Online TA offers just $50 pp Deposit but......

[Royalty X]

I can see that you know how it works. However, being a lay person, I can't understand. Maybe a timeline with deposit amounts might help.

 

I'm guessing that this is not an advertised special deposit amount by the cruiseline, but something the TA does independently?

Yes, agencies that do these sorts of discounted deposit promotions are running them independently from the cruise line. Like I said, it's done as a courtesy for their clients and to appeal to people who might be put off by paying a $400 or sometimes $800 per person deposit. The early final payment date is done as protection for the agency. For example...

 

Let's say you are going on an RCI cruise, twin share. RCI might require $800 per person deposit, but an agency is taking just $50 per person to secure your booking. The agent collects the $100 from you ($50 from each person) and sends that, along with $1500 of their own money (the remainder of the $800 per person deposit) to make sure you're booking is secure and the cabin is held in.

 

The agency would set a final payment date which would comply with the cancellation penalty periods for all cruise lines. Some may penalise from 180 days prior, which is why the agency has stated they require full payment by 190 days prior. If they did different times for each cruise line depending on their specific terms and conditions, it can get terribly confusing and messy. For our example though, we are talking about RCI.

 

As per RCI's website, the cancellation conditions are as follows...

 

Days prior to cruise departure

151 or more days - Deposit is refundable

150-71 days - Loss of deposit

70-46 days - 25% of fare*

45-31 days - 50% of fare*

30-15 days - 75% of fare*

14 days or less - 100% of fare

 

Let's say RCI require actual full payment 90 days prior to your departure. Now remember that the agency has paid $1500 of their own money towards your booking at this stage. If the agency waited until 90 days prior to collect the final amount of money from you, they're taking a massive financial risk. If you decide not to go ahead with the booking or you have to cancel, you've only paid $100 total for two people. But the agency has paid $1500 of their own money and as you can see in the cruise lines penalties above, 90 days falls into the region of "loss of deposit". You would lose your $100, which wouldn't really a big deal to some people, but the agency would lose $1500! This is why they require full payment outside any penalty period. If you change your mind, they can give you back your $100 and they can recover the $1500 that they put down for you.

 

Some agencies give you the option of paying the remainder of the full deposit once the penalty period kicks in and then they abide by the cruise lines full payment time line (if you're not satisfied with paying in full 190 days out). This is another way to protect themselves should you change your mind. You've essentially paid back the $1500 (or whatever amount) they've outlaid for you and so any penalty for cancellation is worn by you (as it should be).

 

I hope that explains it a little better for you. :)

 

some people might like paying a $50 deposit and final payment 190 days out but if i'm booking a princess cruise using a FCD that would be no good for me as i like the conditions that come with the FCD and if i have to cancel out for any reason at 90 days....not 190 days

Which is fine! Your situation is different to this sort of promotion because when using a FCD, Princess don't require any extra payment on top of what you've paid. This is a cruise line operated "promotion" (for lack of a better term) and it comes with T&C's as set out by the cruise line, not the agency. Any agency that does ask for anything over and above what you've already paid is wrong.

 

The only time an agency might ask for more money is when it's a Next Cruise deposit for RCI (for example). You've essentially purchased a booking number with no actual cruise booked under that number. You can only have one booking number per cabin, so the NC deposit would cover just one person in the cabin, and the cruise line would require an extra $100 to be paid for the other person travelling in the cabin.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Royalty X

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Yes, agencies that do these sorts of discounted deposit promotions are running them independently from the cruise line. Like I said, it's done as a courtesy for their clients and to appeal to people who might be put off by paying a $400 or sometimes $800 per person deposit. The early final payment date is done as protection for the agency. For example...

 

Let's say you are going on an RCI cruise, twin share. RCI might require $800 per person deposit, but an agency is taking just $50 per person to secure your booking. The agent collects the $100 from you ($50 from each person) and sends that, along with $1500 of their own money (the remainder of the $800 per person deposit) to make sure you're booking is secure and the cabin is held in.

 

The agency would set a final payment date which would comply with the cancellation penalty periods for all cruise lines. Some may penalise from 180 days prior, which is why the agency has stated they require full payment by 190 days prior. If they did different times for each cruise line depending on their specific terms and conditions, it can get terribly confusing and messy. For our example though, we are talking about RCI.

 

As per RCI's website, the cancellation conditions are as follows...

 

Days prior to cruise departure

151 or more days - Deposit is refundable

150-71 days - Loss of deposit

70-46 days - 25% of fare*

45-31 days - 50% of fare*

30-15 days - 75% of fare*

14 days or less - 100% of fare

 

Let's say RCI require actual full payment 90 days prior to your departure. Now remember that the agency has paid $1500 of their own money towards your booking at this stage. If the agency waited until 90 days prior to collect the final amount of money from you, they're taking a massive financial risk. If you decide not to go ahead with the booking or you have to cancel, you've only paid $100 total for two people. But the agency has paid $1500 of their own money and as you can see in the cruise lines penalties above, 90 days falls into the region of "loss of deposit". You would lose your $100, which wouldn't really a big deal to some people, but the agency would lose $1500! This is why they require full payment outside any penalty period. If you change your mind, they can give you back your $100 and they can recover the $1500 that they put down for you.

 

Some agencies give you the option of paying the remainder of the full deposit once the penalty period kicks in and then they abide by the cruise lines full payment time line (if you're not satisfied with paying in full 190 days out). This is another way to protect themselves should you change your mind. You've essentially paid back the $1500 (or whatever amount) they've outlaid for you and so any penalty for cancellation is worn by you (as it should be).

 

I hope that explains it a little better for you. :)

 

.

 

Are you saying that this agency is going to pay out to the cruise lines all that money from all those clients out of their own pockets? I am sorry but I find that VERY hard to believe. Just think how much money that would total! I can't see any company paying out that amount of money for such small returns. :eek::eek:

[Royalty X]

Are you saying that this agency is going to pay out to the cruise lines all that money from all those clients out of their own pockets? I am sorry but I find that VERY hard to believe. Just think how much money that would total! I can't see any company paying out that amount of money for such small returns. :eek::eek:

The company I work for does it. So yes, it does happen. Because, at the end of the day, the booking still goes ahead and the company make commission from the booking, or the client cancels, in which case the company recovers the money it has paid, before any penalties are enforced. Edited June 18, 2014 by Royalty X

[Guest012]

Hmmmm..... scenario from your example royalty x .....one will assume the promotion is bringing in more than just one booking:rolleyes: in fact woohoo for this agency it has generated 10 new RCI bookings twin share, so the customers pay up their 50 bucks each = $100 per booking and you would have us believe the travel agency then forks out $1500 x 10 bookings = $15,000.00 of their own CASH to make up the difference...... very lucrative times in the industry if they can afford to tie up working capital this way. :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Royalty X]

That's exactly right! It appears a lot of you are sceptical, but this is exactly how it works, no eye rolling necessary!

[MMDown Under]

Yes, agencies that do these sorts of discounted deposit promotions are running them independently from the cruise line. Like I said, it's done as a courtesy for their clients and to appeal to people who might be put off by paying a $400 or sometimes $800 per person deposit. The early final payment date is done as protection for the agency. For example...

 

Let's say you are going on an RCI cruise, twin share. RCI might require $800 per person deposit, but an agency is taking just $50 per person to secure your booking. The agent collects the $100 from you ($50 from each person) and sends that, along with $1500 of their own money (the remainder of the $800 per person deposit) to make sure you're booking is secure and the cabin is held in.

 

The agency would set a final payment date which would comply with the cancellation penalty periods for all cruise lines. Some may penalise from 180 days prior, which is why the agency has stated they require full payment by 190 days prior. If they did different times for each cruise line depending on their specific terms and conditions, it can get terribly confusing and messy. For our example though, we are talking about RCI.

 

As per RCI's website, the cancellation conditions are as follows...

 

Days prior to cruise departure

151 or more days - Deposit is refundable

150-71 days - Loss of deposit

70-46 days - 25% of fare*

45-31 days - 50% of fare*

30-15 days - 75% of fare*

14 days or less - 100% of fare

 

Let's say RCI require actual full payment 90 days prior to your departure. Now remember that the agency has paid $1500 of their own money towards your booking at this stage. If the agency waited until 90 days prior to collect the final amount of money from you, they're taking a massive financial risk. If you decide not to go ahead with the booking or you have to cancel, you've only paid $100 total for two people. But the agency has paid $1500 of their own money and as you can see in the cruise lines penalties above, 90 days falls into the region of "loss of deposit". You would lose your $100, which wouldn't really a big deal to some people, but the agency would lose $1500! This is why they require full payment outside any penalty period. If you change your mind, they can give you back your $100 and they can recover the $1500 that they put down for you.

 

Some agencies give you the option of paying the remainder of the full deposit once the penalty period kicks in and then they abide by the cruise lines full payment time line (if you're not satisfied with paying in full 190 days out). This is another way to protect themselves should you change your mind. You've essentially paid back the $1500 (or whatever amount) they've outlaid for you and so any penalty for cancellation is worn by you (as it should be).

 

I hope that explains it a little better for you. :)

 

.

 

Thank you for your detailed explanation.

 

I can understand that would be an excellent way to retain good clients, who the TA knows are most likely to cruise, and would be burdened by a number of large deposits all at once. However, I find it less understandable if that system operates for all clients.

[icat2000]

The company I work for does it. So yes, it does happen. Because, at the end of the day, the booking still goes ahead and the company make commission from the booking, or the client cancels, in which case the company recovers the money it has paid, before any penalties are enforced.

And does the company pay the commission back to the cruiseline for the cancelled cruise or do they just pocket that.

[Royalty X]

And does the company pay the commission back to the cruiseline for the cancelled cruise or do they just pocket that.

Well, the company doesn't make any commission until a booking is paid in full so I don't quite understand what you mean...? If a booking is cancelled, no commission is made.

[Royalty X]

Thank you for your detailed explanation.

 

I can understand that would be an excellent way to retain good clients, who the TA knows are most likely to cruise, and would be burdened by a number of large deposits all at once. However, I find it less understandable if that system operates for all clients.

If you check, the agents that offer these sorts of deals only do so for a certain number of itineraries, not all itineraries. There is no discrimination against who they offer it to though.

[icat2000]

Well, the company doesn't make any commission until a booking is paid in full so I don't quite understand what you mean...? If a booking is cancelled, no commission is made.

Sorry, I re read your post.

 

I just don't see why the agency would do this. cough up their own money for so many months until the person pays in full.

 

Personally, I don't like this marketing tactic and will probably go out of my way to avoid booking with any agency who does this where possible. The difference in savings would have to be significant for me not to start booking directly with the cruiseline.

 

Its a shame they have gone down this route as I had booked cruises with one of these companies and where happy with the policy.

Edited June 18, 2014 by icat2000

[Royalty X]

It's done as a way of appealing to customers who may not want to pay a massive deposit to a cruise line to guarantee their holiday. If you've used one of these agencies before and were happy with it, why do the actual logistics of how it's done affect you taking advantage of this sort of deal again? That's just silly! It's really a win/win situation. The client gets to book their holiday with a dirt cheap deposit and the agency gets your booking and eventually earns commission for the work they've done towards your booking (this is how they stay in business). Don't forget as well, quite often you'll get onboard credit from agencies that you won't get from the cruise line.

 

The attitude of "...will probably go out of my way to avoid booking with any agency who does this where possible" is ridiculous and I don't quite understand why you'd be so against it, especially as you say, you've used this service before and were happy with it.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Royalty X

[rkmw]

If you check, the agents that offer these sorts of deals only do so for a certain number of itineraries, not all itineraries. There is no discrimination against who they offer it to though.

 

when i mentioned earlier about booking a princess cruise with an FCD will this company still take a booking from me or anyone else using an FCD but still give us the benefits and pay the final payment at the normal 90 day time frame

[Royalty X]

when i mentioned earlier about booking a princess cruise with an FCD will this company still take a booking from me or anyone else using an FCD but still give us the benefits and pay the final payment at the normal 90 day time frame

Hmmm, maybe I'm not understanding the question. Any agent who takes a booking from a client using a Princess FCD, doesn't take any further money from the client until final payment. And the final payment date is as per the cruise line (because unlike the $50 deposit promos, the agency isn't paying Princess any money over and above what you've already paid when you bought the FCD). You'd still receive any obc, etc that the agency is offering. Edited June 18, 2014 by Royalty X

[rkmw]

Hmmm, maybe I'm not understanding the question. Any agent who takes a booking from a client using a Princess FCD, doesn't take any further money from the client and the final payment date is as per the cruise line (because unlike the $50 deposit promos, the agency isn't paying Princess any money over and above what you've already paid when you bought the FCD). You'd still receive any obc, etc that the agency is offering.

 

i think you have answered the question

 

if i ask for a quote for a princess cruise i will tell them i'll be using an FCD and if they accept the booking they wouldnt expect final payment until the 90 day period

[Guest012]

If you check, the agents that offer these sorts of deals only do so for a certain number of itineraries, not all itineraries.

 

Choose from 900 itineraries worldwide! is what i read....not a bad selection i say

 

 

 

Maybe like in other sectors of retail sales this is more of a "contra deal" the agencies are doing with the cruiseline ..

we used to do it.....no actual money changes hand

Edited June 18, 2014 by badgerbill

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

i think you have answered the question

 

if i ask for a quote for a princess cruise i will tell them i'll be using an FCD and if they accept the booking they wouldnt expect final payment until the 90 day period

 

See that's another thing I don't understand. Why do Aussie TA's want final payment 90 days out when it is not due until 75 days by Princess. We have just paid our Ruby Princess cruise for the British Isles and our TA in the US took the payment the day it was due ie. 75 days..... just wondering why the two weeks early in Australia..... :confused:

[rkmw]

See that's another thing I don't understand. Why do Aussie TA's want final payment 90 days out when it is not due until 75 days by Princess. We have just paid our Ruby Princess cruise for the British Isles and our TA in the US took the payment the day it was due ie. 75 days..... just wondering why the two weeks early in Australia..... :confused:

 

i suppose the aussie TA's like to give people a couple of weeks notice so the cruise line has their money by the due date.....if the US agent was late paying the cruise line would the booking be cancelled

[Royalty X]

Choose from 900 itineraries worldwide! is what i read....not a bad selection i say

Maybe like in other sectors of retail sales this is more of a "contra deal" the agencies are doing with the cruiseline ..

we used to do it.....no actual money changes hand

The 900 itineraries worldwide thing is a large agency (one of the biggest groups in Australia) and is being done as a tactic against the online agency who offers similar deposit amounts, with far fewer itineraries. And no, money definitely changes hands. This is being done by the company, not the cruise lines.

 

See that's another thing I don't understand. Why do Aussie TA's want final payment 90 days out when it is not due until 75 days by Princess. We have just paid our Ruby Princess cruise for the British Isles and our TA in the US took the payment the day it was due ie. 75 days..... just wondering why the two weeks early in Australia..... :confused:

It depends which TA you use I guess, but it allows an extra buffer of time for the TA to get your payment to the cruise line. Those that pay it on the very last day run the risk of the money not getting to the cruise line on time and the booking cancelling out. And of course, who would you blame? The TA of course.

[Royalty X]

i think you have answered the question

 

if i ask for a quote for a princess cruise i will tell them i'll be using an FCD and if they accept the booking they wouldnt expect final payment until the 90 day period

That's correct. But please, as I mentioned above, bear in mind that you should probably give them payment at least a couple of days earlier to ensure the payment gets to the cruise line before the 90 day cut off.

[MicCanberra]

That's correct. But please, as I mentioned above, bear in mind that you should probably give them payment at least a couple of days earlier to ensure the payment gets to the cruise line before the 90 day cut off.

We always get our final payments to the TA or cruise line at least one week early to ensure that the payment is delivered on time and not hung up with public holiday periods and such. :D

[icat2000]

It's done as a way of appealing to customers who may not want to pay a massive deposit to a cruise line to guarantee their holiday. If you've used one of these agencies before and were happy with it, why do the actual logistics of how it's done affect you taking advantage of this sort of deal again? That's just silly! It's really a win/win situation. The client gets to book their holiday with a dirt cheap deposit and the agency gets your booking and eventually earns commission for the work they've done towards your booking (this is how they stay in business). Don't forget as well, quite often you'll get onboard credit from agencies that you won't get from the cruise line.

 

The attitude of "...will probably go out of my way to avoid booking with any agency who does this where possible" is ridiculous and I don't quite understand why you'd be so against it, especially as you say, you've used this service before and were happy with it.

I will respond to this because its a dig at my post. My reason is there is no advantage to me staying with this agency. Yes, I do like the service they have provided me in the past. However, you want the commission, well I want a slice of that pie too.

 

I don't care about cheap deposits but you have my money earlier than the cruiseline policy. Now all of the bookings are littered with cheap deposit early payment dates. I liked in the past to look at payment due date and deposit amount. I don't want to be constantly having to ring up or email an agency. In fact it took me 2 days to get a response from them. I then had to phone them up. In the US they get back to you within 1/2 an hour.

 

For example I just gave this agency an opportunity to have my booking. It was exactly what Princess offered me. Same price, no OBC. So why would I move???

Edited June 18, 2014 by icat2000

[Dizziedi]

I

 

For example I just gave this agency an opportunity to have my booking. It was exactly what Princess offered me. Same price, no OBC. So why would I move???

 

I agree wholeheartedly with this comment except we don't cruise with Princess which I understand has an excellent booking procedure. That being the case if a TA is not going to dangle a carrot, why would I give them the business? RCI should really have a look at their operation - oh yes, that's right, they did - it's Call Centre is now in Guatemala:rolleyes:

 

Cheers

Di

[Royalty X]

I will respond to this because its a dig at my post. My reason is there is no advantage to me staying with this agency. Yes, I do like the service they have provided me in the past. However, you want the commission, well I want a slice of that pie too.

 

For example I just gave this agency an opportunity to have my booking. It was exactly what Princess offered me. Same price, no OBC. So why would I move???

A slice of what pie? The cruise line is never going to offer you the price of the cruise, minus the amount they would pay an agent in commission. They will always charge you the full price (I think you'll find that their res agents work on commission as well). If the agency has offered you good service, the commission they earn (and it's not huge), is their reward for giving you such great service. However, a travel agent may discount the amount of commission they get from the cruise line to provide you with a better price. Yes, the discount comes from their commission. Any perks you get from an agency are great, and if they have a group set up on a particular sailing, they will be able to offer you onboard credit. The cruise lines want people to book with agents and they want to maintain good relationships with agents so they sell their products. I'm just not sure what you mean with the slice of the pie remark.

 

I'm just telling everyone how a TA actually works. It seems like a lot of people have the wrong idea and their own theories about it all, but I'm just providing some insider info. I'm certainly not looking for any aggression.

Edited June 18, 2014 by Royalty X

[icat2000]

A slice of what pie? The cruise line is never going to offer you the price of the cruise, minus the amount they would pay an agent in commission. They will always charge you the full price (I think you'll find that their res agents work on commission as well). If the agency has offered you good service, the commission they earn (and it's not huge), is their reward for giving you such great service. However, a travel agent may discount the amount of commission they get from the cruise line to provide you with a better price. Yes, the discount comes from their commission. Any perks you get from an agency are great, and if they have a group set up on a particular sailing, they will be able to offer you onboard credit. The cruise lines want people to book with agents and they want to maintain good relationships with agents so they sell their products. I'm just not sure what you mean with the slice of the pie remark.

 

I'm just telling everyone how a TA actually works. It seems like a lot of people have the wrong idea and their own theories about it all, but I'm just providing some insider info. I'm certainly not looking for any aggression.

 

I'm not talking about the cruise line. I'm referring to the online agency. I have a hard time booking with an agent as previous ones have stuffed me around or are just booking bunnies i.e no nothing really about cruising. This online agency I found I booked three cruises and have been happy with their service.

 

However, I will always pick the cruise line directly if the pricing is the same and there is no offer of OBC. That what I mean about slice of the pie. If you want me to use a TA instead of booking with the cruise line directly then I like to see OBC or cheaper fare.

 

Correct, me if I'm wrong I get the feeling that your a travel agent or have been involved in the industry. There is no aggression on my behind. I just explaining my point of view on how I see things as a consumer.

Edited June 18, 2014 by icat2000

[Billy and Charlie's Mum]

Correct, me if I'm wrong I get the feeling that your a travel agent or have been involved in the industry. There is no aggression on my behind. I just explaining my point of view on how I see things as a consumer.

 

They stated on the previous page that they were in the industry.

 

It still blows my mind that we are expected to believe that a company will outlay so much money to the cruiselines for their customers deposits. Very generous indeed..... still hard to believe..... in fact, I don't believe it at all. They probably have a deal going with the cruise lines. More like it.