Raw Deal for Aussies

[jagoffee]

When a US agent books a cruise, on say Princess, they go to a site called One Source and using an engine called Polar book the cruise directly with Princess (same for Holland and Cunard) there is no one else involved in the transaction. I do know that there is a site for Aussie agents that is the same except for an "au" stuck in the URL. (If I were to try to sign in from an Aussie ISP that is where I would be sent-been there done that). this leads me to believe that there is no mark up middle man involved. In the US a cruiser makes payment by credit card and the charge is shown as Princess Cruise Line (or whichever) The only time the agent gets their money up front is when the client pays by cash or check(que ;))

 

So look at your past payments and see if the cruise line got direct payment. In that case it is as I suspect the cruise line policy that is causing you your high rates not some blood sucking middle man.

 

What I say holds true even though you might consider a transaction from a home based agent going through three sets of hands, Mine, my host agency and the cruise line. In truth the agent books on your behalf directly with the line. The business arrangements do not affect your transaction they only affect the payment of the commission which goes cruise line to host to agent. And yes there are cuts there but again they do not affect the cruise line passenger.

 

Very interesting. It is obvious from this discussion that the end customer (you) pays more for the cruise. Does the TA make significantly more money on the cruise? Or do you think that basically Princess gets most or all of the increase?

[moyaroo]

I doubt that Princess pays Aussie agents more (other than by commission which is a percnetage of sales price) In other discussions on this topic it seems like the line makes the money. In the US some state residents (Florida for instance) get very good deals compared with others. The difference goes to the cruise line.

 

Cruises are not like paint. Agents do not buy up quantities (there are exceptions but those usually lower the price) of cabins for resale. They are agents for the line and charge what they are told.

[jagoffee]

I doubt that Princess pays Aussie agents more (other than by commission which is a percnetage of sales price) In other discussions on this topic it seems like the line makes the money. In the US some state residents (Florida for instance) get very good deals compared with others. The difference goes to the cruise line.

 

Cruises are not like paint. Agents do not buy up quantities (there are exceptions but those usually lower the price) of cabins for resale. They are agents for the line and charge what they are told.

 

No Princess Australia company or organization getting a cut of the charges? Therefore if a TA in Australia books the cruise directly with the U.S. based Princess organization (like the TA in the US) it does make sense that Princess would get more money for the same cruise. Of course the Australia TA would make more money then the US TA if the commission rate is the same. Therefore both the TA and Princess benefit from the policy, but assuming that Princess does not have any extra costs associated with a booking from Australia, Princess would get the most benefit. It certainly does not seem fair assuming that the list prices (not discounted) cruise fares are different.

 

Do the Australian based TAs offer discounts and OBC like the US based TAs?

[Cruisin_on_th_net]

jagoffee I have found a web site that appears reasonably competitive with the the US TA's. Depending what the cruise and the package you purchase, you can get OBC etc as well. I do know that some packages includes tips and gratuities also. Our big agencies such as the one mentioned in the article do offer OBC for some bookings on some cruises also....:)

[The_Big_M]

It was in the title and the first paragraph

 

Sorry for being unclear. By lines I meant 'the cruise lines' to state that.

 

It'd be good for journalists to get their facts straight, but unfortunately in the News Limited stable they much prefer some sensationalism to sell papers.

[jagoffee]

jagoffee I have found a web site that appears reasonably competitive with the the US TA's. Depending what the cruise and the package you purchase, you can get OBC etc as well. I do know that some packages includes tips and gratuities also. Our big agencies such as the one mentioned in the article do offer OBC for some bookings on some cruises also....:)

 

So perhaps the Cruise Line does not really make more money when a cruise is booked with an Australian TA or a US TA when comparing "apples to apples".

[Cruisin_on_th_net]

yearh, couldn't answer that, but I know the site I found had the exact same cruises balcony rooms etc with pricing that appeared quite similar within a couple of hundred $$ or so to the mega discounted USA TA (the one mentioned in the Courier Mail ;) ) For a couple of hundred more on a 12 day cruise, for piece of mind etc, I didn't think that was too bad! It was all inclusive except for the tips.

[jagoffee]

Probably just a difference amount that the TA is willing to give back to the customer. I find with Princess that the key is to find a TA that does a lot of volume with Princess. The TA is willing to really cut the price in order to get the extra Princess volume and benefits. I find that the TA with the best price varies depending on the cruiseline.

 

Good luck and happy sailing.

[Cruisin_on_th_net]

Yearh good point jag, I never really looked at it that way :) volume would help with their commission no doubt, the more they sell, the better their rate I reckon :)

[springaussie]

Today Tonight is advertising a story on foriegn travel agents tonight. 1830 on 7 network stations.

[brissygirl]

What a waste of time that report was, they didn't tell us anything we didn't already know, and no answers either

[moyaroo]

Just saw this from Princess Cruises. In a nutshell agents in the US can continue to serve offshore clients but only those with previous booking history. Everyone else needs to go through the higher priced supply chain in their home country. (And the "smiley" *should* be a frown)

 

start of post

 

Princess Cruises uses a network of General Sales Agents in over 70 countries around the world who make local investments to build and promote the Princess Cruises brand. These agents do so with the expectation that consumers in their local markets will book Princess Cruises products through their local authorized retailers and ultimately allow them to make a return on their investment.

 

In order to protect each International Sales Agent's local investments, our National Account agreements have historically limited North American agents to selling Princess Cruises products in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico.

 

We would like to continue to ensure that the marketing and promotional activities of agencies located in particular geographic areas are not subject to "free riding" on investments by agencies located outside of those geographic areas.

 

In order to maximize the efficiencies of the marketing and promotional activities of all agencies and to ensure that these activities are consistent with the Princess Cruises brand in each geographic area, we will be applying this longstanding international sales policy to limit sales and marketing activities of every agency to the geographic area that makes the most sense based on each agency's location.

 

As a result, international bookings made on or after January 1, 2011 by North American agents who are not authorized to sell Princess Cruises products outside of the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico will be ineligible for commission.

 

We understand that agents may have existing relationships with Princess Cruises past passengers residing in other countries. As a gesture of goodwill, we will honor those relationships and will continue to pay commissions on future bookings made with international clients for whom agents have previously booked a Princess Cruises product. Princess Cruises' Customer Relations Department will review requests of this nature on a case by case basis.

 

If a North American agent is interested in selling Princess Cruises products outside of the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada or Mexico, and would like to get in touch with the General Sales Agent in a specific country of interest to better understand the business requirements of selling in another market, the agent should contact the relevant District Sales Manager for further information.

 

Thank you for your continuing support and best wishes for the new year.

 

Best regards,

[Aquarians]

Thanks for post Moyaroo,

I have experienced the price discrimination on a Princess cruise and as a result haven't used them since! While tough on the staff the displeasure of many passengers over this issue was to join the queue to cancel tips, so perhaps this is why tips are no longer automatically added in some regions!

I am pleased to give credit to Royal Caribbean who reduced the fare on my latest booking. Good to see some Coys are acting acting ethically. Aquarians

[springaussie]

As a result, international bookings made on or after January 1, 2011 by North American agents who are not authorized to sell Princess Cruises products outside of the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Mexico will be ineligible for commission

Best regards,

Assume I arrive in the USA from Brisbane with only my first 3 nights hotels booked in the Disneyland area. The other 23 nights are left unbooked.

How do I get on if I decide I want to do a cruise on Princess from Los Angeles or Fort Lauderdale becuse the deal looks great in a Anaheim Travel Agent window?

Ring Flight Centre Brisbane to book?

[The_Big_M]

How do I get on if I decide I want to do a cruise on Princess from Los Angeles or Fort Lauderdale becuse the deal looks great in a Anaheim Travel Agent window?

 

If you're booking in a US office, it's not an international booking, the product is not being "sold outside the United States"...

[moyaroo]

Flight Centre would be happy, but I bet your US agent hasn't read the above and will take your hotel as the address and go from there.

[springaussie]

Flight Centre would be happy, but I bet your US agent hasn't read the above and will take your hotel as the address and go from there.

 

I hope they do if I ever get in the situation!

[moyaroo]

actualy I think that even with a reading of the above a US agent could sell if you were seated in front of them- Now if you were to call and give say an address of a friend . . .How would they know?

[springaussie]

actualy I think that even with a reading of the above a US agent could sell if you were seated in front of them- Now if you were to call and give say an address of a friend . . .How would they know?

I know of a few Aussies doing that already!

[The_Big_M]

actualy I think that even with a reading of the above a US agent could sell if you were seated in front of them

 

Exactly, why would anyone call that an international booking?

[Globaliser]

Just saw this from Princess Cruises. In a nutshell agents in the US can continue to serve offshore clients but only those with previous booking history.

Thanks for posting this.

 

As expected, this has nothing to do with local legislation or regulations in the foreign country (Australia in this case).

 

It seems like the only sanction being applied to US agents who book for international clients is no commission. Judging by the premium that Australian fares sometimes command over US fares, I expect that some Australians might still find it cheaper to book in the US under an arrangement that has them paying an extra fee to the agent to make up for the lost commission - and then still get the benefit of US market practices like price drops and penalty-free cancellations.