How to Reserve

[Frogtog]

I was just wondering how folks reserve their cruise travel. Direct with cruise line, travel agency or online. I am finding that there seems to be better deals online. But not having cruised yet not sure what the pros and cons are. Thanks.

[marco]

We usually research on line.  We deal with one large agency and find that  they match whatever price I find on line and more often then not offer some additional  perk, like an OBC. 

[leaveitallbehind]

As the prices from the majority of cruise lines are not discounted and are the same booked directly as that booked through a travel agency (or on line, which is also considered a TA booking), there typically is no advantage to the base stateroom rate regardless of how booked.

 

What results in the "deals" are block, or group, pricing rates that based on blocked stateroom volume, would have a reduced pricing scale based on the group of staterooms held, or perks or other benefits offered out of the individual travel agent's commission from the cruise line.  This pricing also may be lower based on when the block was reserved as frequently pricing will be lower when first offered on an itinerary v later in the booking cycle.  This pricing timing would be the case with any itinerary booked at any time.

 

What also frequently happens (often with on-line agencies) is the offered rate does not include the non-commissionable portion and other fees and taxes associated with the final booking price, which will have that rate appear to be discounted.  But the final total invoice price which will include these components will be higher and - minus any block or group rate - essentially the same.  Regardless of how you book you should ask to see a quote that is a total final invoice price including all fees, taxes, etc.,  to confirm your pricing prior to placing your booking.  This will allow you to properly compare pricing to make the best decision.

 

You should also confirm in advance if the 3rd party agent has any fees not charged by the cruise lines for originating, modifying, or cancelling a booking made through them and IMO avoid them and book with those who do not.  These fess will be an unnecessary additional cost to you and often are in place to offset other perks provided by the agency.

 

So pricing is really a matter of timing with the booking v the original release of the itinerary and - if through a 3rd party - any group or block of staterooms held by them that you may be booking into.  The choice between booking direct, through a live travel agent, or an on-line site is really a matter of whether you want to manage your booking with an agent of the cruise line, an agent with a travel agency to support you, or on-line through email and text.

Edited March 21, 2019 by leaveitallbehind

[klfrodo]

One thing to keep in mind is that if you choose to buy thru a Travel Agency or thru an On Line booking agency is that YOU are the agencies customer. The Agency is the cruise lines customer. You are not the cruise lines customer until you step foot on the ship.

Any issues or discrepancies with your booking regarding the cruise is to be resolved by you and your agency. The cruise line will not get involved.

Example: Your dining time is not correct. You can't call the cruise line 1-800# to resolve. You must contact your agent.(okay, you CAN call and someone MIGHT help,,,, but that's not the norm or how it works)

[leaveitallbehind]

44 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

One thing to keep in mind is that if you choose to buy thru a Travel Agency or thru an On Line booking agency is that YOU are the agencies customer. The Agency is the cruise lines customer. You are not the cruise lines customer until you step foot on the ship.

Any issues or discrepancies with your booking regarding the cruise is to be resolved by you and your agency. The cruise line will not get involved.

Example: Your dining time is not correct. You can't call the cruise line 1-800# to resolve. You must contact your agent.(okay, you CAN call and someone MIGHT help,,,, but that's not the norm or how it works)

Actually, with RCI/Celebrity, anything associated with your on line planner, which includes all scheduled excursions, on board activities available to pre-plan, and dining (in particular My Time) is accessed directly by you through the planner and NOT through the TA.  The TA cannot touch the planner.

 

But you are absolutely correct in that whomever you book through is that booking's manager and all aspects regarding that booking would be dealt with through that booking source - be it the cruise line or a TA.  On line bookings are just that and would be managed by you through the on line site.

[MCC retired]

Surely the OP must know people who cruise often , and have a  recommended TA ?

Booking Direct just gets you the current retail rate available to all .

A Good TA can and should always do better .

[capriccio]

One of the Cruise Critic rules that we all agree to upon signing up is no naming of travel agencies (so should your comment with specific agencies disappear, you will know why).

 

For all cruises, I do on-line research on the cruise line website.  Back when we first started cruising I contacted a number of on-line agencies to get comparison prices.  When you do that make sure you ask if there are cancellation penalties and how long in advance final payment must be made (a week or two earlier than the cruise line final due date so the TA can ensure that the payment is fully processed by that final due date). 

 

Princess, our preferred cruise line, allows travel agents to discount fares but they are not allowed to advertise the discounted fares so you need to ask specifically when interviewing potential TAs.  My on-line TA always offers a discount over Princess on-line prices, usually between 7% and 10%, plus frequent OBC (on board credits) when they have booked 'group' space.

[XBGuy]

As usual, I am a complete outlier, here.  When we started cruising, there was no such thing as "online."  We drove to a travel agent and chatted with her about what we wanted to do.  We reached an agreement and handed over our credit card.  She made sure all the "i"s were dotted and the "t"s were crossed.  It all went great.

 

In the last few years, I have made my own reservations at the cruise line's web site.  We are terrible shoppers.  Spending hours comparing itineraries, prices, perquisites, options and all the rest is not fun for us.  We have an idea of when and where we want to go.  We check the line's web site, and it just takes us a few minutes to book.

 

I am of the opinion that a first-time cruiser should find a travel agent with a brick and mortar presence so that he can meet face-to-face with the agent.  Let the agent ask questions so that an appropriate cruise line and itinerary and price can be proposed.

 

Now, if the OP is considering this first cruise because he has friends who have been coaching him, then, maybe, my suggesting a brick and mortar travel agency is not needed.

 

Have a great cruise.

[FlyerTalker]

These answers tend to leave out one critical point:  Which cruise line are you talking about?

 

There are lines that ONLY sell through travel agents.  There are lines that prefer agents.  There are lines that prefer direct sales.

 

And for those that work with agents, every cruiseline has different approaches to how they handle bookings, pricings and the like.

 

Quick summary - there is no blanket answer, nor blanket "rules".

[RocketMan275]

5 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

As the prices from the majority of cruise lines are not discounted and are the same booked directly as that booked through a travel agency (or on line, which is also considered a TA booking), there typically is no advantage to the base stateroom rate regardless of how booked.

 

What results in the "deals" are block, or group, pricing rates that based on blocked stateroom volume, would have a reduced pricing scale based on the group of staterooms held, or perks or other benefits offered out of the individual travel agent's commission from the cruise line.  This pricing also may be lower based on when the block was reserved as frequently pricing will be lower when first offered on an itinerary v later in the booking cycle.  This pricing timing would be the case with any itinerary booked at any time.

 

What also frequently happens (often with on-line agencies) is the offered rate does not include the non-commissionable portion and other fees and taxes associated with the final booking price, which will have that rate appear to be discounted.  But the final total invoice price which will include these components will be higher and - minus any block or group rate - essentially the same.  Regardless of how you book you should ask to see a quote that is a total final invoice price including all fees, taxes, etc.,  to confirm your pricing prior to placing your booking.  This will allow you to properly compare pricing to make the best decision.

 

You should also confirm in advance if the 3rd party agent has any fees not charged by the cruise lines for originating, modifying, or cancelling a booking made through them and IMO avoid them and book with those who do not.  These fess will be an unnecessary additional cost to you and often are in place to offset other perks provided by the agency.

 

So pricing is really a matter of timing with the booking v the original release of the itinerary and - if through a 3rd party - any group or block of staterooms held by them that you may be booking into.  The choice between booking direct, through a live travel agent, or an on-line site is really a matter of whether you want to manage your booking with an agent of the cruise line, an agent with a travel agency to support you, or on-line through email and text.

Perhaps that is your experience but there are large number of posters here on Cruise Critic that will disagree with you.  You can find a TA who will discount the price quoted by the cruise line.  I've booked numerous cruise where the TA provided a quote and an invoice that listed the total price of the cruise and non-commissionable fares, port taxes and fees.   The TA then applied a 10% discount to the total price less the NCF and port taxes/fees.  The price I pay is the discounted fare plus NCF plus taxes and fees.   Typically, that runs about 8% of the fare quoted by the cruise line. The total price is the same as the price listed by the cruise lines. 

 

It is also my experience that the cruise lines will any subject with you and you can make certain changes as long as it does not affect the price of the cruise or the TA commission.  For example, I've booked a Holland cruise with my favorite TA.  I booked Flight Ease using the cruise line website.  

Edited March 21, 2019 by RocketMan275

[NantahalaCruiser]

4 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Perhaps that is your experience but there are large number of posters here on Cruise Critic that will disagree with you.  You can find a TA who will discount the price quoted by the cruise line.  I've booked numerous cruise where the TA provided a quote and an invoice that listed the total price of the cruise and non-commissionable fares, port taxes and fees.   The TA then applied a 10% discount to the total price less the NCF and port taxes/fees.  The price I pay is the discounted fare plus NCF plus taxes and fees.   Typically, that runs about 8% of the fare quoted by the cruise line. The total price is the same as the price listed by the cruise lines. 

 

It is also my experience that the cruise lines will any subject with you and you can make certain changes as long as it does not affect the price of the cruise or the TA commission.  For example, I've booked a Holland cruise with my favorite TA.  I booked Flight Ease using the cruise line website.  

Regardless of whether the TA offers a reduced fare - or gives you added benefits such as prepaid gratuities, on-board credits or even a gift card for their associated warehouse store - the bottom line is that your net total cost to sail will be lower when booking through a reputable TA; generally 7% to 11% less!

[FlyerTalker]

30 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

Regardless of whether the TA offers a reduced fare - or gives you added benefits such as prepaid gratuities, on-board credits or even a gift card for their associated warehouse store - the bottom line is that your net total cost to sail will be lower when booking through a reputable TA; generally 7% to 11% less!

 

Completely depends on the cruiseline and agent.  Maybe your situation gives that - but don't extrapolate to the whole industry.

[Nebr.cruiser]

We usually book through a large online agency--we use a particular agent, but can get the same deals from all of their agents.  

 

Once in a great while we book through the cruise line site but then move it to an agent for a better deal.

 

We do a lot of research ahead of time to get an idea of where we want to go and prices.  I usually put it on the site that lets agents compete for your buiness and compare apples to apples.  Total savings are usually 8-10%, sometimes with added perks.

[ldubs]

Up to now we have booked 100% directly with the cruise line.  Mrs Ldubs just booked a Jan 2020 cruise via a travel agent.  There will be 12 of us in 7 cabins.  Everyone's cabins were booked using the same TA.  

 

Anyway, using the TA this time was a first for us and we did get a better deal than if we had booked directly.   

[RocketMan275]

12 hours ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

Completely depends on the cruiseline and agent.  Maybe your situation gives that - but don't extrapolate to the whole industry.

I don't know anyone who claims that all Travel Agents will discounts.    There are many TA that do and it pays to spend the effort to find one.