Travel agent vs online booking

[mroyer]

Just curious - what are the benefits to using a TA over just booking a cruise online?

[gunner22a]

You might save a few bucks booking online unless it's with Celebrity that no longer permits discounting. I would personally never book a cruise unless it was with a local and trusted TA. If things start to fall apart like air or you get sick I want a TA to do the dirty work for me with the cruise line. A hundred bucks on a 10k cruise is nothing for the service you will get. Remember these folks want your business time and time again as well as your referals to other potential customers. I have had the same TA for 5 years and I'm never giving her up! She gets so many referals from me that if I wasn't married she would propose!

[sueclark]

The difference is Personal Service. If you are completely comfortable with your choice of cruise, ship, cabin, and price - an online agency may be just fine. But if you have questions or may need to make changes or special arrangements, nothing beats a good TA with actual cruise experience.

[SA Traveler]

We've used the same TA for 10 years. I've checked around and have never found better pricing on any of our cruises. I, too, like someone else to do the "dirty work" if necessary.

[sijid]

I normally do all of my own on-line booking, but for the cruise, I decided it was a little too complicated, and I didn't want to risk messing it up. Good thing, too, because we've had two schedule changes with air, and our (wonderful) TA beat up on the airlines for us, and got it all fixed.

[ldparker]

I personally like arranging all my travel online. It has become an enjoyable hobby for me to scour the internet looking for the best prices, air fares, schedules, etc. In the end, when I have decided all the arrangements, I usually book the entire trip through a very reliable online TA.

[leerobbs]

I quess if were spending 10k on a vacation a hundred bucks would not be a whole lot, but I could not spend that kind of money on a cruise (1100.00 for two on my next cruise). I think you can make a case for either and it depends on how much you want to get involved in the process, take on the responsibility of it all being done right and on time.

[JNLROSE]

I have done both! I love to research and gather info about things so I do all the research then call my TA & give him the info & let him finish the process! That way he is responsibile for everything! He has a ton of cruise experience & I pick his brain any time I want to know something.

 

I have researched the entire Med cruise & booked all but 1 port excursion online myself, he has booked Athens for us since he just got back & knew a driver he knows we will love. I also booked our air & hotels online myself---but he DID book the cruise and the insurance. I told him which ship, which cabin & which dates & he waited until it became available & booked it!

[alpal1993]

I have used the same TA for over 10 years.She always is compatible within a few dollars to what online cruises are offering.I always know that I have someone to talk to that knows her stuff and will fight for me if needed.She also would keep me informed of any changes.

[stanjj111]

I do my own research and then generally book with a TA either land based or on the web. For the "extra" money $75 to $100 at least I have a contact point at the company. Some TA's are also flexible. Even with on line services I have negociated to eliminate or reduce the cancellation fees.

[bkgadget]

I have always done my own research when planning for a cruise. (for me, that's just part of the fun of taking a cruise)

 

I check the internet, grab as many brochures as I can, check Cruise Critic for information and when I decide when I'm going, I turn it all over to the same TA I've used for years.

 

She has always managed to match or better the on-lines prices I've got and she checks for price reductions right up until we sail. When the documents arrive at her office she checks everything over and if there are any errors she takes care of them before calling me about the tickets.

 

One other benefit here in Ontario, Canada is that all TA's have to pay into an industry funded insurance plan. If the TA or cruiseline was to go bust, our money is protected.

 

Inspector Gadget

[lstrong]

For my Alaska cruise I booked through a TA 10 months in advance; 2 cabins wanting Port side for a southbound trip w/balcony. We selected our cabins and paid our deposit. When docs came - one cabin had been switched to starboard. Was told TA failed to send in deposit??? Wish I could find a good one, but for now, am using online booking with better results.

[etoile]

I'm with leerobbs. I have never used a TA for booking travel, I always do my own booking. For the cruise I went with Cruises Only because they seemed to have a good price (whether it was or not, I guess I don't actually know). We live near Baltimore so air was not too much of an issue, and we wanted to spend extra time in San Juan at the end so I didn't bother booking air along with the cruise but rather did it on my own. I feel I have more control and more awareness of the entire process by booking online - I guess if I turned it over to somebody else I would feel like I didn't know what was going on, I'd just get handed tickets without knowing what happened. I'm also a child of the computer age, so I'm very comfortable with managing my own personal/business transactions online.

[Randyk47]

Years ago our first cruise was totally arranged through a TA with no more input from us than we liked warm weather and Las Vegas. We'd never cruised and wanted to try a short cruise to see if we liked it. She booked us on the Carnival Fantasy for 4 days and we were hooked. Next cruise we said we still like warm weather and Las Vegas but wanted something a bit more sophisticated and she put us on HAL (X didn't have balcony's at that time and DW required such). Third cruise told her what cruise and when. Fourth cruise we did all the research, picked the cruise, picked the cabin, and signed up for our own tours but still booked through our TA. Fifth cruise we dumped the TA and did everything ourselves through the Internet. This turned out to be a good news/bad news situation. Good news is that the Internet agency got us a super price and since we had gotten to the point of pretty much doing all the planning ourselves that was just fine by us. Bad news is that Celebrity basically has taken away our new found "fountain of cruises". If it turns out we "fall in love" with Celebrity we'll probably go back to our TA. If we aren't able to get good discounts might as well let her do the arrangements....minus the research we'll always do ourselves.