TA vs PCC

[Ryzon]

Hi everyone - is there any benefit to booking with an NCL PCC (personal cruise consultant) vs a travel advisor (including Costco)? Costco is offering over $300 back which usually mirrors what other TAs offer, but the PCC wasn't able to offer anything else to me. I was told that once you book through a PCC once, then you can start getting additional benefits such as extra latitude points which seems wrong to me. 

 

Thanks!

[European_CruiseGirl]

From my personal experience: you won’t get anything extra from a NCL PCC, ever. There is simply nothing for them to give. 

Edited January 1, 2023 by European_CruiseGirl

[swmichigan cruiser]

I have never used a PCC but did get a nice check from my TA's company after our last cruise  and also got a $100 onboard credit from them.

[jtdlmc]

Pre-COVID I just booked our cruises myself on the cruise lines website.  Due to all the flight issues and other travel concerns that can pop up at any time, I now use a TA so she can deal with any issues that arise.  

[RocketMan275]

My TA offeres about an 8% discount on almost all cruises.  Why should I book directly and forgo that discount?  

BTW, it's against the rules to mention travel agents by name.

[Ryzon]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

My TA offeres about an 8% discount on almost all cruises.  Why should I book directly and forgo that discount?  

BTW, it's against the rules to mention travel agents by name.

 

Costco was about 6-7%. I am Canadian so probably more limited in options since using CruiseNext (It's a pain to convert them back to USD to use). 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Ryzon said:

 

Costco was about 6-7%. I am Canadian so probably more limited in options since using CruiseNext (It's a pain to convert them back to USD to use). 

Repeating a previous post it is against the rules to name travel agents on these boards!

[www3traveler]

I use a travel agency in my hometown.  Much more helpful than a PCC especially if something goes wrong.

[BirdTravels]

17 hours ago, Ryzon said:

Hi everyone - is there any benefit to booking with an NCL PCC (personal cruise consultant) vs a travel advisor (including Costco)? Costco is offering over $300 back which usually mirrors what other TAs offer, but the PCC wasn't able to offer anything else to me. I was told that once you book through a PCC once, then you can start getting additional benefits such as extra latitude points which seems wrong to me. 

 

Thanks!

Welcome to Cruise Critic. 
 

First and foremost, stop mentioning the name of a Travel Agent. That is forbidden here. 
 

If you are an inexperienced cruiser, use a travel agent to help you make your booking. They will give you a few perks. 
 

That being said, the Travel Agent is being paid to handle you. You can log on and make your own dining, entertainment, shore excursion bookings. But if you have questions or problems, NCL will not talk to you. That has been important over the past three years with pandemic cancellations and changes. 

[zzdoug]

Our travel agent offered the same promos ncl offered, plus standard room gratuities/service charges or whatever they are called, which was not offered through ncl.com. 

 

I don't use a travel agent for any other type of travel but I'm sold on using them for cruises. 

We had used them last year for a Carnival cruise and they were very helpful in spending a lot of time on the phone with Carnival and getting us a second room for our kids (who originally would have stayed in the same room as us) plus onboard credits after fares went down, all at no additional cost to us. I doubt I would have been able to accomplish that myself. If I somehow could have, it would have taken many hours on hold. I was very impressed with that customer service so we used them again this year and also referred our friends on the same cruise  .

[Ryzon]

9 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

Welcome to Cruise Critic. 
 

First and foremost, stop mentioning the name of a Travel Agent. That is forbidden here. 
 

If you are an inexperienced cruiser, use a travel agent to help you make your booking. They will give you a few perks. 
 

That being said, the Travel Agent is being paid to handle you. You can log on and make your own dining, entertainment, shore excursion bookings. But if you have questions or problems, NCL will not talk to you. That has been important over the past three years with pandemic cancellations and changes. 

I've gone on a few cruises, I had read some people got free upgrades and things from their PCC but I actually got a worse deal. So was just wondering if I had to stick with them for a while or not. 

 

Sorry...didn't really consider that what I said was a specific TA. My bad. 

[AtlantaAlly]

One item of note- if you use that box store- you can’t bid on upgrades. They don’t participate. 

[Ryzon]

21 hours ago, AtlantaAlly said:

One item of note- if you use that box store- you can’t bid on upgrades. They don’t participate. 

 

Is that something that is useful? I assume it's like airplanes where the minimum bid is quite expensive. (I usually book balcony so would be bidding to go to a suite.)

 

 

[AtlantaAlly]

1 hour ago, Ryzon said:

 

Is that something that is useful? I assume it's like airplanes where the minimum bid is quite expensive. (I usually book balcony so would be bidding to go to a suite.)

 

 

It can be about $1,000-1,500 (total) minimum bid from balcony to Haven.

[bonvoyagie]

I started cruising back in 2002 when PCC and internet booking options were not available. So I started with a TA and have stayed with him ever since. He is a small agency so he does not book blocks of rooms to get discount from NCL He has however been a most useful source of information that helps us plan our cruises. He also gets to stay on hold with NCL to answer my questions so I don't have to.

[PATRLR]

On 12/31/2022 at 6:57 PM, Ryzon said:

 I was told that once you book through a PCC once, then you can start getting additional benefits such as extra latitude points which seems wrong to me. 

It is wrong.  Sounds like someone booked a crusie with the double points promo and a PCC was trying to take credit for the promo.  I guess the PCCs are taking a page from the Cruise Next folks (who follow the playbook defined by the timeshare companies).

[RocketMan275]

8 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

I guess the PCCs are taking a page from the Cruise Next folks (who follow the playbook defined by the timeshare companies).

Could you expand upon the playbook used by timeshare companies.  Not challenging you, just interested in becoming more educated.

[PATRLR]

1 hour ago, RocketMan275 said:

Could you expand upon the playbook used by timeshare companies.  Not challenging you, just interested in becoming more educated.

Telling lies and otherwise fast talking, high pressure talking to mislead potential customers to entice them to spend money or spend more money.

Very typical example, I wanted 2 CN certs, went to the desk with my form filled out, told them I wanted two certs and they start in with the BS of how I can get 2 more for free - for the same price.  What they are twisting is the idea to use the $250 of OBC to buy the two other certs, completely ignoring the $500 you still need to pay.   They are smooth, fast talkers and I am sure they catch a lot of people.   When I  told them I knew what I wanted, thank you very much, they got annoyed and pused further.  

[RocketMan275]

37 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

Telling lies and otherwise fast talking, high pressure talking to mislead potential customers to entice them to spend money or spend more money.

Very typical example, I wanted 2 CN certs, went to the desk with my form filled out, told them I wanted two certs and they start in with the BS of how I can get 2 more for free - for the same price.  What they are twisting is the idea to use the $250 of OBC to buy the two other certs, completely ignoring the $500 you still need to pay.   They are smooth, fast talkers and I am sure they catch a lot of people.   When I  told them I knew what I wanted, thank you very much, they got annoyed and pused further.  

That's what I thought but wanted to be sure.  I don't doubt that the CNs can be valuable but the fast talking and pressure turn me off and I won't buy them again.  I did buy some last cruise but I received a refund for most of them.

[PATRLR]

26 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

That's what I thought but wanted to be sure.  I don't doubt that the CNs can be valuable but the fast talking and pressure turn me off and I won't buy them again.  I did buy some last cruise but I received a refund for most of them.

I get $250 and all I need to do is be firm with them for a couple minutes.  It's easy money.    But, I also understand why people don't want to deal with it and I don't blame them. 

[RocketMan275]

41 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

I get $250 and all I need to do is be firm with them for a couple minutes.  It's easy money.    But, I also understand why people don't want to deal with it and I don't blame them. 

I've met used car salesmen that I would rather work with.  

At my age, I've only one or two more cruises in my future.  

I've got a 2023, 2024 and a 2025 booked. 

I used CN doubled up for the 2023 and 2024 cruises.

I'll probably buy a couple for the 2025 cruise depending upon if there is a double up.  

[Ryzon]

On 1/3/2023 at 4:01 PM, PATRLR said:

It is wrong.  Sounds like someone booked a crusie with the double points promo and a PCC was trying to take credit for the promo.  I guess the PCCs are taking a page from the Cruise Next folks (who follow the playbook defined by the timeshare companies).

That's what I thought, but now the gratuity increase is more than the savings I get by re-booking through a TA...oh well.