booking air through TA or on your own

[cruisenuts4life]

When It comes to cruises is it better to book air fare through your TA or book on your own? Can you get refund if prices go any cheaper through TA? I have always booked my own air and when prices go down cannot get the discount.

[eandj]

No you won't get any price reductions if the flights drop.

I booked on Expedia, found a drop in price on Orbitz for the exact flight, seat code etc. within the 24 hours required and did get the fare dropped. But even when there's soem kind of guarantee, they make it pretty difficult to get a refund. I happened to be lucky that day, I guess.

[paul929207]

Book with whomever gives you teh best price.

[parody]

As a general rule, unless there is a large difference in price, it is best to book your flights yourself. You will have complete control over your itinerary and you will avoid the difficulties that might come about by getting a third party involved. Also, if you are flying out of BWI, there is a good chance that you could use Southwest Airlines, and I don't believe that they are used by most cruise lines. In terms of getting a refund/voucher if prices decrease, it is possible to do so with certain nonrefundable tickets. Definitely possible with Southwest and check yapta.com for other airlines.

[Keith1010]

When It comes to cruises is it better to book air fare through your TA or book on your own? Can you get refund if prices go any cheaper through TA? I have always booked my own air and when prices go down cannot get the discount.

 

Please clarify your question.

 

Are you asking if it's better to book your air through the cruise line (eg., have your TA book the cruise line air for you) or are you asking if it is better to have the TA book your air but not through the cruise line?

 

Keith

[cruisenuts4life]

My question is whether to have TA book air and cruise or to book the air myself and TA book cruise

[Keith1010]

My question is whether to have TA book air and cruise or to book the air myself and TA book cruise

 

I don't see an advantage having a TA book air for you unless they are affiliated with a large consortium who can obtain some type of discount over what you could obtain yourself.

 

I suppose it can't hurt to see what fares your TA comes up with and you can then compare to what you can get on your own.

 

Keith

[pms4104]

My question is whether to have TA book air and cruise or to book the air myself and TA book cruise

Keep in mind that some T/A's charge a booking fee for airline tickets, as they no longer receive a commission from the carriers.

[hajekfam]

My TA has told me that I can usually get better deals than she can on flights. The only time that I have her work on the flights is when we book one way air for our transatlantic through the cruiseline (I book the domestic portion myself as we usually stay in Florida for a while after the trans cruise).

[FlyerTalker]

I booked on Expedia, found a drop in price on Orbitz for the exact flight, seat code etc. within the 24 hours required and did get the fare dropped. But even when there's soem kind of guarantee, they make it pretty difficult to get a refund. I happened to be lucky that day, I guess.

What likely happened is that you were within the 24 hour window for no-charge cancellations/refund of a ticket. Your original ticket was cancelled and you got the price back as a refund. Then, a completely new ticket was booked at the new price. If you were outside the 24 hour window, it would have likely been subject to a change fee.

[teaach]

Go to Yapta.com and they will help you tremendously. I booked Jet Blue, 2 people,Jfk to Long Beach. Yapta alerts you when the price drops. So far I have gotten over $300 in Jet Blue credit since booking a couple months ago. It is good for a year and is transferable. Great site!:D

[morecruise4me]

I've had my TA look for flights a couple of different times, and I have always been able to get a better price myself online. I finally quit bothering her with it.

[parody]

Go to Yapta.com and they will help you tremendously. I booked Jet Blue, 2 people,Jfk to Long Beach. Yapta alerts you when the price drops. So far I have gotten over $300 in Jet Blue credit since booking a couple months ago. It is good for a year and is transferable. Great site!:D

 

While I agree that yapta.com has many attractive features, I think that they search only a limited number of International airlines. For domestic travel, one only needs to be careful of the usual suspects: Southwest, Allegiant, USA3000, etc.

[FlyerTalker]

I've been meaning to get back to this question - time for analysis.

 

Purchasing air with or without a travel agent (brick & mortar) comes down to a three case scenario:

 

1) Purchasing through TA, buying cruiseline-arranged air tickets.

2) Purchasing through TA, buying independent air

3) Purchasing without TA, buying independent air

 

Let's now compare case #2 with case #3. The only reasons for picking #2 over #3 is if some value added is provided by the TA. This could be in the form of access to special pricing (usually only on consolidator tickets accessible only by a TA) and/or if the TA brings an expertise with air travel to improve the purchasing process and result and/or if you want a detached "let the TA handle this" process for your air arrangements. If you are not getting that (and virtually ALL cruise TAs have little to no expertise in air travel), then #3 is preferable. If you are getting some of that, you have to make a cost/benefit analysis to determine if the value added is worth the cost in price, restricted tickets, agent booking fees and other "costs".

 

Comparing #1 and #3, you have to do a matrix analysis of costs, convenience, restrictions, flexible options and other factors of importance to you, the purchaser. Many here believe that the restrictions with cruiseline air outweigh the potential benefits, both in terms of convenience and price.

 

Comparing #1 and #2 is simple. Virtually all cruiseline TAs will take the path of least resistance and book through the cruiseline; either on regular cruiseline air or "custom". Less work and it is easy to just accept whatever the cruiseline gives.

[Nevertoolate]

It is easy.........Yapta..............my airfares - one way SFO to JFK

one way Quebec to SFO

in October 2009.

Price down from Princess fares by $792.99

They let you know when there is a price reduction, and if there is one after you book the flight, they apparently help you get the lower price.

Of course, we arrange our own transfers, but that would come nowhere near the price difference.

:rolleyes: