Does Carnival let TA's offer lower rates?

[kandlwed]

I know some cruise lines don't and some do. We are looking to book crusie for our famliy. We normally use a family member that is a TA to book our cruises for us...however the last couple she has seemed to busy and I just think working with family gets hard. I am wondering if we should get a new TA (our neice won't care, she just had a baby and is thinking of getting out of the business anyway) and see if we can get a better deal or OBC or just book through Carnival dircectly. I appreciate any thoughts on this.

 

Thank you! :-)

 

p.s. this will be our first Cranival cruise.

[firefly333]

Yes, they can discount out of their commission. They cant advertise lower rates, but they can discount. (i.e. you have to call to get better rates).

[CruisnMom007]

I have always done better with going with my Carnival PVP. We have a RTA in for family and I still manage to get better fares than she does with the codes I keep track of!!

Sometimes travel companies will book up several staterooms at discounted rates and will offer all kinds of extras in the "package" or include a OBC. I have done that before too.

Watch for the Cruise Critic group cruises here on the site!! Good deals with plenty of time to pay them off!

[dan40]

I know some cruise lines don't and some do. We are looking to book crusie for our famliy. We normally use a family member that is a TA to book our cruises for us...however the last couple she has seemed to busy and I just think working with family gets hard. I am wondering if we should get a new TA (our neice won't care, she just had a baby and is thinking of getting out of the business anyway) and see if we can get a better deal or OBC or just book through Carnival dircectly. I appreciate any thoughts on this.

 

Thank you! :-)

 

p.s. this will be our first Cranival cruise.

 

ALL TA COMPANIES can always beat ALL cruiseline rates,,,,,,,,,,,,,IF they want to and they know what they are doing. TA employees, it depends on what the boss allows them to do. The only thing any cruiseline can do is not allow a TA to ADVERTISE lower rates. But the cruiseline cannot stop them from selling at a lower rate, that's RESTRAINT of TRADE/price fixing.

 

Dan

[Tapi]

Carnival started what is known as "price parity" back in January 2005, meaning that no matter where you book your cruise, you should be getting the same price. This was created so that some TA's wouldn't have an unfair price advantage over others. This rule was created so that the larger TA's don't put out of business the smaller TA's. Also, with this rule, Carnival wanted to encourage all (TA's and PVP's) to become more knowledgeable of the Carnival product so that their guests could book with who they felt more comfortable and with who would provide the most professional experience, and not necessarily with a TA who was providing a lower price.

 

However, Carnival can't prevent any TA from cutting their own commission to pass on some additional savings to the guests, which is what we see today. We live in a world of predatory pricing where the strongest survive and unfortunately the weakest don't.

 

With that said, BE CAREFUL!

 

Always remember: Cheaper is NOT always better. IF I had a nickel for every thread that I read here of people that booked through XYZ and then got burned, I would have my next cruise paid off...!

 

More than looking for the lowest price, look for:

 

- Reputation (are you dealing with someone who knows what they're doing?)

- Product knowledge (can they answer your questions about the product you're purchasing?)

- Customer Service (Are they friendly and responsive? Are they easy to get a hold of? Can they assist you quickly?)

- Professionalism (Have they been thoroughly trained?)

- Financial status (Remember all those passengers who were left stranded when a big discounter went out of business a few months ago?)

- Fees (Are they charging you additional fees like booking fees, change or cancellation fees outside of penalty?)

 

DON'T shoot yourself in the foot based on price only. Shop around, ask lots of questions, compare one individual against another, and make a decision then. Some PVP's are excellent, some are not. Some TA's are excellent, some are not. When you find the right individual to trust with the thousands of dollars you're about to spend, you'll know!

 

I've been dealing with the same PVP for 4 years. She's awesome in every aspect, and has made our vacations much more memorable (including coming to the ship to meet us). Even if she couldn't match the price of an online travel discounter, I'd still book through her. The peace of mind of dealing with someone who meets all the criteria listed above is worth every penny.

[firefly333]

ALL TA COMPANIES can always beat ALL cruiseline rates,,,,,,,,,,,,,IF they want to and they know what they are doing. TA employees, it depends on what the boss allows them to do. The only thing any cruiseline can do is not allow a TA to ADVERTISE lower rates. But the cruiseline cannot stop them from selling at a lower rate, that's RESTRAINT of TRADE/price fixing.

 

Dan

 

I don't think this is true, or how else can RCL do it? If they find out prices are being cut they can stop that TA from selling RCL cruises.

 

RCL allows no advertising of lower rates OR discounting. Carnival does allow discounting.

 

Maybe you can explain how RCL is allowed to enforce no discounting if its illegal or restraint of trade whatever you call it.

[CruisnMom007]

I've been dealing with the same PVP for 4 years. She's awesome in every aspect, and has made our vacations much more memorable (including coming to the ship to meet us). Even if she couldn't match the price of an online travel discounter, I'd still book through her. The peace of mind of dealing with someone who meets all the criteria listed above is worth every penny.

 

 

Well put! I too have been using my same PVP with Carnival for a few years now. SHE IS AWESOME!! I always send my friends and family to her.

:D

[maxamuus]

I don't think this is true, or how else can RCL do it? If they find out prices are being cut they can stop that TA from selling RCL cruises.

 

RCL allows no advertising of lower rates OR discounting. Carnival does allow discounting.

 

Maybe you can explain how RCL is allowed to enforce no discounting if its illegal or restraint of trade whatever you call it.

 

RCL would not know its happening. I work for a major wholesale travel company (not cruises) so i know a little about it.

 

Say the cruise is 2000 dollars. Commission on it is 200 dollars. So agent cuts a deal, rewards, whatever you want to call it with their client. Client pays 1900 for the cruise to the agency. Agency pays RCL 2000. Later RCL sends commission of 200. So client saved 100 dollars and travel agency gets a lower commission but if they cut a deal to get it, lower commission is better then no commission.

 

The key as he mentioned is they cant advertise they are doing this. Agents we work with routinely do it and to us we dont care. RCL may care and if thats the case the agents would probably not proactively offer it so anyone whoever calls but probably would with return buisness.

[kandlwed]

Well put! I too have been using my same PVP with Carnival for a few years now. SHE IS AWESOME!! I always send my friends and family to her.

:D

 

Crusinmom and Tapi, it may be against policy, but is there a way to find out who your PVP's are? If it is, I understand. I just love good recommendations. cruisnfamily at gmail .com

[kandlwed]

I have always done better with going with my Carnival PVP. We have a RTA in for family and I still manage to get better fares than she does with the codes I keep track of!!

 

CrusinMom007, I am new to all this... what are the codes that you keep track of?

 

Thanks for your help! :)

[firefly333]

CrusinMom007, I am new to all this... what are the codes that you keep track of?

 

Thanks for your help! :)

 

If you do a search for codes, you should be able to find the two most recent threads that I have seen within the last week on the subject of which codes folks are using. Might be back to Monday that the threads were going?

 

Im not CrusinMom007, but I know there are threads have been active earlier this week.

[dan40]

I don't think this is true, or how else can RCL do it? If they find out prices are being cut they can stop that TA from selling RCL cruises.

 

RCL allows no advertising of lower rates OR discounting. Carnival does allow discounting.

 

Maybe you can explain how RCL is allowed to enforce no discounting if its illegal or restraint of trade whatever you call it.

 

There have been a number of lawsuits by companies trying to maintain their prices across many industries. They ALWAYS lose. They can only control their own selling price, they cannot control a re-selling price. They CAN control advertising because their BRAND NAME is in the add. Cruiselines also promise [by contract] TA's that the cruiseline WILL NOT undersell the TA.

WHY would ANY TA sell a cruise for "Stormy Seas Cruises Lines" KNOWING that SSCL will quote the customer a lower price?

 

 

ANY

price quoted by a PVP or CCL phone rep CAN be matched, OR UNDERCUT, by a fully knowledgeable TA.

 

That is not saying that all TA's will cut prices or that they all know how to get the best prices. Some brick and mortar TA's have an overhead that doesn't allow any price cutting [a vicious cycle, there]

But in a match between the very best PVP against the very best TA. The PVP is shackled by contracts and the TA is not. The worst the TA will ever do is tie.

 

Dan

[sixgun8]

I don't personally know how it works, but I was told once that if you were like the organizer of a group cruise you can get a cabin for free if you have "x" amount of cabins booked or something?? Couldn't a TA simple book a group and code it as a group, then sell off the cabins to individuals, including their free cabin thus making the average cheaper because of the free cabin? Or is that not a practice anymore?