book direc t or use travel agent?

[snoskwrel]

we are thinking of another cruise on celebrity. we have only been on one but just loved it! does anyone know if you get a better deal by going through your travel agent or if you get upgrades, etc. only if you deal with the cruiseline directly? we are members of the captain's club, have actually booked 2 cruises with celebrity ( one was when my husband took his mom and i stayed home). it seems that most of the prices are pretty much the same no matter where I have been wandering around on the web. Love this forum, I have learned so much and want to thank all the people who write the articles and the "cruisers" who so willingly share their experiences. Thanks!

[catmand]

I would suggest you use a TA and keep your eyes on the prices yourself. Let them be the ones to go to bat for you. An example, on this Alaska cruise some senior pricing opened up, I found out, called our TA and let her deal with the changes.

They do a heck of a lot more business with the cruise line than we do. They also know all the little secrets. Again, if you know of a good TA, let them do your "running around."

[snoskwrel]

Thank you Catmand! We have really been very happy with our travel agent and your advice makes good sense.

[Twice_a_year]

:) Use a T/A. But, make sure you get one who works for YOU not just the commission. Prices are the same - on line or with a T/A. There are deals the show up now and again that your T/A should have access.

 

Once you find a good T/A stick with them.

[vovulya_49]

Prices are the same - on line or with a T/A.

From my experience - on-line prices of the cruise lines are slightly higher than my TA gives me. Even though the difference is usually not that significant but when combined with common TA perks (on-board credit and AMEX gift checks) it still makes me to work with TA.

Regards,

Vlady

[Sky Sweet]

If you use a TA, make sure it is one who will process discount coupons from the cruise line and contact the cruise line in a timely manner if you subsequently inform them that the price for your category of cabin has been reduced or a special rate that pertains to you is now available. If your travel agent doesn't do this, you could wind up paying significantly more for that cruise than if you booked it directly through the cruise line.

[Cruise from Calgary]

My online TA will throw in extra's such as OBC's, etc.:rolleyes:

[Susan-M]

My online TA will throw in extra's such as OBC's, etc.:rolleyes:

 

My current TA discounted the price which was a surprise because I thought that pricing was the same regardless of who you book through. This is a new TA to me and I have been very pleased with the level of service. Plus, they do not charge a fee for cancelling a cruise (prior to final payment date) .... which some agencies do.

[CrabbyHarper]

A good TA is worth her/his weight in gold. WE use one for everything. This past month my DH flew to Puerto Montt in Chile. LAN airlines messed up, they claimed he never made the flight from Valpariso to Puerto Montt, and cancelled all his return flights. Somehow the TA got notice - I think LAN notified her - and was able to re-book him immediately. If we had gotten those airline tickets on the web, who knows how DH might have even gotten back!

 

And she is very good with cruises, too. Right on top of last-minute upgrades and price changes.

 

Unless I was very sure about booking myself, I would continue to use the TA.

[nu2sea]

Use a travel agent. A good one will keep track of the prices on your cruise and get refunds for you if they go down. Ours is currently waiting for a specific cruise on our behalf. They will know when it opens for booking before I will and they know exactly which cabin we want so they will just go ahead and book it for us.

 

Having a good travel agent to solve any problems that might arise is kind of like buying insurance. Hopefully you never have problems that need resolving, but if you do it is so nice to have the assistance of a knowledgeable professional working on your behalf.

 

Susan