Do you book with Princess or a cruise website ?

[shredie]

I book with TAs because I prefer to pay 10-20% less than booking directly plus I get OBC and amenities. I tell them exactly what I want and they book it. If there are problems or issues, they are my advocate. I have complete control over my bookings with TAs who are responsive, even late at night or over a weekend and they are always gracious and knowledgeable.

 

The trick is to find a good one. When my regular TA went out of business years ago, I tried several different ones, but none were any good. I just started doing everything myself. I have recently found a new TA on the recommendation of a friend, and so far so good. I'll probably book Princess on my own first and then transfer, but having someone to deal with potential problems is reassuring to me. Ask your friends! (Maybe they'll tell you! ;))

[mreasier]

I agree with everything the poster says; I know I have saved much more in price drops than I paid in commissions. You can't count on TAs to monitor the prices like you would yourself. And there are many things you can't do through Princess if you use a TA; book through Princess and you have complete control. But you need to understand the system--how everything works; if you don't, you are better off with a TA.

You can still monitor prices yourself if you book thru a TA. We use the same TA at a large on-line agency. We monitor the price ourselves and then call/Email the TA if the price drops. We have done this twice already for a cruise coming up on the Royal and have had price reductions of about 20%. This is on top of the 10% we already saved by using the TA.

[iancal]

We monitor our own prices or category pricing changes. If we see a benefit we simply call the TA and get repriced.

 

Not certain what you mean by more 'control'. What does the Princess CSR do that our TA doesn't and in what way does that give you more control?

[pompeii]

The trick is to find a good one. When my regular TA went out of business years ago, I tried several different ones, but none were any good. I just started doing everything myself. I have recently found a new TA on the recommendation of a friend, and so far so good. I'll probably book Princess on my own first and then transfer, but having someone to deal with potential problems is reassuring to me. Ask your friends! (Maybe they'll tell you! ;))

 

Yes, the trick is finding a good one. I tried to use a couple of different TAs who were recommended to me here on CC, but they couldn't come up with any better fares or extras than Princess was already offering. And one of them had a confusing way of communicating, so that we had to email back and forth numerous times to figure things out. So I've just stuck with booking directly with Princess, except for one cruise where an on-line agency was offering some extra OBC. But other than that one benefit, it wasn't any easier calling them than it is to call Princess directly, so I haven't used them again since they weren't offering the extra OBC on my next cruises. I'll ask around again next time I'm onboard because they must be out there somewhere, but I haven't had any luck finding a TA who has been very helpful.

 

I really envy those of you who get additional discounts and extras each time!

[Coral]

We monitor our own prices or category pricing changes. If we see a benefit we simply call the TA and get repriced.

 

Not certain what you mean by more 'control'. What does the Princess CSR do that our TA doesn't and in what way does that give you more control?

 

I have no clue either.

 

Plus, Travel Agents are not limited to what the cruise line offers in suggestions. They also may have real, personal experience in the area when a lot of Princess reps may have never have cruised before.

Edited July 12, 2014 by Coral

[xdudex]

I don't book online as we take a 3 and 4 birth stateroom and the UK website seems to charge 1st and 2nd birth prices for the 3rd and 4th. Though when you ring up it's a "pricing error" and they give you the correct 3rd and 4th birth prices. As far as I know it doesn't affect the US site but it makes you wonder how many people are being charged incorrect fares...

[SoCal Cruiser78]

The trick is to find a good one. When my regular TA went out of business years ago, I tried several different ones, but none were any good. I just started doing everything myself...

 

Similar situation here; my long-time TA has been ill, and I don't care for the others in the office. In addition, they are apparently no longer discounting on Princess.

[Cozzette2]

Similar situation here; my long-time TA has been ill, and I don't care for the others in the office. In addition, they are apparently no longer discounting on Princess.

 

 

That is my problem too. I lost my long time TA. I have used a cruise website and had great luck and wonderful perks and upgrades. My Princess rep has no special deals or perks. So I am going to try @@@ She comes highly recommended. I always find they are more likely to offer goodies. Price is coming in the same from the inquiries that I have made, now it comes down to trust and perks.

[DougandEric]

I use the same TA I've used for 20+ years. I consider her a friend as well. I do the homework for the cruise, stateroom, etc. give her the price I found and have her book the cruise. She's part of a large TA but works from home and I usually get an OBC of some amount. I could book it myself but like having someone who will go to bat for me if a problem arises. It doesn't cost me anything and she gets a commission. I also keep checking the cruise I've booked to see if the price has dropped or an offer is available. If I find something, I call her, tell her what I'm seeing and she calls the cruise line. For our Tahiti cruise in November 2014, after booking I found an offer online with Princess that enabled us to move from an outside to a balcony for $9 less than we paid for the outside plus a $100 pp OBC - I called my TA, she called Princess and we got the deal. Could I have gotten this myself booking directly with Princess - sure! But I get the deal, my TA gets a commission and everyone is happy! I firmly believe in the relationship with your TA more than the discount. Over the years, the relationship has paid of far more than the discount(s) I would have gotten on any particular trip!

[lovevacadays]

For the 3 day cruise I have in November I booked directly with Princess as the two TA's I check with don't really offer a discount or OBC. For longer cruises I book with a TA. Gets me 10-20% off and typically some onboard credit.

 

However, not all TA's are created equal. The best thing you can do is when you sail speak with your fellow cruisers. They love to tell about the amazing pricing they get and you can get a few TA's that you might not know about.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

For the 3 day cruise I have in November I booked directly with Princess as the two TA's I check with don't really offer a discount or OBC. For longer cruises I book with a TA. Gets me 10-20% off and typically some onboard credit...

 

I get the feeling that shorter cruises are more trouble than they are worth for TAs. Even the mega online TAs offered just a few dollars off Princess' price on a 4-day, no OBC, and you lose control over the booking in the process. I ended up booking directly.

Edited July 12, 2014 by Ryndam2002

[icat2000]

Book directly on the cruiseline websites. TA downunder don't really offer much incentives to book with them.

[Coral]

I get the feeling that shorter cruises are more trouble than they are worth for TAs. Even the mega online TAs offered just a few dollars off Princess' price on a 4-day, no OBC, and you lose control over the booking in the process. I ended up booking directly.

 

The problem with many of the 4 day cruises is that the prices were so slow, that the vast majority of the cost was fees and taxes that can't be discounted. They practically gave these away but it gave TAs very little to discount.

[Colo Cruiser]

We book through a TA, but have been known to book through Princess as well.

[Luckiest Dog]

I usually book direct with Princess. However after booking our next cruise, I happened to look online at the website for a chain store travel site and found the same cruise at the same price, but with $245 OBC per cabin along with pre-paid gratuities of $348 pet cabin. I got on the phone and they were able to transfer us and our traveling friends no problem.

[Pam in CA]

The problem with many of the 4 day cruises is that the prices were so slow, that the vast majority of the cost was fees and taxes that can't be discounted. They practically gave these away but it gave TAs very little to discount.

Right. Very little to discount and the TAs make maybe $15-20/booking.

 

I think that if you book a BVE through a TA, they make no commission. While my TA has said it's no problem, I still feel guilty having her spend so much time on something where she could be helping someone else and making money.

[Coral]

I meant to say on the 4 day cruises, the prices are so low.....

[mom2tcdx2]

I usually always booked through the cruise lines directly. However with my upcoming Princess cruise an online website offered a reduced deposit, the price was $50 cheaper than Princess was showing, they gave $100 OBC for an inside cabin and threw in a specialty dinner one night. All things Princess wasn't adding to the booking. So I opted to try out the travel agent.

[jammen]

I would do it through who you feel the best I have booked with both.

[ChiefBoats]

I always us our TA. Been using her for 20 years. If you find a good one they will take care of you.

 

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[Mom33]

We book through a TA, but have been known to book through Princess as well.

 

We did just that this time for our cruise on the Regal. Our TA is ill and not available and we don't feel comfortable with the person that booked the last cruise. We figured we would try and book through Princess online. When I signed in, we received different prices than when we were not signed in.

 

We found a great cabin at a very good fare and proceeded with booking it. Our cruise deposit credits were used and shipboard credit applied along with the military credit. We found the process very easy.

 

We gave up using TA for air travel many years ago domestically. We only use our TA for International air. He is an excellent TA and we've booked all our cruises with him before. We will continue to use him when he recovers, but for simple booking plans like this one we just booked, we may do it ourselves.

[wen_c82]

Yes, the trick is finding a good one. I tried to use a couple of different TAs who were recommended to me here on CC, but they couldn't come up with any better fares or extras than Princess was already offering. And one of them had a confusing way of communicating, so that we had to email back and forth numerous times to figure things out. So I've just stuck with booking directly with Princess, except for one cruise where an on-line agency was offering some extra OBC. But other than that one benefit, it wasn't any easier calling them than it is to call Princess directly, so I haven't used them again since they weren't offering the extra OBC on my next cruises. I'll ask around again next time I'm onboard because they must be out there somewhere, but I haven't had any luck finding a TA who has been very helpful.

 

I really envy those of you who get additional discounts and extras each time!

 

We've had very similar experiences so have been booking with cruise lines directly for the last couple years. Will try a new TA recommended by a friend for next cruise though.

[Thrak]

In the past I've booked both directly and also with a TA. I spotted price drops on my own and alerted the TA and we were immediately refared at the lower price. The last time I did this the TA refared us at $50 pp LESS than the new price Princess was offering. He also added $60 OBC without even telling us about it. The OBC just showed up on the personalizer as Travel Agent Promotion.

 

I see people here saying they will book with a TA because they are offering a $50 deposit. I don't understand the attraction of that at all. I use FCC that I've purchased on board so the deposit is simply the $100 (each) that we paid for the FCCs. I just booked a cruise for next year using FCC and, in addition to the low deposit, we are also getting $250 OBC from the FCC. It seems to me by far the best way to handle the deposit. I booked this one directly on the Princess web site late one evening but I will almost certainly be transferring it to a TA. I have a couple of names to try out and will likely contact both of them to see what they can offer. I will also ask my current TA for a quote.

[Cozzette2]

We just booked, used a TA. I was hoping for the reduced deposit [which we didn't get ] because we have 16 people to lock in and it seemed like a great way to get everyone booked. Sad thing, about a month ago Princess refunded my Future Cruise Credit, doesn't that figure lol

I am happy with the TA that we chose. Some co-workers have used her for several cruises.

[hansi]

I know we can't name names but I am still undecided who to book through. I have read been reading reviews about the different cruise websites. I am really trying to do my research. But some of the websites are offering deposits of $50 and my Princess rep hasn't offered that and we are booking about a dozen people. I have used a cruise website before and had good luck but they aren't offering anything like a deal right now either.

I guess I just want to know what your preference is for booking ?

Thanks

 

Princess direct always.