UK booking through US agents?

[Essexlass2]

Is it possible for people living in the UK to book with a US agent?

 

We understand that US travel agents will price match any reductions after bookings are made.

 

Are there any other advantages if this is possible please? We have never done this before and it will be our first cruise on Celebrity too. :confused:

 

Any help, tips, advice, etc, will all be gratefully received by us two seniors.

[MR_T]

Hi Essexlass2,

 

You can indeed book through a U.S. Agent.... I have done this for must of our cruises we have done and all 6 we have booked currently!

 

I have found the prices & perks to be much better using an American agent except for booking the eclipse out of Southampton as I think celebrity UK have a better pricing structure for that option...

 

As you mentioned you get price drops etc and normally you get a good amount of OBC from the agent on top of what you get from celebrity,

 

Now going forward with the recently announced new pricing structure & perks we will have to see how that affects things... But on all the cruises we have booked my agent has always offered a cheaper fare then advertised on the celebrity.com website, Plus all the extras...

[NorbertsNiece]

Hi there. Yes you can book through a US TA. I have. The advantage is that should you decide to cancel your deposit will be refunded under the standard US T&C. The one I use has a UK presence with an 0800 number. We talk on the phone or via email and I've not had any issues. Of course payment to them is in US $.

 

Linda

[MR_T]

As a side note when making payments for our cruises I always use a pre-paid MasterCard... We save a bit every month or when the rate is good and then just keep that for our holiday payments/money.. Works a treat! 😁

[wendychloecruiser]

I moved to the UK from the U.S. a few years ago and I was initially shocked at the difference in pricing of cruises here compared to across the pond. I was initially told that it was not possible to book with a U.S. TA but I quickly determined that this was false. The only exception in pricing that I have found is that the cruises to the Med are frequently cheaper when booked locally. By booking with a U.S. TA, you will likely save money, get better OBC and have all the cancellation and upgrade abilities afforded to our neighbours to the west.

 

Just do your homework, check things out. Costs nothing to enquire. Also, if you find yourself needing a long distance phone plan that includes the states, go for that too. My phone plan with SKY includes North America as long as the call does not go over 59 minutes per call...

[norn iron]

I have used two different US agents over the years and never had a problem.

The service has been first class each time.

This year I have used a German T/A - (the one whose website shows all available cabins) to take advantage of the weak Euro. I've saved over £300 on the booking, purely on the exchange rate.

[Solon]

As above, we also book using US and UK TAs depending on who offers the best deals. The option to cancel with a full refund and be able to take advantage of price reductions along with more generous OBC usually favours the U.S. TA though.

[yorkyred]

We have our November cruise booked with a US travel agent with a UK presence. It's more UK terms and conditions with none refundable deposit. However Celebrity website price £3258

TA price £2770.

[59_golfer]

How do I go about finding a good U.S. TA to use? Where can I find names/recommendations?

[yorkyred]

How do I go about finding a good U.S. TA to use? Where can I find names/recommendations?

 

Not allowed to mention any on here I'm afraid, Do a Google search using popular keywords and you will see some of the bigger ones pop up along with a few other sites that may be useful.

[59_golfer]

Thanks

[norn iron]

How do I go about finding a good U.S. TA to use? Where can I find names/recommendations?

 

The two that I have used both offer freephone (0800) numbers from the UK. I hope that helps when doing your search.

[little britain]

Yes, I now book via a USA TA. All communication by email and I have found her service to be excellent.

She even noticed a hefty $900 price drop on a forthcoming cruise and got it applied and sent me a new invoice before I had even noticed it! Now that is service.:D

 

The benefits of refundable deposits before final payment, price drops, and ability to move guarantee cabins swing it for me.

 

Although I was told by a friend recently that she was advised by someone at X UK that Elite members and above can now cancel and rebook with no penalty in the UK. Has anyone else heard this?

[norn iron]

Not allowed to mention any on here I'm afraid, Do a Google search using popular keywords and you will see some of the bigger ones pop up along with a few other sites that may be useful.

 

Two alternative for a more accurate search for US sites

1 Try DuckDuckgo.com it's a US based search engine, which doesn't track your searches - end result no pop adds the type google bombard you with

2 Try http://www.google.com/ncr which will take you to the US Google site as against the auto default of the UK site

[Grandma Gilly]

You can book Celebrity, RCCL, Azamara (and some others I can't remember) but you can't book Holland America or Princess through US agent.

We had an issue some time ago where the price in US was reduced dramatically but not in UK. We fought saying the cruise company had taken away our rights to book where we wanted and we received a very substantial reduction.

Edited July 17, 2015 by Grandma Gilly

[mickey89]

Since the introduction of the GO pricing the US travel agents are now slightly more expensive than the best UK prices whether for the Caribbean or the Med. That is based on today's exchange rate of 1.56$ to GBP. Although the German internet agent prices (Scanning the seas) were excellent, not any longer. Celebrity have adjusted their prices in line with the dramatic drop in value of the Euro. Currently their pricing excludes the GO pricing structure completely.

 

Although refundable deposits would persuade me to book via the US Travel agencies. HAL have the right approach by offering Cancellation protection albeit priced a little high for my liking.

Edited July 17, 2015 by mickey89
typo

[MR_T]

I've found that all the cruises I've booked via my American agent have worked out to be cheaper then booking via the UK either direct or an agent, Plus I've got more perks then I've seen offered via any UK agent or direct also

 

And that's all since the GO program started!

[kevinyork]

I've found that all the cruises I've booked via my American agent have worked out to be cheaper then booking via the UK either direct or an agent, Plus I've got more perks then I've seen offered via any UK agent or direct also

 

And that's all since the GO program started!

 

 

We booked two cruises via a US site in 2013 for sailings in 2014 on X. The prices with 123 perks plus extra agents OBC were around £800 pp less. We were amazed. However things seem to have changed and the prices for X (Eclipse) are similar or higher priced via the US agent.

 

 

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[mrsgoggins]

I'm taking my first Celebrity cruise next month. I booked direct and the agent's name appears on my booking and she said that if I book another cruise on board, it will automatically be assigned to her.

 

I do use a US TA for Disney cruises, but haven't checked out how good she would be for Celebrity.

 

If I book on board, can I have the Celebrity Agent's name deleted to give me the time to have it re-assigned to a US TA?

 

Also, I had assumed that my new intended cruise will be priced up in £ sterling and not in US $. How would that work if I changed the booking? Can you ask, when booking on board to have your booking prepared as a US booking if that is better?

 

Thanks.

[MR_T]

We booked two cruises via a US site in 2013 for sailings in 2014 on X. The prices with 123 perks plus extra agents OBC were around £800 pp less. We were amazed. However things seem to have changed and the prices for X (Eclipse) are similar or higher priced via the US agent.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

 

I think your right for eclipse cruises as when I booked the fjords cruise for last May I asked my American agent to quote and she was more expensive and she said that celebrity uk do get better pricing on the eclipse out of Southampton...

 

But as for other celebrity ships & locations I still find she's a fare bit cheaper...

[MR_T]

I'm taking my first Celebrity cruise next month. I booked direct and the agent's name appears on my booking and she said that if I book another cruise on board, it will automatically be assigned to her.

 

 

 

I do use a US TA for Disney cruises, but haven't checked out how good she would be for Celebrity.

 

 

 

If I book on board, can I have the Celebrity Agent's name deleted to give me the time to have it re-assigned to a US TA?

 

 

 

Also, I had assumed that my new intended cruise will be priced up in £ sterling and not in US $. How would that work if I changed the booking? Can you ask, when booking on board to have your booking prepared as a US booking if that is better?

 

 

 

Thanks.

 

 

Yes just tell them when you make the booking you don't want it to go back to the agent... You have to fill out a form but it's nothing serious..

[mrsgoggins]

Thanks for that. This thread contains so much useful information :)

[jody75]

I have two cruises booked on the Eclipse, one in November this year and the other in February both in the Caribbean. Both were booked 6 months ago with 123Go promos, the US TA were definitely cheaper than the UK and also had added perks.

 

Now under the GO pricing the situation has reversed, for a cruise on the Eclipse for winter 2016 the UK is definitely cheaper than the US. I intend to wait until aboard this November to see if their prices improve, but have my doubts.

[mrsgoggins]

I have two cruises booked on the Eclipse, one in November this year and the other in February both in the Caribbean. Both were booked 6 months ago with 123Go promos, the US TA were definitely cheaper than the UK and also had added perks.

 

Now under the GO pricing the situation has reversed, for a cruise on the Eclipse for winter 2016 the UK is definitely cheaper than the US. I intend to wait until aboard this November to see if their prices improve, but have my doubts.

 

Interesting. I have tracked prices for the 2017 cruise we are interested in and will be taking the figures with me on board next month, and will only book if I am happy with the deal, otherwise, there is a plan B ;) (which doesn't involve Celebrity).

[Andym]

We were booked with a U.S. Agent as usual and when the price dropped, I called to ask for the reduction , there has never been a problem in the past. I was told things have changed and now you are required to cancel and rebook, unfortunately loosing any perks from the previous booking. The new booking although cheaper would have had worse perks, so we kept as we was.

 

 

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