Advantages of PCC

Does matching a price reduction simply mean that they will re-price if HAL reduces the price (of course they will if it is outside the final payment window) OR does it mean they will match a TA price??

I suspect the former rather than the latter.

Does matching a price reduction simply mean that they will re-price (of course they will if it is outside the final payment window) OR does it mean they will match a TA price??

I suspect the former rather than the latter.

When we book with our on line agent, we generally have one call to together to review our cabin selection or in some cases to select the cabin.

Working with an on line TA does not imply that all communication is by email. This is certainly not the case with our TA. We do however, find email more convenient and it provides a clear record of our arrangements.

Does matching a price reduction simply mean that they will re-price if HAL reduces the price (of course they will if it is outside the final payment window) OR does it mean they will match a TA price??

 

I suspect the former rather than the latter.

I imagine this was a failure in communication. There are some bad PCC's just like that are plenty of bad TAs. The PCC likely was talking reduction on the hal website but was not clear. Can TAs legally advertise a price lower than hals website? I thought that was a no no.

I imagine this was a failure in communication. There are some bad PCC's just like that are plenty of bad TAs. The PCC likely was talking reduction on the hal website but was not clear. Can TAs legally advertise a price lower than hals website? I thought that was a no no.

It's not a matter of "legality" but that HAL, and actually most if not all cruise lines, now have a policy that they will not do business with agencies/agents who openly advertise discounted prices. This all came about when brick and mortar, plus others in the industry, complained about the discounters and basically threatened to stop selling cruise line products. I think Celebrity was actually the first major line to threaten to drop discounters back five or six years ago and it spread pretty quickly to other lines from there. I think the lines actually tried to stop discounting all together but legally there was nothing they could do about what the discounters did with their commissions.

It's the above that makes me seriously question the PCC's statement that they would price match and why I think it is a mistake or misunderstanding. If HAL changes or changed their policy to full price matching including matching OBC and fare kickbacks offered by discounters then they'd effectively be abandoning their brick and mortar agents/agencies. Pretty sure that's not the case. More likely the PCC meant to say, or said, they'd honor any future official price drop. More and more lines, though not all, are going to a policy of honoring their advertised price reductions in the form of a fare guarantee.

We use a TA every cruise. Get about 10% in OBC or price reductions, so every 10th cruise is free. Also, he also very responsive every time we call with a request or question. To us it is a no-brainer

I would use my PCC only IF they were able to give me matching rates and OBC from a travel agency from a super big box store. Since they don't match fares or OBC I will go where I get a great value. Last time I used my PCC I was hoping for a bit more interaction from her but never heard from her after the inital booking and getting our deposit.

For the $260 Ill book with the other folks unless HAL was to match it.

I would use my PCC only IF they were able to give me matching rates and OBC from a travel agency from a super big box store. Since they don't match fares or OBC I will go where I get a great value. Last time I used my PCC I was hoping for a bit more interaction from her but never heard from her after the inital booking and getting our deposit.

 

For the $260 Ill book with the other folks unless HAL was to match it.

With all due respect why would the PCC call you out of the blue? I don't expect mine to call me to ask me how my day is going. If I have a question or problem or want to book something she contacts me promptly. If obc or a lower price is what you are after then the best possibility of that is with a ta. I have never found one in Canada that does that. There is no way I'm going to book in usd due to the fluctuation in our dollar. There is zero upside for me using a ta. I do understand that is different if you are a usa resident.

With all due respect why would the PCC call you out of the blue? I don't expect mine to call me to ask me how my day is going. If I have a question or problem or want to book something she contacts me promptly. If obc or a lower price is what you are after then the best possibility of that is with a ta. I have never found one in Canada that does that. There is no way I'm going to book in usd due to the fluctuation in our dollar. There is zero upside for me using a ta. I do understand that is different if you are a usa resident.

Actually even though I've never booked through them I was assigned a HAL PCC and he'd periodically call me to check if I was interested in or ready to book another cruise. We used to be signed up through the HAL website for information on selected regions and he typically was calling about cruises in those areas of interest.

Back then we had a number of HAL cruise reports on our website and he'd linked from Cruise Critic and read the reports. I know that because he'd mention a cruise and usually with a question or comment that could have only come from reading our web page. He also apparently read the reviews I've written and posted here on the cruise review section. No secret that we have a less, actually substantially so, than a great cruise in the Veendam several years ago. A week or so after I posted the review here he called me. He was concerned about some of the issues I commented about in the review and asked for more information.

I don't hear from him anymore as it was obvious from comments here and our future cruise information on our website that we've at least temporarily drifted away from HAL. I also removed us from mailings and emails so that probably had an impact.

Actually even though I've never booked through them I was assigned a HAL PCC and he'd periodically call me to check if I was interested in or ready to book another cruise. We used to be signed up through the HAL website for information on selected regions and he typically was calling about cruises in those areas of interest.

 

Back then we had a number of HAL cruise reports on our website and he'd linked from Cruise Critic and read the reports. I know that because he'd mention a cruise and usually with a question or comment that could have only come from reading our web page. He also apparently read the reviews I've written and posted here on the cruise review section. No secret that we have a less, actually substantially so, than a great cruise in the Veendam several years ago. A week or so after I posted the review here he called me. He was concerned about some of the issues I commented about in the review and asked for more information.

 

I don't hear from him anymore as it was obvious from comments here and our future cruise information on our website that we've at least temporarily drifted away from HAL. I also removed us from mailings and emails so that probably had an impact.

Yes but the contact was for the purpose of trying to drum up more business. The only time I get special pricing, emails etc from hal is when I have no cruises booked with them. They couldn't care less about me otherwise. All cruise lines are the same. I'm being bombarded with stuff from princess now. I don't like people pestering me at home. I know where they are if I'm interested.

I think a good PCC would call to check on you a few weeks before the cruise to see if you have any questions they could asnwer or call you after the cruise to thank you for booking with them. It would be a great way to have a semi-personal connection with your PCC. My PCC calls me when they see I have been on the website checking out deals. They ask why I didn't book or when I might be ready to book and I have shared with them that companies like Costo were offering certain deals for OBC or a lower price. I told her that if she can match what Costco was doing, they I would book through her. I guess it wasn't important to try and get me to book with her. Maybe she had enough bookings.

I think a good PCC would call to check on you a few weeks before the cruise to see if you have any questions they could asnwer or call you after the cruise to thank you for booking with them. It would be a great way to have a semi-personal connection with your PCC. My PCC calls me when they see I have been on the website checking out deals. They ask why I didn't book or when I might be ready to book and I have shared with them that companies like Costo were offering certain deals for OBC or a lower price. I told her that if she can match what Costco was doing, they I would book through her. I guess it wasn't important to try and get me to book with her. Maybe she had enough bookings.

See, that would be very annoying to me. If I have questions I'm not shy about emailing or calling. Mine thanks me when I book. I don't need any more than that. I'm curious, does your ta call you just to chat or thank you for your booking? To me I would think that person had too much free time, but that's just me and my preference. I have all the contact I need with my PCC.

Yes but the contact was for the purpose of trying to drum up more business. The only time I get special pricing, emails etc from hal is when I have no cruises booked with them. They couldn't care less about me otherwise. All cruise lines are the same. I'm being bombarded with stuff from princess now. I don't like people pestering me at home. I know where they are if I'm interested.

Actually I kind of understand that. Sure he was trying, despite our conversations where he told me he couldn't come anywhere close to matching the deals I was getting, to sell me a cruise. Some of it was wrapped in "I'm your PCC and I just want to make sure you're enjoying HAL." but he was working it so to speak. That's kind of his job and some like that kind of attention some like me don't. One of the reason I cut HAL off was when I did was to stop the mailings, emails, and phone calls. I figure I can turn all that back on with a couple of clicks on the HAL website.

TA "discount" space is actually group space blocked on a cruise at a lower than advertised price.

I owned a large agency for many years and we held group space on many cruises. Even then (1980's) we were prohibited from advertising our prices.

At that time we had to put up money and guarantee a dollar amount with the line to secure the space. If we sold the cabins we made money- if we didn't sell them we lost.

In those days same happened with the airlines- now with the elimination of commissions it is a whole new game. I am really glad that I used to own agencies.