Travel agent or booking direct? Which is best?

My friend and I went on a delightful river cruise last May. We had such a good time that we want to book another one. Last time we used a travel agent and were generally satisfied with the arrangements. This time, though, we are very close to booking with the cruise line directly, Viking, if it matters.

Neither of us are world travelers and wonder if we're doing the right thing. Any advice or thoughts would be much appreciated. Thank you.

What value do you see in booking directly? A good travel agent will give you the best deal the cruise line offers, plus throw in some extra benefit (usually OnBoard Credit or OBC). And if anything goes wrong, the TA is there (in the US with a good phone connection) to act as your advocate.

I posted this question before but don't know where it went. I am sorry if it is a duplicate. Here is my question.

My friend and I used a travel agent to book our May Viking cruise and were satisfied for the most part.

This time we are going to book directly with Viking. We have never done this and wonder if we are doing the right thing. Neither of us are world travelers so don't bring a lot of travel wisdom to the table. Your thoughts will be much appreciated. Thank you.

"Satisfied for the most part" does not sound too good ! Did something go wrong, you really need a travel agent that specializes in Luxury Travel and River Cruises. The mom and pop agency also do not give the benefits such a OBC or other perks....

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I always use the same local, human TA when traveling more than a quick direct flight away. She knows our preferences for EVERYTHING, and always has my my back. Plus she surprises us with flowers, wine and/or speciality dining. Have been delighted with river cruise help--she knows when it's smart to take Viking arrangements, and when we're better off not to!

Benefits paid by many TA - OBC, stands for On Board Credits. For example my TA reduces the total fare by about 10%. This is a substantial discount but she does a large volume of River Cruise business with various companies. I am sure this is coming off the top of her commission, I also received $200 for referring her a client that booked and took a river cruise. This type of arrangement is not unique to my agent but is practice by many Luxury Consortiums - specializing in Lux cruising and river cruises. Easily found in the Internet. Mine is very responsive, her asst is available if she is not there and of course the is 24 hrs emergency assistance while traveling. Google is your friend!

PS - my local TA whom I used for 20 yrs.... Gave me a $50 OBC once in those 20 yrs. this new TA has given me enough to almost fund an entire river cruise. So you decide, your local TA who I do all the eork for anyway or a distant TA who actually gives me good service and benefits! For me it was a no brainer and if something goes wrong I have an advocate dealing with the Cruise Line.

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I posted this question before but don't know where it went. I am sorry if it is a duplicate. Here is my question.

My friend and I used a travel agent to book our May Viking cruise and were satisfied for the most part.

This time we are going to book directly with Viking. We have never done this and wonder if we are doing the right thing. Neither of us are world travelers so don't bring a lot of travel wisdom to the table. Your thoughts will be much appreciated. Thank you.

We generally make all the arrangements with Viking and then have our travel agent take over the booking so we get a BIG (15%) discount off the Viking prices.

We generally make all the arrangements with Viking and then have our travel agent take over the booking so we get a BIG (15%) discount off the Viking prices.

Exactly!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I totally agree with Host Jazzbeau! Why NOT use a TA. I can't think of a good reason. I often book while on board a cruise to get an onboard discount but then have it transferred to my TA when I get home. They do get you discounts you can't get and they are quite helpful if you have issues while traveling.

I always book with my TA...discounts, shipboard credits, we get them all with her not with the cruise line directly.

How do I find a travel agent who provides perks? We're from Canada and I prefer to use CDN agent. We're booking our third cruise with same agent but haven't been offered any perks. Any suggestions?

How do I find a travel agent who provides perks? We're from Canada and I prefer to use CDN agent. We're booking our third cruise with same agent but haven't been offered any perks. Any suggestions?

You don't have to book with a CDN agent. My travel agent books cruises for people in Canada and I am sure many others do as well.

And sadly, CC rules prevent any of us from giving (or learning about) names of TAs. For my part, I love my TA and value the service she gives, but I only get a few hundred $ OBC on each cruise. When I hear about people who routinely get 10-15% rebated, I sure wish that CC would let them name names! But alas, no -- and my job is to enforce that rule. "Heavy the head ..."

I'm one of the lone voices booking my cruises directly on my own. I like making my own arrangements. I've talked with many TAs - some recommended by others on our cruises and on this board who've emailed me - and apparently those TAs aren't the ones offering the good deals because nothing thus far has tempted me to use one.

On the other hand, we don't cruise often - we're more likely to visit one or two places and rent an apartment or stay in hotels - so I'm much more comfortable researching and booking myself and our normal vacation options aren't those where a TA would be providing discounts anyway.

How do I find a travel agent who provides perks? We're from Canada and I prefer to use CDN agent. We're booking our third cruise with same agent but haven't been offered any perks. Any suggestions?

Although I agree with others that you don't need a Canadian agent (I'm from Toronto and my agent is in the States), there are good agents who specialize in cruises right in the GTA, and I'm sure other cities in Canada. But you'll have to find them, doing the usual google searches. Then, have a phone conversation and ask them about their experience with the different lines that you want to use, and if you like their answers, then try them.

And remember, it's not just about perks, it's about knowledgeability and service.

On our last cruise in September, many of our fellow passengers had used Viking Air. The Air France strike was in it's height and a lot of flights were being cancelled. The local ship crew was swamped and not prepared to handle all the problems that arose. The passengers that had the most success with the minimum amount of delays, were the ones that called/emailed their TAs and had them call and work with Viking Air from here in the States. Those TAs earned their money and play a very significant roll in helping their clients in a very difficult situation.

A good example of booking direct is the $$$$ I saved on an AMA cruise a few years ago.

I was traveling with some friends who insisted on AMA and used a TA. I called AMA direct and received the same trip for $500 less then they paid. TA's get money from the cruise lines which make costs increase.

Many people want to use TA's as a security blanket but I travel with GCCL 99% of the time and they do not use TA's which suits me fine.

Most travel agents in the U.S. don't charge more. They charge the same as booking AMA direct and are there to help and direct you as needed.

We go with Vantage, which doesn't use TAs.

Not a problem, since Vantage always beats the prices of Viking, Uniworld, AMA and Avalon.

We go with Vantage, which doesn't use TAs.

Not a problem, since Vantage always beats the prices of Viking, Uniworld, AMA and Avalon.

I'm with Papa....besides I'm a control freak so it works for me to deal directly with Vantage. Only time I used a TA, she screwed up royally. With the internet what it is today, it's so easy to DIY.

Usually, a TA will get you a better price than dealing DIY directly with the cruise line. This assumes that the cruise line commissions TA, so it doesn't apply to Grand Circle or Vantage.

We have always booked on our own but the past 2 Viking river cruises rather than booking directly we used a TA referred by a friend, they've been excellent. We have cruised with Viking 5 times and the TA not only gets us the same discounts Viking would plus a very nice $ discount. So far the only difference I see is our documents were sent to the TA and they overnighted them to us.

We booked a Viking cruise for Oct 2015 at the Viking website price with a TA. We are getting $200 OBC as well as a $1000+ gift card (post cruise) from the TA that is redeemable for cash.