The importance of finding a luxury travel agent

Happy Holidays!

I appreciate the wealth of knowledge and advice that I can tap on these boards! You are all so willing to share your thoughts and opinions. One recurring theme I see on the luxury line boards in particular is the importance of an experienced TA. I've cruised on non-luxury lines and have cruised in their top suites but have always booked based on the best price available (factoring in any extras like OBC, etc.) after I do my extensive research online. These days there are many wonderful resources available, including highly regarded guide books, reviews and discussion boards and I tend to use them all.

So I am curious what the compelling reasons are that I'm missing as I contemplate my first luxury cruise? I see the benefit of finding someone who has cruised the lines I'm considering, but frankly, what would make that one person's opinion more valuable than all of yours? I also see the economic sense of seeking the best price/value package available and rewarding that agency with my business.

So folks, help me with your thoughts! Many thanks,

SteveO.

Each luxury line is very different. Crystal has larger ships and is more structured. Regent larger suites and has a lot of things included in it's fare. Seaborne and Silverseas have smaller ships that go into more off the beaten path ports. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. They are all very different from each other, and are all luxury lines. To me, one large large ship is just like the other regardless of the line. For us, our TA helped us understand the differences between lines and choose one that worked well for us. A luxury cruise is a very large investment, and like financial investments, having and experienced advisor assists you in making the correct selection for you.

One other factor is that all the luxury lines strongly suggest that you work with a TA. In fact on the Crystal web page, when you ask for a quote they refer you to a list of TAs in your area. In our case, we love sailing on Crystal and our TA is part of a consortium that covers most tips and adds some very nice onboarde credit to our accounts.

Again, with an investment of this size, getting good advice as to what's the best fit for you is very important.

In addition to what is mentioned above, most luxury TA's give benefits for being their customer. Some include a special shore excursion for their customers while others give a percentage of the cruise fare and/or OBCs.

TA's are also an advocate for their customers. If you book directly with a cruise line and there is a problem, the cruise line will probably look after their own interests rather than yours

I am currently involved in a Roll Call for our upcoming cruise. One of the posters is learning information from us rather than her TA because her TA either doesn't know the answer, does not know who to call or is on vacation without a back-up.

There are many reasons to use a TA who specializes in luxury cruising. . . those are a few. All the luxury lines have a section that will either link you to a TA or get you a quote. There are TA's who advertise on CruiseCritic -- some of them may specialize in luxury cruising. Of course, you can do internet searches or speak with a member of CC.

The real question is why would you not use a TA? It doesn't cost a penny and, in many cases, will give you benefits and OBCs you will not get directly from the cruise line.

There are several reasons to use a TA that specializes in luxury cruises. Keep in mind that like any profession there are some outstanding TA's but there are others who are so so or poor. So, the key is to find the right TA.

I believe that there is a limit to have much good advice you can receive on CC because in the end with a post or two we know very little about the person who is looking for advice and that factor is key to trying to come up with the lines and the ships within the line that would be best for you. It takes a much more thorough conversation with a lot of interaction and back and forth and you are just not going to get that on the internet. Also, the tops TA's have sailed on most of the luxury lines if not all and that is a big help.

Many of the strong TA's in the luxury market are either part of large travel consortiums or are part of independent travel consortiums. As such, they can offer perks to you that a more basic TA or agency cannot do. This can be sizable over the years.

If things go wrong a strong TA who has lots of good contacts can help you with the cruise line and that is important.

A strong luxury agent likely has a lot of knowledge of the places that you will visit and can help with pre cruise preparation including helping with private tours.

If I was going to by a house the type of agent I would use would vary based on the price tag of the house. The same is true if I was selling a house. To me this applies to other areas including luxury cruising where there is a major difference between agents and agencies and the level of resources they can bring to the table.

Keith

Happy New Year and thanks to all for the advice and guidance!

I think it's great that so many have formed solid relationships with TAs that work so well for them. Too bad there isn't a good way to leverage all that knowledge, other than asking one's close friends for their recommendations.

SteveO.

Thank you SteveO for your original question as I was thinking exactly the same thing regarding luxury sailings. Also, thank you to everyone else for your responses. Have a wonderful new year! :)