Booking thro American travel agent

[t60]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of booking through an American or Canadian travel agent? Have you ever done it? Is it possible? Our friends in Canada have recommended one to us as the cruise we´re interested in is on sale there but not in UK til April.

 

Sandy in Spain

[Elizanessie]

What are the advantages and disadvantages of booking through an American travel agent? Have you ever done it? Is it possible? Our friends in Canada have recommended one to us as the cruise we´re interested in is on sale there but not in UK til April.

 

Sandy in Spain

 

I like the fact if I have to cancel my cruise then I won't lose my deposit when I use a US TA. I can transfer my reservation from ship to ship etc and no admin fees.

 

I haven't booked in the UK for a few years now.

[John Bull]

Hi Sandy,

 

I'm no expert, but here's the general situation.

 

Buying thro a US T/A:

Generally cheaper, sometimes a lot cheaper, though certain costs such as taxes that are inclusive via a european T/A are add-ons to a cruise priced by a US T/A

Much more customer-friendly cancellation terms. You can give comparatively late notice to a US agency & get your deposit back. In europe, your deposit is forfeit from the moment you pay it.

You are billed in USD, and the exchange rate is likely change between the commitment & the payment - could be to your advantage or disadvantage.

Money you pay to a US T/A is not secure, like it is with an ATOL or ABTA-bonded agent - if the T/A goes belly-up or runs off with your money. You can generally overcome this by paying with a credit card rather than any other method such as debit card, but you're likely to be charged a fee.

 

A lot of UK cruisers used to use US T/As, but most cruise lines now will only accept bookings via a US T/A for cruisers living in the US or Canada.

Note: that's a residency restriction, not a nationality restriction.

Some US T/As ignore this ruling.

 

Can I suggest that you e-mail one or two T/As & ask them, mentioning your Canadian friends - with their OK of course. Their address may save you a chunk of money. ;)

 

I don't know which T/As would be your best bet, and anyway Cruise Critic bans the posting of T/As names.

 

Wheher its worth the grief is debateable. Unlikely for a short cruise. But if you have a cruise & price in mind, you could ask your Canuk friends to get a quote.

 

JB :)

[t60]

Hi Sandy,snip.....Wheher its worth the grief is debateable. Unlikely for a short cruise. But if you have a cruise & price in mind, you could ask your Canuk friends to get a quote. JB :)

 

Thanks for the info, I was going to pay by credit card for the security angle. Our canadian friends mentioned to their travel agent that we were having problems booking a particular cruise and the T/A offered to help. The quotes were good and they even offered to hold an option on a particular cabin for a few days while we made up our minds....something we´ve not found with cruise TAs in UK. One of the problems we encountered was having to book our own flights but I think that´s becoming the norm nowadays. But then that has an advantage in as much as our planned cruise is so far ahead that flights are not available, but if we can get the deposit back if we can´t find any suitable flights.

I think if we booked using another address we might have to forfeit our previous passenger benefits, which have taken us a long time to accrue.

 

It´s all swings and roundabouts really isn´t it?

 

Sandy in Spain

[NorbertsNiece]

As a solo cruiser I've twice asked for quotes from a US TA. The price was MUCH higher than booking it over here.

[Elizanessie]

I think if we booked using another address we might have to forfeit our previous passenger benefits, which have taken us a long time to accrue.

 

It´s all swings and roundabouts really isn´t it?

 

Sandy in Spain

 

 

What cruiseline Sandy ?

 

I dont use a US address and I have used a US TA for years now.

 

I get all my benefits as usual and I know I can make changes easily and without admin fees.

[SadmanCruiser]

We book both with our US TA and in the UK. The costs vary - we are booked on a Transatlantic in November which was booked in the US but the 2 following cruises were cheaper to book in the UK. Eurppean travel booking conditions are on the whole better for the customer whereas US TA's can change bookings with less penalties - we were booked on the April Panama in 2013 which our US TA changed to the March sailing instead at no cost.

We do tend to get OBC and even a speciality restaurant when booking through US TA but nothing from our UK agent.

 

Hope this helps

 

Pete & Wifey

[First Time 2008]

I find that these things vary widely, so I have learned to always price shop in multiple locales. I have only sailed on four cruises. Here is my story.

 

#1 (Carnival). Priced in the US, bought in the US, never price compared.

 

#2 (NCL). Priced in the US and Europe, prices were comparable (within 5% of each other, and that can easily get wiped out by currency fluctuations). Ended up booking in Europe (Portugal) due to much better deposit and cancelation policies. Yes, deposit was 25€, final payment due 30 days before sailing. Can't beat that. US TA was frustrated he could not even come close to meeting that. This #2 booking was an eye opener for the differences in booking policies around the globe.

 

#3 (Azamara). Priced US, UK and Europe, US won by a lot (essentially was a it cheaper, plus could get a free two-class upgrade, from oceanview to balcony). Booked in US.

 

#4 (Oceania). Priced in US, Europe and UK. UK won by a lot. Most expensive was US, Europe was a bit less but not a lot and could be because of the current Euro currency weakness, and UK was 15% less fare plus I could get $1100 shipboard credit which I could not get anywhere else. Cancelation policies were the same in all three places. Booked in UK.