Travel Agent or Direct?

[rsartwell]

I'm planning an Alaskan cruise for 2008 and I was wondering what the benefits of booking through a travel agent versus booking through the cruise line would be? I'm a very thourough and type A personality person who likes to handle of all the details and I just don't understand why people use travel agents?

[celbercrz333]

RS,

I'll give you my reasons for not using a TA. This works for us, but other people swear by their TA and that's fine with me. The cruiselines have agents on their 1-800 number. First do your homework and see what rates are given at the online discount sites. Then call the cruiseline and ask if they can do better either in the price or with the location of the cabin. Who better to answer your questions about a certain ship, the shore excursions or the view from a specific room? We book our flight online, we go to priceline to get our rental car, if needed. We do it all ourselves. I believe we save money and don't lose out on anything else. We've cruised twice doing it all this way and never had any problems other than with weather.

[tnsail]

When we booked our cruise we went thru a certified cruise specialist in our local area. She was able to give us any and all deals that were offered by EVERY cruiseline not just 1 line. When all the details were worked out and the booking was made she was then able to work wiht us on flight schedules and was able to answer any questions that we had that weren't just off the wall type.

 

When we booked our flights and the airlines changed the scheduling she was able to re-work the schedule to suit our needs without us having to pay additional fees and fares even though we were placed on a flight that was higher pp than we orginially paid. I think that she is worth her weight in gold.

 

I your situation you maybe able to pull this off without a hitch, I know many that have. But the feeling that if something goes wrong and I can dial a number and reach her 7/24 so that she can assist me in correcting any problems is worth quite a bit in piece of mind.

 

Good luck in planning your cruise and I hope you have a great one.......

[lvtotrvl1]

In your case, being a first time cruiser and sailing to Alaska, I would definatly contact an experienced cruise agent, hopefully one that has sailed Alaska. There are many different itineraries and more choices for Alaska than most cruises. You don't want to miss out on anything in Alaska and a good TA can really help you . Most cruise agents PVP's etc) have never even cruised and I don't think you should rely on them for Alaska information.

[VegasPinkGirl]

"But the feeling that if something goes wrong and I can dial a number and reach her 7/24 so that she can assist me in correcting any problems is worth quite a bit in piece of mind." by tnsail

 

 

This is exactly why I always use a travel agent. If I need help all I have to do is call her. Any airline problems, I can call her. Any hotel problems, I can call her. I have checked prices myself before calling her and she has always matched, or beat, the prices I had been quoted. I think sometimes they get better rates simply because they have done business with these places before. I don't know that for a fact, it just seems that way to me.:)

[pisces1]

I kind of equate this question to why use a real estate agent to sell my house when I can do it myself? Well if you pick the right one, they really can work well for you and sometimes even offer you protections and guarantees that you wouldn't get doing it direct.

 

If I already know where I want to go and the cruise line I usually shop around to check prices and then see what my agent comes up with. He has matched it every time. I also use him because he has been on many different cruises and so can speak from first time experience about the ships and the ports of call.

 

Additionally, if the cruise line drops prices before the sailing and they drop below what we paid, our agency refunds us the money in cash. Many agencies don't and most cruise lines won't. Once you establish a relationship, then your agent begins to know your likes and dislikes and may inform you of upcoming specials or cruises suited to your tastes.

 

Of course, it's always nice to get the extra perks. Our agent always treats us to several bottles of wine, and some on board credit. Just a nice extra touch.

 

I'm a planner too, and that doesn't stop me from doing my own research. But it is nice to have someone there if you need anything.

[janetz]

Our last cruise in September was through a TA in another state. We booked a balcony guarantee, she saw a price drop, we got an extended aft balcony for the same price. Price dropped again. She said "are you sitting down". We had 500.00 obc. You think the cruiseline will update you like that. Yes, we use our TA! :D :D