Much better $$$ using a TA vs RC website. What gives?

[RocketMan275]

that simply is not true.By the time the cruise comes around ( if you have been diligently watching) the cruise line price will be the same as the TA can offer. We just had a cruise where for what ever reason, the single suppliment price was $631.00 total for a week carribbean cruise. This sale lasted about 2 hours and it allowed friends of ours to book 2 cabins to up their day total. No TA had this available.

 

Doug

 

Sorry, but it is true. One just has to do their homework.

 

BTW, how do you know that "No TA had this available.". Did you check every TA?

[RocketMan275]

I have gotten weekend price drops on about a third of my cruises over the years. Residential (NJ), C&A as well as just plain one day price drops.

 

At first, I thought there was no difference in prices between booking directly and using a TA. And, I found out that may be true in many cases. After all, I called multiple TA and asked about their discount policies. Most said, we don't discount.

 

That happens to a lot of people and they simply give up and assume that none of the TA will discount.

 

A friend directed me to a couple of TA that do discounts. I've gotten 8-10% discounts on every one of my cruises since.

 

You can always book a cruise direct, and then shop that cruise to various TA. Call them. Tell them what you've booked and ask them for a quote. Doesn't cost you anything to check and you might be pleasantly surprised.

 

But, one thing. I contacted many TA until I found the right one. One other thing. Next time you're around other cruisers, maybe on your next cruise, ask them how them book. Ask them if they can recommend a good TA.

 

A couple of other things. I usually book far in advance. Never after final payment. I do get price drops. I do get upsells.

[Iamcruzin]

$50 OBC isn't worth using a TA. Some TA will discount Princess/Holland cruises by about 10%. That can make a difference.

 

A couple of things:

 

You could have called the TA on Monday and offered them a choice of honoring the price drop (including the $50 OBC) or cancelling the cruise.

 

You could have 'shopped' the new reservation to another TA and see what they would offer if you transferred the reservation.

 

BTW, was the price drop still in effect on Monday?

 

My point is really this: I'm skeptical that weekend price drops, etc., are all that common. All the drops I've seen are usually around for sometime. The 10% discount is a sure thing on every cruise, every time. The 'weekend price drop' that disappears may happen only rarely.

I have never been able to find a TA that will discount 10%. As far as the price being in effect on Monday, I never checked but I wasn't going to take the chance that either it would be gone or the category room that I booked would be gone. When I did the mock booking there were only 5 or 6 rooms left in the category that I wanted. so I had my wife call and book it through a Princess rep. I agree that the $50 OBC wasn't worth booking through the TA but at the time of the booking that was all that I could find other than a specialty restaurant offer which I would never take as a perk.

[Stevanb]

No travel agent would give up 10% that is almost there whole commission what ever is left if the do not own it they have to give half to owner . Lets say it 15% what I found on internet so they would make 2.5% . on a 2000 .00 cruise they would make 50.00.

 

 

 

 

[AmandaKaye79]

We booked a cruise that was advertised for $1151 with no OBC for 2 for OV room on RC site. With the TA it was $1043 and included $100 OBC. That saved us over $200. While this might not always be the case, using the “compete” website paid off for me this time. I booked after final payment so losing control of the booking was no big deal. I wouldn’t be able to get a price drop anyway.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[RocketMan275]

No travel agent would give up 10% that is almost there whole commission what ever is left if the do not own it they have to give half to owner . Lets say it 15% what I found on internet so they would make 2.5% . on a 2000 .00 cruise they would make 50.00.

 

 

 

 

Do it all the time.

 

Go check the big box membership store with a travel agency. They routinely offer discounts/rebates of 8%.

[Wolffie89]

I used the compete site and got a big discount. $1850 on rc website and got it for $1520. I'll use them again if everything works out.

[grandgeezer]

No travel agent would give up 10% that is almost there whole commission what ever is left if the do not own it they have to give half to owner . Lets say it 15% what I found on internet so they would make 2.5% . on a 2000 .00 cruise they would make 50.00.

 

 

 

 

 

I can name three online travel agency’s that give at least 10% of the cruise price as perks, on a normal priced cruise. If it’s a discounted price from the cruise line due to slow sales, the percentage will be less. On our October cruise, the total price was a little over $3100 per couple. We got $300 normal once, $100 loyalty obc, and dinner for two in a specialty restaurant.

I’m guessing commission is based on volume and they book a ton of them.

[ndabunka]

I can name three online travel agency’s that give at least 10% of the cruise price as perks, on a normal priced cruise. If it’s a discounted price from the cruise line due to slow sales, the percentage will be less....

 

10% would be nice but nobody actually books a cabin at normal full retail price, do they? In order to get the best prices, we typically wait until a few weeks prior to the final payment due date and it's been an effective way to save as much as 40% off those "normal priced cruises".

 

We do use TAs IF it makes sense. For our Alaskan cruise we got $500 in OBC for 2 balcony cabins but for this upcoming cruise the most we were able to get from the TA was a couple of specialty meals. We saved a lot off the 'normal price' of our suite by buying at the right time and being fortunate with the timing and BOGOHO + $200 OBC + a few other discounts. (e.g. The 'normal' price of this GS suite at release would have been $7K. We picked it up for $4,300 so you are going to save FAR more by watching pricing & buying at the right time than a TA is EVER going to be able to provide).

Edited May 24, 2018 by ndabunka

[grandgeezer]

10% would be nice but nobody actually books a cabin at normal full retail price, do they? In order to get the best prices, we typically wait until a few weeks prior to the final payment due date and it's been an effective way to save as much as 40% off those "normal priced cruises".

 

We do use TAs IF it makes sense. For our Alaskan cruise we got $500 in OBC for 2 balcony cabins but for this upcoming cruise the most we were able to get from the TA was a couple of specialty meals. We saved a lot off the 'normal price' of our suite by buying at the right time and being fortunate with the timing and BOGOHO + $200 OBC + a few other discounts. (e.g. The 'normal' price of this GS suite at release would have been $7K. We picked it up for $4,300 so you are going to save FAR more by watching pricing & buying at the right time than a TA is EVER going to be able to provide).

 

By normal, I didn’t mean MSRP.

The deal I mentioned was a grand suite on the Allure. $1550 p.p. Including taxes and fees. We got $200 obc and prepaid gratuities from RCL. Since the obc from the travel agency is refundable my total cost is about $2700 for two. $2700 vs $4300, I think I did ok.

[taylortime05]

By normal, I didn’t mean MSRP.

The deal I mentioned was a grand suite on the Allure. $1550 p.p. Including taxes and fees. We got $200 obc and prepaid gratuities from RCL. Since the obc from the travel agency is refundable my total cost is about $2700 for two. $2700 vs $4300, I think I did ok.

 

That's a great deal! What sailing was that on? I never find deals like this.

[RocketMan275]

10% would be nice but nobody actually books a cabin at normal full retail price, do they? In order to get the best prices, we typically wait until a few weeks prior to the final payment due date and it's been an effective way to save as much as 40% off those "normal priced cruises".

 

When you book a cabin directly from the cruise line and when you pay the price quoted on the cruise line website, you have paid the "normal full retail price".

 

There are TA that advertise super large discounts that are a percentage of the 'brochure' price. We're not talking about that kind of discount.

 

We are talking about a percentage discount from the prices quoted on the cruise line website, the same price you would get if you booked through the cruise line website.

 

In order to get the 'best price', I book early, typically a year in advance. That locks in the price where it can go no higher. If I see a price drop, I send an email to my TA and I get the new invoice back which is normally about 9% of the cruise line website price. Consequently, I will get a price that is lower than any cruise line website price prior to final payment.

Edited May 24, 2018 by RocketMan275

[cruiselvr04]

Our last cruise we booked on board then went home and talked to a TA. They happened to have a group booking. We cancelled with the cruise line and ended up getting a balcony for less then we had booked for an ocean view. Only $75 OBC but saved another $100 or so and got a much better room.

 

Since then I’ve booked 6 more. They have no deals with any of those so I will now keep all those bookings with RCL.

 

It’s really frustrating for me I guess. I wish I could find a TA who could get me better pricing or OBC but it seems rare for us. I’ve kind of given up and just watch for price drops. Lately when booking on board we’ve gotten more OBC so that helps me stick with RCL over an agent too.

[SilkySal]

Interesting info in here!;) DH and I usually book directly with the cruise line when itineraries first come out and I am waiting for 2021 to book an Australia/NZ cruise and/or a transatlantic.:cool: We have cruised Alaska, Hawaii and all of the Caribbean, so, when DH retires, we want to go farther out. I am not the savvy traveler and don't want to deal with making overseas air/hotel reservations, so am considering using the "compete" site to handle our reservations, as it seems some of you have had good luck with that!

 

For our Alaska cruise, we booked a land/sea tour package through RCI, which included all of the air/hotel arrangements and it was sooooooooooo easy!! Very stress-free for us, so would like the same stress-free vacations in 2021!!:D

Edited May 24, 2018 by SilkySal
spelling

[grandgeezer]

That's a great deal! What sailing was that on? I never find deals like this.

 

It's for October 21. I happen to find it the middle of January, just snooping around on Royal's website. We normally book balconys but this was just too good to pass up, the ocean view balconys were about $800. After we booked, I kept checking pricing but it never went lower. A couple of weeks later the prepaid gratuities went away and the obc dropped from $200 to $100. We were hoping to move up if the prices changed but now there is only JSs left. It will probably be the only time we'll be able to book a grand suite. Sometimes you just get lucky.

[molly361]

It's for October 21. I happen to find it the middle of January, just snooping around on Royal's website. We normally book balconys but this was just too good to pass up, the ocean view balconys were about $800. After we booked, I kept checking pricing but it never went lower. A couple of weeks later the prepaid gratuities went away and the obc dropped from $200 to $100. We were hoping to move up if the prices changed but now there is only JSs left. It will probably be the only time we'll be able to book a grand suite. Sometimes you just get lucky.

We also booked that one. Total came to $2700 for a GS plus free grats and $100 OBC. And it will probably be our only GS as well Booked direct with RCL

 

Sent from my BG2-W09 using Forums mobile app

[PSU]

Do it all the time.

 

Go check the big box membership store with a travel agency. They routinely offer discounts/rebates of 8%.

 

I agree. People don't realize that the big box travel agents do not work on commission, but salary. That is why they can give you back 8 percent of the cruise fare in a gift card. Also people do not realize that you do not have to spend the gift card at the store, but you get the cash for the gift card instead.

[LMaxwell]

Sounds like there was a price drop from the time you checked RCI online and the TA or the TA knew of a price drop in the works because normally you only get a few incentives from the TAs. Sometimes they match RCI OBC so that could get doubled or you get a few specialty dinning certificates (as was our case this cruise) but seldom do you see THAT large a difference.

 

My TA get's blocks of rooms from the cruise lines. Typically priced 7-15% lower than as advertised by the cruise line. Same booking rules apply. I'm going to compare my TA to big box store next time and see what comes out better; I prefer the discount upfront or perks on the cruise as opposed to a cash card afterwards.