Two More questions on Airfare and TA's

[maker102]

The first question is if I book airfare can I cancel it after final payment? I am booked with RCCL and am getting kind of hinky about gas prices and can see a rise in airfare before I cruise. Is this a wise way to go? Second I booked my cruise directly thru RCCL and am wondering if I did a smart thing. I have considered transfering to a TA but now what I am reading is after final payment is made I can argue my case of a possible fare reduction with RCCL directly. Has anyone out there had luck in being their own TA? Are there any benefits to having a TA? On previous cruises the TA just took the money and mailed me my documents, hence the question. As always thanks so much for your help.

[zurmoly]

What we do is book the air through the cruiseline and then start looking. You can cancell the air up UNTIL final payment. We have always doen our own, and flown in the day before our cruise. I am not sure about your other question although most good TA's can get you a lower price then the cruiseline. Maybe someone else can answer that for you.

[breenw]

I am a travel agent and have cruised for years, so I kinda know both sides of this issue.

 

Personally, I always book the air separately, BUT.... we always fly in the day before. This is a safeguard against problems with weather or mechanical problems with the airplane. Plus, you get to pick your own flight times and airline. There are ups and downs to both sides. If you book your own air, you will 95% of the time get cheaper air. The cruise lines negotiate "bulk" rates at the beginning of each year to cover the up and down fluctuation of air prices. So, most of the time, you will be paying more through the cruise line. A positive for booking through the cruise line is if you cannot leave the day before. They have to get you to the ship if there is a problem, but like I said earlier, if you go in the day before via booking your own air, you don't have a problem.

 

Travel agencies get a commission from the cruise lines for booking a cruise for a passenger. Your price does not change whether you book through the cruise line or through the agent. The plus to having an agent (and I highly recommend choosing one who is a good agent - preferrably CLIA certified) is that they can answer any questions you have, help you if there is a problem, and go in the "back door" to get you upgrades and/or credits for price drops IF they are available. You can also accomplish this on your own if you know how it is done and get ahold of the right person at the cruise line.

 

Obviously, I act as my own agent, so there have been many times that I have booked a cruise, the price drops, and I call to get the price difference. Some times I get ahold of someone who isn't too helpful, so I just hang up and dial back and speak to someone different. 99% of the time I get what I want. The key is to be polite, know your facts, and don't get huffy with the person you're speaking with. For example, we cruised in May on Carnival. I originally booked two ocean view cabins for $699.00 per person. By the time we were 4 weeks out before the cruise, I had gotten the price down to $549.00 per person and we were upgraded to balcony cabins on the Lido Deck. If you watch these threads where people state what price they paid for their category of cabin, and it is lower than yours, you should immediately call your TA or the cruise line directly (whichever way you originally booked), and let them know that someone else got that price. If you know the cabin number for that person, they can verify the rate, and they will give the lower rate to you. If you find the price drops after final payment, the difference in fare is always given in "onboard credit".

 

Hope this wasn't too confusing and it provided some extra info.