TA or book direct?

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, MEFIowa said:

No, I'm not. I book under sales and rebook under sales. Did "cruise only" before SM and book our own excursions and airfare. Bring our own alcohol on board. I did contact one of those supposedly amazing TAs. They make some wonderful videos of O cabins, for example. They did NOT want my business. 

 

So, for those without a TA, try this: Call a TA up and say, "I only want to book an O cabin on a deep sale with no airfare and no alcohol upgrade package and we'll do our own excursions." Then tell us all, how did it go?

 

What is weird is how those extolling the virtues of TAs NEVER tell us how many thousands of dollars annually and over a 5- and 10-year period they spend with their TA. TAs know their whales and they know the clients that generate them money. They don't work for free. Unlike those who talk in generalities, I provide specific details on what I spend on the cabin, airfare, and excursions. I spent about $100 for all the alcohol I bought in Europe for our 26 nights there (including 20 on Riviera), and I packed 3 bottles of hard liquor in my checked back, looking at them as I type this.

Having used cruise agencies (several) for over 40 years, we have no clue about what you speak.  So lets go through some of what you say.  We do not call a cruise agency and tell them things like "we want to book when there is a future sale"  What most folks do is notice a sale (usually online or from a mailed promotion) and simply book online with their favorite agency (or you can call).  The agencies we use (currently 2) do not want any part of airfare (they get no commission for air).  And our agencies could care less about excursions.  In fact, in over 40 years (and more then 100 bookings) we have never had any cruise/travel agent even ask us about excursions.  Since we generally do not book excursions (we generally do our own thing) it is something about which we could care less.  And none of our cruise agents has ever encouraged (or even mentioned) booking drink packages.  For some cruise lines, our agencies might display (online) various pricing which includes available packages offered by the cruise lines.  In fact, this is very true with lines like Princess where they have a basic fare, a Plus fare and a Premium Fare.  All of them will be on our agency web sites (very easy to compare) and it simply up to us which to book.

 

In terms of O, since their new pricing structure includes a credit for excursions, we did book enough (for an upcoming cruise) to use that credit.  But we did all this on O's own web site for which we received confirming e-mails for each cruise line excursion.  We did not involve our cruise agent/agency in booking excursions (why should we?).   

 

As to why we use a cruise agency/agent, there are a few reasons.  1.  We save money!  Most of the time our savings are in the 7-10% range.  In the case of our O booking we were able to get pre-paid gratuities and a nice On Board Credit (neither available by booking direct with O).  Another reason is that since we book many different cruise lines, using one or two agencies (to handle all of our bookings) makes life very simple.  And finally, our favored cruise agencies are both members of large travel consortiums which gives them lots of clout!  If something goes wrong with a booking or cruise, that clout can (and has been) very helpful.

 

As far as sale fares, when they are advertised by a cruise line they are also available to cruise agencies.  As a matter of course we always compare the overall booking package price we find through our favorite agencies to what it would cost to book direct!  In far more than 100 cruises (with 17 cruise lines) we have never found a comparable or better deal by booking direct with a cruise line.  The only exception was Renaissance Cruise Lines who would only allow direct bookings (and they went bankrupt).

 

Getting back to O, we do find the issue of their $30 per person/day drink upgrade quite interesting.  DW and I have had a few discussions about whether the package makes sense for us.  Our cruise agency has never mentioned the subject and she could care less.  If we do book the drink upgrade package we will do it on our cruise.  

 

As to your issue, "do cruise agents work for free" the answer is they actually pay us!  In fact, with some cruise lines we might opt for a post cruise rebate as an alternative to taking a large On Board Credit.  (our two favorite agencies offer the choice of onboard perks or rebates).  Cruise agencies/agents get paid by the cruise lines (commissions, overides, bonuses, etc).  Most cruise lines get over 70% of all their business through agencies!

 

Hank

[ORV]

I believe I've mentioned multiple times there is no point. Some people's minds are like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set. Past time to just shake the dust off your feet and carry on. 

[basor]

1 minute ago, ORV said:

I believe I've mentioned multiple times there is no point. Some people's minds are like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set. Past time to just shake the dust off your feet and carry on. 

Agree - thanks for the reminder!  I need to contact my TA about a sale on one of our cruises so she can reprice ....much better use of my time 🤣

Edited March 7 by basor

[1985rz1]

3 minutes ago, ORV said:

I believe I've mentioned multiple times there is no point. Some people's minds are like concrete, all mixed up and permanently set. Past time to just shake the dust off your feet and carry on. 

Agreed!  Facts will not sway the deniers with unswayable pre-conceived notions, which are sometimes based on one bad experience which they have generalized across the industry or sometimes based on nothing.

 

Some folks are satisfied with their horse and buggy, and if they are happy, we should respect their choice and be happy for them.  However, others who prefer a more modern form of transportation should be granted the same respect.

[Harters]

On 2/6/2024 at 1:28 AM, Lvntrvl said:

If all things are equal, would you book directly with the cruise lines or use a travel agent?

If all things were equal, I would book directly with the cruise line, cutting out the intermediate step. However, things are rarely equal. And I note the OP is in North America and I'm not. 

 

The British travel agent industry is a different beast from that, seemingly, in North America. I believe all of the major TA partners O has, through its Connoisseurs Club, are in North America so TAs elsewhere in the world do not get that extra support. And , in the UK, the industry is regulated by law so there is consumer protection in the event of a TA or operator going bust, or some other event which causes the cancellation of a trip (such as Covid) . And, of course, the required bonds that a company needs to pay are passed on to customers. It all contributes to meaning there is less scope for TA discounts on O's advertised prices. Perks such as included gratuities , often mentioned by Americans, is not an issue here - gratuities for British (and, I think, other European) customers are now incorporated into the basic fare available to us, as they have been for some time for the Australia and New Zealand market. 

 

For our last cruise  and our forthcoming one, we have booked through a TA. For both , there was a very, very marginal  discount - more a "rounding down" than what anyone might think of as "discount". But the benefit has been in the simplicity of them arranging flights. Such a contrast with the difficulty of trying to deal directly with O for flights which insisted on travel via London on the outbound trip and another European hub airport for return, even though there were direct flights to from/to our home airport (with different airlines, of course)

[tine-tine]

@Harters I always start off with my Oceania specialist the finalise the cruise that I would like, cabin etc then transfer to a TA. I have used a few major UK based cruise agent specialists over the years and never accept the quote from the first TA, if I feel they are holding back I contact another to get a price comparison. The basic price will be the same whether Oceania or TA but the discount they are prepared to offer by offsetting their sales commission can be negotiated but you do have to ask.

 

I now book my air with the airline directly using my credit card as I have had a bad experience through TA's failing to live up to their promise of after sales care, one example is my original booking with O, transferred to TA when there was a flight cancellation the operator contacted O who then contacted the TA who failed to inform me for 3 days meaning my connecting flight which was meant to be 1.5 hours stopover ended up nearly 12 as flight operator had not received confirmation from TA and I was placed on last flight of day. I had to fight hard and they managed to find me a seat on an earlier flight with a 6 hour stopover instead.

Moral of this story is don't ask don't get and book your own flight. 🤪😁

[Vallesan]

1 hour ago, tine-tine said:

@Harters I always start off with my Oceania specialist the finalise the cruise that I would like, cabin etc then transfer to a TA. I have used a few major UK based cruise agent specialists over the years and never accept the quote from the first TA, if I feel they are holding back I contact another to get a price comparison. The basic price will be the same whether Oceania or TA but the discount they are prepared to offer by offsetting their sales commission can be negotiated but you do have to ask.

 

I now book my air with the airline directly using my credit card as I have had a bad experience through TA's failing to live up to their promise of after sales care, one example is my original booking with O, transferred to TA when there was a flight cancellation the operator contacted O who then contacted the TA who failed to inform me for 3 days meaning my connecting flight which was meant to be 1.5 hours stopover ended up nearly 12 as flight operator had not received confirmation from TA and I was placed on last flight of day. I had to fight hard and they managed to find me a seat on an earlier flight with a 6 hour stopover instead.

Moral of this story is don't ask don't get and book your own flight. 🤪😁

As a matter of interest do you ever get more that 10% off Oceania’s price?
 

Edited March 9 by Vallesan

[Harters]

Thanks tine-tine. Always interesting to get another UK take on things. We have been pricing up a cruise for next year, which has seen quite a wide variation in prices from well known TAs ( taken  from CC's own list of recommended TAs). If we decide to go ahead, will probably book whilst we're on board our forthcoming cruise. I know that we can then transfer it to a TA and will look to further negotiate with them along the lines of "what incentive can you offer for me to trasnfer it to you".

 

My instinct would usually be to book flights ourselves but the TA's price for a transatlantic was too good to refuse. 

[Harters]

Vallesan - the TA you gave me a "nod and a wink" about, was priced at about 12% discount from Oceania's price for the cruise I've just mentioned. However, we want to experience Vista before committing to another cruise on the ship - the several reports on the forum about poor soundproofing of cabins could be an issue for us. 

 

Another small TA (owned by a larger cruise TA) offered 7.5% discount but also added an upgrade to the prestige drinks package and an additional $200 excursion credit. That seems to be going above and beyond what I might have expected and is probably our front runner to talk to if we progress things. 

[Vallesan]

24 minutes ago, Harters said:

Vallesan - the TA you gave me a "nod and a wink" about, was priced at about 12% discount from Oceania's price for the cruise I've just mentioned. However, we want to experience Vista before committing to another cruise on the ship - the several reports on the forum about poor soundproofing of cabins could be an issue for us. 

 

Another small TA (owned by a larger cruise TA) offered 7.5% discount but also added an upgrade to the prestige drinks package and an additional $200 excursion credit. That seems to be going above and beyond what I might have expected and is probably our front runner to talk to if we progress things. 

Interesting!

 

The one thing I like about my TA is that they give you their best price first. In the past I’ve had a TA ask me what I had been quoted and then they beat it by a fraction. I just don’t like that way of doing business.

 

Ive also had one or two experiences when the agent hasn’t listened to my requests, despite me asking repeatedly for certain transport etc. and it makes you wary of them. I guess when you find an agent who you feel is trustworthy then you have found the right fit for you even if they aren’t the very ‘cheapest’!

 

[Harters]

2 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

you have found the right fit for you even if they aren’t the very ‘cheapest’!

For several years in my career, I was the organisation's purchasing manager and that would have been my general philosophy. Cheapest is not always best. My partner was also a procurement manager for an oil company and often felt that the "best deal" wasnt the cheapest - saying that a project would "fail cheaply"

[EJL2023]

2 hours ago, Harters said:

Vallesan - the TA you gave me a "nod and a wink" about, was priced at about 12% discount from Oceania's price for the cruise I've just mentioned. However, we want to experience Vista before committing to another cruise on the ship - the several reports on the forum about poor soundproofing of cabins could be an issue for us. 

 

Another small TA (owned by a larger cruise TA) offered 7.5% discount but also added an upgrade to the prestige drinks package and an additional $200 excursion credit. That seems to be going above and beyond what I might have expected and is probably our front runner to talk to if we progress things. 

Just curious on these TA discounts.  We are relatively newbies to cruising, so no real loyalty at this point to a particular TA.  Just wondering did you have to build up a loyalty to a particular TA by booking so many cruises with them before these types of discounts were offered? Or were they available from day one with them? The current one we use does not offer much outside of what their consortium may provide on a specific cruise, but I have run across an agency fairly local that is part of the Cruise Connoisseur Club…so just wondering. Thanks. 

[edgee]

2 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Just curious on these TA discounts.  We are relatively newbies to cruising, so no real loyalty at this point to a particular TA.  Just wondering did you have to build up a loyalty to a particular TA by booking so many cruises with them before these types of discounts were offered? Or were they available from day one with them? The current one we use does not offer much outside of what their consortium may provide on a specific cruise, but I have run across an agency fairly local that is part of the Cruise Connoisseur Club…so just wondering. Thanks. 

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, agency I use is very upfront about the rebate and other additional value they offer to anyone. Past volume of business has nothing to do with it. 

[Harters]

23 minutes ago, EJL2023 said:

Just curious on these TA discounts.

I've no idea what might be the case with American TAs. But there will be loads of other contributors who can advise on how it goes in your country.