TA, PVP or Me?

[CoolOne56]

I’m thinking of booking a cruise for 10/2020.  It will be 4 of us, 2 balcony cabins.  I’ve only used a TA to book my cruises.  

 

Here’s my questions - should I use a TA, PVP or book it myself on Carnival’s website?  What are the pros & cons for using each?

 

Thanks.

Edited September 14, 2019 by CoolOne56

[Organized Chaos]

Travel Agents can't get you a better cruise price, those are set by Carnival. So what they do is offer perks to attract business, like OBC for example. Some folks don't like TA's because they lose some of the control over the booking. If yours is offering any perks that appeal to you, then that's one of the primary reasons people use TA's.

 

There are good PVP's and not so good ones. PVP's come in handy when there's a problem or you're looking for advice on what ships or cabins to pick. I could easily book our cruises myself, but we do have a PVP and he's been very helpful on more than one occasion, so I am glad we have him. We basically find the cruise we want, the cabin we want, then call him to get his input and book it. That way if anything comes up, he's there to help. Once it's booked, we just use the website to make payments, book excursions, buy from the Fun Shops, etc.

 

If you don't foresee any issues and are comfortable booking it all on your own, then there's nothing wrong with that either.

[PhillyFan33579]

Organized Chaos gave a good answer. Personally I always book our cruises online because I like having full control of our cruise. However, I have 31 cruises on Carnival so I know their ships well and don’t need help from a TA. To me, any perks a TA may offer don’t offset losing some control of my booking. Plus I frequently get upsell offers from Carnival...actually got one today that I turned town after seriously considering taking it. I don’t know how often upsells are offered thru TAs. 

[Robinsoncruiseso]

Find a good TA.  A good TA will do more than just book the cruise. They will be there when something goes wrong...They can do total package.

[mikenbon]

We've used a TA, PVP and booked our cruises ourselves, and my preferred way is to do it all myself. The 1st cruise was booked through a cruise specialist TA, and she was terrible - tried upselling us on everything, tried talking us out of cruising with Carnival saying due to our age, we wouldn't like it. Our Carnival PVP shared some personal information of mine with another client and it got back to me so I reported her. After that, I started booking all of our cruises snd have not been disappointed at all with the room chosen or any aspect. Do some background work reading reviews, checking deck plans and you'll be fine booking your own cruise. 

[beerman2]

If booking yourself one thing to remember is you don't see all the cabins available. Carnival shows 10 if I remember. PVP's have the entire inventory of cabins available to them.

 

I look what deck we want , usually Lido, then call my PVP and see what is available close to the locations showing on website.

 

If you book Early Saver and price drops it's very easy to call Carnival and get it adjusted. Booking with a TA you have to call them, Carnival won't deal directly with you.

[RWolver672]

8 hours ago, CoolOne56 said:

I’m thinking of booking a cruise for 10/2020.  It will be 4 of us, 2 balcony cabins.  I’ve only used a TA to book my cruises.  

 

Here’s my questions - should I use a TA, PVP or book it myself on Carnival’s website?  What are the pros & cons for using each?

 

Thanks.

 

You didn't say if you are paying for both cabins or if someone else is paying for the other one.  We use a PVP that we've had real good luck with him.  

 

Wife and I always cruise with my brother and sister in law.  He has all of our information on file.  We decide what ship, what deck and close proximity to where we want to be.  I call him and he will tell us which balconies connect so that we can open the divider.  He'll tell me if we qualify for any discounts.  He knows that we will never book Early Saver and what time we want for dining.  

 

He normally will book our cabin and put a hold on the one for my brother.  Then I call my sister in law and she will contact him with their credit card to book the other one.  For our next cruise, she had given me her CC number so I ask if I could give it to him and book theirs too.  He had no problem with it.  He then e-mailed both of us with the bookings.  He also made sure that our bookings were connected so that we could eat together.

[CoolOne56]

On 9/13/2019 at 10:39 PM, Organized Chaos said:

Travel Agents can't get you a better cruise price, those are set by Carnival. So what they do is offer perks to attract business, like OBC for example. Some folks don't like TA's because they lose some of the control over the booking. If yours is offering any perks that appeal to you, then that's one of the primary reasons people use TA's.

 

There are good PVP's and not so good ones. PVP's come in handy when there's a problem or you're looking for advice on what ships or cabins to pick. I could easily book our cruises myself, but we do have a PVP and he's been very helpful on more than one occasion, so I am glad we have him. We basically find the cruise we want, the cabin we want, then call him to get his input and book it. That way if anything comes up, he's there to help. Once it's booked, we just use the website to make payments, book excursions, buy from the Fun Shops, etc.

 

If you don't foresee any issues and are comfortable booking it all on your own, then there's nothing wrong with that either.

 

Thanks OC. I use my TA the same way you use your PVP. 😊

[Saint Greg]

I like the TA because they get me more OBC. The loss of control isn’t a big deal. I go through them for payments and price drops. Everything else is the same as if I booked it. It’s worth it to me for the extra OBC.

[CoolOne56]

On 9/13/2019 at 11:14 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

Organized Chaos gave a good answer. Personally I always book our cruises online because I like having full control of our cruise. However, I have 31 cruises on Carnival so I know their ships well and don’t need help from a TA. To me, any perks a TA may offer don’t offset losing some control of my booking. Plus I frequently get upsell offers from Carnival...actually got one today that I turned town after seriously considering taking it. I don’t know how often upsells are offered thru TAs. 

 

PhillyFan & Organized Chaos, you both mentioned "having full control", after picking your itinerary, ship and date - what am I losing control of? I don't expect either of them to select my extras.  Am I missing something?

[CoolOne56]

On 9/14/2019 at 1:07 AM, Robinsoncruiseso said:

Find a good TA.  A good TA will do more than just book the cruise. They will be there when something goes wrong...They can do total package.

 

After trying TAs that were a  friend of a friend of a friend - I FINALLY found a good TA.  She use to work at a chain travel agent, went out her own so she could work from home & keep an eye on her twins. 😅

[CoolOne56]

8 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I like the TA because they get me more OBC. The loss of control isn’t a big deal. I go through them for payments and price drops. Everything else is the same as if I booked it. It’s worth it to me for the extra OBC.

 

Thanks Saint Greg. 

[CoolOne56]

Thanx everyone for your advise.  I think I'll go with my TA. 

 

HAPPY SAILS to you all! 🛳️

[deadmoney]

A good PVP is worth their weight in gold.

I've used a travel agent and am more then capable of doing my own booking BUT a PVP is like having insider trading info.

[Organized Chaos]

6 hours ago, CoolOne56 said:

PhillyFan & Organized Chaos, you both mentioned "having full control", after picking your itinerary, ship and date - what am I losing control of? I don't expect either of them to select my extras.  Am I missing something?

 

Just that when you book with a TA, some things have to be done through that TA. Carnival will just direct you to your TA. Payments & price drops (for Early Saver bookings), like Saint Greg mentioned. If you don't mind any of that, no big deal. Looks like you made your choice and you're happy with it, so that's all that matters.

 

Honestly, I don't know much about TA's, other than the chatter on here. We used a TA one time. We were going with a couple members of my wife's family and they recommended her. She didn't do much for us. We didn't get any OBC or any other free perks. She was supposed to watch for price drops for us, which she did one time, but we caught a couple more that she didn't, so she obviously wasn't watching very often. In the end, we realized she wasn't doing anything we couldn't do ourselves. Without giving us OBC, like I've read many TA's give, it wasn't worth it to us. A couple years later we got our current PVP through someone else's recommendation after another family backed out on us and left us with a big mess with the booking. That PVP spent a lot of time straightening everything out, even though it wasn't even his booking, and we've used him since. When it's all said & done, no matter which method you go with, as long as you're happy with it, that's what matters.

[Chervil]

Lots of good responses here.

I generally shop around, to get the best value for our vacation dollar.

Like Organized Chaos said, you aren't really going to save money on the room itself.
So I will check the Cruise Line website, as well as several third party cruise websites, and see which offers the best perks and benefits.
We would prefer to book straight through the cruise line, so we get a better response if anything needs addressed.
I usually make a call to our pvp and let them know what I have found on other sites.
Twice, they were able to find a special promotion going on that I had missed that made booking with them the best choice.
One time they were straight up a better deal. The other time they were close enough that it made sense to go with them (I think they were only about $10 difference in the total price and perks).

However the cruise we are taking in a few weeks, we booked ourselves because the third party site we used was offering paid gratuites, $25 Drink Credit per passenger, $50 OBC per passenger, $25 Excursion credit per passenger and they paid our deposit so we didn't have to pay anything except booking fee for about 5 months.
The room itself was $5 more than through Carnival, but overall the OBC and free gratuities made up for that.

So basically do your research and find the best way for you!

[Joe817]

8 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I like the TA because they get me more OBC. The loss of control isn’t a big deal. I go through them for payments and price drops. Everything else is the same as if I booked it. It’s worth it to me for the extra OBC.

I totally agree. $150.00 OBC for booking through a TA goes a long way while on board. 👍

[CoolOne56]

9 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Just that when you book with a TA, some things have to be done through that TA. Carnival will just direct you to your TA. Payments & price drops (for Early Saver bookings), like Saint Greg mentioned. If you don't mind any of that, no big deal. Looks like you made your choice and you're happy with it, so that's all that matters.

 

Honestly, I don't know much about TA's, other than the chatter on here. We used a TA one time. We were going with a couple members of my wife's family and they recommended her. She didn't do much for us. We didn't get any OBC or any other free perks. She was supposed to watch for price drops for us, which she did one time, but we caught a couple more that she didn't, so she obviously wasn't watching very often. In the end, we realized she wasn't doing anything we couldn't do ourselves. Without giving us OBC, like I've read many TA's give, it wasn't worth it to us. A couple years later we got our current PVP through someone else's recommendation after another family backed out on us and left us with a big mess with the booking. That PVP spent a lot of time straightening everything out, even though it wasn't even his booking, and we've used him since. When it's all said & done, no matter which method you go with, as long as you're happy with it, that's what matters.

 

Thanks OC.  Naw, my mind is not made up yet. 

 

If what I'm getting from both you & Saint Greg -  a PVP has more insight to price drops, etc. than a TA?

 

 

[Robinsoncruiseso]

Big difference between a PVP and a TA is “planner” vs “agent”. An agent works on your behalf, a planner works on the cruise lines behalf. If your post cruise hotel reservation is cancelled by the hotel, is your planner going to find you a new hotel?  If you need to change your cruise with a non-refundable deposit, who do you think will have more leverage; a cruise line employee or a TA. I will tell you it is the TA.  If you have a simple trip, such as cruise only, then book yourself. If you have a more complex adventure plan, go with a TA. There should be no cost to you. Why would you not want the free service?

[Robinsoncruiseso]

6 minutes ago, CoolOne56 said:

 

Thanks OC.  Naw, my mind is not made up yet. 

 

If what I'm getting from both you & Saint Greg -  a PVP has more insight to price drops, etc. than a TA?

 

 

Not correct. Most TA’s use the exact same booking engine as the PVP’s. Same info at the same time, however TA’s will often receive advance notice of upcoming sales way before PVP’s do.

[Joe817]

FWIW, I am too much of an inexperienced cruiser to trust myself to do my own booking. I don't know all the ropes, and from what I've seen here are a LOT of ropes to learn. Secondly, a PVP is good for those of us that DO know the ropes, they provide a very good vehicle to achieve the experienced cruiser's goals. A TA on the other hand(from what I've learned here) is a disinterested third party, and IMO, would be more of an advocate for me...the inexperienced cruised. Besides, it's much easier for me. If that makes any sense at all. YMMV. 

[CoolOne56]

4 minutes ago, Robinsoncruiseso said:

Not correct. Most TA’s use the exact same booking engine as the PVP’s. Same info at the same time, however TA’s will often receive advance notice of upcoming sales way before PVP’s do.

 

11 minutes ago, Robinsoncruiseso said:

Big difference between a PVP and a TA is “planner” vs “agent”. An agent works on your behalf, a planner works on the cruise lines behalf. If your post cruise hotel reservation is cancelled by the hotel, is your planner going to find you a new hotel?  If you need to change your cruise with a non-refundable deposit, who do you think will have more leverage; a cruise line employee or a TA. I will tell you it is the TA.  If you have a simple trip, such as cruise only, then book yourself. If you have a more complex adventure plan, go with a TA. There should be no cost to you. Why would you not want the free service?

 

Robinsoncruiseso, thanks for explaining the difference.

 

I've always used a TA because I normally travel with a group - no charge. This time, it will only be 4 of us.

 

Ok, I got it now. 👍

 

 

[Organized Chaos]

3 hours ago, Robinsoncruiseso said:

Big difference between a PVP and a TA is “planner” vs “agent”. An agent works on your behalf, a planner works on the cruise lines behalf. If your post cruise hotel reservation is cancelled by the hotel, is your planner going to find you a new hotel?  If you need to change your cruise with a non-refundable deposit, who do you think will have more leverage; a cruise line employee or a TA. I will tell you it is the TA.  If you have a simple trip, such as cruise only, then book yourself. If you have a more complex adventure plan, go with a TA. There should be no cost to you. Why would you not want the free service?

 

Apples & oranges. A PVP is not a travel agent. No, they can't handle a cancelled hotel because it's not their job. A PVP handles your cruise needs, that's their specialty. I don't need someone to do the work for me throughout the whole vacation process (cruise, hotel, car rental, etc.), so a TA is no good to me there. A hotel is simple. I book one, I stay in it, and if it's cancelled for some reason, I find another one because there's plenty of them. On the other hand, with the cruise itself, there's a lot more "moving parts," so to speak. I would rather have a PVP who's more than likely very familiar with all those moving parts.

 

More often than not, a PVP is going to be far more knowledgeable about that cruise line than a TA. Regarding your example of having leverage to make changes, I've read countless times on here when PVP's have made certain changes without charging their client the fees that would normally be associated with such changes. They can most definitely work some serious magic within the Carnival system. I've experienced it first hand. When people say, "PVP's work on the cruise line's behalf, not yours," it's usually to imply that, as an employee of the cruise line, a PVP is going to screw over their clients to make the company more money. That's just not true. For our upcoming Dec. cruise, ours got us a rate that we couldn't see online ourselves that saved us money compared to the rate we were going to book. For another booking, he got us a price match (that lowered our balance) that Carnival denied me when I tried to submit it myself. Those aren't the actions of someone who isn't looking out for us.

[Organized Chaos]

4 hours ago, CoolOne56 said:

Thanks OC.  Naw, my mind is not made up yet. 

 

If what I'm getting from both you & Saint Greg -  a PVP has more insight to price drops, etc. than a TA?

 

Speaking of control, once you book through a travel agent, there are certain things regarding that booking that then have to be done through that travel agent. If you call Carnival to do those things, they'll just refer you back to your TA. I'll let someone else who knows more about it go into specifics as to what those things are.

 

I don't think a PVP sees price drops coming. If they did, they could give their clients who booked Early Saver a heads up in order to submit a price match claim. I also find it hard to believe that TA's receive advanced notice of upcoming sales way before PVP's, as Robinsoncruiseso said. If they gave TA's advanced notice of upcoming sales, those TA's would be telling their clients to wait to book because a sale is coming, and I've never seen anyone say that about a TA.

 

Bottom line, there are good TA's and bad ones. Same goes for PVP's. As I said before, I could easily book a cruise on my own, but our PVP has treated us well. He's fixed problems, saved us money more than once, and has insisted on helping us a couple different times on his time off, despite me telling him it could wait. That goes a long way with me. So I'll gladly continue to let him handle our bookings.

[CoolOne56]

2 hours ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Speaking of control, once you book through a travel agent, there are certain things regarding that booking that then have to be done through that travel agent. If you call Carnival to do those things, they'll just refer you back to your TA. I'll let someone else who knows more about it go into specifics as to what those things are.

 

I don't think a PVP sees price drops coming. If they did, they could give their clients who booked Early Saver a heads up in order to submit a price match claim. I also find it hard to believe that TA's receive advanced notice of upcoming sales way before PVP's, as Robinsoncruiseso said. If they gave TA's advanced notice of upcoming sales, those TA's would be telling their clients to wait to book because a sale is coming, and I've never seen anyone say that about a TA.

 

Bottom line, there are good TA's and bad ones. Same goes for PVP's. As I said before, I could easily book a cruise on my own, but our PVP has treated us well. He's fixed problems, saved us money more than once, and has insisted on helping us a couple different times on his time off, despite me telling him it could wait. That goes a long way with me. So I'll gladly continue to let him handle our bookings.

 

Thanks OC, I was thinking the same thing.