HAS anyone booked thru their Aussie travel agent for overseas friends?!

[Hailzmick]

Hi guys!

We just got a ripper deal on an 8 night South Pacific cruise in a junior suite.

Our friends from the States are planning on meeting us in Brissy to do the same cruise, however, they had it priced over there and it's more than $5,000USD, (which is about $7,000 in Aussie Dollars!) <----- we have paid less than 1/2 of that.

 

Our travel agent said she wasn't allowed to book for them, but if they're living in Aus for work at the moment, (wink wink) it's okay.

My friend is worried that at the pier, the cruise company won't let them on... But I said at the pier, no one cares, as long as you have your cruise documents and passports.

 

Does anyone have any prior knowledge or experience with this at all?

 

Thanks!

Hailz

[Aus Traveller]

Many people have reported that they have not had any problems with they book with a travel agent in USA, even though there are claims they would not be allowed to board. People get around it by having using the address of a friend/relative/or the TA. All good. No-one has reported a problem.

 

I think the same would apply.:) If you booked for your friends and put down your address, it should be OK. When they turn up to board, they would have American passports. A lot of people who go on cruises have a passport from another country.

[rkmw]

Hi guys!

We just got a ripper deal on an 8 night South Pacific cruise in a junior suite.

Our friends from the States are planning on meeting us in Brissy to do the same cruise, however, they had it priced over there and it's more than $5,000USD, (which is about $7,000 in Aussie Dollars!) <----- we have paid less than 1/2 of that.

 

Our travel agent said she wasn't allowed to book for them, but if they're living in Aus for work at the moment, (wink wink) it's okay.

My friend is worried that at the pier, the cruise company won't let them on... But I said at the pier, no one cares, as long as you have your cruise documents and passports.

 

Does anyone have any prior knowledge or experience with this at all?

 

Thanks!

Hailz

 

i tried to book a princess cruise using my US friends address but the TA wouldnt do it as they wouldnt get the commission so thats why the agent may not wont to take the booking

 

once the agent puts in their details it would come up on the computer where they live, how would you get around that

[MicCanberra]

Short answer is no but I have booked multiple cabins and just provided the necessary details online (i.e Passport numbers etc.) If you trust your friends enough or vise versa, you could book and then they could send you the money or pay you back on arrival.:D

Edited November 22, 2015 by MicCanberra

[icat2000]

It can be done. However, the would have to start fresh with that cruise line in their loyalty program. So they couldn't use their previous number. Whether an agent does it, is up to the agent.

 

Personally, I think cruiselines need to cut out the regional pricing nonsense. And people should be able to book if they see a good rate.

[Hailzmick]

i tried to book a princess cruise using my US friends address but the TA wouldnt do it as they wouldnt get the commission so thats why the agent may not wont to take the booking

 

once the agent puts in their details it would come up on the computer where they live, how would you get around that

 

 

My travel agent is now a good friend, due to the amount of cruises I've booked thru her and how many of our of friends have booked thru her, (more than 10 new cruises booked just in the last month!) she wouldn't mind doing this and not making any money, because that just makes us recommend her even more.

We were going to say that she's staying in Aus for 12 months and that's why we went thru the Aussie travel agent. We would give our address as their address while in Aus. Do you think that would work? :-/

[Hailzmick]

Short answer is no but I have booked multiple cabins and just provided the necessary details online (i.e Passport numbers etc.) If you trust your friends enough or vise versa, you could book and then they could send you the money or pay you back on arrival.:D

 

 

Great idea! One TA said she wasn't allowed to accept an overseas credit card, but I could def pay and they can pay us back. I just think why miss out on saving money!

[Hailzmick]

It can be done. However, the would have to start fresh with that cruise line in their loyalty program. So they couldn't use their previous number. Whether an agent does it, is up to the agent.

 

Personally, I think cruiselines need to cut out the regional pricing nonsense. And people should be able to book if they see a good rate.

 

 

They are "suppose" to be the same price apparently. I agree though! Completely!

[rkmw]

My travel agent is now a good friend, due to the amount of cruises I've booked thru her and how many of our of friends have booked thru her, (more than 10 new cruises booked just in the last month!) she wouldn't mind doing this and not making any money, because that just makes us recommend her even more.

We were going to say that she's staying in Aus for 12 months and that's why we went thru the Aussie travel agent. We would give our address as their address while in Aus. Do you think that would work? :-/

 

if your TA is a good friend go for it and see how it works out

[MicCanberra]

My travel agent is now a good friend, due to the amount of cruises I've booked thru her and how many of our of friends have booked thru her, (more than 10 new cruises booked just in the last month!) she wouldn't mind doing this and not making any money, because that just makes us recommend her even more.

We were going to say that she's staying in Aus for 12 months and that's why we went thru the Aussie travel agent. We would give our address as their address while in Aus. Do you think that would work? :-/

 

That should work.

[Beanb41]

I have booked cruises from Australian travel agents from NZ. I am charged in Australian dollars which is converted to NZ dollars by my credit card company. I have also used my NZ address for communication. When I went into My Celebrity all costings were in Australian dollars. When I completed my Express Pass and on line checkin I listed my NZ details and never had a problem. The only issue I had was at Future Cruises they couldn't give a price of a future cruise in NZ dollars but could in Aussie dollars. Don't ask me why because I don't know

[MicCanberra]

That is a strange one, but then when we bought our first FCC s we were charged in USD and the last time it was in AUD despite being USD on board.:confused:

[ozscot01]

The regional pricing needs to go. We tried to find a cruise from California last year, after having our plans changed. The deal I found online was excellent but my TA could not book it for us as it was US residents only. The price for Australians was more than double!

[The_Big_M]

On the other hand, there have been many happy cruisers this season in Australia who have gotten bargain priced cruises thanks to regional prices.

 

If regional pricing were to go, it wouldn't mean that the lowest price you could find anywhere in the world would automatically apply.

 

Basically, those that currently shop around would lose out, while those who don't worry about timing/hunting would gain compared to the current situation.

Edited November 23, 2015 by The_Big_M

[MicCanberra]

Also if regional pricing went, all our cruises would be dearer as our AUD is so low.

[Hawka]

Also if regional pricing went, all our cruises would be dearer as our AUD is so low.

 

and then the ships would not be here as they would not get any Aussies on them due to $$$$

[seagazers]

We have an upcoming MSC cruise in June2016, instigated by my Miami residing sister and her US in-laws.We are about to telegraph $$ over,direct to the TA.

I am surprised to hear that it may be a problem for us Aussies going thru a US TA.Have I read this wrong....are we heading for trouble?

[Aus Traveller]

We have an upcoming MSC cruise in June2016, instigated by my Miami residing sister and her US in-laws.We are about to telegraph $$ over,direct to the TA.

I am surprised to hear that it may be a problem for us Aussies going thru a US TA.Have I read this wrong....are we heading for trouble?

A couple of years ago some cruiselines advised that people could not book in another country. For instance, Australians would not be able to book in USA. It appears that this is to protect the business of Australian TAs. It was claimed that if Aussies booked with an American TA, they could be denied boarding. Then the American TAs advised that if an Australian had previously booked through them, they would accept a new booking, but they would not accept bookings from a new client. So much for the negatives.

 

Since then, no-one has reported that they have been denied boarding and no-one has even reported that they have heard of anyone who has been denied boarding. The only reports have been from people who boarded their cruise without any problems whatsoever.

 

The way it seems to work now is that if you have an American address (friend, relative, even a friendly TA) you can book through an American TA and everything is fine. I strongly suggest that you ask the TA to record your address as the same as your sister's. Just to be safe.:D If any communication comes from the cruiseline, I am sure your sister will pass it on to you.

 

I am sure you will have no problems. :) Enjoy.

[woodyren]

When I booked a recent Solstice South Pacific cruise on a great deal I was also asked if I could book for two friends from China because the price here was about half the price that they could get booking in China. Once the airfare was included it was still cheaper than most comparable length cruises sailing from China.

 

They provided me with their passport details and I just used my Australian address and email to handle the bookings for them. No problems at all.

[Cassicruiser]

I am taking my Mum on a Celebrity cruise to the South Pacific when she comes to visit me from overseas in a few months. I booked for both of us directly through the Celebrity website, no issues at all. I just gave my address for both of us as she will be staying with me for a couple of weeks while she's here, and I will make payment for both of us.

[davwen81]

We booked an Adriatic cruise this year with Azamara with an American agency and had no problems whatsoever. We also received OBC, price drops and were able to save about $2000 on the Aussie price!! So well worth it!

[seagazers]

When we came to transferring payment,the exchange rate was going to cost us about $6000,so we contacted MSC aus,booked thru them and then they retrieved the canx cabins from US MSC and all is good-same cabins(near relo's) and about $1100 more in aus$ for fares,but not $5000 worth!!

[sayaguru]

Cruiselines keep changing the rules too. I have booked using a US site and some lines I couldn't book with. Now some I can (but only with one agent).

It seems they have different rules for different agents also.

Frustrating.