Do you book directly with the line or a TA?

[Beth and Bailey]

I'm not looking for a TA recommendation.......just curious about the 'why' either over the other?

Years ago the lines would give a bottle of wine, strawberries... some little token.

I know also years ago the TA could navigate better deals that could save lots of money.  I don't think that happens any longer.

The prices I'm seeing on the cruise lines is the same as I see advertised by several of the TA's.

[Shmoo here]

1 hour ago, Beth and Bailey said:

I'm not looking for a TA recommendation.......just curious about the 'why' either over the other?

Years ago the lines would give a bottle of wine, strawberries... some little token.

I know also years ago the TA could navigate better deals that could save lots of money.  I don't think that happens any longer.

The prices I'm seeing on the cruise lines is the same as I see advertised by several of the TA's.

We've done both.  Just depends on where we get the better deal.

[ontheweb]

We've been using an online TA, though we book with him over the phone as he can both give better prices and advice over the phone.

[leaveitallbehind]

Attractive fares are definitely still available through a TA. The often favorable rates available are the result of group or "block" stateroom fares that can be booked individually that are offered through by the cruise lines through TA's that are not published to the general public.  These can also include some amount of OBC that also typically would not be available directly through the cruise lines.  The other "tokens" to which you refer would typically come from the TA's commission as an additional booking incentive.

 

As these fares are only available through TA's as mentioned, IMO it is always a good idea to talk with a TA to see what may be offered for a given itinerary in which you are interested.  The TA will also act as your advocate with the cruise line for any questions or issues that may arise resulting from a booking.  As this is their business, they also are best equipped to assist with finding the best fit for your particular expectations with your cruise.

Edited September 13 by leaveitallbehind

[Beth and Bailey]

10 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

We've done both.  Just depends on where we get the better deal.

Without prying... what are the better deals?   Is it pricing.....some perks, i.e. fancy dinner or wi-fi?  Drink package?  What questions should we be asking?

[Beth and Bailey]

1 hour ago, leaveitallbehind said:

Attractive fares are definitely still available through a TA. The often favorable rates available are the result of group or "block" stateroom fares that can be booked individually that are offered through by the cruise lines through TA's that are not published to the general public.  These can also include some amount of OBC that also typically would not be available directly through the cruise lines.  The other "tokens" to which you refer would typically come from the TA's commission as an additional booking incentive.

 

As these fares are only available through TA's as mentioned, IMO it is always a good idea to talk with a TA to see what may be offered for a given itinerary in which you are interested.  The TA will also act as your advocate with the cruise line for any questions or issues that may arise resulting from a booking.  As this is their business, they also are best equipped to assist with finding the best fit for your particular expectations with your cruise.

Am I allowed to ask who you use?

[leaveitallbehind]

7 minutes ago, Beth and Bailey said:

Am I allowed to ask who you use?

Unfortunately by CC rules, no.  But most cruise lines will direct you to one if you ask.  TA's are essentially the sales arm of most cruise lines and they are all too happy to have you work with one.  Just contact the cruise line(s) you are considering and many will provide you with well qualified TA's to choose from to assist you.

Edited September 13 by leaveitallbehind

[leaveitallbehind]

18 minutes ago, Beth and Bailey said:

Without prying... what are the better deals?   Is it pricing.....some perks, i.e. fancy dinner or wi-fi?  Drink package?  What questions should we be asking?

As mentioned before, TA's have access to non-publicly published group based fares that are lower than the cruise line's published individual fares.  IMO that is the biggest direct benefit.  The other perks are nice, but not the primary reason we would use a TA. Some of those you mention would come from their commission as an additional incentive.

 

Just ask what the lowest fares available are for a given itinerary of interest.  They may vary by stateroom category and only be available with some categories.  But the TA's will gladly direct you to the best fares with the hopeful outcome of having you place a booking with them. Also as mentioned, sometimes the fares may include some amount of OBC.  If they are willing to provide anything else as an incentive they would typically offer that. Most TA's will also be happy to answer any questions you may have.

Edited September 13 by leaveitallbehind

[lenquixote66]

I called a cruise line to ask a question not to book a cruise.However,the person who answered the phone had the same first and last name as me.I took it as an omen,booked the cruise with him and it was great.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Beth and Bailey said:

Am I allowed to ask who you use?

Of course you can ask, but none of us are allowed to give an answer other than we are not allowed to answer that question.

[Host Kat]

6 hours ago, Beth and Bailey said:

Am I allowed to ask who you use?

 

@Beth and Bailey

 

From the Guidelines we all agreed to follow when registering for our free Cruise Critic memberships:

 

Travel Agent Recommendations

There shall be no third-party recommendation (whether positive or negative in content) of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted.

Touting of your personal cruise agent or cruise line "personal cruise consultant" (or any other venue by which you purchase a cruise) is not allowed on our message boards. Postings that contain "tell them John sent you" will be removed without notice.

This means you should not ask about someone's travel agent, nor should you respond in kind. Offering to email someone your travel agent's name or info is also not allowed, nor is asking members to email you for the information.

Cruise Critic will remove violations of the "third-party recommendation" guideline without warning. Additional posts may result in permanent suspension of your posting privileges.

 

Advertising is Not Allowed

Cruise Critic has strict guidelines prohibiting blatant advertising, commercial sales and solicitation posts on all of our message boards.

Our Cruise Community is meant to be an exchange of advice and tips where cruisers can talk about their travels -- not a marketplace for advertising and selling services. There are thousands of cruise professionals online and if we didn't insist on a non-solicitation policy the cruise boards would be very quickly overrun with nothing but ads.

Cruise Critic defines advertising as an individual or company's attempt to generate business or other commercial enterprise, either directly or indirectly, by using our Cruise Board. Solicitation includes, but is not limited to, requests to be E-mailed, the posting of phone numbers for your business, constantly mentioning that you are in the travel business, and the referring to or posting of one's own Web site address.

There shall be no third-party recommendation (whether positive or negative in tone) of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted.

Touting of your personal cruise agent or cruise line "personal cruise consultant" (or any other venue by which you purchase a cruise) is not allowed on our message boards. Postings that contain "tell them John sent you" will be removed without notice.

This means you should not ask about someone's travel agent, nor should you respond in kind. Offering to email someone your travel agent's name or info is also not allowed, nor is asking members to email you for the information.

It also means you cannot post links to travel agencies, no matter what the specific reason.

Cruise Critic will remove violations of the "third-party recommendation" rule without warning. Additional posts will result in permanent suspension of your posting privileges.

 

BTW, this means no cryptic hints either.

 

Also:

Do you sell cruises; are you sponsored by the cruise lines; do the cruise lines pay you to say good things about them?

Cruise Critic is not a travel agency; we do not sell cruises. We do not rate or recommend travel agencies. Our mission is to help travelers plan the best possible cruise vacation.

We are not sponsored by any cruise line. Like most websites, we do accept advertising and, at times, partner with cruise lines for contests, events (such as Meet & Mingle parties).

At Cruise Critic our mission is to provide balanced, unbiased reporting and take our journalistic credibility seriously. It is central to this mission for the site to provide you, the reader and our members, with an accurate and reliable resource on all aspects of cruising, and we do so by pairing our editorial content with thousands of reviews from our members of the site. Cruise Critic accepts advertising, but it remains strictly impartial from an editorial standpoint -- something which is made clear to all advertisers.

 

If you have any further questions, comments or feedback on this matter, also from the Guidelines:

 

"... If you have any questions or comments regarding our posting guidelines or any content found on our message boards please be sure and let me know. I'll be happy to discuss them with you.

LauraS
Senior Manager, Community
community@cruisecritic.com ..."

 

Please send your email to LauraS, Senior Manager, Community at community@cruisecritic.com.  Also, please send the email from your Cruise Critic email address of record and be sure to mention your Cruise Critic user name. This is so your membership can be verified, and reply sent to your Cruise Critic email address of record. If your current Cruise Critic email address of record is not correct and needs to be updated before you send your email, please click the following: How To: Update your Cruise Critic Email Address

 

Perhaps something helpful for you will be found in the following oldie but goodie Cruise Critic article: Finding a Cruise Travel Agent

 

I sincerely hope this information will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[Beth and Bailey]

5 minutes ago, Host Kat said:

 

@Beth and Bailey

 

From the Guidelines we all agreed to follow when registering for our free Cruise Critic memberships:

 

Travel Agent Recommendations

There shall be no third-party recommendation (whether positive or negative in content) of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted.

Touting of your personal cruise agent or cruise line "personal cruise consultant" (or any other venue by which you purchase a cruise) is not allowed on our message boards. Postings that contain "tell them John sent you" will be removed without notice.

This means you should not ask about someone's travel agent, nor should you respond in kind. Offering to email someone your travel agent's name or info is also not allowed, nor is asking members to email you for the information.

Cruise Critic will remove violations of the "third-party recommendation" guideline without warning. Additional posts may result in permanent suspension of your posting privileges.

 

Advertising is Not Allowed

Cruise Critic has strict guidelines prohibiting blatant advertising, commercial sales and solicitation posts on all of our message boards.

Our Cruise Community is meant to be an exchange of advice and tips where cruisers can talk about their travels -- not a marketplace for advertising and selling services. There are thousands of cruise professionals online and if we didn't insist on a non-solicitation policy the cruise boards would be very quickly overrun with nothing but ads.

Cruise Critic defines advertising as an individual or company's attempt to generate business or other commercial enterprise, either directly or indirectly, by using our Cruise Board. Solicitation includes, but is not limited to, requests to be E-mailed, the posting of phone numbers for your business, constantly mentioning that you are in the travel business, and the referring to or posting of one's own Web site address.

There shall be no third-party recommendation (whether positive or negative in tone) of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted.

Touting of your personal cruise agent or cruise line "personal cruise consultant" (or any other venue by which you purchase a cruise) is not allowed on our message boards. Postings that contain "tell them John sent you" will be removed without notice.

This means you should not ask about someone's travel agent, nor should you respond in kind. Offering to email someone your travel agent's name or info is also not allowed, nor is asking members to email you for the information.

It also means you cannot post links to travel agencies, no matter what the specific reason.

Cruise Critic will remove violations of the "third-party recommendation" rule without warning. Additional posts will result in permanent suspension of your posting privileges.

 

BTW, this means no cryptic hints either.

 

Also:

Do you sell cruises; are you sponsored by the cruise lines; do the cruise lines pay you to say good things about them?

Cruise Critic is not a travel agency; we do not sell cruises. We do not rate or recommend travel agencies. Our mission is to help travelers plan the best possible cruise vacation.

We are not sponsored by any cruise line. Like most websites, we do accept advertising and, at times, partner with cruise lines for contests, events (such as Meet & Mingle parties).

At Cruise Critic our mission is to provide balanced, unbiased reporting and take our journalistic credibility seriously. It is central to this mission for the site to provide you, the reader and our members, with an accurate and reliable resource on all aspects of cruising, and we do so by pairing our editorial content with thousands of reviews from our members of the site. Cruise Critic accepts advertising, but it remains strictly impartial from an editorial standpoint -- something which is made clear to all advertisers.

 

If you have any further questions, comments or feedback on this matter, also from the Guidelines:

 

"... If you have any questions or comments regarding our posting guidelines or any content found on our message boards please be sure and let me know. I'll be happy to discuss them with you.

LauraS
Senior Manager, Community
community@cruisecritic.com ..."

 

Please send your email to LauraS, Senior Manager, Community at community@cruisecritic.com.  Also, please send the email from your Cruise Critic email address of record and be sure to mention your Cruise Critic user name. This is so your membership can be verified, and reply sent to your Cruise Critic email address of record. If your current Cruise Critic email address of record is not correct and needs to be updated before you send your email, please click the following: How To: Update your Cruise Critic Email Address

 

Perhaps something helpful for you will be found in the following oldie but goodie Cruise Critic article: Finding a Cruise Travel Agent

 

 

I sincerely hope this information will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

Very much appreciate this ...  I do recall some.. but glad for clear guidelines.  I'll check out the article.  

[ldubs]

7 hours ago, Beth and Bailey said:

Without prying... what are the better deals?   Is it pricing.....some perks, i.e. fancy dinner or wi-fi?  Drink package?  What questions should we be asking?

 

For us it is bottom line pricing.  I think different folks will have different reasons or priorities for a travel agent.  Some might be looking for the best all-in concierge type service.   

[ldubs]

6 hours ago, lenquixote66 said:

I called a cruise line to ask a question not to book a cruise.However,the person who answered the phone had the same first and last name as me.I took it as an omen,booked the cruise with him and it was great.

 

That has to be a rare (and kind of bizarre) happening.  I think you made the right call!  

[Host Kat]

1 hour ago, Beth and Bailey said:

Very much appreciate this ...  I do recall some.. but glad for clear guidelines.  I'll check out the article.  

 

@Beth and Bailey

 

You are most welcome and glad to be of service! 🙂

[Shmoo here]

8 hours ago, Beth and Bailey said:

Without prying... what are the better deals?   Is it pricing.....some perks, i.e. fancy dinner or wi-fi?  Drink package?  What questions should we be asking?

Short answer - yes.  Pricing, plus perks are the biggies.  Drink package - not that important to us.  Inclusive WiFi would be good.  Fancy dinner - we can take it or leave it.  OBC is very nice.

[ontheweb]

12 hours ago, Shmoo here said:

Short answer - yes.  Pricing, plus perks are the biggies.  Drink package - not that important to us.  Inclusive WiFi would be good.  Fancy dinner - we can take it or leave it.  OBC is very nice.

Our TA says he only give OBC as opposed to bottle of wine, fancy dinner, or other things like that as he says he feels the passenger can then choose what to spend it on.

[Mary229]

In 2020 I switched to a TA exclusively.  Their value became apparent. Now that I have an excellent relationship I will continue.  

[CanobieFan]

I've never used a travel agent when looking at / booking a cruise. I've always just done it directly through the website or while I'm on the ship itself. I've never used a TA for any of my travels, even land based 

[ldubs]

1 hour ago, CanobieFan said:

I've never used a travel agent when looking at / booking a cruise. I've always just done it directly through the website or while I'm on the ship itself. I've never used a TA for any of my travels, even land based 

 

We were the same until we finally stumbled upon our current TA.  Because we do our own research, we just need to do a booking.  We didn't see the benefit of a TA.  Now we research and book exclusively using our TA's site.  The online booking experience is about the same.  Talking to someone, if needed, is much easier and more responsive.  In truth, if not for the savings (often significant) via the TA, we would still be booking directly with the cruise line.  

[Mary229]

30 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

We were the same until we finally stumbled upon our current TA.  Because we do our own research, we just need to do a booking.  We didn't see the benefit of a TA.  Now we research and book exclusively using our TA's site.  The online booking experience is about the same.  Talking to someone, if needed, is much easier and more responsive.  In truth, if not for the savings (often significant) via the TA, we would still be booking directly with the cruise line.  

I think in the long run for experienced cruisers the bottom dollar is the final decision maker. 

[lenquixote66]

22 hours ago, ldubs said:

 

That has to be a rare (and kind of bizarre) happening.  I think you made the right call!  

Yes,I agree

[Ashland]

Have been booking directly or on website with RCI for many years and will continue to.

[George C]

We normally book directly with cruise line , many times while still on cruise which can give you perks. But I heard MSc was difficult to deal with so we used a agent for them.

[Hlitner]

On 9/13/2024 at 9:54 AM, Beth and Bailey said:

Without prying... what are the better deals?   Is it pricing.....some perks, i.e. fancy dinner or wi-fi?  Drink package?  What questions should we be asking?

We use two, excellent, high volume cruise agencies that give generous refundable onboard credits that you do not get when booking directly with the cruise line.  As a simple real time example, we just returned from a 3-week Seabourn cruise.  Our refundable on board credit (from our cruise agency) was in excess of $1500.  Since we do not generally use (or need) OBC on Seabourn, that money remained unspent at the end of the cruise.  Seabourn immediately refunded it to our credit card so we now have $1500 that we would not have had if we had booked directly with the cruise line.  When we look at OBCs and perks, our normal expectation is that we should be able to save 7-10% on every cruise booking.  

 

Speaking of On Board Credits (OBC), as a general rule there are two kinds, Refundable and Non-Refundable.  The non-refundable kind is what you will sometimes get from the cruise line.  Non refundable means if you do not use it on the cruise you lose it!   The Refundable kind is what you will usually get from cruise/travel agencies.  Unused refundable OBCs will normally be refunded at the end of a cruise (or soon thereafter). 

 

Some cruise agencies will also give various perks such as tips, drink packages, shore excursion credits, etc.  When dealing with agencies it is wise to understand what you are getting before you actually book.  All the agencies, with which we deal, specify the perks right on their booking documents (sent via e-mail).

 

Hank