Have booked with a US TA. Please help!

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

Hello everyone,

 

Although my second cruise is now booked with HAL, I am hoping that my Princess friends will be able to help me :D

 

Despite being told by some US TAs that I couldn't book with them, others do let UK cruisers book with them, so I went ahead and did it :eek:. Cost was £700 cheaper than best UK TA price and £1200 cheaper than HAL's website and also included was $150 OBC and free meal at pay-for restaurant (neither of which are offered by UK TAs).

 

I am v. happy with my cruise choice (Norwegian Fjords & North Cape) and cabin - balcony at very aft.

 

BUT! I know that US TAs work differently to those in the UK, and am a little confused ;).

 

If I monitor prices and they go down before final payment (?) I think I can ask the TA to refare me? What does this actually mean - do I have to cancel and immediately re-book? (I know that I need to keep an eye on prices, the TA won't do it for me). Will there be fees for this?

 

If I do need to cancel for any reason before final payment (of course, I'm hoping not, but the cruise is not until Aug 10, so you don't know what will happen!) - do I get my deposit back?

 

Once final payment has been made, am I correct in thinking that everything is then fixed - i.e. no refares, no refund of cruise if I cancel (other than insurance)?

 

Any other pertinent points I should know?

 

Thanks for reading this and I hope you can help me :)

[Pia1913]

Hello everyone,

 

Although my second cruise is now booked with HAL, I am hoping that my Princess friends will be able to help me :D

 

Despite being told by some US TAs that I couldn't book with them, others do let UK cruisers book with them, so I went ahead and did it :eek:. Cost was £700 cheaper than best UK TA price and £1200 cheaper than HAL's website and also included was $150 OBC and free meal at pay-for restaurant (neither of which are offered by UK TAs).

 

I am v. happy with my cruise choice (Norwegian Fjords & North Cape) and cabin - balcony at very aft.

 

BUT! I know that US TAs work differently to those in the UK, and am a little confused ;).

 

If I monitor prices and they go down before final payment (?) I think I can ask the TA to refare me? What does this actually mean - do I have to cancel and immediately re-book? (I know that I need to keep an eye on prices, the TA won't do it for me). Will there be fees for this?

Yes, you get the lower price. Unless it's a new booking promo only, you will just get the new fare and not have to rebook. Hopefully you are using an agent who has no fees involved.

 

 

 

If I do need to cancel for any reason before final payment (of course, I'm hoping not, but the cruise is not until Aug 10, so you don't know what will happen!) - do I get my deposit back?

 

All deposits are fully refundable before final payment, or within the time element stated on your booking.

 

 

 

Once final payment has been made, am I correct in thinking that everything is then fixed - i.e. no refares, no refund of cruise if I cancel (other than insurance)?

 

Correct

 

 

 

Any other pertinent points I should know?

 

Thanks for reading this and I hope you can help me :)

 

Congrats on being able to do the booking. We know how different UK bookings are from ours.

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

Thanks for the speedy reply, Pia :)

 

Just one more question, though - (and sorry to be dumb) - do I monitor for price drops on the TA's site who I booked with or on HAL's website? :o

[Colo Cruiser]

I'll bet you will be out of control booking lots of extra cruises now that you are saving all that money!!! :D

[lvtotrvl1]

As a TA in the US working for a very large agency, we cannot book a Princess cruise to anyone who does not have a US address. Have you gotten complete confirmation of your reservation? Also, documents may be a bit of a problem unless they will be mailed to the US. I hope all works out well for you.

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

As a TA in the US working for a very large agency, we cannot book a Princess cruise to anyone who does not have a US address. Have you gotten complete confirmation of your reservation? Also, documents may be a bit of a problem unless they will be mailed to the US. I hope all works out well for you.

 

Yes, I have got a booking reference number and will be checking on HAL's website v. shortly to check it is there. Will feed back here once done! The TA said most documents etc are done electronically these days, so no issues there. This was the case also with my cruise on Princess, which was booked through a UK TA, the only paper "document" I really needed were the luggage tags, which you can get at the port anyway :)

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

I'll bet you will be out of control booking lots of extra cruises now that you are saving all that money!!! :D

 

LOL :)

 

I certainly hope so!

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

Yes, I have got a booking reference number and will be checking on HAL's website v. shortly to check it is there. Will feed back here once done! The TA said most documents etc are done electronically these days, so no issues there. This was the case also with my cruise on Princess, which was booked through a UK TA, the only paper "document" I really needed were the luggage tags, which you can get at the port anyway :)

 

UPDATE: I have just started the on line check in process on HAL's website and...

 

 

 

All my details are there, present and correct!!!

 

I can also print off luggage tags on line, so no need for any paper at all :D

 

One v. happy cruiser. :D

[antsp]

we have done 10 cruises and only booked one in the UK, dont worry all will be fine.

[donna5]

Hello everyone,

 

Although my second cruise is now booked with HAL, I am hoping that my Princess friends will be able to help me :D

 

Despite being told by some US TAs that I couldn't book with them, others do let UK cruisers book with them, so I went ahead and did it :eek:. Cost was £700 cheaper than best UK TA price and £1200 cheaper than HAL's website and also included was $150 OBC and free meal at pay-for restaurant (neither of which are offered by UK TAs).

 

I am v. happy with my cruise choice (Norwegian Fjords & North Cape) and cabin - balcony at very aft.

 

BUT! I know that US TAs work differently to those in the UK, and am a little confused ;).

 

If I monitor prices and they go down before final payment (?) I think I can ask the TA to refare me? What does this actually mean - do I have to cancel and immediately re-book? (I know that I need to keep an eye on prices, the TA won't do it for me). Will there be fees for this?

 

If I do need to cancel for any reason before final payment (of course, I'm hoping not, but the cruise is not until Aug 10, so you don't know what will happen!) - do I get my deposit back?

 

Once final payment has been made, am I correct in thinking that everything is then fixed - i.e. no refares, no refund of cruise if I cancel (other than insurance)?

 

Any other pertinent points I should know?

 

Thanks for reading this and I hope you can help me :)

 

Check with your T.A. some T.A.'s do not honor price reductions, some T.A.'s charge for cancellations or changes. The only way to know what charges may be incurred is to check with the T.A. and their web site.

[Tedirene]

Hello everyone,

 

 

I am v. happy with my cruise choice (Norwegian Fjords & North Cape) and cabin - balcony at very aft.

 

 

Hi Friday,

 

Congratulations!! Need any help with that luggage:D

 

Ted

[AnDeNo.UK]

We have booked 95% of our cruises thro' a US TA/Cruise Line, saved a fortune. The only one's so far that have worked out cheaper booking in the UK than the US is Celebrity. :eek: Never had a problem booking any cruise through the US. :D

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Way to go!!!!! I am booking our next cruise with a USTA also. Keep us in the loop on how you go. That is a great saving you made, well done. :D

[JPRLHR]

UPDATE: I have just started the on line check in process on HAL's website and...

 

All my details are there, present and correct!!! I can also print off luggage tags on line, so no need for any paper at all :D

 

One v. happy cruiser. :D

 

That's great news. Now you can join the growing band of us who encourage other Brits and Aussies to use US T/A's. It's easy and lots more pennies on your back pocket too.

 

My only advice would be that as you've already saved a packet, don't stress about price drops, just sit back and keep that grin on your face ..!!

[fridaythecat.u.k.]

That's great news. Now you can join the growing band of us who encourage other Brits and Aussies to use US T/A's. It's easy and lots more pennies on your back pocket too.

 

My only advice would be that as you've already saved a packet, don't stress about price drops, just sit back and keep that grin on your face ..!!

 

Yes, I was thinking the same, too, once I had considered it further.

 

I have now completed all my on line check in on HAL's website (even though there is still over 11 months to go :eek:), so I am confident that all is cool :cool:

 

I would definitely recommend this to other brits and aussies - it's like when you call Princess - don't take the first answer you get! So if you get a US TA that says they can't do it, be persistent, do your research and carry on until you find a reputable US TA that does :)

 

The thing I am second most pleased about after the price is the cabin location... booking early definitely has its benefits!

 

I have also booked late TD, but may change my mind and switch to AD nearer the time....

[JPRLHR]

The thing I am second most pleased about after the price is the cabin location... booking early definitely has its benefits!

 

That is one massive bonus of booking with a US T/A as cabins are released much earlier on the US market so you get a much better choice, especially when it comes to suites which are often not available through Princess UK.

[Pam in CA]

I am v. happy with my cruise choice (Norwegian Fjords & North Cape) and cabin - balcony at very aft. -- this is a fabulous cruise on HAL; because the ship they use is smaller, it can go places and do things the big Princess ship can't. IMHO, it's a much better cruise on HAL than Princess, which is, of course, why we went on the HAL cruise a couple of years ago.

 

If I monitor prices and they go down before final payment (?) I think I can ask the TA to refare me? What does this actually mean - do I have to cancel and immediately re-book? (I know that I need to keep an eye on prices, the TA won't do it for me). Will there be fees for this?

The answer to your question is, "It all depends." Don't listen to anyone who says, "Of course they'll lower the price" because it depends on whether you got a group rate to start with that's much lower than the Princess price or if it's available for new bookings only. My TA can sometimes re-fare me, sometimes she can't. It all depends on the promotion and the price drop. Some TAs reserve a block of cabins at a really good rate and if Princess lowers their price, it still sometimes can't beat the TA's price. Sometimes there is an across-the-board rate fare decrease and my TA can re-fare me.

 

If you see a substantial price drop, ask your TA if they can re-fare you but don't be disappointed or angry at the TA if they can't, i.e., you're already getting a rock-bottom price.

[cacy6893076]

As a TA in the US working for a very large agency, we cannot book a Princess cruise to anyone who does not have a US address. Have you gotten complete confirmation of your reservation? Also, documents may be a bit of a problem unless they will be mailed to the US. I hope all works out well for you.

 

This is policy, absolutely. But with the digital docs the us ta can theoretically forward to anywhere., there are less ethical ta's who will grab the opportunity though......the bigger issue in my mind is , will the ta who is circumventing poilicy also be attentive enough to ensure that the international passengers who are not savvy enough to check on these things have proper visas etc for the itinerary so that they are not denied boarding??????? This is also part of the reasoning why international passengers cannot book directly through the cruise line....princess would like them to have an international agent who knows documentation and visa information for that country's citizens.

[Wilcoam]

A Canadian here

 

Before I discovered having USD Cruise Agencies compete for our business, I used to book direct, and get price drops

 

Now, I do not

 

It's my theory then that generally speaking, price drops are really for those whom OVERPAID in the first place by booking direct with cruiselines

 

Once you start using a TA, especially in the case of NCL, PRIN, HAL, the price you get already includes that elusive price drop, in advance, so no real need to keep checking

 

Ditto, in the RCI/X scenerio, where everyone's price is similar, but the TA gets you a huge OBC, I guess case in this case it's worth checking, but still you got the orice drop already in OBC

 

Congrats on getting the lowest price point possible and enjoy

 

jc

toronto

[DrivesLikeMario]

I'm curious to know how you all in the UK are booking these cruises? What address are you using? Do you use a fictitious US address or the TA's address or what?

 

HAL has e-docs now, so there's no need to ship them anymore. OP - check to make sure your TA doesn't have a cancellation fee if you need to cancel and rebook. Some charge $50 per person. Most price drops will say "for new bookings only", and in that case, you would need to cancel and rebook.

[MSN-Travelers]

As a TA in the US working for a very large agency, we cannot book a Princess cruise to anyone who does not have a US address. Have you gotten complete confirmation of your reservation? Also, documents may be a bit of a problem unless they will be mailed to the US. I hope all works out well for you.

 

I know this discussion is taking place on the Princess forum but the OP has booked a cruise with HAL. All this discussion means nothing unless you are debating HAL policy.

 

My next Princess cruise was booked direct, I monitor the current price and I have recieved price reductions with a simple phone call.

[wingnut2005]

As a TA in the US working for a very large agency, we cannot book a Princess cruise to anyone who does not have a US address. Have you gotten complete confirmation of your reservation? Also, documents may be a bit of a problem unless they will be mailed to the US. I hope all works out well for you.

 

 

Have to disagree with this statement as we are from Canada and have never had a problem using a US. TA large company or small

[DrivesLikeMario]

I was wondering about that statement too. :confused: Usually, US TAs can book anyone in the US or Canada without the cruiselines batting an eyelash. In fact, they ask "do you want this quote in Canadian Dollars or US Dollars" when you talk to them on the phone.

[iancal]

I think that Princess' insistance that UK residents book with UK agents and NOT with US based TA is based on an attempt to price fix an an inflated level rather than concern about documentation. The 'grey' market thrives. And it actually works both ways...more than once on the Tompson website we have used a European hotel address to book because they would not accept our Canadian address. Worked a treat-saved quite a bit on accomodation in Spain.

[ehogan]

As a Canadian, I have booked several cruises successfully through a US TA. No problems whatsoever, documents were electronic.