transfer booking - why?

[alolewis]

I read on here all the time that someone will book directly with Princess than have the booking transferred to a TA, one recently even had the booking transferred to a discount web based agency. For the life of me I can't figure out why, what is the advantage? I am even surprised that Princess will do it since the TA then gets the commission (if what I read is correct) but did zero effort in getting and making the booking.

 

On on my 6 cruises I have used a brick and mortar TA but since the advent of the Internet, haven't really seen any advantage except the free bottle of wine she gives us.

[willysgrandma]

Sometimes travel agents have more pull with the cruise lines when a problem arises than if you book directly.

[chrysalis]

the main reason is that often the TA will have a much better price, and then you save accordingly. I have done that many times.

[alolewis]

the main reason is that often the TA will have a much better price, and then you save accordingly. I have done that many times.

 

Thanks for the response - so this means that if your TA is cheaper, even though you booked directly with Princess, you get the cheaper price?

[chrysalis]

Thanks for the response - so this means that if your TA is cheaper, even though you booked directly with Princess, you get the cheaper price?

 

absolutely....enjoy the savings!

[Pam in CA]

Here's one reason... when I book a cruise while onboard, the booking will automatically go to the TA who booked the cruise I'm on. You have the option to book it directly with Princess and when you get home, transfer it to your TA, which I do. My TA always has better pricing than Princess but I've been in situations where my sister's TA booked the cruise and I wanted control over who got the future booking.

[KAWS]

If you buy a ghost cruise with Princess would that one automatically go to the same TA that you booked the present cruise with as well?

 

Kim

[chrysalis]

If you buy a ghost cruise with Princess would that one automatically go to the same TA that you booked the present cruise with as well?

 

Kim

 

I have always been asked and given a choice....if I am not sure about my TA's price, then I have them book it with Princess, and then transfer it when I decide who I want to go with. This is especially useful if you use *****.com to get a variety of prices.

[cruiserjanet]

We have booked all of our cruises with a TA except for the Hawaii cruise. We figured that since we live near the origination port, didn't need a flight or a hotel, and only needed the cruise that it would be cheaper to book it on our own directly with Princess. Big mistake. We found out later that we could have saved several hundred dollars (or more) by booking it through the TA and it was too late to change our booking. We have learned our lesson and will book all of our future cruises through our TA.

[Sthronds]

I'm a TA and as soon as a client makes a booking on board, or a ghost booking, we immediately get a fax so that we can start the process on our end. The benefit for the cruise line is to keep a good relationship with TA's. They need us to continue to support them because believe me if a company does not have a good relationship with travel agents, agents will not want to book with them and will not recommend. We sell more Princess cruises than any other and we have a great relationship with them and our rep.

[geoherb]

We switched one time from our direct Princess booking to our local TA for a cruise we had booked while on another cruise. I kept the booking with Princess until we were certain we could get off from work. I transferred it to our local TA as a thank you to her for her previous efforts. It ended up being the same price, but she did send us an extra onboard credit.

 

That ended up being our last cruised booked with her. She retired because her husband retired from his job. I found another TA I liked through the website Chrysalis mentioned. I used him to book one cruise through that website and then last year's cruise as well. This year, however, I booked directly with Princess because he wasn't available when I called.

 

I am skeptical about some of the quotes from that website. And some TAs working through it have told me that certain categories of cabins I know are available aren't (because they're trying to sell me a more expensive one).

[Suzanne123]

It costs nothing to get exactly the cabin you want (no "guarantee" guesswork) with Princess and later transfer the booking to a TA for a better price. I saved over $900 on our upcoming cruise by doing just that. I only needed to give the TA my confirmation number, and she took care of everything.

[Pam in CA]

I only needed to give the TA my confirmation number, and she took care of everything.

Exactly. Once I transferred my booking to my TA, I got her pricing which I didn't get while booking onboard.

[stephenandrew]

It costs nothing to get exactly the cabin you want (no "guarantee" guesswork) with Princess and later transfer the booking to a TA for a better price. I saved over $900 on our upcoming cruise by doing just that. I only needed to give the TA my confirmation number, and she took care of everything.

 

 

I think this hits the nail on the head as to the benefits---you can deal directly with Princess to be sure you get what you want (cabin, dining choice, accept or not accept an upgrade, etc.), and then take advantage of lower prices offered through TA's. This is how we always book now.

[canadiansnowbird]

If you booked a cruise through a discount TA online, and while on that cruise book a future ghost cruise, would the confirmation for this ghost cruise go to that TA?

 

I'm asking because I have a local TA that I go to in my hometown. While not at home I booked a cruise with the discount TA. When I use the OBC, I would like to use it locally.

 

Snowbird

[cactusrose]

If you booked a cruise through a discount TA online, and while on that cruise book a future ghost cruise, would the confirmation for this ghost cruise go to that TA?

 

I'm asking because I have a local TA that I go to in my hometown. While not at home I booked a cruise with the discount TA. When I use the OBC, I would like to use it locally.

 

Snowbird

 

Just let Princess know that you don't want it to go to the TA that booked you current cruise. You really don't have a booking, just a future cruise credit so when you do book, you can go through whatever TA you want.

[melissa76]

I booked with Princess the second the cruise was available. It wasn't showing on my TAs website yet. Then I later transferred to the online TA.

 

Princess' price was $3300 pp. TA's price was $2700 pp.

 

Long story short...I got the exact aft cabin I wanted and then saved $1200 by switching!!

 

happy camper here :)

Melissa

[Pam in CA]

I think this hits the nail on the head as to the benefits---you can deal directly with Princess to be sure you get what you want (cabin, dining choice, accept or not accept an upgrade, etc.), and then take advantage of lower prices offered through TA's. This is how we always book now.

This is one of the main reasons why I do this too. If I'm on a 21-day cruise and I go to the Future Cruise Sales desk on day 2, I'm not going to be in touch with my TA for almost three weeks.