Transferring booking to TA??

[pkdof]

I made some bookings directly with Princess. Deposits have been paid. But I see various TA's offer same category cabin for less money. Can I transfer the booking to a TA to get the lower price, but with the same cabins?:confused:

[srphnx]

[b][color=black]Yes, call the TA, give them the booking/confirmation number, they should be able to handle it from there.[/color][/b]

[cactusrose]

Absolutely! We've done exactly that many times. We book on board in order to get the cabin we want and then call our TA and she takes care of transferring and gives us the discount price. Princess doesn't mind this at all.

[srphnx]

[quote name='cactusrose']Absolutely! We've done exactly that many times. We book on board in order to get the cabin we want and then call our TA and she takes care of transferring and gives us the [color=black][b]discount[/b][/color] price. Princess doesn't mind this at all.[/QUOTE][b][color=black]But RCI and Carnival does..[/color][/b]

[pkdof]

When is the best time to do this? Now or just before final payment or? I requested some quotes from cruisecompete and they're all less than we are paying directly with Princess. Should I just go with the lowest rate, or what should I be asking/looking for? I don't have a regular travel agent.

[srphnx]

[quote name='pkdof']When is the best time to do this? Now or just before final payment or? I requested some quotes from cruisecompete and they're all less than we are paying directly with Princess. Should I just go with the lowest rate, or what should I be asking/looking for? I don't have a regular travel agent.[/QUOTE]
[b][color=black]We can't recommend a particular agency... call around you will know when you find a good price, then you can work on service next, you have already done the work picking the cruise, all they have to do now is get you the docs. Best time is soon, get the relationship going early incase you need help.[/color][/b]

[pkdof]

Thanks for the advice. I'll call around and also ask on the fodors.com boards for advice re TA's.

[Lynda90]

[b]Be sure to do some additional checking. You probably can do better than what you have already looked into. As you know, we can't make recomendations, just keep checking.[/b]

[CruiseFever]

I don't know why the knee jerk reaction is always to jump ship (pardon the pun).

If it were me (and it has been) I'd call Princess (or my existing TA}, tell them of the price you've found elsewhere, and give them the opportunity to match it in price or onboard credit or upgrade...something.

No sense moving around if it's not necessary

[pkdof]

Has that ever worked with a cruise line? When I was booking, I asked the Princess rep whether there were any specials or other discounts that they would give, because they didn't have to pay a travel agent commission. I was told to just keep checking back for price reductions.

[srphnx]

[b][color=black]No it doesn't work with the CL, they are not going to share that % in anyway.[/color][/b]

[CruiseFever]

[quote name='pkdof']Has that ever worked with a cruise line? When I was booking, I asked the Princess rep whether there were any specials or other discounts that they would give, because they didn't have to pay a travel agent commission. I was told to just keep checking back for price reductions.[/QUOTE]


Yes, I have received a reduced cruise fare, on board credits and cabin upgrades in response to calling the cruise line when either the price of the cruise went down or I found it someplace else for less

No, they won't share the commission a travel agent might have received,

[pkdof]

Should I ask to speak to a specific department or person, or just whoever picks up the phone when I call for existing bookings? I.e., is customer service or promotions more likely to help than the average booking rep?

[pkdof]

Chris? who should I call at Princess?

[CruiseFever]

I'd call the same number you called to make the booking, anybody who answers the phone should be able to help you given the booking number.

[pkdof]

Well, the travel agent I found, who has a national account with Princess, just offered me a price that is even less than the early booking rate was, and this is for the 11/20/04 sailing I just booked, which saves me $630 per person--so I believe I'll be transferring it over to her. Glad I found these boards, because it never would have occurred to me that I could still get a lower price somewhere else after having paid my deposit to Princess.