Do you use a Travel Agent?

[VanessaNJ]

Basically the question. I’ve never really used a TA for holidays. My first cruise was booked by a TA but my mum booked that for our whole family, a group of 5 cabins so it’s kinda made sense there. 
But is it otherwise worth it? I’ve heard many Americans say that they always books via one, however their culture is much more service based than the Australian culture so I don’t know if that holds true here. 
 

So, as Australians booking cruises in Australia do you find it valuable to use a TA and if so why? I’ve just booked directly with princess, but I think it’s still within the time frame that I can transfer it to a TA. 

[onlyslightlymad]

Not an Australian but I do use a travel agent.  I just find it less stressful to let her manage the booking, make any changes etc.  She has helped organise visas when travelling on an Asian cruise, for example.  We did book an NCL cruise directly through them as them contacted us with a good deal and that was fine.   I guess I enjoy having a relationship with someone who knows what I want.  It has never cost us more using an agent than it would have otherwise and she just looks after a lot of the hassle.

[arxcards]

I use an agent, but it could just be that I am lazy. It doesn't cost me any fees, so I use them for the simple ones as well as the more complex ones. If I want to change anything, it is just an email away.

 

Still, I have an agent because I am really happy with this agent. If you don't have an agent you have built a trust with, it is much of a muchness to booking direct.

[losfp]

We have a good agent who we have used for 20 years, since our very first cruise (Pacific Sky, 2002). She's wonderful. She'll sit on line to airlines, cruise companies and hotels to chase up issues, rebook things for us, provide the most recent information on visas and restrictions, insurance etc.

 

But if you don't have a good agent, then it may well be better to handle everything yourself.  

[OzKiwiJJ]

Mostly I book travel myself although I do use a Princess vacation planner to book my Princess cruises now. That way I don't have to deal with Princess' booking system crashes anymore! I've also used online TAs in the past for last minute deals.

 

I had a couple of bad experiences with local TAs way back and when we were looking at doing our first cruise I went to a local cruise specialist TA to discuss our options. I wasn't impressed, I'd had better advice and information from friends than they could give me and their recommendation of what would suit us, despite asking no questions about what we liked and disliked, was the most expensive choice of the cruises we were enquiring about. I didn't feel comfortable booking through that TA. We ended up choosing Princess for our first cruise and it was a perfect fit for us. We have done some cruises on the other cruise line, Celebrity, and really enjoyed them but they aren't a perfect fit for us so we still prefer Princess.

 

I enjoy the planning and booking stage of a trip no matter how complex they are. The biggest trip I've ever planned was a seven week trip to Ireland and the UK - flights, trains, rental cars, a ferry trip, sightseeing, and 30 accommodation bookings. It was almost perfect - one tour company let us down by losing our booking despite not one, but two confirmation phone calls. 

 

However it really depends how confident you are at doing your own bookings. A simple cruise leaving from your home town is very easy. Travel and a night or two of accommodation is also reasonably easy. More than that does take a fair bit of research and planning so a good TA might be a better choice for you ... if you can find a good TA.

 

 

 

 

[kenexx]

Only for cruises.  Have used the same fabulous agent for years and she never fails to get us our preferred locations.  The rest I do as I worked in travel/airline all my working life except the last 9 years.