Any disadvantage to booking with TA instead of NCL

[cruisingrandy]

I have always booked cruises directly with the cruise line NCL, CCL , etc. I found what seems like a lot better deal with an online TA oferring on board credit and free gratuities.  Is there any reason not to book with them?

[dinkydee718]

I have booked directly with NCL, I have book through an agent, and I have booked directly with NCL and then transferred the booking to an agent. In my experience, I have never had any issues with my  bookings  regardless of how I made the reservations.

[complawyer]

my wife is a diamond club member through cesar's entertainment. 10 years ago we received an invitation for a free cruise . we went to vegas and got our cetificate, it was in fact free, but for an inside cabin. we were allowed to upgrade. cesars and norwegian offer this about 3 times per year, and we always accept,

 

for about the next 6 years, i have booked through casinos at sea. this is the  phone number on my cruise certificate. a few years ago, we got a call from a lovely lady, indicating she was a cruise consultant from ncl. we started using her services,and whenever i see an ncl cruise i wish to book, i call  her directly (shes evenon my speed dial).

 

sometimes i drive her crazy with a multitude of questions, and asking about various options.never once has she failed to help. i see no reason to ever use a travel agent. ihave also previously recommended people use booking. com to reserve hotel rooms. this site, gives a number of hotel choices in any given city, as well as prices, and room options. ive used this site for the past 6 years whenever we cruise from another country/to from a foreign port

 

there is no need (in my opinion) for a travel agent, if you are willing to just do a little research

[Toledosfinest]

Using a travel agent may not get you a better price always, but in most cases they will offer you ship board credit of usually $100-$300 per cruise and maybe even pay your gratuities. Also, many of the larger Travel companies give you extra $$ if you have booked through that agency before. You will not get those extra perks booking directly with the cruiseline. In my opinion, there is nothing negative when booking through a travel agent, unless the agency goes bankrupt.

[teacherman]

We book all of our cruises through our big box store - C-----     We get the same price as on the cruise line site, and also extra perks, including a big store shopping card worth different amounts based on the cost of the cruise.  Good service and easy to talk to a PERSON when you need to.  

[casofilia]

The only problem I see is that when you use a TA they, not you, own the booking.   If anything goes wrong, like on the Spirit Dubai-Cape Town cruise last year; the cruise line will not talk to you.   Everything has to be done through the TA.

[complawyer]

1 hour ago, teacherman said:

We book all of our cruises through our big box store - C-----     We get the same price as on the cruise line site, and also extra perks, including a big store shopping card worth different amounts based on the cost of the cruise.  Good service and easy to talk to a PERSON when you need to.  

if you have an ncl cruise consultant, you always have someone to talk to. im not knocking travel agents, i just think most bookings, can be done without one, im not patting myself on the back, but i have vbeen able to book airfare, hotels, and cruises without the need of a travel agent

[zerooveride]

So my two cents:

 

I have used the same agency for 5(6?) of my 7 cruises. They have always been great to me. I get the same rate and Free at Sea as if I booked from NCL. But I also get extra perks. For this upcoming December cruise I got an additional $50 ShorEx credit on top of the NCL $50, and $675 of OBC (haven't gotten less than $400 OBC on a cruise from them). Also, I usually have a bottle of Sparkling Wine and some bottled water waiting for me from them. Then usually I get some snacks brought to my room with a thank you card at some point throughout the cruise.

They have been so good to me I probably wouldn't switch.

 

P.S. I don't book in The Haven. Usually in a balcony or Mini-Suite.

[casofilia]

It is nice to hear all the positives regarding the use of a TA to book cruises.

 

Could I suggest that people try to find the Roll Call for the 2nd March 2020 cruise of the Norwegian Spirit and read all the posts about what happened to a large number of people who were booked with TAs.

 

As I said earlier be prepared for real problems if something major goes wrong if you are using a TA.   We had enough trouble and we used a PCC with Norwegian.

[BirdTravels]

4 hours ago, complawyer said:

if you have an ncl cruise consultant, you always have someone to talk to. im not knocking travel agents, i just think most bookings, can be done without one, im not patting myself on the back, but i have vbeen able to book airfare, hotels, and cruises without the need of a travel agent

But also without the additional perks that the TAs offer (often hundreds of dollars - depending on their volume of business with the cruise line). 

[complawyer]

20 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

But also without the additional perks that the TAs offer (often hundreds of dollars - depending on their volume of business with the cruise line). 

i concede travel agents offer different advantages, still, i prefer to do my own booking.

 

to each his own

[DaCruiseBug]

10 hours ago, complawyer said:

my wife is a diamond club member through cesar's entertainment. 10 years ago we received an invitation for a free cruise . we went to vegas and got our cetificate, it was in fact free, but for an inside cabin. we were allowed to upgrade. cesars and norwegian offer this about 3 times per year, and we always accept,

 

for about the next 6 years, i have booked through casinos at sea. this is the  phone number on my cruise certificate. a few years ago, we got a call from a lovely lady, indicating she was a cruise consultant from ncl. we started using her services,and whenever i see an ncl cruise i wish to book, i call  her directly (shes evenon my speed dial).

 

sometimes i drive her crazy with a multitude of questions, and asking about various options.never once has she failed to help. i see no reason to ever use a travel agent. ihave also previously recommended people use booking. com to reserve hotel rooms. this site, gives a number of hotel choices in any given city, as well as prices, and room options. ive used this site for the past 6 years whenever we cruise from another country/to from a foreign port

 

there is no need (in my opinion) for a travel agent, if you are willing to just do a little research

 

As others have said...

 

The cruise fares are usually the same (never higher with a TA, sometimes less if they have a block of rooms) but you can easily get 7-8% of the cruise fare in on-board credit with a TA. On a $4,000 cabin that's about $300 to spend for free on the ship. So why book directly with the cruise line and leave all that money on the table?

 

Also, when a travel agency has a block of rooms at a lower price available you can't get that with the cruise line directly. A cruise i'm booked on in 2022 has a balcony cabin with all perks at $2,700 for 2 people and the cruise line has it at $3,900.

As far as using the booking.com website for hotels...there you go again leaving a ton of cash on the table. I personally use Priceline (Which almost always has lower prices...never higher) with a link on another website that throws in another 6% in cash back after my stay.

 

Your overly simplistic view of things leaves a ton of cash on the table that could be in your pocket. Your specific example of a free inside cabin thru casinos at sea is irrelevant. Those fares aren't commissionable and there's no money in it for a travel agent.

 

If you're booking a regular cabin fare it ALWAYS makes more financial sense to book with a TA.

[complawyer]

it may seem simplistic to you, but it works for me. if you use priceline, thats great, im happy with booking. com, and it was only a suggestion, i'd rather not leave the decision on a hotel in a foreign country to ncl

[complawyer]

Just now, complawyer said:

it may seem simplistic to you, but it works for me. if you use priceline, thats great, im happy with booking. com, and it was only a suggestion, i'd rather not leave the decision on a hotel in a foreign country to ncl

by t he way, if you read any of my earlier posts, being a diamond club member through cesar's entertainment, gives us a 10% off on suites or a haven, or 20% off on anything below a suite, so my friend, so using your math, if i book a balcony, im still saving $780. 

 

and i prefer to deal directly with the cruiseline, again, to each his own

[Trimone]

I’ve used many TA, I will only now just use an NCL gentleman based in Malta.

For example the big cruise specialist TA in the U.K. I booked San Juan cruise, including flights, hotel etc etc, it was only my research that avoided disaster when their agency altered flights, they altered flights for leaving San Juan before ship had docked! A nightmare...

Another example, I booked Costa through a large agency in the U.K. when the ash cloud closed flights down, Costa docked in Dubai, kept passengers that booked directly on board, and kicked the rest of us off to fend for ourselves, insurance didn’t want to know. 
With NCL you also get upgrade advantage, which many TA don’t subscribe too.

[zerooveride]

5 hours ago, Trimone said:

I’ve used many TA, I will only now just use an NCL gentleman based in Malta.

For example the big cruise specialist TA in the U.K. I booked San Juan cruise, including flights, hotel etc etc, it was only my research that avoided disaster when their agency altered flights, they altered flights for leaving San Juan before ship had docked! A nightmare...

Another example, I booked Costa through a large agency in the U.K. when the ash cloud closed flights down, Costa docked in Dubai, kept passengers that booked directly on board, and kicked the rest of us off to fend for ourselves, insurance didn’t want to know. 
With NCL you also get upgrade advantage, which many TA don’t subscribe too.

On my POA cruise I booked through my usual TA and before the cruise I was able to place bids in the Upgrade Advantage Program. I didn't win any but I was still able to participate. 

[PelicanBill]

I've gone with TAs and direct.

 

+ With TA:  have seen valuable perks, such as an extra $100 OBC, prepaid gratuities included, low deposits. Timing can be everything to get such deals. Have never see large OBC always something else with a small OBC. Some agents are attentive and watch out for price drops and sales.

 

- with TA:  Not available 24x7 unless big online agency.  Unlikely to watch and notify you of price drops or sales with rebooking opportunities.  May have cancellation penalties that are in addition to Cruise line penalties. May have Terms and Conditions that are in addition to the Cruise line.  May have a different timeline for final payment than the cruise line. May not process your payments directly with the cruise line. If they process payments themselves, then you must validate that they paid the cruise line on time (many reports of errors when this is done.  Risk of Agency going out of business without paying for your cruise.)

 

As you can see, a lot of maybes.  All things to find out before you choose an agent. There are some good ones out there. But many are simply paid to book new cruises every day, not to take care of your booking done 3 months ago. And sometimes your agent disappears, when they leave an agency, and for months you don't realize nobody is looking after your booking until you call again.  That has happened to me, and the other thing that has happened often is seeing a new sale or price drop and can't reach my agent for 3 or 4 days.

 

 

 

 

 

[DaCruiseBug]

9 hours ago, complawyer said:

by t he way, if you read any of my earlier posts, being a diamond club member through cesar's entertainment, gives us a 10% off on suites or a haven, or 20% off on anything below a suite, so my friend, so using your math, if i book a balcony, im still saving $780. 

 

and i prefer to deal directly with the cruiseline, again, to each his own

 

Also diamond with Caesars...and the discount is 20% up to a H9 room. Book with Casino department then transfer the booking to a TA. So you get your discount and some OBC from a TA. Last time a TA threw in $200 OBC to transfer the booking to them.

 

It's just simple math. I know you're set in your ways but your overly simplistic approach (or stubbornness) is costing you hundreds of dollars per sailing.

[DaCruiseBug]

9 hours ago, complawyer said:

it may seem simplistic to you, but it works for me. if you use priceline, thats great, im happy with booking. com, and it was only a suggestion, i'd rather not leave the decision on a hotel in a foreign country to ncl

 

What does a hotel in a foreign country have to do with NCL booking it?

[complawyer]

 you misunderstood. i dont want ncl to book a hotel in any country. i'd rather do it myself. it adds to the thread of using a travel agent or not

[MoCruiseFan]

On 2/22/2021 at 12:38 PM, cruisingrandy said:

I have always booked cruises directly with the cruise line NCL, CCL , etc. I found what seems like a lot better deal with an online TA oferring on board credit and free gratuities.  Is there any reason not to book with them?

 

 

The biggest disadvantage (and a deal breaker for us) is with a TA you cannot call NCL directly and ask about your reservation since the TA "owns" the reservation.  If you do a little leg work there is not much a TA can do for you that you cannot do for yourself.

[Laszlo]

I've done both and booking with a TA saves up between $500 - $1000 per room depending on what type of cabin we get

[zerooveride]

13 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

 

The biggest disadvantage (and a deal breaker for us) is with a TA you cannot call NCL directly and ask about your reservation since the TA "owns" the reservation.  If you do a little leg work there is not much a TA can do for you that you cannot do for yourself.

I've never had a problem calling NCL. They just can't make any changes or take payments. Other than that, I've always asked questions to NCL without issue.

[DaCruiseBug]

2 hours ago, MoCruiseFan said:

 

 

The biggest disadvantage (and a deal breaker for us) is with a TA you cannot call NCL directly and ask about your reservation since the TA "owns" the reservation.  If you do a little leg work there is not much a TA can do for you that you cannot do for yourself.

That's not true at all. You can actually login on the NCL website and make changes to dining, excursions etc. The only thing NCL can't do is make changes to the actual reservation such as different cabins, sailings etc. If you need such a change you just call your TA just like you would call NCL.

 

By booking directly with NCL you're leaving hundreds of dollars on the table each time.

[complawyer]

1 hour ago, zerooveride said:

That is true, but I wouldn't be getting my $600+ OBC or my extra $50 (on top of the $50 NCL gives)

depends on offer