Travel agent in different country

[EVERTON1]

Hi all,

 

Has anyone ever used an online travel agent in a different country as they are a lot cheaper than booking direct with cruise company ?

I am in UK and have found USA travel agent offering same cruise with saving of £250 pp

 

Thanks

[hallasm]

I have several time used US Travel agents. Just remember that a US travel agents price do not include gratitude, and other fees.

If you compare the price from a UK site in £ gratitude and frees might be included in that price- might make a difference.

 

Edited July 9, 2023 by hallasm

[EVERTON1]

Thanks

 

Sent them e mail for clarification

[GeezerCouple]

2 hours ago, hallasm said:

I have several time used US Travel agents. Just remember that a US travel agents price do not include gratitude, and other fees.

If you compare the price from a UK site in £ gratitude and frees might be included in that price- might make a difference.

 

 

From reading posts from those in other countries (we are in the USA), it also seems that deadlines and penalty dates/amounts may be different.  So make sure you understand ALL of the differences using a TA in another country.

 

GC

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, hallasm said:

I have several time used US Travel agents. Just remember that a US travel agents price do not include gratitude, and other fees.

If you compare the price from a UK site in £ gratitude and frees might be included in that price- might make a difference.

 

That may or may not be the case on a specific booking.  There is a lot of competition here in the USA, and this means different agencies (especially so-called discount cruise agencies) sometimes offer different deals.  There are times when an agency will offer pre-paid gratuities and/or generous on board credits (OBCs).  On some cruises our perks (tips and OBCs) have been in the thousands of dollars.  That is why we have long suggested that wise cruisers "shop around" among multiple high volume reputable cruise agencies.

 

There are also some cruise lines (HAL is one example) that may have restrictions on cruisers, from outside North America, booking with a North American agency.  We have an Australian friend who is a very frequent HAL cruiser.  Aussies are not normally permitted to book HAL cruises through North American agencies.  But our friend simply uses a Canadian address (it belongs to a friend) for his bookings in order to get the much better deals and he has been doing this for many years.

 

Hank

[hallasm]

25 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

From reading posts from those in other countries (we are in the USA), it also seems that deadlines and penalty dates/amounts may be different.  So make sure you understand ALL of the differences using a TA in another country.

Yes, terms and conditions can be very different - often the deposit will be non-refundable and full payment 30 to 45 days before start.

7 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

That may or may not be the case on a specific booking.

Correct - I have been cruising for the last 30 years and know that prices can be difficult to discern and that there can be good deals to be found.
But many here in Europe have mistakenly believed that US prices were more favorable because they were not aware of the difference between prices in the US without tips and prices in Europe where it is a requirement that tips, taxes and other fees are included in the price.

[VMax1700]

18 minutes ago, hallasm said:

But many here in Europe have mistakenly believed that US prices were more favorable because they were not aware of the difference between prices in the US without tips and prices in Europe where it is a requirement that tips, taxes and other fees are included in the price.

Tips are not necessarily included in prices advertising in UK/Ireland/Europe.  Taxes, Port Fees etc ....yes, they by law must be included in the advertised price,  but not gratuities.

@EVERTON1 remember to factor in some exchange rate fluctuation and also the fact that you will not have ABTA protection.

[YourWorldWithBill]

8 hours ago, EVERTON1 said:

Hi all,

Has anyone ever used an online travel agent in a different country as they are a lot cheaper than booking direct with cruise company ?

I am in UK and have found USA travel agent offering same cruise with saving of £250 pp

Thanks

Another big issue is that for almost all cruises booked in the US, your deposit is refundable until the final payment date. I booked a group cruise that had to be done through a UK travel agent and had to lose my deposit due to something I found out a year in advance. That wouldn't have happened if I could have booked here (in US).

[hallasm]

4 hours ago, VMax1700 said:

Tips are not necessarily included in prices advertising in UK/Ireland/Europe

If a tip is given for the exceptionally good service, it is of course not included in the price.
If a service charge or gratuity is expected to be part of the price of a cruise and is automatically added to the onboard account, it must clearly appear in the final price if purchased in Europe.
If I buy a cruise on the European market I expect it to be the total price of the cruise. I will henceforth only tip for unsurpassed service. This is not the case for most mainstream cruise lines. 
Royal Caribbean does include gratitude in the final price in Europe. No option not paying the gratitude.

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

Another big issue is that for almost all cruises booked in the US, your deposit is refundable until the final payment date. I booked a group cruise that had to be done through a UK travel agent and had to lose my deposit due to something I found out a year in advance. That wouldn't have happened if I could have booked here (in US).

 

That can depend upon the cruise line.

We were quite surprised several years ago when we were looking at a Hurtigruten 14 day round-trip coastal trip.  There was a "noticeable" deposit that was not refundable, full stop.  And last time I looked, their "penalty" had become much higher.

 

So it isn't necessarily the country one lives in or one books in.  We live in the USA and we booked through their US office.

Fortunately, we were able to go, and we had one of our most memorable trips.

(We haven't had an "early penalty" quite like that for any other trip... thus far...!)

 

Note:  In cases like this, when we book very early with significant non-refundable deposits (or any significant early costs), we would always make sure we had CFAR (Cancel For Any Reason) travel insurance coverage.  With our policies, at least we'd get back 75%.

 

GC

[YourWorldWithBill]

25 minutes ago, GeezerCouple said:

That can depend upon the cruise line.

GC

Sorry, you are definitely right about that. I've seen the refundable deposit on Holland America and often on Viking; but even on Viking, if they're running a special with a small deposit, it might not be refundable. And Viking requires very far in advance full payments, with some exceptions. Other lines are usually refundable up toe a certain point (Oceania, for example).

 

But my understanding is that in the UK, there is no such thing: all deposits are non-refundable. It has to be special for me to commit very far in advance, as I did on another group cruise we're booked on for next year.

[hallasm]

8 hours ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

But my understanding is that in the UK, there is no such thing: all deposits are non-refundable. It has to be special for me to commit very far in advance, as I did on another group cruise we're booked on for next year.

Yes, in general deposits are non-refundable in Europe.

[sanger727]

Also keep in mind that consumer protection laws vary by country as well. In the US we have very poor consumer protection laws. Essentially, you are on your own to protect your vacation investment with travel insurance. There were numerous times during the COVID cancellations and travel agencies going out of business that it was brought up that UK customers were protected and guaranteed refunds. That doesn't exist in the US. US customers were at the mercy of what the cruise line offered, and if a compnay went out of business they were out of luck.

[John Bull]

Some of the pro's of Brits using a US agent........

 

1. Your deposit is not forfeit until final payment date, it will be refunded in full if you cancel before the final payment date. (But recently I think bookings in the US are offered the choice of a lower price for waiving the right to a refund of deposit, same as many hotel & car rental bookings on both sides of The Pond. Perhaps an American can deny or confirm)

For bookings made in the UK, your deposit is lost from the moment it's paid if you cancel. And if you cancel after other deadlines for interim payments, you are liable for them even if not yet paid.

That's one of many reasons why you should take out travel insurance as soon as you book.

2. The price is usually more favourable, often significantly lower - hence this thread

 

Some of the cons of Brits using a US agent......

 

1. As far as I'm aware, there is no equivalent of ABTA  in North America. If your US T/A goes bust or runs off to the South Seas with your money there's no T/A or Govt organisation which will refund your money. So it's essential to pay only by card (refunds of credit card payments are easier and more certain than debit card).

2.  US prices usually don't include taxes or port fees. In most cases these charges are trivial compared to the savings.

3. The biggest risk with a US booking is that you are subject to the cruise line's US terms & conditions, which are much less consumer-friendly than their UK or EU terms & conditions, which by law offer much greater protection. As a rather extreme and unlikely example, if the cruise line decided that instead of 12 days cruising to Caribbean ports the ship will depart from Miami, anchor off-shore for 12 days, and return to Miami they are within their rights and US-booked passengers have no legal right to any refund. For UK & EU-booked passengers any material variation in what was advertised (eg missing several ports) not brought on by circumstances beyond the cruise line's control (eg weather or civil unrest) must be recompensed by the cruise line.

We had a battle with a cruise line because one important port-of-call was missed due to a mechanical failure. Since ship maintenance was within the cruise line's control we sought recompense - the cruise line tried to fight, but settled after we threatened court action in a British court-of-law (UK bookings are subject to British law). Americans who booked had no such rights.

It can be difficult to compare the different terms & conditions on-line, because access from the UK  automatically shows the UK terms & conditions, access from the US automatically shows the US terms & conditions. But trust me - there are big differences.

 

-------------------------------------------

 

Other considerations.....

1. A booking thro a US T/A is in USD. And so is the subsequent final payment - your cruise will be less or more expensive depending on changes in the exchange rate between booking and final payment.

2. Some clarification on tipping. Tips usually aren't included in US cruise prices - but as others have pointed out, they also are not always included in bookings made from the UK.

I've never known of tips-included for any bookings of cruises out of the US, but for sailings from UK ports, many cruise lines include tips in their cruise ticket price for bookings made in the UK. They do so in recognition of UK tipping culture, and the fact that many Brits simply have tips deleted from their on-board accounts, which they are (were?) entitled to do. When tips are included in the ticket price, cruise lines and T/As make that very clear in their headline banners, I'm sure that the OP will already know whether this is the case for their proposed cruise..

We've had tips included for sailings out of the UK (and Australia - Aussies have a no-tipping culture), but for our recent Carnival cruise out of Dover tips were an add-on.  We were aware of this and simply added them into our calculations. Altho I think we could have amended or removed them, the crew deserve better than being denied the bulk of their wages ("tips" are a bit of a misnomer) just to bring down the passengers' cost.

Those who do so would best not use their toothbrushes after removing the tips 😏🤣 

3. I think that booking made in the rest of Europe and Aus / NZ are subject to similar pros & cons.

4. As per Hank's comment, some cruise lines will only accept bookings via US T/As from those who live in North America (the stipulation is country of residence, not nationality - so racial discrimination laws don't apply). Using a North American address of a friend or relative in North America overcomes this, or some US T/As use their own address.

 

I've done my best to give correct information - but doubtless anythig incorrect will be pounced on by others 😄

 

We've used US T/As in the past, and its saved us a stack of cash. But the price differences nowadays are less-significant, and we are older and more risk-averse.

 

JB 🙂

[drsel]

On 7/9/2023 at 9:32 PM, Hlitner said:

There are also some cruise lines (HAL is one example) that may have restrictions on cruisers, from outside North America, booking with a North American agency.  We have an Australian friend who is a very frequent HAL cruiser.  Aussies are not normally permitted to book HAL cruises through North American agencies.  But our friend simply uses a Canadian address (it belongs to a friend) for his bookings in order to get the much better deals and he has been doing this for many years.

Hank

What if a passenger from a country outside North America books a Holland America cruise with a North American travel agent 

BUT 

His passport clearly mentions his/her address outside North America?

 

Then how can he use the North American address of a friend or relative on the booking ?

 

It will be completely different from the address on his passport!

[John Bull]

55 minutes ago, drsel said:

What if a passenger from a country outside North America books a Holland America cruise with a North American travel agent 

BUT 

His passport clearly mentions his/her address outside North America?

 

Then how can he use the North American address of a friend or relative on the booking ?

 

It will be completely different from the address on his passport!

 

 

But addresses aren't included in passports.

Are they?

Certainly not on a British one 

 

JB 🙂

[YourWorldWithBill]

I suspect that when you pay for the cruise, no one notices or cares what your passport says, and anyone who sees your passport later will not have any connection with the department that takes your money.

[VMax1700]

12 hours ago, drsel said:

What if a passenger from a country outside North America books a Holland America cruise with a North American travel agent 

BUT 

His passport clearly mentions his/her address outside North America?

 

Then how can he use the North American address of a friend or relative on the booking ?

 

It will be completely different from the address on his passport!

I think the only problem with HAL would be that you would be issued a different 'Mariner Number' for the US address and lose out on any benefits already accrued. 

Passport details are not required for making a booking and only for check in.  But not all those living in US have US passports, so I do not see a problem there.  At check in the agents are only checking that you have a valid passport, it is not an interrogation.  As a fallbacky ou could send a mail (post) to yourself at the friend/relative's US address and ask them to mail you back the stamped envelope, which you could keep in your wallet as 'proof' of living at US address.

[drsel]

11 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

I think the only problem with HAL would be that you would be issued a different 'Mariner Number' for the US address and lose out on any benefits already accrued. 

Passport details are not required for making a booking and only for check in.  But not all those living in US have US passports, so I do not see a problem there.  At check in the agents are only checking that you have a valid passport, it is not an interrogation.  As a fallbacky ou could send a mail (post) to yourself at the friend/relative's US address and ask them to mail you back the stamped envelope, which you could keep in your wallet as 'proof' of living at US address.

Looks like a good idea,  but I'm not sure if the HAL agents will ask for any US address proof at the time of boarding.

(Maybe any non North American who has sailed on HAL can enlighten us)

Edited July 16, 2023 by drsel

[VMax1700]

1 minute ago, drsel said:

Looks like a good idea,  but Im not sure if the HAL agents will ask for any US address proof at the time of boarding.

(Maybe any non North American who has sailed on HAL can enlighten us)

Only intended as 'peace of mind'.  Non of the check in agents work for HAL, so really they have no interest in your domicile.

[drsel]

On 7/9/2023 at 9:32 PM, Hlitner said:

That may or may not be the case on a specific booking.  There is a lot of competition here in the USA, and this means different agencies (especially so-called discount cruise agencies) sometimes offer different deals.  There are times when an agency will offer pre-paid gratuities and/or generous on board credits (OBCs).  On some cruises our perks (tips and OBCs) have been in the thousands of dollars.  That is why we have long suggested that wise cruisers "shop around" among multiple high volume reputable cruise agencies.

 

There are also some cruise lines (HAL is one example) that may have restrictions on cruisers, from outside North America, booking with a North American agency.  We have an Australian friend who is a very frequent HAL cruiser.  Aussies are not normally permitted to book HAL cruises through North American agencies.  But our friend simply uses a Canadian address (it belongs to a friend) for his bookings in order to get the much better deals and he has been doing this for many years.

Hank

This is one of the important terms and conditions mentioned on the booking invoice by a US travel agent--

 

NON-US/CANADIAN CLIENTS READ IMMEDIATELY:

The following cruise lines, HOLLAND AMERICA, OCEANIA, PRINCESS, MSC and COSTA now prohibit all travel agencies located in the United States from selling cruises to citizens of certain countries other than the United States and Canada, UNLESS they have a residence in the U.S. or Canada at the time of purchase and can provide documentation of such.

 

Also, your past passenger account number must have a US address listed in the cruise line record.

 

PLEASE BE ADVISED, if you do not meet these requirements, the cruise line and / or (US travel agents name) will cancel your booking and any penalties will be solely your responsibility, and (US travel agent) will not bear any costs or responsibilities.

 

When you booked this reservation, you checked (online bookings) you were a US or Canadian resident and / or citizen; or you gave your booking agent (phone bookings) a US or Canadian address.

If you now have a residence in the US or Canada but your past passenger record at the cruise line does not, it is your responsibility to change it, or the cruise line will cancel your booking when they check your past passenger information against this reservation and have the right to assess a penalty.

Edited July 16, 2023 by drsel

[Hlitner]

Just a few comments about this, and our Aussie friend who books many HAL cruises through a North American agency.  Many Passports do not show an address or even residence.  For example, USA Passports do not have an address unless you decide to fill it out (and the Dept of State suggests you should fill out the residence stuff with a pencil so it can later be erased).  Our Aussie friend has used the Canadian address for about 2 decades and apparently that is also the record on file with HALs Mariner Club.    He figured out, many years ago, that the cruise lines really do not go beyond the most basic steps in verifying residence  

 

I think the cruise lines (that care) are aware that there are some cruisers using false addresses.  But, other than going through the motions (to protect their overseas deals) they likely do not really care.  Somebody who books lots of days (our friend will sometimes cruise about 200 days a year with HAL) is welcomed without a lot of questions.  Having an Australian Passport and claiming a North American address is really not all that unusual.  Another interesting tidbit came from a HAL cruiser we recently met on the Westerdam who lives in Europe, but carries two Passports (European and USA).  He told us he also uses a US Address to book his HAL cruises...even though his legal residence remains in a Schengen country.

 

I guess it is safe to say that many folks have a "little larceny in their bones"  and do not always follow the rules!  My late father used to say that "everyone drives over the speed limit....even the Dudley Do Rights."  He was also not a big fan of CPAs because he thought most "follow the rules" rather than find ways to get around those rules.  Even our own government breaks their own rules...and then essentially  says, "if you don't like it take us to court."   It takes years for the courts to intervene, and meanwhile the broken rules are the law of the land.

 

Hank

[YourWorldWithBill]

6 hours ago, drsel said:

Looks like a good idea,  but I'm not sure if the HAL agents will ask for any US address proof at the time of boarding.

(Maybe any non North American who has sailed on HAL can enlighten us)

No. Well, I'm trying to give a simple answer. No agent has ever checked the address or even studied the passport. The check in is actually done by scan of the page with your picture.

[drsel]

16 minutes ago, YourWorldWithBill said:

No. Well, I'm trying to give a simple answer. No agent has ever checked the address or even studied the passport. The check in is actually done by scan of the page with your picture.

Thanks what about Princess, is it the same?

[YourWorldWithBill]

Good question, but we haven't been on Princess!