TA vs. Discount TA

[rhsjr]

I have dealt with the same local TA for 15 years. Mostly work related travel for 10 years and last 5 for personal travel. She is nice, does research for us, no problem when making changes etc. Even called her home once as we were stick with no flights out. She came up with several options and did the rest. BUT I keep hearing members say they NEVER pay Princess.com prices. I do...My question is: Would I get the same personal service out of a discount TA? If not, is the discount worth the non personal service? I know you can't name TA's, not a problem, just asking.

[Pia1913]

I have dealt with the same local TA for 15 years. Mostly work related travel for 10 years and last 5 for personal travel. She is nice, does research for us, no problem when making changes etc. Even called her home once as we were stick with no flights out. She came up with several options and did the rest. BUT I keep hearing members say they NEVER pay Princess.com prices. I do...My question is: Would I get the same personal service out of a discount TA? If not, is the discount worth the non personal service? I know you can't name TA's, not a problem, just asking.

 

Really, what kind of personal service do you need? You probably do your own research anyway, before booking the cruise. Paying Princess prices, you might as well book with them directly. Yes, you will get the same personal service with the right TA and pay less too.

[Pam in CA]

If you don't need a lot of hand holding, a discount TA will not only save you a lot of money but also provide fast, efficient service. It all depends on the TA.

 

Years ago, before the Internet was so accessible, we were on a trip to London for a week. We'd picked out our hotel but when we got to London, it was awful. We called our TA (a brick and mortar, which they all were at the time), and she booked us into another hotel, called us and gave us the info. Our vacation wasn't ruined. Today, if there's any flight delay, everyone's pulling out their smart phone to check flights, connections, hotels, etc. It's a different world today where the information that was once available only to TAs is not only easy to access but expected.

[TracieABD]

Really, what kind of personal service do you need? You probably do your own research anyway, before booking the cruise. Paying Princess prices, you might as well book with them directly. Yes, you will get the same personal service with the right TA and pay less too.

 

I agree. Are you looking to have a face to face relationship or are you looking to save a little money. After shopping around, I found a TA whom I call and chat with AND she saves me money! :)

[johnmik1]

I have dealt with the same local TA for 15 years. Mostly work related travel for 10 years and last 5 for personal travel. She is nice, does research for us, no problem when making changes etc. Even called her home once as we were stick with no flights out. She came up with several options and did the rest. BUT I keep hearing members say they NEVER pay Princess.com prices. I do...My question is: Would I get the same personal service out of a discount TA? If not, is the discount worth the non personal service? I know you can't name TA's, not a problem, just asking.

 

Paying a local TA for a cruise is like paying sticker price for a car!

[cdngrl]

I agree. Are you looking to have a face to face relationship or are you looking to save a little money. After shopping around, I found a TA whom I call and chat with AND she saves me money! :)

me too....i save a LOT of money! plus i get OBC.

[Cruise Junky]

Have you asked your TA about getting a discount? if you like her it would be nice to offer her the option.

[Times Prince]

I have dealt with the same local TA for 15 years. Mostly work related travel for 10 years and last 5 for personal travel. She is nice, does research for us, no problem when making changes etc. Even called her home once as we were stick with no flights out. She came up with several options and did the rest. BUT I keep hearing members say they NEVER pay Princess.com prices. I do...My question is: Would I get the same personal service out of a discount TA? If not, is the discount worth the non personal service? I know you can't name TA's, not a problem, just asking.

In the 1990's we had a local TA who we could visit and chat with, who provided us with brochures, vacation options, flight arrangements, and pretty good prices, including some in-cabin gifts when we cruised. She also went to bat for us and got us cabin upgrades by dealing personally with her Princess contacts (this was prior to "Guarantee cabins" so they were true upgrades).

 

We moved to a different state for work, and after a few really bad TA experiences decided to take control of our own destiny, booking flights via internet and cruises directly via telephone (Princess reps often gave us options we weren't previously aware of, like cabins not listed online or other cruises/ships with pricing similar to that advertised for a sold out cruise.) It was nice to be in control.

 

Then, in a situation similar to yours we contacted an "online" or "discount" TA, a franchised agent (from a major online company) with sales awards from Princess, who provides some price reduction from the Princess web site, OBC's, and great responses to changes. She will hold a cabin when we ask for quotes, to insure we get what she is quoting (especially needed for sale pricing). The savings are not spectacular, but usually pay for taxes/fees, even when we're booking a sale priced cabin - which is most of the time. The interesting thing is she lives in Pennsylvania (we live in Texas), and we've developed a good relationship via telephone and email - we do nothing online to book a cruise, although her company has recently created custom web sites for each customer for confirmations etc.. We've never met Nancy in person, but have more of a relationship like the local TA.

 

So in our present situation we do most of the homework to choose a cruise by itinerary/timing and she completes the transaction. When we have her book Princess air (mostly for international open leg flights) then she handles the whole thing.

 

The world has changed such that you can have as little or as much control of your travel arrangements as you wish. And even with some "discount TA's" a personal relationship is possible.

 

There may be deals out these with major savings, and the TA we are dealing with is considered a good one despite our modest savings (after choice of sale prices and guarantee cabins). So don't expect that if you change TA's that you will automatically get outstanding deals. Shop around and ask for quotes.

 

Strangely enough the best initial deal we ever got on a cruise was from our local TA, who alerted us to a last minute sale. That's the kind of service we appreciate.

[caribill]

Just like brick & mortor TAs, there are good discount TAs and bad discount TAs.

 

If you want a good one, you may need to do some searching. On your next cruise, as the people at the Meet and Greet and also others you meet who they use for a TA, are they happy, and why.

 

If you do switch TAs, be sure:

 

o Do not pick one that has their own cancellation fees on top of any Princess ones

 

o That they will be accessible if you have a problem while traveling

 

o That when the person you are dealing with is not in the office, someone else will be able to help you.

[TracieABD]

Times, I heart my TA. .;) (who sounds a little like your TA)

[grams98]

we try to always get the cruise for the best price that we can; so we do our research first, lots of reading, lots of comparison shopping. and then we almost always go with an online TA who advertises upfront that they are there to get you the best price and not for the normal information that you might be able to get by talking with someone. (but you can now get that info online, as other have noted, by doing the reading yourself.) in fact, you can't call this TA, it is all online. my first cruise with them i was leary and very nervous, but we have done five more now and always feel good about it and save lots of money, which means more trips. also, by staying activiely informed about the cruise you have chosen, and checking on the prices with the cruiseline, you can even get your price reduced further,by this TA, by catching a sale or a special deal and letting them know about it. Probably this TA is not the only one out there that works this way; there are probably many that do. best of luck to you on this. For us, part of the fun is actually reading and planning the whole things, and staying active with the reservation to try to find lower prices on the websites. it happens quite frequently. grams98

[Putterdude]

We use a TA who is both b&m and online, is Canada's highest volume Princess TA and we get excellent service. We have done the local TA thing and it really hasn't worked for us.

[Pam in CA]

The world has changed such that you can have as little or as much control of your travel arrangements as you wish. And even with some "discount TA's" a personal relationship is possible.

So very, very true. Back in the 90's and early 00's, a good TA that did the research for you, could recommend a hotel, restaurant, etc. was an angel. Today, the online and app resources are incredible. TripAdvisor, Independent Traveler, airfare comparison sites, Yelp, you name it, you have real world reviews and advice on just about anything and everything. Flight delay? Everyone pulls out their smart phone. Need a last-minute hotel reservation? There's an app for that.

 

The role of a TA has changed dramatically from ten years ago. Or, even five years ago. Most people, including cruisers, do a lot of research on their own and are able to tell the TA exactly what they want. TAs work in volume rather than plan complicated itineraries these days. Personally, I think it's the only way they can survive financially.

[caribill]

The role of a TA has changed dramatically from ten years ago. Or, even five years ago. Most people, including cruisers, do a lot of research on their own and are able to tell the TA exactly what they want. TAs work in volume rather than plan complicated itineraries these days. Personally, I think it's the only way they can survive financially.

 

Especially since airlines have reduced commissions to zero or only slightly above and other travel suppliers are wanting to do likewise.

[Pia1913]

Times Prince: be careful what you include in your dissertations.

[rhsjr]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have searched online but get the big companies, no problem, like Vacationto...com etc Guess I'll just have to try a few (research). The Meet and Greet is also a good idea, we sail again in October, California Coastal.

[Pia1913]

Thanks everyone for your comments. I have searched online but get the big companies, no problem, like Vacationto...com etc Guess I'll just have to try a few (research). The Meet and Greet is also a good idea, we sail again in October, California Coastal.

 

Just a hint. What you mentioned above; prices not always what you see. Pick up the phone and call. You never know what you might get one on one.

[Cruise Junky]

As Pia said, agents aren't allowed to advertise Princess discounts anymore so you'll have to do some phoning around for quotes.

[Loonbeam]

A key question - do you travel OTHER than cruising? If cruising is a big part of your plans than looking at a TA makes sense, however if your travel is a lot more varied, then I might stick with someone you know.

 

For example, and I have said this before, our TA is an RCCL shop and doesn't sell much Princess, so we don't see any discounts at all on those cruises, other than maybe a little OBC she gives back. BUT, she is part of a travel network that saved us several hundred dollars on a different trip, and since her office is full of TAs experienced in a wide variety of travel we can draw on that knowledge, even for pre and post cruise items.

 

Now, we cruise once a year for 10 days at most, so a few hundred dollars is not a deal breaker and as I noted is offset by savings on other trips. But if I was planning to cruise Princess 5 times a year, I would have to consider other options.

 

Sure, I could use a different TA for cruises anyway, but to me the relationship is more valuable. And more importantly, I trust her to handle any issue if it comes up. For emergencies, I have her and the owner of the company's personal cell numbers. When flight schedules change she usually has me rebooked before the airline tells me about the change, especially valuable when I am overseas.

 

There's no right answer for this, it all depends on if cost is your biggest driver, your own personal resources, etc.

 

One note about research. Sure, I could do it all myself, but unlike more than a few posters on here, I am employed full time, year round, so that time has value to me. I much prefer the trust but verify approach. She makes suggestions, I vet them against other sources, and if I need more choices I get them, thus saving me from separating the wheat from the chaff. The only thing I do on my own for trips is arrange for drivers/guides wherever we need them, because I like to talk to the company...

 

Finally, at least for a while, no, a new TA will NOT give you the same level of service. They aren't capable, for one simple reason. Your TA has 15 years of working with you under her belt. She knows your preferences, your quirks (another example, I HATE paper confirmations, just email me and I will print if I need it - for some reason, our business agency can't handle this simple concept and sends me a packet EVERY time) even possibly what food you like. It will take a new TA a while to get up to that speed.

 

 

 

I have dealt with the same local TA for 15 years. Mostly work related travel for 10 years and last 5 for personal travel. She is nice, does research for us, no problem when making changes etc. Even called her home once as we were stick with no flights out. She came up with several options and did the rest. BUT I keep hearing members say they NEVER pay Princess.com prices. I do...My question is: Would I get the same personal service out of a discount TA? If not, is the discount worth the non personal service? I know you can't name TA's, not a problem, just asking.

[pcur]

For the first time in 15 years I decided to book with someone other than my regular TA.

 

I love her dearly, but she is bound by her parent company's prices. I called up the big warehouse, buy-in-bulk place and got a $600 lower fare, then another $492 price drop, plus a $400 obc. So, I'm not getting any personal service, but saving a ton of money.

 

I do all my own research, and ask very little of the travel agency except price, but I miss my TA. We'll see what the final decision is after this upcoming cruise.

[Wishing on a star]

I have checked a few of the bigger online agencies.

And only one seems to be offering any discount on the Princess cruise I am looking at, and just a $100.00 onboard credit. This is one of the bigger online Cruise and Travel Agency web-sites.

 

If there are any tips on how to do a little better than that, I would love to hear them.

[DRPWDunIL]

One small exception to this that we were made aware of, and could not contradict. We took a Connosieur tour and were told that those tours are not eligible for discounting, nor for later price adjustments. Our TA did give us a small onboard credit for our trouble, but I learned that (unless the TA is able to put together a "group" and get a "group discount", but I was told this is highly unusual due to small size of the Connosieur tours and their quick sell out). Based on what I have seen on-line this explanation did appear to be plausible. Our tour was sold out within 60 days of it opening up, but the cruise itself continued to have staterooms which were being discounted throughout our countdown.

[pcur]

I have checked a few of the bigger online agencies.

And only one seems to be offering any discount on the Princess cruise I am looking at, and just a $100.00 onboard credit. This is one of the bigger online Cruise and Travel Agency web-sites.

 

If there are any tips on how to do a little better than that, I would love to hear them.

 

If you have cruised with Princess before, or the agency is one that requires a "membership", then be sure to put in both those id numbers when you do a ghost booking (don't finish the booking, but get the prices). The one I booked with gave a bigger obc to their members, and then showed Princess' repeat cruiser lower price.

[cellyml12]

I have a question. I have a BVE coming up. My understanding is that the price of the BVE can be put towards a cruise booked within 3 months. Does the cruise have to be booked with Princess to be able to do that or can any TA access that? Thanks for any info.

[caribill]

I have a question. I have a BVE coming up. My understanding is that the price of the BVE can be put towards a cruise booked within 3 months. Does the cruise have to be booked with Princess to be able to do that or can any TA access that? Thanks for any info.

 

Any TA. Just let them know you have had the BVE and any booking number associated with it.