Discovery Princess with extended OBC

[JohnGc]

I have booked a N/Z cruise for Feb 2026 on the Discovery Princess. Went to book last Monday and my TA suggested he held the cabin until Wednesday when they had a special deal starting. The special boosted the OBC from $150 to $250 per cabin and also lowered the refundable deposit. I have always booked direct with the cruise companies until I booked the last cruise from Singapore with the TA. They are well known and have won many awards. They have been terrific and I only wished  I had used them before. I have always thought that if I used a TA I would loose the control I had by booking cruises myself but have found it has made the experience so much easier. They seem to have more rapport with the cruise companies. I guess it depends on the TA you use. 

 

Cheers John.

[Ozwoody]

Yes, we have found the same, a good TA knows the system and it can lead to much better deals.

 

Our TA has at times found a better deal after we have booked a cruise, and been able to swap our booking to the better deal which was cheaper with a better cabin.

 

[arxcards]

I am happy to have a trusted TA who is an expert at booking cruises. In most cases it is cheaper than booking direct and/or comes with additional OBC.

 

I am happy to concentrate on my part of the deal - spending the money.

[Mycruiseobsession]

The only thing I have found with TA's are their payment cutoffs, refund times etc can be different to direct with the cruise line.

 

 

[MicCanberra]

I love TAs, most are great until there is an issue, then some fall well below the mark.

[JohnGc]

14 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

The only thing I have found with TA's are their payment cutoffs, refund times etc can be different to direct with the cruise line.

 

 

Yes I agree but willing to accept that for the extra perks my TA provides and peace of mind. 😊

[Mycruiseobsession]

30 minutes ago, JohnGc said:

Yes I agree but willing to accept that for the extra perks my TA provides and peace of mind. 😊

Sometimes my bank balance  is not able and willing to though 🤣

[arxcards]

40 minutes ago, Mycruiseobsession said:

The only thing I have found with TA's are their payment cutoffs, refund times etc can be different to direct with the cruise line.

As they are the middle-man for your booking, the extra time is to make sure your payment has cleared their systems in time to be paid onto the cruise line. Some of the larger places like to do their cruise remittances in weekly batches so they aren't spending their days working like an ATM. Good T/A's will refund as quick as the cruise line, also considering the payment has to get to them first. Some do have onerous terms, cancellation fees, slow response times - I won't book through those agencies.

[Ozwoody]

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

As they are the middle-man for your booking, the extra time is to make sure your payment has cleared their systems in time to be paid onto the cruise line. Some of the larger places like to do their cruise remittances in weekly batches so they aren't spending their days working like an ATM. Good T/A's will refund as quick as the cruise line, also considering the payment has to get to them first. Some do have onerous terms, cancellation fees, slow response times - I won't book through those agencies.

Yes, quite a few just use the Cruise Line cancellation conditions, those are the one to use.

[Mycruiseobsession]

Yes @arxcards not having a go at their business  models just observing that sometimes that's  the only downside for us. (Pretty good for that to be the only negetive I'd say)

[arxcards]

15 hours ago, ceeceeDee said:

I suppose I have never asked, but no one on any of our cruises has ever mentioned their travel agents. Don't ask, don't receive I guess.🙂

We have had a few, mostly at breakfast. We have never asked, but plenty of T/As have told us they were much better than whoever we were using.

[Host Kat]

FYI to all,

 

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Host Kat