Does your TA or TA agency provide you with any perks if you book a cruise with them?

[FM]

It used to be that little gifts such as a bottle of wine, flowers, shipboard credit were provided to guests celebrating a special occasion on a cruise.

 

Don't see that happening anymore.  Has anyone experienced anything different?

[Fouremco]

The big box store TA that I deal with doesn't give perks for special occasions, but it does give 8-10% of the total cruise price in the form of a store Shop Card, and the amount paid is included in the annual 2% reward program. We made the switch as soon as they opened the TA in Canada a few years ago.

[LHT28]

I get  an OBC & PPG from my USA based  agent

I think the PPG is passed through the cruise line  but YES you can still get perks

just shop around

But she also give be  good service  when things go pear shaped she  steps in to help

 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Our TA gives OBC or dinners depending on the cruise lines 

the biggest reason we stay with her , you can get her 7 days a week 

She gets some really good group rates 

our next two cruises in 2023 are east bound TA on Reflection and Westbound on the Constellation 

both cruises are about $135 Cad a night with drinks , Wi-Fi ,  tips taxes and refundable deposit with over $500 OBC on each cruise in a balcony 

Also during the shutdown she had to move about 5 cruises for without complaining about the time it took her to do that which she never got paid to do 

[ski ww]

Our TA, who we found out about on a cruise from other cruisers, gives us a nice bit of OBC. Our previous TA didn't give us any.

[bebe08]

Our US based TA gives us OBC.  I've compared it to what the big box store offers and it isn't as much.  For one cruise he was able to price match the OBC from the big box store.  The next time he wasn't able to and we booked with him anyways as we value his customer service. Our TA is amazing which became even more important with all the cancelled and rebooked cruises, price matching etc over the past 2 years and that to us is priceless.

[neeuqdrazil]

My TA (through a national driving association) provides different perks for different lines. For the cruise that I'm on in a few weeks, I'm supposed to be getting OBC, champagne afternoon tea, and a specialty dining credit.  

[Magicat]

I sleep with my TA.  The perks are unbelievable.  🤩

[Middleager]

In the last few years we booked with the TA affiliated with TD First Class Visa card.  We get 4.5% back in TD rewards.

 

 

[Heidi13]

We use a local, full-service TA, who provides OBC, as permitted by our preferred cruise line.

[PatandStu]

My previous ta always gave an obc and a gift like strawberries. I used a different ta for our February cruise as her agency was the only one that would take my avion points as payment. But, I find her not as knowledgeable about cruises as my previous ta and there has been no mention so far of any obc or gift. 
Now that all my points are gone, I’ll go back to my previous ta. Not so much for the obc, but for the better service.

[CDNPolar]

I find this a really frustrating thing...

 

We have used one TA that gave nothing.

 

We have used one TA that had charges for everything outside of the cruise that she booked for us - such as hotel, car, and air.  She also has a cancelation charge per person above other penalties.

 

We have used the big box TA for an upcoming cruise and are looking forward to a shop card at 10% of the value of the cruise and the membership rebate as well.  This is the most we have ever seen and makes it well worth the extra layer of using a TA, but they don't book some of the cruise lines that we prefer to sail with.

 

I find it a trade off.  With the exception of the big box opportunity, I find that the extra layer of a TA for a couple hundred in OBC is not worth it.  I generally find TA's not responsive and not knowledgeable.

[TeaBag]

The TA we deal with does not give OBC.  Instead he gives a discount directly off the cruise price which is often lower than most agencies.  Sometimes, depending on the cruise it is $1000.

[Steve H]

We get 50 dollars obc which is better than nothing, but always gets great group rates.

[ladysail2]

I’m still on the fence about using a travel agent. After cruising for nearly 20 years doing it all myself, I decided to try a ta.  Several of them. I still did the original booking, cabin choice, deposit, then handed it over. The ta had little to figure out. The only two lines involved were Royal Caribbean and Carnival. My friends wanted to sail the new Carnival ships. None of the ta offered anything but OBC. Carnival must pay the best commission because I received great OBC for Carnival..in the neighbourhood of $200 for a $4000 cruise. But Royal…very low. One cruise of about $3000, a $35 OBC…another $2000 cruise..a $50 OBC.  
I’m not sure that I like losing control of my booking either, although the ta has been very responsive to any changes that I might need to make. 
After these sets of cruises are done, I’ll evaluate how I feel about using a ta.   

[kazu]

On 10/11/2022 at 7:01 AM, ski ww said:

Our TA, who we found out about on a cruise from other cruisers, gives us a nice bit of OBC. Our previous TA didn't give us any.

 

My TA does too - I do believe we use the same one 😉