Booking edge: travel agent, Azamara, other web site?

If seeking best pricing and perks, which booking venues deliver more: travel agent, Azamara website, other websites (consolidators)?

My opinion is that a trusted travel agent who knows his/her product is the best way to go. Azamara has a quirky website and I like that my agent takes care of details for me. I'd share her name, of course, but it goes against CC guidelines. ;)

My opinion is that a trusted travel agent who knows his/her product is the best way to go. Azamara has a quirky website and I like that my agent takes care of details for me. I'd share her name, of course, but it goes against CC guidelines. ;)

+1. Agree with Diedre that a good travel agent will deliver more and certainly is less frustrating to deal with then "pre-cruise Azamara".

I also use a travel agent. I like the fact I can call him when I need to and he is usually in his office on the weekends as well.

He also took care of my flights for me and my hotel reservation on our last b2b cruise. Since it was a b2b, I was not able to book my choice air flights myself and it saved me a huge headache.

Is there any benefit to booking through Choice if one prefers first or biz classes?

Is there any benefit to booking through Choice if nor prefers first or biz flights?

I only book with choice air if I have some sort of credit...we had $1,000. credit if we booked our flights with choice air. This was the second time we've used choice air and we did not have a problem either time.

I chose my flights with my preferred carrier so I would get my miles. Once your flights are booked, you can upgrade your seats if you chose to. The only downside to this is if your airline strikes and you have to make other arrangements. I just had a friend lose $800 because Air France went on strike and she had to book other flights and could not get the same seating since it was a last minute booking. Very unfortunate for her.

Assuming one has sufficient miles for upgrade. Most of my awards are on Amex. Yes, I know these can be transferred but that is yet another layer to negotiate.

Find a travel agent who books a lot of AZ cruises every year- not one who books a few cruises. They have power! Power to offer special perks to their clients, power to call AZ on private lines that you will never have and talk to people who can solve any issues quickly. Travel agents are your best friend. The only issue is finding the right one for the cruise line you are interested in booking. Not all agents have clout/connections with every line. It generally takes some dective work to find the right agents.

I've already booked two Azamara cruises through my travel agent and I'm happy enough with the pricing. Now I'm asking particularly if there's sufficient benefit booking premium air travel (first or biz) through Choice with travel agent.

Find a travel agent who books a lot of AZ cruises every year- not one who books a few cruises. They have power! Power to offer special perks to their clients, power to call AZ on private lines that you will never have and talk to people who can solve any issues quickly. Travel agents are your best friend. The only issue is finding the right one for the cruise line you are interested in booking. Not all agents have clout/connections with every line. It generally takes some dective work to find the right agents.

I have one of those :D :D.

I just can't see Choice air under any circumstance except maybe financial (though I can get back of the bus usually at similar prices). I want to have control of my booking. I spend hours working out flights and thinking about them and making choices -- fun because I love to plan - but also so thoughtful that I know why the flights and what the options are and what I gained one over the other. That same thoughtfulness does not happen with Choice Air. the reservation is in but the tickets are not bought until much later just a month or so before the cruise. You pay for a deviation to get the flights you want and I don't see a price break -- at least I have not found it to save money compared to my researching method of buying flights. You pay to have a say in the tickets you are buying -- doesn't make sense to me. Perhaps one way fares but even those I find ways around. Won't even go into points and mileage and those other things you can work with these days.

I would pay a good TA to research flights and present me with options for a fee then do the booking. That service would be valuable if I didn't have time to do my research or it was last minute. You need to pay a fee for flight research because airlines give no commissions. Perhaps cruise lines do give commission on air but most TA's know little about flights because it does not pay in relation to the time it takes.

That's very helpful, Bowie, and confirms my thinking on this.

That's very helpful, Bowie, and confirms my thinking on this.

I think it depends and changes from time to time. On my first Azamara cruise I booked through a tour operator (Planet Cruise) because their price for the cruise, 1 night's hotel, all transfers and flights was much lower than booking everything myself. This time I booked the cruise with Azamara and my flights directly with the Airlines myself. I got a good price from Azamara and used Airmiles to buy and upgrade one of my flights. BeforeI booked I researched prices through operators and independently. There was very little difference in price and being able to get upgrades really made the difference to us. We were able to get business class flights home for the price of economy!

We have always used a travel agent who we have been dealing with for years. Sometimes, the Azamara cruise price can be similar to our T/A but our T/A come up with a minimum of US$500 on board credits (More for a Club Suite) which we mainly use to pay for the ship's excursions. We have also found that booking early with the T/A increases the savings as Azamara website prices tend to get more expensive as the cruise date gets nearer. We have saved over US$2000 booking our 2015 and 2016 Azamara cruises this way. Booked and paid deposits for both 5 months ago.

Scotpom

Do UK cruisers feel the same?

Do UK cruisers feel the same?

We have booked 2 AZ cruises, 1 by ourselves and and 1 through a TV based Co. We found that to suit our requirements we didn't take the standard TV package and preferred to pay more to get the flights, hotels etc that suited us.

On the whole I don't think UK travel agents offer the same service that US TA's do.

We have booked 2 AZ cruises, 1 by ourselves and and 1 through a TV based Co. We found that to suit our requirements we didn't take the standard TV package and preferred to pay more to get the flights, hotels etc that suited us.

 

On the whole I don't think UK travel agents offer the same service that US TA's do.[/quote]

 

UK rules are very much different than ours so I am not sure there can be an "apples to apples" comparison.

We have booked 2 AZ cruises, 1 by ourselves and and 1 through a TV based Co. We found that to suit our requirements we didn't take the standard TV package and preferred to pay more to get the flights, hotels etc that suited us.

 

On the whole I don't think UK travel agents offer the same service that US TA's do.[/quote]

 

UK rules are very much different than ours so I am not sure there can be an "apples to apples" comparison.

 

You are perfectly entitled to deal with a US travel agent out of the UK. Many of my friends do as do friends in Australasia!

Scotpom

 

You are perfectly entitled to deal with a US travel agent out of the UK. Many of my friends do as do friends in Australasia!

Scotpom

 

Some cruise lines discourage this practice by refusing bookings by US TA's for residents from other countries. This is especially true where the cruise line has invested in marketing, etc. in the other country. Doesn't endure non US TA's if the line allows their residents to shop over the pond.

 

Some cruise lines discourage this practice by refusing bookings by US TA's for residents from other countries. This is especially true where the cruise line has invested in marketing, etc. in the other country. Doesn't endure non US TA's if the line allows their residents to shop over the pond.

 

Agreed. Some cruise lines forbid a booking for non residents such as Princess and HAl for Australasians and probably other countries as well but if you can get a much better deal for Celebrity, Azamara, Crystal and others using an American T/A why wouldn't you do it. My local T/A (who I would love to deal with) admits he can't get the deals that US T/A's get. When we showed him the deals we got with our US agent he conceded that to match it he would be making a sizeable loss!

Scotpom