How can I find a good travel agent for Celebrity Cruises?

Hi there - I've done a lot of looking and am having a hard time finding reviews of good travel agents for Celebrity Cruises - just can't find any reviews. We have found two possible cruises we would like to take but I would like to work with an agent as we are booking 2 rooms for the family and any extras from the TA. How can I go about finding a recommended agent that specializes in Celebrity Crusies?

Thanks for the help!

Remembering that we are not allowed to recommend any travel agents, I'll recommend that you ask friends and family for recommendations.

It is hard to leave reviews for online TA's because cruise critic does not allow us to post their URLs. That said, there is an online TA who advertises a lot on cruise critic that we have had good luck with and another one that is just the word cruise and then the stanard stuff that we have also been very happy with. Both usually provide some extra perks like pre-paid grats or OBC depending on the cost of your cruise and the deals offered by Celebrity at the time. I found both of these companies were good about following up on price drops if I found them and called about it. They will not watch for drops but they will follow up for me if I call.

friends, family, search out other cruise/travel forums that allow passing of info....Facebook travel groups......fellow cruisers while on a cruise.....1 tip to know when to run from the travel agent.....if the $$$ does not go directly to Celebrity....it should never goto the TA company account..simply straight to Celebrity!! Takes some research, that is all

Hmm - thats too bad. Most of our friends don't cruise and I would really like someone who has expertise with this particular line. Its strange normally I can just search the internet and find reviews...but am having trouble with this particular question. I would much rather have an agent than deal directly with the cruise line :(

There are some that Cruise Critic has recommended. I found them by doing a Google search for top 10 online cruise travel agencies. I use one of them and also use another one, not on their list, depending on who has the best offer for the cruise I am booking. Have been using them for about 6 years never a problem.

What do you most seek and/or need? Saving money? Special cruise/ship expertise? In-depth knowledge for port/unique areas of the world? Tell us more??

On these Cruise Critic boards over time, many questions will come up on travel agent, their need/value, the future for that profession, etc. Unfortunately, we cannot name or suggest here any specific agent. BUT, just wanted to offer a shout-out for the value and worth of really good travel agents. Clearly some are just "order-takers". Not much value-added by that process or type of agent. That makes it easier to just do it yourself via the Internet and/or phones.

We have worked with ours since 2006 and she is so important because of her vast travel experiences around the world, being honest, blunt and candid for options being considered, etc. Last year for our Australia-NZ adventure, she had been there 25+ times and had many keen insights. Personally, I like to do lots of reading and research myself. I do not do everything that she suggests, but it is all part of the "total information picture" in planning and preparing. That is the best of all world . . . an excellent agent . . . AND . . . an involved, interested customer. In most cases, if you book it yourself and/or through a cruise line staffer, you are going to be paying the same amount for the cruise. Why not, if possible to have a smart and savvy travel agent, enjoy those extra benefits and gain so much more insights about where you are visiting, designation options, etc. Finally, when or if you have a "problem" and challenge during the pre-cruise period, it is good to have a strong advocate to push and argue on your behalf. Of course, getting an excellent travel agent is not always that easy.

I can suggest some tips and ideas, later, after hearing more back from our original poster about the specific needs.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 112,927 views for this posting.

Some of the largest online TA's and one in particular that does a lot of X bookings (in particular one that many on board bookings are switched to) have steep change fees. If you cancel the cruise, change to a different date, or change to a different ship you are charged $100 per person...period and apparently no exceptions. Just be aware and read the T's and C's.

My big box warehouse TA offers ~5% of the cruise fare in additional OBC and doesn't add on any fees or any other sort of nonsense. The only real catch is that they ask for final payment 2 weeks before X's final payment date.

If you are a member of a big box warehouse, you may want to investigate using their TA.

Hi there - I've done a lot of looking and am having a hard time finding reviews of good travel agents for Celebrity Cruises - just can't find any reviews. We have found two possible cruises we would like to take but I would like to work with an agent as we are booking 2 rooms for the family and any extras from the TA. How can I go about finding a recommended agent that specializes in Celebrity Crusies?

 

Thanks for the help!

As you know we cannot mention specific agents on this site, here's a couple of suggestions.

You may find you already have access to a good TA. Many organizations may offer travel services. You may have joined a discount store chain or already do business with a company that provides a broad band of services like insurance, travel, etc. Some credit card companies offer travel services. Think through your associations and see if they do offer these services.

Did you see the "Find a Travel Agent" link down at the bottom of the celebrity home page? Never used it but it might be what you're looking for.

Some of the largest online TA's and one in particular that does a lot of X bookings (in particular one that many on board bookings are switched to) have steep change fees. If you cancel the cruise, change to a different date, or change to a different ship you are charged $100 per person...period and apparently no exceptions. Just be aware and read the T's and C's.

Always check out any TA's policies in advance for possible extra charges in order to avoid any unwelcome surprises later.

Then consider the pros and cons each time when deciding which TA will be most beneficial to use (or whether it is even worth bothering with any TA at all) as each cruise situation is different.

For example, when we booked a last minute cruise that we were very unlikely to cancel, we were willing to give the booking to a well-known TA who charges a $100 cancellation fee because we received great perks from that TA, better than we could get elsewhere.

In our case, the cancellation fee was $100 per cabin, not per person.

So for us the benefits far outweighed the very slight risk.

However, we used a different TA who does not charge a cancellation fee when booking multiple cabins for back-to-back cruises far in advance, not knowing whether or not we may need to cancel them.

Also consider that different TAs may hold group space on different cruises, so one TA may offer a better price one time, and a different TA another time.

My first cruise was in 2006. I was looking to book a group cruise and had absolutely no idea which cruise line to book, but I knew our destination was Alaska! I got a recommendation from the Celebrity website (after I had picked them), called the agent in my area, and never looked back. (Back then, I didn't even know Cruise Critic existed!)

They did a yeoman's job of getting us booked on the Mercury out of Seattle. They walked me through everything and answered all the "dumb" questions I had. If they didn't have all the answers, they got back to me. We all even got a small amount of OBC. One of the best cruises I have ever taken and I've been loyal to Celebrity ever since. After that, I used a few different agencies (through word-of-mouth) and now book my cruises direct with an agent at Celebrity who is always accessible and gets back to me immediately. I am comfortable with that, but everyone is different.

Taking your first cruise and not knowing the ropes can seem daunting, but it really isn't in the end. Book the cruise with someone you are comfortable with, take the cruise, and then ask yourself if you were satisfied with everything the agent did for you.

when you get on the ship, ask other folks who they use.

like

With all due respect to Wine-O we have had excellent customer service.

Once you get on the ship and things ste good, book a cruise onboard and have them send it to your TA. Usually, your perks multiply and don't pay a cancelation fee...

Basically, all the TAs will charge around the same price for the cruise, it is just the perks that they offer that are different.

I am "Polly Planner", so I don't need a TA to do much more than book the cruise, so I am price driven. Others need a TA to do more legwork. I will say that when I talk with TAs via email, I don't always get the best deal.....it is when I call them and say "I am ready to book, will do so now for the right price", that additional goodies are added!

There are a TON out there......everyone has had good and bad experiences with them all. Just remember that the bigger the TA, the more likely they are to have gotten some type of group booking at a discounted price. We have snagged some excellent deals by going "big". But it sure does help to shop around!

Happy cruising......unfortunately :rolleyes: it is VERY addictive!

Coarsegold Mom,

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Finding a good TA is challenging and I understand your conundrum. Cruise agents might specialize just like land trip planners. Because Celebrity is a main stream cruise line there will be so many to choose from that the task can be daunting.

If you reside in the US the choices are endless. If you are in the UK, Australia, or Europe reservations and booking options, including cost, are different. Canadian bookings are closer aligned to US but there are more packages available during the winter season.

Choose an agent that you can actually talk to. Perhaps there is someone in your own community that you can sit down with and plan your adventure.

One of the posters mentioned group booking benefits. Be sure that you know if you are booked in a group. I'd avoid this option as any cruise line has different requirements/options for passengers booked under a group umbrella.

While we can't recommend specific agents, using Cruise Critic can answer many of your questions. The Celebrity forum is great for general questions. The ROLL CALL is the best place to plan a specific cruise and the Ports of Call forum will answer many of your questions about the places you will visit.

If we were to have the ability to name agencies you would have so many different recommendations your head would spin. In the long run an internet search and a local phone book my prove to be the easiest, though daunting, tool at your disposal. Good luck. Do come back and we'll do our best to help.

A clarification on group booking. A group booking is when a travel agency goes to the cruise line and reserves a large number of rooms. For this, the cruise line gives them a much better price, who in turn passes some of it on to the customer. There are no other conditions tied to it. We've done at least four group bookings. We have flexibility on when we cruise so after we decide where we want to go, I call my travel agency of choice and ask if they have any group bookings in my time frame. Our next Celebrity cruise is a B2B on the Silhouette sailing December 6. We have a the same regular balcony for all 14 days. We paid a hair less than $1500 p.p., including all taxes and fees. We got the drink package, prepaid gratuities, and $250 total obc. Since the obc is from the agency we can take that home with us at the end of the cruise. That drops the actual price to $1,375 p.p. At the time I booked Celebrity was offering the option of picking one perk, I got all three. This is a group booking.

Finding the right agency, that meets your needs might be tough. If you need somebody who will hold your hand and wait by the phone, they probably won't be the best financially. If you are confident and know what your doing, and you need is an order processing person, that's what I use. A hint: they did $100 million in cruise sails three years ago and almost doubled there sales staff last fall, they must be doing something right. . Somebody mentioned agencies "competing" for your business. I tried that and I know three agencies that don't participate, that beat them by a minimum of $100 p.p. every time I checked. As far as charging cancellation fees, why should they work for free, doing all the paperwork and then having to go back and cancel. I wouldn't. Good luck.

I have the same problem as OP. Have been reading about how TA's offers OBC's to their customers I thought that I would give it a try. Found a website where I could compare selected cruises and get best offers from different TA's.

This is what I got:

"Please note: Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, and Azamara no longer allow agents based in the U.S. and Canada to quote customers outside that region."

Bye bye to the hope of recieving OBC's or some other nice offers...

We got with our TA based on a recommendation from friends whose opinions we trust. We wanted someone who not only would keep an eye on pricing and offers perks, but has a reputation for excellent customer service and taking care of their clients when there is a problem. Ours definitely fits that.

If you want your travel agents to compete on giving you more perks, try using Google to search for "compete cruise travel agents". That's how I found mine who DOESN'T charge a cancellation or change fee but gives me good service so far. I don't book online though, I call the agency direct and ask for an agent that books a lot of a particular line I'm interested in sailing.

Earlier this year I got "Con"ned by another TA who did charge me (even though they received their FULL commission) when my flight was cancelled and I couldn't show up at the dock in time.

My big box warehouse TA offers ~5% of the cruise fare in additional OBC and doesn't add on any fees or any other sort of nonsense. The only real catch is that they ask for final payment 2 weeks before X's final payment date.

 

 

 

If you are a member of a big box warehouse, you may want to investigate using their TA.

5% is low. We always, regardless of cruise line, get 8-9%.

5% is low. We always, regardless of cruise line, get 8-9%.

I've found 8.5% to be standard with the big box I use. I have other smaller TA who discount 10% to 15%.

But to OP. Here's another suggestion: Examine your affiliated organizations. Credit cards, retired persons associations, membership stores, etc. You may already have some options.

General statement. You need to examine your cruising objectives. Suppose you can get a 10% discount or OBC. If you're booking $6000 cruises in a suite, that can be a chunk of change. If you're booking $400 insides, you have to ask yourself is a $40 discount worth the trouble?

One thing I've noticed, it is next to useless to look for discounts online. Almost all cruise lines prohibit agents advertising rates other then the cruise line rate. You have to contact the agents directly and ask for a quote. BTW, that's a clue. If the agent has a box on their website which says you can contact them for a quote, that's a good sign. You can find local agents or agents around the country on the internet. Get their phone numbers and call them. It's a lot of work but it can pay off.

Second the suggestion to avoid those with change fees. There's simply no reason to use such an agent when there are so many who do not. Also, avoid, like the plague, any agent who puts your funds in their account. When my TA book a cruise, the cruise line charges my credit card, not the TA.

Sometimes, you'll find some cruise critic members use other social media, facebook, etc. You may be able to contact them that way about travel agents. (PS, I don't use social media but others do.)

50+ cruises, all booked directly with the cruise line. I don't see the need to waste time and add complexity by adding an unnecessary middle man. The cruise line won't even talk to you anymore when you use a TA. Go direct! :)

Question about these TA-linked discounts, say from the big box TA. Do these typically get to the buyer in the form of a discount on the cruise fare (x% below the price the cruise line is charging at that time for the same cabin) or is it typically in the form of OBC, or does it go both ways? If it is OBC, all or in part, is that typically refundable or non-refundable OBC?