Just thought I would make an updated thread to discuss the pros (and cons) of using a travel agent to book your cruise. Of course, I am not here for you to do the work for me, I have done my due diligence so I will list the pros I found and hopefully other members can help contribute to points I am missing. The longer the list the better right?!
PROS
No-cost for their services. TAs are rewarded by cruise lines, you do not pay out of pocket for their services.
No direct contact with Princess, no waiting on hold, no escalating your case, no waiting for someone to get back to you, no contracted Phoenix based (no offense Arizonians) call centers. Your TA will be responsible for tracking down any refunds, post-cruise folio discrepancies, pre-cruise changes, etc.
Courtesy OBC (On-Board Credit), I believe this is given to most cruisers as gesture from their TA, non-escorted trips of course.
TAs are well-versed with the latest promotions and can sometimes mix and match which has more value (the promo currently on the front page or the one that has removed from the front page but is still active)
Price adjustments; a responsible TA will keep track of your cruise fare to make sure they adjust prices if your fare ever goes down.
CONS
Not all TAs are created equal, there has been nightmare stories of unresponsive TAs. On a tangent you also have Princess Cruise Vacation Planners (In-house Princess employees) BUT be wary of "Princess Promotions" (a third-party agency that sells cruises, often borderline deceptive because they are not obligated to identify themselves as such if they are not asked)
🙂 That is all I have gathered so far, please feel free to add to the list!
(I made this post because I recently boasted to my neighbors how great cruising is and how they should seek a travel agent to book their first one. They asked how come and off the top of my head this is all I could think of)