Travel Agent vs Book Direct

[nmstevens]

I have always used an agent booking Disney Cruises so when deciding to cruise Royal Caribbean for the first time I thought it best to do the same. So far since I booked with an agent I have not seen any advantages to doing so. My OBC could have been much higher booking direct and I am already doing alot of research on my on so maybe I have answered my own question. Can anyone tell me if I am missing something here?:confused:

[cruisinfanatic]

I have always used an agent booking Disney Cruises so when deciding to cruise Royal Caribbean for the first time I thought it best to do the same. So far since I booked with an agent I have not seen any advantages to doing so. My OBC could have been much higher booking direct and I am already doing alot of research on my on so maybe I have answered my own question. Can anyone tell me if I am missing something here?:confused:

Your OBC should be no different booking with a TA. Most will give you more OBC and or other perks out of their commission on top of anything the cruiseline offers. If yours doesn't, there is no reason to book through them

[carolslc]

When I've priced it, I got extra OBC booking through a large agency that specializes in cruises. Even for my first cruise when I booked with a local agent, I got extra OBC. For my current cruise, I told the agent I wanted to go to the ABCs and wanted an aft balcony, and gave her a range of dates. Any cruiseline. She did all the legwork and found us our next cruise. I can still book all my dining reservations, excursions, etc myself online. I did book once directly with the cruise line but I'm the opposite - I didn't see the advantage in doing it that way when I've seen benefits using a TA. I say find another one if you're not getting any benefit.

[nmstevens]

We received $125.00 total for a cruise with 2 cabins over $5000.00 . I saw on RCCL they were offering 175.00 per cabin!

[cruisinfanatic]

We received $125.00 total for a cruise with 2 cabins over $5000.00 . I saw on RCCL they were offering 175.00 per cabin!

If you see $175 per cabin, you should be getting it. Just make sure the price of the cruise is the same. On top of that you would receive $150-200 more OBC from a good TA PER CABIN. Time to call your TA.

Is it a large TA?

Small ones can't offer you as much because their commission is less

[njkruzer]

We usually book direct and then transfer to the TA to get their benefits slso.

[Clarea]

I have always used an agent booking Disney Cruises so when deciding to cruise Royal Caribbean for the first time I thought it best to do the same. So far since I booked with an agent I have not seen any advantages to doing so. My OBC could have been much higher booking direct and I am already doing alot of research on my on so maybe I have answered my own question. Can anyone tell me if I am missing something here?:confused:

Something is wrong if you have less OBC with the travel agent.

[e2011]

No advantage to booking online. A good TA is worth their weight in gold thats why I have used the same one for 15 years.

[nmstevens]

If you see $175 per cabin, you should be getting it. Just make sure the price of the cruise is the same. On top of that you would receive $150-200 more OBC from a good TA PER CABIN. Time to call your TA.

Is it a large TA?

Small ones can't offer you as much because their commission is less[/quote

Yes, a large TA. Waiting to hear back from her. Last I heard she said if we took the 175 per cabin obc that the price of our cruise would go up. I asked her to send me comparison figures. Oh geez!

[cruisinfanatic]

If you see $175 per cabin, you should be getting it. Just make sure the price of the cruise is the same. On top of that you would receive $150-200 more OBC from a good TA PER CABIN. Time to call your TA.

Is it a large TA?

Small ones can't offer you as much because their commission is less[/quote

Yes, a large TA. Waiting to hear back from her. Last I heard she said if we took the 175 per cabin obc that the price of our cruise would go up. I asked her to send me comparison figures. Oh geez!

Have you compared what your cruise costs now with the OBC compared to what your booking says?

[carolslc]

Last I heard she said if we took the 175 per cabin obc that the price of our cruise would go up. I asked her to send me comparison figures.

 

Yes, you do have to look at total cost. The cruise line may offer promotions after you've booked but I've found that typically they increase the base cost so total cost is the same or even more. However, once I calculated the total cost for a new promotion and it was a few hundred dollars less. I called the TA, and she re-booked us at the lower rate. She said she watches those and was about to contact me to get it done.

[papaflamingo]

No advantage to booking online. A good TA is worth their weight in gold thats why I have used the same one for 15 years.

Agreed. My TA doesn't give OBC, etc. But she is worth her weight in gold too! She has done more for me than most TA's that work for the big companies could do. It isn't worth $100 OBC to get an incompetent TA. I have a friend who had a "Future Cruise" Certificate. When she booked with one of the big TA's to get an extra $75 OBC, she literally sat in my house on the phone to him while I explained how the Future Cruise Certificate worked, what the deposit should be, etc. He was a total moron.

My TA, on the other hand, got me an upgrade from a JS to a CL-1 on Oasis a few years ago for a total of $305 for two! It was a "New bookings only" rate and she talked with Royal Caribbean for a very long time and they agreed to let me upgrade! She has done a lot of other favors like that for me too.

So, excellent and knowledgeable TA is worth more than OBC (if you can find both, all the better). And all you need to do is to read the horror stories about direct bookings to know that I'd rather let her handle the hassle.

[awestover89]

Agreed. My TA doesn't give OBC, etc. But she is worth her weight in gold too! She has done more for me than most TA's that work for the big companies could do. It isn't worth $100 OBC to get an incompetent TA. I have a friend who had a "Future Cruise" Certificate. When she booked with one of the big TA's to get an extra $75 OBC, she literally sat in my house on the phone to him while I explained how the Future Cruise Certificate worked, what the deposit should be, etc. He was a total moron.

My TA, on the other hand, got me an upgrade from a JS to a CL-1 on Oasis a few years ago for a total of $305 for two! It was a "New bookings only" rate and she talked with Royal Caribbean for a very long time and they agreed to let me upgrade! She has done a lot of other favors like that for me too.

So, excellent and knowledgeable TA is worth more than OBC (if you can find both, all the better). And all you need to do is to read the horror stories about direct bookings to know that I'd rather let her handle the hassle.

 

Curious, what do you mean by how the FCC affects the deposit? We just used our first future cruise credit after the cancellations for the hurricanes this summer and wee told that the FCC counts as a coupon to discount the cruise fare, not a payment, so the full $500 deposit ($250 per person) was due.

[cruisinfanatic]

Curious, what do you mean by how the FCC affects the deposit? We just used our first future cruise credit after the cancellations for the hurricanes this summer and wee told that the FCC counts as a coupon to discount the cruise fare, not a payment, so the full $500 deposit ($250 per person) was due.

That's different than a FCC that is a payment toward a cruise.

[nmstevens]

Have you compared what your cruise costs now with the OBC compared to what your booking says?

 

I Booked the cruise in June of 2017 and just last week I told my TA about the discounts that came out so she applied them and our cruise reduced by about $600.00!! Yesterday I brought it to her attention that RCCL was giving OBC of 175.00 per cabin for our cruise. After she looked into it she emailed me to say that the cruise rate was higher than what I paid. I would have to pay out 188.00 more for the two cabins in order to get the 350.00 OBC.

[nmstevens]

If you see $175 per cabin, you should be getting it. Just make sure the price of the cruise is the same. On top of that you would receive $150-200 more OBC from a good TA PER CABIN. Time to call your TA.

Is it a large TA?

Small ones can't offer you as much because their commission is less

We had to pay 186 more on the cruise in order to get the 350 on board credit but it was worth it, we are still ahead. The Ta only gave us 125 credit because the cruise was just over 5000 for 2 oceanview w/ balcony. They follow a chart for issuing credit. Today we saved money on san juan excursion and 2 deluxe drink packages so Im very happy.

[cruisinfanatic]

We had to pay 186 more on the cruise in order to get the 350 on board credit but it was worth it, we are still ahead. The Ta only gave us 125 credit because the cruise was just over 5000 for 2 oceanview w/ balcony. They follow a chart for issuing credit. Today we saved money on san juan excursion and 2 deluxe drink packages so Im very happy.

That is way wrong. The better TA's normally give 10% of the commissionable portion of the cost. On a $5000 cruise the commissionable is way over $4000. Your OBC from them should be at least $400 on top of what Royal gives you

[nmstevens]

That is way wrong. The better TA's normally give 10% of the commissionable portion of the cost. On a $5000 cruise the commissionable is way over $4000. Your OBC from them should be at least $400 on top of what Royal gives you[/quot

I wish it were more but not much I can do now.

[jamesr3939]

No advantage to booking online. A good TA is worth their weight in gold thats why I have used the same one for 15 years.

 

100% agree. We have used the same TA for 30 years. Can you book direct? Sure and 90% of the time it's not an issue. But, when things go wrong it's nice to have a TA you can call who won't put you on hold or give you the run around.

[Nemomof3]

Depends on the TA we have booked most without and only one with. On that one anytime we had a question it took at least 24 hours for her to call or email back. If I had found a price decrease it would have been too late. I saw zero reason to use one so unless they have something to offer I wouldn't use one again. I do lots of research I actually enjoy it so I prefer to change things now if I want not when I can get ahold of someone.

[cruisinfanatic]

That is way wrong. The better TA's normally give 10% of the commissionable portion of the cost. On a $5000 cruise the commissionable is way over $4000. Your OBC from them should be at least $400 on top of what Royal gives you[/quot

I wish it were more but not much I can do now.

If you go online and do a dummy booking, would you be better off? Does your TA have cancel fees. Cancel and rebook. Then transfer to a TA that will give you the appropiate OBC that you should get

[e2011]

100% agree. We have used the same TA for 30 years. Can you book direct? Sure and 90% of the time it's not an issue. But, when things go wrong it's nice to have a TA you can call who won't put you on hold or give you the run around.

 

Another thing I tell people is why would you not use a TA? There is no cost to the consumer, only benefits. Not using one absurd. When I have a problem I call my agent on her cell phone. I laugh at the people who call the 800 number and get routed to a partially english speaking young person at RCCL HQ in Miami after a 30 minute wait!

[tnt10]

That's different than a FCC that is a payment toward a cruise.

 

Not sure what you are saying.

We have used several FCC that we received due to issues with previous cruises. They did in fact only reduce the fare of the cruise and were not applicable towards any deposits...

Wording on FCC states:

"Your final payment will be adjusted to reflect savings....

Note to travel agent: ......Certificate value may not be deducted from deposit amount...."

That's right on my FCC copy in front of me. Has something recently changed on these or am I missing something??:confused:

[nmstevens]

My first RCCL was booked through an agent who did nothing! I was online and the phone constantly when I saw good deals and then had to call her to make changes. It was alot of work for me to save money even with an agent. Yesterday I booked directly with RCCL and was content with the price because I knew there would be deals coming up that are better and I could apply. Then I saw a good deal with a travel agency today where there are free gratuities for 4 people but the obc was only 25 ea instead of 50 each. I'm afraid to change to this agency because I may be locked in even if a better deal comes along. Any opinion? I don't have alot of experience doing this

[nolesrule]

 

I Booked the cruise in June of 2017 and just last week I told my TA about the discounts that came out so she applied them and our cruise reduced by about $600.00!! Yesterday I brought it to her attention that RCCL was giving OBC of 175.00 per cabin for our cruise. After she looked into it she emailed me to say that the cruise rate was higher than what I paid. I would have to pay out 188.00 more for the two cabins in order to get the 350.00 OBC.

 

So this cruise was booked awhile ago. The online offers are always changing with RCI. And usually if they increase the OBC, it's offset by an increase in price. To take advantage of a change in promotion you have to also take whatever the current price is... you don't get to keep your booked price when a promotion changes.

 

The underlying price changes with supply and demand. The current promotion may or may not be to ones advantage depending on the details of their specific booking.