Booking cruise online or through travel agent?

[cpgrneyes]

I'm hopeful that the online TA will also be helpful should a crisis occur, but we also pretty resourceful ourselves.

 

I do not doubt that a traditional TA is valuable to most people. However, I had more information from CC on cabin types on location than the TA I spoke with had and already had selected the cruise and had the cabin on hold. As I mentioned, both conversations took place after she returned my calls (she does not work in the office full time) from her cell phone while not at a computer, so she did not have access to online info or her brochures. She did not know that the only aft cabins on Azamara were penthouse/royal suites or "sunset verandas" (aka a regular balcony cabin).

 

Contrary to other posters comments, I am not somebody who is continually going to be trying to save an additional dollar, who is going to be asking a lot of questions post-booking, who called the TA with no idea what I was looking for, or who expects the TA to daily check to see if the price has gone down, much less somebody who "values their friends less than a couple hundred dollars" - geez, what a bizarre statement. Because I am much lower maintenance than the average consumer a TA will service, I do expect to pay less. If I was seeing an attorney and had done filled out all the paperwork and just needed them to file the papers, the cost would be less than if the attorney had to do all the administrative work.

 

Thanks for all the posts. As stated previously, I do plan to give the TA a gift card for her time, but have chosen to purchase from a vendor that is giving me what I want - who, coincidentally, was knowledgable about the ship and answered the phone the first time I called with all the information readily at hand.

[CathyCruises]

One of the things that really aggravates me is that you HAVE to go through a TA to make the most minor changes. For instance, when you bring up your reservation on the X website, it says "twin beds". You want them together as a queen. Can you make that change simply and on-line? No--you must contact your TA who must contact the cruise line. I would rather the TA be spending that time looking for a lower fare for me! Or doing something productive, at least. Obviously I am big on making my own arrangements and really feel like I am bothering somone to do something I should be able to do easily myself.

 

I have one question about this switching bookings thing. If you book directly with the cruise line and then switch your booking to a TA to take advantage of an OBC or something like that, don't most of those TA offers usually say "for new bookings only"? How do you guys get around that?

 

Thanks,

Cathy

[Verity]

Not all say new bookings only. When I transferred my Australia cruise which I booked in May, the TA I booked with still gave me $475 in OBC. We have almost the entire cruise payed for, too. I always leave about a 10th of the total and don't pay it until the due date just in case.

 

I used to book with another on line cruise line. I quickly discovered that I knew more of what was going on thanks to Cruise Critic than the people in the agency. They didn't even know that ports had been cancelled on our upcoming Celebrity cruise. After that experience, I booked our Constellation cruise myself and also this Australia cruise. To be honest, I never thought there would be any reductions. But in the end, it's silly not to take incentives offered because they help pay for the excursions.

 

TAs are running a business. They know that not everyone they deal with is going to use their agency. To be morally obligated to use that person because they explained a cruise is silly.

[Leejnd4]

Just FYI, there are no OBC's or other incentives here. So - can I get the bookings back to Celeb? If so, how do I do that? Sigh. sometimes its not really worth the trouble having a 'nice guy' mentality.

Appreciate your thoughts.

 

I appreciate your thoughts on some of the posts in this thread - and I agree with you.

 

As for your question...that's a good question! It's unfortunate that you are having these issues with this TA, and IMO you have every reason and right to ask for your deal back, since you no longer have faith in this person's ability to provide you with adequate service.

 

Here's a thought - call Celebrity customer service and explain your situation to them, and ask them. I recall reading that a TA does not have to release a booking to another TA if they don't want to - and they might try to charge a fee for doing so. In any event, one good thing is that you don't have any kind of personal relationship with this TA - it's not a friend or somebody's mother, so choosing to withdraw your business from them won't leave any wreckage in the wake. ;) If you do take your business elsewhere, I hope you will feel free to tell the TA exactly WHY you are unhappy with her service. Waiting that long for incorrect responses is simply not acceptable performance, and maybe your feedback will help her to work a bit harder to improve her ability to do her job.

 

Oh, and here's another question - has the price for your cabin changed at all? Have you already made final payment? If not, then you might just be able to cancel the cruise with the TA outright, and book fresh with a new one. If you coordinate this with Celebrity - let them know that you are canceling with the TA, and as soon as they get the cancellation you want to book that cabin, that might work. You then have the option of switching the booking from Celebrity to a TA who DOES offer an appropriate level of service...and you might even get a nice OBC out of it, if you do your homework. ;)

 

I hope this helps!

[madelinerose]

Was I obligated to pay much more to book with the first TA that I asked for help and who didn't even recommend the resort that was best for us, but who did set us on the right path to finding it?

 

No, unless the first TA can match or beat the price. My opinion. ;)

[Host Anne]

Folk ~ the OP of this thread got the answers she was looking for and has booked her cruise. Unfortunately, there were many other posts within this thread that violated guidelines and had to be removed. Taking both of these into consideration, this thread is now closed.