Best way to book a cruise?

[Aruba76]

We have booked our past two cruises with a travel agent and are ready to book our third cruise. We are wondering what the advantages are to book with a travel agent, with an Internet agency, or directly with Celebrity. We would appreciate any insights anyone might have.

[ariawoman]

With a travel agent (could be brick and mortar or online but smaller), you should have someone to be your advocate. Someone who can give you advise on your cabin location/ship/itinerary/etc.

 

With an online agency or celebrity, you have someone that will book it and take the payment and the rest will likely be up to you sniff out.

 

It would really depend on the agency you choose.

 

From my experience i've booked with all 3, and I've not received any service beyond taking my payment from the cruise lines or large internet agency, and if i had come up with any questions, they'd maybe answer those but they certainly didn't go out of their way for me prior to the booking process like a TA could. Never did I feel they were my advocate nor did I feel like I could just bounce things off of them.

 

It all depends on what you're looking for and needs are. If you're looking for only the best incentives then you'll be better off with a large agency or X directly as the smaller ones just can't compete with them. If you're looking for someone to establish a relationship with, to build a trust with, find a TA (brick and mortar or smaller online agency that is!).

 

Hope this helps some!

[wallie5446]

Booked thru a TA for 20 years till she changed jobs, ( now our stock broker ) :eek: Have not found someone like her, so we have booked direct for the last few years. Just depends on who you feel takes the best care of you. The cost should not be any different from one to the other.

[SusieV]

We book with a TA for the perks.

[Poconolady]

Have done all three,but feel that we get the best perks ( usually multiple perks on top of Cruiseline sales) with one of the big cruise online TAs. Have never had any problems and hey have always been very helpful on the phone. When we booked thru X we got the least amount of extra OBC, dinners, etc.

[ariawoman]

Booked thru a TA for 20 years till she changed jobs, ( now our stock broker ) :eek: Have not found someone like her, so we have booked direct for the last few years. Just depends on who you feel takes the best care of you. The cost should not be any different from one to the other.

 

I presume she was a part time TA and a full time stock broker? LOL. If not, how freaking weird lol

[CPT Trips]

Have done all three,but feel that we get the best perks ( usually multiple perks on top of Cruiseline sales) with one of the big cruise online TAs. Have never had any problems and hey have always been very helpful on the phone. When we booked thru X we got the least amount of extra OBC, dinners, etc.

 

We too experienced getting the best net deal from the big online TAs. The cruise line could never equal the TA price. Just be aware that some charge fees for changes and/or cancellations. Be sure to read their terms an conditions and even if you don't see any charges ask during the booking process.

[grandgeezer]

I've booked 27 cruises and they've all been through online TAs. I started out comparison shopping between them, the cruiseline, and a brick and mortar agency. It became very apparent, very quickly, that I could save alot of money online. The couple TAs I use are very customer focused, returning my calls and e-mails promptly. I don't need anybody to hold my hand and give me their opinion. We occasionly travel with some friends who need the hand holding and use a local agency. Even though we usually save several hundred dollars a cruise, they are happy with the peace of mind they get. We also have piece of mind and a lot more money to spend on tours, drinks, etc.

I have all the confidence in the world that if something would go wrong, they would help me out every bit as much as the local TA.

I'm not telling anyone what to do, just what works very well for me.

[Aruba76]

Thank you for all your advice. I think we will probably use a TA - but perhaps one in a bigger company than we have used in the past. Thinking about the Barcelona round trip in October on the Equinox. Good choice?

[ariawoman]

Barcelona on the equinox sounds like a great choice to me. Of course, I'm biased hehe. We usually go in October. I'd recommend earlier than later, the weather can get pretty chilly if you start too late into October, at least in the years we did it. We had to wear jackets and I even wore gloves in bar Leona a few years ago when we were there at cruise end in like 21-23 timeframe of October.

[Keith1010]

We find it best to use a Travel Agent. They can be your advocate if there are issues with the cruise line.

 

Keith

[4774Papa]

I like booking directly with the cruiseline. You have control of your reservation. I frequently check for price drops and call immediately and get the new lower rates. Have read several posts on cc where during pricedrops a cruiser could not get their TA to take advantage of the price drop since the TA was out of the country or just would not assist.

 

I do check with a couple of the online TAs and their extra benefits are rarely significant enough for me to use them.

[Happy2cruise]

We book with a TA for the perks.

 

So do we and also for the lower prices!!

[barking16]

Thank you for all your advice. I think we will probably use a TA - but perhaps one in a bigger company than we have used in the past. Thinking about the Barcelona round trip in October on the Equinox. Good choice?

 

Join our roll call for this trip. Looks like a great group going! Can't wait.

[rjrpar]

I like booking directly with the cruiseline. You have control of your reservation. I frequently check for price drops and call immediately and get the new lower rates. Have read several posts on cc where during pricedrops a cruiser could not get their TA to take advantage of the price drop since the TA was out of the country or just would not assist.

 

I do check with a couple of the online TAs and their extra benefits are rarely significant enough for me to use them.

 

Don't know what you mean by significant, but we get 10% of the cruise fare as OBC. Also, our TA hasn't missed a price decrease for us in 10 years.

[rjrpar]

I like booking directly with the cruiseline. You have control of your reservation. I frequently check for price drops and call immediately and get the new lower rates. Have read several posts on cc where during pricedrops a cruiser could not get their TA to take advantage of the price drop since the TA was out of the country or just would not assist.

 

I do check with a couple of the online TAs and their extra benefits are rarely significant enough for me to use them.

 

Don't know what you mean by significant, but we get 10% of the cruise fare as OBC. Also, our TA hasn't missed a price decrease for us in 10 years.

[varoo]

We liked it a lot better when we had until final payment to transfer our booking to a TA.

 

Now that it is only 60 days, we try to make sure we have everything lined up just the way we want it before turning the booking over to a TA.

We compare offers and give our booking to whoever offers the best deal.

 

If not for the perks they offer, we would never use a TA as we prefer to deal directly with the cruise line instead of needing to go through a third party.

 

I have never understood the need to have a personal relationship with someone who sells you a cruise, any more than needing a personal relationship with someone who sells you a train or airline ticket, or a camera, or shoes or gloves.

 

There are times when a TA may be more hindrance than help. But we will continue to give them our business as long as they provide us with worthwhile incentives to do so.

[4774Papa]

Don't know what you mean by significant, but we get 10% of the cruise fare as OBC. Also, our TA hasn't missed a price decrease for us in 10 years.

The cruises that we have booked, I have never seen a 10 percent OBC.

[midwestchick]

It's really a shame that the names of TA's cannot be shared here. I know they cannot post and advertise but it would be nice to have a reference list of really good TAs

[soakedbythesea]

We have booked our past two cruises with a travel agent and are ready to book our third cruise. We are wondering what the advantages are to book with a travel agent, with an Internet agency, or directly with Celebrity. We would appreciate any insights anyone might have.

 

Let the internet help you get the best pricing and just make sure you check out the agent giving the lowest pricing. At ************* dot com - agent write to you with offers of total price, onboard credit, etc. :cool: Just make sure to give a few days after you make the request, so the best prices show up.

[Oceangoer2]

Barcelona on the equinox sounds like a great choice to me. Of course, I'm biased hehe. We usually go in October. I'd recommend earlier than later, the weather can get pretty chilly if you start too late into October, at least in the years we did it. We had to wear jackets and I even wore gloves in bar Leona a few years ago when we were there at cruise end in like 21-23 timeframe of October.

Don't intend to shanghai the thread...but...have you been to Barcelona and the Med in late Sept? Concerned as to what to pack...hot or cold clothes? Thanks and sorry if this post is intrusive.

[Chicago Boy]

We have booked our past two cruises with a travel agent and are ready to book our third cruise. We are wondering what the advantages are to book with a travel agent, with an Internet agency, or directly with Celebrity. We would appreciate any insights anyone might have.

 

We use our travel agent who goes through Celebrity for us. We tell her what we want and she books it all. Cruise, hotels and Choice Air. All we have to do is pay for it. No muss no fuss and she always get us a good deal. :)

[dmk]

We book directly with Celebrity. Then, we transfer to a TA.

I haven't yet used the big online TA's because I don't like the idea of paying a fee for cancelling before final payment. I'm still looking for one that doesn't charge this fee.

[flames9]

We book directly with Celebrity. Then, we transfer to a TA.

I haven't yet used the big online TA's because I don't like the idea of paying a fee for cancelling before final payment. I'm still looking for one that doesn't charge this fee.

 

Mine does not charge any fees and many others that I have been in contact have not charged any fees (All based in the USA)

[ariawoman]

Don't intend to shanghai the thread...but...have you been to Barcelona and the Med in late Sept? Concerned as to what to pack...hot or cold clothes? Thanks and sorry if this post is intrusive.

 

No worries!

 

I've been to Barcelona in mid to late october. The first time, it was cold, and I needed a jacket and even gloves. Last year, we ended around october 21st and light jackets were still OK.

 

I'd think end of September you'd still be in the hot/warm weather clothing arena. Just a guess though, since my 2 stints were both October.

 

You'll enjoy barcelona, beautiful architecture there. We've still not managed to see a lot of it, but have gotten a good taste. I also found a good hotel last year that I'd recommend, not far from the placa de catalunya where you can get the bus to the airport, or the hop on hop off. It was called Hotel Jazz. :-)

 

Anyway, back to the original thread topic.

 

My thoughts are, booking with a TA, or booking with X then transfering, will always get you more than just booking with the cruise line. You just need to find a TA you trust. There are good ones out there :-)