Advice: Cunard Direct vs TA

[exlondoner]

10 hours ago, Zeg said:

May I please know what you have in mind?  Thanks. 

Eg Covid, which you may remember.

[Victoria2]

37 minutes ago, david63 said:

But isn't that what happened anyway as the default option? So no need for an agent to get involved.

If that's the reason not to book through an agent, then that's your choice.

 

I have edited as I have said my piece and those not inclined to use an agent will book direct.

Those who have a great Cruise Agent will know how I feel about not booking direct,

Each to their own but no one should assume using an agent is because of 'nervousness' or needing 'hand holding'.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Victoria2

[Summergee]

I had a similar experience to David63 , post 14, so I always book direct on the phone.

[Zeg]

18 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

If that's the reason not to book through an agent, then that's your choice.  If however, you have had problems not of Cunard's making but need to sort 'things' out, need specific cabins when there are only a couple available etc etc, then an excellent cruise agent can be your go-between.

It's an added insurance. If you don't want or need that, again, that is your choice but using an agent has nothing to do with nervous clients who need hand holding, as inferred in two posts and all to do with getting a professional to do the grunt work after the decisions on what is required, have been made.

Good point. However personally rather trust my own capabilities and immediately talk to the cruise line than explain to a TA which in turn relays their own version of my points to the cruise line in their own time. 
 

[Victoria2]

7 minutes ago, Zeg said:

Good point. However personally rather trust my own capabilities and immediately talk to the cruise line than explain to a TA which in turn relays their own version of my points to the cruise line in their own time. 
 

Oh I completely trust my own capabilities but I have no desire to hang around waiting whilst trying to speak to anyone up the chain of responsibility who can actually help any issues I might have. I also completely trust my agent to suss out who immediately to speak to in order to help their client.

 

Horses for courses. You can phone but I'll let my agent do the phoning around.

edit

and again, there are agents and then there are agents. Mine doesn't 'do' his own time. My agent 'does' things for his client in asap time.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Victoria2

[Zeg]

10 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

there are agents and then there are agents.

Hit the nail on the head.  This seems to be the lesson to be learnt from this thread. 
 

Unfortunately few of us have the opportunities to shop around and find this rare species called THE Agent.

 

if you get lucky then why change?  I see that. But if they’re mediocre and just do the necessary (my experience) then why bother. 

[david63]

7 minutes ago, Zeg said:

Hit the nail on the head.  This seems to be the lesson to be learnt from this thread. 
 

Unfortunately few of us have the opportunities to shop around and find this rare species called THE Agent.

 

if you get lucky then why change?  I see that. But if they’re mediocre and just do the necessary (my experience) then why bother. 

There is another side to this and that is - is "the agent" actually giving the best deal?

 

Earlier this year I was arranging a cruise/stay package (not Cunard) so out of interest I contacted three TAs. The first never got back to me. The second priced the trip at more than I could arrange it myself and the third had totally impractical flights.

[Zeg]

Just now, david63 said:

There is another side to this and that is - is "the agent" actually giving the best deal?

 

Earlier this year I was arranging a cruise/stay package (not Cunard) so out of interest I contacted three TAs. The first never got back to me. The second priced the trip at more than I could arrange it myself and the third had totally impractical flights.

There you go….prompts the question….

 

We can openly and freely review, criticise and exchange views in respect of Cruises, cruise lines and experiences on this wonderful platform.

 

Does/should a similar facility be available to review and criticise and exchange views on Travel Agents?

 

Just asking.  

[david63]

6 minutes ago, Zeg said:

Does/should a similar facility be available to review and criticise and exchange views on Travel Agents?

Does - no. Should - yes but CC rules forbid even mentioning a TA by name.

[Zeg]

22 minutes ago, david63 said:

Does - no. Should - yes but CC rules forbid even mentioning a TA by name.

Guess I’ll never find the elusive animal called THE travel agent then! 😉

[Pushpit]

I can think of a few specific reasons not to use agents (Trade), but they won't apply to everyone.

 

- Plusgrade upgrades only go to direct sales customers. This won't be relevant to those who don't want to get an upgrade, but broadly speaking you will increase your upgrade chances by going direct.

- Some OBC restrictions apply for veterans and shareholders on some Trade rates, whereas direct sale customer rarely come across this. It can still be a factor for some special sale rates.

- Some airfares and hotel rates are not available to Trade. These included the very cheapest and lowest margin products such as Basic airfares. Equally there are some Consolidation fares which are easy for Trade agents to deploy but are tricky for direct sale customers to use.

- Some airlines, notably Ryanair and Vueling, are very reluctant to allow Trade to resell their products and put obstructions in the way.

- Insurance - this is a big margin area for Trade so they tend to promote their own deals, whereas shopping around and knowing what cover you actually want will get better outcomes. Some insurers only sell direct.

- Consumer Rights Act, Section 75, Chargeback, EC392, EC1177, EC261 and contract law are often easier to enforce if in a direct sale relationship, in some cases you lose or weaken consumer protections if an agent is involved, particularly Section 75. On the other hand the Package Tour legislation provides an end-to-end protection which is lost if you DIY. That particular legislation, which applies to EU and UK bookings, is a rare area of law where "loss of enjoyment" is protected, normally it is not something European law protects.

 

I don't want to repeat the "nervous" customer jibe, let's leave that to one side, but if someone is perhaps new to cruising, hasn't got the time or resources to research, (but has been spooked by a certain YouTuber!) then using a skilled travel agent does seem to be sensible. Or they can participate in this Board of course. In the best cases using a travel agent can lead to a long term relationship which benefits the knowledgeable Cunarders in this thread. But equally if your travel requirements don't require it then I see nothing wrong, and some benefits, in going direct. 

[Zeg]

23 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

if your travel requirements don't require it then I see nothing wrong, and some benefits, in going direct. 

An excellent summary. Thank you. Confirms much of what I thought. 

[Host Hattie]

31 minutes ago, Pushpit said:

Plusgrade upgrades only go to direct sales customers. This won't be relevant to those who don't want to get an upgrade, but broadly speaking you will increase your upgrade chances by going direct.

 

That was the case when the bidding system was first rolled out but I don't think that restriction is still in place. 

[exlondoner]

For me, many of the reasons miss the point. It is more a case of how I wish to spend my time. I hate hanging on the phone to wait to sort out hassles, and I’m more than happy to let someone whose job it is do that. Moreover, as it it their job, they may even be more effective. 

Edited December 30, 2023 by exlondoner

[david63]

36 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

I hate hanging on the phone to wait to sort out hassles

How many hassles do you have?

 

I cannot recall ever having any hassles to sort out for a cruise and if I did then I would use email

[exlondoner]

5 minutes ago, david63 said:

How many hassles do you have?

 

I cannot recall ever having any hassles to sort out for a cruise and if I did then I would use email

 Very many during Covid, and because of Covid. Never use email for anything important.

[exlondoner]

Moreover the staff at the TA do vaguely know something about Cunard. The staff I speak to at Cunard often don’t. For instance, when I ring Cunard to arrange blankets, not duvets, in our cabin, the invariably polite person at Cunard tends to say it has to be arranged on board, until I point out it doesn’t, because it has been arranged in advance on all previous voyages. Then they miraculously discover they can do it. The TA never does that sort of thing.

[Zeg]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

It is more a case of how I wish to spend my time

Surely the point of booking direct is exactly that -  to save time.  
 

Personally I cant think of anything worse than a three way iteration by contacting a TA, explaining the issue, then waiting for them to (hopefully accurately and precisely) re-relate the issue onto the line. Then waiting for the TA to get back to you possibly some hours later with a reply which, may or may not, address the issue to your satisfaction and if not,  going through the whole tedious process again. 
 

I’m also curious to know what issues a TA can resolve that the cruise line can’t?

[MCC retired]

A Good Cruise Specialist TA has cruise line contacts that you don't have.

A Top Producer Agency for that cruise line has even more clout.

Add to that , Cunard permits US TA's to discount even their best rates.

Check your Direct Deal then the TA's.

Remember that Cunard does not permit US TA's to advertise their lower rates. 

You must contact them for their rates.

 

As a former Cruise Specialist TA for 17+ years , I know what I know.

[Zeg]

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

 Very many during Covid, and because of Covid. Never use email for anything important.

I can just imagine the strap line….

“Don’t take chances. Rely on us to help you cruise through a once in a lifetime pandemic”.

 

😉
 

[Zeg]

5 minutes ago, MCC retired said:

A Good Cruise Specialist TA has cruise line contacts that you don't have.

A Top Producer Agency for that cruise line has even more clout.

Add to that , Cunard permits US TA's to discount even their best rates.

Check your Direct Deal then the TA's.

Remember that Cunard does not permit US TA's to advertise their lower rates. 

You must contact them for their rates.

 

As a former Cruise Specialist TA for 17+ years , I know what I know.

Fills me with dismay rather than delight. 

[exlondoner]

15 minutes ago, Zeg said:

I can just imagine the strap line….

“Don’t take chances. Rely on us to help you cruise through a once in a lifetime pandemic”.

 

😉
 

If you think it is once in a lifetime, you are clearly an optimist. I’m not, which is part of the reason I use a TA. But why do I feel I’m being patronised again?

[Victoria2]

Just now, exlondoner said:

If you think it is once in a lifetime, you are clearly an optimist. I’m not, which is part of the reason I use a TA. But why do I feel I’m being patronised again?

I completely agree with you but those who don't want to cover all bases, won't 'see'  however many explanations are given. That's fine, their prerogative just as it's ours to try and explain. However, there comes a point when an issue isn't worth explaining any more.

 

[D&N]

15 minutes ago, Zeg said:

I’m also curious to know what issues a TA can resolve that the cruise line can’t?

When we booked our trip on QM2 for the third time (the one that wasn't cancelled due to Covid-19) we were surprised to find that we had enough FCCs to book the next grade up, which was very useful as the cabins we would have chosen at the original grade had already gone.

It turned out that Cunard had made a mistake. Our agent didn't actually tell us but just fought doggedly with Cunard because they believed it was Cunard's fault and they should honour the booking. They were of course eventually successful and we still ended up with FCCs that we've used for 2025. I might have struggled to get that result.

 

And on the relay of information. I specify our precise requirements long before bookings open. Last booking, the agent warned me Cunard weren't offering many cabins in our grade. I wouldn't have access to that information. They put our booking at head of a pile they designated potential problem bookings and the principal agent dealt with them and delegated straightforward stuff to someone else. We had a quick chat and I instructed to book best available and we'd revisit it, which they did within minutes of release. I did the donkey work of checking where Cunard were offering the cabin we wanted, while the agent dealt with other folk's complex problems and emailed them my findings. Agent escalated that to "berthing team" and a few hours later we had our chosen cabin.

 

Now I've told you about the "berthing team" you might manage to sort something similar yourself in future!

 

I've found that due to the agent's past employment and travel experience they understand what our needs are and there isn't much explaining required.

 

This agent has also been known to pay a customer's cruise balance on their own card when they realised they were on a cruise and out of contact when it became due. OK it's unlikely I'd ever make such an oversight but it's nice to know what lengths they will go to.

 

[D&N]

21 hours ago, tlc1972 said:

I can only select guaranteed staterooms online,

I keep forgetting to ask. @bluemarble carried out an exercise in this post: 

He mentioned "picked the same cabin" for UK and US sites. If he can do that in the US why can't you?