Undecided - book directly with Princess or use a Travel Agent?

Hi ya'all, I can't decide whether to handle all travel arrangements myself (and book directly with Princess for the cruise itself) or to use a travel agent to handle it all.

I am well capable of doing all arrangements myself, as I was a travel agent many years ago......I used a travel agent to book my first cruise (we were booked in a suite) - things went relatively well but I didn't receive even $1 OBC from that agent.

He left and passed my next cruise booking onto a colleague who has made mistake after mistake and I only found out some of them by scrupulously checking each detail (one was a really big mistake) and I wouldn't be at all surprised to find there's again no OBC from them when get board the ship in January.

I'm left not wanting to book through that agency again and have made preliminary enquiries with another award winning agent (whom I thought must SURELY be better than the agent I'm currently with).

But then, I'm thinking maybe I'm better off just handling it all myself?

Note: I'm a Kiwi and our agents down here don't seem to be anywhere near as generous with OBC as the USA and Canadian agents appear to be:(

Princess allows a TA to discount the fare. Find one that does.

First: fire your TA

Second: don't wait to be surprised if there is a discount &/or OBC...ASK before you give them your business

Third: now that you've fired your TA, look for a better one!

With your experience as a TA, why not just book it directly with Princess, and you can be in control of all the details, with no 3rd party go-between. That's my primary reason for having done it that way most of the time for the past 13 years, because I like to know that things are all arranged to my liking, and if something changes or isn't quite as I want it, I can call Princess and get it taken care of and know it's done.

I know lots of people on CC feel they get better deals using a TA, and that's great for them. I have had a couple of experiences during those 13 years with using a TA that left me feeling like things were under her control, not mine, and that doesn't work for me. Plus I hated having to get in touch with her, and then wait for her to get around to taking care of my issue/concern, and then wait for her to get back to me, all the while knowing how much simpler it could be to just pick up the phone and call Princess myself but can't because everything booked thru a TA has to go thru the TA. Just call me anal with a tendency toward being a control freak. LOL

JMO, TA fans!

To Book or Not To Book (with a TA)

Since 2003, with cruises on NCL, RCI, Celebrity and now Princess, I've always booked directly with the cruise lines. I prefer to deal directly with the cruise line for any problem, change or whatever and have been very, very successful. I hate having to deal with someone else, who may start pointing the finger or passing the buck. The same goes for hotels, resorts- - - always worked directly with them and never had a problem. Happy Cruisin'

I'm not sure of the rules for people in New Zealand. I'm happy that there are large travel agencies that give better prices. On our upcoming cruise, we saved more than 10 percent over the price it would have been booking direct with Princess. Most of the time, I book after the final payment date. I pick out the cruise and get quotes on a site that lets agencies compete. We're not picky about cabin location, so just getting on the ship is good enough for us.

Not a travel agent....and in the US, but I book directly with Princess when I book so that I make sure all the details are as I want them. There are one or two travel agents that I will use, if the deal is better than what I have on Princess, but only after I have booked with Princess. I will transfer the booking if warranted. There are several reasons that usually doesn't happen: we sail on ships with Window Suites, those staterooms sell out and you cannot even find pricing from a TA once they are all booked, so deals don't happen on them. And, finding an agent who doesn't charge even a modest cancellation fee is rare, so we have to be totally committed to the cruise before I will transfer a booking from Princess to a TA.

In the past 5 years, I have used a TA once.