Booking direct versus via a third party - outcome

[BCCRUSINGCOUPLE]

When I booked with princess and there was a price drop I called in and it was after final payment. One thing I was told is if the same cabin in available they will refund the difference so for me it worked out great.


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[Colo Cruiser]

Wow I would probably stay home at that point.

[Iamcruzin]

22 hours ago, satxdiver said:

I have been burned three times by different TA and have little trust in them.  The perks they offered were not worth the agony I had with them.  

Same here with one exception when booking through my warehouse club. However I stayed on top of that booking like white on rice. There were ways to lose the $250 obc by not completing surveys that were sent. Never got a reply from the women who booked the cruise but everyone I waited on hold for sometimes up to a hour were very helpful. They made me work for that OBC.

[Pierlesscruisers]

17 hours ago, satxdiver said:

 Nice that they allow us to make the reservation and then transfer it to a TA before final payment. 

 

You do know about the relatively new rule about not being able to transfer to a TA more than 60 days after the initial reservation of the cruise don't you?

 

Tom

[MixerDave]

20 hours ago, Coral said:

I will always use an agent. Multiple benefits.

I agree - booked with a TA - can't name the company - I have direct contact with her - We were booked on a Celebrity cruise - I switched my booking - she said if I pay with a Master Card I get $300 OBC - great - our friends did not switch.  After final payment there was a price drop.  She got up upgraded to Concierge Class - our friends called Celebrity - they are Diamond / Elite - Celebrity said they needed to pay an additional $120 P/P to upgrade.  Told what we had done and Celebrity looked at our booking and claimed we paid $300 more -in effect we did - but that was for the obc that master card paid for.

 

 

Edited August 28, 2019 by MixerDave

[Steelers36]

21 hours ago, satxdiver said:

I did deal with an internet TA who gave me a $75 OBC.  However I was the one who initiated all contacts regarding price changes or special offers.  I did not think the $75 OBC was worth it since I could no longer deal direct with Princess.

I wish I could run into you on a cruise as I would tell you about our TA and her agency.  In the beginning of my adventures with trying to find a TA, I did find a nice enough and friendly woman in FL who got us some small $ group OBC over Princess, but there was no fare discount.  Sounds like same kind of deal you got.  Then I found discount agents and got both.  Ultimately, I caught onto my current agent some time back and have been very happy with service and the pricing cannot be beat.  I do agree that a small amount of OBC is not worth it to me to lose total control, but my efforts and research paid off several cruises back and it is has been great since. 

 

On your second experience that I did not copy, I have never had an agent pressure me that I booked with.  I did have one guy once who obviously worked from home and had a crying kid and a dog in the background and he just was not very helpful, etc and although his price was okay, I ran from that potential booking.  (NP working from home, but ought to be professional).

 

 

[geoherb]

I've used six different agencies for my last six cruises. I go with the best price, including other perks. They've all been booked after the final payment date. We have received upsell offers through the different agencies. We were able to take advantage of the one I wanted to.

[Lucky TGO]

On 8/27/2019 at 9:04 PM, Coral said:

I will always use an agent. Multiple benefits.

I totally agree with you for the same reasons. My TA is great he is always looking out for my benefit.

Tony

Edited August 29, 2019 by Lucky TGO

[rocklinmom]

I just experienced something like this with a third-party travel agency booking. My family is booked with Princess (I booked four of the six cabins) and my sister booked her cabins through the travel agency that her husband's company uses. They did that because they will get some money back after the cruise, some kind of incentive payment or something like that. Anyway, with the upcoming 3 for Free promo I will be looking at rebooking our cabins with it (based on what the fares do of course) and my sister asked me to check to see if it would be good for her as well. She forwarded me all of the emails she had gotten from her travel agency. I sorted through them and there were two different booking numbers with two different cabin types booked for one of her cabins. And neither cabin type was what she wanted (an interior cabin for her kids, across from her and her husband). I looked up the two booking numbers on Princess with the name and DOB and both bookings showed as cancelled. Her and her husband's booking was fine (other than they were in twin beds LOL so I changed it to queen). I had her call the agent right away and after a long time on hold and being told that the original agent she booked with was no longer with the company, they produced a third booking number that proved to be the right one and with her kids in the right cabin. My sister was stressed out and thought they didn't have the kids' cabin booked. Now I know there are lots of good travel agencies out there and people have some great travel agents. But I just wanted to let CCer's know that it might not always be smooth and to always check your travel documents carefully when booked by a third party. 

Edited August 31, 2019 by rocklinmom

[capriccio]

23 minutes ago, rocklinmom said:

I just experienced something like this with a third-party travel agency booking. My family is booked with Princess (I booked four of the six cabins) and my sister booked her cabins through the travel agency that her husband's company uses. They did that because they will get some money back after the cruise, some kind of incentive payment or something like that. Anyway, with the upcoming 3 for Free promo I will be looking at rebooking our cabins with it (based on what the fares do of course) and my sister asked me to check to see if it would be good for her as well. She forwarded me all of the emails she had gotten from her travel agency. I sorted through them and there were two different booking numbers with two different cabin types booked for one of her cabins. And neither cabin type was what she wanted (an interior cabin for her kids, across from her and her husband). I looked up the two booking numbers on Princess with the name and DOB and both bookings showed as cancelled. Her and her husband's booking was fine (other than they were in twin beds LOL so I changed it to queen). I had her call the agent right away and after a long time on hold and being told that the original agent she booked with was no longer with the company, they produced a third booking number that proved to be the right one and with her kids in the right cabin. My sister was stressed out and thought they didn't have the kids' cabin booked. Now I know there are lots of good travel agencies out there and people have some great travel agents. But I just wanted to let CCer's know that it might not always be smooth and to always check your travel documents carefully when booked by a third party. 

 

Had your sister checked her (and the kids') cruise personalizers after booking?  If so, did it show what she thought she had reserved?  If not, lesson learned to confirm - no matter who books the reservation - that all is set up properly.  I'm glad you were able to identify the issue well in advance!

[rocklinmom]

No she has no idea about any of the cruise stuff. After all this I showed her how to log into their personalizers (and once she had the correct booking number for her kids' cabin). I'm glad I caught this early too! 🙂 

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, rocklinmom said:

I just experienced something like this with a third-party travel agency booking. My family is booked with Princess (I booked four of the six cabins) and my sister booked her cabins through the travel agency that her husband's company uses. They did that because they will get some money back after the cruise, some kind of incentive payment or something like that. Anyway, with the upcoming 3 for Free promo I will be looking at rebooking our cabins with it (based on what the fares do of course) and my sister asked me to check to see if it would be good for her as well. She forwarded me all of the emails she had gotten from her travel agency. I sorted through them and there were two different booking numbers with two different cabin types booked for one of her cabins. And neither cabin type was what she wanted (an interior cabin for her kids, across from her and her husband). I looked up the two booking numbers on Princess with the name and DOB and both bookings showed as cancelled. Her and her husband's booking was fine (other than they were in twin beds LOL so I changed it to queen). I had her call the agent right away and after a long time on hold and being told that the original agent she booked with was no longer with the company, they produced a third booking number that proved to be the right one and with her kids in the right cabin. My sister was stressed out and thought they didn't have the kids' cabin booked. Now I know there are lots of good travel agencies out there and people have some great travel agents. But I just wanted to let CCer's know that it might not always be smooth and to always check your travel documents carefully when booked by a third party. 

Great story to share.  I always figure when hearing similar stuff that a lot of people just trust the agent's booking, make the payment and assume everything will be smooth sailing.  As this story indicates, not the case.  You have to take some personal responsibility - at least until you have some kind of long term relationship where there is a significant level of trust built up.  And even then, no one is perfect!! 

 

ETA - I just read your most recent post #41 and it stated my thought.  She just didn't have a clue about this kind of a vacation trip.  Hope she "gets it" soon and has a great trip!!

Edited August 31, 2019 by steelers36

[mina]

I really wish I could find a great agent.  Even got a referral from here for an agent that is considered fantastic by others.  When I email that agent with a question or a request, The responses are like I am annoying her.  I recently asked to have a return transfer added to my upcoming cruise, I got a short answer email that said to do it myself on board.   I asked for a quote for a cruise on another line.   Never got it, so I cancelled the other cruise I had booked since I wanted to go somewhere else than  that location and will arrange my own vacation.   I asked to look at refaring a cruise as I saw the price go down, took over a week to get back with me. Again, made to feel it was like a bother.   The slight price reduction is not really worth feeling this way.  I always know exactly what I want, and rarely require help or input, unless I track a price reduction or can’t do something myself.   So, might as well pay a bit more and control my own booking.  At least when I call princess they don’t act like they are bothered.

[Steelers36]

5 hours ago, mina said:

I really wish I could find a great agent.  Even got a referral from here for an agent that is considered fantastic by others.  When I email that agent with a question or a request, The responses are like I am annoying her.  I recently asked to have a return transfer added to my upcoming cruise, I got a short answer email that said to do it myself on board.   I asked for a quote for a cruise on another line.   Never got it, so I cancelled the other cruise I had booked since I wanted to go somewhere else than  that location and will arrange my own vacation.   I asked to look at refaring a cruise as I saw the price go down, took over a week to get back with me. Again, made to feel it was like a bother.   The slight price reduction is not really worth feeling this way.  I always know exactly what I want, and rarely require help or input, unless I track a price reduction or can’t do something myself.   So, might as well pay a bit more and control my own booking.  At least when I call princess they don’t act like they are bothered.

I think I might know which state this agent is in. 

[BCCRUSINGCOUPLE]

I really wish I could find a great agent.  Even got a referral from here for an agent that is considered fantastic by others.  When I email that agent with a question or a request, The responses are like I am annoying her.  I recently asked to have a return transfer added to my upcoming cruise, I got a short answer email that said to do it myself on board.   I asked for a quote for a cruise on another line.   Never got it, so I cancelled the other cruise I had booked since I wanted to go somewhere else than  that location and will arrange my own vacation.   I asked to look at refaring a cruise as I saw the price go down, took over a week to get back with me. Again, made to feel it was like a bother.   The slight price reduction is not really worth feeling this way.  I always know exactly what I want, and rarely require help or input, unless I track a price reduction or can’t do something myself.   So, might as well pay a bit more and control my own booking.  At least when I call princess they don’t act like they are bothered.

We had the same issues so my wife now books all out cruises so it works out so if you need any help feel free to ask.


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[Steelers36]

14 hours ago, mina said:

I really wish I could find a great agent.  Even got a referral from here for an agent that is considered fantastic by others.  When I email that agent with a question or a request, The responses are like I am annoying her.  I recently asked to have a return transfer added to my upcoming cruise, I got a short answer email that said to do it myself on board.   I asked for a quote for a cruise on another line.   Never got it, so I cancelled the other cruise I had booked since I wanted to go somewhere else than  that location and will arrange my own vacation.   I asked to look at refaring a cruise as I saw the price go down, took over a week to get back with me. Again, made to feel it was like a bother.   The slight price reduction is not really worth feeling this way.  I always know exactly what I want, and rarely require help or input, unless I track a price reduction or can’t do something myself.   So, might as well pay a bit more and control my own booking.  At least when I call princess they don’t act like they are bothered.

What works well for some doesn't always work well for others.  

[Robinsoncruiseso]

These stories of unprofessional TA’s make me sad. A good TA is there to be “you” when needed. To look for price drops, to contact the cruise line while you are sitting on a delayed plane, to help find lost luggage, to reschedule flights and motels when needed and to get the non-refundable fare changed to a different cruise date. Forget about obscene or other perks, you want to find a TA who will be there for you when things go wrong. If they are not there when things are good, such as a fare drop, you can almost be sure they will not be there when your flight is delayed. If you are not getting all you need from your TA, keep looking, but be assured cruise lines love working with TA’s and have reserved their best employees for the TA phone lines.

[suzyed]

On 9/1/2019 at 12:11 AM, steelers36 said:

I think I might know which state this agent is in. 

Me too.  I still use her and for the most part are prices are really good and she seems more mellow now.

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, suzyed said:

Me too.  I still use her and for the most part are prices are really good and she seems more mellow now.

That's nice because if it is who I think it is, when I contacted her several years back, my booking for an Inside for a week in the Caribbean was of little interest to her and attracted $0 off Princess rate.  Don't recall if there was any group OBC.  So, it kind of turns you off when you know can get discount elsewhere.  Appreciate she is an expert and all. 

 

I do realize a TA doing a lot of business isn't earning much off an Inside cabin for a week in the Caribbean - especially several years back when prices were lower and if also a discount sale was on.

Edited September 2, 2019 by steelers36