Travel Agent vs booking with NCL

[JEDIKNIGHT]

Hello...

 

I'm close to booking 2 Courtyard Suites with NCL....NY to Bahamas.

 

It seems easy enough to book on my own. If I use a travel agent i'd pick a recommended one from Conde Nast/Wendy Perrin's list.

 

Question....

 

Is there any difference or advantage to using travel agent vs just booking it myself thru NCL?

 

Thank you.

[*Wink*]

You really need to get price quotes. Since you're booking high end suites, a TA may not be able to get you a better deal than if you were booking standard cabins. TA's tend to have a group of rooms that can be much cheaper than what NCL can offer. As far as customer service, it's nice to be able to act on your own behalf with NCL, or some people prefer to have a TA handle everything for them. NCL will not deal with you directly if you book through a TA.

[Britt23]

Hello...

 

I'm close to booking 2 Courtyard Suites with NCL....NY to Bahamas.

 

It seems easy enough to book on my own. If I use a travel agent i'd pick a recommended one from Conde Nast/Wendy Perrin's list.

 

Question....

 

Is there any difference or advantage to using travel agent vs just booking it myself thru NCL?

 

Thank you.

 

I've booked cruises through both travel agents and directly through the cruise lines. My experience is that the TA's would charge me a much higher deposit AND the deposits were Not refundable. The deposits could only be applied to another cruise in the future if I were to cancel. Also, I didn't get what I would call "personal service" with a TA as I do with the cruise line.

 

Honestly, I think it's just because I didn't luck out in finding a good travel agent because I'm certain there are many excellent agents out there. I would prefer to find a TA that I could book a cruise through from ANY cruise line.

[Luckyroot]

I've booked cruises through both travel agents and directly through the cruise lines. My experience is that the TA's would charge me a much higher deposit AND the deposits were Not refundable. The deposits could only be applied to another cruise in the future if I were to cancel. Also, I didn't get what I would call "personal service" with a TA as I do with the cruise line.

 

Honestly, I think it's just because I didn't luck out in finding a good travel agent because I'm certain there are many excellent agents out there. I would prefer to find a TA that I could book a cruise through from ANY cruise line.

 

I think you've hit the nail on the head when you said you just didn't luck out finding a good Travel Agent. I was recommended to someone thru a fellow cruise critic member, and he has consistently come up with the best prices. Have even used the above mentioned website and he still meets or beats every price I've ever brought to him. And his customer service is the best.

 

That being said, OP you can also check pricing with NCL and you favorite TA and if you should happen to book with NCL direct, after the fact you can switch to the TA if you feel they give better customer service. While I have never booked directly with the cruiseline, I have heard that the land based customer service is less than stellar.

[garycarla]

I have booked with many TA's and never had a problem with getting my deposit back. I have had agencies that have a booking fee that is not refundable, but not a big deal at $35 or something like that. In fact, we had a 40 day cruise booked that we cancelled out of and got all our money back recently.

 

There is considerably more margin in those high end suites. I would get multiple quotes.

 

On a related note, NCL is pretty tight on deposits for full suites. check ncl.com and you will see the final payment date is further out than other cabins.

[iTinKso]

Same with us...saved over $1000 by booking with a travel agent. I am fond of my agent and the on-line agency she works for and I've not seen a lower price than what I've been offered through them.

 

I am a repeat customer of an online agency and just booked a Pearl aft balcony for $600 less than ncl.com! I'm sure savings on suites would be much more!

[NW Pacific]

We have used (3 times) a land based travel agent, and the price has always been less than $400.00 or more for the same cruise, room we were interested in than the NCl website. The deposit was exactly what NCL guidelines (rules) are. Cruisers do mention that if you use a TA, NCL will not talk with you about any questions, concerns, which I have stated before I think is wrong; because we use a TA, but the money goes directly to NCL, not through our TA!

[datzman3]

When you book with a TA you can still call NCL and ask genral question. For example on our cruise for next week we had a question about bring wine and the wine on the ship. NCL e-mailed us a copy of the wine list with to problems, and answered our questions. You just can talk to them about your specific reservation. Or issues with it.

It also depends on who you get in the call center some are more helpful then others. But the reason we us a TA is they always seam to Have better pricing then NCL for our room. We saved $400.00 on a AB for this cruise.

[Surfgirl]

I have gotten amazing deals through an online site. We're not allowed to name sites on this forum, but they do advertise on this website. Somebody told me about it when I was on one of my cruises, and I couldn't believe the savings. You have to keep watching their site because the prices change. They list all the cruise lines and prices for each itinerary.

[bluefintuna]

We have been on 24 cruises, some booked with a land ta, almost half thru the individual cruiseline and the other half thru online agencies. Lately, online agency beats balcony cabins by $200. Last cruise they paid our gratuities, plus beat the price of the cruiseline. On NCL military rate is not just for active, but if you were honorably discharged and have a dd214 to bring with you then you can get the rate thru some online agencies. Better rate than senior rate most of the time.

[sher'ssis]

When we booked our cruise, I had checked all the online places and even a discounted corporate rate through my husband's company. I called NCL directly (after being on their website as well) and asked if they could beat all of those prices I had been tracking. Simple answer was yes! As I recall, she quoted me $400 less than the price on their own website and I was happy with that.

[bahrain_not_dubai!]

I always reccomend directly whenever possible. When you go though a TA you cant just call the line and make an amendment to your booking but have to go through that TA which can be annoying at times.