$200 OBC from Travel Agent - Is this sufficient?

[Smokeyham]

We recently booked a Cunard crossing that will cost us US $6,574 for the basic cruise fare.  Our travel agent is giving us a US $200 on board credit.  She wasn't able to get us a break on the cruise fares.    Seems like a pretty meager reward, but I wanted to see what others think. 

 

For reference, at the current rate of $14.50/person/night this will cover the cost of gratuities.

 

 

[CruiserBruce]

Well, as there is no obligation to give you anything...

[Toofarfromthesea]

51 minutes ago, Smokeyham said:

We recently booked a Cunard crossing that will cost us US $6,574 for the basic cruise fare.  Our travel agent is giving us a US $200 on board credit.  She wasn't able to get us a break on the cruise fares.    Seems like a pretty meager reward, but I wanted to see what others think. 

 

For reference, at the current rate of $14.50/person/night this will cover the cost of gratuities.

 

 

 

Have you checked other ta's?  Have you out the cruise out to bid?  That's the only real way to find out.

[Flatbush Flyer]

50 minutes ago, Smokeyham said:

We recently booked a Cunard crossing that will cost us US $6,574 for the basic cruise fare.  Our travel agent is giving us a US $200 on board credit.  She wasn't able to get us a break on the cruise fares.    Seems like a pretty meager reward, but I wanted to see what others think. 

 

For reference, at the current rate of $14.50/person/night this will cover the cost of gratuities.

 

 

Time for a different agent. 
Do the extensive research to identify a well-respected agent who specializes in your preferred cruise line and who is a high volume seller of those cruises. Many of these TAs (e.g., the “elite” tier of Oceania’s Connoisseurs Club TAs) have access to occasional “quiet sales,” incentive pass through funds for customers AND are willing to share commissions at anywhere from 5 to 10% of the. commissionable fare (unless, of course, you require a ton of hand holding).

[leaveitallbehind]

It's a well worn discussion.  All TA's have access to the same base fares and typically when a lower fare is offered over published fares it is the result of a group booking (or block booking by that given TA) that results in slightly lower fares.  Often those groups will include an OBC or other perk not offered with the standard fares.  But more often then not, any additional OBC or other perk is coming from the TA's commission.  And as @CruiserBruce mentioned the TA is under no obligation to offer anything not offered by the cruise lines to entice you into booking with them - especially if it is coming out of their own pocket.  Only you can decide if what is being offered is of value to you.

Edited January 17 by leaveitallbehind

[Smokeyham]

Thanks for the responses so far.  If we are not to get a better fare, and only get a small reward for booking through a TA, then I guess we have to wonder if using a TA is worth the "cost" of losing control of the booking and relying on them to watch for lower fares.  

Am I missing something here?  Our TA will not book airfares for us.  She will look into hotel bookings and transfers, and is a one-person operation.

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

13 minutes ago, Smokeyham said:

Thanks for the responses so far.  If we are not to get a better fare, and only get a small reward for booking through a TA, then I guess we have to wonder if using a TA is worth the "cost" of losing control of the booking and relying on them to watch for lower fares.  

Am I missing something here?  Our TA will not book airfares for us.  She will look into hotel bookings and transfers, and is a one-person operation.

 

 

Perhaps you missed my post above where I gave you an example of at least one cruise line that does “quiet sales” through their preferred TAs while also giving them “pass through” funds to incentivize their clients. And this is in addition to added pass through incentive funds from certain TAs’ consortia. And all of that is before any commission sharing.

In fact, we will soon be leaving on a month long cruise, where our TA is using pass through incentive funds to cover the gratuities while also sending us a rebate check for more than $2k. And that’s on top of a discounted fare to begin with.

That said, great TAs are few and far between. But, doing your homework in selecting one (or two) will pay off.

 

Reality check: As for having “control over your booking,” do you not realize that you (like me) are a mere rounding error in a cruise line’s daily bottom line?

If you book direct, you may think you are “in control” of your booking while waiting “on hold” with a cruise line phone employee who really can’t bend the rules of the company for which s/he works. At the same time, I speed dial my “top twenty seller” of my preferred cruise line who, in turn, speed dials the regional cruise line rep and gets issues fixed before i hang up. Who’s really “in control?”

 

Take some time to search here on CC for any of my several comprehensive posts on how to find a great TA.

[Shorex]

What Flatbush Flyer said.

 

Is the $6,574 per person or for both? Makes a difference.

 

We would never use a "one person" operation as a  TA.  TA's that are part of an established agency with a record of building a successful client base have more clout with cruise lines they sell. And our TA's clout has resulted in her quickly and efficiently resolving some issues with the cruise line.

 

 

[MCC retired]

Am I missing something here?  Our TA will not book airfares for us.  She will look into hotel bookings and transfers, and is a one-person operation.

 

This may be why your TA is not offering more.

A single person agency receives less comm % than the large cruise agencies.

Large agencies block space @ group rates with amenities that may include OBC from the cruise line.

Cunard permits TA's to discount their best rates and your TA chooses not to do that?

TA's can book Cunard Choice Air for your cruise as part of the booking on their POLAR booking site.

[CDNPolar]

I now "shop around" and ask in advance what a TA is offering.  I am not subtle about it.  If the TA does not offer anything I move on.  I go to the one that will give us the best deal.

 

Our experience is that the OBC may be different if it is a 8 day vs. a 10 day vs. a 15+ day cruise.

 

Like it has been said, your TA is under no obligation to give you anything.  We have had recent experiences where the TA wanted to upfront charge us $300 just to make the cruise booking.  Sorry.  I will use a TA that gives me nothing, but I will not use a TA that must charge me to bring my business to them.

 

Most TA's now won't book air because they get nothing for doing so.  And then they are potentially hours on the phone if there is a problem.

[Shorex]

48 minutes ago, CDNPolar said:

Most TA's now won't book air because they get nothing for doing so.  And then they are potentially hours on the phone if there is a problem.

While a TA might book air just to satisfy a client, this is no longer in their wheelhouse. They have no more expertise than anyone who can use the internet. There is no commission from the airlines and hasn't been for about 30 years.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Just now, Shorex said:

While a TA might book air just to satisfy a client, this is no longer in their wheelhouse. They have no more expertise than anyone who can use the internet. There is no commission from the airlines and hasn't been for about 30 years.

Well, when it comes to cruise specializing TAs, at least one has a robust air department in part because it allows them to circumvent trip rebate limits imposed by tour providers (“technically,” the TA can rebate if it also has non-tour-provider services in the total mix). For us, as passengers, it can mean the difference in TA perks between a $250 gift card and a $2500 check.

Our primary TA, which is one of O’s top twenty “Elite” members of its Connoisseurs Club, is also the largest North American seller of a popular high end tour company known for its small ship/land combo trips. Their air department doesn’t necessarily beat anyone else’s air prices on non-bulk tix but, it opens the door for doing the rebates for which it is so well known. In addition, it returns us to the yesteryear definition of TAs as “full service.”

[clo]

7 hours ago, Shorex said:

What Flatbush Flyer said.

 

Is the $6,574 per person or for both? Makes a difference.

 

We would never use a "one person" operation as a  TA.  TA's that are part of an established agency with a record of building a successful client base have more clout with cruise lines they sell. And our TA's clout has resulted in her quickly and efficiently resolving some issues with the cruise line.

 

 

Yes, it's more than just money sometimes.

[clo]

5 hours ago, CDNPolar said:

Most TA's now won't book air because they get nothing for doing so. 

Right. That's a change when I worked for an intl carrier.

[cruiseaholic777]

I always shop around, but my main TA almost always beats them all. I received 175$ obc for my last cruise that cost 1375$ for 2.

[9tee2Sea]

On 1/16/2024 at 2:42 PM, Smokeyham said:

We recently booked a Cunard crossing that will cost us US $6,574 for the basic cruise fare.  Our travel agent is giving us a US $200 on board credit.  She wasn't able to get us a break on the cruise fares.    Seems like a pretty meager reward, but I wanted to see what others think. 

 

For reference, at the current rate of $14.50/person/night this will cover the cost of gratuities.

 

 

make sure to read the Cunard fine print.  Many cruise lines specifically state that OBC cannot be used for daily service charges.  Can be used for other things ( dining, shore excursions, drinks ), but not Daily Service Charge.  Make sure to read it, don't rely on a third party interpretation 

[CDNPolar]

18 hours ago, 9tee2Sea said:

make sure to read the Cunard fine print.  Many cruise lines specifically state that OBC cannot be used for daily service charges.  Can be used for other things ( dining, shore excursions, drinks ), but not Daily Service Charge.  Make sure to read it, don't rely on a third party interpretation 

 

Absolutely good advice.

 

We are Viking enthusiasts and we can sometimes have OBC (Onboard Credit) and sometimes SBC (Shipboard Credit) and they can have completely different rules.

 

The OBC came from our TA and if we added a beverage package or booked excursions in advance of embarkation, the OBC would be automatically applied to those charges.

 

The SBC in our last situation was a "gift" from Viking because of a challenge we had on a previous cruise, but that could only be spent onboard the ship and if we did not use it, it had no cash value.  We could however use it for gratuities at the end of the cruise.

 

With Viking, there can be different rules for different credits.

[Hlitner]

There are different rules on nearly all cruise lines.  Most break down OBC as either "non refundable" or "refundable" (lines like Princess even show it this way on statements).  Rules vary for each type (on most lines) with refundable credits usually able to be used for just about anything with the balance refunded at the end (or a few weeks after) the cruise.  Non-refundable must be used onboard ("use it or lose it) for various things like excursions, drinks, and usually tips.  Whether any can be used onboard in the casino (if there is a casino) also varies by cruise line.

 

As to the $250, our personal rule of thumb is to expect 7-10% (of the cruise fare) in amenities (such as OBC, pre paid gratutities, etc) from our favored cruise agencies.  Some agencies give this kind of incentive while others do not!  It is why we always suggest shopping around among reputable high volume cruise agencies, for the best overall deal.

 

Hank

[Smokeyham]

On 1/16/2024 at 8:46 PM, Flatbush Flyer said:

Perhaps you missed my post above where I gave you an example of at least one cruise line that does “quiet sales” through their preferred TAs while also giving them “pass through” funds to incentivize their clients. And this is in addition to added pass through incentive funds from certain TAs’ consortia. And all of that is before any commission sharing.

 

Thanks for that info.  We are currently trying out a variety of cruise lines so have not yet settled on as our favourite so far.   Our thinking is that we would like to find a good TA who will do a good job on both cruises and on land based trips, including securing good rates.  

We would like to have a one-stop shop where the TA would also make air bookings for us, but after reading the posts above it seems like some will no longer do air fares, and that is not critical to us.

[Hlitner]

18 minutes ago, Smokeyham said:

Thanks for that info.  We are currently trying out a variety of cruise lines so have not yet settled on as our favourite so far.   Our thinking is that we would like to find a good TA who will do a good job on both cruises and on land based trips, including securing good rates.  

We would like to have a one-stop shop where the TA would also make air bookings for us, but after reading the posts above it seems like some will no longer do air fares, and that is not critical to us.

We think your thinking is sound :).  Some of the decent high volume cruise agencies also handle some land tours which are also part of the business done via the large so-called consortiums.  Hence,we do suggest looking at reputable high volume cruise agencies that are also part of these constoriums (this is sometimes disclosed on their web sites).  One of my favorite cruise agents has over thirty years in the business and goes back to the days when TAs did routinely handle air reservations.  But these days, most agencies (and agents) prefer not to deal with air (they generally do not get any commissions for such sales) for various reasons.  Air has become complex with many different kinds of fares and, literally, thousands of airlines (worldwide).  

 

Some of the cruise lines will happily package air with their cruise sales, but many informed cruisers (including me) do not want to deal with the situation where we simply accept whatever is arranged by the cruise line.  They may not choose the best flights, airlines, schedules, etc.  There are some excellent web sites that will show multiple options (places like the ITA Matric and Kayak) which can help the traveler find the best options.  We prefer to ultimately book direct with the airline (unless we are dealing with cruise lines that do offer better options).  When you book direct with an airline, they tend to be more helpful if things go wrong.

 

Some cruise lines do have decent air booking engines (online sites).  Many in the CCL group (i.e. HAL, Princess, Seabourn) use a pretty decent online airline booking engine (you generally need to book the cruise before you get access).  RCI (RCI, Celebrity, etc) also has an air booking engine (which we have not recently used).  Some other cruise lines do not have good (or any) air deals.  

 

When we book a cruise with a line that does have a decent air booking system, we will look at the cruise line's offerings and compare it to what we can get elsewhere (such as directly with the airline).  Folks should go into this world (of air bookings) with an open mind, some patience, and an understanding of what is important to the cruiser.  For example, DW and I will often drive several hours to further airports if it will get us a non-stop international flight on a desired airline.  The more stops, the greater the chance of missed connections, lost luggage, etc.  We also subscribe to the basic philosophy of never flying-in the day of a cruise.

 

Hank

[frantic36]

52 minutes ago, Smokeyham said:

We would like to have a one-stop shop where the TA would also make air bookings for us, but after reading the posts above it seems like some will no longer do air fares, and that is not critical to us.

 

My TA who I have used for years is independent but works under an umbrella group comprised of many independents. She doesn't do airfares but has access to an air department within the group and can sometimes get special fares for airlines ie Singapore Airlines. It also helps as there is back up if she goes away though she does check her emails regularly even when away.

 

Do they have a similar type of situation in the USA with independents grouped under an umbrella network?

[Mum2Mercury]

On 1/16/2024 at 11:07 PM, Smokeyham said:

Thanks for the responses so far.  If we are not to get a better fare, and only get a small reward for booking through a TA, then I guess we have to wonder if using a TA is worth the "cost" of losing control of the booking and relying on them to watch for lower fares.  

Agree.  To give up control of my booking /to be unable to contact the cruise line directly, I'd expect more than 3% of the booking price as OBC.  

[MCC retired]

In the US , some Top Producer Agencies receive 17% comm on the base cruise rate from Cunard.

They are permitted use this to discount Cunard"s best rates .

 

[teeeej]

On 1/16/2024 at 3:39 PM, Flatbush Flyer said:

Time for a different agent. 
Do the extensive research to identify a well-respected agent who specializes in your preferred cruise line and who is a high volume seller of those cruises. Many of these TAs (e.g., the “elite” tier of Oceania’s Connoisseurs Club TAs) have access to occasional “quiet sales,” incentive pass through funds for customers AND are willing to share commissions at anywhere from 5 to 10% of the. commissionable fare (unless, of course, you require a ton of hand holding).

Any basic tips on how to do the research to identify who these people are?

[CDNPolar]

19 hours ago, teeeej said:

Any basic tips on how to do the research to identify who these people are?

 

We cannot unfortunately share this information on CC.

 

You essentially have to do the research by calling around and asking.  Often cruise lines list preferred TA's on their sites for you to deal with.  These are TA's that are "certified" with them and high volume and know the line well.

 

We use a few TA's depending on who we are booking with.  It is just knowledge that comes over time.

 

We found a very specific TA when we wanted to do an Antarctica cruise.  This TA was good, but there was no financial benefit to us to use her.  She did snag us a great overall fare however.