Jump to content

Credit from travel agents for booking Azamara


AllisonJames
 Share

Recommended Posts

There has been a lot on this board about various credits received for booking Azamara, with some posters indicating they have received hundreds of dollars from their travel agents and even credit that is refunded back to them if they don't use it. Since we hope to book many Azamara cruises in the future (God willing) I would like to educate myself on this. Not asking for travel agent recommendations which I know is in violation of this board's policy but would like to know what is influencing the amounts you all are receiving -- is it really high end cabins/high cost cruises, has the credit increased with the amount of business you give the agent over the years, we will soon book our 3rd cruise with the same agent, typically spend $9-11K per cruise, what in your opinion is a fair amount of credit? I don't think we are using an agent who books a high volume of Azamara cruises, do some have better commission deals because of that and can pass on some of those savings to the customer?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm in the UK which is a different market to you (I'm presuming you are in the States as you don't have your location in your profile). If I spend £3000 on a cruise I usually get back around £150-£200 as a cut of his commission, taken off the final price. Doesn't matter the cabin type. It's a large internet agency, but with a direct line and dedicated agent who I get on with very well. As you say, CC rules preclude us from naming names or giving hints.

 

Phil

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recent booking, not on Azamara, was $10,000 without port fees and taxes. We got $1050 in refundable OBC from our TA. I have not found a difference in the OBC we get based on the cruise line we are booking. Both TAs we use give use 9-10% of the base fare.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To those of us in the UK, especially those who book direct, these are eye watering sums. Now I understand why there is so much ra- ra onboard about spending OBC and items I might think of as overpriced such as spas and gift shops attract so much attention.

 

What I cannot understand is, if US agents are rebating back such high % of commission, how do they still make a profit particularly when I look at the $ prices for cruises vs £ and I do not see the £ prices being lower.

Edited by uktog
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Commissions to TAs vary considerably by cruise line and tour company. Within The Royal Caribbean companies we have received +/-10% on Azamara and Celebrity, and much less on Royal Caribbean. We took the family (kids & grandkids) on a Disney cruise. Percentage (much lower) there varied by the cost and the type of cabin.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To those of us in the UK, especially those who book direct, these are eye watering sums. Now I understand why there is so much ra- ra onboard about spending OBC and items I might think of as overpriced such as spas and gift shops attract so much attention.

 

What I cannot understand is, if US agents are rebating back such high % of commission, how do they still make a profit particularly when I look at the $ prices for cruises vs £ and I do not see the £ prices being lower.

 

Really simple how the TA makes money. The price of the cruise in $ or pounds or Euros or any other currency and amount of the price really doesn't matter. Depending on the cruise line, a TA can make up to 18% of the commissionable amount of the cruise. That is the amount of money the cruise line sends them around embarkation time. The TA then rebates an amount that leaves them the profit that they need to make to remain in business and make a good living. Possibly they rebate more to people who do most of the work themselves and a lesser amount if the TA needs to spend a lot of time with the booking, air, hotels, etc. Really depends on what percentage of the fare they want to make. As to the OBC, gratuities, etc., sometimes the cruise line will provide those perks to the TA to be given to the customer and sometimes the TA pays for those perks. If the TA is paying those perks, pretty sure the rebates go down as the TA only has so much commission coming in and as you said make any money if they give back more than they take in as profits.

 

By the way, to the OP, this rebating and perks goes on with all cruise lines not just Azamara and also pretty sure the volume a TA does with a cruise line impacts the amount of money the TA can rebate or provide as perks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Really simple how the TA makes money. The price of the cruise in $ or pounds or Euros or any other currency and amount of the price really doesn't matter. Depending on the cruise line, a TA can make up to 18% of the commissionable amount of the cruise. That is the amount of money the cruise line sends them around embarkation time. The TA then rebates an amount that leaves them the profit that they need to make to remain in business and make a good living. Possibly they rebate more to people who do most of the work themselves and a lesser amount if the TA needs to spend a lot of time with the booking, air, hotels, etc. Really depends on what percentage of the fare they want to make. As to the OBC, gratuities, etc., sometimes the cruise line will provide those perks to the TA to be given to the customer and sometimes the TA pays for those perks. If the TA is paying those perks, pretty sure the rebates go down as the TA only has so much commission coming in and as you said make any money if they give back more than they take in as profits.

 

 

 

By the way, to the OP, this rebating and perks goes on with all cruise lines not just Azamara and also pretty sure the volume a TA does with a cruise line impacts the amount of money the TA can rebate or provide as perks.

 

 

 

Most ta's do not make 18% commission! Only the biggest make that. For many they rebate most of their earnings. Sad really

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow this is so interesting, thanks everyone and I wish I had some of your agents! $1,000 back on a $10K cruise -- that's amazing! I expect the poster who is getting that books A LOT of cruises with that agent. I like my agent a lot but as I said in my original post, I don't think her agency books a lot with Azamara which seems to influence the availability of onboard credit and/or cash rebates. Because I took my first Azamara cruise with absolutely no onboard credit, I was happy with the credit I have on my upcoming cruise from early booking, onboard booking and a bit from the travel agent but it is nowhere near what some of you are getting! Well done on being informed consumers! And thanks to this board because before I started frequenting this board, I had never even known about travel agents giving credit and didn't know to ask for it on all the previous cruises I have taken.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow this is so interesting, thanks everyone and I wish I had some of your agents! $1,000 back on a $10K cruise -- that's amazing! I expect the poster who is getting that books A LOT of cruises with that agent. I like my agent a lot but as I said in my original post, I don't think her agency books a lot with Azamara which seems to influence the availability of onboard credit and/or cash rebates. Because I took my first Azamara cruise with absolutely no onboard credit, I was happy with the credit I have on my upcoming cruise from early booking, onboard booking and a bit from the travel agent but it is nowhere near what some of you are getting! Well done on being informed consumers! And thanks to this board because before I started frequenting this board, I had never even known about travel agents giving credit and didn't know to ask for it on all the previous cruises I have taken.

 

Just remember, the percentage off whatever it is is never off the full cruise price. Commissions are never paid on the full price; some of the items not figured in the commission process are taxes, port charges, air fare, and other things. Sometimes the deductions can be thousands of dollars on certain cruises so no, you would not if you were getting 10% get $1,000 off on a $10,000 cruise. It would be a lesser amount because there are always items that don't get commissions.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My TA does give 10% on the total amount paid including taxes & port fees (airfare & additional hotel nights are excluded). Also, we receive the check from her 7-10 days before we depart. We found out about her from another couple on a land tour we took a number of years ago.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We always transfer to our big online TA. We book with them directly or on the ship or through the cruise line. Advantage of on the ship (Celebrity AZ or RCCL) is you get extra on board credit.

 

We actually booked our 2018 AZ Journey Norway cruise while on Celebrity on Black Friday. So we were able to combine what the cruise line gave us, plus a bonus, and then a bunch of stuff for Black Friday. The TA gave us additional on board credit for Black Friday plus their normal perks. Ended up with $2700 on board credit for the 15 days cruise, and that's a verandah, not a suite.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We always transfer to our big online TA. We book with them directly or on the ship or through the cruise line. Advantage of on the ship (Celebrity AZ or RCCL) is you get extra on board credit.

 

We actually booked our 2018 AZ Journey Norway cruise while on Celebrity on Black Friday. So we were able to combine what the cruise line gave us, plus a bonus, and then a bunch of stuff for Black Friday. The TA gave us additional on board credit for Black Friday plus their normal perks. Ended up with $2700 on board credit for the 15 days cruise, and that's a verandah, not a suite.

 

Wow in the UK we are really grateful if we get $150 from an agent!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Slightly off topic, but related to OBC:

 

We are looking to book our first Azamara cruise shortly and plan on using a travel agent that provides a nice OBC. However was curious about the Early Booking Bonus: Can I get the EBB when booking directly with the TA, or do I need to book with Azamara, then transfer the rez to the TA? I ask because I can't find the EBB referenced anywhere on the TA's web site (and haven't called them yet).

 

Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Slightly off topic, but related to OBC:

 

We are looking to book our first Azamara cruise shortly and plan on using a travel agent that provides a nice OBC. However was curious about the Early Booking Bonus: Can I get the EBB when booking directly with the TA, or do I need to book with Azamara, then transfer the rez to the TA? I ask because I can't find the EBB referenced anywhere on the TA's web site (and haven't called them yet).

Thanks!

 

Yes your agent can make the booking on qualifying EBB voyages for you. (I believe that is your question?)

 

Here's a link to the web page with the Terms & Conditions for our Early Booking Bonus:

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/int/plan/early-booking-bonus

 

I see there are currently 3 voyages eligible that will become ineligible in a few days since their sail date is August 19, 2018. If you're interested in one of those, don't wait!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yes your agent can make the booking on qualifying EBB voyages for you. (I believe that is your question?)

 

Here's a link to the web page with the Terms & Conditions for our Early Booking Bonus:

https://www.azamaraclubcruises.com/int/plan/early-booking-bonus

 

I see there are currently 3 voyages eligible that will become ineligible in a few days since their sail date is August 19, 2018. If you're interested in one of those, don't wait!

 

Great, thanks! We are actively studying up on Azamara and the new winter 2019 Cuba cruises.

 

Cheers,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...