Private TA Vs NCL

[Giantfan13]

I have read many times on these board about people using private TA's to book their cruises. I have a cruise booked for August which I booked thru NCL. I was happy with the price and cabin, but when I hear that I may be able to do better, why not??. I went to one of the web sites where you put in the cruise you want and you receive bids on that cruise. I did that and I got a better price for what I already have.

My question is this, are these TA's or whomever replies to your inquiries, legit??? How do you go about checking on them??> I did speak to one and they say that all they do is switch the cruise from NCL to them and nothing changes. So I ask, what COULD go wrong???We are from NY and are always a bit suspicious when something looks 'too' good.

Is it the policy here that I cannot mention any specific outfit to see if anyone knows anything about them??? So how can one find out if the people on the other end are for real and what could go wrong if you use them??

By using them, I could save another $200 off my cruise. Are these real deals????

[Got Tequila?]

I have read many times on these board about people using private TA's to book their cruises. I have a cruise booked for August which I booked thru NCL. I was happy with the price and cabin, but when I hear that I may be able to do better, why not??. I went to one of the web sites where you put in the cruise you want and you receive bids on that cruise. I did that and I got a better price for what I already have.

My question is this, are these TA's or whomever replies to your inquiries, legit??? How do you go about checking on them??> I did speak to one and they say that all they do is switch the cruise from NCL to them and nothing changes. So I ask, what COULD go wrong???We are from NY and are always a bit suspicious when something looks 'too' good.

Is it the policy here that I cannot mention any specific outfit to see if anyone knows anything about them??? So how can one find out if the people on the other end are for real and what could go wrong if you use them??

By using them, I could save another $200 off my cruise. Are these real deals????

 

There are some real deals out there, but I do encourage you to do some research on the TA before booking. Look into their crudentials, and find out their policy's on cancellations, ect.

 

We chose to switch to an on line TA who offers a discounted price as well as free cruise insurance.

 

When you find a TA that you are comfortable with you will have to fax a letter to NCL informing them that you want to transfer your current booking to the new TA.

[dinna1]

Being from NY myself I know how sceptical one gets! What I did is : first I went to BBB site & checked out some of the local TA's, then after choosing one I printed the lowest offer from "the bidding site" and ask her if she's willing to match it. She did & saved us a total of $700 on a two inside cabins:)

[chapichapo]

I booked with NCL on-line and am terribly sorry I did. They are always lowering their prices and my PCC always says there is nothing she can do. After I went through a lot of trouble and e-mails and phone calls they did upgrade me but not really that much of an upgrade. I could get a lot better if I just cancel and book with a TA. I dont know why I don't - it's just too much trouble to go through all the process of looking for prices and sending all your data and paying and I don't know what else... and then you have to trust a TA from the end of the world... :cool: I just don't feel like going trough all that but am not a big fan of NCL and not really considering booking with them again. Unless the trip is really fantastic... I'm just not having a good time booking, it's too much trouble and I feel cheated.

[mmceachn]

I have done both.

 

I like my PCC and would like to book with NCL, but have found great deals with online booking agencies.

 

I have used four different agencies, I'm sorry that I cannot say who they are on cruise critic. Two of the agencies have booked with sometimes advertise on cruise critic though.

 

Today I booked last minute cruise.The NCL price for a balcony cabin was $500.Higher than the price obtained by the online agency. I was able to log on to the NCL website to view the reservation within an hour.

 

I have also heard horror stories about online agencies going out of business

but I have not experienced that.

[dtracker]

I have never booked with NCL before, but have always went through a TA. Many posts I've read on CC seem to indicate if you find a better deal with a TA, you can talk to your PCC and see if they will match the deal you found elsewhere. It's worth a try anyway, and if not, then transfer your booking to the TA with the best deal. I've always heard the PCC is usually very accomodating until after final payment, and even sometimes afterwards.

 

DT

[Giantfan13]

Just a question. Is it the policy of CC that one cannot find out some info on a particular TA, or cruise web site??> I do not wish to go against any rules, but if some one had a bad experience with a TA or cruise site, would it not be beneficial to be able to share it with the group??

 

If the TA is located in a different state, how do you go about contacting that BBB???

[deepnite10]

i ve used TA s as well as booking directly thru the cruiseline..

 

with NCL..i was concern d about a price decline after booking and

then seeing all kinds of price reduction s on their website:confused:

 

when i called to make final payment i was informed that there was a

price adjustment of $400 on top of of my military rate..in addition they

told me id be getting a $150 OBC as well..:D

[dinna1]

Giantfan13

Once you're on BBB site it gives you a choice to search by name, type of busin. or an URL. Does not have to be a particular state. Just do a local google search for TA's in New York and check the names or urls on bbb.

[BIG_Steve]

There is at least one regular poster here (McCall) who told me she has switched to a TA after booking direct several times. Hopefully she'll be along to help you out.

 

 

If you go through a TA, NCL will not help you ahead of time. They will require you to use your TA for all questions and concerns leading up to the cruise. So make sure you find a good TA.

[mevers]

Personal experience -

 

We started w/ NCL and a PCC that had been recommended. Ultimately transferred our res. to an online cruise TA and saved a bit over $1000 (for 3 cabins).

 

I DID contact our NCL PCC to try and price-match (give them a chance) and she said NCL does not do that. Too bad!

 

Origninally booked w/ NCL out of ignorance (first cruise) and I wanted to lock in the OBC offer ($400/mini-suite one) and the two adjoining cabins that were available.

 

Afterwards I started surfing the ol' internet and found A LOT of lower prices that also had the OBC offers.

 

Went on CC, posters told me my res. could be transferred - THANKS guys!. Transferring was done by new online TA (who did email and phone us) and NCL. Took 3 days, very easy.

 

Did the internet searching (and calling, always call/email) TA's take time - YES.

 

Was it worth it? - Is $1,000 saving worth it? - YES.

 

Will use the same TA - If they have the best price!

[newmexicoNita]

Just a question. Is it the policy of CC that one cannot find out some info on a particular TA, or cruise web site??> I do not wish to go against any rules, but if some one had a bad experience with a TA or cruise site, would it not be beneficial to be able to share it with the group??

 

If the TA is located in a different state, how do you go about contacting that BBB???

 

The reason, as I understand it, you can not do this is two-fold or more: 1-many lines advertise here. If we give out information about what agents we like we are giving them free advertisement. 2-to let everyone know a bad experience can cause harm when all you or I have to go on is the word of the poster..The problems might be real, might be a mis-understanding or might just be a lack of communications.

 

Nita

[maggiecatenjay]

My main problem with having booked through a TA has been getting the correct general information as well as getting specific questions answered. My TA has done a very, very poor job of disseminating info (ONE example was not telling the group to register in NCL.com but instead, our invoices said to expect paper tickets). And, of course NCL will not even speak to you if you booked through a TA. IT HAS BEEN VERY FRUSTRATING! (Thank goodness for CC!)

 

Next time I will use a TA (via a personal reference) so I will be ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN will answer my questions will be answered to my satisfaction or I will book directly with NCL.

[chapichapo]

I have never booked with NCL before, but have always went through a TA. Many posts I've read on CC seem to indicate if you find a better deal with a TA, you can talk to your PCC and see if they will match the deal you found elsewhere. It's worth a try anyway, and if not, then transfer your booking to the TA with the best deal. I've always heard the PCC is usually very accomodating until after final payment, and even sometimes afterwards.

 

DT

In the case of european reservations, NCL does not transfer to TA's. And also they do not offer to match deals - they have given me a better cabin and some OBC but still not matching the prices a TA would give me. And this was after I went through a lot of trouble - it almost seems like you have a part-time job to plan a holiday, not really what I have in mind.

 

I have booked last year with Celebrity Cruises and had no trouble. But maybe it's because this was before the crisis hehe

[gtalum]

On NCL, a TA will always beat the direct price, becaus ethey kick bakc part of their commission. My experience with "competing" TA's has always been good, in 5 cruises so far. You give up a small amount of convenience (in that you have to clal your TA to do anything to yourbooking, instead of calling NCL directly) but IMHO the savings is really worth it.

[hateswaterloves2cruise]

On NCL, a TA will always beat the direct price, becaus ethey kick bakc part of their commission. My experience with "competing" TA's has always been good, in 5 cruises so far. You give up a small amount of convenience (in that you have to clal your TA to do anything to yourbooking, instead of calling NCL directly) but IMHO the savings is really worth it.

Just checking to see if I have this right. I have a reservation in a certain cabin that I want to keep. Can I transfer this to an online TA and not lose this cabin? In the past I always used a big store TA (after doing research pricing online), they have sinced moved their business out of our area. Last cruise I used an online TA and got what I felt was a good price but no OBC's or anything. This time the NCL PCC called me and I booked a cruise for Feb. 2010 with a small OBC. I guess my main concern is keeping the cabin and maybe getting it cheaper. :confused:

[gtalum]

I don't know how it works at NCL, but you can do that at Carnival. I assume NCL will allow it too. Just call NCL and ask the rep if you can do this. The way it works at Carnivla is you call the Carnival rep and they put a PIN (a 4 digit numbe rthat you choose) on your reservation. Then you can go to any TA, give them your reservation number and PIN, and they can take over your booking.

[nlt46]

I used an online TA for the first time for my March cruise. There was a penalty fee if I made any changes, and a fee if I cancelled. I would check that out too. I will say that I got a great price (airfare included) and everything turned out fine, but I did worry. I'm not sure what I will do next time. Price... will be my guide perhaps. Nancy

[Giantfan13]

Thank you all for some great advice.

I called a couple of the TA's who responded to the ************* post I put up. Problem was, one of them I didn't like right from the get go. He came in with a price about $700 cheaper than what I had already booked. When I asked him about that price, he told me that was 'yesterday's' price and today it was something else. He still was cheaper than NCL, but after that, I didn't beleive anything that he said.

The next one was very nice, but after I ran her agency thru the BBB, they rated them an 'F', so bye bye to them.

Today, some one put me in touch with another TA, who came in with the same price as the first guy. I did check them out, A+ with the BBB, and they are CLIA rated, so I feel a lot more secure dealing with he. I'll let you all know how it all comes out.

Again, thanks for the valuable advice.