Online travel agency---is offer legit or am I missing the fine print?

I don't think I'm supposed to say the name of a travel agency, but here's the deal: 7 nights in Alaska and kids sail free. No cancellations, refunds or changes. Decent cabin location. Decent online reviews of the travel agency. Less than half the price the cruise line itself is offering it for.

So what am I missing? Where's the catch? I can buy private trip insurance, so that takes care of the no refund clause. What else am I missing? I've never booked through a travel agency before (because I've never seen such deep discounts).

Please share your experiences with me!

Thanks!

I don't think I'm supposed to say the name of a travel agency, but here's the deal: 7 nights in Alaska and kids sail free. No cancellations, refunds or changes. Decent cabin location. Decent online reviews of the travel agency. Less than half the price the cruise line itself is offering it for. So what am I missing? Where's the catch? I can buy private trip insurance, so that takes care of the no refund clause. What else am I missing? I've never booked through a travel agency before (because I've never seen such deep discounts).

 

Please share your experiences with me!

 

Thanks!

Hi there

If you don't have any issue with the travel agency itself, then I would say there is no catch.

Travel agencies are able to get preferred rates and with multiple bookings they can offer prices that can be much better than retail.

You will have your travel insurance and some product protection through your credit card. I would approach them and get all the details, if nothing seems unusual then maybe you have just found a good deal and a travel agent you can call on when you are thinking of travelling.

good luck

have a great cruise

I don't think I'm supposed to say the name of a travel agency, but here's the deal: 7 nights in Alaska and kids sail free. No cancellations, refunds or changes. Decent cabin location. Decent online reviews of the travel agency. Less than half the price the cruise line itself is offering it for. So what am I missing? Where's the catch? I can buy private trip insurance, so that takes care of the no refund clause. What else am I missing? I've never booked through a travel agency before (because I've never seen such deep discounts).

Seems a bit too good to be true. Make sure you are comparing prices to the current prices on he HAL website, not the rack rate price. Lately HAL has been running some very good deals on its one week sales - but they are non-cancellable and fairly close to sail date.

Something seems to be missing. I thought TAs are allowed to give perks but not advertised at a lower rate than cruise lines.

I would suggest a look at the "port charges, fees, and taxes" to see if they are the same between the TA and HAL. HAL will have "port fees and taxes" (note, no "port charges"). TA's frequently quote the commissionable portion of the cabin fare as the cruise fare, and then take the non-commissionable portion and call it "port charges", add them to the port taxes and fees, and when you add the TA's fare and fees, and HAL's fare and fees, you will find they come out very close to each other.

If you are in the US be sure to check the agency with the Better Business Bureau.

Sometimes it does happen. Just this week we transferred our booking to the big box TA and their price (including port fees and taxes) is $560/pp less than the price for the cabin next door on HAL's website. Granted this is the first time we have seen such a huge difference, but not the first time we've seen a lower price.

Some of those selling travel are not travel agencies, but trip consolidators. They go into an agreement with an airline or cruise line to purchase X trips for one set price and then marketing them at whatever prices they can get for the travel above their cost.

We've found that you can sometimes get more for your money at a specialist in cruise travel. And sometimes we get more for our money direct from the cruise line. You just have to compare the offers. I do know that the giants of the cruise industry sell a remarkable number of trips online--and I use their websites for comparison purposes to get the best deal.

We always use online travel agencies and get much better perks than the cruise lines offer . I have seen this offer before and it is real.....the catch is "kids sail free" in the SAME ROOM as parents....can be crowded sharing one bathroom. We did 4 in a room once (a long time ago), and would never do it again.

Sounds like a great deal.

Something seems to be missing. I thought TAs are allowed to give perks but not advertised at a lower rate than cruise lines.

Have seen lower fares (than the cruise line) advertised quite often on agency websites and even in my local paper, thankfully. This is one of the reasons I use a TA - plus the perks.

Don't worry, the deals are real !I have booked many cruises with deep discounted prices on line. Oceania Cruise Line is quite interesting. They advertise that no TA is allowed to discount their prices on line. This is NOT TRUE ! I just completed a 10 day cruise in the Caribbean on Oceania's a Riviera for half the price listed as discounted on Oceania's website through an on line TA !

Some agencies may also have group rates that were booked many months ago and locked in for x number of cabins. Even when you have an online agency their individual agents may still have a presence and be your neighbor in your hometown you don't expect... and could have a face although online.

I don't think I'm supposed to say the name of a travel agency, but here's the deal: 7 nights in Alaska and kids sail free. No cancellations, refunds or changes. Decent cabin location. Decent online reviews of the travel agency. Less than half the price the cruise line itself is offering it for.

 

So what am I missing? Where's the catch? I can buy private trip insurance, so that takes care of the no refund clause. What else am I missing? I've never booked through a travel agency before (because I've never seen such deep discounts).

 

Please share your experiences with me!

 

Thanks!

Hi, I think I know exactly the deal you are talking about. Unfortunately I am booked on the same cruise at higher rate and non-refundable deposit, so I could't re-book with that deal ($599 inside, $799 balcony, kids sail free, Seattle round trip. ) I contacted the agency offering the deal and spoke with TA there whom I found highly professional and significantly more knowledgeable about HAL ships then my original on-line TA. I did some research and there is an article about these preferred rates right here somewhere on CC website. It actually explains how such rates can be possible. If you can book it, I would definitely do it. Like I said, I was trying to cancel my original booking to take advantage of this deal you mention.

:D:D:DYes the deals are true if it's the online agency I am thinking of. No refund of deposit but great price.

Some of those selling travel are not travel agencies, but trip consolidators. They go into an agreement with an airline or cruise line to purchase X trips for one set price and then marketing them at whatever prices they can get for the travel above their cost.

In what capacity do these trip consolidators sell to us? Through travel agencies?

I booked a cruise through what I call a consolidator. It's a three word name starting with Vacations . .

I appreciate that their site states clearly if a visa is required, something I don't see on the HAL site. That would be a factor for us. Going through them we got free gratuities and a $100 cabin credit on a Cunard Baltic cruise booked a month before departure. We didn't get anything on the last Alaska cruise we booked direct with HAL.

Something seems to be missing. I thought TAs are allowed to give perks but not advertised at a lower rate than cruise lines.

We book HAL cruises with several different cruise agencies...and have saved hundreds and even thousands (on longer cruises) just on the cruise price (when compared to HAL's own site). While it is true that agencies are generally prevented (by HAL and other cruise lines) from publicly advertising lower prices, they do generally notify those who hare a registered e-mail (at no cost) or folks that simply call-in. But one does need to shop around since not all agencies will have the best deal on every cruise (or with every cruise line. With HAL cruises we normally expect to save at least 10% over HAL's online prices..although at times our savings have been a bit less.

The OP seems to be talking about a non-refundable booking where once you pay in full and cannot make any changes. In return, you can sometimes get a very good rate....especially on a cruise that is not selling well.

Hank

I booked a cruise through what I call a consolidator. It's a three word name starting with Vacations . .

I appreciate that their site states clearly if a visa is required, something I don't see on the HAL site. That would be a factor for us. Going through them we got free gratuities and a $100 cabin credit on a Cunard Baltic cruise booked a month before departure. We didn't get anything on the last Alaska cruise we booked direct with HAL.

Got it! Also subscribed to their newsletter. Thanks.

Question on the 3 word TA, will they re-fare if price is lowered? I am trying to plan for the 2018 Summer release for the Caribbean.