Goofy Question about Fares

[Queenvee]

I'm feel foolish asking this question but after interactions with Cunard and my on-line travel agency, I think I should!  I'm an experienced cruiser (over 50 cruises, 20 on Cunard) and have used an on-line agency XXX for 10+ years.  Once XXX gives me a price quote, I check the prices from two other on-line agencies.  If the other agencies' prices are within $200 of XXX's price (which is about 10% of the fare), I book with XXX; even if another agency's price is $200 less than XXX's, I stick w XXX for the sakes of continuity, giving my "XXX cruise counselor" business and making getting some OBC from XXX.  I have always been under the impression that on-line cruise agencies receive a commission from the cruise lines and that's how they make their money.  My question for you is:  do on-line agencies add an additional amount to the fare they receive from Cunard and that is the price they quote me?  In other words, does the price from an on-line agency include a profit percentage for them, in addition to the cruise line commission? 

 

What raised this for me was receiving a wait list match notification from Cunard this morning stating that a single oceanview cabin on QE for an upcoming cruise was now available; the notification included Pricing Details and the total price was $150 less than XXX's price for a lower level cabin (an inside guarantee).  Since this match had to be accepted ASAP and my XXX cruise counselor doesn't work on Mondays, I called Cunard;  I specifically asked them to clarify whether the pricing shown on the wait list match notification was the correct price for this cabin and he confirmed that yes, it was.  He told me the cabin category, number and the total price.  I asked a question about OBC and he put me on hold; when he returned he stated that he didn't realize this was a travel agency booking and that he couldn't discuss or provide any financial information and that I should call XXX.  I explained that I just wanted to understand the pricing on the form and thanked him.  I don't think that normally i would have been sent the wait list notification; it would have gone to XXX BUT when I was on QM2 last week, I booked a future cruise and asked them not to assign it to me directly, not XXX so they removed XXX from that booking...and I guess that XXX was removed from my records for all cruises?  Anyway, seeing this lower price made me wonder if XXX is increasing the fares beyond the price quote they get from Cunard; I understand they're a profit-making business but I thought that cruise line commissions were the sole source of their income.  

 

I've had other issues with XXX recently where they gave me false information about payment due dates and cancellation fees; also, they were unable/reluctant/untruthful about contacting Cunard regarding OBC but when I called Cunard to discuss, I ended up getting the OBC.  These issues are why I did not have last week's FCC sent to XXX.  It's important to me to be an informed consumer, and I don't trust XXX or Cunard to give me an honest answer about whether on-line agencies increase the fares, so I'm asking my CC buddies!  Thank you...

[Victoria2]

I got a bit lost reading the post so forgive me, but I am under the impression the brochure price is the starting point for all agents over here before any agent discounts.

[Pushpit]

I am not sure how complicated this needs to be.

 

If you like your TA, and you think the price is right / fair / affordable, the surely you go ahead. But you aren't married to your TA (hopefully) so there's none of this sickness-and-in-health stuff, if commercially there is a better deal for you elsewhere then off you go. As a general point if you feel unable to trust the TA then just go elsewhere.

[Queenvee]

@Pushpit I agree - it's time to change on-line agencies.  But I'm trying to figure out if it is standard operating procedure for on-line travel agencies to add on some amount (say 10% of the fare) to the fare they quote people as additional revenue for themselves (beyond the commission they receive from the cruise line)?  If that's the case, I might be better off booking directly with Cunard but I want to understand the fare process better.

[D&N]

56 minutes ago, Queenvee said:

Once XXX gives me a price quote, I check the prices from two other on-line agencies.

Why not check the price booking direct with Cunard, including whether any onboard credit would be offered?

That tells you if the agent is adding anything on or discounting the Cunard fare.

[Pushpit]

2 minutes ago, Queenvee said:

@Pushpit I agree - it's time to change on-line agencies.  But I'm trying to figure out if it is standard operating procedure for on-line travel agencies to add on some amount (say 10% of the fare) to the fare they quote people as additional revenue for themselves (beyond the commission they receive from the cruise line)?  If that's the case, I might be better off booking directly with Cunard but I want to understand the fare process better.

As a wanabee control freak (repressed) I always book direct. But my general impression is that broadly TAs get very similar fares as direct purchases but increased soft and hard benefits (OBC being the hardest of such hard benefits). It is easy enough to check the online fares, and the TA presumably knows you will do this online check, and thus will need to add a few extras to make it a good deal. So bumping up the fare would only work for those people who aren't going to forensically drill down on Cunard's own websites. There again, it's a free market so I guess TAs can do this, and you can decide whether you're OK with that or not.

[majortom10]

Many if not all give a discount off the fare out of the commission they are given by Cunard. We have always found our specialist cruise TA always beats the price quoted by Cunard if booked direct.

[Queenvee]

@D&N and @Pushpit, I took your advice and just called Cunard.  They fare they quoted me is considerably lower than what my on-line travel agency charged me.  I then called my on-line travel agency and asked to speak with a supervisor;  he said the reason for the price difference is that the agency's fares are "prevailing market" and can change from minute to minute; and at the time I booked the cruise, the fares were higher than they are now.  The agency doesn't adjust fares to reflect drops in price.  

 

Given this, I think I'll book my next cruise directly with Cunard and see how that experience goes.

[david63]

There is a system in the UK that TAs have access to but I don't know if the same applies in the US.

 

There is a type of fare that cruise lines give to TAs that is heavily discounted but has none of the "bells and whistles" that a normal fare has (such as not being eligible for shareholder OBC) leaving the TA to potentially make more profit but at the same time carry the risks that the cruise line would normally take.

[2Oldpeopleinlove]

I share Pushpit’s tendency to control, so the one time we used a TA to book, I couldn’t stand not have direct control of information. We book on board when possible but I always do it myself directly with Cunard. No problems, ever.

[Winifred 22]

12 minutes ago, 2Oldpeopleinlove said:

I share Pushpit’s tendency to control, so the one time we used a TA to book, I couldn’t stand not have direct control of information. We book on board when possible but I always do it myself directly with Cunard. No problems, ever.

I am the same. I always book direct either onboard or through call centre. My bookings are never complicated. 

[tigerfan75]

I usually book directly with Cunard.  Then I approach my TA for a quote.  The TA usually provides a post-cruise rebate check of 5 - 7% of the fare, as well as other sailing benefits.  If I like what the TA has to offer, I transfer the booking to her within the 60-day window that allows a transfer.  If, for whatever reason, I do not want to transfer, I can keep the booking with Cunard.

[Pushpit]

1 hour ago, Queenvee said:

  he said the reason for the price difference is that the agency's fares are "prevailing market" and can change from minute to minute; and at the time I booked the cruise, the fares were higher than they are now.  The agency doesn't adjust fares to reflect drops in price.  

It should be said that if you buy direct, there is always the risk that fares can dip, sometimes markedly, after you have paid your deposit or full amount. Sometimes it is so big that it's worth forfeiting the deposit and buying from scratch again. If you use Cunard a lot, in that scenario you may be push that deposit to a later sailing instead, to kind of get the best of both worlds. But yes, fares can and will vary a lot. Not really minute to minute, but certainly week to week.

[Victoria2]

It's quite obvious there are agents and then there are  Super Agents. Find a gem and stick with him/her.

 

I trust our agent implicitly and would never book with anyone else.

 

 

[majortom10]

Also we have take into account the differing booking conditions that apply to bookings in US compared to UK.

[Queenvee]

Thank you to everyone who provided input and helped me consider fare prices.  I'm glad to know that my original understanding was correct that most on-line agencies can/do give a discount off the fare out of their Cunard commission. 

 

The other thing I've confirmed is that I need to stop using my current on-line cruise agency since I don't trust the information they give me.  When I was on the QM2 last week I was speaking with another passenger (American) who uses a cruise specialist travel agency that she was very happy with; as someone mentioned above, they send her a rebate check of 5%-10% of the fare following the cruise so I will contact that agency for my November 2024 QM2 crossing.  It's a shame because for 10+ years I thought I had a great agent and would have kept using them until I keeled over but....no one likes being taken advantage of. Onward to someone else!