Best way to book

[LUVS2CRUZE]

Hi we usually use a travel agent to book or cruises, but I am wondering if its better to go directly thru Carnival.

Thanks,

[CruiserBruce]

If you do some reading, you will see this question asked frequently. Generally, a TA is the best way to book. More service, more benefits.

[deladypilot]

I think it is a matter of personal preference. Sometimes the TA's offer extra perks, sometimes they do not.

 

We have always felt more comfortable booking directly rather than through a 3rd party. Its not because we have had a bad experience or anything, just the way we feel.

[uppitycats]

We book with a travel agent when there are foreign flights involved, or flights in and out of different cities. If we're travelling in the US to a US port, and it's a round-trip from the same port, we book ourselves. It all depends on your comfort level, and your ability to find your way around the travel sites on the internet. Not all TA's offer perks..ours doesn't.

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have been for fortunate to have a TA that we have used for over 24 years.

 

The first couple of TA's we used -- well -- they were not good and we had to hunt around until we found a good one.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

TA is the best ...

[paul929207]

Do whichever makes you feel comfortable.

 

We always book thru a TA for the lower price and/or perks.

[fleckle]

When we find a cabin we want on a cruise we want at a good price, we go ahead and book it ourselves.

 

Then we can take our time comparing the offers from travel agents and if we wish, transfer the booking to the one that offers the most attractive deal.

 

You used to be able to keep control of your own booking and wait to transfer it to a travel agent any time before final payment.

But policies vary and now some cruise lines set earlier cut-off times, so if you want to do it, check the policy of the cruise line involved.

 

It is important also to check the policy of the travel agent who is getting your booking because there are some who will charge you an extra fee to process a price drop, a cancellation, or other type of change.

 

Some passengers did not realize that in advance and only found out after they gave their booking to a travel agent when they got stung with an unexpected fee when they wanted to make a change to their reservation.

[Treven]

I always go through my TA for cruise bookings. I've used her for several years and am very comfortable with her presence. One of the principle reasons is in case there's an issue, I want someone experienced in my corner dealing with the cruise line. Is it the "best way"? It is for me.

[fleckle]

Years ago we used to hear people say that a travel agent will help you in case you have an issue with the cruise line, and we were naive enough to believe them.

 

But you never really know how good the travel agent is until a serious problem arises. The one time when we had a serious, complicated problem with a cruise line, the travel agent was of no help at all.

 

Fortunately, our credit card company came to the rescue. We had already paid for the cruise in full and it was after final payment, but the credit card company got us a full refund.

The travel agent was useless.

 

Everyone says that if you use a travel agent, to be sure you have a good one. But you never know whether or not you really have a good travel agent until you encounter a serious problem and find out how they deal with it.

Any travel agent at all can handle the routine everyday stuff.

[Putterdude]

No question in my mind, TA is the only way to go. A good TA will have a better price then most rack rates and if not better OBCs and other perks. We just booked a cruise with our TA, saved a bundle on the fare, got an OBC but the real kicker was free non-medical insurance on the trip which had a value of some $300 to us.:)