Travel agent vs booking direct with cruise line?

[quester1]

I have been wondering....

 

I have been wondering the same thing! To go with a direct booking or a TA - or even an online site. It seems that the online sites that offer 75% discounts or whatever, are actually advertising the same prices as the cruise lines websites! Why go through them? I haven't heard anything back yet from the local TA we contacted, I guess she's still working up a package or something.

With all the “tire kickers” out there its some times often hard to get back to a potential new client when most great travel agents have their hand full servicing their regular repeat –paying- clients. A great travel agent is worth his weight in Gold. Other than just emailing or calling around keep trying to find a great travel agent by getting a referral to a great travel agent from someone who has a relationship with that particular great travel agent or by contacting the a prospective travel agent more than once. Once you have developed a relationship with a great travel agent he or she will be more than happy to research the best price for you because they know that it will probably result in another sale and not just a waste of time. It often takes a few hours of work to find the best price and if a agent suspects that you’re just a tire kicker they may not get back to you at all or they may give the first price that they can find in short order.

The travel industry has taken a peculiar position regarding discounting at the retail level particularly when it comes to selling cruises. The majority of cruises are still sold through the local brick and mortar travel agency. Some say as high as 80 percent of cruise sales are still made through a travel agent. Recognizing this a lot of the cruise lines have forbidden the huge travel agencies, whether online or not, to discount the price of a cruise. The cruise lines set the retail price of a cruise and remunerate travel agents that sell the cruises with commissions. Some of the large travel agencies/agents that appeared to be discounting a cruise were in fact rebating a portion of their commission. In order to not alienate the majority of their sales force most of the cruise lines forbid commission rebating. As well, they started to take the position that if the travel agency did not need the commission the cruise line would just reduce the percentage of commission paid and keep the difference. In effect they leveled the playing field between the traditional travel agent and the mega online travel agencies.

The best reason that I know of for going with a local travel agent is that you personally know the travel agent the travel agency. If you have a problem before during or after the cruise you have a real person to talk to who will act as your advocate. Should an unfortunate stalemate develop wherein the travel agent blames the cruise line and the cruise line blames the travel agent and no one wants to help you just file a claim against your travel agent for at least the total; cost of cruise. If your travel agent is smart they will be carrying at least one million dollars in errors and omissions insurance, and may even be bonded. Once faced with potentially large claim they will involve their insurance company or bonding company who will pay you if they determine your travel agent is at fault. As well your travel may be a member of a trade organization that carries supplier default insurance in the event that a supplier falls to provide the services paid for should they go out of business. Finally the best protection level of protection you can have is to ensure that when you pay for your cruise that the payment is made from your credit card directly to the cruise line. In this way if you do not get what you paid for you can have your credit card company reverse the charges. Remember, if you purchase a cruise online your credit card payment is probably going to the online travel agency who will then pay the cruise line. In this case if the cruise line goes bankrupt and you don’t get your cruise your credit card will not reverse the charges because the payment went to the online travel agencies who did not go out of business. Most local travel agencies use your credit card to pay the cruise line directly giving you this added level of protection. As well, if the local travel agency goes out of business your cruise is secure because the money you paid is in the hands of the cruise line.

Several folks have mentioned getting room discounts and/or being able to move up your room class by going directly through the cruise line. Could those with experience in this explain a little more? It seems like going with the cruise line directly would be the only way to go.

Another reason to use a travel agent is because a travel agent will know if your cruise goes on sale. The cruise line sends out daily or weekly sales flyers to travel agents advertising when a cruise price is reduced or other sale incentives such as free up grades or on board credits may apply. Think about it for a minute the cruise line will not call you and tell you that they have reduced the cost of your cruise and forfeit revenue. They usually say that they will reduce your fare to the sale price if you ask for it, leaving the responsibility in your hands or your great travel agent’s hands to call and ask for the reduced fare or for the incentive. A great travel agent will automatically watch for these reductions and incentives as a value add service for you.

The people that got the free discount or up grade probably booked their cruise in what is called a guaranteed cabin category. When you book a cruise you can select your cabin category in two ways. The first way is to book the specific cabin in the category that you want. You will immediately know exactly what cabin you are staying in right down to the room number. You can look up your cabin on a deck plan and know that this is your cabin. Some times one of the incentives that cruise line may offer is to give you a free upgrade to a better cabin category just before the sailing date. You will be informed by the cruise line or travel agent and will have the option to take the up grade or stay in your chosen cabin.

The second way to book a cabin is by booking a guaranteed cabin category within a cabin type such as an inside cabin, outside cabin, balcony cabin, suite, etc. The price for a cabin type is usually cheaper than the price you would get for selecting the cabin within the lowest category of a given type. What is meant by guaranteed cabin category is that you a guaranteed to get the lowest cabin in the category you paid for. Shortly before the sailing date the cruise line will start to up grade the people with in each guaranteed cabin category. Sometimes a person may even get up graded from one cabin category to another such as from an inside cabin to an outside cabin or from an outside cabin to a balcony cabin. Often a person will be up graded two or more cabin categories. Depending on how you look at if you could say that you got a free upgrade or you could say that you got a reduced rate on better cabin.

Contrary to your assumption that the only way to get these upgrades or discounts is by buying direct from the cruise line, you can get the same kind of upgrades and discounts from a travel agent. The travel agent represents the cruise line to you and is paid by the cruise line to sell all the cruise lines products and services. I venture to say that a knowledgeable travel agent that is interested in you as a client would take the time to explain the details of the cruise line cabin selections to you. Based on your needs and desires.

Or do I just think that because I'm not internet-phobic and don't mind checking prices every day and calling or emailing to get a better deal?

Part of the sales process in today’s internet environment is to use all the tools available. Personally I check all the available sources and then see if my travel agent will match the price plus deliver extra service such as check for price reductions. At the vary least a great travel agent will know what each cruise lines policy is regarding price reductions, upgrades and incentives.

Also, is it better to try to wait until closer to time for sailing to try to book or should you do it the minute you know when and where you want to go?

Cruise lines have two deep discount booking periods. The first is several months to even two years in advance of the sailing. Unlike other sectors of the travel industry the cruise lines want to sell their inventory well in advance of sailing so they will give a deeply discounted rate with a guarantee that if the exact same cabin category and sailing date comes on sale they will give you the lower sale price usually with the caveat that you or your agent will have to ask for it. The second deep discount is given close to the sailing date especially if the cruise is not selling well. This price is often as good as or better than the first deep discount price although availability may become an issue. Most of the desirable cabins are often sold out and only the remaining less desirably cabin come on sale at this time.

Therefore when to buy will depend a lot on your needs. If you just have to have a particular cabin category such as veranda suite on the left side of the ship near the front then you should book as far in advance as possible. The more expensive suites often sell out months or a year in advance because there is only a small number of this type of cabins/suite on each ship.

If your choice is based on the itinerary, ship’s amenities, a basic inside cabin will do, and you have flexible departure dates, you can afford to wait and take advantage of the deeply discounted and highly incentived last minute cruise sales. Some of the best prices for a last minute cruise come not from the cruise line but from a package tour operator. The Package tour operators bundle the cruise together with airfare, transfers and other negotiated incentives. Since they have to pay for the cruise and airfare whether or not they sell the package, they will often sell their remaining inventory at or just above their cost a few weeks ahead of the sailing date. I’ve seen cruise package prices that are cheaper than airfare alone under these circumstances. A great travel agent will get these sale prices from the package tour operators on a regular basis.

If the travel knows that you are a good client looking for this type of deal and knows that you are relying on them to find this type of deal for you, they will call you a soon as they see the flyer in their office, often three or four days before the price is advertised in the local newspaper.

:D

[quester1]

quester1

thank you for the info, I will be on ncl.

 

Go to www.ncl.com

 

On the top right hand side of the web page click on the "sign in" words.

 

Join NCL and create your own personal log in ID.

 

Sign in to My NCL.

 

In the bottom right hand corner click on Advance Guest Registration.

 

On the right hand side center click on your reservation number.

 

Follow the instructions to complete the advance registration forms and print your documents including luggage tags.

 

 

The site will also show you the shore excursions that you can book and much more.

 

 

Have fun getting hooked on cruising!

 

:D

[sparky-elpaso]

We're going on our first cruise (cruisetour in Alaska) in August and I booked directly with Royal Caribbean on their website. Simple process and when I had to call to make a couple of changes that I couldn't make on-line their customer service was great. I booked some shore excursions on-line through RCCL and a couple direct with tour groups and had good luck there too. I did my own airline reservations with each individual airline after checking what was out there using one of the basic travel sites. I checked with a friend who used to be a travel agent and he said that agents really don't get big deals from the airlines any more. I think I would have used a travel agent if I had a group of people going or something like that.

[poobears]

We booked our first cruise direct with Carnival last night. Very simple, great customer service. We get a military discount with them so far I haven't seen anyone that can beat that price.

[LuckyStar]

I have never had luck in finding a good TA in my town. I have been using online TA's for years and have had no problem with them. We decided to book our cruise with an online TA that I had experience with. Next time if the price is the same or close, I'll probably go with the cruise line. We've made a few changes and our online TA has been great.

[kats2705]

I have never been able to find a good local TA either.

I am a member of a nationwide chain of "member only" warehouse shopping. This chain has online travel and although the cruise I booked was the same price as the cruiseline, the insurance was cheaper and they gave us a bonus shipboard credit of $300.

[Host Walt]

RJHunter,

 

YOU AND ME BOTH! How can we FIND a good travel agent if we can't talk about them? (Rhetorical I suppose).

 

I know (sort of) the rules and stuff, I'm not trying to start anything, but I would love to maybe have a separate spot where TAs could put their info at least so we could contact them if we wanted information!

 

Debra

The reason we are quite strrict on agent recommendations is that we do not want the Cruise Critic message boards to be overrun with unverifiable posts by travel agents and by travel agents posing as satisfied clients.

 

Here's a Cruise Critic article on Finding a Cruise Agent.

[VillaHappy]

I am a travel agent and have been in business for 20 years. Always go through a travel agent, the most important reason why...We take all the grief if something goes wrong. Large agencies like ours have volume discounts that we pass onto you, coupon booklets, onboard credits and many other gifts. The cruise line builds in the price to pay agents so either way you pay the same. If you don't go through a "mom and pop agency" you will get better deals. Are favorite secret, if we have a group booked on the ship your wanting, not only can you beneift by the group pricing, the group will also benefit from your cabin booking. If the group is large enough, you can save 40% plus all the benefits we are giving the group. For example, I have a group booked on RCCL in Sept, a client called and said she wanted to cruise in Sept. The rate was $799.00, I told her if she would go the same week as my group the EXACT same cabin would be $529.00 due to my group. I always tell people, you don't search on the internet for medical advise, you go to a doctor, so why do it for travel. WE ARE FREE (some charge fees, but I only do on airline tickets) USE US, some of us really enjoy our job.

 

Cheryl

 

You can't beat the knowledge of a travel agent!:D

[Flyingifr]

You can't beat the knowledge of a travel agent!:D

 

Then maybe my TA is having a terrible time showing me she has that knowledge.

 

I have used a TA twice in 30 years. The first time the TA apparently knew nothing about where I was going, or if she did know, chose not to tell me that at that time of year the resort was mosquito heaven. needless to say, I was not thrilled with that vacation, and this type of knowledge is something I felt then and still feel a good TA should have shared with me.

 

This time, I booked my first cruise (on Carnival Pride) through a TA. I sail in 18 days. All communication I have received from this TA (who works for one of the largest Agencies in my city) consist of photocopies of correspondence she has received from Carnival. Had I not used a TA, I am sure carnival would have sent me these letters and cut out the middle-man (or woman).

 

OK, so just what does a TA do that I as an accountant cannot?

[Chacooe]

I am a travel agent and have been in business for 20 years. Always go through a travel agent, the most important reason why...We take all the grief if something goes wrong. Large agencies like ours have volume discounts that we pass onto you, coupon booklets, onboard credits and many other gifts. The cruise line builds in the price to pay agents so either way you pay the same. If you don't go through a "mom and pop agency" you will get better deals. Are favorite secret, if we have a group booked on the ship your wanting, not only can you beneift by the group pricing, the group will also benefit from your cabin booking. If the group is large enough, you can save 40% plus all the benefits we are giving the group. For example, I have a group booked on RCCL in Sept, a client called and said she wanted to cruise in Sept. The rate was $799.00, I told her if she would go the same week as my group the EXACT same cabin would be $529.00 due to my group. I always tell people, you don't search on the internet for medical advise, you go to a doctor, so why do it for travel. WE ARE FREE (some charge fees, but I only do on airline tickets) USE US, some of us really enjoy our job.

 

Cheryl

 

I wish my TA was like you. She has put together a group of 65 people on Princess, when I booked she told me my deposit would be $250.00 with balance due before Aug 4th. Now I get an email from her wanting another $250.00 by friday or Princess is going to cancel my booking. I am waiting for a reimbursement check and then I was just going to pay for the cruise in full. I do not know what to do now, I am not a happy camper right now. What would your recommend that I do. BTW, her rates even for the group is the same that Princess is charging, so we are not getting a group discount. I am thinking of cancelling with her and just booking from one of the online and then let the other passengers who are part of her group what I have learned along the way. One thing she does not like, is all of my questions about the internet prices and hers.

[galavant3]

We decided to go on a last minute cruise and cabins that accommodated 3-4 people were non existant on the RCCL website. However, when we talked to the TA, her agency had a block of rooms on hold that included this type of cabin. We booked 4 cabins and got a slightly better price...am guessing that it is due to volume.

 

So, if you don't see the deck/cabin type that you want, check with your TA. She might very well be able to help.

[CLATHEN]

The only reason I booked with a TA for my upcoming RCCL cruise was because I got 3000 Priority Club (Holiday Inn perks program) points through them.

 

When I called to upgrade my cabin, they had to actually call RC to see what cabin's were available and give them the bed configuration.

 

I usually book all my travel on my own after doing a LOT of homework, but that's just something I enjoy. I guess it depends on you but that's why these boards are such an invaluable tool.

[stressdmum]

I have always booked all of our travel myself, including a very complicated multi-country trip to Europe a few years ago. However, when I tried to book our upcoming cruise through the cruiseline, they had nothing available that would work for us. I wanted an outside stateroom for dh & myself, and an inside for three teens. I wanted the rooms close together (needed to be anyway, since they are all under 21.) My dates weren't very flexible since it was hard enough to find one week that worked around two different college schedules, dh's work, and my business. I called a TA and she started hunting for rooms. She told me that rooms are often held for a day or two then released. She called me about three days later with the rooms I wanted. They were a bit farther apart than I liked, but I booked them anyway. Shortly after final payment, she found rooms closer together and changed to those. We also get OBC & coupon books. I could probably have done all of this myself, but I was really happy to have somebody else do the leg work for me to get us what we needed and what would work for us. I plan to use the same TA for future cruises (she's already scouting out a fall getaway for me & dh!)