Book with Celebrity or with TA?

[Lyn2005]

Hi, it's been a while since we cruised with Celebrity and it was a group booked through a travel agency. Now just the two of us are considering a cruise and I don't know if it is better to book directly with Celebrity or with a TA. I'm probably going to be the one watching for a price drop not the TA so not sure there is a benefit of going with one. Any input regarding your experiences would be appreciated.

 

Also have seen people mention 'price guarantees', how do they work?

Thanks!!

[Fblack]

I usually book on my own and then transfer the reservation over to a TA who will give me some OBC in exchange for the reservation. Just remember that celebrity has a special form to transfer the reservation and a shortened time limit too. Plus once you transfer the reservation, Celebrity will rarely talk to you rather than the TA.

[Lsimon]

Celebrity price guarantee offers little other than the ability to change fares if prices drops during a period when you could cancel for no penalty and rebook anyways and for a very short period after booking if you book during a period when cancellation penalties are in effect (these are USA rules and might be different in other countries).

 

We always use a TA. With that said, I think there are a few clear pros and cons so there is no clear cut answer.

 

TA pro's: Some TA's give OBC (on board credit) over and above what Celebrity is offering and/or similar perks. Some TA's occasionally have a lower price but this usually only happens if they booked a block of cabins as a 'group" and the price has since gone up as otherwise all basic pricing is supposed to be the same. Some of us believe that in the event of some sort of problem that the TA will help you out and/or go to bat for you if you need a "connection" to get an issue resolved. Of course there is no guarantee of that and you might never find out for sure until it is too late. Also, if you need advice in selecting a cruise then a TA can be helpful if they are in fact experienced with what you are considering - of course a little research on your own and some time on Cruie Critic can take care of that as well.

 

Direct pro's & TA con's: Some TA's charge an administrative fee up front or if there is any change or cancellation, some don't and Celebrity never does so ask your TA in advance. Some TA's are hard to get a hold of due to staffing and office hours if you have an issue or need to talk to someone but Celebrity phone lines are always open and usually adequately manned. Note that Celebrity will not talk to you about most items surrounding your particular cruise or reservation if you have booked through a TA. Also if you book direct you'll have more options for managing the details of your reservation online that you will if you've booked through a TA. Bottom line is that if you're booked direct you can manage your own reservation quickly and easily if you're inclined to do so rather than waiting to get a hold of your TA and then waiting for them to take action.

[Lyn2005]

Oh really, that's interesting. I am tempted to do it myself then and just keep an eye on the prices. We are looking at Alaska in June 2012 so not sure what the chances are that the price is going to drop before then. Will have to decide soon as it's only 8 months away, yikes!

[Azulann]

I just booked my third cruise while on board Equinox this month, good price, plus $OBC. Both past cruises were with online TA, different one's for each cruise.

 

I have sixty days to transfer to TA. Talked to the TA I used for second cruise. they offered an additonal OBC for transfer plus $25.00 credit for loyality customer.

I saw on web today another onlineTA is offering prepad gratuities plus one night precruise in Fort Lauderdale hotel on their web site for the cruise I am taking.

I hope I am not too cute by half for doing all this comparison. I was totally naive with my first cruise. Also, I think I will have to look into choice air for this third cruise which is full transit of Panama Canal from florida to Cali. Have some time with this air choice , cruise is not until 2012.

Can any TA also help with choice air or do I do this just with Celebrity itself?

[firemanbobswife]

I always booked directly with the cruise line and maintained control over my reservation. I liked that because I could just call Celebrity and have them give me price drops, etc.

 

However, my last Eclipse cruise as well as this one, I transferred to a TA upon a recommendation I got from a friend. It's a little more inconvenient to have to call her to call them, but I think it's worth it.

 

Currently I am having some major issues in regards to swapping a person from one room to another and refunds of deposits to wrong credit cards to put it in a nutshell for our upcoming Eclipse Cruise. Celebrity once again made a mountain out of a molehill where it shouldn't have happened. Needless to say, I am unable to make my final payment on my room (which was due Monday) because they screwed it up so bad. They assure us that our room will be held and gave me a bottle of wine for my troubles :rolleyes:. There is more to the story, but you can get the idea. At this point, I am beyond frustrated. I don't mean to complain or sound negative, but in this case, I am really glad that I have my TA to fight for me!

[Lyn2005]

You guys are great with all your information, thanks! We are going to be in Vancouver prior to sailing date at a conference so we thought, hey, why not book a cruise too. We will be doing our flights ourselves like we always do so maybe we'll just try booking the cruise ourselves. We've always travelled with a group through a TA. Last year we had a group leader who organized it all for us, he did a pretty good job but I hated not being 'in control' over a few things that came up.

 

I did think the price on Celebrity was a little steep compared to another travel website that I refer to but guess I need to check the price with that site so I can compare apples to oranges. I thought if I mentioned the cheaper price and onboard credit offer to the Celebrity agent he may make me an offer but he didn't.