Booking with a travel agent

I understand that if you book with a travel agent you will get a cabin credit from the travel agent. Is this on most cruise lines? Are there any reputable travel agents that give more perks?

Not all travel agents give on board credits. Some give nothing. We had one once that gave nothing and charged us a $25 booking fee. Other perks they might give are free gratuities, free specialty dining, free spa treatments, etc.

Some reputable travel agents may offer a gift or small amount of OBC but provide SERVICE. I know one who provides amazing service. That's her perk.

We book most of the time with one who gives OBC, specialty dining and obc depending on the deals RC works with them.

If the perks aren't substantial, I like to keep control of my own reservation.

Some reputable travel agents may offer a gift or small amount of OBC but provide SERVICE. I know one who provides amazing service. That's her perk...

Same for us. We get no actual perks of any kind but our TA saved our butts big time on our last cruise. She moved heaven and earth to make something specific happen for us and it was awesome.

OP, just so you know we are not permitted to mention or direct each other to specific travel agencies/agents. You can certainly shop around in your home town or online for one who meets your needs. :)

Some cruise lines (Princess for one) allow travel agents to discount fares. They just can't advertise them so you need to contact them for a quote. Our TA regularly discounts fares between 8 and 10% plus provides us with some OBC.

The travel agent we use gives a little extra OBC most of the time and provides free travel insurance for cruises that are 5 nights or longer.

Same for us. We get no actual perks of any kind but our TA saved our butts big time on our last cruise. She moved heaven and earth to make something specific happen for us and it was awesome.

 

OP, just so you know we are not permitted to mention or direct each other to specific travel agencies/agents. You can certainly shop around in your home town or online for one who meets your needs. :)

I was just about to submit a question concerning the reliability of a certain travel agency/agent. According to your post this is not allowed. Do you have any idea how to check with other cruisers to find this information?

We have been fortunate to have had a great TA for over 25 years.

We have had all kinds of perks -- and special gifts when we sailed over the holidays and our anniversary.

And we have encountered problems and she spent hours on the phone with the cruise line getting things straightened out.

I usually do my own booking, but for the last 3 cruises I've used a TA. These cruises aren't short ones, either 15 to 19 days so far, with another booked for Mar 18 for 22 days. On the lst of the 3 cruises, we received a speciality dining from the TA, the 2d a bowl of fruit, and on the last a give away bottle of wine. The TA is telling me that on my next one, which is a cruise/tour, there are no incentives. But if I dropped the tour part, there would be free gratuities plus help with air if EZ air is used. I was contacted by another TA whom I've not dealt with before, telling me that he can get an additional $800 in OBC. Just wish I could fine someone who has worked with the new TA for a reference.

I was just about to submit a question concerning the reliability of a certain travel agency/agent. According to your post this is not allowed. Do you have any idea how to check with other cruisers to find this information?

We found ours by word of mouth from friends who had used them and were pleased. Ask your cruising friends who their TA is.

I have only used a local agent once, otherwise I have used all online agents, never had any trouble with any and most of our cruises have been groups, other then booking we never required much as everyone booked shows and stuff online, do a search for best agents and go from there, some give 0 obc some give generously, do research and don't be afraid to call or email for quotes for the catagory and perks.

I have always used a travel agent for all my cruises. I even saved about $500 that was on cruise site. They also gave us OBC and a bottle of wine.

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It's not for the things we get from our long time TA, it's for the service offered -- dealing with any problems before and after the cruise with the cruise line and not having to spend hours on the phone dealing with them ourselves. :D

I understand that if you book with a travel agent you will get a cabin credit from the travel agent. Is this on most cruise lines? Are there any reputable travel agents that give more perks?

Unfortunately you are working under an incorrect assumption. Yes, you can sometimes find a TA who will give you some cabin credit, but most do not do that. If you do a lot of business with them, then they might give you a small token of appreciation, or if they are a huge agency that does millions of dollars of business with the line, they might give you a small token.

Unfortunately you are working under an incorrect assumption. Yes, you can sometimes find a TA who will give you some cabin credit, but most do not do that. If you do a lot of business with them, then they might give you a small token of appreciation, or if they are a huge agency that does millions of dollars of business with the line, they might give you a small token.

My next cruise has free grats, free premium drink package, free internet for 2, and 300 obc from celebrity and 300 from our TA on a balcony room 11 night cruise. That's not a small token.

The one after that on RC I have free grats, specialty dining for two, 100 dollar spa treatment and obc. I don't think that's a small token either. It's not always that much, but that's my next two!

It probably also depends on whether your TA is part of a large travel company or more of an independent TA. My TA runs her own moderate size travel agency out of her home. She is ALWAYS available and ALWAYS responds to questions and needs immediately. This is a big plus for me. She can also add us to group bookings she may have on a particular cruise which helps our price. She also compares price with ship perks and without and has given opinions on cabin locations. We usually receive an additional $50 OBC pp, from her, and sometimes chocolate covered strawberries delivered to our room during the cruise or free dinner in a speciality restaurant. She was also my helping angel last year when my traveling partner passed away from the effects of agent orange in VietNam and she passionately and quickly guided me through the paperwork for refunds for two planned cruises.

Yes, I can book my own cruises and general travel plans easily, but I have a gem of a TA who is always ready to help and, she loves the fact that I have cruised a lot and know what I want and follow through on anything I need to do.