Better To Book Direct Or With TA?

[GTO-Girl]

We have never sailed on Princess, but would love to sail the Ruby Princess in November 2009 for our 40th anniversary.

 

I thought I might have read on another board that we would probably get better prices with a TA rather than book ourselves. Can anyone give me some guidance on this?

 

I want this anniversary to be special and would love to be able to afford a mini-suite at least, but I'm like most people in that I do have to watch my money.

 

Thanks everybody!!!

 

Dianne

[Travel Angel]

IN MOST CASES.....A TA is not going to cost you anymore than booking on your own with the cruiseline. And many TA's will offer some type of perk i.e. OBC, prepaid gratuities, insurance, etc., just to get your business.

 

The key is to find a TA that YOU are comfortable with.... but make sure you get all the details working with them before giving that c.card info to them, i.e. cancellation/change fees, are they willing to lower fares if a promotion surfaces that you are entitiled to change to, etc.....

 

So many factors in finding the right TA for YOU.....do your homework on this and you will come out a winner in most cases !

 

Almost forgot.... CONGRATS on your upcoming 40th !!! :D What part of Ga. are you in ??? Savannah here !

[GTO-Girl]

Thanks for the good advice! We have only been on 4 cruises and I booked them all myself directly with the cruiseline, but this 10 day is going to be a big deal for us so I wanted to get the best package I could.

 

We're from Covington, Georgia....about 30 miles east of Atlanta on I-20. I LOVE Savannah.....we haven't been down in about 2 yrs but we're hoping to take a long weekend there soon.

 

I'll probably be back on here again soon with more dumb questions.

 

 

Dianne

[paul929207]

We have never sailed on Princess, but would love to sail the Ruby Princess in November 2009 for our 40th anniversary.

 

I thought I might have read on another board that we would probably get better prices with a TA rather than book ourselves. Can anyone give me some guidance on this?

 

I want this anniversary to be special and would love to be able to afford a mini-suite at least, but I'm like most people in that I do have to watch my money.

 

Thanks everybody!!!

 

Dianne

 

I go with whoever is cheapest, and so far I have always found a TA cheaper than Princess.

[Travel Angel]

I go with whoever is cheapest, and so far I have always found a TA cheaper than Princess.

 

You know, in my eyes if you are a savy traveler and need NO assistance from a TA, to research for the lowest fares is a great idea. But that being said, some folks just want to know they have someone to act on their behalf, should they need assistance if a problem arises. There are good TA's out there than can offer SERVICE as well as $AVING$ and/or PERKS too ! :D

[Travel Angel]

Thanks for the good advice! We have only been on 4 cruises and I booked them all myself directly with the cruiseline, but this 10 day is going to be a big deal for us so I wanted to get the best package I could.

 

We're from Covington, Georgia....about 30 miles east of Atlanta on I-20. I LOVE Savannah.....we haven't been down in about 2 yrs but we're hoping to take a long weekend there soon.

 

I'll probably be back on here again soon with more dumb questions.

 

 

Dianne

 

I am sure you will find the purrrrfect TA that will meet your needs with good research to make the planning of this as stress free as possible regarding the cruise plans so that you can be working on the other special memory ideas for the cruise !

 

I used to live in Roswell and have daughter out in LaGrange......

 

No dumb questions here... only the ones that need an answer to ! :D

[Guest arowe6]

I was introduced to a wonderful TA and have used her ever since and we have always had a better price/incentives with her than with any other place we've checked.

 

We're looking at the Nov. 2009 Ruby 10day Southern Caribbean. Maybe we'll be on the same cruise.

 

-Andrew

[Colo Cruiser]

As stated above....

 

Princess or a TA, whoever is the cheapest. ;)

[Shelly97060]

a good TA can save you $$$. Ours regularly keeps an eye on prices and deals so that even after we book she is working to find a lower fare for us and typically lowers the price one or two times between the time we book and final payment.

 

I don't have time to watch for specials and fare changes so it is nice to have someone working for me in that regard!

[Coral]

As stated above....

 

Princess or a TA, whoever is the cheapest. ;)

 

TA's who discount can always beat Princess's price.

[Pam in CA]

You know, in my eyes if you are a savy traveler and need NO assistance from a TA, to research for the lowest fares is a great idea. But that being said, some folks just want to know they have someone to act on their behalf, should they need assistance if a problem arises. There are good TA's out there than can offer SERVICE as well as $AVING$ and/or PERKS too ! :D

There are many first timers on Princess who book directly but then are surprised or upset if something isn't what they expect or they feel they weren't informed. I'm trying to think of an example now but we see them all the time on these boards when someone posts a "review" and blasts the cruiseline when using a knowledgeable TA would have explained things and assisted them.

 

Unlike RCI and other cruiselines, Princess allows TAs to discount cruises. There are several TAs who do high volume and will offer you a better price than booking directly with Princess. There's no such thing as "always" getting a better price when booking directly; IMHO, it's pretty much the opposite.

 

Even the most savvy traveler/cruiser makes changes to their booking and having a TA help you makes that easier. I do book directly with the cruiseline sometimes but always transfer the booking to one of two TAs I use who have different specialties and can get me better rates.

[jojamidwood]

My August cruise is my first cruise, although I do travel frequently. I am VERY glad that I chose a local TA experienced in cruising that a friend, who cruises a lot, recommended. I booked my cruise Aug 2007 and was charged the fare supplement by Princess in Nov. When there was the April 2008 court decision to rescind the supplement for all passengers who booked before Nov 2007 I, mistakenly, assumed that Princess would refund the extra money I paid promptly. Long long story short, after multiple calls to Princess, my TA my credit card company and an amazing variety of stories from the Customer service folks at Princess, I doubt I would have had the money refunded to my credit card company if my travel agent hadn't gone to bat for me.

[jojamidwood]

My August cruise is my first cruise, although I do travel frequently. I am VERY glad that I chose a local TA experienced in cruising that a friend, who cruises a lot, recommended. I booked my cruise Aug 2007 and was charged the fare supplement by Princess in Nov. When there was the April 2008 court decision to rescind the supplement for all passengers who booked before Nov 2007 I, mistakenly, assumed that Princess would refund the extra money I paid promptly. Long long story short, after multiple calls to Princess, my TA my credit card company and an amazing variety of stories from the Customer service folks at Princess, I doubt I would have had the money refunded to my credit card company if my travel agent hadn't gone to bat for me.

[Colo Cruiser]

TA's who discount can always beat Princess's price.

 

 

Gotta keep your options open.

[Coral]

Gotta keep your options open.

 

My TA will always discount any price Princess offers me. If Princess is lower, then the agent is not checking all the possibilities for the lowest price for their client.

 

Princess will not undercut prices that agents have access to. This is their policy.

[GTO-Girl]

a good TA can save you $$$. Ours regularly keeps an eye on prices and deals so that even after we book she is working to find a lower fare for us and typically lowers the price one or two times between the time we book and final payment.

 

I don't have time to watch for specials and fare changes so it is nice to have someone working for me in that regard!

 

You are so lucky to have found such a great TA......I would kill for one like this!!

 

I don't know anything about any of the few TA's in our area. I'm not comfortable going to the "yellow pages" for this kind of thing.

 

:o I guess I'll have to start asking around among friends.....wish me luck!!

 

Dianne

[Pam in CA]

My August cruise is my first cruise, although I do travel frequently. I am VERY glad that I chose a local TA experienced in cruising that a friend, who cruises a lot, recommended. I booked my cruise Aug 2007 and was charged the fare supplement by Princess in Nov. When there was the April 2008 court decision to rescind the supplement for all passengers who booked before Nov 2007 I, mistakenly, assumed that Princess would refund the extra money I paid promptly. Long long story short, after multiple calls to Princess, my TA my credit card company and an amazing variety of stories from the Customer service folks at Princess, I doubt I would have had the money refunded to my credit card company if my travel agent hadn't gone to bat for me.

First of all, your TA should have taken care of this from the get-go and known that if you had pre-paid for your cruise, the fuel supplement would be credited to you as an onboard credit so I wouldn't give too much credit to your TA. They should have known that. If you hadn't paid in full, the fuel supplement would be deducted from your booking (which your TA would do) and if you had paid in full, you get the OBC. The ONLY people supposed to get a refund would be those who had already paid and sailed before the court ruling. Again, something your TA should have known as it was very, very clear in all of the communications and PR from Princess. It's not clear from your post when you sailed.

[BabySis]

Regardless of the service.... I ALWAYS search for a professional in the field to assist me..... whether it is a TA or a plumber!! Our TA has saved us countless headaches, $'s and we LOVE the surprises she sometimes orders for our cabin!!

[resstation]

You are so lucky to have found such a great TA......I would kill for one like this!!

 

I don't know anything about any of the few TA's in our area. I'm not comfortable going to the "yellow pages" for this kind of thing.

 

:o I guess I'll have to start asking around among friends.....wish me luck!!

 

Dianne

 

Never go to the yellow pages. If you want to book a Princess cruise, go to the Princess website and click on "Travel Agent Locator". Once you put your zip code in - look for a Princess Commodore agency. These agencies have agents that have taken a boat load (pardon the pun) of exams and classes on Princess and are very knowledgeable. The agencies also have first pick of group space and discounts. This is your best bet for finding someone who not only knows cruising, but knows Princess inside and out.

[Woobstr112G]

On my next cruise, I'm deffinetely going with a T/A instead of booking directly. I was looking at a R/T Hawaii fm Los Angeles and found it almost 1k cheaper on various web based sites.

 

Bob

 

Future: Diamond Princess Aus/Nz 01/09

Future: Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Constellation Europe 07/06

Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Rhapsody Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

Spledour Of The Seas Baltic 09/99

Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

[High Cs]

I booked directly with Princess. How do I transfer the booking to a TA?

[jimmy2x]

You know, in my eyes if you are a savy traveler and need NO assistance from a TA, to research for the lowest fares is a great idea. But that being said, some folks just want to know they have someone to act on their behalf, should they need assistance if a problem arises. There are good TA's out there than can offer SERVICE as well as $AVING$ and/or PERKS too ! :D

 

FWIW - Travel Angel has been my TA for a number of years. I would not trade his expertise and the knowledge that if we are a long way from home and the proverbial crap hits the fan, we can count on him to do whatever it takes to resolve the issue. Prices have always been good, although not ALWAYS the cheapest. I far prefer to support a small business that one of the massive agencies who tend have a high personal turnover.

[Colo Cruiser]

I booked directly with Princess. How do I transfer the booking to a TA?

 

 

 

Just fax Princes a letter stating the booking # and the name of the TA that you wish the booking transfered to and that this is what you want. :)

[High Cs]

Thanks Colo Cruiser!!

[nbsjcruiser]

We have never sailed on Princess, but would love to sail the Ruby Princess in November 2009 for our 40th anniversary.

 

I thought I might have read on another board that we would probably get better prices with a TA rather than book ourselves. Can anyone give me some guidance on this?

 

I want this anniversary to be special and would love to be able to afford a mini-suite at least, but I'm like most people in that I do have to watch my money.

 

Thanks everybody!!!

 

Dianne

 

A good TA is certainly worth it but the more we cruise the more we find that its not worth it from a cost perspective. We used a local TA for our cruises, same TA for the first 4. What I found is that she became complacent. We always knew what we wanted, what ship, location, hotel, flights, length of cruise and all. I began to feel at the end of it that she took advantage of that. Wouldn't return calls promptly and was always "with a customer".

 

In 2006 we booked 2 cruises with her and when we were paying last minute for the 2nd, I noticed a bunch of towels and bags sitting in a corner. Half-jokingly, I said "oh they musty be for the repeat customers". Oh no, they were for people booking all-inclusives. Now, I know in theory that she might not have been able to pass a set out but seriously, how hard would it be to "lose" a towel? That's when I began to look around. We never got a perk from her for 4 cruises, not one.

 

So we started doing it on our own and you know, when you do it on your own you can save a pile of money. Typically we'd let her make the airline reservations but for the last one we did it ourselves and discovered we could save about $2000 driving 5 hours down the road. We never would have found that with her. Doing it on your own also allows you to pick an on-line TA that may be offering a decent deal - OBC or free insurance.

 

So I say do it on your own and do your research, you'll save.