book on line or use a travel agent?

[Luvcrusn]

16 hours ago, drakes2 said:

I also now book with celebrity directly as they matched the obc from the TA plus got additional with 4 perks and 2 bottles of wine.  In all honesty I don't find my local TAs very knowledgeable. 

Most local store front TAs aren't in a position to do much for you in the way of additional value added because they don't do enough volume of business. If you research several of the large, online, "cruise-centric" TAs you'll be surprised at what you'll find in value added or lower costs, or many times both. If you get the Cruise Critic weekly newsletters a good place to start your search is with what you'll find there. Once your on board, talk with your fellow Roll Call members. The OBC from our TA is most always refundable, and that's cash in our pocket. The OBC from X in almost always non-refundable. Even if X matches the OBC from a TA (which I've never encountered) they won't make it OBC-R. 

Edited December 4, 2019 by Luvcrusn

[Ex-Airbalancer]

19 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

 

That’s not a true match. The value of the things you buy with the obc less than 20% of what the actually cost in the real world. Think of what they charge for drinks, souvenirs, etc. No thanks.

Depends on what you are want  😉

if we want to upgrade to Premium package or use them to pay for tips , than it is not cash out of pocket 

also Canadian TAs give very little back on cruise prices 

[mickey89]

We normally book with a TA to get their 8% - 10% discount.  
Recently we wanted to book a B2B cruise and our TA said they were unable to get the B2B discount from Celebrity.  They advised me too book direct and transfer the booking to them, then we would maximise the overall discount.  
I contacted Celebrity and told them what I wished and their response was  - we’ll match the TA price also stating we would get the option to be able to transfer to another cruise with no charge which the TA couldn’t offer (Elite member perk). Consequently we have booked directly with Celebrity, maybe this was a one off I’m unsure but will try again shortly for a similar 2021 cruise.

[drakes2]

2 hours ago, Airbalancer said:

also Canadian TAs give very little back on cruise prices 

Canadian TA s give back virtually nothing and cant even seem to find pricing availability etc. This morning I had my Apex Mediterranean cruise repriced as my cabin category dropped. All I wanted them to do was generate a new invoice showing the correct price with all  four perks and she had extreme difficulty with that.  I dont claim to be an expert but I do monitor prices on a daily basis. I think a lot of these people are still in training or there is a big turnover. 

[Fouremco]

23 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Canadian TA s give back virtually nothing and cant even seem to find pricing availability etc.

I guess it depends on which Canadian TA you use. Not only do I get 8% back in the form of a cash card from my Big Box TA, plus an additional 2% as part of my annual cash back, but I've had nothing but excellent service. Because I book early, I seldom see a lower price, but they have refared with no problem when the situation has arisen. Mind you, I never book or make a follow up call without knowing exactly what I want before I pick up the phone, but I've yet to run into an agent who didn't know how to handle my request. Maybe I've just been fortunate in this regard. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯