Booking directly through Princess

have never been able to find this wonderful TA that gives a 10% discount and added OBC. Oh well, I will keep looking I guess.

Yes, you need to keep looking. TA discounts vary, but 10% plus OBC, is much less discount than usual (in my experience). If that's the best he offers, I will also be looking.

OP, there is absolutely no reason to book directly with Princess based on my experience! I transferred a current booking to my TA and saved 25% (over $1000) below the price I originally booked, and this is not much different from other bookings. Of course, this is just one person's experience, and I know others have different opinions.

I also see absolutely no reason not to book EZ Air flexible fares. If fares drop, Princess will lower your fare or you can book directly with the airline (up to 45 days out). Sorry I don't have experience with a 23 hour flight, a 9 hour transatlantic is about as much as I can handle.:( Again, just passing on one couple's experience for what it's worth.

After two bad experiences with a "cruise TA" and two questionable TA bookings, we now book through Princess. I have had issue with the booking but had the problem amicably resolved with Princess. I did find out it was easy to move a booking from a TA to Princess very easily much to the dismay of the TA that insisted I could not do it. I have shopped around since one can move a booking from Princess to a TA but have never been able to find this wonderful TA that gives a 10% discount and added OBC. Oh well, I will keep looking I guess.

There are good travel agents and then there are the others. Once I find a good one I stick to him. The cruise line (any cruise line - not just Princess) is happy for you to book with them direct since they do not have to pay the travel agent's commission. It's more money for them.

 

I also see absolutely no reason not to book EZ Air flexible fares. If fares drop, Princess will lower your fare or you can book directly with the airline (up to 45 days out).

I have to say that I have never let a cruise line book my air for me, so my fears might be unfounded. But we have three "local" airports and I will only fly out of one of them. (the three airports are BWI, DCA and IAD. My husband said he would divorce me if I booked a flight out of IAD.)

I almost always book my air myself because I am afraid that the cruise line will book me out of DCA or IAD, or have me making unnecessary transfers to save them money. I prefer to pay more money for convenience. I have sometimes made mistakes in booking the air, but I can deal with my own mistakes and I'd rather do that than fight with someone on the phone about their mistake.

There are good travel agents and then there are the others. Once I find a good one I stick to him. The cruise line (any cruise line - not just Princess) is happy for you to book with them direct since they do not have to pay the travel agent's commission. It's more money for them.

 

 

 

 

I have to say that I have never let a cruise line book my air for me, so my fears might be unfounded. But we have three "local" airports and I will only fly out of one of them. (the three airports are BWI, DCA and IAD. My husband said he would divorce me if I booked a flight out of IAD.)

 

 

I almost always book my air myself because I am afraid that the cruise line will book me out of DCA or IAD, or have me making unnecessary transfers to save them money. I prefer to pay more money for convenience. I have sometimes made mistakes in booking the air, but I can deal with my own mistakes and I'd rather do that than fight with someone on the phone about their mistake.

When booking through EZAir, you choose the flights you want. You can select the specific airport, the specific airline, and the specific class you want to fly. I've had no problems booking exactly what I want.

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For me, there actually is in fact an advantage to booking directly with Princess and that is my ability to work directly with them if I want to change anything with my booking. I absolutely hate having to go through a TA for any modifications.

What changes are you talking about? You can do almost everything on the Princess website without going through a TA or contacting Princess. You can't change the date of the cruise, how the beds are arranged, or the room. But how often do you change those things.

My last 2 cruises I booked when I saw a huge price drop on the princess site. The TAs I have worked with in the past did not have those same rates. Theirs were substantially more, so I had huge savings booking directly. I realize this isn’t always the case which is why I don’t always book direct but I definitely will when the savings are better.

Are you saying that your TA couldn't apply the same rates that were on the website?

What changes are you talking about? You can do almost everything on the Princess website without going through a TA or contacting Princess. You can't change the date of the cruise, how the beds are arranged, or the room. But how often do you change those things.

 

 

 

Are you saying that your TA couldn't apply the same rates that were on the website?

Cabin changes, cabin mate name changes, fare reductions, promotion changes to name a few.

Yes, the TA could not find the rates I saw on the princess site. For my upcoming 12/20 cruise, the Princess rate was almost half the price too!

Cabin changes, cabin mate name changes, fare reductions, promotion changes to name a few.

Yes, one does have to go through your TA for those things. No big deal. Often I just send an email and those things are taken care of. If anything, it's easier than waiting on hold at Princess.

Yes, the TA could not find the rates I saw on the princess site. For my upcoming 12/20 cruise, the Princess rate was almost half the price too!

Your TA didn't want to find those rates. Too much loss of commission. Find a new TA.

Yes, one does have to go through your TA for those things. No big deal. Often I just send an email and those things are taken care of. If anything, it's easier than waiting on hold at Princess.

 

 

 

Your TA didn't want to find those rates. Too much loss of commission. Find a new TA.

How often do you check pricing for your booked cruises on the Princess Website?

How often does your TA?

Yes, one does have to go through your TA for those things. No big deal. Often I just send an email and those things are taken care of. If anything, it's easier than waiting on hold at Princess.

 

 

 

Your TA didn't want to find those rates. Too much loss of commission. Find a new TA.

For me, I prefer working directly with Princess. So there is no need for me to find a new TA if I like working directly with Princess and sometimes get better deals (not all the time but sometimes).

How often do you check pricing for your booked cruises on the Princess Website?

 

How often does your TA?

I check often. No idea about the TA and don't care. I like having control of my travel bookings.

There are good travel agents and then there are the others. Once I find a good one I stick to him. The cruise line (any cruise line - not just Princess) is happy for you to book with them direct since they do not have to pay the travel agent's commission. It's more money for them.

 

 

 

 

I have to say that I have never let a cruise line book my air for me, so my fears might be unfounded. But we have three "local" airports and I will only fly out of one of them. (the three airports are BWI, DCA and IAD. My husband said he would divorce me if I booked a flight out of IAD.)

 

 

I almost always book my air myself because I am afraid that the cruise line will book me out of DCA or IAD, or have me making unnecessary transfers to save them money. I prefer to pay more money for convenience. I have sometimes made mistakes in booking the air, but I can deal with my own mistakes and I'd rather do that than fight with someone on the phone about their mistake.

I too will only fly out of BWI. No problem with EZAir. As another poster said, you input what airport you are flying out of (BWI). You can also input class (economy, etc). After you enter in the dates (you can change from the default dates) you get a list of flights. Pick the one you want and then it takes you to a page for the return flight. I get great rates, especially on international and don't have to pay for them upfront. Can even change them if the price goes down. Often even domestic rates are decent and I don't have to pay til final payment.

Easy Peasy.

Cabin changes, cabin mate name changes, fare reductions, promotion changes to name a few.

 

Yes, the TA could not find the rates I saw on the princess site. For my upcoming 12/20 cruise, the Princess rate was almost half the price too!

I wonder if that rate was a casino rate. If so that might be why the TA couldn't see it. It would have been a special offer to you which you book through Princess. I don't know if TA can book a casino rate.

I wonder if that rate was a casino rate. If so that might be why the TA couldn't see it. It would have been a special offer to you which you book through Princess. I don't know if TA can book a casino rate.

I've never gambled in the casino, so I'm thinking it was just a quick, big sale. A couple days later I received an upsell offer for a ridiculous cheap amount too. And, yes, I immediately took it!

There are good travel agents and then there are the others. Once I find a good one I stick to him. The cruise line (any cruise line - not just Princess) is happy for you to book with them direct since they do not have to pay the travel agent's commission. It's more money for them.

From my understanding, this is not true. I've always heard the cruise lines are happy to have you book with a TA. In the long run it's cost effective since the TA is handling all the administrative tasks that would otherwise be the cruise lines responsibility.

As far as the pros and cons of booking with a TA, I think it simply depends on your choice of TA. I would venture to guess that you are more likely to be working with a less experienced TA if you patronize the big box store travel departments or the large well known web based travel companies. My TA is self employed, does very high volume, is an extremely experienced cruiser, absolutely "knows her stuff" and always provides significant savings over the Princess website pricing. In addition, I've never had an issue taking advantage of better pricing or promotions after the initial booking.

This has been my experience. :)

How often do you check pricing for your booked cruises on the Princess Website?

 

How often does your TA?

I check every couple of weeks.

I have no idea how often my TA checks.

I do know this, Princess isn't going to call me if there is a price drop.

For me, I prefer working directly with Princess. So there is no need for me to find a new TA if I like working directly with Princess and sometimes get better deals (not all the time but sometimes).

My TA will always match any fare on the website and then give a 10%+ discount. Prior to final of course. So I don't see how I could ever get a better discount dealing directly with Princess.

so, you have no idea how often your TA checks/promotions and you only check every couple of weeks? guess it's not a problem if you don't know what you may have missed, huh?

There is no rate offered by Princess that can not be booked by any TA , then discounted .

A Cruise Specialist TA can make major changes to your booking , even as far as canceling and rebooking without even contacting Princess , with their booking system.

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From my understanding, this is not true. I've always heard the cruise lines are happy to have you book with a TA. In the long run it's cost effective since the TA is handling all the administrative tasks that would otherwise be the cruise lines responsibility.

 

As far as the pros and cons of booking with a TA, I think it simply depends on your choice of TA. I would venture to guess that you are more likely to be working with a less experienced TA if you patronize the big box store travel departments or the large well known web based travel companies. My TA is self employed, does very high volume, is an extremely experienced cruiser, absolutely "knows her stuff" and always provides significant savings over the Princess website pricing. In addition, I've never had an issue taking advantage of better pricing or promotions after the initial booking.

 

This has been my experience. :)

My travel agent that I used from 2008 to 2016 was not only able to get me great rates on the cruises but was also able to book hotels (in foreign countries - I book the US hotels myself) where I could not find any availability. He was self employed. Unfortunately he died unexpectedly in 2016 (cancer). My last cruise was a group cruise with another agent that I always had my eye on to use but in 2008 he was not doing Europe. This group cruise had over 30 rooms booked, and we got a number of savings and perks and this included getting everything we had originally booked including the original cabins after Princess changed the date on the cruise from the 29th of October to the 25th of October.

I don't know whether cruise lines are 'happy' to have you book with a TA or not. I do know that they don't rebate you any money that they do not have to pay in travel agent commission. So it is no cheaper to book direct - it is the one place where it still pays to use a travel agent.

From my understanding, this is not true. I've always heard the cruise lines are happy to have you book with a TA. In the long run it's cost effective since the TA is handling all the administrative tasks that would otherwise be the cruise lines responsibility.

 

As far as the pros and cons of booking with a TA, I think it simply depends on your choice of TA. I would venture to guess that you are more likely to be working with a less experienced TA if you patronize the big box store travel departments or the large well known web based travel companies. My TA is self employed, does very high volume, is an extremely experienced cruiser, absolutely "knows her stuff" and always provides significant savings over the Princess website pricing. In addition, I've never had an issue taking advantage of better pricing or promotions after the initial booking.

 

This has been my experience. :)

How do you find these more "cruise" experienced TA's ?

so, you have no idea how often your TA checks/promotions and you only check every couple of weeks? guess it's not a problem if you don't know what you may have missed, huh?

This is one area of frustration with my TA, who has been okay but doesn't go over and above. I am always the one doing the homework and finding the perks and discounts added after booking. I do not think that this TA looks for the deals after the fact. I may need a new TA

so, you have no idea how often your TA checks/promotions and you only check every couple of weeks? guess it's not a problem if you don't know what you may have missed, huh?

I've done quite well monitoring price drops. I booked my next cruise at $2499 PP. It's currently priced at $1699. I've transferred it to a TA and my price is now at $1529. That's down $970 or about 40%.

I may miss a few dips but I do know this: my initial bookings are at least 10% below the cruise line website.

Have you ever heard of a cruise line calling to tell a passenger that the price of their cruise has dropped and they're being refared? Neither have I and I don't expect them or my TA to either.

How do you find these more "cruise" experienced TA's ?

This is one area of frustration with my TA, who has been okay but doesn't go over and above. I am always the one doing the homework and finding the perks and discounts added after booking. I do not think that this TA looks for the deals after the fact. I may need a new TA

Cruise Critic explicitly forbids discussing specific TAs and that's one rule this rowdy bunch pretty much respects!

One way is to talk to people on your next cruise and find out who they like and use.

Cruise Critic explicitly forbids discussing specific TAs and that's one rule this rowdy bunch pretty much respects!

 

One way is to talk to people on your next cruise and find out who they like and use.

This is one area of frustration with my TA, who has been okay but doesn't go over and above. I am always the one doing the homework and finding the perks and discounts added after booking. I do not think that this TA looks for the deals after the fact. I may need a new TA

While that is certainly correct, sometimes posters screw up and do give away the name of their TA. Monitor these TA threads and you may get lucky. However, the TA who will watch for price drops, etc., is rather rare.

ok, you take your 10% off a $ 2,000 fare from your TA with a specialty dinner

I'll monitor the prices and re-fare with a $ 500 drop and free grats on a 24 hr dip

ok, you win, because you didn't know that happened, neither did your TA and you got that 10%