Incentives from TA?

[scdreamer]

This might be one of those silly questions, but am wondering ...

We have cruised a number of times (Oceania, RCCL, Celebrity, NCCL, Princess) and have always used a TA for our bookings. Our most recent cruises have been on Oceania and Celebrity, but we will be going on HAL this time around.

Our former online TA, whom we loved, does not handle HAL, so we went with another online agency that had decent reviews from other CC posters ... have not really had any relationship with this agency, other than receiving our booking info accompanied by a business card from the TA in charge of our account after we paid the deposit, and most recently a letter reminding us that the final payment due date is coming up.

My questions is: with our final payment coming up in a couple weeks, I am wondering if it is customary for the TA to offer some sort of incentive (an OBC? Prepaid gratuities? Upgrade info?) --- our former TA always gave us either an OBC or the prepaid gratuities, but maybe that's not common anymore, or for HAL?

I've been watching the fares for our cruise, and they have stayed pretty flat ... no price drops so far ... but who knows after final payment is made, and then, of course, we have no bargaining power.

We've had some direct mailings and emails from other online TAs offering incentives, but have not pursued them ... not even sure if they are for this particular itinerary.

Should we think about asking our current TA before we make the final payment, or is that not the proper thing to do? Do most (or many) TAs offer incentives to clients, or is that not common for HAL cruises?

[obriendan]

This might be one of those silly questions, but am wondering ...

We have cruised a number of times (Oceania, RCCL, Celebrity, NCCL, Princess) and have always used a TA for our bookings. Our most recent cruises have been on Oceania and Celebrity, but we will be going on HAL this time around.

Our former online TA, whom we loved, does not handle HAL, so we went with another online agency that had decent reviews from other CC posters ... have not really had any relationship with this agency, other than receiving our booking info accompanied by a business card from the TA in charge of our account after we paid the deposit, and most recently a letter reminding us that the final payment due date is coming up.

My questions is: with our final payment coming up in a couple weeks, I am wondering if it is customary for the TA to offer some sort of incentive (an OBC? Prepaid gratuities? Upgrade info?) --- our former TA always gave us either an OBC or the prepaid gratuities, but maybe that's not common anymore, or for HAL?

I've been watching the fares for our cruise, and they have stayed pretty flat ... no price drops so far ... but who knows after final payment is made, and then, of course, we have no bargaining power.

We've had some direct mailings and emails from other online TAs offering incentives, but have not pursued them ... not even sure if they are for this particular itinerary.

Should we think about asking our current TA before we make the final payment, or is that not the proper thing to do? Do most (or many) TAs offer incentives to clients, or is that not common for HAL cruises?

Many online TA do offer incentives. For example, on our upcoming Zuiderdam cruise, we received $300 OBC, and trip insurance (we had the option to choose this or more OBC).

The best advice is to shop around!

Dan

[Kay240]

We have used the same online agency for many years. Some times we receive OBC from them and some times we don't; I think it depends upon whether or not the particular cruise is selling well. Sometimes there is also an OBC from their "consortium". Often,we receive chocolate covered strawberries, or wine and /or champagne, or a dinner at the Pinnacle Grille.

[Krazy Kruizers]

After 9/11 our TA's agency made it clear -- no more gifts of any sort -- and this agency is across the country -- but our larger local one will no longer give gifts.

[Randyk47]

No gifts from my on line TA but then again they discount the fare so it works for me.

[bermuda triangle]

Often times the OBCs are from the cruise line, not necessarily from the TA. I've wound up with unadvertised OBC, which I discovered via a card in the stateroom.
Sometimes it is an incentive because the travel agency (or a conglomerate) has a group on a sailing and they gift the people for being a part of the group.
Laura

[jhannah]

We generally receive a small OBC and maybe a Pinnacle lunch ... nothing else beyond that since way back. That's fine with me. I know pricing is tight, and the economy has made things tough for cruise lines and travel agents. Not as many dollars available for incentives.

[sail7seas]

I think the OBC and Pinnacle dinners come out of commission these days......... or the TA is charging you that amount more in order to cover the cost of OBC.

Particularly on low cost cabins/low cost cruises there is not a ton of money being made by TA's except on very pricey cruises and cabins. It's in volume not high individual commissions.

[Jade13]

We figure this out before we transfer to our TA.

When given a choice we take the straight discount. It averages 8% of the base fare. The only time we get an additional OBC is if it is part of a group booking. Those are becoming less and less I have learned now that HAL limits the number of group bookings a TA can open per month (or maybe it is one per month per ship?). The amount is usually $75.0 or $100.00 OBC, and it comes from the TA's consortium, not out of their pocket, but it is not enough for us to choice one cruise over another.

[surfergirle]

I usually contact multipule agents and give them a request for proposal, to see what types of lower rate, obc perks etc.
Group incentives are not given by the agent but rater the cruise line.

For our Deluxe suite we recieved $100 off PP/ this time which I didnt feel was great.

For our group next year, we got a quote and it was 8-10 percent off asking rates by HAL. I am still shopping because I really do not know this TA.

I wish I could find one who had a standard rate for discounting, all of the time and I would use him/her every time we traveled.

There is a web site that allows TA's to bid on your cruise, but alot of the responses are bogus, and just do not seem right. Support fees and such,
but I have found some good rates there.

I'd like to find just one. One that is good and consistent.

[sail7seas]

The small extras are not worth, to ME, to give up autonomy for our bookings. I continue to work with PCC, know we pay a bit more, but I don't have to go through some faceless TA located who knows where regarding our bookings. Just my choice but sometimes paying more is worth it to some people. It is to me.

My former TA, toward the end of their being in business, joined a consortium and that drove me crazy. I wanted no part of it. I think many agreed with me as that brick and mortar TA has closed.

[sandthrush]

The online agency we use gives "points" for every dollar spent on the cruise fare. Then you are free to spend the points on things like OBC's, wine etc. In addition, on our last several HAL cruises, they gave a lunch or dinner to the Pinnacle and an OBC in addition to the points. We have two cruises booked with them now, the HAL one they were able to discount significantly over what the cruise line was showing on their website, the Celebrity one was not, but we still got the points to spend in both cases. On our last Princess cruise, they didn't offer the points, guess it was a popular enough cruise they didn't need to.

Since I work, my hours for booking and planning cruises don't seem to correspond with a brick and mortar TA, so I either book with an online TA or the cruise line itself.

[LynnObie]

The agency we've used for several years always gives us either a lower price than booking directly with the cruise line (HAL or Celebrity) OR an OBC.... sometimes both. We always know exactly what we're getting before we book. If you weren't advised of a discount or OBC when you got your original booking quote, my guess is you won't get one. YMMV :)

[tcook052]

Our former online TA, whom we loved, does not handle HAL

Any reasons given? Seems odd to me they'd specifically refuse to handle one of the larger mainstream cruise lines.

[Jade13]

For our Deluxe suite we recieved $100 off PP/ this time which I didnt feel was great.


.

But what is this percentage wise? This sounds like it must come from the TA's commission.

The TA's are no longer able to open up so many group bookings as they could before. For example, we took half of the Voyage of the Vikings this year. No TA (that we found) had a group booking for a half voyage, but if we had done the full voyage many TA's had groups with lower rates and other incentives such as OBC and included shore excursions.

[peaches from georgia]

The small extras are not worth, to ME, to give up autonomy for our bookings. I continue to work with PCC, know we pay a bit more, but I don't have to go through some faceless TA located who knows where regarding our bookings. Just my choice but sometimes paying more is worth it to some people. It is to me.

My former TA, toward the end of their being in business, joined a consortium and that drove me crazy. I wanted no part of it. I think many agreed with me as that brick and mortar TA has closed.


Sail, I'm just wondering why the consortium affiliation "drove you crazy". We have used the same TA for years, a brick and mortar. He is a member of a consortium, but all it means to us is that there may be a representative on board our cruise who will host a cocktail party for consortium pax and a very upscale excursion offered, sponsored by the consortium at no cost to the pax. If the party or excursion interests us we may go; if not we don't. Having a consortium TA just adds a few amenities if one wishes to do them; if not don't go. All that is involved on the pax's end is receiving a letter of what the consortium is doing on that cruise and showing up at the party and/or excursion if you want to do it. If you don't choose to go to whatever event the consortium is sponsoring,the association doesn't affect you at all. And of course they are not involved on every cruise.

What was your consortium experience that was a problem? As for getting OBC or gifts from our TA, all we ask for is good service which we always get. There normally is a thank-you gift either on the ship or sent to our home, but those don't influence us at all in using this person as our TA. Never OBC.

[GmaPajama]

We've booked through a number of TA's. The most upscale one sent us a Limoges Trinket Box as a Bon Voyage, and a box of Godiva Chocolates upon our return. The one with the best pricing gave us OBC and Champagne, as well as very good service. The one we're currently using gives OBC, Pinnacle Lunch, a Beverage Card, and excellent personal service. We knew about all incentives before we booked, with the exception of the first TA - those gifts were surprises.

[HeatherInFlorida]

Pcdreamer, I'm hoping your TA offered a substantial discount over the price you would pay by booking directly with HAL and therein lies your benefit. For me that has always been the enticement of booking with a TA rather than any "gifts" I might receive onboard. Generally if a TA is going to prepay gratuities or offer OBC, that is stated upfront prior to booking.

I'm not sure I understand how a faceless PCC is any better than a faceless TA rep, but perhaps they are a little more solicitous depending on the level of cabin you are booking, i.e. you get what you pay for;).

I booked Celebrity directly this time for comparison purposes because the dollar difference is quite small. But in the case of HAL I think the discount can be far more substantial particularly when booking high end cabins so the money would be a more important factor (for me) than the minor improvement I might enjoy by having a phone contact only PCC as opposed to a TA. In both cases you no longer have the person to person contact of a B&M TA.

When it comes to booking HAL we are fortunate to know someone here who is hands on and 24/7 service oriented so there is no question about the TA I would use and she knows who she is:D

[BumperII]

Find a good, dependable travel agent and stick with it.

Our family has used an online agency for over fifteen years. But we take it a step further, we always go to a particular agent in that agency that we know will work for us. The first agent we worked with for several years was a real go getter. And when opportunity knocked, she went to another field of endeavor. Before leaving, she referred us to another gal in the agency who is also very consciencious. We have now booked 26 cruises with this agency, and they performed to perfection every time. Yesterday I received an email from her telling us that there was a $560.00 fare reduction on our February cruise, and she had taken the initiative to lock the new price in and sent us a confirmation. That is the kind of service that keeps us going back to the same agent every time.

Jeff Foxworthy once pointed out that one does not buy a Boeing 747 because one likes the peanuts. We don't cruise HAL for the perks, and we don't stick with our online TA for the incentives. We stay with both because of reputations for integrity and service that approaches perfection.

[tcook052]

Our family has used an online agency for over fifteen years.

I didn't know any had been around that long.

[scdreamer]

Any reasons given? Seems odd to me they'd specifically refuse to handle one of the larger mainstream cruise lines.

Our former agent's company handles the more "upscale" lines - I was actually surprised that they would be able to book Celebrity for us, but they don't work with HAL, RCCL, NCCL, Carnival or or Princess.

In other news ... I checked the HAL site and see that we are paying exactly what they are charging. I also took a look at our current agent's website, and I saw that they are now offering a $75 OBC for bookings of the cruise and category we are in.

I sent an email asking her if she can extend the OBC to us, or if we should cancel and rebook in order to receive it.

Also - I see on our final payment they have included a charge for travel insurance that we did not ask for or agree to. Hmmm ... I wonder if we should back out now and find another agency to work with. :confused:

To be continued ...

[mafig]

Lower pricing, OBC and other perks are usually agreed to before deposit. I haven't heard of anyone asking before final payment, but I guess it's a good time. Didn't y ou receive an invoice when you made your deposit? Wasn't the charge for insurance on there then?

If you're thinking of cancelling, make sure this agency doesn't charge any "cancellation fees."

[Sea42]

We booked our next cruise with an online TA for the first time. They offered the same rate for the same cabin as HAL and gave us 10% of our total fare in OBC. I'm OK not having a relationship with the TA. When we had used a B&M TA in the past they really let us down and we don't have many choices available to us in our small town. So I'm giving an online TA a chance due to the incentive that they offered.

[iancal]

We have a great on line TA that we have dealt with for a number of years.

We typically expect, and receive, OBC's that equal anywhere from 8 to 12 percent of the actual cruise fare, ie total fare less port taxes.

Additionally, we had one cruise where the agency had a group on the ship so we got that group rate plus the OBC's.

We are not really interested in free dinners, bottles of wine, flowers, insurance, etc. We just want a competitive price net of TA OBC's.

[Hawaiidan]

I had been usint the same agency for 10 years and had excellent discounts but wheb I started booking cheaper cabins and the like the discounts pretty much stopped.....
So, I looked around... and discovered than" some airlines" are getting in the cruise business and offering like 30,000 miles credit for booking at the same price and with the same guarantees as other on line and travel agencies do That ammounts for a 2 week cruise to almost a 10% discount if you value the miles as money.. which I do and use.

[iancal]

We get everything agreed to upfront...price, obc's etc and our on line agency puts it in a one page document prior to our booking so there are misunderstandings on price, category, obc's and payment due dates.

[airlink diva]

I have an online TA that I use for the majority of my cruises.
At times I've received obc, soda cards, dinner in Pinnacle, upgrade, or discounts.
Now this is not on every cruise. On some,it's just the best possible price (which is of big deal since I cruise solo alot). I guess it's also how a cruise is selling.
While I would love something extra with every cruise, I don't just look for it.
My TA do work for me and her suggestions and advice is equal to such.

[Two@Sea]

Lower pricing, OBC and other perks are usually agreed to before deposit. I haven't heard of anyone asking before final payment, but I guess it's a good time. Didn't y ou receive an invoice when you made your deposit? Wasn't the charge for insurance on there then?

If you're thinking of cancelling, make sure this agency doesn't charge any "cancellation fees."

I feel a cancellation fee is perfectly reasonable when a TA has given me her time and attention. JMO.

[Hobbsey]

I feel a cancellation fee is perfectly reasonable when a TA has given me her time and attention. JMO.

I tend to agree with this, within reason.

I have done it all ways (including booking myself when I was a cruise only franchise owner). For the next one I'm using a TA and it's been great. She matches HALS price and has handled 2 price drops for me. We're getting $50 pp on board credit and Pinnicle Grill for all or VF Gs and my VD. Our one VH G is only getting $25 pp credit.

Great service so far and I'm expecting it to continue to be so.

[scdreamer]

The rest of the story ---

I emailed the TA this morning to ask about getting the OBC that is being offered online right now, and she assured me that we are receiving that amount, even though it wasn't part of the initial contract.

So ... I guess it never hurts to ask ;) !

[Randyk47]

I tend to agree with this, within reason.

I have done it all ways (including booking myself when I was a cruise only franchise owner). For the next one I'm using a TA and it's been great. She matches HALS price and has handled 2 price drops for me. We're getting $50 pp on board credit and Pinnicle Grill for all or VF Gs and my VD. Our one VH G is only getting $25 pp credit.

Great service so far and I'm expecting it to continue to be so.

I'd be saying "check please" and out the door if all my TA did was match HAL's price. :)