Pricing Cruises - TA or HAL or No Difference?

[Juliadlf]

I know that some cruiselines do not allow the TA's to discount the pricing on the cruises, ie RCL and Celebrity.

I can't seem to find anything when I do a search here on the HAL board so perhaps some kind soul :) will be able to answer the question : Does HAL allow TA price discounts? I've checked a couple of websites and they appear to be pricing the same as HAL site but have offers of shipboard credits, soda cards, etc etc.

Am I missing something?

 

Thanks so much.

Julia

[miclane001]

Yes. HAL does allow discounting. I shopped around between online TA's to find the best price for my Zuiderdam cruise. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe HAL and Princess are among the last, if not the last two, lines that still allow discounting by TA's.

[boards]

I have tried a number travel agencies and I can get no better price than what Hal offers. We are located in lower part of Ontario and I cannot find a better price. I have seen them on line lower but not in our local agencies. They are not big enough to offer better prices.

[jtl513]

We use a brick&mortar TA, and on our upcoming 7-day Zuiderdam cruise we paid $95 pp less than HAL's on-line price, and got a $50 "Gift Card". On our upcoming 14-day Amsterdam cruise we paid $225 pp less than the on-line price, and got a $100 OBC. YMMV.

[cruz chic]

I posed this question a couple of months back and several people reported they were getting HUGE price discounts over what HAL gives for prices. I can't ever get a price lower from any agent in Calgary over what HAL quotes. I'm glad I'm not getting totally ripped off then. A hundred here or there to me is no big deal. When it's $700 - 800 or more then I'm more interested. I know we are getting screwed on the exchange from US to Cdn now that our dollar is worth more.

[Randyk47]

I have never failed to beat HAL's price with my TA's and I don't mean $50 savings. Granted we book B cat or above so our typical savings is usually in the hundreds.

[iancal]

boards....We too live in Canada and ALWAYS find the the cruise line and the local TA are considerably higher, sometimes as much as 25 percent higher that the US based on-line TA that we use. They may be equal if you are purchasing HAL air from a CAD city but if you are just buying the cabin, on line is the way to go. We pick our cruise, check he web, and then send the pricing out to a cruise compete site that essentially 'tenders' the trip and we recieve bids from ta's. This usually decreases our cost even more.

[ekerr19]

Our TA in Seattle consistently beats HAL's pricing. Like Randy, it's usually by hundreds of dollars. Less so on SA category and Holiday sailings, but still much better than HAL's pricing.

[SeaMaster]

I know that some cruiselines do not allow the TA's to discount the pricing on the cruises, ie RCL and Celebrity.

I can't seem to find anything when I do a search here on the HAL board so perhaps some kind soul :) will be able to answer the question : Does HAL allow TA price discounts? I've checked a couple of websites and they appear to be pricing the same as HAL site but have offers of shipboard credits, soda cards, etc etc.

Am I missing something?

 

Thanks so much.

Julia

 

Julia,

TA's DO NOT DISCOUNT the cruise.....they REBATE which is frowned upon by the cruise lines. The soda cards etc. are merely amenities as part of booking into their group. One day, maybe rebating in the cruise business will go the way it has in the insurance business. It should be illegal. I don't know what you do for a living but let's hope you do not need to give away your services just to make a sale. I've been told that many internet sites are happy to make $20 and that is probably the level of service you will receive.

If you are happy to spend hours at your computer and want and inside cabin on a $699 cruise, don't feel bad if most TA's worth their salt would encourage you to do so. For $70 commission, a seasoned TA could probably care less.

Tim

[Krazy Kruizers]

JMO - but we have used the same TA for over 20 years -- we like to be able to go and see her or talk to her on the phone any time we want to.

[SeaMaster]

Thanks Krazy for the vote of confidence. Sounds like you have a great relationship which I am all in favor of. Having spent 30 years in sales, I have learned that being open, honest and fair can lead to a long standing relationship. I can do without the one-time Charleys who bother the heck out of you and then say they found it a few bucks cheaper elsewhere from someone willing to go against a company's policy and offer a rebate for the business.

Recently, after being asked an opinion by one of my clients about a certain product and telling them not to waste their time (remember...I KNOW them), she said...."that's why we have you!" That's the greatest compliment you can pay someone!

Flame suit on.

Tim

[mountainmare]

I'm another happy person who is loyal to my local TA. True--I probably could get better pricing from a larger agency on the other side of the country---but she always beats any airfare I can find, comes up with suggestions that I would never think of and since it is a very small office--I can reach someone I know 24 hours a day. Something that a family member was very grateful for when stranded in a small airport last winter.

[Juliadlf]

Thanks to all for the replies.

 

Julia

[CrystalWater]

Here is what I found, with cruiselines that don't seem to discount much anymore like Celebrity and RCCL, going through an online broker or TA usually gets you at least something, prepaid gratuities or a cabin credit. I have found other lines that discount, like Holland, to be a few hundred cheaper through an online broker plus maybe a perk. The only thing I do like about booking direct with any of them is that you can call them directly and have no middle man going between you. You can call them immediately if you see a price drop and don't have to wait for the middle man to return your call to do it for you. However, with all that said, I still try to find the cheapest price and best perk they offer to book with them from the online agencies. I have never had a problem with any of them. If you are a pretty seasoned cruiser and know what you want, it's always a bit cheaper to go with a middle man because they either buy group rates or want your business so they offer you something. I honestly would rather go directly with the cruiseline just to feel better about when I need something and want it now I can call immediately, but it seems like there's a price to that and you do usually pay more.

[CrystalWater]

PS: My Holland cruise was bought through and online broker and it definitely was a over a few hundred cheaper at the time I purchased than from Holland's site.

[ncsongbird]

We booked our upcoming HAL cruise through an online TA. We put our cruise "out to bid" and went with the agency that had the best price and the highest customer rating. The price was several hundred dollars per person less than booking with the cruise line.

[DesertDogs]

We have always booked thru HAL but this time we found an online agency that was $1000 pp less than HAL so for $2000 savings for an "S" catagory, we booked with the online agency. I figure the $2000 will pay for our shore tours and our onboard purchases for a 15 day cruise. ;)

[HeatherInFlorida]

Julia, HAL does still allow discounting by TA's .... it's not like Celebrity and RCL where it really makes no difference who you book with except for the giveaways they tend to include to lure you.

 

I book with an online TA. I now use one of the TA's listed here on CC and absolutely love them ... my contact can be reached both through email and phone. Another one I used, not so happy. We can't name names here. But I always save hundreds of dollars when booking a 14-day cruise in B category or above.

 

Shop around, check a number of different sites. Proceed with the reservation all the way to the page that includes fees, taxes, etc., and then back out of it if you're not interested. That is the only fair way to compare.

[Opinions]

Julia,

TA's DO NOT DISCOUNT the cruise.....they REBATE which is frowned upon by the cruise lines. The soda cards etc. are merely amenities as part of booking into their group. One day, maybe rebating in the cruise business will go the way it has in the insurance business. It should be illegal.

 

I purchased our last three cruises online at a substanial discount or rebate, whichever one wishes to call it...I certainly do not feel it should be "illegal"...Rather I think price fixing shoul be banned.