I'm Thinking Booking with a TA is Still Better Than Booking Onboard - Am I right?

[Mandy1021]

Yes, but you also need to ask their policies on fees for cancellations or booking changes (either for a different cabin on the currently booked cruise or for a transfer of the reservation to an entirely different cruise.) Even if they have a small cancellation or change fee, their additional perks or discounted prices may still be worthwhile, but you need to be able to make an informed decision.

 

You should also make sure that all of the perks Celebrity has included in your on-board booking (the regular ones available with any off-ship Celebrity booking plus the bonus OBC for the on-board booking) are still available with the TA's proposed booking - if they are offering you a lower price it could be due to a group fare which may or may not include all of your Celebrity perks.

 

That's helpful. Thank you! :)

[Tommy3putts]

We book a lot of cruises (sometimes more then 100 days a year) on many cruise lines including Celebrity. When we talk about booking strategies we have always suggested that its not a one size fits all thing. How one books can have a major impact on cost....cabin selection....or even getting on a specific cruise. But we do have a few basic rules...that have served us well. We never book a cruise directly with a cruise line and leave that booking with the cruise line for more then a few weeks. The reality is that you can always save money (usually 7-10%) by booking with a decent reputable cruise agency....or by moving a booking to a cruise agency.

 

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But on other lines we use different strategies. or example, on Princess it makes sense to do an Open On Board Booking (where you do not even specify the cruise) which gets you a future reduced deposit plus an onboard credit...for simply doing this undefined booking. The only downside is that you do have to make a small deposit (onboard)...but you do get that applied to your future cruise (or refunded if you never book a cruise). But this type strategy might (or might not) work on Celebrity because of the Celebrity rule of generally not allowing the "stacking" of credits. This means that an OBC you might get from Celebrity....will later reduce other OBCs (one needs to ask about this at the time).

 

Hank

 

 

This is great stuff. Thanks for sharing your booking strategy.

[NantahalaCruiser]

I was not aware of any 60 day rule to transfer a booking made on the ship to a travel agent. I usually book on board to get the OBC deal along with reduced deposit. I then will transfer to a travel agent offering additional perks and OBC. Since travel agents add a small cancellation fee I make the transfer right before final payment when I know I am going.

 

 

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Suggest you look for a TA without a cancellation or change fee - unless your current TA is giving you an added value greater than 8% of the cost of the cruise.

[SargassoPirate]

Our big box TA started offering a 2% rebate on cruises. It's added to the annual rebate check I get for purchases.