Advantages of having TA

[yapmom]

I am looking forward to my first cruise, a 13 night cruisetour from vancouver ending in fairbanks on Coral Princess. The TA cannot get a better deal than what I have been offered from Princess direct. I am planning on using airline miles to fly. What is the advantage of having a TA? I have never used one for any of my airline travels before. With me being a newbie, I want to do what's best for my dh for our 20th anniversary. Thanks for your help.

Kim

[tulips*n*truffles]

I had the same questions you did. I booked a 7-day Vancouver to Anchorage cruise and used airline miles for both my air and my friend's. My TA couldn't do any better than what I could do online, but I went ahead and booked with her. One, she took care of everything - figured out my transfers - negotiated a better cabin - figured out my excursions - made sure my flight stuff lined up...I just felt better using her...then if there are problems, I know everything was handled in one place. It's funny because generally I'm MORE comfortable just doing my own thing and making my own reservations and doing it all online, but for this being my first cruise, I just felt better knowing she could help and knew what she was doing.

[yapmom]

Thanks, that's part of my problem. I am a bit OCD, and like to be in control. I like to plan everything out. When are you going? We are planning to go on the 13 nt cruisetour on June 15th from Vancouver on Coral Princess.

[kitty9]

My TA belongs to a travel consortium where they provide on board credits, gifts, included shore excursions and parties with free drinks on many cruises on most lines. Plus, whenever there's a problem, he takes care of things so I don't have to hassle.

[Teeara]

Hi Kim,

 

I've only booked outside of the cruiselines once and that was my first cruise. All of my others have been through the cruiselines directly. Frankly, I prefer having total control (and can handle it) and I'm extremely organized, so if a problem does develop I can take care of it without getting on the phone and getting a third party involved.

 

As a first time cruiser you might want to stick with the TA simply because you aren't entirely sure what to expect. But again, it all comes down to personal preference.

 

In all honesty, you can do just as well on your own if you just read the CC boards and ask lots of questions. Read the reviews for your ship and take note of what people say about transfers, excursions, etc. and make your decisions based on that and your own personal preferences.

 

For instance, you're leaving out of Vancouver. Are you flying in a day early or the day of the cruise? I went on an Alaska cruise in May '08. We flew into Vancouver 2 days early and loved it so much we want to go back just to explore the city.

 

If you need a place to stay I can't recommend the Landis Hotel highly enough. The place was fantastic. 1200 square foot 2 bedroom 2 bath with kitchen, dining area and enclosed balcony. It's about 50 feet from where you can catch the Hop On Hop Off Trolley. They even have a free shuttle to take you and your luggage to the pier. They don't have a shuttle from the airport, but we took LimoJet for $45 total, room for 3-4 people. You can check out photos of the hotel by clicking on the link to my Webshots page below my signature and going to my Alaska album.

 

Whichever decision you make, you'll be certain to have a wonderful time on your cruise. Hopefully your weather will be better than ours--it rained nearly every day.

 

Theresa

[Sow There]

My experience is that a (live, brick & mortar) TA can make all the difference.

 

1. When a problem occurs with a cruise booking a travel agent can go directly to his/her representative to address the problem. He/she likely also has other clients who may have the same problem so they can all be solved at one time and at the right level without you having to go through the hassle of a series of phone calls with the least trained junior customer service reps who are assigned to the publicly advertised phone banks.

 

2. The TA can arrange for special things like guaranteed early/late seating at dinner, using his/her contacts to grab that special cabin that was just released on a cancellation, etc.

 

3. The TA can locate and advise ground transport alternatives to cruise line transfers, often at lower cost. As well, a good TA can arrange a far wider range of shore activities than the cruise lines.

 

4. A TA can be your intermediary when things go wrong en route. On one occasion we were flying from LA to Ft. Lauderdale with a connection in Chicago. Our first leg was delayed to the point that we might miss our connection in Chicago. One call to our TA was all that we needed. She was able to switch us to another flight via Washington that connected to Ft. Lauderdale and got us in about 45 minutes later than the original flight would have done. So we had a good night's sleep in our hotel room rather than having to mess with sleeping on a red-eye flight and arriving the morning of sailing day stiff and sore from travelling all night. (Our luggage was delivered to the hotel the next mornig so all was well.)

 

I am also a compulsive control type, but I really appreciate having a professional whom I trust available to deal with things in a manner far better than I ever could.

 

BTW, having booked a simple trip with an on line agency, and having nothing but nproblems every step of the way, I am turned off by any agency where I don't have a "go to" person with whom I can deal.