What does your TA do for you?

[Captain-John]

  

On 12/29/2020 at 10:30 PM, hamrag said:

 Not quite true, the TA which we use gives a discount from cruiseline booked fare between 8-11% dependent on itinerary, cabin type etc. Now that, I definitely cannot do for myself! 😉

 

Hamrag - hope you are well in these trying times. For a number of reasons I have been absent from the site for a while but catching up now. I believe we use the same agent and we chatted about it on the MSC boards. I previously thought US based agents could get a better deal (plus the advantage of no cancellation fees/more favourable US contracts). As the pound has fallen against the dollar over the years, I started migrating to booking in GBP, through our mutual agent, as the US agents could no longer provide better deals. I don't (even post-Covid) put much emphasis on ABTA/ATOL protection so the lack of this on US based bookings has never bothered me.

 

I don't find our agent adds anything in terms of the ship or destinations, but as you say, I believe they consistently rebate a large percentage of their commission (in order to lower the fare) and somewhat offset that by their £39 booking fee so they still make money. Still works out the best deal by far.

 

I've booked Getaway for November 2021 (hopefully not too optimistic) out of Athens. As a comparison, I used a number of popular US agents and the price was over £1000 GBP more total than our favourite agent. Had some Cruise Next vouchers to use and hoping things will be closer to normal by then.

 

Do you happen to know if our agent participates in the bid upgrade programme? We are booked in a B9 but wouldn't mind a shot at upgrading to a H9 if given the opportuntiy... Or does it not matter who you book through?

Edited January 2, 2021 by Captain-John

[CWMixer]

This has been an interesting thread.

I mainly do my own planning & booking, and have been ok with total costs/value (cruises, airfare, car, hotel, etc), and am fine with 'owning' the various reservations.

Twice we've used a TA: once a big box for a cruise, once a regional one. 

The main price benefit of the big box was receiving a $1k 'shoppers card'; the regional one similarly had no price benefit, but provided a lot of help w/destination information. 

Based on comments in this thread, I just used the big box site to price an 11/21 8D cruise with air and 1 night hotel that I have already planned.

My cost: ~$11k, big box: $8.5k, plus $600 shopper card.  Same room category (price on cruise line site is still w/in $150 of what I booked), same first class R/T air, even same hotel I had.

Tried it on another early '22 trip: no real $ difference, only the shopper card. 

My takeaway is it can't hurt to price future trips w/ and w/o a TA, and go with the best value.  

 

[hamrag]

7 hours ago, Captain-John said:

 Hamrag - hope you are well in these trying times. For a number of reasons I have been absent from the site for a while but catching up now. I believe we use the same agent and we chatted about it on the MSC boards. I previously thought US based agents could get a better deal (plus the advantage of no cancellation fees/more favourable US contracts). As the pound has fallen against the dollar over the years, I started migrating to booking in GBP, through our mutual agent, as the US agents could no longer provide better deals. I don't (even post-Covid) put much emphasis on ABTA/ATOL protection so the lack of this on US based bookings has never bothered me....

 

.....Do you happen to know if our agent participates in the bid upgrade programme? We are booked in a B9 but wouldn't mind a shot at upgrading to a H9 if given the opportuntiy... Or does it not matter who you book through?

Good evening Captain, good to hear from you....and lang may yer lum reek!

 

Absolutely agree re US prices not being favourable these days due to exchange, my experience too reflects that. Re upgrade programme, it doesn't matter....we had a 28 nighter booked for 22nd March 2020, with our mutual agent, and were invited to bid for upgrades directly by NCL. We didn't bother and obviously, in the end, the cruise was cancelled with 9 days notice.

 

I hope your November cruise goes ahead, funnily enough we have an MSC Yacht Club booking a transatlantic/Caribbean from Barcelona to Barbados in November.

[Captain-John]

Fair winds and following seas to you! Ah that's good to know r.e the upgrades, I couldn't justify the current price for the Haven (makes the YC seem a real bargain!) but will keep a track of prices until the upgrade window opens and if invited, will put in a halfway house figure and cross my fingers.

 

No doubt we will chat again prior to our respective trips. I hope that cruising isn't too different an experience to what we remember before all of this upheaval. The Getaway transatlantic which is the following cruise to us was only a few hundred pounds more for 17 nights, but we are constrained by time off from work sadly or I would jump at a longer cruise to make up for all the time we have missed last year.

[RocketMan275]

On 1/1/2021 at 3:54 PM, sverigecruiser said:

 

I have heared that but here it's not like that.

I know that to be true.   As I've read in the Wall Street Journal, there are countries where it is illegal to compete on the basis of price (all in the interest of protecting the consumer of course).

I've known some, here in the US, who prefer that kind of 'protection' since they think it is unfair for someone to get a bargain they didn't.

[SouthLyonCruiser]

I have used the same travel agent for 16 cruises and never have had a complaint.

She does ALL of the communications between me and NCL. 

I have never had to sit on hold on the phone and, as I have heard happen, have NCL say that my PCC no longer works there and whatever he may have told me is not true.

But, if you decide to use a travel agent, make sure that you get a god referral from a friend or family member. All travel agents are not created equal and many just take the booking and make you do all of the other 'leg work' from then on.

Good luck, whatever your decision.

 

Edited January 3, 2021 by SouthLyonCruiser

[mtrancher]

So I spent two weeks trying to find a TA for a cruise I already booked on NCL. Part of my research was using Cruise Critic boards; so thank you for all the members who contributed to my research especially those who worked to provide more detailed answers/puzzles if you will.

So my I had booked my cruise on December 3, NCL allows transfer to an agent within 30 days of making the reservation, the clock was ticking. January 2nd was a Saturday and the dispatch office at NCL is only open regular business hours M-F so I figured to be safe I needed my paperwork to them no later than December 30th.

I spoke with a local travel agent, & left messages at 4 'internet' cruise travel companies, and checked a couple big box affiliated travel companies. Of course all this was done during the week between Christmas and New Years. Most all the travel agencies were working with a reduced staff.

My local agent is affiliated with a national group, but apparently couldn't offer much as she said she would check and call me back; I never heard from her again.

Of the 4 internet/large companies, I got through to two agents fairly quickly, one took 4 days to return the call and the last never did return the message.

Finally the big box types, I simply did mock reservations to see what extra offers would come up; and none were too attractive.

So... of the three I spoke with.. both provided on board credits based on the fare paid. Two companies based the OBC on a tier system and one on simply a percentage. So my offers of OBC ranged from $500 to $685. Either way it certainly made sense to me to at least collect some money.

So now I was just down to who could provide good service. While my cruise was already booked, I hope to explore more of what a TA could provide. In the end the choice became quite easy. One agent was almost always available by phone, if she missed the call, she called me back with in 15 minutes. She listened to my wishes & concerns and provided clear answers. She admitted what she could do and what she couldn't. Of the highlights, her firm processes my CC directly with NCL so in any refunds occur they will process directly to my card. Also her firm does not charge any cancellation fee. Best part was her company provided the highest OBC.

Moving the reservation was easy; a form send to NCL with info and hers. I received confirmation from dispatch that the reservation transfer was processed. The TA call me and said it was in; and provided me with further information. No terms changed. Only difference on my NCL account page was the payment section has disappeared. Otherwise all information is there. I can still book excursions, add on board amenities, and explore any other part. Yet now I have an agent that will do it for me. Plus, while it remains to be seen they do say they check to see if a repricing over the course of the year (we sail in January 2022) would save us money. Of course  I'll likely continue to check as well.

In summary, I found someone I have thus far enjoyed working with, my expectations can be low for service therefore allowing for pleasant surprises and I now have $685 dollars I can use on board. Over all I think it's a win and hopefully if it all works out I can use her for future cruises, either by booking through her or booking and then transferring the reservation.

 

[nyc2pdx]

I would like to find a TA who will find good deals for me instead of me searching all over for deals. My current TA gives quite a bit of OBC, and I can’t complain, but ideally I’d like a TA to email me when they see something I’d like at a good price/deal. 
 

 

[scootersdad]

On 1/2/2021 at 9:25 AM, CILCIANRQTS said:

A TA ‘s biggest value shows through when things start to go wrong.

A timely example is the chaos of 2020. I didn’t have to get on the phone for hours trying to understand my options and getting changes implemented. How many questions did we see on these boards about FCC’s, airline refunds, etc.? And then everyone would chime in with their best guess about what we could/ should do.

In the past few years, out TA has gotten us price drops, upgrades, payment extensions, etc. because she has a long and strong relationship with a senior Viking rep. I never had to get on the phone and ask “Don’t you know who I am? I give you a lot of business!!”.

Believe what you will about your ability to get a better deal, we’re very satisfied with our TA.

 

We were on the (2017?) NCL Star 33 day disaster from Hong Kong to NZ.   After we became adrift at sea, having to be Tugged back to Melbourne, phone service was offered for 10-15 minute segments.  We got in contact with our TA and she handled everything for us.   She was notified by NCL of the issue and had already started planning options. 

 

I now use a local agent and she's handled all my refund issued of 2020.

 

 

[Sailing12Away]

On 1/2/2021 at 8:46 AM, ECCruise said:

This is the one that threw me.  It costs well over $1000 per person to fly 1st class from our city to Atlanta.  A distance of 165 miles.  I know those fares vary a lot, but gee, I've never seen R/T 1st class air fare for what would have to be like $150 per person assuming $50 per night for a 4 star hotel and $20 a day total for a rental car plus shuttle costs and parking.

 

Maybe some kind of package deal?  Count me in.  Now.

The best I did recently was JFK to ORD for $300/pp first class. We had airline credits with Delta from a different cancelled flight which brought the price down to $75/pp. But that's mid-Covid and with credits.

[gmbhardy]

This thread is hysterical. Haven’t laughed this much in a long time.

[disneykins]

On 1/5/2021 at 11:20 PM, mtrancher said:

So I spent two weeks trying to find a TA for a cruise I already booked on NCL. Part of my research was using Cruise Critic boards; so thank you for all the members who contributed to my research especially those who worked to provide more detailed answers/puzzles if you will.

So my I had booked my cruise on December 3, NCL allows transfer to an agent within 30 days of making the reservation, the clock was ticking. January 2nd was a Saturday and the dispatch office at NCL is only open regular business hours M-F so I figured to be safe I needed my paperwork to them no later than December 30th.

I spoke with a local travel agent, & left messages at 4 'internet' cruise travel companies, and checked a couple big box affiliated travel companies. Of course all this was done during the week between Christmas and New Years. Most all the travel agencies were working with a reduced staff.

My local agent is affiliated with a national group, but apparently couldn't offer much as she said she would check and call me back; I never heard from her again.

Of the 4 internet/large companies, I got through to two agents fairly quickly, one took 4 days to return the call and the last never did return the message.

Finally the big box types, I simply did mock reservations to see what extra offers would come up; and none were too attractive.

So... of the three I spoke with.. both provided on board credits based on the fare paid. Two companies based the OBC on a tier system and one on simply a percentage. So my offers of OBC ranged from $500 to $685. Either way it certainly made sense to me to at least collect some money.

So now I was just down to who could provide good service. While my cruise was already booked, I hope to explore more of what a TA could provide. In the end the choice became quite easy. One agent was almost always available by phone, if she missed the call, she called me back with in 15 minutes. She listened to my wishes & concerns and provided clear answers. She admitted what she could do and what she couldn't. Of the highlights, her firm processes my CC directly with NCL so in any refunds occur they will process directly to my card. Also her firm does not charge any cancellation fee. Best part was her company provided the highest OBC.

Moving the reservation was easy; a form send to NCL with info and hers. I received confirmation from dispatch that the reservation transfer was processed. The TA call me and said it was in; and provided me with further information. No terms changed. Only difference on my NCL account page was the payment section has disappeared. Otherwise all information is there. I can still book excursions, add on board amenities, and explore any other part. Yet now I have an agent that will do it for me. Plus, while it remains to be seen they do say they check to see if a repricing over the course of the year (we sail in January 2022) would save us money. Of course  I'll likely continue to check as well.

In summary, I found someone I have thus far enjoyed working with, my expectations can be low for service therefore allowing for pleasant surprises and I now have $685 dollars I can use on board. Over all I think it's a win and hopefully if it all works out I can use her for future cruises, either by booking through her or booking and then transferring the reservation.

 

Thanks for your detailed breakdown of your quest for a good travel agent. We have had a few over the years that eventually moved on, or let us down so now we mostly book direct with the cruise lines. Can you tell us how the $685 obc was achieved? My cruise fare is usually around $700 per person for a 7 day cruise so any obc we get is rarely more than $25 per cabin, hardly worth the effort you went to.

Thanks,

Tony

[mtrancher]

2 hours ago, disneykins said:

Thanks for your detailed breakdown of your quest for a good travel agent. We have had a few over the years that eventually moved on, or let us down so now we mostly book direct with the cruise lines. Can you tell us how the $685 obc was achieved? My cruise fare is usually around $700 per person for a 7 day cruise so any obc we get is rarely more than $25 per cabin, hardly worth the effort you went to.

Thanks,

Tony

Our cruise fare for the 9 days was about $9000.00 (total) We don't cruise often so we, along with the other couples who are traveling with us, elected to book in the Haven. This particular agent's company uses a percentage of the net fare to calculate the OBC. If the same percentage held for your example fare you would get around $100.  So far under this agency I don't feel there is any difference in control of my reservation; so I think even for $100, I would book direct, after checking if I could get a better fare directly through them, and then transfer the reservation to the TA.

Something I didn't see coming is  they sent me a welcome e-mail that included a link to excursions arranged by them, separate from the cruise line. I've always booked my own excursions and taken the responsibility to get back to the ship in time. The excursions listed by the TA have small groups, and lower prices than what I see from NCL.  These excursions carry a guarantee if they make you miss the boat they will provide accommodations, travel to the next port and give you $500. They say they have never had a group miss the boat. Having never seen something like this; I'm putting it in the plus category for using a TA.

Throughout the year and after the cruise I plan to update this thread with advantages and disadvantages I experience.

Going back to your question, It could boil down to how much money you get, yet the considerations of how much control your really give up and what else to the TA provides impact exactly how much money makes it worth to change. Since I haven't used a TA  in several years, I think I might be in for some surprises.

[Capitan Obvious]

There is another thread on CC right now

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2768899-promo-code-encoff/

 

where the poster is asking what the promo code "ENCOFF" means on their reservation.

 

A benefit of a good TA is that they would be able to explain what this, and any other promo codes, on your reservation mean. You wouldn't be stuck having to resort to hoping that someone on an Internet forum could explain it for you. It costs nothing to use a TA (or a good PCC), given their experience and knowledge base, it would be foolish to NOT use them.

[mtrancher]

4 minutes ago, Capitan Obvious said:

There is another thread on CC right now

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2768899-promo-code-encoff/

 

where the poster is asking what the promo code "ENCOFF" means on their reservation.

 

A benefit of a good TA is that they would be able to explain what this, and any other promo codes, on your reservation mean. You wouldn't be stuck having to resort to hoping that someone on an Internet forum could explain it for you. It costs nothing to use a TA (or a good PCC), given their experience and knowledge base, it would be foolish to NOT use them.

Okay, I just read the thread your referenced and the 1st and so far only response is "Call NCL and ask."  What is the difference between calling NCL or a TA in this particular scenario?

Furthermore the assumption using a TA costs nothing is too broad. Using a good/great TA can cost nothing but as some of us have experienced not all TA's are good and some let you down and some just don't get true answers. Gee, sounds the same as some forum posters. I think I found a good TA, but in my quest I ran across one that flat out gave me wrong, factually incorrect answers. In addition I've had past TA's make mistakes or miss things that affected my vacation; even if I would have litigated (I didn't) and won some small victory, it still created a "cost" to my vacation. In in the end it's your vacation... do it how you want to.

[georgio19]

Maybe this is off topic, but figured this might be a good place to ask this question.

 

If I were to book a cruise using future cruise credit, would a TA be able to give OBC if I transferred this reservation to them? Thank you for any insights you might have.

[mtrancher]

5 hours ago, georgio19 said:

Maybe this is off topic, but figured this might be a good place to ask this question.

 

If I were to book a cruise using future cruise credit, would a TA be able to give OBC if I transferred this reservation to them? Thank you for any insights you might have.

I believe so, but the only way is to check with TA's.  The biggest thing would be if you fit under Norwegian's transfer policies; one of which is the cruise reservation can't be transferred if it is payed in full.

[lenquixote66]

We always use a TA .However,when we booked a cruise in 2019 we called the cruise line for some info and much to our surprise the rep had the same name as ours.We took that as an omen and decided to book the cruise with him.He was great .We are not related but would not hesitate to call him again.

[oteixeira]

On 1/7/2021 at 2:34 PM, mtrancher said:

Okay, I just read the thread your referenced and the 1st and so far only response is "Call NCL and ask."  What is the difference between calling NCL or a TA in this particular scenario?

Furthermore the assumption using a TA costs nothing is too broad. Using a good/great TA can cost nothing but as some of us have experienced not all TA's are good and some let you down and some just don't get true answers. Gee, sounds the same as some forum posters. I think I found a good TA, but in my quest I ran across one that flat out gave me wrong, factually incorrect answers. In addition I've had past TA's make mistakes or miss things that affected my vacation; even if I would have litigated (I didn't) and won some small victory, it still created a "cost" to my vacation. In in the end it's your vacation... do it how you want to.

The main difference is your time.  What is it worth?  With NCL you will have really long hold times as they are running with almost no staff answering calls right now.  Your TA will wait on that call or already know the answer for you.

 

[mtrancher]

1 hour ago, oteixeira said:

The main difference is your time.  What is it worth?  With NCL you will have really long hold times as they are running with almost no staff answering calls right now.  Your TA will wait on that call or already know the answer for you.

 

You're wrong! After reading your post just now, I decided to call NCL and ask the question. I was on the phone for 4 minutes; 1.5 minutes going through the press this number navigation and 2.5 minutes speaking with a very friendly and anxious to help PCC. I doubt any TA could get an answer to me appreciatively faster.

I get it; you think using a TA is only way to go. You have your reasons and that's fine; but don't just throw out general reasons that are entirely non substantiated.

[oteixeira]

4 hours ago, mtrancher said:

You're wrong! After reading your post just now, I decided to call NCL and ask the question. I was on the phone for 4 minutes; 1.5 minutes going through the press this number navigation and 2.5 minutes speaking with a very friendly and anxious to help PCC. I doubt any TA could get an answer to me appreciatively faster.

I get it; you think using a TA is only way to go. You have your reasons and that's fine; but don't just throw out general reasons that are entirely non substantiated.

Your one random call on a Friday afternoon does not prove I am wrong.  I have called them in the past month on something else and was on the phone over an hour.  I suppose if you want to call them over and over for the next month and get us a true average that is great, but I don't have time to figure that out.  Have a great weekend.

[HuliHuli]

On 1/7/2021 at 6:53 PM, georgio19 said:

Maybe this is off topic, but figured this might be a good place to ask this question.

 

If I were to book a cruise using future cruise credit, would a TA be able to give OBC if I transferred this reservation to them? Thank you for any insights you might have.

It may depend upon your TA; mine did provide their full/normal cash refund.

[step78]

On 1/9/2021 at 5:04 AM, oteixeira said:

Your one random call on a Friday afternoon does not prove I am wrong.  I have called them in the past month on something else and was on the phone over an hour.  I suppose if you want to call them over and over for the next month and get us a true average that is great, but I don't have time to figure that out.  Have a great weekend.

 

Everytime I call NCL someone answers in less than a minute. EVERYTIME. If I want to speak to "our" consultant I'll send a mail and will get a call almost instantly.  (Note: Different time zones) imho german speaking support is superb. 

[Gretchendz]

So, I'm not sure this thread, which had some good previous discussion, should devolve into how many minutes it took each person to get an answer...I will say that answer times at almost all travel vendors are good (short waits) right now as there are so many fewer people booking travel than is typical this time of year. Last March, April, June, etc when everyone was cancelling trips or having them cancelled, many suppliers had hours and hours of hold time.  If travel picks up again, you may see wait times go up. Or maybe not! None of us know.

 

I think the point of the people who were initially posting about wait times was that they liked having their TA wait on hold or call repeatedly when things were bad.

 

I refer people to the OP's original question : What does your TA do for you?

 

In response to @georgio19 if it is a TA that provides extra OBC (not all do) they should be able to provide even if you are paying with FCC.

 

 

[Wildcatllamas]

As a part time travel agent I place a lot of emphasis on taking care of my clients. Due to my time constraints with another obligation I  have a small clientele so I can handle whatever their needs are.

 

 I have spent hours on the phone with a vendor, when I had a group of 10 people stranded at a connecting airport due to flights being cancelled. A hurricane had hit the area they were traveling to and we need to reroute them to a different area so they still had a vacation.

 

In March, when everything shut down, I had 6 couples booked on a Panama Canal cruise that left in 5 days. It was a nightmare trying to get through to the cruise line. I felt so sorry for those frazzled call center folks. 

 

So, yes some of us work for and with our clients. As to OBC, the agency I am affiliated with allows us to provide a percentage of our commission for an OBC. So with that, if your cruise is only $700 your OBC will be smaller than someone whose cruise is $9000. For those clients who use me all the time I always try to kick in another OBC directly from me as well as other goodies.

 

Before I became an agent I worked with two others. One was worse than "meh" but the other was awesome! It was her dedication and kindness that led me in this direction.

 

If you love the hunt for a great deal and enjoy searching all the options I support you completely. It is fun to dig and see what is out there and then scope out the cabins. If you don't have the time or the desire for that then definitely find a travel agent. But get recommendations from friends, co-workers etc. before making a selection. And then interview them - remember - you are hiring them to work for you!