OnLine Booking Agencies

[serendipity1499]

It the TA makes the booking with HAL even if they go under there is no loss.

 

But some travel agencies book it themselves, pocketing the money to pay later (I'm putting this nicely) - so if they go under then yes cruisers will be affected.

 

As long as you have an invoice from HAL showing the payment went there and your payments get charged to HAL on your credit card you are fine.

 

If the agency goes under - you can go straight to HAL - they will take over and you can assign to a new agency if you wish.

 

It's the first thing I ask any new agency I am trying (online or not) - where does the money go (and then I check my cc bill) to make sure it really went to HAL. Any reputable firm will do that IMO:D

 

Completely agree with this entire post..

 

Interesting that hasn't been noticed. Heck I'm so concerned about getting sideways with Cruise Critic I don't even mention or have links to the agencies I use on our website. We did maybe five or six years ago but when it really became an issue here I had my wife remove them. :)

 

Me too!...I've been admonished because even though I never mentioned our TA's Name I was accused of "touting our Agent" .. I only give my Friends & people I personally know or have met on board, the name of our TA.. It's a shame but I will not take a chance & be banned from this site..Even when some posters have e-mailed me I have explained that I can't give them the name of our TA..I enjoy this site too much & don't want to jeopardize my posting privledges...

cheers....:)Betty

[HokiePoq]

We booked online with a big name online travel company and got our trip insurance through them too. Once I had our booking number, I was able to go on the HAL site and book our excursions, dinners, etc. HAL was great as far as answering questions, making changes etc, even though we didn't book through their site. We will probably continue doing it this way because it was easy to get insurance with a separate company.

 

This is where my PCC became angry with me and washed her hands of me. I did not expect her to service a booking made elsewhere but had a general question to ask. She said I had to call the HAL number and would not even answer a question unrelated to the booking. So very unlike our first PCC who would tell me if we were getting more perks with the TA or direct.

I'm glad you had a different experience and very glad to know that my PCC may be the exception, not the rule. Considering another booking but won't be doing it with this PCC.

[Randyk47]

This is where my PCC became angry with me and washed her hands of me. I did not expect her to service a booking made elsewhere but had a general question to ask. She said I had to call the HAL number and would not even answer a question unrelated to the booking. So very unlike our first PCC who would tell me if we were getting more perks with the TA or direct.

I'm glad you had a different experience and very glad to know that my PCC may be the exception, not the rule. Considering another booking but won't be doing it with this PCC.

 

Somewhere along the line years ago we were assigned a HAL PCC even though we'd never booked a cruise directly with HAL. I did call him once while researching a cruise and had a very pleasant conversation with him. The bottom line of our conversation was that he couldn't match external TA offers and, since we were relatively experienced cruisers, there really wasn't much he could offer us in terms of intangible value added. Guess you could say we parted on friendly terms.

[tangerinebunny]

Last night I visited one of the big three flight/hotel/cruise sites to check out a HAL cruise we hope to take next summer. They were advertising a sale - half off brochure prices on our trip. But it's the same base price HAL has been and is offering on their website. And HAL is not mentioning this as a reduction, sale, or special offer.

 

For us the big difference is service once the cruise is booked. Our one experience with a big agency included hour long phone holds after the cruise was booked. Service was much better before they had our money.

[Randyk47]

Last night I visited one of the big three flight/hotel/cruise sites to check out a HAL cruise we hope to take next summer. They were advertising a sale - half off brochure prices on our trip. But it's the same base price HAL has been and is offering on their website. And HAL is not mentioning this as a reduction, sale, or special offer.

 

For us the big difference is service once the cruise is booked. Our one experience with a big agency included hour long phone holds after the cruise was booked. Service was much better before they had our money.

 

You really have to deal with cruise only Internet agencies to get true reductions. The big flight/hotel/cruise agencies don't typically offer any advantage over HAL's published fares.

[serendipity1499]

You really have to deal with cruise only Internet agencies to get true reductions. The big flight/hotel/cruise agencies don't typically offer any advantage over HAL's published fares.

 

OP & Tangerinebunny, I agree with Randy..Don't go to the large travel sites that deal in hotels/air etc..

Do some research..Start with TA's who advertise on Cruise Critic & continue on to other Internet Agents.. Since 2006 we've saved a ton of $$ using a cruise only TA..Sorry can't give you their name, but you can find them on-line..Check out a couple of them..And ask questions..Be sure that the cruise line processes all your payments not the TA's..

You don't have to be in a group to get these reductions..Most cruise only Agents have blocked space on cruises & their prices are anywhere from 8% to 12% below the cruise line prices..

We also are able to talk on the phone with our Cruise only Travel Agent.. Today HAL advertised an OBC on many of their cruises..Our's was one of them...My Friend contacted our Agent & asked about it.. Within a short time our Friends & DH & I received the OBC for both cabins..

Good luck in your search..

Cheers..Betty

[Tampa Girl]

I know I can't mention names but there are some really good offers from an agency that advertises on CC. Does anyone have any experience doing this? I have always used a HAL PCC but am really tempted to switch this time. :rolleyes:

 

 

I didn't think CC allowed such advertising. Also, if you find that your TA's insurance is as good as HAL's platinimum, I would love to have the name. The Platinum policy allows cancellations for any reason. Does your TA's insurance? If you wish, you can e-mail me below. We are within two weeks of our final payment, and I'm still not sure which insurance we want. Thanks.

[iancal]

The internet cruise travel agencies, in our experience, will very seldom display a price on their site that is at variance with the cruise line price.

 

In order to get the 'right price' you need to phone, speak to an agent, and find out about the commission rebates in the form of OBCs.

 

Simply comparing on line prices will not result in any substantive discounts.

[Randyk47]

I didn't think CC allowed such advertising. Also, if you find that your TA's insurance is as good as HAL's platinimum, I would love to have the name. The Platinum policy allows cancellations for any reason. Does your TA's insurance? If you wish, you can e-mail me below. We are within two weeks of our final payment, and I'm still not sure which insurance we want. Thanks.

 

Actually one of the larger, if not the largest, Internet based cruise only agencies advertises on Cruise Critic.

[Tampa Girl]

Actually one of the larger, if not the largest, Internet based cruise only agencies advertises on Cruise Critic.

 

 

Which goes to show that I never get beyond the forums! Thanks for the info. Would still like the insurance info from OP, however.

[Randyk47]

Which goes to show that I never get beyond the forums! Thanks for the info. Would still like the insurance info from OP, however.

 

Can't help there. We don't always insure our trips but the last was a Med cruise which was expensive enough in itself but air and pre and post- cruise hotels really ran up the investment....way, way over say our typical Caribbean cruise...so we got insurance through our AMEX card. We use InsureMyTrip to check our options.

[Typhoon1]

Use a local TA. They may be a few dollars higher, but the added personal touch they offer can't be beat.

 

You may get some booking perks that an online agency can't offer.

[Tampa Girl]

Would love to know what Internet based TA's you have used;)

 

 

E-mail me below.

[iancal]

I think it comes down to the agent and to the customer's requirements.

 

We have an excellent on line TA and we are very happy with her.

 

We had a excellent local TA when we lived in another city. We have not had the same good fortune where we live now and we are now happy with our TA. She only deals with cruises.

 

It was a TA who drove us to the internet a number of years ago. Her services were so sub standard, her information so sketchy that we were certain that we could do better on our own. We did, and we have.

[Randyk47]

Use a local TA. They may be a few dollars higher, but the added personal touch they offer can't be beat.

 

You may get some booking perks that an online agency can't offer.

 

Guess it depends on your definition of a "few dollars higher" but I've yet to find a local brick and mortar agency who can come even close to my Internet TA. We do have a friend who works for a local TA and she freely admits she can't come close to matching our typical fares. Interestingly we helped her out a couple of years ago by attending her agency's annual cruise fair and registering ourselves as her customers.....she got credit for head count. At the fair we talked to the Silversea regional rep who gave us a coupon, actually a code for a 5% discount, that we could use but surprisingly only if booked directly with the line and not through an agent. We did do that and it was the first time since 2004 where we'd not used one of our typical Internet TAs.

[iancal]

The last time we asked a B&M TA for information and a quote she tried to make a huge deal out of her 'special offer.' It was a reduced deposit (a cruise line incentive) and a bottle of wine (her incentive). That was the extent of her offer.

Oh yes....she did give us a brochure with her card attached to it and told us that the ship was so popular that it was filling up fast and we should book immediately.

[whogo]

[quote name='iancal']The last time we asked a B&M TA for information and a quote she tried to make a huge deal out of her 'special offer.' It was a reduced deposit (a cruise line incentive) and a bottle of wine (her incentive). That was the extent of her offer.

Oh yes....she did give us a brochure with her card attached to it and told us that the ship was so popular that it was filling up fast and we should book immediately.[/quote]
Ah, yes, the personal touch you get with a local travel agent!