Booking directly through Celebrity or TA?

[2theship]

Question: Is the obc from TA refundable? I know this has been answered before, but I wasn't paying attention and can't find my answer now.

Thank you.

While I've never experienced it personally, it's my understanding that all TA OBC is refundable.

 

Ever since our first cruise in the early 90's, we've worked with the same TA. There have been a few exceptions to that but we've rarely seen a deal that's made us want to use another organization. I watch for price drops and he makes the adjustment immediately. If I spot a cabin I'd rather have, he'll handle it - once I called him at 5:00 on a Friday because an exceptional cabin had just become available and I knew if I waited for Monday it would be gone. He made it happen. He doesn't give us OBC but when it comes time for final payment, he pays a portion of it himself.

[Fouremco]

Question: Is the obc from TA refundable? I know this has been answered before, but I wasn't paying attention and can't find my answer now.

Thank you.

Yes, if it's really from the TA. Unfortunately, OBC provided by the cruise line as a perk, which is non-refundable, is sometimes passed off by less reputable TA's as being from them.

[Luvcrusn]

c - thank you for your most kind words, much appreciated for sure!

 

Yes, we too are very happy and grateful for the opportunity to get away and have time sailing, no matter how we choose to spend it aboard... or on land.

 

I bounce us around from TA to TA to TA based on 'promises' of service, then OBC. I get disappointed with the service so the OBC does not matter much at the time. Now, were we to be getting 7%+ in OBC, heck I will accept bad service to a degree. This is not to say that in a few years we will not be concerned with getting the best deal for our bucks, now we concentrate on the best vacation on our chosen line...

 

I will start to ask my fellow passengers aboard about whom they book through and figure out if the same source is good for us.

 

Enjoy your sailing and bon voyage...

I have always been the one of us that researches and books our travel. I feel quite confident doing it myself. When I choose to use a TA it is not for hand holding or service purposes, but merely because by using the TA I can get more benefit and value than I can obtain on my own. I don't look at it as a surrender of control, but as a choice of added value. I always continue to monitor our travel arrangements (cruise or otherwise) for price drops and in the case of our cruises, for upgrades or better cabin availability. When those appear, I call my TA and they have always taken care of applying the changes. I look at it as a win-win. I just can't see the point of paying more for the same trip, cabin, itinerary than I have to.

[Bo1953]

I have always been the one of us that researches and books our travel. I feel quite confident doing it myself. When I choose to use a TA it is not for hand holding or service purposes, but merely because by using the TA I can get more benefit and value than I can obtain on my own. I don't look at it as a surrender of control, but as a choice of added value. I always continue to monitor our travel arrangements (cruise or otherwise) for price drops and in the case of our cruises, for upgrades or better cabin availability. When those appear, I call my TA and they have always taken care of applying the changes. I look at it as a win-win. I just can't see the point of paying more for the same trip, cabin, itinerary than I have to.

 

Usually, my net cost is lower and I do monitor pricing from time to time. Yet my experience has been that of the last 10 sailings we have taken, ALL of them have risen in price so I chalk that up to being on a popular sailing which sells out.

 

My next sailing, which I booked on-board and transferred to a TA, I purchased an extra Perk on-board, a few weeks after the transfer I contacted the agent to advise that pricing had come down by $225, they promptly wrote back to say that the better value was to do nothing.... well that bowled me over, after speaking with a CS person at the agency, she noted that I had two perks... provided by X, which was totally wrong.

 

bon voyage

[Luvcrusn]

My next sailing, which I booked on-board and transferred to a TA, I purchased an extra Perk on-board, a few weeks after the transfer I contacted the agent to advise that pricing had come down by $225, they promptly wrote back to say that the better value was to do nothing.... well that bowled me over, after speaking with a CS person at the agency, she noted that I had two perks... provided by X, which was totally wrong.

 

bon voyage

I think that says it's time to take a look at a new TA! My last cruise had two brief price drops. The first was $100 (per person), the second was $400 (per person). Both drops lasted only about 48 hours before going back up. The TA applied the first with no changes to our perks (drinks, tips and OBC). The second drop, we had the choice of the lower fare and loss of $100 OBC or upgrading to Aqua (from concierge) for the same cost and keeping all of our perks and all of the OBC. We upgraded needless to say.

[Gran2five]

When we began cruising in the late 1980's we would never have thought of booking directly with the cruise line. We relied on our TA to book cruises as well as land vacations for us.

 

However in the last few years, we would book our next cruise while onboard and then transfer it to a TA where we would receive some additional OBC not much but a bit and they would take care of booking air etc.

 

Without boring you with the details in the last two years, there have been two instances where after transferring a cruise to our TA, something happened where an issue occurred and we were at the mercy of the TA to contact Celebrity as we could not. In both cases, the TA was not successful but when we phoned the Captains Club, we were.

 

That was when we made the decision to only look online, watch prices, decide on a fare that we could afford and book ourselves. We always receive some OBC from Celebrity or in the case of the next cruise Princess and we feel in complete control. It also helps that we are retired and can check prices as often as we want and contact the Cruise line Cruise Consultant (who have been very helpful both on Celebrity and Princess) in adjusting the price for us.

[cltnccruisers]

I've seen a few comments about purchasing OBC pre-cruise. That's a new concept for me. How does it work? Pay $75 for $100 OBC for example?

[Fouremco]

I've seen a few comments about purchasing OBC pre-cruise. That's a new concept for me. How does it work? Pay $75 for $100 OBC for example?

I wish! No, you buy in $25 USD units, and 4 units will cost you $100 USD. As we book in CAD, we have to buy the OBC in CAD, so instead of $25 USD it might cost me $32 CAD. Depending on exchange rate trends, I'll either buy very early or very late.

[cltnccruisers]

I wish! No, you buy in $25 USD units, and 4 units will cost you $100 USD. As we book in CAD, we have to buy the OBC in CAD, so instead of $25 USD it might cost me $32 CAD. Depending on exchange rate trends, I'll either buy very early or very late.

 

OK, not to seem too dense but --- what's the benefit?

[Fouremco]

OK, not to seem too dense but --- what's the benefit?

Other than currency speculation, not a factor for those who book in USD, it's mostly a question of convenience. I purchase enough to cover my projected onboard expense, including gratuities, spreading out my cruise costs a bit further. Anything I don't spend I simply take back in cash at the end of the cruise. If I hadn't started doing this a few years back when the CAD was dropping and Celebrity's exchange rates were far better, I probably wouldn't have started. Now it's just a habit with minor benefits at best.

[RocketMan275]

OK, not to seem too dense but --- what's the benefit?

Just another way of minimizing your bill at the end of the cruise.

[cltnccruisers]

Just another way of minimizing your bill at the end of the cruise.

 

I suppose one small benefit might be to use it to cover on board expenses on a $ to $ basis rather than having them hit whatever credit card is used to back the on board account and potentially incur interest charges.

[RocketMan275]

I suppose one small benefit might be to use it to cover on board expenses on a $ to $ basis rather than having them hit whatever credit card is used to back the on board account and potentially incur interest charges.

 

It really doesn't matter. It's more personal preference than anything else.

 

For example, you can purchase $400 OBC prior to your cruise and use it to cover your on board bill.

 

Or, you can save the $400 and apply it to the credit card bill when it arrives.

 

The thing you do not want to do is carry a balance on your credit card. Amazing how much 18% interest can cost you.

[varoo]

OK, not to seem too dense but --- what's the benefit?

Our friends abroad who use foreign currency will do this at a time when they can get a favorable exchange rate, to lock it in at that time since they don't know what the exchange rate will be by the time they actually take the cruise.

 

As Americans, we have never had a reason to do this ourselves, unless we just wanted to give a gift of OBC to somebody else who was taking a cruise.

I suppose one small benefit might be to use it to cover on board expenses on a $ to $ basis rather than having them hit whatever credit card is used to back the on board account and potentially incur interest charges.

This is why we have our credit card payments (as well as other payments, such as utility bills) on autopay, so we never incur any interest charges and don't need to be concerned about missing payment dates when we are traveling.

As for the question of how to book, sometimes we use a TA and other times we leave the booking with the cruise line, depending on whichever method serves our best interests at the time.

In general, the greater the cost of the cruise, the more worthwhile it becomes to use a TA.

Edited February 10, 2018 by varoo

[Bo1953]

I think that says it's time to take a look at a new TA! My last cruise had two brief price drops. The first was $100 (per person), the second was $400 (per person). Both drops lasted only about 48 hours before going back up. The TA applied the first with no changes to our perks (drinks, tips and OBC). The second drop, we had the choice of the lower fare and loss of $100 OBC or upgrading to Aqua (from concierge) for the same cost and keeping all of our perks and all of the OBC. We upgraded needless to say.

Yes, it does and I Am looking for sure!

 

Bon voyage

 

Sent from my P00I using Tapatalk

[CA_Cruzing]

That's an interesting comment. Personally, I see no drawback to the cash card as we buy there regularly anyway. If I want OBC, I can simply purchase it with the money that I won't have to spend at the store. On the other hand, if you aren't a regular customer, it would certainly be less attractive, so I understand your point of view.

 

 

 

I should add that I also find them to be quite generous with the value of the cash card, probably because they know that the money will come back to them. They can offer a higher amount yet it costs them less, so it's a win-win situation.

 

 

 

Spot on. We just redirect our cash into a travel bank account and use the “cash rewards”cards for ANY travel we want.

 

Why limit oneself to OBC only? Cash buys hotels, flights, meals, car rentals, concerts and more. If you layer it correctly, you could me making another 12% on your 12%.

 

 

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[MCazer]

Well, this was a very lucrative post for me. I was able to get a great rate on my stateroom, and the cabin I wanted with larger balcony, internet and gratuities and was able to transfer to a TA and get $350 shipboard Credit which will more than cover our drinks for the 11 night cruise!

 

Woo hoo, I'm stoked!

[kathynorth]

We'll be booking on-board for the first time next month - hoping to chat with folks experienced in the TA arena about how to find a good one. Then we'll probably transfer that Iberian cruise we'll be booking. :)

 

We research and determine the cruise we're interested in and cabin level, identify a couple of open rooms, and determine cost through Celebrity prior to boarding. Then we visit onboard booking and book to get the onboard booking bonus. We ask for Celebrity to hold the booking so it doesn't get credited back to the TA that we booked the current cruise. When we arrive home I start calling all the online TA's that we've used in the past, pretty much all of the ones that have been mentioned in this thread plus a couple more. I let the TA's know I'm looking to transfer a direct booking and ask what can they offer me for the booking. I compare the offers then call back the TA that has the best deal. The TA helps with completing the transfer form and Celebrity then confirms the transfer. We've cruised quite a bit and have booked through at least 6 different online TA's as well as through a Celebrity planner, all based on the same cabin with the best deal.

[Hlitner]

We research and determine the cruise we're interested in and cabin level, identify a couple of open rooms, and determine cost through Celebrity prior to boarding. Then we visit onboard booking and book to get the onboard booking bonus. We ask for Celebrity to hold the booking so it doesn't get credited back to the TA that we booked the current cruise. When we arrive home I start calling all the online TA's that we've used in the past, pretty much all of the ones that have been mentioned in this thread plus a couple more. I let the TA's know I'm looking to transfer a direct booking and ask what can they offer me for the booking. I compare the offers then call back the TA that has the best deal. The TA helps with completing the transfer form and Celebrity then confirms the transfer. We've cruised quite a bit and have booked through at least 6 different online TA's as well as through a Celebrity planner, all based on the same cabin with the best deal.

 

We have followed the exact same procedure with several cruise lines...and always get very good results. In some cases we have saved well over $1000 by moving a booking from a cruise line to one of our favored cruise agencies. But people are really funny. On one long (62 day) HAL cruise we became quite friendly with 2 other couples with whom we often dined. One evening the entire table got into a discussion of booking direct versus shopping around. One couple (very frequent HAL cruisers) said they always booked direct because they thought it gave them "control" (whatever that means) and they really liked their Personal Cruise Counselor (HAL clerks who handle bookings). The other two couples (including us) both liked to shop around among good cruise agencies and compare to booking direct. The direct booking couple was skeptical about saving money by shopping around and asked us how much we saved. In our case it was just over $3000 and the other couple saved over $5000 (they had booked an expensive suite). The direct booking couple admitted to being shocked as they had been led to believe that nothing is better than booking direct.

 

Hank

[Cruisingmarmi]

I recommend that you shop a few agencies to find out. You can start with those that advertize here and through an internet search. Not much time at all, plus a few phone calls to follow-up for clarification...

 

You may be, albeit slightly, surprized as to which agents will want to book you..

 

 

bon voyage

 

Thanks! Will do!

[Cruisingmarmi]

I've contacted Scenic Tours of Antigua for info regarding a 6 hour tour for $38 pp. This price includes the $8 pp entry fee to Nelsons Dockyard. 9AM to 3PM. It ends at a beach, if desired, before returning to ship. When booking online a 50% deposit is due. "Deposit is refundable if ship does not come to port." Reviews are excellent and sound like it's a 4-6 person tour in a van.

[WanderingRN84]

I saved $169 per person off the Celebrity rate, got 3 free perks instead of 2, and an extra $150 OBC per cabin (we booked 2 cabins). With 4 people going, the savings equaled about $1600. I found my TA on a cruise site where TA’s bid to handle your vacation.

[NantahalaCruiser]

I've contacted Scenic Tours of Antigua for info regarding a 6 hour tour for $38 pp. This price includes the $8 pp entry fee to Nelsons Dockyard. 9AM to 3PM. It ends at a beach, if desired, before returning to ship. When booking online a 50% deposit is due. "Deposit is refundable if ship does not come to port." Reviews are excellent and sound like it's a 4-6 person tour in a van.

Wrong thread - recommend you post this on your cruise's roll call thread.

[Host Walt]

Regarding finding a good cruise travel agent check out this article:

 

Finding a Cruise Travel Agent

 

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=62

 

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