Best place to purchase your cruise?

[cruiserkevinjay]

What are the pros and cons of buying your cruise directly from the cruise line or from a travel agent?...thank you!

[Herfnerd]

TA’s can offer perks like OBC and stateroom upgrades. The downside is that you must go thru the TA for any issues that may arise

 

 

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[welikepalms]

We have done both and had good results. As the previous poster said TA's can and do offer perks that you may not know about until they price out a sailing for you. We have saved money using a TA over the web price from the cruise line on all but one of our cruises. The one we didn't was a large group guided cruise so its hard to figure out that one.Our upcoming cruise I just booked direct just wanted to get it booked lol.. Do your research and then visit a good TA and see what kind of deals they have. Either way enjoy!

 

Happy Cruising

[teknoge3k]

I guess you have to shop around TAs to get an average savings amongst them. Not saying you don't get anything good because people here on CC like them. For me however, I have priced a cruise through TAs around my area before and none of them could beat the price I could get through Carnival direct. I think I did find one who would give me $50 or a bottle of wine. I'd rather forgo that $50 to be able to do things myself/directly with my PVP than have a middle man. Again, not knocking TAs as some people still use them. They're just not for us.

[easyboy]

For every cruise we consider, we always check the better deal we can get from either the TA or the cruise line directly. Sometimes, one is better than the other.

 

 

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[welikepalms]

PS Should have added this to my reply above as another poster just nailed it and reminded me. Having to deal with the TA for issues instead of the cruise line direct can get a bit messy. I enjoy talking direct to the line if and when I have questions or concerns. Its just a preference I have. TA's do a fine job just don;t like the middle man at times.

 

Happy Cruising

[NantahalaCruiser]

TA’s can offer perks like OBC and stateroom upgrades. The downside is that you must go thru the TA for any issues that may arise

 

 

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A big-box warehouse travel department gives a store gift card at the completion of your cruise. The amount is approximately 8% of the price of your cruise (not including the tax/fees.)

 

While going through your TA for issues that arise is considered a downside by some, others consider it an upside since you have someone on your side to assist you.

 

To each their own :cool:

[Flatbush Flyer]

What are the pros and cons of buying your cruise directly from the cruise line or from a travel agent?...thank you!

 

 

 

You may want to learn how to use the CC search function. There's only about a zillion threads on this question.

Bottom line is that it takes a ton of resarch to find that TA who will have made that work worthwhile. The great ones (and their significant perks) do exist. But it takes considerable effort to find them.

 

 

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[Keith1010]

Pro is you control your own booking and don't go through someone else.

 

I prefer booking through a TA for many reasons including:

 

They can ofter provide amenities that the cruise line can't.

 

If something goes wrong they can be your advocate and often they can cut through the red tape.

 

A good TA can help you to avoid making mistakes.

 

Some TA's and their agencies can provide other benefits such as better prices or amenities for other related travel such as hotels.

 

Keith

[tbmrt]

Be sure to ask if there are any cancellation fees if you do book through a travel agent or online company.

[babs135]

At least you have the option of a ta or direct. Where I live in the UK there are no dedicated cruise travel agents so just about everything has to be done on line. I'd love the opportunity of a face to face conversation in the hope of building up a rapport and then perhaps lots of perks would come my way :D Last time I went into a high street ta armed with the online price for a cruise on the Queen Mary 2, the travel agent couldn't even find the ship!!!!! After 15 minutes of searching online (there was a clock just above her head so I did make a mental note of the time) she asked us if we would like to book something on board a ship called the Majesty - I suppose that's pretty close to a ship called Queen :eek:

[Krazy Kruizers]

We have been fortunate to have had a great TA for 26 years (took a while before we found a great one).

Love the perks -- many times have gotten lower prices. Whenever a problem creeps up, we know that we can call her and she will take care of everything.

[suekay]

At least you have the option of a ta or direct. Where I live in the UK there are no dedicated cruise travel agents so just about everything has to be done on line. I'd love the opportunity of a face to face conversation in the hope of building up a rapport and then perhaps lots of perks would come my way :D Last time I went into a high street ta armed with the online price for a cruise on the Queen Mary 2, the travel agent couldn't even find the ship!!!!! After 15 minutes of searching online (there was a clock just above her head so I did make a mental note of the time) she asked us if we would like to book something on board a ship called the Majesty - I suppose that's pretty close to a ship called Queen :eek:

LOL. That just about sums it up😀

 

I find I know far more about cruising and cruiselines than High St ta's. I check prices direct with the cruise line, online UK ta's and online US ta's and book whichever is the best deal

 

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[MCC retired]

A TA should always do better than booking direct , because they can.

If merely quoting the exact same thing as booking direct , move on . That TA does not

appreciate your booking.

A TA with "connections" within the cruise line , can work wonders to resolve an issue.

Owning your own booking ? You are paying current retail and any issues , are yours to solve.

[geoherb]

When I've booked cruises before the final payment, I'll sometimes do it directly with the cruise line. That way I can make changes immediately if I see a better price or cabin. I can transfer the booking to a TA before the final payment date if the TA can offer an incentive to do so.

 

After the final payment date, I've done it both ways--direct with the cruise line and through a TA. Booking through a TA is usually a better price, but sometimes I have to act quickly to take advantage of a price. For our upcoming cruise in December, I booked directly with Princess because my TA and I weren't able to connect.

[SRF]

Also, some TAs will monitor prices/sales and let you know of price drops. But ASK, not all do this.

 

This is very important to me, as I travel internationally a lot for work, and cannot reach RCI US site most of the time.

 

I will give up other perks for this monitoring.

[JTBCruiser]

My vote is for my TA. He's done a great job supporting me and I can reach him 24/7. He's very accommodating when I find price drops even for a mere $10, better in my pocket than cruise line. He's always given outstanding advice on cabin selection and if I have an issue with cruise line, he gets it resolved in my favor. For the record, I do shop around and give him a chance to meet or beat the deal. He matches it every time.

[OCruisers]

.....

 

I prefer booking through a TA for many reasons including:

 

They can ofter provide amenities that the cruise line can't.

 

If something goes wrong they can be your advocate and often they can cut through the red tape.

 

A good TA can help you to avoid making mistakes.

 

Some TA's and their agencies can provide other benefits such as better prices or amenities for other related travel such as hotels.

 

Keith

 

The above is why we use our long time travel agent. :D

[maryjaden]

I like having control over my own booking. It is more convenient for me to be able to directly deal with the cruise line for any changes. I am the type of person who regularly checks the pricing on my booked cruises so I know when I can call to make adjustments. That being said, I have used a TA when we are going with a group of several cabins together. It is easier then to have the TA coordinate dining, etc.

[Hsmama]

You may want to learn how to use the CC search function. There's only about a zillion threads on this question.

Bottom line is that it takes a ton of resarch to find that TA who will have made that work worthwhile. The great ones (and their significant perks) do exist. But it takes considerable effort to find them.

 

 

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I think what the OP is asking (and I am too) is how best to find that TA you can trust.... researching till the cows come home isn't doing much for me in terms of finding a reputable TA. everyone has opinions,and everyone seems to run sales...but I too after months and months of researching still feel like there's no good answers (I know referrals can;t happen on CC) But I wish I could just get a list of TA's that people here use and trust. It's really complicated to figure this out.

[Flatbush Flyer]

I think what the OP is asking (and I am too) is how best to find that TA you can trust.... researching till the cows come home isn't doing much for me in terms of finding a reputable TA. everyone has opinions,and everyone seems to run sales...but I too after months and months of researching still feel like there's no good answers (I know referrals can;t happen on CC) But I wish I could just get a list of TA's that people here use and trust. It's really complicated to figure this out.

 

 

 

If you've done a search on CC and have not found any of my numerous posts explaining how to find a good TA, you really need to go back to school.

That said, here we go again:

Condé Nast Traveler occasionally publishes a "best of ...." travel advisors list including cruise specialists. These are truly vetted folks who haven't paid for a listing (and really don't need to). Downside is they probably won't do Carnival and other low end cruises. But, they may be able to recommend colleagues.

Another source is to check with your college alumni association or regional cultural associations (if they sponsor travel) and find out who they use.

If you subscribe or otherwise have access to major metro newspapers with Travel sections (usually Sunday), look at which TAs in your area (or even farther afield) are consistently quoted when the topic is "cruising."

Other than asking around among passengers onboard to the point of hearing the same TA's name positively mentioned multiple times, I'd pay the least credence to a recommendation of your neighbor or family member (again, unless you hear the name many times). Personal tastes/means and usually limited experience (with diversity and quantity of cruise experience) may do you more harm than good.

Finally, some cruise lines do have recognitions of their top producers (e.g., Oceania has its Connoisseurs Club). This doesn't guarantee a top overall TA. But, at least, these folks can get problems with that particular line quickly solved.

BTW, you could go the route of big box stores/auto clubs/airline vacation sites. But, there are positives/negatives including decent (not the best) perks but the "luck of the draw" when it comes to the actual TA with whom you'll initially work.

 

 

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