Booking direct Princess?

[Mr&MrsSmith]

We have booked our air already and determined which cruise we would like this sept (balcony on the coral the 18). We don't know any TA and curiously attempted the cruise compete which was about 200 less than going through Princess direct. Not having any experience with online cruise retailers, has anyone had experience going this route? What are the pros and cons or what should I be looking for in fine print? If its really not worth it we can stick to the Princess.

 

Thank you for your input!

[1025cruise]

We are not able to discuss different travel agents (and yes, the online places where you can book a cruise are considered travel agents).

[kamac56]

I have not personally had experience with on line sites for cruising I am sure others have and will comment, the one thing that I think will be mentioned is that you cant use the name of the site that your thinking of going with. There are issues with that an hopefully someone will tell me if I am wrong or not on that issue. ANYWAY......i always book thru the cruise line, that way I have the control if the price goes down etc to call my self. But that is just the way I do it.

[jnc411]

I have booked both ways , TA and direct with Princess , just depends on the cruise and the cruise offers out there. The TA I used , I can not name on the boards here, but it was a large well know wharehouse store that has a travel dept, they were very good.

Cori

[varoo]

........ or you can first book directly with the cruise line and take your time to shop around to compare offers from different travel agencies.

 

Then you can later transfer your booking to whichever TA offers the best deal.

 

What are the pros and cons or what should I be looking for in fine print?

 

The pros are the perks you get from the travel agent.

Typical travel agent perks are prepaid gratuities and/or onboard credit, plus they often toss in some small additional perks such as a bottle of wine or dinner at a specialty restaurant.

 

Make sure that the perks being offered by the travel agent are in addition to whatever perks come from the cruise line.

 

I say this because I frequently see travel agents advertising perks that are actually coming from the cruise line and that everyone can get, whether or not they use a TA.

 

 

The cons are that you lose control of your own booking and must go through a middle-man/woman to make changes from that point on, even if you only want to make a payment or a cabin change.

 

If your travel agent is not immediately available, you may end up playing telephone tag, needing to leave messages back and forth.

 

Some of travel agencies give you a number where you can always reach a live person who can handle whatever you need immediately, even when your own agent is not available.

That is one of the features we always want when picking a TA.

 

As for what you should be looking for, be sure to get the terms from any TA sent to you in print first so there are no unwelcome surprises later.

 

Some travel agencies charge a fee to process a change or cancellation, while others don't.

You don't want to be calling them later to request a price drop or a cabin change only to find out that they will charge you a fee to do it.

 

[Keith1010]

Speak with a friend who cruises to see if they have a recommendation for a TA. Often TA's can provide amenities that go beyond what the cruise line will offer.

 

Do this sooner rather than later.

 

Keith

[Mr&MrsSmith]

Thank you for your input. I sent a load of questions to the potential TA and hope to hear back on some of the fine print items. If there is anything else I should look for, please let me know since I now know referrals or names are not appropriate.

 

Unfortunately my circle doesn't travel much on cruises so I depend on websites and cruisecritic for loads of advise and appreciate all the input.

 

One more question, Does anyone know if the travel coupon books TA provide are worth much? That is also thrown into the package with obc and lower rate.

[Coral]

One more question, Does anyone know if the travel coupon books TA provide are worth much? That is also thrown into the package with obc and lower rate.

 

I have only used the coupon books as coasters......

 

Good luck. Just make sure that whoever you book with doesn't charge booking fees and changing/cancellation fees.