Travel Agent

[mcnabb3801]

Hi I am curious to what the rest of you think we have booked our cruise thru an agent several months ago and actually just gave our final payment. I am just wondering what the benefit is of using them instead of booking direstly from what I see there is no benefit looking at Carnival's web site they are the same price that we paid so we have saved nothing

 

Thanks

[Georgiagolfer]

It is a matter of personal choice. Some use a TA, others like myself use a PVP. Depends on what your comfort level is. Can't say there is a distinct advantage to 1 over the other for me. I just happen to have a good PVP, been with the asame for several years, and see no reason th go to a local TA.

[mdma03]

Peace of mind! If anything goes wrong, you contact them, they fix it. My opinion anyways. Plus, we always get a bon voyage gift from our travel agent (not booked thru a group).

[Cruise Organizer]

My TA is always less the CCL.

But - I do the research, know what cruise & cabins. Usually book multiple cabins.

TA knows me for years and takes care of me and my referrals.

[howard6933]

I am convinced that using a travel agent is better than booking directly with the cruise line or an internet booking especially when you have a GOOD TA.

;) Even if the prices are about the same, the TA can handle any problems that you may encounter, and on many occasions can get you "perks" that you may not get from the cruise line. :D I'll give you a "for instance". This happened to us on the 3rd sailing of Royal Caribbean's Voyager of the Seas

in december 1999. My friends and I had booked 6 INSIDE cabins on Voyager and a few weeks from sailing date I saw a notice on Cruise Critic that RCI was upgrading everyone that had booked inside cabins on Voyager for our sailing to outside cabins with verandah. I immediately called our TA and you know what.......they had already gone to RCI and had us upgraded to the outside cabin with verandah with all 6 cabins right in a row. Now I don't know if RCI would have automatically upgraded without our asking, but our TA didn't wait to find out......thay went ahead and did it. :) I guess things like that don't happen very often nowadays, but in my opinion a GOOD TA will watch out for you. :cool:

[dan40]

Hi I am curious to what the rest of you think we have booked our cruise thru an agent several months ago and actually just gave our final payment. I am just wondering what the benefit is of using them instead of booking direstly from what I see there is no benefit looking at Carnival's web site they are the same price that we paid so we have saved nothing

 

Thanks

 

One thing you are doing is establishing a relationship with an agent that can help you with any cruise and/or any travel. Depending on the type of TA you have. TA's can always beat Carnival's price, that does not mean or say they are always willing to beat Carnival's price. A Carnival PVP can NEVER beat a TA's price. If Carnival lowers their price, the TA's COST is automatically lowered too. So a PVP can match, not beat, a a TA's price as long as it is equal to Carnival's pricing.

 

If you want the TA or PVP to do all the work and research for you, why expect a lower price. I do all my own research and call my TA to book the cruise. AFTER I have also price shopped. [price shopping MUST be done in a live call. The advertised prices will reflect CCL's price.]

 

Dan

[Tapi]

It's personal choice.

 

I wouldn't generalize that booking through a TA is better, or booking through a PVP is better. I think it boils down to the individual person that you end up trusting with your vacation plans, whether they are a PVP, or TA.

 

Your vacation begins the moment that you start planning it. With that said, do your research, make sure you're dealing with someone knowledgeable, reputable, and with good customer service skills. AFTER you give them your money is not the right time to realize that you're dealing with the TA/PVP from hell which is going to sour your vacation plans. Remember that if you have problems with your reservation and booked through a bad TA, you can't call Carnival to solve the issue. You have to go through that bad TA!

 

I personally choose to deal with a PVP. Mine is EXCELLENT, has been with Carnival for many years, knows her product better than anybody out there, can (and has) gone out of her way to take care of us and has done much more than any TA I've ever dealt with. When special deals and fare codes have become available, she knows about them immediately (one great benefit of dealing with Carnival directly). Even when she hasn't been able to match some internet discount sites, having the peace of mind of dealing with someone that we trust is worth every extra penny. IF she's out of the office, I can still call Carnival's 800 number for immediate assistance.

 

As far as advantages or disadvantages of booking through Carnival or TA, I can think of a fundamental one:

 

If you book directly with Carnival but later on decide to switch your reservation to a TA, YOU CAN. However, if you book with a TA but later on decide to switch to another TA or Carnival, YOU CAN'T. You're stuck with that person.

[Maryalyce]

It is a matter of personal choice. Some use a TA, others like myself use a PVP. Depends on what your comfort level is. Can't say there is a distinct advantage to 1 over the other for me. I just happen to have a good PVP, been with the asame for several years, and see no reason th go to a local TA.

 

I figured out most of the abbreviations. This one I can't. I know from context what a PVP does but what do the initials stand for. Thanx

:confused:

[trock]

I figured out most of the abbreviations. This one I can't. I know from context what a PVP does but what do the initials stand for. Thanx

:confused:

Carnival's PVP= Personal Vacation Planner

[mouche]

Always a TA for me!!! someone I can actually call, who knows me personally, I have been using the same one for almost ten years.

[Luluwa]

USE A TRAVEL AGENT!!!

It doesn't cost you a dime and they do ALL the work.

It's like having an attorney and not having to pay for their work on your behalf.

[cruisecastle]

Hi I am curious to what the rest of you think we have booked our cruise thru an agent several months ago and actually just gave our final payment. I am just wondering what the benefit is of using them instead of booking direstly from what I see there is no benefit looking at Carnival's web site they are the same price that we paid so we have saved nothing

 

Thanks

 

Just book online and cut out all the people.

[Nezmo]

Great points made.

 

I will add that I had some very specific questions about a recent booking of mine and by using a PVP, they were able to email individuals onboard directly for information.

[firefly333]

Some TAs will cut the price that you see on Carnival. If they dont, I agree, Id book directly thru Carnival. Its obvious now to me there are benefits to booking direct. All the upsell calls I have heard that someone said who they booked thru, they booked direct with the cruiseline.

[LornaT]

I used to use a TA, but after one time of seeing on the Carnival website, not only a price reduction for my sailing but an upgrade, I tried to call my TA to get it done .......... guess what agency is closed on weekends and no forwarding number listed on the voice-mail to contact on weekends or after-hours.

 

I have not found a sigle TA Agency in my area that is open after 6:00 in the evening nor on weekends ..... which seems weird, I would think more people would book trips, cruises, flights, etc either after their working hours or on a weekend when they are off from work and have the time to do so.

 

Carnival is available 24/7 including holiday's, even if my CVS isn't in on that date or time, someone else at Carnival can take care of my questions or changes.

 

Just my 2 cents

[trock]

I used to use a TA, but after one time of seeing on the Carnival website, not only a price reduction for my sailing but an upgrade, I tried to call my TA to get it done .......... guess what agency is closed on weekends and no forwarding number listed on the voice-mail to contact on weekends or after-hours.

 

I have not found a sigle TA Agency in my area that is open after 6:00 in the evening nor on weekends ..... which seems weird, I would think more people would book trips, cruises, flights, etc either after their working hours or on a weekend when they are off from work and have the time to do so.

 

Carnival is available 24/7 including holiday's, even if my CVS isn't in on that date or time, someone else at Carnival can take care of my questions or changes.

 

Just my 2 cents

 

Mine is or at least emails me back immediately no mattern what time or day it is...:)

[CruiznWithHubby]

I was a travel agent for some 13 years,,,and one of the things I used to do was go through the docs when they came in, check them all over, and make sure they were RIGHT,,,I made copies of them (something I recommend because after you USE the coupons, they're often gone and you may need a COPY to prove something)

 

and you'd be surprised how often they were NOT right,,,

 

cars booked at the wrong time,,,,,,tickets with misspellings, etc,,,

 

A travel agent also keeps detailed records of who they talked to,,,,once I had people booked in a suite,,,,,the hotel had to book them in a DIFFERENT hotel due to hurricane damage, and they couldn't get a suite,,,but were GUARANTEED two adjoining rooms,,,I spoke to about 10 different people and documented who and when I spoke to them,,,

 

needless to say they didn't GET 2 adjoining rooms,,,and I went to bat for them with a HUGE printed out list of WHO and WHEN I spoke to them, copies of docs, etc,,,,

 

ended up with 7 nights free at the first hotel,,,all inclusive! They took it the following spring, and only had to pay for airfare,,,

 

Travel agents are definately WORTH it,,,,IMHO,,,,Holly

[dan40]

I guess its my life experience. I've cruised about every cruiseline still in existence, and many now gone. Same with airlines. I've been to N and S America, Europe, Africa, Australia, and most of the far East. I was incredibly lucky to land in a career that required travel all over the world combined with a love of travel I didn't know existed.

Of 50 cruises, 15 have been on Carnival. So on 35 cruises I would not have been able to use a Carnival PVP. So why not use someone that can help with many needs instead of the "one trick pony" that is a PVP. No matter how terrific that trick may be, it is their only one.

 

Dan

[Wennfred]

There is nothing wrong with using a T/A but it has to be a good legit T/A... There are many horror stories with booking T/A's and most of those stories you can read here.

 

I prefer booking with the main source because if something happens you can always call Carnival right away to handle it.

 

To save a few bucks or get a special bottle of wine is not worth it for me to deal with a T/A especially when they are hard to get a hold of.

 

 

Fred

[Tapi]

So why not use someone that can help with many needs instead of the "one trick pony" that is a PVP. No matter how terrific that trick may be, it is their only one.

 

Dan

 

 

Why NOT use a PVP when specifically booking a Carnival cruise?

 

I'm sure that there are TA's out there that are knowledgeable and would be very helpful about other types of vacations, but until I find one that actually knows more about Carnival than my Carnival PVP, I'll keep booking my Carnival cruises through her.

[CruiznWithHubby]

Why NOT use a PVP when specifically booking a Carnival cruise?

 

I'm sure that there are TA's out there that are knowledgeable and would be very helpful about other types of vacations, but until I find one that actually knows more about Carnival than my Carnival PVP, I'll keep booking my Carnival cruises through her.

 

Many travel agents take many cruises with Carnival,,,travel to see numerous ships, and take Carnival training direct from Carnival, too :) Holly

[Tapi]

Many travel agents take many cruises with Carnival,,,travel to see numerous ships, and take Carnival training direct from Carnival, too :) Holly

 

Even though your statement is true, I still haven't talked to a TA who knows as much as my PVP knows about her own product.

 

She's specifically trained on the Carnival product, lives and breathes Carnival every single day, has worked for them for years and has sailed on every class of ship in the Carnival fleet. There's literally nothing that I've ever asked about Carnival that she didn't know about.

 

Once again, I'm sure that there are great TA's out there, but until I come accross one that knows more about Carnival than my Carnival PVP, I will stick with her for my Carnival cruises...

[CruiznWithHubby]

Even though your statement is true, I still haven't talked to a TA who knows as much as my PVP knows about her own product.

 

She's specifically trained on the Carnival product, lives and breathes Carnival every single day, has worked for them for years and has sailed on every class of ship in the Carnival fleet. There's literally nothing that I've ever asked about Carnival that she didn't know about.

 

Once again, I'm sure that there are great TA's out there, but until I come accross one that knows more about Carnival than my Carnival PVP, I will stick with her for my Carnival cruises...

 

 

and that's fine,,,,but just remember that travel agents are FREE for vacation bookings (many charge for air tickets now, however),,,if you ever decide to travel to Alaska, or Italy, or Africa on a land package, you may want to visit a travel agent to get her years of experience on which tour company to go through, etc,,,She can compare prices in a matter of a half hour or so,,,,recommend packages, etc,,,,,,Holly

[valancy1]

Why NOT use a PVP when specifically booking a Carnival cruise?

 

I'm sure that there are TA's out there that are knowledgeable and would be very helpful about other types of vacations, but until I find one that actually knows more about Carnival than my Carnival PVP, I'll keep booking my Carnival cruises through her.

 

You know, there's truth in this.

 

Long before I found CC and learned oodles of information from all you seasoned people, I tried with the one local travel agent in this little town. I told her we were budget minded (having already done some of my own research prior to her calling me back--which by the way took 5 days, and I know her personally)...

 

She only recommended RCI. She refused to give me Carnival rates, even after expressing an interest.

 

I *know* there are good TAs out there because I read about them here on CC. But because we cannot advertise or request information, these wonderful people remain nameless, so many of us are not guaranteed as good of an experience as those who have these wonderful people working for them. And quite frankly, I'm not willing to experiment to find a good one.

 

The on-line TA that I used to book my first cruise said (when rates went down) that I couldn't get an OBC with a military discount. I, being a greenhorn, believed them and now know better. They didn't want to GIVE me the OBC is what it really was.

 

So this cruise next year on Glory, I just booked with a PVP. I know that if I find a lower price (I will always be checking on this as I have on my other cruises) I will get it without hassle. I can cruise the line I want to and get prices for them. It's unfortunate, *I* think, to not be able to refer people to someone GOOD, GREAT, or WONDERFUL.

 

For now, while I live in this area that only seems to quote RCI pricing, I'll stick with a PVP who really seems like a good person and is willing to help me with whatever question I have, AND has said right away that if the price goes down multiple times that all I need to do is call and he'll switch it without a problem.

 

I guess it comes down to personal experience and choice. I wouldn't say either is BAD. Just what works for YOU.

[JeffHatfield]

Mine is or at least emails me back immediately no mattern what time or day it is...:)

 

Mine too (maybe it's the same one) She has called from her bed while she was laid up from surgery and she even gave me her cell phone number.