Travel Agent vs Direct Booking

[KenM]

Our last several cruises we have booked directly with the cruise line and have had great results.

Since the cruise price is the same if you book either way, what am I missing ??

[Fogtownrog]

Our last several cruises we have booked directly with the cruise line and have had great results.

Since the cruise price is the same if you book either way, what am I missing ??

I have heard that many travel agencies, in particular, those belonging to the Virtuoso consortium, offer onboard credits, prepaid tips, etc. You can book directly with the cruise line, and then when you find an agency that can add value, you can have that agent pick up your booking. If I am not mistaken, you can also pay the cruise line directly, and they will then pay your T/A a commission if they pick up your booking.

 

I booked my next cruise directly with X and if I find an agency that can add value, I will book with them. BTW, if you buy at least 100 shares of RCL stock, they will give you an onboard credit for your booking. The stock is down about 20% over the last couple of days and represents a good value, IMHO.

[Kfed]

Our last several cruises we have booked directly with the cruise line and have had great results.

Since the cruise price is the same if you book either way, what am I missing ??

Good luck. I changed rooms 1 week ago and my TA told me they were on the phone for several hours too try to cancel my old reservations and book my new room. I guess if everything goes smooth you don't need to have a TA, but on the other hand if something goes wrong it's good to know somebody is working for me who is experienced. there is a reason why their are Ta's, they know the in's and outs of travel, just like there are plumbers and electricians ect. personally I wouldn't give up my TA, but to each his/her own.

[hollydog]

We have used the same TA for 10 years and 8 cruises. He has always gotten us a better price than any that the cruise line or an online agency offered. Plus he gives us an OBC and incentives for referrals. So we stick with him.

[ccletzgo]

Good luck. I changed rooms 1 week ago and my TA told me they were on the phone for several hours too try to cancel my old reservations and book my new room. I guess if everything goes smooth you don't need to have a TA, but on the other hand if something goes wrong it's good to know somebody is working for me who is experienced. there is a reason why their are Ta's, they know the in's and outs of travel, just like there are plumbers and electricians ect. personally I wouldn't give up my TA, but to each his/her own.

 

Just curious.........Why would you need to cancel a reservation to change cabins? ....... The TA reservations department is very efficient. Several hours to make a change to a reservation? wow:eek::confused::confused:

[darrenluvs2cruz]

we have used the same ta for 10 years and 8 cruises. He has always gotten us a better price than any that the cruise line or an online agency offered. Plus he gives us an obc and incentives for referrals. So we stick with him.

what is this great t.a. Name & phone#:d

[floridatravelersforlife]

In these difficult financial times consider the viability of the TA.

 

We used Cruise Value, an internet TA, for a few years. They went belly up in 2008 after new owners ran it into the ground. We were lucky since the TA paid CC for our cruise last week. There were many who lost their deposit or final payment. Be aware. After this instance, we are booking with CC directly.

[Kfed]

Just curious.........Why would you need to cancel a reservation to change cabins? ....... The TA reservations department is very efficient. Several hours to make a change to a reservation? wow:eek::confused::confused:

Yea I guess what happened is we had two seperate rooms 1 for the wife and I and 1 for the kids. But then I saw a fv open up. The TA said they had to cancel the two rooms and book the fv, I think the problem came when celebrity wanted to charge us for cancelling our original bookings, so my TA spent the time going thru the channels and make sure we didn't get charged for cancelling.

[ccletzgo]

Yea I guess what happened is we had two seperate rooms 1 for the wife and I and 1 for the kids. But then I saw a fv open up. The TA said they had to cancel the two rooms and book the fv, I think the problem came when celebrity wanted to charge us for cancelling our original bookings, so my TA spent the time going thru the channels and make sure we didn't get charged for cancelling.

 

Now I understand..;) Your TA did good for you. You will love the FV!

[BurgerBits]

Sorry - the terms of service for these boards prohibit C Critic members from providing travel agent names or services.

 

Learned this the difficult way :o by having a post pulled (quite nicely, but still pulled) on another thread...

 

Dawn

[amspsh]

Historically, we've done both; sometimes we've used a TA, sometimes booked directly through the line. Our last two cruises, we've booked through an agency so we could net more rewards $ back on our Discover card.

 

Many credit card issuers have "online malls" that you shop through to earn extra points/$ on your credit card, mostly online merchants like Target.com, etc. Discover card's mall offers a link to a specific TA. If you follow that link and book through that TA, using your Discover card, you get an extra 5% back on the cruise fare.

 

Note that that's in addition to whatever cash back you'd earn anyway for using the card. For Q1, Discover offers 5% back on the first $800 of travel expenses. So using our Discover card, we'll be getting $40 back for using the Discover card (plus another couple of bucks for the amount >$800), plus another $39 back for booking through Discover's TA.

 

Bottom line, we earned an extra $39 cash by booking through the TA instead of straight through Celebrity. :cool:

 

Chris.

[Richiebaseball]

Anyone that has a Discover card can register the card online with Discover and for the months of Jan-March you get 5% cash back on any travel purchases. Cruises, airfare, hotels. And you can use any TA(as long as the charge is through the cruise line) or book direct.

[amspsh]

Anyone that has a Discover card can register the card online with Discover and for the months of Jan-March you get 5% cash back on any travel purchases. Cruises, airfare, hotels. And you can use any TA(as long as the charge is through the cruise line) or book direct.

 

Correct. You get the Q1 5% no matter how you book. But if you book through Discover's TA, you get an additional 5% on the cruise fare in addition to the Jan-March travel 5% on the first $800 of the whole transaction.

 

Chris.