TA: Any cons? (they look good so far)

First time post... from a first time cruiser. I'm looking at Alaska in late May/early June 2017.

As a first time cruiser, I'm curious if there are ANY downsides to using a TA. It certainly seems easy to go in and have someone listen to what you want and whip up an itinerary. But I'm used to making most of my own travel plans and have done so for years.

From what I understand, a TA can have access to additional cruise freebees (gratuities, drinks, credits) beyond what the lines offer on their sites. But, is it any more or less difficult to cancel, say for medical reasons? Is there any other reason not to use a TA?

Thanks for any help.

We have been fortunate to have a TA that we have used for over 25 years. Our first TA's were horrible!! It does take time to fine a good one.

When we first started sailing, she was new and so were we to cruising. No Internet back then and I couldn't look up things on my own.

Fast forward -- she knows what type of cabins we like -- and now with unlimited itineraries because of health issues, she is always on the hunt when I can't "hunt" for cruises for us. She know what tables we like, what dining times we like, etc.

We also get perks from her.

As for canceling due to medical reasons -- that is up to the cruise and their policies.

For example, HAL has a Platinum policy that covers only cruises and you can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the cruise sailing and get back 90% of your cruise fare. It does not cover health issues once you are on the ship.

Since we well over 65, Medicare and our Highmark insurance does not cover us when we are out of the USA. So we do have buy other insurance. You can check out polices at a site that I think is called "mytripinsurance". You need to read carefully all the policies as there are so many disclaimers.

Something else -- you need to ask the TA you visit if their company charges a fee for canceling a cruise or changing to another cruise or another agent.

Our TA works for a company were there are no extra fees for anything.

Sorry -- we are not allowed to name TA's or any agencies. This is something you have to check on yourself.

As for canceling due to medical reasons -- that is up to the cruise and their policies.

Thanks for your reply. I figured that was the case. But I wasn't sure if using a TA included any other obligations (to the TA) that come in to play, that I wasn't aware of. So I assume there are no TA fees I need to pay (for the basic booking), and no obligation to the TA if I need to cancel. I will be using travel insurance.

First time post... from a first time cruiser. I'm looking at Alaska in late May/early June 2017.

 

As a first time cruiser, I'm curious if there are ANY downsides to using a TA. It certainly seems easy to go in and have someone listen to what you want and whip up an itinerary. But I'm used to making most of my own travel plans and have done so for years.

 

From what I understand, a TA can have access to additional cruise freebees (gratuities, drinks, credits) beyond what the lines offer on their sites. But, is it any more or less difficult to cancel, say for medical reasons? Is there any other reason not to use a TA?

 

Thanks for any help.

For a first time cruiser I would use TA that you can actually sit down and talk about options. We can't discuss specific TA's in these forums.

Do some home work about what you want to see and do.

The biggy is have a budget that you can afford . A good TA will ask you questions about a number of specific things. If they recommend a cruise line without asking any questions , leave and find another TA or company.

Alaska 2017 won't be fully aviable until Mar or April for 2016.

Any freebees come from their commission unless the cruise line has the same offers.

We've never seen any benefit to using a TA.

Not only have we never received discounts(or small perks) but we've incurred a "service fee" in addition to the standard fare.

Not only that but any changes you need to make need to be done through the TA and not the cruise line.

Read through these forums and you will find several horror stories.

It's 2015; TAs have gone the way of the 8-track and the typewriter. There is nothing they can do for you that Google and similar sources can't do even better.

We've never seen any benefit to using a TA.

 

Not only have we never received discounts(or small perks) but we've incurred a "service fee" in addition to the standard fare.

 

Not only that but any changes you need to make need to be done through the TA and not the cruise line.

 

Read through these forums and you will find several horror stories.

 

 

 

It's 2015; TAs have gone the way of the 8-track and the typewriter. There is nothing they can do for you that Google and similar sources can't do even better.

You need to do some real research. Most of the TA "horror stories" are from folks who are either too lazy to search or are just not knowledgeable about the finer points of comparison shopping.

Unless you're looking only at bargain basement cruises, you're losing out on significant savings.

Thanks for your reply. I figured that was the case. But I wasn't sure if using a TA included any other obligations (to the TA) that come in to play, that I wasn't aware of. So I assume there are no TA fees I need to pay (for the basic booking), and no obligation to the TA if I need to cancel. I will be using travel insurance.

Depends. I had dealt with an online phone bank masquerading as a TA. The people I dealt with knew nothing about my ship, my itinerary, etc. But if I Gave them the information, they would book it for me. So I wanted a local brick-and-mortar TA where I could go in, sit and talk. Got recommendations from two friends who used to be TAs. Called and found that I would be paying the local TA 1-2% for their services. No thanks, I'll do my own research, book my own cruises directly. Some/most TAs will give you some of their commission back in the form of a bottle of wine or a few bucks OBC. I would rather deal directly with the cruise line. YMMV.

First time post... from a first time cruiser. I'm looking at Alaska in late May/early June 2017.

 

 

 

As a first time cruiser, I'm curious if there are ANY downsides to using a TA. It certainly seems easy to go in and have someone listen to what you want and whip up an itinerary. But I'm used to making most of my own travel plans and have done so for years.

 

 

 

From what I understand, a TA can have access to additional cruise freebees (gratuities, drinks, credits) beyond what the lines offer on their sites. But, is it any more or less difficult to cancel, say for medical reasons? Is there any other reason not to use a TA?

 

 

 

Thanks for any help.

First step is to search CC about this topic. There are many many threads on the benefits of choosing TA and how to find the right ones.

Downside

If you book with a TA, the TA now owns your booking until the day you get on the ship.

Think Sports Agent or labor Union Rep,,, you have an issue or a concern, You MUST go thru your TA. The cruise line will not speak nor negotiate with you. The TA is the cruise lines customer

See a price drop? Must go through TA. TA is on vacation or won't answer phone? too bad so sad, must wait for TA

Downside

 

 

 

If you book with a TA, the TA now owns your booking until the day you get on the ship.

 

Think Sports Agent or labor Union Rep,,, you have an issue or a concern, You MUST go thru your TA. The cruise line will not speak nor negotiate with you. The TA is the cruise lines customer

 

See a price drop? Must go through TA. TA is on vacation or won't answer phone? too bad so sad, must wait for TA

If one doesn't have his/her TA's cell phone number, get a new TA.

Many people start this process by asking "what can a TA get for me?" Perhaps a better starting point is "What do I want from a TA and can they deliver?"

In the world of TAs, you find every kind, just like in the world of lawyers. And like lawyers, there are good and bad; specialists and generalists; researchers and functionaries. So you need to look inward.

Do you want your TA to be an adviser as to which cruiseline/ship/itinerary would be a good match for you? If so, look to find an agency and agent that has a broad experience in the cruiseline segment you may be interested in. Don't look to a Carnival specialist if you want luxury lines and vice versa. Ask how many cruises they have been on? Talk with them and gauge their knowledge. Do they ask the right questions to find out what you want or do they seem to have the answer before you speak?

Dirty little secret - there are agencies/agents that are little more than glorified order takers/processors. You may get good pricing, but don't look to them for advice and independent judgement. Many are salesmen pushing a particular line or ship, especially if they are selling hard on price. They may not be operating in your best interest.

Do you want your agent to provide a certain amount of handholding? Do you want them to book a complete vacation or just the cruise segment? Do you want/need special services? Or are you simply looking for perks?

Just as you don't pick the first lawyer/doctor/accountant/mechanic you see in a phone book, use the same degree of due diligence to select your TA. Decide what's important to YOU, then test to see if they have the skill set to deliver that to your satisfaction. Decide if you need/want a local brick & mortar TA or will a virtual one online do for you.

We have used a number of TAs in our travel lifetime. The good ones can be worth their weight in gold, the bad to mediocre can be replaced like an BiC pen. Caveat emptor.