Travel Agent?

[shsabres]

I have searched through this board and can't seem to locate what I am looking for (for lack of searching for the next few minutes) but do travel agents save anything when it comes to booking cruises? I deal with a trusted travel agent (no mark ups) but seem to pay the exact same I would if I booked myself. I know they are for convenience but I only use my agent to book my cruise through, not for anything else. Is it more advantageous to just deal with carnival myself or do the agents get a better rate?

[*Mach*]

Carnival recently implemented a policy that prohibits TAs from offering fares below those prices available on the Carnival web site.

The maximum discount through a TA is 5% of the fare or $25 which ever is lower...

:)

[shsabres]

Thanks for that response. Also, when looking at carnivals website I can do the early saver or past guest rate with free upgrades. What are the upgrades?

[*Mach*]

Thanks for that response. Also, when looking at carnivals website I can do the early saver or past guest rate with free upgrades. What are the upgrades?

 

 

That depends on the cruise... may be a one category upgrade or more...

Many folks are really doing well with the ES rate...

:)

[firefly333]

Thanks for that response. Also, when looking at carnivals website I can do the early saver or past guest rate with free upgrades. What are the upgrades?

 

Do not do early saver unless everything is set in concrete. People never expect to make changes, .. and with ES you cant. You cant change dates without paying the $50 pp change fee, no name changes allowed, and the deposit is nonrefundable. You cant call them back 10 minutes later, and say, you know what I wanted one deck lower (you also cant downgrade).

 

With past guest if the price goes down after final payment your only option is to upgrade, but none of the above apply to past guest rate. No penalty for changing your mind up until final payment.

[GrandBistro]

I use a TA, not to save money, as she gives me the same rate I could get myself. But I send her one email and it's all done. She knows our preferences (cabin, dining times, side of the ship, etc.) and she sets up monthly payments on my credit card so it's all paid for months before the cruise date. I don't get a price break, but I do get convenience and piece of mind. She also monitors for any price changes. She sends me little things a week or so prior to cruising, like a deck of cards, a tote bag, etc. It makes me feel pampered.

[Sir Cruise-a-Lot]

The agent we use always offers an “On Board Credit” based on the room we book. I don’t think Carnival does that. Our Victory cruise category 8b balcony we received $75 from our agent. Being old school and somewhat old $75 is still a lot of money to me.

[bigtoeswim'n]

This is a very interesting topic. Being a control freak at heart, I sure want "control" of my booking. However, my eyes have been opened though, recently, when I used an TA and got this great combo package deal to Hawaii.

 

I tell ya, the price of this was soo ultra good, I couldn't turn it down. With six cruises under my belt, I decided I could relax and lose "control" to gain the bennies of a TA. That said, I hope things go well with my Dec 2011 Hawaii cruise.

 

My son and his fiancee are looking at a honeymoon cruise, and once again I found an online agency that offers an OBC just by booking with them. That will help this young couple on this cruise.

 

For the life of me, I just don't understand how these cruise places make money with the combo deals and OBC they give out..... As it looks now, I'm switching over to TA and that route for the "trip enhancement" factor.

 

Hope this helps.

[patseacruiser]

In most cases the cruise lines are not giving you those obc's unless they are running a special promotion. The travel agent is giving it to out of their commission.

[big_duck]

Thanks for that response. Also, when looking at carnivals website I can do the early saver or past guest rate with free upgrades. What are the upgrades?

 

PG upgrades are always within category in other words, same type of cabin, higher deck or premium location (aft balconies for instance).

[sillywilly]

Travel Agents are only a convience when everything is goes right. They earn their money when something goes wrong. We have used the same agent for 20 years and have only had 2 times when he saved our bacon.

Once when there was an ice storm coming on the day we were to fly out.

One call and we were going a day earlier with new flights and hotel. Next

time we were going to Disney and got up at 4:30 for the flight and could not find the tickets. Called him from the cab (home office) and woke him up. He said no problem I'll take care of it. When you get off the plane find the Disney rep and you will be ok. He called ahead and when I said to the Disney rep "I lost my tickets" the answer was "Welcome Mr Ginivan everything is taken care of. Get on that bus." He had called ahead and had everything in place. Those are the times when an travel agent is worth his weight in gold.

Bill

[BenjiRodney]

I use my PVP i like having control of the booking and Carnival is available via phone longer than most TA.

[BobbyD]

If a TA gives you OBC or a discount for booking, they are indeed giving you that money from their commission (roughly 10-11%). It doesn't cost you anything to use a TA, they just pay the cruiselines your fare less their commission. TA's are a dying breed. Keep them in business. Use them! A good TA will be there for you when you need them!

[popsec]

Lately I've been booking through my PVP at Carnival and then my TA at one of the big online vacation agencies takes over the booking and I always get an OBC from them....works out for everyone involved :D

[DebJ14]

Lately I've been booking through my PVP at Carnival and then my TA at one of the big online vacation agencies takes over the booking and I always get an OBC from them....works out for everyone involved :D

 

Not really - your PVP does the work booking the cruise, but the TA you transfer it to gets the commission or what is left of it after they give your your OBC. Same thing happens sometimes when customers ask to transfer their booking from the TA who booked it to a different TA. The one that did the work gets nada, zip, zilch. How would you feel if you worked on a project and the boss said, "I don't think I'm going to pay you for the work you did. I'm going to pay Joe Blow in the cubicle next to you for what you did."