Book Through Carnival or TA?

My DH and I are planning on a cruise this July (without our children :D) on the Breeze and though we are not new to cruising we are new to Carnival. We have booked directly with other cruise lines before and also through a TA. For you seasoned Carnival cruisers is it better to book directly with Carnival or use a TA? Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks.:)

I would either book it online, as Carnival has a VERY user friendly website, OR, book it with Carnival.

This way you are in complete control of your booking.

If you book with a TA, and there are price drops, you cannot call Carnival.

You have to go through your TA.

I have read horror stories on here about TA's being less than cooperative about getting these for their clients.

I am not saying ALL TA's are like that, but it can happen.

If you have a great TA that you have used for years, and can trust them, then you can make that choice.

I just don't like dealing with 3rd parties.

I am in full agreement that you should book your cruise directly through Carnival. I've used a travel agent a few times, but was not happy with not being able to talk directly to the cruise line myself.

I also agree with booking direct. you are in total control of your booking. You can come here for any questions. there is a TON of very informative people here

I'm on board with the rest... KPfromCT has it correct. that was everything I would have said. My DW is a T.A. and I book all our cruises on line.

Carnival has been very helpful whenever I call them...

If you call Carnival directly, ask to be assigned a PVP (Personal Vacation Planner). From then on you will deal directly with them and not have a million different answers by speaking to different agents every time you call. We love ours and she does what she can for us.

My whole family has been using the same TA for many years. She takes good care of us on all our travel plans not only cruises. She always sends goodies to the cabin and takes care of price drops promptly. She's a good one I hope she don't retire soon.

It's easier to go directly with Carnival. Keep an eye out for price drops and call Carnival directly. I find it better dealing with them directly than with a TA.

I'm on board with the rest... KPfromCT has it correct. that was everything I would have said. My DW is a T.A. and I book all our cruises on line.

Carnival has been very helpful whenever I call them...

You don't support your wife's business??

I agree with the others, I used a TA in New Orleans a couple of times on our first two cruises and really had a problem on one when Hurricane Katrina took out their office . Now I always book them myself using the cruise lines website. I love being able to call Carnival direct when I want to make a change to my booking or if I notice a price drop. Sometimes those lower prices don't last long and if you can't get a TA right away you might lose a good price drop.

I agree that Carnival's website is very easy to use.

Book directly with Carnival, must easier time.

You don't support your wife's business??

You're kidding, right?:eek::eek:

That is just RIDICULOUS.

The commission the TA's get paid for a cruise is MINIMAL.

Nevermind.

We have done our bookings both through a TA and with Carnival. It depends on when you are planning to travel and if you qualify for Early Saver or not. If you are too close to the travel date to use ES, then you might want to look for a travel agent who will give you OBC and a bottle of wine for the same or lower price. If you qualify for ES, then go directly to Carnival. It's much easier to get price drops.

We used to book with a TA when flights and hotels plus cruise were involved because we trusted her knowledge and liked the convenience of her organizing all of our itinerary and coordinating insurance. When she took maternity leave, we began booking directly with Carnival and find it very easy to book ourselves. Plus, we usually book early saver and it's way easier to submit price drop requests ourselves. I agree with the consensus of booking directly with Carnival.

I'm a travel agent and I recently had someone ask me to price out their cruise and then they said they were going to book it directly through Carnival. I explained to them that as an avid cruisre, I'm more knowledgeable about cruises and will be able to give them insider info. I also always send a little goodie to my client's stateroom. The commission is minimal, especially on Carnival, but it still helps. I'm a single mom and the commissions help me pay to take my son on our own cruises!

If you are on these boards, I imagine you are pretty well versed and don't need someone to give you all the tips. However if you don't have time to comb through these threads and understand Cheers or search for the best excursions, a travel agent could come in handy. I give my clients all of that information, plus I watch for price drops and make sure to have them applied.

I'd say the best part of having a travel agent is that you don't have to sit on hold with Carnival or try to get questions answered through them. Your travel agent SHOULD do all that for you. If they aren't, they are not a good travel agent. The biggest selling point of a travel agent is the level of service they can give you.

I would 100% book directly with Carnival as I was one of those people that booked through a TA and when the price dropped I was helpless.

book online or book directly with carnival. then YOU have full control of your booking without going through the middle man (price drops, upsells etc.)...aka..the travel agent. so much easier.

We booked our first 3 cruises with a TA (1999, 2002 and 2006) and was nothing but problems with billings and such, not to mention, the TA really dropped the ball in 2002 and 2006 by not linking our staterooms together thankfully guest services was great on the ship! since then I have booked the cruises directly with carnival or online. makes my life so much easier

My TA is the bomb! I tried booking direct through Carnival one time to see what prices I could get that way. Then I called my TA and had her book a cabin for the same cruise. She was able to get us on board for $100.00 cheaper for 2 than Carnival did, plus we got and additional $180.00 OBC!! She handled the flights as well, and looks for price drops daily to make sure her clients get the best deal up to the date of sailing! I think it's just preference, but I like calling her, telling her what we want, and call me back with everything I need to sail away!

Hi everyone, am totally new here and so looking for tips and advice re booking a Carnival Cruise for August 2015 :)

I would be looking at booking direct with them but wondering when best time to book for discounts, on board credit, upgrades etc etc.....?

Also once booked would they honour any price reductions?

Advice appreciated...:D

If a TA can give u a great perk, and they 100 % do not mind calling in price drops and do not charge a fee.. Book with a TA.

The early saver point noted above is a great one!

I have had to call carnival twice. First time over an hour. Second time 45 min. But I booked early saver and I like handling my own booking, so even though the time on the phone is frustrating I book carnival through their web or on phone.

That being said I ave booked an NCL cruise with on online TA ..good obc perk.

I have used the same TA for 25 years and I would never book without using her. Besides having the knowledge and sending little gifts to the room, it helps support the local economy. I can't even guess how many $100,000's the agency has donated to the community over the years. Every year we go to a fund raiser at the university and I would guess the agency donates at least $20,000 in raffle prizes every year. Five years ago we were two days from sailing for our 30th anniversary when our DIL suddenly died. One phone call to out TA and she took care of everything. She even canceled my flights I booked using FF miles on my own. Obviously we were pretty preoccupied for several days and it was comforting to know that was one less thing I had to worry about.