TA vs. direct w/Princess

[kiwigirl]

I've used a TA on my previous cruises, but can anyone tell me if there is an advantage in booking with a TA vs. booking direct with Princess?

 

We are looking at a Tahiti cruise in July of '07.

 

Thanks! :)

[mikesstuff]

I can't comment on using a travel agent but I can say that when I just booked our cruise for March 2007 I compared booking with expedia compared to directly from Princess and I ended up going with Princess for the following reasons.

 

1. Expedia charges $15 on top of the cost as their fee

2. Princess gave me the option to add ground transportation from the airport to sea port while expdedia did not

3. Princess also offered travel insurance (which I bought) while expedia did not.

4. Going direct through Princess I was able to tell them all my preferences right off the bat. So they know that we want robes in our room, what kind of fruit we like, and what kind of soda to put in our refridge. Not sure you could do that this far in advance if going through a third party or not.

5. Cost wise the cruise was the same, taxes and fees the same. Just that additional charge of $15 by expedia that I noted above was the difference.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Mike

Caribbean Princess - Eastern Caribbean March 11, 2007!!! (first ever cruise)

[envy4u]

I found that booking through Princess is more expensive than a T.A. . Just my experience .

[waltd]

I have never found booking with Princess saved you money. There are plenty of travel agents that can get you a better deal then Princess and if they are good can accommodate all your requests. I just use Princess Customer Service to compare the prices that I have received from my travel agent.

[kiwigirl]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

 

I usually only use sites like Expedia for research. I just wondered if Princess will match prices that you might get from a TA? Also if it's easier to get price reductions (if it were to happen) through Princess. Last question is whether or not you can do something like a payment plan if booked direct. Basically what I want to do is after I pay my deposit is to pay money towards the cruise each month.

 

Mike - enjoy your first cruise. You'll love it.

 

Thanks again!

[DeepWaterMariner]

I think Princess is pretty up front about the fact that you can often get a better price from a TA than through booking direct with the line. That difference could be significant (depending on what you think significant is) if the TA is holding a group of cabins. Some people like to have the TA help with the planning of the entire trip and to take care of problems that might crop up before sailing.

 

On other hand, if you are an experienced cruiser and know what you want without the help of a TA, it is wonderful to deal directly with Princess (and most other cruise lines), and complete the booking process in very short order without being placed on hold or waiting for calls back from a TA. In most of my experiences with booking directly with the line I've gotten as good, or nearly as good pricing as TA's were offering.

 

I still book some cruises through TA's if they are offering a particularly attractive deal.

[Host CJSKIDS]

The only way I would use a TA is if I could get a better price on my cabin than what Princess could give me directly or some nice OBC. Right now I'm booked with Princess for my 11/4 Crown Sailing. The online TA's that I've used are only $100 less for the sailing so I'm not transferring anything yet. It's only worth letting go of control of my booking if I can get a nice discount. My one TA wants the booking now, but since I've done the legwork already and have the exact cabin booked myself I don't see any great benefits yets to giving him the business.

[ebrener]

I can't comment on using a travel agent but I can say that when I just booked our cruise for March 2007 I compared booking with expedia compared to directly from Princess and I ended up going with Princess for the following reasons.

 

Mike, in my opinion, you have to make a distinction between Expedia and the like, which may be considered booking engines, and true travel agents, which can certainly accommodate what you mentioned and more, and often give you better prices and better choices (for flights, hotels, insurance, etc.).

 

I usually only use sites like Expedia for research. I just wondered if Princess will match prices that you might get from a TA? Also if it's easier to get price reductions (if it were to happen) through Princess. Last question is whether or not you can do something like a payment plan if booked direct. Basically what I want to do is after I pay my deposit is to pay money towards the cruise each month.

 

Kiwigirl, Princess will probably not match lower prices from a TA, as they come either from a group with prenegotiated rates (not available on an individual basis) or through a rebate of part of the commissions.

 

Price reductions can be obtained either directly or through a TA if prices go down. Just be aware that you must have a TA with a client-oriented attitude that looks at you as a long time customer (and you should probably look at it the same way), because some TAs will drag their feet to fo this since it decreases their commission.

 

Your payment plan can be done either way. Call in directly to Princess every time you want to process a payment, or have your TA do it.

 

 

My one TA wants the booking now, but since I've done the legwork already and have the exact cabin booked myself I don't see any great benefits yets to giving him the business.

 

cjskids, is this a TA you've worked with before? Do you have a relationship with him/her? The reason I ask is that you never know when you will have to lean on your TA to solve a problem, and it's good to build a relationship. Your benefits may not be on this booking, but down the line, who knows. Besides, few things annoy a TA more (own experience) than having a "long time client" come for help to solve a problem with a trip that was booked elsewhere...

 

Regards,

 

Enrique

*****

[Tom O.]

I recently made a reservation with an online TA. They were about 10% cheaper than the quote I got directly from Princess. And I didn't really book it online, I called their number and they were very helpful. I won't mention their name, since it is a violation of the board's rules to do so, but there was another thread today that had their name in the original thread title.

[MilliesMom]

We have booked all of our cruises with the AAA (auto club) travel agency. They are GREAT and often can offer some great deals because of their vast booking power. Also the auto club we felt had better vacation insurance that would cover the cruise, travel, hotel, medical emergency etc.

 

The travel agent handled everything for us and it was great. She was helpful with what hotels were good at the port before and after the cruise. Last cruise we did book the airline tickets ourself, but within 24 hours of her booking the cruise so that it could be added into our insurance. We found $98 round trip tickets thru America West from AZ to San Diego thru the America West website. If they book the airline tickets, there is a $20 charge. The rest tho, no charge to the customer as a service fee.

 

I have found it extremely helpful to work with a travel agent. On our last cruise, she worked with us and family at the same time that were in another state. Everything worked out perfect with timing and cabins etc. I'm sure we could of done it ourselves with help from Princess but it was so much nicer to hand it over to her to take care of.

 

Just my personal opinion. If you are a member of the auto club, check out their travel agency services.

 

Mary

[Charliesmom]

Sometimes online travel agents will post the list price, but when you call them they will quote you the real price, which can be a lot less than dealing directly with Princess.

 

What I usually do is to book the cruise through Princess (or other line) and then transfer the booking to the travel agent. That way I can get the stateroom that I want. I do not accept upgrades because I want what I want and not someone else's idea of an upgrade.

 

I generally save about 10% over Princess prices. I have used several different agencies. I have found a good one who gives me almost the lowest price. She makes up the difference with wonderful service and has been terrific about getting me the goodies that come with the American Express Platinum card.

 

I have a friend who uses another agent she swears by who also is excellent, both pricewise and servicewise.

 

Check out the agencies who advertise on Cruise Critics. They are the guys who support this website.

 

Roberta

[Coral]

I have a great TA that always delivers all our requests. Our TA saved me $800 on a recently booked cruise when compared to the Princess website. I will keep this one!

 

I just held a cabin and my TA saved me $500 off the price compared to Princess's website and by calling Princess. This was an IXL (sp?) flash special that is not on Princess's website or through the reservation number if you call. I called Princess to hold this this weekend (to think about it) and the rate was much higher. I later called my TA and had her hold it at a much lower price.

 

Definitely use a TA!

 

I agree with the comment about comparing all travel agents to Expedia. You just can't do that. A TA will do much more then an online booking system. And they can save you money!

[skarletohara]

I can't comment on using a travel agent but I can say that when I just booked our cruise for March 2007 I compared booking with expedia compared to directly from Princess and I ended up going with Princess for the following reasons.

 

1. Expedia charges $15 on top of the cost as their fee

2. Princess gave me the option to add ground transportation from the airport to sea port while expdedia did not

3. Princess also offered travel insurance (which I bought) while expedia did not.

4. Going direct through Princess I was able to tell them all my preferences right off the bat. So they know that we want robes in our room, what kind of fruit we like, and what kind of soda to put in our refridge. Not sure you could do that this far in advance if going through a third party or not.

5. Cost wise the cruise was the same, taxes and fees the same. Just that additional charge of $15 by expedia that I noted above was the difference.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Mike

Caribbean Princess - Eastern Caribbean March 11, 2007!!! (first ever cruise)

 

As for the travel insurance, you can get that on your own by

checking out insuremytrip.com. They have far more comprehensive insurances than Princess.

 

Also, as for the cruise personalizer, you can still access that even if

you had booked expedia and the bathrobes are NEVER in the rooms or

the fruit. I've always had to ask for the robes. Princess should automatically

put robes in all the rooms!

[Coral]

Also, as for the cruise personalizer, you can still access that even if

you had booked expedia and the bathrobes are NEVER in the rooms or

the fruit. I've always had to ask for the robes. Princess should automatically

put robes in all the rooms!

 

For some unknown reason - I always have a robe in my room. Not sure why - I never use them.

 

I agree - everyone has access to Cruise Personalizer - it doesn't matter who you book with.

[kiwigirl]

Thanks everyone for your input. I used an online TAfor our last cruise in December. It was a TA I found on this site and she was pretty helpful. I will definitely give her a call and see what she can do for me.

I tried AAA for the December cruise and found that they were no cheaper than what I found online and the agent didn't seem to "try" very hard. I have used them in the past though for a train trip and was very satisfied.

I figured that I would have access to the personalizer as I did on the Carnival site once I had my booking number.

Coral - can I ask what an IXL flash special is?

Skarletohara - I used insuremytrip.com for our December cruise and was planning on using them again.

Thanks again for all the input. :)

[Genessa]

I tried AAA for the December cruise and found that they were no cheaper than what I found online and the agent didn't seem to "try" very hard. I have used them in the past though for a train trip and was very satisfied.

[Thanks again for all the input. :)

 

 

I've priced cruises several times with AAA and have received quotes from them exactly what Princess was offering me - much much higher than the high volume agent I use gives. Her prices are way lower than 10% lower.

[Coral]

I don't use AAA but I am about to defend them.

 

AAA is made up of hundreds of offices with thousands of agents through out the US. My local AAA office does not discount any cruises. I have spoken to them many times (when trying to get brochures but had to talk to them to get brochures) and they are not budging on discountaing at the office I live near. Though it really doesn't matter because I love the high volume TA that I use.

 

I have a friend who had an agent with AAA who was excellent and did discount her cruises significantly. This agent has since moved on to another agency but while at AAA, she would match other prices that my friend found. So, not all AAA offices are the same and not all TAs within AAA are the same.

 

I use an agent with a large cruise company. She discounts her cruises quite a bit but there are other agents in this cruise company who do not. I would hate for people to say "don't use agency x because their prices are high" when in reality, different agents within the agency can provide different prices.

[Coral]

Coral - can I ask what an IXL flash special is?

 

Hopefully someone else can explain this better but I believe high volume agencies have access to IXL rates which can be better then regular Princess rates. In addition to Princess Flash Rates, there are some agencies who can also have IXL Flash rates. Princess could not quote this IXL flash rate to me over the weekend but my TA had access to this.

 

Just an example - Princess rates are $699 for an inside and IXL rates were $499. A balcony through Princess is $899 and through the agency, the rate was $699. There can be significant savings.

 

And then depending on the TA, they can discount from there.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Mike, in my opinion, you have to make a distinction between Expedia and the like, which may be considered booking engines, and true travel agents, which can certainly accommodate what you mentioned and more, and often give you better prices and better choices (for flights, hotels, insurance, etc.).

 

 

Kiwigirl, Princess will probably not match lower prices from a TA, as they come either from a group with prenegotiated rates (not available on an individual basis) or through a rebate of part of the commissions.

 

Price reductions can be obtained either directly or through a TA if prices go down. Just be aware that you must have a TA with a client-oriented attitude that looks at you as a long time customer (and you should probably look at it the same way), because some TAs will drag their feet to fo this since it decreases their commission.

 

Your payment plan can be done either way. Call in directly to Princess every time you want to process a payment, or have your TA do it.

 

 

 

 

cjskids, is this a TA you've worked with before? Do you have a relationship with him/her? The reason I ask is that you never know when you will have to lean on your TA to solve a problem, and it's good to build a relationship. Your benefits may not be on this booking, but down the line, who knows. Besides, few things annoy a TA more (own experience) than having a "long time client" come for help to solve a problem with a trip that was booked elsewhere...

 

Regards,

 

Enrique

*****

 

It's a TA from an online agency that I transferred by current 3/19 Star booking to. When ever there was a price drop from them I'm the one who caught it and then emailed him or called him to have our price lowered. Honestly, I can't see anything coming up that I couldn't handle myself. We travel frequently, throughout Europe too and I have always made all my bookings starting with my honeymoon. I've always found great deals and now book travel for a lot of my friends and family. I would really only transfer the booking and give up control if I benefited from it since I found the cruise and booked the cruise already.

[emdia43]

If you book direct with Princess, how do you 'transfer' your booking to a travel agent?

[Host CJSKIDS]

If you book direct with Princess, how do you 'transfer' your booking to a travel agent?

 

I've just faxed my request into Princess telling them to transfer Booking #XXXXXX to the TA and had the direct phone number. It's been easy both times I've done it. The only downside is once you do this, Princess will no longer speak to you directly in regards to your booking.

[Coral]

I've just faxed my request into Princess telling them to transfer Booking #XXXXXX to the TA and had the direct phone number. It's been easy both times I've done it. The only downside is once you do this, Princess will no longer speak to you directly in regards to your booking.

 

This is what I have done also. The TA usually has control of the booking within 24-48 hours.

[Kerry&LuAnn]

Our local travel agent was able to secure for us a competitive rate for the cruise, plus package it with a non-stop direct charter flight at a significantly reduced rate, plus threw in complimentary ground transportation. It was a deal we couldn't pass up!

[kiwigirl]

I would hate for people to say "don't use agency x because their prices are high" when in reality, different agents within the agency can provide different prices.

 

That's an eye opener for me. I had no idea that within one agency you could get different prices.

 

Thanks!

[kiwigirl]

Hopefully someone else can explain this better but I believe high volume agencies have access to IXL rates which can be better then regular Princess rates. In addition to Princess Flash Rates, there are some agencies who can also have IXL Flash rates. Princess could not quote this IXL flash rate to me over the weekend but my TA had access to this.

 

Just an example - Princess rates are $699 for an inside and IXL rates were $499. A balcony through Princess is $899 and through the agency, the rate was $699. There can be significant savings.

 

And then depending on the TA, they can discount from there.

 

Thanks!