Agency's no longer help

[BZEKE]

It seems as though a travel agent has no discount power. I just tried to book 5 cabins on a

upcoming cruise. I called 8 agency's discount, interline, well known, and the cruise line.

 

Guess what? I got the same price from all.They were very helpful and knowledgeable.

I see no reason to use an agent any longer.

'

[jagoffee]

It seems as though a travel agent has no discount power. I just tried to book 5 cabins on a

upcoming cruise. I called 8 agency's discount, interline, well known, and the cruise line.

 

Guess what? I got the same price from all.They were very helpful and knowledgeable.

I see no reason to use an agent any longer.

'

 

If you use the search function you will find many discussions concerning this topic.

 

If you shop around you should be able to find a TA that will give you a significant OBC for booking. Could be upwards of 8%. For Celebrity the use of a TA to "save money" is all about OBC or some other benefit.

 

Good luck.

[Gonzo70]

Travel Agencies are not permitted to discount Celebrity and Royal Caribbean (sister cruise lines) prices; therefore in general the price you see on the cruise line's website is the price a travel agent will quote you. There are some exceptions to this, but not many. The reason to use a travel agent is twofold; many of them offer perks such as On Board Credit (OBC), pre-paid gratuities, dinner in a specialty restaurant etc. and sometimes they can be very helpful in terms of advice, problem solving or serving as a liaison between you and the cruise line (some TA's have good connections with the cruise line when trouble arises and can do more to make things right for you than you could do on your own). The negative of using a TA is you lose control over your reservation (i.e. you need to go through them to swap rooms, cancel, cash in a price drop etc.) and occasionally you end up with a bad TA who creates more problems than helps.

[zebra36]

It seems as though a travel agent has no discount power. I just tried to book 5 cabins on a

upcoming cruise. I called 8 agency's discount, interline, well known, and the cruise line.

 

Guess what? I got the same price from all.They were very helpful and knowledgeable.

I see no reason to use an agent any longer.

'

 

Though the rate thing is pretty much settled, surprised that not one of the 8 contacts did not bring up the subject of any OBC or other benefits of booking with them especially with booking 5 cabins. Did you ask ?