Combining discounted fares?

[lysolqn]

Booked a cruise several months ago for later this year and TA just reduced our fare when I advised her that I found a senior discount became available. Great, I thought, until I received an updated invoice which showed that the $50pp reduction in fare (senior discount) meant we lost the OBC she originally offered because, she tells me, her agency will not combine promo fares. Not happy about that because the senior fare is a function of X while the OBC is a function of the travel agency, but I know OBC is a function of price and when price goes down, so goes OBC. I'm not sure about wiping out the entire OBC (not much there to begin with) but so be it; our OBC was $100 per cabin, so the bottom line is a wash - nothing lost, nothing gained. Now I'm wondering, if a resident discount should become available between now and final payment date or the fares just drop, will we be able to take advantage of that discount along with the senior rate, or will we be limited to the one discount (senior) we've already gotten? Would also like to hear your opinion on having OBC wiped out because of the cruise line offering a (senior) discount. For what it's worth, we've been using this agency and agent for about ten years - prices are good, service is ok but the "extras" others talk about receiving from their agents have been virtually non-existent. In fact, they began offering minimal OBC only recently, I expect in response to increasing competition from on-line agencies. Thanks.

[greydog]

Apparently, not surprisingly, the TA offered an OBC out of their higher commission on the full-fare original rate. With the switch to discounted senior rate, their commission amount dropped and they felt their net margin could not maintain the OBC perk. From other board discussions, and my own limited experience, if a superior discount rate becomes offered, you have the alternative of switching if advantageous (outside the final payment deadline), but not 'adding up' discounts. My TA does not offer a TA-source OBC but I always go for off-peak trips with Sr, resident, military, or guaranty rates. LOWER COST = MORE CRUISES

Good Luck

[MacThespian]

Booked a cruise several months ago for later this year and TA just reduced our fare when I advised her that I found a senior discount became available. Great, I thought, until I received an updated invoice which showed that the $50pp reduction in fare (senior discount) meant we lost the OBC she originally offered because, she tells me, her agency will not combine promo fares. Not happy about that because the senior fare is a function of X while the OBC is a function of the travel agency, but I know OBC is a function of price and when price goes down, so goes OBC. I'm not sure about wiping out the entire OBC (not much there to begin with) but so be it; our OBC was $100 per cabin, so the bottom line is a wash - nothing lost, nothing gained. Now I'm wondering, if a resident discount should become available between now and final payment date or the fares just drop, will we be able to take advantage of that discount along with the senior rate, or will we be limited to the one discount (senior) we've already gotten? Would also like to hear your opinion on having OBC wiped out because of the cruise line offering a (senior) discount. For what it's worth, we've been using this agency and agent for about ten years - prices are good, service is ok but the "extras" others talk about receiving from their agents have been virtually non-existent. In fact, they began offering minimal OBC only recently, I expect in response to increasing competition from on-line agencies. Thanks.

 

The OBC is entirely up to your agent. If they decide not to offer it because they're getting a lower commission, there's really nothing you can do about that.

[bardstowntraveller]

We had a similar experience with our TA. Our fare went down $200 so our OBC was reduced by $100. We still came out ahead. You should continue to look for resident discounts. For us, that's where the big break came. We were able to book in Aqua Class at a lower fare than any other veranda stateroom!:D

[jagoffee]

It is certainly reasonable for a TA to reduce the OBC slightly based on less expensive cabin rate, but not eliminate it. Personally, I would find a new TA. If the TA does not have a cancellation fee (I would not book with one that does), you might even consider cancelling the cruise and booking with another T.A. Assuming that your sailing has a lot of cabins available.

[lysolqn]

It is certainly reasonable for a TA to reduce the OBC slightly based on less expensive cabin rate, but not eliminate it. Personally, I would find a new TA. If the TA does not have a cancellation fee (I would not book with one that does), you might even consider cancelling the cruise and booking with another T.A. Assuming that your sailing has a lot of cabins available.

 

I absolutely expected the OBC to be reduced and was quite surprised when I found it had been eliminated altogether. We cruise several times a year and once each year take our children/grandchildren with us. This was one of the family cruises for which we book four cabins at a time. I don't think eliminating the OBC on the two cabins that qualified for the senior discount was a particularly effective way of saying, "Thank you for your repeat business and your ten year loyalty to our agency." From a business perspective, I think reducing the credit would have been a much wiser move. Not going to bother cancelling and re-booking with another agency this go-round but I'm going to think twice about continuing to give business to the current one.

[jagoffee]

Good for you. I think you will find that you can get a much larger OBC especially if you get TAs competing for your business. A good plan if you do not need help and check out the companies that you find. Pay particular attention to any extra charge and make sure that they do not have a cancellation fee. It would not surprise me if the OBC for four cabins was $1000.

 

Have a great cruise.

[lysolqn]

Good for you. I think you will find that you can get a much larger OBC especially if you get TAs competing for your business. A good plan if you do not need help and check out the companies that you find. Pay particular attention to any extra charge and make sure that they do not have a cancellation fee. It would not surprise me if the OBC for four cabins was $1000.

 

Have a great cruise.

 

Thanks. Now you've got me thinking - $1000 OBC for the four cabins we have reserved? Sounds a bit high but for that sum, I'd gladly switch TAs. Having already checked with several of the larger online agencies, I can't find even one offering anything even close. Wish I could because then I would have some leverage with our current TA.

[jagoffee]

As I stated, I have never changed TAs after booking, but given what your TA did, I would certainly think about it. If you search for on line agencies that can "compete" for your business, you might be able to find a good quote. The rules on this forum does not allow us to share TA information. A lot depends on the actual cruise, but if you do a search on Yahoo or Google you should be able to find some choices for quoting. The one that I have used several times is not an actual TA, but allows others to submit quotes for your identical booking. You need to make sure that you check them out and know all their particular rules/policies, so you can compare apples to apples.

 

Good luck. If you cannot do better this time do not worry about it. Just enjoy your cruise.

[sunlovermtl]

Booked a cruise several months ago for later this year and TA just reduced our fare when I advised her that I found a senior discount became available. Great, I thought, until I received an updated invoice which showed that the $50pp reduction in fare (senior discount) meant we lost the OBC she originally offered because, she tells me, her agency will not combine promo fares. Not happy about that because the senior fare is a function of X while the OBC is a function of the travel agency, but I know OBC is a function of price and when price goes down, so goes OBC. I'm not sure about wiping out the entire OBC (not much there to begin with) but so be it; our OBC was $100 per cabin, so the bottom line is a wash - nothing lost, nothing gained. Now I'm wondering, if a resident discount should become available between now and final payment date or the fares just drop, will we be able to take advantage of that discount along with the senior rate, or will we be limited to the one discount (senior) we've already gotten? Would also like to hear your opinion on having OBC wiped out because of the cruise line offering a (senior) discount. For what it's worth, we've been using this agency and agent for about ten years - prices are good, service is ok but the "extras" others talk about receiving from their agents have been virtually non-existent. In fact, they began offering minimal OBC only recently, I expect in response to increasing competition from on-line agencies. Thanks.

 

I am surprised the TA is offering OBC. Usually they follow the cruise lines which will not allow you to combine special promotions. On our last Summit TA sailing we had a $ 300.00 OBC when I wanted to apply my cruise coupon for Select members for $ 150.00 I was told one or the other by my TA then by Celebrity. So it depends. The margins are so low now that TA are having a hard time competing with the online guys. I personally prefer the TA's but a bottle of wine every now and then would be nice. We have used our TA 3 times now and gave them two other couples who booked with them so this upcoming cruise I expect at least a little something.