TA or book direct

[dongerard1]

Hi all,

 

We've always booked direct, and I was wondering is there an advantage to using a TA?  Is it cheaper?  We're looking at doing the Yacht club if that makes a difference.

 

Thanks!

[Bgwest]

If you anticipate booking direct and then moving the booking to a TA, one word of advice. DON'T!!

 

MSC makes it very difficult to move a booking that they are holding. The last time I did this (special circumstances necessitated I violate my own rule), it took MSC about 3 months to get the booking moved. Caused my TA and me to continue to hound them until they finally relented. My TA said he has experienced similar delays with other bookings in the past. 

 

The idea of TA vs no TA is much discussed on this board. I'll leave that discussion to others who will surely offer your their views. 

 

[alyssamma]

58 minutes ago, dongerard1 said:

Hi all,

 

We've always booked direct, and I was wondering is there an advantage to using a TA?  Is it cheaper?  We're looking at doing the Yacht club if that makes a difference.

 

Thanks!

It isn't cheaper but you'll get perks (e.g., extra OBC) Also, MSC is really hard to deal with so a good TA can hide that trouble from you.

 

As @Bgwest said, it's hard to xfer afterwards, but not impossible. Basically it is a manual process (you fill out a form, scan it, and email it) and it can take a while (1+ months), but it will eventually happen.

 

If you see a great price/cabin and you want to grab it and then xfer, do it. 

[Sstn]

Not every TA is wonderful.  I tried a TA and that just compounded the misery.  I'm a better advocate for my concerns/fixing MSC errors than the TA was so I'm back to booking direct.  Inexperienced cruisers might benefit from a TA.

[Mrdell]

I have booked both ways and I prefer to handle the booking myself! I find it is so much easier to pick up the phone and have questions answered directly without going through a third party. Not sure if it’s just me but the biggest perk I received from a travel agent is a $50.00 Onboard credit! Not worth it in my opinion.

[clemsonlori98]

Definitely TA is the way to go (imho).    We get a nice OBC and he gets to deal with the train wreck that is MSC Customer Service landside.  

[dongerard1]

For the cruisers who used a TA, who would you recommend?  What kind or perks did you get?  How much OBC?

 

For those asking, I have not booked the cruise yet.  I'm just wondering what others have experienced and trying to determine the best course of action.

 

Thank you for all the replies!

Edited February 3, 2023 by dongerard1

[DCGuy64]

25 minutes ago, dongerard1 said:

For the cruisers who used a TA, who would you recommend?  What kind or perks did you get?  How much OBC?

 

For those asking, I have not booked the cruise yet.  I'm just wondering what others have experienced and trying to determine the best course of action.

 

Thank you for all the replies!

Our TA is awesome, we'd never EVER use anyone else. A nice guy, and a cruiser, to boot. (And he's sailed MSC.) Personally, I've never had a problem talking with MSC customer service on the odd occasion when I didn't want to bother our TA. But these boards are rife with horror stories of hourslong wait times on the phone and wrong information. My suggestion is that, especially with MSC, use a TA! He gets us discounts, better cabins and OBC we wouldn't have found on our own. Can't give you his name because Cruise Critic rules forbid it.

Edited February 3, 2023 by DCGuy64

[Slowriderhd]

I'm in the same situation. Trying to get a last minute cruise for March 6 Divina cruise and the MSC site is a nightmare and the 2 TAs I spoke to don't work with them. Interior cabins seem to come and go nearly hourly. I searched online for some referrals but nogo. The one TA that I found so far that does work with them actually was showing me a worse deal than MSC direct. 

It should not be this hard. I've read the MSC has a new staff member that has pledged to resolve these issues and they are investing in improvements to booking, but not soon enough for me. 

I guess Princess and NCL left me with a false sense of ease as they were much easier to deal with direct.

[Bgwest]

5 hours ago, Mrdell said:

I have booked both ways and I prefer to handle the booking myself! I find it is so much easier to pick up the phone and have questions answered directly without going through a third party. Not sure if it’s just me but the biggest perk I received from a travel agent is a $50.00 Onboard credit! Not worth it in my opinion.

Suggest you expand your search for a good TA. Rebates abound!

[Morgsmom]

Your goal for a TA OBC should be 5-8% of the fare (not incl tax & port).  For a $25 or $50 OBC (for a 3 or 4 day cruise) I just usually book direct as I figure it's barely worth their time.  If it's a longer cruise or yacht club I use a TA because the $150 + in OBC covers the auto grat/hotel service charges.  However I will say that I do 100% of the work for the TA, literally spelling everything down to ship, sailing, cabin, etc.   

[cellfree]

I have always booked on-line with MSC and have never had problems with choosing what I want from experience to cabin choice (never did Yacht Club), make payments on-line and immediately get an email receipt, and check-in on-line receive e-ticket in a timely manner. All done and set to go for February 26 Seascape. 

[MsTabbyKats]

46 minutes ago, Morgsmom said:

Your goal for a TA OBC should be 5-8% of the fare (not incl tax & port).  For a $25 or $50 OBC (for a 3 or 4 day cruise) I just usually book direct as I figure it's barely worth their time.  If it's a longer cruise or yacht club I use a TA because the $150 + in OBC covers the auto grat/hotel service charges.  However I will say that I do 100% of the work for the TA, literally spelling everything down to ship, sailing, cabin, etc.   

It's like this with me too.

 

I booked with a TA...he saved me 14% off than if I had booked directly.

However, he's definiately not a travel adviser....more like a travel booker.  You have to give him all the details.  And I still had to correct a mistake he made.

 

Lots of travel agents don't deal with MSC.....too time consuming if there's an issue.

 

There is a website where agents give you their price for specific cruises....you could try that.

[Morgsmom]

I have found that the website you refer to no longer wants to quote MSC