Ireland/Uk cruisers booking with US travel agency.

[Marshall123]

HI

 

Just wondering is it ok to book a rcc through an American t/a?

Royal caribbean and our own local t/a are the same price but offer no bonuses like obc etc.

 

With an american travel agency we can afford a balcony room and still get free onboard credit, gratuities, and speciality dining.

 

Thanks

[Elizanessie]

HI

 

Just wondering is it ok to book a rcc through an American t/a?

Royal caribbean and our own local t/a are the same price but offer no bonuses like obc etc.

 

With an american travel agency we can afford a balcony room and still get free onboard credit, gratuities, and speciality dining.

 

Thanks

 

Yes it is ok for you to book through a US TA :D

[cabs]

No you can not. They can not book anyone not living in the US.

[abo]

No you can not. They can not book anyone not living in the US.

 

Yes they can and they do. I am UK based and have done this myself as have many others. Within the last two weeks I have booked a cruise on Vision through a US TA.

Edited March 11, 2014 by abo

[NorbertsNiece]

Yes it is ok for you to book through a US TA :D

 

Yes they can and they do. I am UK based and have done this myself as have many others. Within the last two weeks I have booked a cruise on Vision through a US TA.

 

I have as well. The above two statements are accurate. Post #3 is incorrect.

[roysmith99]

Yes you can book via a USA agent, we have done it - however have found out that a cruise club, close to where we live in Bolsover, can also offer similar deals. Everything that any TAs offer is governed by the RCL agent booking system, cruisingpower.

 

or so I am led to believe - buta am happy to be contradicted if I am wrong.

[cabs]

As a New Jersey agent it is not allowed. You may have but Rccl says no. They just may not have been caught doing it.

[NorbertsNiece]

As a New Jersey agent it is not allowed. You may have but Rccl says no. They just may not have been caught doing it.

 

I've spoken with RCCL UK about a reservation I have with a US TA..... the query was about the website and not the booking per se.... the CVP said 'Oh you've booked with xxx, that's ok.' She could also see the booking was in $$. I have also had a NCC assigned to the US when on board. Maybe some agents are approved.

[villauk]

As a New Jersey agent it is not allowed. You may have but Rccl says no. They just may not have been caught doing it.

 

Strange as I also use a US TA and RCI must know about it because all of our details are obviously on their records i.e. address etc when the booking is made. We have also purchased Future Cruise Certificates in US$ and were informed by the Loyalty Ambassadors that they need to be assigned to a US TA.

 

I know that some cruiselines, such as Princess, do not allow you to book through the States. Perhaps that may be what you are thinking about :confused:.

[Richiebaseball]

Technically in order to book a resident from outside North America an agency must be registered with that countries office. If they are registered with a local office then they are doing business in the local currency as well as offering all the protections offered in that country. That has been the policy for quite some time. However RCCL, including Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Azamara Club Cruises, does not enforce this policy. But that does not mean it does not technically exist. It's just like the 55MPH speed limit here in the states. No one does 55. That doesn't mean that speed limit doesn't exist, it's just not enforced.

 

It wasn't that long ago that North American agents could book non-North Americans on Princess even though they had the same policy. Then Princess decided to enforce that policy. Now with Princess if you are not a North American and have booked with a US agency in the past then you can still use that agency. However if you are new to that agency and Princess determines that to be the case then they will not pay the agency a commission.

 

So while European residents, Australian residents, etc., are booking with US agencies with no problems, the policy does actually exist. And RCCL could decide at any time to start enforcing it just like Princess did. And the fact that most people, including agents and Royal Caribbean employees, do not know this is not really surprising.

 

Here are a few snippets from RCCL's Travel Agent Guidelines:

 

a. Each Office only authorizes a Travel Partner to market and take booking requests from customers located in the country (or countries) assigned to that Office.

 

i. For example, the Office in Miami, Florida USA only authorizes a Travel Partner to market and book cruises for customers located in the fifty states of the United States of America and Canada. So a Travel Partner that has signed up with the Cruise Lines' Office in Miami is not authorized to take a booking request from a customer in London unless that Travel Partner had also signed up with the Cruise Lines' Office for England.

 

i. For example, if you are selling to a guest in the UK, if the law requires the Travel Partner to be licensed in the UK and to participate in their bond program for travel agencies, the Travel Partner must comply with those requirements. Do they?

 

3. Principle 3: The Guest's Home is the Key.

 

We recognize that determining where a person lives can be complicated so we currently use a single basic principle: Your Home is the Key. If the guest has a residence in a country in which the travel agent is authorized to sell, the travel agency is authorized to sell to the guest. If the guest has a UK passport but only resides in France, only travel agencies authorized to sell in France are authorized to sell to that guest.

 

Bookings made in violation of the Cross-Border Selling Policy will be subject to a reduction in or elimination of the base commission paid by the Cruise Lines and/or such other consequences, including but not limited to, the elimination of other types of commissions for that booking or the exclusion of the revenue associated with that booking in making any incentive or override payment calculations, as determined by the applicable Cruise Line. The foregoing shall not waive any other right or remedy available to the Cruise Line for violation of the Cross-Border Selling Policy.