OBC with a TA

[cruisenfever]

Where exactly do you look for that? I cashed in some points today but cannot figure out where to watch for the OBC within my reservation. I normally call RCI to inquire, but know they wont help since my booking was through a TA this time.

OBC from Visa Points will not be added to your booking until about 2 weeks prior to departure. As long as you have a confirmation from Royal Rewards, you will be fine.

 

Even though your booking is through a TA, when OBC is in question, you can call RCI Royal Rewards at 1-888-305-4626 about 2 weeks prior to your leaving to make sure it is there. That is one thing they will talk to you about.:) It normally takes 2 days before the OBC will show up on your SeaPass account.

Edited August 27, 2015 by cruisenfever

[Clarea]

Bob, on our January cruise, I am going to seek you and your wife out to find out who you use! :):cool:

No problem, we love our TA.:)

[cruiselvr04]

On our most recent cruise this month our TA said she was able to get a price drop of $250 total at final payment. She then took away our OBC of $150. We came out ahead $100 but this kind of left me with mixed feelings. Maybe she got a kick back from the cruise line because it actually didn't show up as a price drop on the website because I was watching. If they gave her a break was it wrong for her to then pull our OBC? She could have reduced it by say $50 and I would have understood but it seems like she kept more of her commission instead of passing some on to me. Am I being picky? is this normal practice or a bit shady?

[Clarea]

On our most recent cruise this month our TA said she was able to get a price drop of $250 total at final payment. She then took away our OBC of $150. We came out ahead $100 but this kind of left me with mixed feelings. Maybe she got a kick back from the cruise line because it actually didn't show up as a price drop on the website because I was watching. If they gave her a break was it wrong for her to then pull our OBC? She could have reduced it by say $50 and I would have understood but it seems like she kept more of her commission instead of passing some on to me. Am I being picky? is this normal practice or a bit shady?

It is not unusual for the travel agent's OBC (or other perk) to be reduced or eliminated if there is cruise price drop. Perhaps they should have made that clearer to you when you booked, but it's quite understandable that if their commission goes down, they have less that they can give you.

[cruiselvr04]

Thanks Clarea...I sent the TA a pleasant email questioning this but did not get a response. Not sure I will use them again as they have not always been responsive. They do have some great specials at times but just booking when I want doesn't usually get me much. And I have missed a few price drops over weekends and holidays when I did use them. For now I will control my bookings but always on the look out for a better TA. ( This last cruise was booked very close to final and then I did use them as I figure price drops are rare at that point.)

[hoffyhof]

Will someone please tell me the truth. When I look & see large perks like Free Gratuities,Free Dinners the price of the cruise seem to be higher. So there is really no advantage to booking that way. Am I missing something. Booked my upcoming cruise with a big agency and didn't really come away with anything special. I think I will book future cruises on board myself. Thanks for your anticipated response.

[Clarea]

Will someone please tell me the truth. When I look & see large perks like Free Gratuities,Free Dinners the price of the cruise seem to be higher. So there is really no advantage to booking that way. Am I missing something. Booked my upcoming cruise with a big agency and didn't really come away with anything special. I think I will book future cruises on board myself. Thanks for your anticipated response.

It depends on the travel agency. The one we use has the same prices as on the Royal website, and also gives on board credit. That's why you have to shop around.

[MichaelCMTX]

How do you find a TA who gives onboard credit? We've used the same one for years , and got a bottle of wine, once. I think we need to change.....

 

Ours is a couple we met at Weight Watchers and just got to talking. We got tired of hearing from others the "cool stuff" their T/A did and mentioned this when we told them we were looking around. Plus, since we basically find the ship, date and itinerary ourselves and just basically say "book this one" it makes our T/A's work easier. Last trip the pluses we got were the T/A got hold of us the week prior to say RC called and would bump us from GS to OS for $150 (which we did) plus she had $100 OBC waiting once we were aboard. Now this WAS our first cruise booked with her so perhaps loyalty and repeated business means next time they'll pick up the $150 as their gift to us?

 

For this next one I've not set the bar as high because we cashed in a pretty serious voucher (Our OS had a little water leakage issue but not complaining because we were well compensated for any inconvenience ;) ) so the out-of-pocket isn't nearly as much.

 

Now the Mardi Gras Celebrity cruise for 2017 is a different story, an 11 nighter in a Sky Suite is some hefty bucks on our part and she gets a nice commission for just helping the paperwork along.

[rudeney]

Our TA charged the exact same price as shown on RCCL's website. On top of that, we got free pre-paid gratuities (worth about $335) and OBC ($520). Had I booked through RCCL, I'd have ended up paying over $850 out of pocket more.

 

I will say that when I first booked, the deal was $570 in OBC ($520 from the TA, $50 from RCCL). Then, on final payment date, I noticed the TA was running a very short-lived special for free gratuities. I called and had that added, but lost the $50 RCCL OBC. But that was a no-brainier - I'll gladly trade that $50 to get $335!

Edited August 27, 2015 by rudeney

[teecee60]

May I ask, do you shop around online or do you have to make several phone calls?

 

It depends on the travel agency. The one we use has the same prices as on the Royal website, and also gives on board credit. That's why you have to shop around.

 

I have my favorite "discounted/last minute cruises" website bookmarked and usually look at it for 60-90 seconds every day, just to see what's happening. If something catches my attention, I can also make a quick phone call. That's how I was able to get such an incredible deal on Explorer OTS.

A common misconception is that you can't get a lower price than what is on the Cruise Lines' website... THAT IS COMPLETELY FALSE. :cool:

 

Just about ALL of my cruises have been booked at prices lower than those offered by the cruise line. Either through "group rates" (that are completely transparent) or during special promotions or sales.

 

Popular cruises, (those in high demand with a limited supply of cabins) often sell out without ANY price reductions. Other cruises (especially longer itineraries that fewer people have the time for) can sometimes be had for under $50pp/day. :eek:

 

If you are retired or have some flexibility with work, there are absolutely UNBELIEVABLE deals offered after final payment date (10-11 weeks prior to departure) as the cruise lines try to fill any empty cabins remaining.

 

Choice Air offers incredibly low priced plane tickets to meet THOSE cruises, even at the VERY last minute. ;)

Edited August 27, 2015 by teecee60

[Desertbelle]

A perfect example of what a good travel agent can do for you: A few weeks ago I got an email from my TA telling me of a special Celebrity was having on their transatlantic Miami to Rome cruise on the Reflection, in April 2016 The special was a reduced rate for a Concierge Class balcony cabin, 16 night cruise, 2 nights in a 4 star hotel room in Rome, airfare from Rome back to Las Vegas (that was an up charge of $100 each over airfare back to other major cities), and transfers from the ship to hotel (Civitavecchia to Rome is a fair distance) and hotel to the airport for $2392 pp. I would NEVER have seen this special if it weren't for her. And if my Roll Call is any indication, other travel agents must have been offered this same deal because a heck of a lot of folks booked the same week I did!! :D I had this cruise booked within an hour of receiving that email!!

[Ren1216]

OBC from Visa Points will not be added to your booking until about 2 weeks prior to departure. As long as you have a confirmation from Royal Rewards, you will be fine.

 

Even though your booking is through a TA, when OBC is in question, you can call RCI Royal Rewards at 1-888-305-4626 about 2 weeks prior to your leaving to make sure it is there. That is one thing they will talk to you about.:) It normally takes 2 days before the OBC will show up on your SeaPass account.

 

Thank you so much for this info!

[rudeney]

I would assume that TAs have the right to sell a cruise at any price they want, and are not tied to any prices posted by the cruise line. It does seem that many of them quote the cruise line's published prices, and then (hopefully!) add value on top of that, either with OBC, free gratuities, dinners, or other related travel discounts.

 

I also guess that TAs are actually able to purchase these cruise for less than the published prices on the cruise lines' websites. So the difference between these wholesale prices and the cruise lines' retail prices is profit for the TAs. Then, based on their business model, they take part of that and give it back to the customers. In my case, between the OBC and free gratuities, I got back almost 14%, so my TA's discount off the retail price should be much more than that. If I had to guess, I'd put it in the range of 22% off retail.

[Clarea]

I would assume that TAs have the right to sell a cruise at any price they want, and are not tied to any prices posted by the cruise line....

Some of our resident TAs can clarify, but there are contractural agreements between the cruise line and the travel agency with regard to pricing. I do not believe that the travel agent can sell a cruise for any price they want.

Edited August 27, 2015 by clarea

[SPacificbound]

No problem, we love our TA.:)

 

Bob, if you don't mind, is the TA brick & mortar or online? TIA.

[Clarea]

[quote name='SPacificbound']Bob, if you don't mind, is the TA brick & mortar or online? TIA.[/quote]
She works out of her home, but for a large agency. The agency has the ability to take internet bookings, but I just email the agent when I want to book a cruise.

[SPacificbound]

[quote name='clarea']She works out of her home, but for a large agency. The agency has the ability to take internet bookings, but I just email the agent when I want to book a cruise.[/QUOTE]

Sounds interesting.....

[Cruisin'4Us]

Does your TA (who offers free gratuities and OBC's) charge for cruise cancelations, rebookings (cancel one cruise and book another), or changes? Rob

[Clarea]

[quote=Cruisin'4Us;47578307]Does your TA (who offers free gratuities and OBC's) charge for cruise cancelations, rebookings (cancel one cruise and book another), or changes? Rob[/quote]
It is normal for the agency we use to charge for cancellations. However, from day 1 we made it a condition of booking that they waive that for us, and we have never been charged.

[Cruisin'4Us]

That's great. Edited August 28, 2015 by Cruisin'4Us

[kandj05]

[quote name='clarea']It is normal for the agency we use to charge for cancellations. However, from day 1 we made it a condition of booking that they waive that for us, and we have never been charged.[/QUOTE]

I like this. I will definitely have to bargain with this point should I ever truly pick one TA