Issue with PCC?

[cruz chic]

Finding a good TA does take work and the savings depend upon what you book and how often you cruise. I've advised other posters multiple times that they need to evaluate their personal situation and their objectives since savings may not be worth the work necessary to find a good TA. I think that is more reasonable advice than aggressively promoting TA.

 

I mention the advantages so often because I am so appreciative that others encouraged me "to do the work" by frequently mentioning the advantages. It maybe old news to the more experienced here but there are always people who are new to cruising who may also appreciate this too. Those posters may have been 'aggressive' but they save me over a thousand a year.

 

That's great info but please respect that might not be a motivator for everyone. If you book with a discount ta or a ta some things people need to know are:

 

1) you lose control of your booking. You can't phone Hal directly to deal with issues with your booking. You become a third party.

 

2) there may be costs associated with changes and cancellations. Know those costs.

 

3) there may be less chance of an upsell. When I used a ta for years I only saw one upsell. I see them about 80 to 90 percent of the time now. If your ta is the bestie of the upsell manager this likely will not apply.

[RocketMan275]

That's great info but please respect that might not be a motivator for everyone. If you book with a discount ta or a ta some things people need to know are:

 

1) you lose control of your booking. You can't phone Hal directly to deal with issues with your booking. You become a third party.

 

2) there may be costs associated with changes and cancellations. Know those costs.

 

3) there may be less chance of an upsell. When I used a ta for years I only saw one upsell. I see them about 80 to 90 percent of the time now. If your ta is the bestie of the upsell manager this likely will not apply.

 

Question: you've got more experience than I and I would appreciate your insights. Suppose your book a balcony cabin and receive a typical upsell offer to a mini-suite. Would the upsell on the mini-suite be more or less savings than a 10-15% discount on the mini-suite?

[cruz chic]

Question: you've got more experience than I and I would appreciate your insights. Suppose your book a balcony cabin and receive a typical upsell offer to a mini-suite. Would the upsell on the mini-suite be more or less savings than a 10-15% discount on the mini-suite?

 

Hal doesn't have mini suites. That said some up sells are a great deal some less. I would say generally the savings would be more than 15 percent.

Edited January 20, 2016 by cruz chic

[DaveOKC]

Question: you've got more experience than I and I would appreciate your insights. Suppose your book a balcony cabin and receive a typical upsell offer to a mini-suite. Would the upsell on the mini-suite be more or less savings than a 10-15% discount on the mini-suite?

 

This is exactly what I have looked at. I either book a Neptune or what you call a mini-suite (Vista or Signature suite). When I book a "mini", I work closely with my PCC and have gotten some very good upsell deals which I am pretty sure I would never have seen through a normal TA (long story about this, will skip it for now). These upsells have saved me ALOT of money.

 

So, which is better financially? In my case I think it is the PCC. This will not be true for everyone though.

[RocketMan275]

Hal doesn't have mini suites. That said some up sells are a great deal some less. I would say generally the savings would be more than 15 percent.

 

Appreciate that. I knew HAL called them something other than mini-suite but couldn't remember what. Thanks.

[cruz chic]

Appreciate that. I knew HAL called them something other than mini-suite but couldn't remember what. Thanks.

 

I would say that the mini suite may be like the signature suite but I've only had balconies and full suites on princess so I'm not sure.

[cruz chic]

This is exactly what I have looked at. I either book a Neptune or what you call a mini-suite (Vista or Signature suite). When I book a "mini", I work closely with my PCC and have gotten some very good upsell deals which I am pretty sure I would never have seen through a normal TA (long story about this, will skip it for now). These upsells have saved me ALOT of money.

 

So, which is better financially? In my case I think it is the PCC. This will not be true for everyone though.

 

I agree with you Dave. If I lived in the USA I might think otherwise.

[kevingastreich]

Hi all,

 

Has anyone ever had issues with their PCC from HAL? Experiencing customer service issues and think it might just be better to cancel with HAL and then find a good agent. Did know if others have had issues...any suggestions?

 

Our PCC is pretty good. He used to be a cruise director.

[sail7seas]

One factor I consider significant is if you use a PCC, you can call directly and deal with any issue one to one. If you use a TA, you have to go through the TA to HAL and then TA back to you. I don't like that path and though I may pay more for the convenience, I like to get an answer directly when I want it and not wait for "I'll call you back...... when I get to it." :rolleyes:

 

Just my personal preference.

[Jade13]

Since this is a HAL forum I didn't think that it would be an issue in sharing the name of the PCC. I knew that I couldn't give 3rd party info which I don't have because I don't use a TA.

 

Thanks for the information.

 

Helen

 

It used to be allowed. The PCC is someone directly in sales/customer service at the cruise line. There are names and numbers posted all the time on the Azamara board on who to call if one has issues.

Edited January 20, 2016 by Jade13

[cruz chic]

One factor I consider significant is if you use a PCC, you can call directly and deal with any issue one to one. If you use a TA, you have to go through the TA to HAL and then TA back to you. I don't like that path and though I may pay more for the convenience, I like to get an answer directly when I want it and not wait for "I'll call you back...... when I get to it." :rolleyes:

 

Just my personal preference.

 

That's definitely the biggest plus for me.

[RocketMan275]

I would say that the mini suite may be like the signature suite but I've only had balconies and full suites on princess so I'm not sure.

 

Have you ever received an upsell when you had a Neptune Suite booked?

[frankc98376]

We have a great PCC. She has gotten to know all of our likes and dislikes and once we agree on a cruise she takes care of everything. She probably knows more about us than many friends do.

 

She calls us when she sees a sailing that would fit us and sometimes just to say hi and see how we are. She feels more like a personal friend than a PCC- we trust her implicitly. She is one of the reasons we haven't strayed (Celebrity has had some pretty attractive offers).

[DaveOKC]

Have you ever received an upsell when you had a Neptune Suite booked?

 

I have. Last two times (in a 2 year period) that I booked a Neptune suite I was offered an upsell to a Pinnacle suite (Penthouse). Since there were just the 2 of us traveling on the cruise I turned both offers down, but only after thinking long and hard about it. These upsells would have saved me about $5000 each cruise if I had taken it.

[sail7seas]

Have you ever received an upsell when you had a Neptune Suite booked?

 

We have always booked Neptune Suites (or "S" Suites as they were previously called) and have received upsell offers to PS (Pinnacle Suite).

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Have you ever received an upsell when you had a Neptune Suite booked?

 

I have twice but to us, the money was not worth it. I book directly with HAL, either online or at the Reservations number.

Edited January 20, 2016 by SJSULIBRARIAN

[freestyling]

Agree with Dave OKC and Cruz Chic on PCC. We used TA until about 3 yrs ago. It seemed I never received an upsell offer (I know that some do). In the last 3 yrs which accounts for roughly 9 cruises with HAL we have received 6 upsells. These were veranda to suites (2x), lower category suite to higher level suite (1x), Suites to Neptune (2x) and 1x Neptune to Pinnacle. The only offer I turned down was the Pinnacle as I could not justify such a large space for 2 people.

[cruz chic]

Have you ever received an upsell when you had a Neptune Suite booked?

 

Yes. I got a very, very attractive offer and some that were stupid expensive. I generally don't book Neptune suites going out of the gate and likely won't anytime soon because of the recession here. If you have a Neptune your upsell options are definitely more limited.

[RocketMan275]

Once again. Fairly new guy to cruising who is trying to learn. What kind of issues have you guys had that required dealing directly with HAL?

 

I've only had to contact a TA a few times after the reservation was made. Once was to check on a price drop which she took care of within a couple of hours.

 

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here is that one TA can deal with multiple cruise lines. I had an issue back in December that only a TA could handle in an expeditious manner. I cancelled a cruise on RCI and booked HAL. I cancelled a cruise on Celebrity and booked a cruise on Princess. One call took care of all four reservations. If I'd had been using PCC, I would have dealt with four people and four different phone calls. I was on the phone, maybe 20 minutes and had both hardcopy cancellations and both new reservations before the end of the day.

[RocketMan275]

Yes. I got a very, very attractive offer and some that were stupid expensive. I generally don't book Neptune suites going out of the gate and likely won't anytime soon because of the recession here. If you have a Neptune your upsell options are definitely more limited.

 

That might be part of the reason we look at PCC/TA differently. I do book Neptune or equivalent suites. I suspect that I won't see many upsells/price drops. Getting a good discount upfront is probably a better deal for me.

 

BTW, if the market keeps tanking, my future cruises may involve floating down my local creek on an inner tube. The good news is the dress code is pretty casual although room service is a bit lacking.

[cruz chic]

Once again. Fairly new guy to cruising who is trying to learn. What kind of issues have you guys had that required dealing directly with HAL?

 

I've only had to contact a TA a few times after the reservation was made. Once was to check on a price drop which she took care of within a couple of hours.

 

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here is that one TA can deal with multiple cruise lines. I had an issue back in December that only a TA could handle in an expeditious manner. I cancelled a cruise on RCI and booked HAL. I cancelled a cruise on Celebrity and booked a cruise on Princess. One call took care of all four reservations. If I'd had been using PCC, I would have dealt with four people and four different phone calls. I was on the phone, maybe 20 minutes and had both hardcopy cancellations and both new reservations before the end of the day.

 

Anything really, price change, room change, requests for perks to be added, requests for obc after final. I don't deal with a lot of different cruise lines. It's pretty much Hal and princess. I have been extremely disappointed in TAs that I've used so if I have to do a bit of extra legwork to get the control I want I'm ok with it. I was waiting days and sometimes weeks to get an answer from TAs. That doesn't work for me. My PCC always gets back to me the same day. My birthday was recently. She called me out of the blue to wish me happy birthday. Never had that happen with a ta.

[sail7seas]

Once again. Fairly new guy to cruising who is trying to learn. What kind of issues have you guys had that required dealing directly with HAL?

 

I've only had to contact a TA a few times after the reservation was made. Once was to check on a price drop which she took care of within a couple of hours.

 

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned here is that one TA can deal with multiple cruise lines. I had an issue back in December that only a TA could handle in an expeditious manner. I cancelled a cruise on RCI and booked HAL. I cancelled a cruise on Celebrity and booked a cruise on Princess. One call took care of all four reservations. If I'd had been using PCC, I would have dealt with four people and four different phone calls. I was on the phone, maybe 20 minutes and had both hardcopy cancellations and both new reservations before the end of the day.

 

 

 

Everyone has to decide which way works best for them.

Seeing you might be involved with three or four cruise lines simultaneously, a TA works for you.

[DaveOKC]

Anything really, price change, room change, requests for perks to be added, requests for obc after final. I don't deal with a lot of different cruise lines. It's pretty much Hal and princess. I have been extremely disappointed in TAs that I've used so if I have to do a bit of extra legwork to get the control I want I'm ok with it. I was waiting days and sometimes weeks to get an answer from TAs. That doesn't work for me. My PCC always gets back to me the same day. My birthday was recently. She called me out of the blue to wish me happy birthday. Never had that happen with a ta.

 

Same here - one time I saw a cabin I liked alot better on HAL's website open up for booking so I emailed my PCC and within 5 minutes got an email back confirming my new cabin.

 

I have also used my PCC to change dining option, bedding arrangement, add OBC after booking (once even after final payment) and to handle significant complaints/problems. My PCC once got me a HUGE credit from HAL for a problem I encountered, far more OBC than I expected and I doubt that my old TA would have gotten me anything at all!

[Lizzie68]

I can understand that. There are good and bad TA just as there are good and bad PCC.

 

I keep mentioning the fact that there are good TA that do discount to encourage people to check around. They can get better service and cheaper prices if they are willing to do the work to find a good TA.

 

I totally agree. You will find on here that people fiercely defend their preference, and it is a personal preference. Obviously I much prefer my TA (I have used 2) and have been very happy with getting upgrades and upsells to Neptune for each of my cruises plus excellent service and perks. I was persuaded to try a PCC through some of the info on here, and so far my experience as been abysmal with a PCC and I see no advantage whatsoever. But others swear by them, and that's their choice. It is, after all, about choices.

[RocketMan275]

Anything really, price change, room change, requests for perks to be added, requests for obc after final. I don't deal with a lot of different cruise lines. It's pretty much Hal and princess. I have been extremely disappointed in TAs that I've used so if I have to do a bit of extra legwork to get the control I want I'm ok with it. I was waiting days and sometimes weeks to get an answer from TAs. That doesn't work for me. My PCC always gets back to me the same day. My birthday was recently. She called me out of the blue to wish me happy birthday. Never had that happen with a ta.

 

You're kidding, aren't you? No wonder you prefer PCC. I wouldn't deal with a TA who treated me that way either. The longest I've ever waited for a response was till the next day and that was when I asked when the new set of cruises would be released, nothing urgent at all.

 

I have heard that some TA automatically do price drops. The one's I use don't. I usually get an email but I have to respond back to get the drop. It's done within an hour or so. The one time I used a PCC was with Princess. She was very good but promoted out of the job into supervisory role. I did get two price drops but I had to find them myself and call her to get them.

 

I don't get phone calls but both TAs sent me a birthday email. Both TAs email me about five days before the asking if all is well and asking if I have any questions/issues. They also contact me after I get back and ask for feedback on how my cruise went.

 

Obviously, I'm not dealing with a big box TA. Both of my TA's are small businesses, are properly credentialed, they operate out of their homes, and have two or three employees. They do not charge any fees for changes/cancellations. All my credit card charges are by the cruise line.

 

I'm a very low maintenance customer. When I call, it's I want (for example), Westerdam, Eastern Caribbean, departing DD/MM/YY, Neptune suite, room number xxx or yyy.