Getting Started

[shmoggy]

My husband and I went to a travel agent today to get a feel for what she could do for us. We told her that we had a budget of $5,000 for the cruise plus airfare for 2 adults & 3 kids and she came in just under that, but when I got home I was able to find flights cheaper and she found nothing cheaper on the cruise than I could find through Carnival's website directly. It appeared she broke out the port fees & government fees, maybe to make the fares on the ship look cheaper, but when I added them back in I got exactly the same price as Carnival had.

 

I guess my question is why in the world would I book with her if she is (presumably) going to charge me a fee for the plane tickets and can't get me a better deal on the cruise. If she had offered me an incentive to book with her I'd probably go for it, but I don't want to pay someone for something I could have done for myself. My husband wonders if we'll be "taken" by the TA, I don't think that's the case, but it was an hour and a half in her office of her throwing numbers at us and us just in a daze. I'd almost rather do everything on my own. Is that a bad choice? I'm just confused.

 

If anyone's interested, we're planning to book the Carnival Destiny 7-day Southern Caribbean itinerary leaving on 4/6/08. It's looking like $2,748 for 5 people in a balcony cabin. Is that a good deal? I just have no clue, but I'm super excited!

 

Ginger

[Keith1010]

If you can do the air cheaper than tell the TA you plan to do that on your own.

 

From what you have said you told the TA what your budget is and the TA came up with a cruise that would fit the bill. That is one of the reasons someone (particuarly new to cruising) uses a TA because based on what they are looking for the TA can point the client in the right direction either offering one or multiple options. And yes, in most instances the TA offers the same price that you could get if you booked through the cruise line but you are paying for the TA's knowledge and also they will do whatever followup you need and also answer questions that you have.

 

And, for this, they get paid a commission. I think that is reasonable.

 

Some TA's will give some incentives but this all varies by cruise line, by total dollars being spent and by the relationship that they have with the client. If you have not booked yet you could ask if there is any incentives that they give such as a shipboard credit or pre paid tipping or whatever.

 

Back to the airline tickets. Was the TA getting that from the cruise line for you. If yes, it would likely include transfers between ship on your outbound and return flights so if that is the case be sure to factor that into your comparison of what you can do on your own.

 

Keith

[YoPhilly]

If you want full service, then a store-front TA may be right for you. If you know what you want, then you can always get a lower fare through one of the many web-based cruise agencies. You may even want to check out cruise compete dot com where agencies bid for your business.

 

I second the other poster's recommendation to ask the TA what booking incentives he/she will offer.

 

Regarding air tickets, I ALWAYS book these on my own rather than through the cruise line. Even though the transfers from airport to ship are not included, I've never paid more than $10-15 for a cab to the port, whereas the cruiseline charges ~$40 per person.

[jcanino]

If anyone's interested, we're planning to book the Carnival Destiny 7-day Southern Caribbean itinerary leaving on 4/6/08. It's looking like $2,748 for 5 people in a balcony cabin. Is that a good deal? I just have no clue, but I'm super excited!

 

Ginger does your price include all port charges (also known as NCF's) and taxes? If that is your bottom line, cruise only price, then it is a good price. You don't say what state you are in or if you are getting a resident rate. Do you have an assigned cabin or a BL (Balcony) Guarantee?

[cherylandtk]

Ginger:

Today the price on Carnival's site for 5 of you on that ship is $2939.35 including the taxes. Fares are often quoted without taxes, and the fare on Carnival's site (without tax) is $2665. I checked a couple of reliable discount sites and they are quoting the same price, which is probably due to this being a popular Spring Break time and prices are already fairly low (break out at $809 per adult and $349 per child) for that time frame.

[jcanino]

Ginger:

Today the price on Carnival's site for 5 of you on that ship is $2939.35 including the taxes.

 

That price is for a Cruise Only BL Guarantee. If she selected a cabin, then the rate is 3329.35.

[celbercrz333]

Ginger, we booked both of our cruises ourself by calling the cruiseline direct. We did our plane tickets online too. If you feel this TA is taking advantage of you, go to another one and see what they come up with. If it's the same amount, do it yourself. Cruiselines have agents that are good. Ours from Carnival still e-mails me with offers and we took that cruise in Sept. 2004.

[Fredr]

Hello,

 

Shmoggy (I worked for the smog fighting organization in southern California for almost 32 years) so I can't stay quiet even though you are getting excellent advice. I want to add the following....

 

Prices will change on a daily basis because the cruise lines control the pricing and they make price adjustments as the cruise meets or does not meet financial goals. It is possible for a purchaser to find an excellent price for a cruise, only to hesitate and find that the price is no longer attractive a day later. Although not cast in concrete the general sense is that you should pay less than $100 a day per person for an inside cabin, about $100 a day for an outside and $110 or more for a balcony per person per day.

 

Even after 19 cruises I use a TA for the cruise itself. I do this because I want a third party travel professional in my corner if there is any trouble. I book my own airfare, but remember you want to arrive at the port the day before your cruise and the earlier in the day the better. As for perks, our TA doesn't give us any except excellent service 95 percent of the time.

 

I think that you have done very well in getting a cabin for 5 with a balcony for the amount that you mentioned. I see no evidence that the TA is being dishonest with you. But do not agonize over the money unduly.

 

Do not hesitate to ask questions.

 

Hope that this helps.

 

Fred

[dkjretired]

My husband and I went to a travel agent today to get a feel for what she could do for us. We told her that we had a budget of $5,000 for the cruise plus airfare for 2 adults & 3 kids and she came in just under that, but when I got home I was able to find flights cheaper and she found nothing cheaper on the cruise than I could find through Carnival's website directly. It appeared she broke out the port fees & government fees, maybe to make the fares on the ship look cheaper, but when I added them back in I got exactly the same price as Carnival had.

 

I guess my question is why in the world would I book with her if she is (presumably) going to charge me a fee for the plane tickets and can't get me a better deal on the cruise. If she had offered me an incentive to book with her I'd probably go for it, but I don't want to pay someone for something I could have done for myself. My husband wonders if we'll be "taken" by the TA, I don't think that's the case, but it was an hour and a half in her office of her throwing numbers at us and us just in a daze. I'd almost rather do everything on my own. Is that a bad choice? I'm just confused.

 

If anyone's interested, we're planning to book the Carnival Destiny 7-day Southern Caribbean itinerary leaving on 4/6/08. It's looking like $2,748 for 5 people in a balcony cabin. Is that a good deal? I just have no clue, but I'm super excited!

 

Ginger

 

 

It appears the price for the cruise is probably pretty good. I would not be hesitant about booking my own air. Generally it is cheaper to do so. Another big point that I would suggest very, very, very strongly is to try and save enough money for a hotel to fly in a day early. This is particularly the case if you are coming from an area which might be prone to bad weather even though you are going first week in April. Going a day early has become even more important with all the airline delays and cancellations that have been occurring the past few months. It appears to be in epidemic proportions. If you speak to experienced cruisers they will tell you go a day early and from experience this is even more important when traveling with kids.

[shmoggy]

Thanks for all the advice and help. We went ahead and decided to book on our own. It just felt stifling having the TA try to convince us to do things one way when we kept saying we wanted to do it another way, and she rolled her eyes when I told her I looked at message boards on cruise critic.com. That wasn't very nice!!!

 

Anyway, either way we got it done and everyone is super excited!!!

 

Happy cruising!

 

Ginger