dealing directly with princess cost $$ you

I've don't both and have never had an issue with getting reductions. After final payment is another story. I must admit I have no loyalty in TA"s. Who ever has the cheapest online price wins. Never met a brick and mortar TA who can match the online discounters.

Each person has his/her level of comfort when booking cruises. To me some use a TA just to evade any decisions, just book and go, while others take full control of what where when and how their vacation will take place. For me it depends, the last time I used an online broker, which offered me more OBC and perks. However, this one charges a $25 processing FEE and a $100 cancellation penalty....which means....if you book and change your mind, and want to either change for date, cruise line, or just postphone, they will charge you $100...thats $125 of my money used for nothing. When you book through the cruise line, you can pretty much do what you need to do BEFORE final payment, This time we were close to sailing so we went with the cruise line.

We used to book through a local TA associated with a big agency I will not mention. I had to change weeks on a cruise and he charged me a $25 change fee. When I protested he told me that I was always calling him which is true with price changes posted on the Princess website. Since he charged me and complained about my being a "problem", I transferred the next two bookings to Princess and have never looked back. Maybe someday I will trust a TA again but not soon as we have 4 active bookings right now with Princess.

A one and done stirrer

The OP hasn't logged back in since ten days ago. Someone who either is mad at Princess or somehow thinks he's imparting the secret of life when it comes to buying a cruise.:rolleyes: