Best way to book a cruise?

Hi.......I have a question and would like to get some of your opinions.

I'm wondering which is the best way to book a cruise? Is it better to book directly through the cruise line or do you feel it is better to book through a TA for a possibility of some comps/perks?

I appreciate your advise.

My dad has used a TA to book our cruses every time. All of my cruises have been great.

It depends on the TA and the comp/perks being offered (IMO). I personally like having control of my own booking and don't really like having a middleman. If I am booking an basic Caribbean cruise for example and the the TA is only offereing $50.00 onboard credit, then for me it is better for me to just book directly with the cruiseline. That $50.00 isn't worth it for me to have to keep calling the TA for price drops and things when I can just do it myself and have it done a lot faster.

However, if you have a fabulous TA who is going over and beyond the call of duty and/or getting some great comps or a nice discount for booking with them, then I would go with the TA.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I have never used a TA before so I don't really know what they can offer.

I always book through a TA, not because I expect any extra or perk, but if I have a problem, I don't want to have to deal with it. I want someone in my corner representing me, someone who has the experience dealing with the cruise line.

You will get both a TA and thru the cruise lines as answers. It comes down to what makes you comfortable. I use a TA for the discounts and perks.

We use whichever gives the best deal at the time. Our TA does a good job but when I get a better deal elsewhere that is where I go.

I have no problem sending my TA after a price drop as that is what part of her commission is for.

I've done 2 cruises with TA and 8 w/ cruise line(Carnival). Any questions I've ever had I ask my PVP and get an answer quickly or within hours. I just feel more at ease dealing direct. But there is nothing wrong a TA. Good luck.

I have booked 3 cruises, and have yet to go thru the cruise line. You can get some great deals during the "wave" season, which is the first part of the year. One thing I like the most was the "on board credit" OBC, which is credit you use on board. Depending on who you go thru will/should be a factor.

Shop around, you can find some good deals!

Good Luck!

We like to do a combination of both. We initially book the cruise directly with the cruise line ourselves.

Or else we book a future cruise while we are on a cruise, or buy a future cruise certificate on board to receive the perks that are offered by the cruise line for doing so.

We can take advantage of any price drops or change cabins if a cabin we like better becomes available.

Doing it that way then gives us time to compare and consider the offers from travel agents. We are on a lot of TA mailing lists so we receive offers from them all the time.

If a travel agent offers a good deal (usually paid gratuities and/or significant onboard credit), we will transfer the reservation to that agent.

There is a website where you can describe the cruise you want to take and have travel agents compete for your business. Then you can compare their offers and pick the best one.

It is important to know the time frame of your cruise line for transferring a reservation to a travel agent though as some cruise lines now only give you a restricted time period, such as 60 days after booking, in which to do it.

That way you receive perks from both the cruise line and the TA.

One very important thing to be aware of:

If you are already getting onboard credit from the cruise line and the travel agent offers you onboard credit as well, find out whether that credit is coming from the travel agency or from the cruise line.

If it is coming from the travel agency, that is fine.

You will get them both.

But if a travel agent offers you onboard credit that is coming from the cruise line, you will most likely end up getting only one or the other, not both.

Some people got burned that way because they didn't realize that the onboard credit offered by their TA was really coming from the cruise line.

If you pick a ship that's not a good fit for you, then you've wasted your money, no matter how much you saved. A good agent will discuss the pros and cons of each ship; as Treven points out, a good agent will also sort out many problems for you.

Having said all that- a good agent is hard to find. Most have at best, only been on a short, agent-fam cruise. Many are totally ignorant of what to expect on the ships they are recommending.

So basically, I agree with feckle, providing you've got the time to devote to searching, and you know exactly what you want.

I used to use a TA for every cruise, vacation etc. I've changed and now book everything direct. I want control of my reservation. Price drop I want to call the cruiseline instead of having a TA call, after I call him/her.

From what I've seen the perks you typically get from a TA isn't worth me losing control of the booking..........but that is JMO.

I would go through a TA, because my TA always get me the best deal. I don't even have to check for price drop, because my TA would automatically reprice for me and get me the lowest price plus offer additional OBC or freebies.

How would you know that your TA is giving you the best deal if you do not bother to check and compare?

We knew a couple who believed that their TA always gave them the best deal and would automatically reprice for them whenever price drops occurred.

Then they found out they were actually missing out on the biggest price drops and others were getting much better deals.

Still, there can be reasons for sticking with a particular TA even without getting the best price or perks.

Sometimes it is because the TA is a member of the family or a close friend.

How would you know that your TA is giving you the best deal if you do not bother to check and compare?

 

We knew a couple who believed that their TA always gave them the best deal and would automatically reprice for them whenever price drops occurred.

 

Then they found out they were actually missing out on the biggest price drops and others were getting much better deals.

 

Still, there can be reasons for sticking with a particular TA even without getting the best price or perks.

Sometimes it is because the TA is a member of the family or a close friend.

That's the difference between a TA and a great TA. The former does the job and book your cruise, the latter looks out for you and get the best possible price for you.

We just talked about this on another thread. Since we book around 75 days of cruises per year we really care about the cost. Bottom line is like most other things it simply pays to shop around. We always price-out a cruise on 4-6 TA web sites (we have our own list of personal favorite TAs) of cruise agencies whose computers are directly connected to the cruise lines (so we get real time availability) and then compare those deals to the cruise line's own web site. In the end, the best deal gets our booking (this all takes us no more then 30 min). Savings can be as little as $100 but can also be in the thousands of dollars (on a single booking). One can read all the usual arguments about cruise line vs TA sites, but its hard to argue with simply looking at both.

As far as the old arugment (about controlling your own booking) it really makes no difference to us whether we click our mouse on a TA site or a cruise line site. In both cases the booking appears immedately on the cruise line's computers (we always quickly verify any booking on the cruise line site) and using a TA site or Cruise line site does not impact on our "control." In fact, in some cases we have found that the larger online cruise lines can use their "clout" to resolve any issues that might arise.

Hank