Bye bye ta...hello princess direct

[Woobstr112G]

I've seen that it can be more expensive booking directly with princess. has anyone else noticed this?

 

Bob

 

Diamond Princess Aus/NZ 01/09

Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Celebrity Constellation British Isles/Norway 07/06

Celebrity Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Celebrity Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Rhapsody Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

Spledour Of The Seas Baltic 09/99

HAL Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Carnival Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

[spongerob]

Usually that is true. Sometimes you can find comparable prices with direct bookings, but not often.

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree for the most part they are priced more.

[taxatty]

That's very possible. When I first joined cc, we were allowed to discuss ta's which is how I initially learned about her. A large % of cc members were using her.

I've had the same experiences--always beats Princess' own prices regardless of the deal being offered, and the service for the last year or so has been excellent after some changeover glitches.

 

Les

[mafig]

very happy to hear that.:)

[sammiedawg]

I'm very happy to hear the deceased Ta's business is still doing well and giving great prices. I booked with the replacement twice, price OK. I wanted to find out what had happened to her sister. Very nice, no problems.

[mike35]

I've seen that it can be more expensive booking directly with princess. has anyone else noticed this?

 

Bob

 

When one books directly with any cruise line, Princess included, the reservation agent is looking at a computer screen with one non-negotiable price. Try asking for a "deal", an on-board credit, a bon voyage gift, and the response will be "sorry, but I can't do that". Try asking the agent about a particular port - the best things to see, do, best restaurants, local tour guides, etc. -- and chances are close to 100% that you won't be able to receive an answer.

 

As one who depends solely on my travel agent income to pay my mortgage, and who has been on over 30 cruises on 12 different cruise lines throughout the world, I feel that I provide a value-added benefit to my valued clients - most of whom are repeat clients or ones referred by them. And at the same time, I realize that it's a competitive world out there, so I offer on board credits, bon voyage gifts, and other perks. Also, as my agency is part of the largest seller of leisure travel in the world, I am often able to quote negotiated pricing that is less than that offered by the cruise line itself.

 

Regarding the many posts on this thread about a particular agent not responding to a client's requests or concerns in a timely manner, I can only say that by practicing the "golden rule", I would never fall into that category. Like any profession - doctor, lawyer, accountant - the travel agency has dedicated client-oriented people and those who just skate by.

 

Can I always provide the cheapest price? No, unfortunately not, and quite honestly, if price is the only consideration, then perhaps I'm better off by skipping that particular client.

[Woobstr112G]

When one books directly with any cruise line, Princess included, the reservation agent is looking at a computer screen with one non-negotiable price. Try asking for a "deal", an on-board credit, a bon voyage gift, and the response will be "sorry, but I can't do that". Try asking the agent about a particular port - the best things to see, do, best restaurants, local tour guides, etc. -- and chances are close to 100% that you won't be able to receive an answer.

 

As one who depends solely on my travel agent income to pay my mortgage, and who has been on over 30 cruises on 12 different cruise lines throughout the world, I feel that I provide a value-added benefit to my valued clients - most of whom are repeat clients or ones referred by them. And at the same time, I realize that it's a competitive world out there, so I offer on board credits, bon voyage gifts, and other perks. Also, as my agency is part of the largest seller of leisure travel in the world, I am often able to quote negotiated pricing that is less than that offered by the cruise line itself.

 

Regarding the many posts on this thread about a particular agent not responding to a client's requests or concerns in a timely manner, I can only say that by practicing the "golden rule", I would never fall into that category. Like any profession - doctor, lawyer, accountant - the travel agency has dedicated client-oriented people and those who just skate by.

 

Can I always provide the cheapest price? No, unfortunately not, and quite honestly, if price is the only consideration, then perhaps I'm better off by skipping that particular client.

 

Thanks for the imput Mike. DW and I will moste surely use a TA for our next cruise.

 

Bob

 

Diamond Princess Aus/NZ 01/09

Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Celebrity Constellation British Isles/Norway 07/06

Celebrity Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Celebrity Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Rhapsody Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

Spledour Of The Seas Baltic 09/99

HAL Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Carnival Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

[cacy6893076]

Princess honestly does not care whether you book directly through them or through a travel agent. I prefer to book the cruise directly and then transfer it..........that way i decide for myself what the relative difference between say a guarantee and particular category/ cabin location is and decide what's worth what . Then I ask them to mark it so that the ta can take over the booking, that often results in a lower overall price after the ta takes it over, I consider this the best of both worlds....but different strokes.......

[gipper77]

Mike, you are correct. The good TA can provide a valued service to most clients. The cruise line agents are very nice and helpfull but most have never been on a cruise are the others only a couple. They have little knowledge of ports and anything about the ships. This is not a nock on the cruise line staff, it is just a fact.

 

The TA has access to the same prices that Princess agents have. If the TA has a group and Princess has a lower price than the group has, the TA can give the client the lower price and still give the extras offered by the group. The Princess agents can not give anything extra.

 

A good TA provides a service to his/her clients. There are some that do not and they should be avoided. Do not judge all TAs by the few bad ones out there.

[DeRon]

We've been on 10 cruises and usually sail once/yr. The cruise we booked through an online TA, and there was a $100 credit card that would be issued to us as a "perk", but to be delivered after the cruise. Well, that was October 5th of 2008, and we still have never received anything.

 

Yes, I've called twice and emailed once. They are still "checking into it". Blah. It really disappointed me. Not that $100 is a lot of money, but *how* they are handling the problem now is really low class. I am looking for something better.

[Daphne8100]

Princess honestly does not care whether you book directly through them or through a travel agent. I prefer to book the cruise directly and then transfer it..........that way i decide for myself what the relative difference between say a guarantee and particular category/ cabin location is and decide what's worth what . Then I ask them to mark it so that the ta can take over the booking, that often results in a lower overall price after the ta takes it over, I consider this the best of both worlds....but different strokes.......

 

Hi Cacy,

I've read this frequently, but can you or others explain why princess doesn't care whether you book directly with them or with a travel agent? If you book through Princess, they don't have to pay a commission.

 

I know they have agreements and relationships with travel agents, but it still seems as if they would prefer that people book with them and not with travel agents because they make more money.

 

Thanks,

Daff

[gipper77]

Princess Leases 2 ships that was once used by a cruise line that did not use or pay commissions to TAs. That cruise line is out of business. The cruise lines need TAs. The amount of commissions they pay is far less that if they had to have 100s of more employees.

[Daphne8100]

I can see that, but doesn't every booking that goes through a travel agent also need to go through someone at Princess?

[CruiseB]

A good TA will respond immediately, or when they sya they will. If for some reason they can't, they at least let you know, and why. I am a TA and what I sell is service, along with my expertise. If I were in your shoes I would get this TA on the phone and ask (nicely) for an explanation. I know there are a lot of TAs who were with one of the big TA hosting companies that is being sued and/or filing bankruptcy, and they are scrambling to reestablish their supplier contacts directly or through another host. Things like that can really hurt a TA's response time and business.

 

That being said, in the TA business, just like any other, there are good ones and bad ones. If yours has "gone bad", look for another one. A TA that gives you personal service and is there to assist you every step of the way is a valuable asset. Good luck and Good Cruising!

[Woobstr112G]

Princess honestly does not care whether you book directly through them or through a travel agent. I prefer to book the cruise directly and then transfer it..........that way i decide for myself what the relative difference between say a guarantee and particular category/ cabin location is and decide what's worth what . Then I ask them to mark it so that the ta can take over the booking, that often results in a lower overall price after the ta takes it over, I consider this the best of both worlds....but different strokes.......

 

What exactly is the bennifit of transferring? Why not just use a T/A to begin with.......Just curious

 

Bob

 

Diamond Princess Aus/NZ 01/09

Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Celebrity Constellation British Isles/Norway 07/06

Celebrity Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Celebrity Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Rhapsody Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

Spledour Of The Seas Baltic 09/99

HAL Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Carnival Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

[ccrain]

While we were getting our feet wet in cruising, we used my local TA that I use for business travel (40-50 trips a year). Her prices basically matched the Princess prices, but the added benefit was that she as able to get airline and pre/post hotels at much lower rates than Princess add-ons AND she kept track of everything. If an airline changed its schedule, we knew about it and she worked any issues for us.

 

Now that we are a bit more seasoned and I use a lot of FF miles and HH points, we found an on-line TA that matches the best prices I can find on the web (which are always several hundred dollars less than princess prices), gives us really good cruise service (price reductions, upgrades) and even stepped into a dispute with the travel insurance company when we had to cancel a B2B, and helped push the process forward.

 

I have had a couple of disputes with other on-line agencies, especially when they access my CC account and use one of my FCC's without my permission (for a courtesy hold), but that at least allowed me to eliminate them from further consideration.

 

With the on-line TA I have to pay closer attention to flight schedules and changes, always fly in a day or two early, but the tools available on the web really make flight shopping and price comparisons easy for the general public nowadays.

 

There was only one cruise when the local TA, using Princess prices, were less than the on-line TA. Everyone was baffled by that one, but again, it paid to shop around.

 

So basically, while I use the Princess web site to watch price trends, I haven't booked through Princess. Since I can get the same price through the local TA and I have an established relationship, it doesn't pay for me to try something different right now.

 

But I'm always open to saving money! However, as other people have said, a good TA is worth paying extra for. It may only be once in a while, but that once in a while could be very important.

[cacy6893076]

What exactly is the bennifit of transferring? Why not just use a T/A to begin with.......Just curious

 

Bob

 

Diamond Princess Aus/NZ 01/09

Emerald Princess Med/Trans Atlantic 10/08

Celebrity Constellation British Isles/Norway 07/06

Celebrity Summit Alaska Repositioning 05/05

Celebrity Summit Panama Canal 10/02

Rhapsody Of The Seas Alaska 09/01

Spledour Of The Seas Baltic 09/99

HAL Veendam Eastern Caribbean 07/96

Carnival Holiday Western Carribean 07/93

 

.......because I can call and get pricing for lets say bf, be, bd, bc, bb, ba, decide if the relative differneces arr worth what i really want.........can get the entire list of available staerooms, , mark it no up grade, receive the pricing detail via email , see what'

s really going on , then transfer it. once the ta has control you have no pricing details. That's not for everyone, just me.....It's reallly doesn't matter if you want to do it the other way around, though, that's what makes the makes the world go 'round!!!!!!!!!:)

[cacy6893076]

I can see that, but doesn't every booking that goes through a travel agent also need to go through someone at Princess?

here's a pretty good way to look at this, Let's say that Mr and Mrs. Jones have never cruised before and walk into a travel agent office and sit down with a travel agent for, an hour etc deciding which sailing, what type of cabin what location, etc etc etc..... the travel agent will most of the time call princes (sometimes they will do it online though, but not as often) by the time the agent actually calls princess and makes the booking, the duration of that phone call with a princess employee will usually last about 5 minutes tops.......the princess employee answering the phone might make 10 bookings an hour, the travel agents have done the footwork...........it''s pretty efficient for princess that way. The commssion is a drop in the bucket compared to the overall cos t of the cruise and the $$$$ spent onboard.

[newmexicoNita]

Hi Cacy,

I've read this frequently, but can you or others explain why princess doesn't care whether you book directly with them or with a travel agent? If you book through Princess, they don't have to pay a commission.

 

I know they have agreements and relationships with travel agents, but it still seems as if they would prefer that people book with them and not with travel agents because they make more money.

 

Thanks,

Daff

I can explain it pretty simply: no, they do not have to pay a commission, but the more who book through them the more salaries they have to pay including benefits, not to mention other costs in operating a call center. Travel agents do much of their booking via the internet thus cutting down on overhead the cruise lines have.

 

does this make sense to you? I know lots wonder why the cruise lines either do not care or prefer you book via an agency...I know one line that prefers dealing with travel agents over individuals.

 

I just read some of the responses, I am not the first one to mention the overhead..I guess it is pretty clear to many.

Nita

[billco]

Yep a good TA, beautician, baby sitter or substitute teacher is heard to find but worth their weight in gold.

 

You could also say a good personal trainer is worth your weight in gold.:D