Booking directly through Princess

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.

using this logic, then inside (working for Princess) vacation planners work for free? that's ridiculous.

people who sell get paid commissions. plain and simple. base + commission is part of the comp package.

a good inside sales person manages 5k-20k+ contacts/clients (depending on years' service). they work quite hard for their clients. that's why clients keep returning.

Our family of 4 did the 13 day NZ on RCCL and we left from LAX, a 15 hour flight non stop.. Since your coming from the East Coast, I recommend splitting your flight. The other important thing about booking your air, will be the time difference. Coming from the West Coast and wishing to arrive on March 17, I booked our flight to depart LAX on the 15th. Knowing what day you wish to arrive, book your flights as much as 3 to 4 days earlier then your arrival date depending on where you wish to stop & rest before continuing on. Visas will be required to arrive in Sydney.

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%

The TA also threw in a small $50 OBC. Free grats were also included in the promo I booked.

I know exactly what happened. I monitored the prices on the cruise line website. When the price dropped, I called. I got two price drops, from $2499 down to $1699 when the cruise line dropped the price. Then, I transferred the booking and got another 10% off the $1699.

This cruise is on Holland which allows you to book and transfer any time before final.

Princess is a bit different. There you have to transfer the booking within IIRC 30 days of initial booking. I have a Princess cruise booked under Sip and Sail. I liked the price so I called the TA and booked at 10% less than the website. My TA will honor any price drops prior to final. If I see one, I call. She discounts the new price by 10% and refares the cruise.

Really very simple.

Out of curiosity, I called big box travel store that rhymes to bosco, and if I move my Princess booking (yes, it is within 30 days of first deposit), I will get an additional $355 in OBC. Bosco will not offer a Bosco cash card but only will supply me with the additional $355 Princess OBC.

 

I already have free grats, a great rate, and $260 OBC from the fine people at Princess.

 

DW and I rarely spend more than $300 on board so I am having difficulty seeing the value in the extra $355 OBC. That "gift" combined with my offer gives me $615 OBC.

 

Now, can I cash out my OBC at guest services at cruise end? Or MUST I use all this OBC as OBC only?

 

The 2% Bosco gives me for Executive Membership comes to ~$82, if I book through Bosco. If I use Bosco branded Visa then I get 3% back in Bosco annual bonus check which will be $123 additional (not required to book via Bosco, just pay using their branded Visa).

 

So have at it. In my situation does the $82 (store credit at membership renewal time) and a I-don't-know-if-I'll-use-it OBC of $355 warrant switching booking to Bosco?

I can't answer your question. I've not used them so I don't know the answer. It will depend upon whether the OBC is refundable. Normally, OBC from a TA is but you'll have to ask.

That said, switching a booking is a painless process. Usually, just have to call the TA and they'll handle it. Sometimes you have to call the cruise line too. The bottom line is this. If switching will get you the additional OBC, then do it. If you use or if it is refundable, they you win. If you don't use it or if it's not refundable, you haven't lost anything have you?

BTW, that TA has changed their policy. Since you're Executive, there's another 2%. Check their website.

refundable or non-refundable OBC?

if non - can you go to the casino and gamble it > - why not?

go to the onboard "store" the last day and get duty free 'stuff'

play bingo???

 

Princess is a bit different. There you have to transfer the booking within IIRC 30 days of initial booking.

Really very simple.

I know that Royal Caribbean has a transfer deadline after your initial booking but I am not aware of a deadline for Princess. I have kept my previous bookings with Princess for up to a year before transferring to my TA. I prefer getting the first few refares or rebooking for a promotion directly with Princess. Guess I better check with Princess to see if they have changed their policy on transferring your bookings to a TA.

On Princess you can transfer to a TA up til final payment. I know because I’ve done it and have read it many times on Cc.

As for Bosco I think I have heard that their OBC is refundable. I have used them before they did the OBC and were pleased but I much prefer my discount TA. With the price discounted my trip insurance is based on a smaller amount. Therefore it costs less.

Our TA works for Auto club and used to be self employed. She is awesome. She gets us the best deals, lets us know of price drops and also princess contacts her when they want to offer us a deal, such as an upsell and other deals. She knows exactly what we want. We have been going through her for years. She tells us about areas we want to travel, cruise lines we may or may not like, etc.

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using this logic, then inside (working for Princess) vacation planners work for free? that's ridiculous..

But they are working for the company and not for you. There's no personal relationship and you don't get to go to a specific one and complain if they screw up. I've been told absolutely wrong information by the vacation planner. I am thinking that those people do not have much training and are not equipped to deal with any unusual situation.

There are a lot of people working for the cruise lines that work on commission (the photographers, and the spa people on the ships for instance). Just because they work on commission does not make them better (or worse) than an outside TA, but they have less accountability

But they are working for the company and not for you. There's no personal relationship and you don't get to go to a specific one and complain if they screw up. I've been told absolutely wrong information by the vacation planner. I am thinking that those people do not have much training and are not equipped to deal with any unusual situation.

 

 

There are a lot of people working for the cruise lines that work on commission (the photographers, and the spa people on the ships for instance). Just because they work on commission does not make them better (or worse) than an outside TA, but they have less accountability

i respectfully disagree. i have my Princess VP's direct email and phone number. she is fully accountable to me and Princess. in fact she took care of some friends that decided they want to cruise with us on our upcoming trip when I sent their info to her.

i guess if you find someone you are happy with, you should stick with them. that sounds like the crux of many posts here.

my next step is to call Princess and to confirm any transfers from Princess to a TA's time frame for making the transfer.

from there i'll decide what's best to do in my current situation.

thank you for your help and input. it's greatly appreciated.

they are just old school for people who are not very travel savvy IMHO or know how to maximize the system.:cool:

Well....I may be old school, may not be very travel savvy, and definitely not very cool:cool:, but I know that my upcoming Princess cruise is costing me 25% less than Princess would sell it to me, and it was much easier than having to "work the system" (IMHO).:confused:

I found my current travel agent back when there were newsgroups -text based internet groups and also travel groups on AOL. One of the ones I used was rec.travel.cruises. I found not only cruise specialist travel agents, but also information on guides at different ports.

I started out with putting a cruise out for bids on the internet (back in 2004) and booking with the agent who could give me the best deal. (I don't know if that is possible anymore.) I stopped doing this when I booked a cruise and then decided to do a b2b. My husband agreed to this as long as we would not have to move so I went to a lot of trouble to get the same cabin on both trips. But the cruise ship upgraded me for the first part of the cruise. My travel agent hadn't said anything to me about it, and the check-in desk people said it was my fault for not checking. It was at that point that I stopped trying to get the cheapest rate and decided to use someone who would pay attention to what it was that I wanted.

Well....I may be old school, may not be very travel savvy, and definitely not very cool:cool:, but I know that my upcoming Princess cruise is costing me 25% less than Princess would sell it to me, and it was much easier than having to "work the system" (IMHO).:confused:

Info please.....what's is the cruise, date of cruise, cabin category, OBC's and cost if it is factually true.....people pay a wide variety of prices on cruises (i.e., cruise prices are always fluid until final payment) for a wide variety of reasons but I never hear any of the TA pushers on CC (which I suspect many of the CC people are TA's who are touting the use of TA's to gin up their own businesses) say what their total cost was. Cruises are like flights and hotel rooms......everybody is paying a different price on the plane/hotel for the same seat/room.....and there are a many ways to get a cheap seat/room if you want it......:)

Well....I may be old school, may not be very travel savvy, and definitely not very cool:cool:, but I know that my upcoming Princess cruise is costing me 25% less than Princess would sell it to me, and it was much easier than having to "work the system" (IMHO).:confused:

That is a very good discount. Haven't heard of one for 25% off so you are lucky. Is the per cent off just on the commissionable amount or the total amount including tax and other charges.

Rack Rate

Princessluver - I don't understand your post. Why would posters really be TAs and saying to use one instead of Princess? We can't name TAs so what is the point?

The fact is... Princess quotes a price. It can change at any time either up or down depending on supply and demand. Even though it is not broken down on the website the price is divided between commissionable and noncommissionable fare. The commissionable part of the price is what TAs are discounting. In essence they are taking less of a commission than they could. My TA discounts it 10%. The more expensive the cruise the bigger my discount. I do tend to take longer cruises so have seen hundreds of dollars less than if I booked directly through Princess.

Some people have had bad experiences with TAs so prefer to book directly with Princess. Other people prefer this method so whenever they have a question or see a price drop they can call Princess. They don't mind paying more by not getting the discount in order to have control of their booking. My TA works from home and responds to emails and calls 7 days/week so I don't have to miss out on anything. I realize it is hard to find some of these TAs although google can help.

Either way... it should not be a battle. We all have our own ideas on how to spend our hard earned $$. Some may think that person A is overspending on something while others think it is worth the extra dollars because there is perceived value in those extra $$ spent.

That is a very good discount. Haven't heard of one for 25% off so you are lucky. Is the per cent off just on the commissionable amount or the total amount including tax and other charges.

Actually, I don't even know what the "commissionable amount" means, and the TA didn't quote any percentage discount. The number I posted is simply a rounded-off figure based on the total bottom line price I originally booked through Princess and the price I paid. You can do the math: Original quote, $5400; Final price $4500, less $100 OBC and prepaid gratuities of $400.

if it is factually true.....

Rest assured, it is true, and whether or not you choose to believe me is not my concern. I am simply giving one example to help answer the question of whether it is advantageous to book directly through Princess rather than through an agent.

how much time elapsed between when you originally booked with Princess at the $5400 rate, and when you made the final payment on the booking after transferring to your TA in the amount of $4500?

how much time elapsed between when you originally booked with Princess at the $5400 rate, and when you made the final payment on the booking after transferring to your TA in the amount of $4500?

Sounds like the TA found a better rate since the OP originally booked or Princess did not offer the best rate for which they may have qualified for ?

That is just too much difference to be all TA discount (comm rebate) .

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Just to shed some light.

I've got a Princess cruise booked for 2019 using a TA. Vista Suite. Seven days Caribbean.

$2799 Cruse Line Price

$ 125 Gov Taxes.

$2924 Total.

My TA breaks out the NCF and it was $170

$2571 My Price including NCF and Taxes

You can calculate the savings in several ways.

2571/2924 = 88% or

subtracting the taxes

2446/2799 = 87.4%

Either way it's a 12% discount and a savings of $353.

All numbers are per person.

For a savings of $706 for two people for a seven day cruise, I will use a TA.

As for "controlling my reservation". It's the same process whether I talk to a person at Princess or a person at my TA. In both cases, the person I talk too punches a computer and things happen. I can still use the princess website to reserve excursions, specialty dining, order things for my room, etc. I can still get price drops by calling my TA. Same process as calling Princess for a price drop.

There is one difference. The person I talk to at my TA knows me. I talk the same person every time I call. They answer my call with "Hi, Rocket". They call me after I get back to check on my cruise.

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?

Actually, you can change the bed arrangement on the website. I just did it as we re-arranged things.

Actually, you can change the bed arrangement on the website. I just did it as we re-arranged things.

Did you book with a TA or direct to Princess?

Did you book with a TA or direct to Princess?

I booked with the TA. She consistently gets me the best price but I still do all my pre-boarding stuff on the Princess site.

Just to shed some light.

I've got a Princess cruise booked for 2019 using a TA. Vista Suite. Seven days Caribbean.

 

$2799 Cruse Line Price

$ 125 Gov Taxes.

$2924 Total.

 

My TA breaks out the NCF and it was $170

 

$2571 My Price including NCF and Taxes

 

You can calculate the savings in several ways.

2571/2924 = 88% or

subtracting the taxes

2446/2799 = 87.4%

Either way it's a 12% discount and a savings of $353.

All numbers are per person.

 

For a savings of $706 for two people for a seven day cruise, I will use a TA.

 

As for "controlling my reservation". It's the same process whether I talk to a person at Princess or a person at my TA. In both cases, the person I talk too punches a computer and things happen. I can still use the princess website to reserve excursions, specialty dining, order things for my room, etc. I can still get price drops by calling my TA. Same process as calling Princess for a price drop.

 

There is one difference. The person I talk to at my TA knows me. I talk the same person every time I call. They answer my call with "Hi, Rocket". They call me after I get back to check on my cruise.

Where is that such a great price.....we have a 10 day Caribbean in in 2018 in a mini suite for two people including vacation protection insurance for $2349 and we are getting $655 OBC from Princess.....totally cost is $1694........not impressed......:rolleyes:

Where is that such a great price.....we have a 10 day Caribbean in in 2018 in a mini suite for two people including vacation protection insurance for $2349 and we are getting $655 OBC from Princess.....totally cost is $1694........not impressed......:rolleyes:

Rocketman booked a suite, not a mini suite. Apples and oranges.