Benefits of a TA over Carnival PVP?

[wasiii]

.....I booked under the Early Saver program and every time I would ask for a price reduction, for them to do it, they would charge me $25 per change. Since they always give me a lower price than Carnival, that's why I booked through them.

 

I think what I might do next time is book through Carnival directly with Early Saver then transfer the booking later on after I get price drops.

 

Can someone tell me when is the latest that a booking can be transferred from Carnival to a TA? Is it up until final payment?

 

:confused:

 

wasiii

[Charles 3]

My wife and I have cruised with Carnival 10+ times. Our PVP has always been outstandingly helpful. One trip we had to cancel due to a medical issue. We had not taken out the insurance. Our PVP told us to write a letter explaining the situation and to whom to send it. We lost no money, they gave us cruise credit which was perfectly acceptable. When fares go down, he takes care of us as well.

 

With other lines like Royal Caribbean and Princess our experiences with their consultants have not been quite so stellar. When booking with them, I would go through a TA. Their consultants do not seem to be as informed as Carnival's. This is just my experience and 2 cents worth.

[poobears]

.....I booked under the Early Saver program and every time I would ask for a price reduction, for them to do it, they would charge me $25 per change. Since they always give me a lower price than Carnival, that's why I booked through them.

 

I think what I might do next time is book through Carnival directly with Early Saver then transfer the booking later on after I get price drops.

 

Can someone tell me when is the latest that a booking can be transferred from Carnival to a TA? Is it up until final payment?

 

:confused:

 

wasiii

 

No new rule is you have 30 days from the date you book to transfer to a TA or final payment date, which ever comes first. Since many ES drops happen after final payment it would be too late to transfer after you get your drops.

[poobears]

I have a wonderful TA; however, I will probably only use the Carnival website or PVP for any future bookings. The reason for this is that I have no access to my Carnival account online and I can't make payments or see my balance owed online. Also, I called Carnival and they cannot even give me information to verify if the TA made changes I requested. All info must go through the TA. You have to have a lot of trust in who you are dealing with to no be able to verify their work. Carnival and TA's should get together and work this glitch in the system out.

 

 

Sorry this is not a glitch in their system. If they are going to pay a TA for booking you, they want to ensure that TA is doing the job of answering questions, taking payments etc. Why would the cruise line pay a TA to do those things then do it themselves. That would be using their resources for something they are paying others to do.

 

You have to decide which is more important, total access or whatever benefits your TA is offering. Each person is different.

[wasiii]

No new rule is you have 30 days from the date you book to transfer to a TA or final payment date, which ever comes first. Since many ES drops happen after final payment it would be too late to transfer after you get your drops.

 

.....I've had 3 price drops so far on my August 27 cruise. A total of about $300 ($372 if you include fuel surcharge elimination). But it cost me $75 in TA fees to make those 3 changes.

 

I don't see how my 4 day cruise can go much lower than $564 for 2 people in a cat 6E.

 

:D

 

wasiii

[S.S.Oceanlover]

I have a wonderful TA; however, I will probably only use the Carnival website or PVP for any future bookings. The reason for this is that I have no access to my Carnival account online and I can't make payments or see my balance owed online. Also, I called Carnival and they cannot even give me information to verify if the TA made changes I requested. All info must go through the TA. You have to have a lot of trust in who you are dealing with to no be able to verify their work. Carnival and TA's should get together and work this glitch in the system out.

 

your TA doesn't give you a confirmation?

 

I thought you could at least see your reservation on Carnivals website when you booked with a TA but couldn't make payments or changes.:confused:

 

Bill

[poobears]

Yes a TA should provide your booking # so you can access basic info. You can't make payments or see balance due though. Think you can still fill out your fun pass online too with a TA.

 

If you don't even get a booking # from your TA, find a new TA.

[TheHowards]

Sorry this is not a glitch in their system. If they are going to pay a TA for booking you, they want to ensure that TA is doing the job of answering questions, taking payments etc. Why would the cruise line pay a TA to do those things then do it themselves. That would be using their resources for something they are paying others to do.

 

You have to decide which is more important, total access or whatever benefits your TA is offering. Each person is different.

 

I want it all ;). I'm just one of those people that likes online access for verification and payments, etc. But like I said, I have a great TA. Just wish there was a way to have this one thing changed.

[Lady_Jag]

Thanks for all the responses! On my Glory cruise, I was the one who kept track of the price drops and notified my TA. There was no charge for the change in rate, but I did feel like I was doing her job. :rolleyes:

 

After careful consideration, and a LOT of calling and emailing this time, I decided to go with a vacation planner at the wholesale place I belong to. It took an hour and a half (system glitches) and I was charged a $25 processing fee, but I got a really good deal on a 6E OV cabin on the Dream, and a $75 gift card. Here's what I had to deal with from the other people I called:

 

• The first Carnival PVP I contacted sounded bored, and when I told her my cell phone was receiving a weak signal and that I wanted a little time to discuss the deal with DH, she suggested that she call ME back on my cell phone to clear up the weak signal. :eek:
  
• A second Carnival PVP called me back the next day and seemed nice enough. He was understandably eager for me to book right then and there, but again, I hadn't finished my research and told him so. I asked about getting a discount for booking within 30 days of our last Carnival cruise, and he said it was either $50 per person or $50 per cabin, but wasn't sure. When he couldn't convince me to book my cruise right then, he gave me the 800 number where he could be reached, as well as his personal # with a long distance area code.
  
• A TA called me in response to my online inquiry. She told me about her company and that she had received training on the Dream and the new cove balconies. She then told me that the cove balconies faced the INSIDE of the ship! :D It took me a while to convince her otherwise, and I finally directed her to the deck plans on the Carnival web site to prove that the cove balconies did, in fact, face the outside of the ship.
  
• I contacted my local auto association to see what deals they could offer. The agent put me on hold for 20 minutes while she called Carnival, then quoted me the same price I saw on the Carnival web site and asked if I wanted to book the cruise.
  
• I called the TA I booked my Glory cruise through and told her we had so much fun, we wanted to do another cruise next year. She gathered all the specifics as far as who would be sailing and what types of cabins I wanted to book, then told me she would email me a list of rates. That was last week, and I still have yet to see an email from her.
  

[REDWITCH13]

We had a TA for 4 of our cruise and a PVP from Carnival for the last one and this up coming one. I will never go back to a TA.

 

If I had a question for the TA, he/she had to call Carnival and then get back to me. This took days sometimes. When I have a question for our PVP, she either knows the answer or finds out and calls me back in an hour or two.

 

 

Our PVP has kept our group together in cabins next to or very close to each other. Jenifer is very good at keeping us very happy.

 

IMHO...Only a PVP for us:)

 

Darlene

"GO PENS":D

[1cats1]

Absolutely, PVP if you don't mind doing your own research and monitoring. I have used a TA for one cruise each on Carnival, RCCL and one Princess. Since, I have booked directly with Carnival, RCCL and Princess. Directly to the cruise line is the only way to go for me. Take the middle man out if you are savvy enough to do your own research and responsible enough to stay on top of things. My last TA cruise, I had an issue with fuel charges that should have been refunded on Carnival Legend. I had also dropped one passenger from our cabin after deadline. The paperwork from the TA and the actual refund which came directly from Carnival was over $400 off. TA said she couldn't do anything because Carnival didn't cooperate, Carnival said they couldn't talk to me because I used a TA. I got screwed. Don't get me wrong, I hold Carnival responsible too because they didn't care whether they solved the issue or not. (I now only cruise Carnival for the itinerary). I just asked for an explanation why paperwork didn't match with refund. I knew about the penalty and that wasn't the problem. It was still over $400 different. With PVP, I have changed ships after deadlines on RCCL, no sweat, no charge. Carnival refunded me the price drop on my July 4 Freedom cruise, sure, I had to call. But then, I could never trust a TA I had to fight with to get my Dad's military discount (said she didn't know about a military discount). I am sure there are good TA's out there, it just wasn't my experience and now I don't need them. I am a control freak and would rather handle it myself. If there is a problem, I only have one battle to fight, and I am willing to fight my battles. For me, take the middle man out.

[bleuiz]

Hi! I just got off the Glory 2 weeks ago, and I want to book a cruise on the Dream for next year. The TA that I went through to book our Glory cruise had a special promotion that gave us $100 OBC.

 

Well, since we're so far out from our Dream sail date, there is no special promo right now with the TA, and the pricing is the same if I book directly through Carnival. The TA charged a $20 processing fee with our last cruise, which is not a big whoop, but if I get the same deal directly through Carnival, why do I need a TA?

 

So can you think of any benefit to booking through a travel agent over a Carnival rep or vice-versa? (Other than saving the TA's $20 processing fee, that is!)

 

I've never booked a cruise directly through Carnival before, so I'm sort of dragging my feet on this one until I hear about other people's experiences.

 

Thanks for the help!

 

Without having read the entire thread.....I prefer a TA because I want a person who is working for me, not for Carnival......when I had a problem onboard, I emailed my TA....she did the work for me to get the problem corrected......

And she has thrown in a few perks, such as....we booked 15 people on a cruise (6 cabins) for my parents anniversary....all parties were past cruisers except for my parents, so everyone got a free upgrade except them....my TA paid out of her pocket, for them to be on the same level as us.....

[brnsnbrws]

We will not book through a TA anymore. We have an upcoming cruise in Nov. and we are running into a hassle right now. Me, my sister and 1 of my daughters booked a balcony room 18 months ago. One of my other daughters just decided she could financially handle to go along with us. We definitely don't want 4 adults squeezed into 1 room. My 2 daughters decided they would book a balcony for the 2 of them. We called our TA to have her cancel my daughter's booking in our room and then to book another balcony for the 2 of them. She said she couldn't do it because her agency got mad at Carnival and cancelled thier contract with them. We called Carnival and they did talk to us. They told us to cancel my daughters booking through the TA(they said TA can cancel her booking even if they are no longer doing business with them) then book my daughters through Carnival. We are on our way to see the TA today to get this straightened out. After we get my daughter's booking cancelled, we are going to then have our booking transferred to Carnival. It will cost my sister, me and my daughter each 75.00 to do this but inview of the fact my daughter has to have her booking cancelled to rebook and we don't feel comfortable dealing with the TA we are going to do this.

So to make a long story short, I recommend you book directly through Carnival!

[UpstateCruizer]

Carnival cruises must not be as lucrative as they once we for TAs. I decided to book a cabin for my son on our upcoming Miracle cruise. Since we are beyond the ES rate I figured I'd give the compete site a chance to see what pricing was out there. In the past you'd get several quotes within minutes of each other. Well Thursday night I got 1 quote and that was it. They offered OBC up to $300 so I emailed them for info. They came back with the same price as Carnival.

 

I contacted my TA that I have our cabin booked with and he's out of the office so I got one of the other agents in the office. She drops the phone half way into our conversation and we get disconnected. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to get her back on the phone. Finally got someone to put me through to her voice mail. Left her a message that I wanted to book etc. No call back from her. They had my contact info on the screen she was looking at while we talked. I'd have at least expected a call back when she disconnected.

 

I decided I had enough and any savings she may have had to offer would not have been worth the aggrevation. It reminded me of why I was using a PVP for my Dream cruise. I called him and he's out of the office but he ALWAYS leaves the extension for a coworker that will handle any issues when he's not there. 5 minutes later I had the cabin I wanted booked and confirmation in my email.

 

For those that have great Ta's and get good service from them I'd continue to use them too. For the rest trying to decide which will get you the best service it has to be a PVP since you can pick up the phone and call and deal with anyone at Carnival as long as you know your PIN number. It's a heck of alot less frustrating than handing it over to a TA who may only save you a few bucks of their comission. :eek:

[UpstateCruizer]

We will not book through a TA anymore. We have an upcoming cruise in Nov. and we are running into a hassle right now. Me, my sister and 1 of my daughters booked a balcony room 18 months ago. One of my other daughters just decided she could financially handle to go along with us. We definitely don't want 4 adults squeezed into 1 room. My 2 daughters decided they would book a balcony for the 2 of them. We called our TA to have her cancel my daughter's booking in our room and then to book another balcony for the 2 of them. She said she couldn't do it because her agency got mad at Carnival and cancelled thier contract with them. We called Carnival and they did talk to us. They told us to cancel my daughters booking through the TA(they said TA can cancel her booking even if they are no longer doing business with them) then book my daughters through Carnival. We are on our way to see the TA today to get this straightened out. After we get my daughter's booking cancelled, we are going to then have our booking transferred to Carnival. It will cost my sister, me and my daughter each 75.00 to do this but inview of the fact my daughter has to have her booking cancelled to rebook and we don't feel comfortable dealing with the TA we are going to do this.

So to make a long story short, I recommend you book directly through Carnival!

 

OMG that sounds awful! A TA being mad and refusing to book with Carnival? I'm betting Carnival is minimizing all comissions to TA's or there is very little profit in booking clients with Carnival. Otherwise it would be foolish to stop doing business with one of the largest cruise companies out there. I hope you get it all straightened out with your agent today. Keep us posted!

[newfiegirl4]

Just finished booking a cruise for next Apr on the Freedom(Western).Went directly trhough Carnival.So far so good.Very helpful.Last year we,a family of 4 did an Eastern and booked through a family based agency here in St.John's,NL.We booked 8 mts in advance and only had 2 requests,it was our 1st cruise and are sea sick people and wanted to be midship and somewhere fairly quiet.Had 3 meetings and no e-mails so only his word to go by.We were on the 1st floor at the very back of the ship.What a disaster!!!We heard and felt everything.My husband missed the 1st 2 nights on the ship (sick).We tried to be moved but were told ship was full.We had 7 long sleepelss nights.Tried getting our $$ back but nothing.I did call Carnival and they couldn't believe booking that far in advance we would be put somewhere so noisy.So needless to say we won't be booking through them anymore.With this cruise we're going to be on the SPA deck.So hopefully all will work out.Looks like a great itinerary.......

Just my 2 cents worth.......

[summer08bride]

We booked our last cruise about 30 days out. We didnt need flexibility to make changes, someone to hold our hand, we did all of the research ourselves and just wanted the best price.

 

I spoke to 2 PVPs -- one was very nice but busy, kept telling me hed call me "right back" because he was on the other line (1 hour passed before I heard from him) and then again told me hed look up our cruises and call me back... never heard from him again. :confused:

 

I typed in a random number to find a different PVP and she was very very pushy. We knew what cruise we wanted and what kind of room, but she kept pushing us to change our sail date (we couldnt) or change our ship (we didnt want to). when i declined to book on the spot she got really annoyed.

 

in the end we went through the compete site and got a better price than through Carnival. no outstanding customer service (the TA called to let me know our itinerary was changed due to swine flu about 2 weeks after I found out on my own) but he did give us the correct info and everything went smoothly.

[kimmy624]

I'm kind of in the same boat. We are ready to book but I just can't decide who to book through. I don't have a TA that I can trust and am afraid to book with someone I don't trust.

 

 

I'm not sure if this is "allowed" but if anyone wants to refer me to a TA that they trust can you e-mail me at kimmy624@gmail.com

 

Thanks!

[brnsnbrws]

We will not book through a TA anymore. We have an upcoming cruise in Nov. and we are running into a hassle right now. Me, my sister and 1 of my daughters booked a balcony room 18 months ago. One of my other daughters just decided she could financially handle to go along with us. We definitely don't want 4 adults squeezed into 1 room. My 2 daughters decided they would book a balcony for the 2 of them. We called our TA to have her cancel my daughter's booking in our room and then to book another balcony for the 2 of them. She said she couldn't do it because her agency got mad at Carnival and cancelled thier contract with them. We called Carnival and they did talk to us. They told us to cancel my daughters booking through the TA(they said TA can cancel her booking even if they are no longer doing business with them) then book my daughters through Carnival. We are on our way to see the TA today to get this straightened out. After we get my daughter's booking cancelled, we are going to then have our booking transferred to Carnival. It will cost my sister, me and my daughter each 75.00 to do this but inview of the fact my daughter has to have her booking cancelled to rebook and we don't feel comfortable dealing with the TA we are going to do this.

So to make a long story short, I recommend you book directly through Carnival!

 

UPDATE TO ABOVE POST

We went to our TA today and got absolutely no where. She gave us 2 options. 1. Let my daughter that is already booked cancel, then rebook.

Her cruise is fully paid and she would have to wait for a refund check from Carnival before she rebooks because she paid in cash. The TA said it could take 7 weeks to get a check from Carnival. When she rebooks there is no guarantee our reservations could be linked for dining times and dining room. 2. The other option is for all 3 of us to cancel, then all of us rebook at the same time. All of our cruises are paid for. That is alot of money to wait for a refund before we rebook. We asked her about just transferring the original booking back to Carnival and and then Carnival just rolling my daughters money over to the new booking for her and my other daughter and she said it could not be done.

We left the TA office and immediately called Carnival back. They aren't suppose to talk to us because we booked through a TA but since the agency cancelled thier contract with Carnival they had a little "wiggle room" to talk to us. We told the PVP that we had spoke to earlier what the TA said and he said he would see what could be done. Exactly 90 minutes after talking with him he called back and said Carnival was working on it and we should know something by Monday.

I am sure there are good TA's out there, just as there are "not so good" PVP's but we will never book through a TA again.

[dan40]

UPDATE TO ABOVE POST

We went to our TA today and got absolutely no where. She gave us 2 options. 1. Let my daughter that is already booked cancel, then rebook.

Her cruise is fully paid and she would have to wait for a refund check from Carnival before she rebooks because she paid in cash. The TA said it could take 7 weeks to get a check from Carnival. When she rebooks there is no guarantee our reservations could be linked for dining times and dining room. 2. The other option is for all 3 of us to cancel, then all of us rebook at the same time. All of our cruises are paid for. That is alot of money to wait for a refund before we rebook. We asked her about just transferring the original booking back to Carnival and and then Carnival just rolling my daughters money over to the new booking for her and my other daughter and she said it could not be done.

We left the TA office and immediately called Carnival back. They aren't suppose to talk to us because we booked through a TA but since the agency cancelled thier contract with Carnival they had a little "wiggle room" to talk to us. We told the PVP that we had spoke to earlier what the TA said and he said he would see what could be done. Exactly 90 minutes after talking with him he called back and said Carnival was working on it and we should know something by Monday.

I am sure there are good TA's out there, just as there are "not so good" PVP's but we will never book through a TA again.

 

Do a conference call, You TA and CCL.

[brnsnbrws]

Do a conference call, You TA and CCL.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. Monday I am going back to the TA and request this.

 

Thanks again

Diane