, didn't mean to break forum rules (noticed that I must have when the almost the entire web address was ******* out). I just thought it would be good if people could share which online TA they had good and/or bad experiences with to give everyone the benefit of experience. I surely would like to know of a couple of other good TAs so that I could do a better price comparison.

[Firefighterhoop]

I would just book through RCCL anyway, From what I have experianced, RARELY a TA will get you any better of a deal then on the website/phone, and all you do is take out the middle man, so you make sure you get what you want.

 

By booking yourself, you get your documents anywhere from 3 days to two weeks faster, and it's just easier dealing with the cruise line yourself incase there are any questions you don't have to call your TA, then RCCL, then they get back to your TA, and eventually you get a call back.

 

Scott

[ocngypz]

Well, the next time you talk to an RCL call center rep, ask them how many cruises they've been on.

 

What's the food like.

 

How far is it from the pier to the port? What's the cheapest way to get there?

 

How much storage space in the bathroom?

 

They only know the answers to the questions, when the answers are in front of them.. on the screen. Very few have actually sailed.

 

And God forbid, if you are doing anything BUT a Caribbean cruise!

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

A few things to keep in mind......

Once you make a resv with a TA only the TA can make any changes or service the resv. RC, or any other cruise line will not and can not hlep you and will tell you to call your TA. Thats fine except if its a weekend and they are closed. Your TA will make your payments, make sure your docs are correct and so on.

 

Some of the online agencies have non refundable booking or service fee's, some are more difficult to get a hold of after you book your cruise and some deal only with emails. Only you can decide if you would be comfortable with that type of service.

 

For us RC direct is how we have booked our last 2 cruises. No complaints! :D

 

***

[AnthonyD]

Pretty much no good reason to go with a TA unless they can get you a freebie (digital camera, MP3 player). Some TAs are good, some are not. All things being equal if a TA will give you something for booking, do it. But watch their changes policies, cancellation policies, some will charge you fees. The sum total of info on this board is superior to any TA and that's not a dis at TAs, its a fact. Does my TA know what night is lobster night on Explorer and which desert is the best at Portofino? Nahh, this board is where you find that stuff out.

[DebP]

Well, I had finally decided to make the switch from Carnival and book my RC cruise, so I called them directly. I was so unimpressed with the assistant on the phone, that I actually decided not to book at that time. When I asked questions about the ship/destinations she literally said, "let me see if I can find that book." I only wish that the Carnival agent I was working with could book me on the RC cruise (or that Carnival would offer a comparable itinerary/ship combination for my travel dates).

[suzyaz]

Well, the next time you talk to an RCL call center rep, ask them how many cruises they've been on.

 

What's the food like.

 

How far is it from the pier to the port? What's the cheapest way to get there?

 

How much storage space in the bathroom?

 

They only know the answers to the questions, when the answers are in front of them.. on the screen. Very few have actually sailed.

 

And God forbid, if you are doing anything BUT a Caribbean cruise!

 

TA's do cruise and you can ask them these questions and get quick answers.

 

I have advantage, my TA is my neighbor. She works out of her home. She works for a travel company that has been in business for a long time.

She & her hubby cruises all the time. When I have a question, she knows the answer. My cruise is paid for and yesterday she came over with paperwork stating that we are paid in full. That was nice.

And best of all her and her hubby are going on this cruise with us, among some other family and friends. We are excited about our cruise.

 

I say use a TA and not RCCI.

[suzyaz]

Gosh Scott, I have a ways to catch up...you have really cruised a lot.

And have buches of crusies your going on this year. That is great.

[surfklutz]

Use a good agent - it will pay off big time if you get caught in a situation that is off the norm. For instance if you have problems with a flight - a strike, a weather delay, etc and you use an agent - you just call the TA. If you used the cruise line - then stand in line with all the other people that want help. And then, maybe, but only if you are lucky, the person placed at the line to answer questions might care. But probably not. Read the threads of people who have horror stories to tell.

[Merry_Sea_Witch]

My TA can usually get me shipboard credit, cabin gifts, some nice extras, for no difference in price from the cruise lines, AND always has suggestions for hotels, transfers, and activities. You cannot get that from the cruise line order takers, since it is true many of them have never cruised before. It's just a job to them and the chances of you talking to the same rep again are so low they don't need or want to go the extra step to give you all the info you want. I know from experience!:)

[OceanCruise]

Some people are more comfortable having someone else work out the details and do the legwork. Sometimes TAs will get you a better price (but this has never happened to me) However, I prefer having control over my own reservation so no longer use a TA. My price dropped twice this past week and it was quick and easy for me to make the price changes without having to call a middleman and play phone tag over several days.

[sha88]

Some people are more comfortable having someone else work out the details and do the legwork. Sometimes TAs will get you a better price (but this has never happened to me) However, I prefer having control over my own reservation so no longer use a TA. My price dropped twice this past week and it was quick and easy for me to make the price changes without having to call a middleman and play phone tag over several days.

 

I agree, for me, I prefer to do as much online myself as possible. Have booked two cruises thru the RCCL web site so far this way and am very happy with the results.

[J&SLowery]

We've booked out last 5 of our last 6 cruises on our own. In fact, last night we we finalized out arrangements for a 7-night European cruise, airfare, and hotel for before and after for on our own. The last time we used and agent, it was for a group. It is nice having a TA for group, but it certainly didn't get us any better pricing,

 

Several people have pointed out some very good points. Does every TA know what is for dinner on what night, what are the beds like on a certain ship, etc?? Answer: Nope. In fact, I mentioned this site to our TA (whom we like and still talk to and get catalogs from) and they were not aware of it... I found that to be odd.

 

Here's the point for us: we can do our own research, watch our own airfares, make our own decisions, and book everything for a 10 night trip to Europe with fewer keystrokes than I put in this post.

 

And here's the kicker....hold your breath.....If something goes wrong, we only have ourselves to blame!!!! That's right it is no one else's fault. We have no where to look (except in a mirror) to be compensated or indemnified if WE messed up OUR travel plans. ;) Go figure.

 

RCCL's website has workes just fine for us numerous times

 

Jay