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Cruise pricing

wndmom

By wndmom,
in Norwegian Cruise Line

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wndmom

wndmom

Posted
Posted (edited)

Do you get the same prices booking directly with NCL or it it better to find a travel agent? I've used a travel agent once and booked myself once but have not noticed any difference.

Edited by katon
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MrBill64

MrBill64

Posted
Posted
Do you get the same prices booking directly with NCL or it it better to find a travel agent? I've used a travel agent once and booked myself once but have not noticed any difference.

 

For me using a TA has always been cheaper. Even if my TA comes back with a quote that is equal to what booking direct would be she always gives me a perk or 2 (OBC, bottle of wine, free photos) YMMV but for me I always recommend using a TA.

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Love my butler

Love my butler

Posted
Posted
I just summarized my thoughts the other day but cruise lines set pricing and it's the same across the board for any particular room, ship, date. TAs may offer a bottle of wine but the rate is the same.

 

Incorrect. I monitor several TA's and they almost always have lower rates on NCL cabins than NCL charges. They also usually give away perks like wine, dinners and obc.

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Pikaia

Pikaia

Posted
Posted
I just summarized my thoughts the other day but cruise lines set pricing and it's the same across the board for any particular room, ship, date. TAs may offer a bottle of wine but the rate is the same.

This was true for NCL for some period of time a few years ago, but no longer seems to be the case.

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kiminey65

kiminey65

Posted
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My rate through a NCL site was given with a $50 OBC. When I was ready to commit the rep failed to call me back in a 24 hour timeframe. I ended up by chance meeting a TA who quoted me almost $100 less for the week for the same category, but there was no OBC. I went with the TA!

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JohnIreland

JohnIreland

Posted
Posted
I just summarized my thoughts the other day but cruise lines set pricing and it's the same across the board for any particular room, ship, date. TAs may offer a bottle of wine but the rate is the same.

 

You can get cheaper prices, they just can't advertise them.

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mitsugirly Great Review Rare

mitsugirly

Posted
Posted

Going with a TA use to get you great discounts. However, these days, it seems like that's no longer the case. The only time that I ever see it discounted more than the actual price of the cruise line is if a TA company has booked a block of rooms at a rate that was cheaper than what the going rate is. This can still happen, but it doesn't seem to happen as often for me these days. :(

 

 

It's still always great to get that extra OBC though. :)

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warriorking

warriorking

Posted
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Basically the same price from my TA as with NCL, however I like the fact that we both can monitor the price fluctuations and when adjustments can be made she handles all the Phone work with NCL as well as getting all my important documents ready for my departure date...I just relax check prices every so often and when the time comes stop by when she has my tickets and documents ready to go before sailing...

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pattymo

pattymo

Posted
Posted

upon pricing my cruise on the Jade in June I found that some of the large dot.com TA's have group space and group rates( "exclusive rates ") on many cruises..not all cabin categories...The rate on my balcony was $ 300Ppp lower and included $50 group OBC and $100 OBC from the TA, even the local brick and mortar TA came back with reduced rates as part of their consortiums group rates ,but not as low as the online TA and with far less OBC...the NCl booking bonus at the time was 10% off or OBC?, that the exclusive rate didn't get...

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Pikaia

Pikaia

Posted
Posted (edited)
Show me an example. Room for room, cruise for cruise, date for date.

To do so would be to violate the forum guidelines.

 

There shall be no third-party recommendation (whether positive or negative in tone) of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted.

 

Touting of your personal cruise agent or cruise line "personal cruise consultant" (or any other venue by which you purchase a cruise) is not allowed on our message boards. Postings that contain "tell them John sent you" will be removed without notice.

 

This means you should not ask about someone's travel agent, nor should you respond in kind. Offering to email someone your travel agent's name or info is also not allowed, nor is asking members to email you for the information.

 

It also means you cannot post links to travel agencies, no matter what the specific reason.

 

Cruise Critic will remove violations of the "third-party recommendation" guideline without warning. Additional posts will result in permanent suspension of your posting privileges.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/faq.php?faq=guidelines

 

Within this thread you currently have enough information to do a couple comparisons for yourself. Without mentioning a specific travel agency, I can also state that at least one of the advertisers on this forum does give quotes lower than NCL if you use their search engine.

Edited by jplain
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Imasima752

Imasima752

Posted
Posted

 

Within this thread you currently have enough information to do a couple comparisons for yourself. Without mentioning a specific travel agency, I can also state that at least one of the advertisers on this forum does give quotes lower than NCL if you use their search engine.

 

Thank you for mentioning this - I got a great deal going this route this morning.

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rocky1

rocky1

Posted
Posted

Yes, there was a recent time when the TA's could only offer perks or OBC to give you a discount, but now you can definitely get a lower rate through an on-line TA. In fact, you can book through NCL with whatever promotions they are currently offering then transfer the booking to the TA, get their best discounted price, and keep the perks. I can assure you it works well, as I did it twice this month. Of course they will quote you their price before you transfer.

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Imasima752

Imasima752

Posted
Posted
Show me! I just picked a cruise, ship and date. Then selected 3 random on line agents. Compared 5 different room classes and rates. And guess what? Perks aside, prices are identical. I'm trying to be open to this argument, but it's difficult.

 

Have you looked at the "sponsored listings" on the Cruise Critics Cruise Deals page? That was where I found the one I used, though I'm not seeing it now - I guess they rotate. It has to do with discounts. Once I went to its website, I saw an invitation to join its insider's club where once you join you can access their "exclusive member's only rates" which it states, the rates are not available from cruise lines. That's how I found the one I booked. Right after I did, I called NCL to cancel and the person I spoke with checked to see if he could give me a better price, but couldn't. I don't think he believed me until I gave him my new reservation number and he was able to see it for himself.

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Imasima752

Imasima752

Posted
Posted
Yes, there was a recent time when the TA's could only offer perks or OBC to give you a discount, but now you can definitely get a lower rate through an on-line TA. In fact, you can book through NCL with whatever promotions they are currently offering then transfer the booking to the TA, get their best discounted price, and keep the perks. I can assure you it works well, as I did it twice this month. Of course they will quote you their price before you transfer.

 

I was definitely surprised as I had only seen OBC offered on other TA sites before. I still cannot believe I was able to get the current promos and pay less than I did when I originally booked. I was still able to use my AARP too!

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fshagan

fshagan

Posted
Posted

We have recently found better pricing with online TAs, but they have been large organizations or companies, such as a leading association for retired people and a big box warehouse discount store. So it is worth checking with the TAs or organizations you are comfortable dealing with.

 

But it seems hit and miss. I think these organizations and large companies probably do buy blocks of rooms because, when I compared cabin for cabin, the cases where they were cheaper had cabins not available on NCL's site.

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