Using a travel agent............

Can travel agents get a better price? I just watched a tour of a ship and he kept saying travel agents in general get better rates, etc. and can get discounted excursions, etc........

I booked with the recent WOW sale through a travel agent but I couldn't have done it without and got the same price -----am I missing something?

For us, the advantage to using a TA is the perks that they can provide. For our cruise in March 2018, we get a $500 cash card. Others will offer OBC, specialty dining, paid gratuities, etc.. Some cruisers like them and some prefer to have direct control.

Bottom line, Yes. I've always gotten a better price and incentives with a travel agency, but you just got to book with the right one, so search around and find the best price.

There's really no reason to not book with a TA. We have used the same one for +30 years. At best she gets us better stuff. At worse she gets us the same stuff, which mostly she gets us better stuff.

The bigger benefit is when stuff goes wrong it's much easier to deal with your TA than some phone tree/call center/ etc.

Can travel agents get a better price? ...

They can't get a discount, but they can hold staterooms for an extended period of time, such that if the price goes up, the TA's price stays the same, so it appears that they get lower prices.

You would think now when most people are internet savvy and not having to pay TA commission the cruise lines would offer you a better price online. My travel agent gets me extra perks and any problems they phone cruise line for me. For my part I book up to 4 cruiser's a year with them,and print all my necessary documents myself.

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For me the answer is simple. If there is a problem (and there have been) I don't spend 45 min on hold to get the wrong answer from RCI.

Any other benefit is just bonus.

Although I plan and select our room of choice and can easily call a cruise agent, I use a local TA for all our cruises. Only once did we encountered a problem with our booking, I become aware of a room change when checking our booking and called our TA ASAP, it seems the cruise lines decided to move us way forward. Thanks to our TA, we were back in our original cabin in less then 5 minutes. Had I called to get our room back I probably would have met resistance. Needless to say our TA was not happy when the cruise lines notified her of our room change and told them firmly they better move is back now.

I haven't found a significant price difference going through a TA on Royal cruises specifically. Some may offer incentives like OBC or prepaid gratuities, but before you're swayed to book your cruise through one of these agencies, I would ask a lot of questions and make sure that you're dealing with someone knowledgeable, reputable, and who can provide good customer service. These boards are filled with stories concerning the TA's from hell that disappeared after the booking was made or who messed them up "Royally" (no pun intended).

If you do decide to sail on other cruise lines (like Princess, HAL, etc) it does pay to shop around since pricing will vary wildly from one agency to another depending on their individual relationship with the cruise lines. Pricing policies on these and other cruise lines are vastly different than Royal's.

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I usually book room myself and then flip to my travel agent. We boarded Navigator on Sunday and there was a $250 OBC from our TA waiting for us!

This is one of the main reasons I book using a local TA, then they get to know us and our wishes. I ask friends who the recommend. I prefer to deal in person with the agent and if needed I can call on one of her associates for assistance with a room change or price reduction. I receive updated invoices for any payments or changes via Email. Sadly as mentioned there have been major issues with TA;s by some, you just need to ask questions on fees for changes, how they handle payments etc. When using a TA make sure they call in your payment and the charges are done by the Cruise line and not the agent. If they tell you they charge to your CC then transfer to the cruise line, keep walking.

Yes, I prefer using a TA, especially after trying to plan a trip to Disney for the first time last year so I love the concept of them - I guess mine just booked - but didn't offer any extras :( It would be nice though - I've only used it once so maybe I should try another and see what they can offer as far as the extra perks? Any suggestions?

They can't get a discount, but they can hold staterooms for an extended period of time, such that if the price goes up, the TA's price stays the same, so it appears that they get lower prices.

Not really - the better TAs often get "discounted" pricing from certain cruise lines for specific sailings. And many of those cruise lines also do rotating short term partner sales with their preferred top-selling TAs. And/or those same cruise line will occasionally provide pass through incentive funds that go to clients who are new or on certain sailings, etc. Note as well that these breaks are in addition to any commission sharing the TA will provide. Ergo, the right TA, particularly for premium and luxury cruises, can save you "four figure" amounts.

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Bottom line is that we have never gotten a better price with a TA. Some will give you OBC, or gifts or even rebate some of yoru fare, but the base fare is always the same.

Not really, but they can lower to the overall cost of your cruise by offering OBC or other perqs like excursions. And, if you're with a travel agent who is well regarded by the cruiseline (i.e. sells lots of tickets), they can often get things that you couldn't get yourself (like space on a "sold out" voyage, the type of cabin you want, etc).

Love me my TA. Didn't use one for years now do. Meet her on a cruise and has been a gem ever since. OBC and if price goes down she grabs it.

I check online and pick our my preferred cabins and price with diamond discount. Then I call into my travel agents with the details and I always get a better price taking all aspects of the cruise in consideration from them and it is a win win for both of us.

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Bottom line is that we have never gotten a better price with a TA. Some will give you OBC, or gifts or even rebate some of yoru fare, but the base fare is always the same.

You may be booking cruise lines that do not allow discounting, only perks. TAs can still discount Princess, HAL, etc. so if you do book those lines, shop around. My most recent booking was about a $450 savings and that was on a Casino rate. RCL, Celebrity, I'd just get OBC.

You may be booking cruise lines that do not allow discounting, only perks. TAs can still discount Princess, HAL, etc. so if you do book those lines, shop around. My most recent booking was about a $450 savings and that was on a Casino rate. RCL, Celebrity, I'd just get OBC.

Any extra perks are cash in kind and as long as the TA can get me a reasonably better deal I will give them my business so we both win.

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We take about 3-4 cruises a year and find dealing directly is better for us. Yes, the TA may give you a free dinner or another perk, but some charge a cancellation penalty. They also just like us call the cruise line and sometimes wait to speak to an agent. IMO with RC and Celebrity not worth it. I like the ability to call the cruise line directly if I see a price drop, move my cabin and book all other activities.

We take about 3-4 cruises a year and find dealing directly is better for us. Yes, the TA may give you a free dinner or another perk, but some charge a cancellation penalty. They also just like us call the cruise line and sometimes wait to speak to an agent. IMO with RC and Celebrity not worth it. I like the ability to call the cruise line directly if I see a price drop, move my cabin and book all other activities.

Good points.I book flights and holidays to Orlando with Virgin direct but our 3-4 cruises a year I get all the details myself then drive a mile to my local TA who sort my foreign currency and give them that business because they are lovely and always do me a better deal than direct and in a small way helps them stay in business.

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