Online TA

[Rasa Sayang]

I realise we cant mention TA names here so I'll just ask this as a general question.

 

Does anybody have experience booking through online travel agents, and are they reliable?

 

We are considering a cruise on Sun Princess next September and the price difference between the fare quoted by Princess Australian office and a large online Australian TA is quite considerable.

 

Several hundred dollars to be exact - plus good OBC thrown in as well.

 

I have no trouble with internet purchases normally but I'm just wondering if the service from online TAs is efficient and reliable.

 

This particular online TA accepts bookings for all the Carnival lines.

 

Thanks in anticipation - any thoughts??

[The_Big_M]

The online Australian TAs as you refer to are cruise specialists, so are often able to achieve better pricing through group incentives as well as negotiating some of their margin due to volume. There may also be group cruises though that is quite limited.

 

In general, they should be reliable. When compared to Princess Australia, I would be more inclined to go through a TA anyway, as going through HO does not have many real benefits of itself and a better deal is more likely through a TA.

[fourleaf]

I realise we cant mention TA names here so I'll just ask this as a general question.

 

Does anybody have experience booking through online travel agents, and are they reliable?

 

We are considering a cruise on Sun Princess next September and the price difference between the fare quoted by Princess Australian office and a large online Australian TA is quite considerable.

 

Several hundred dollars to be exact - plus good OBC thrown in as well.

 

I have no trouble with internet purchases normally but I'm just wondering if the service from online TAs is efficient and reliable.

 

This particular online TA accepts bookings for all the Carnival lines.

 

Thanks in anticipation - any thoughts??

I have used an Australian online TA to book 4 cruises on Princess, 2 are complete and have had no problems, 3rd is next month and 4th is in May next year. Price on each was considerably cheaper, the 2nd cruise was booked with Princess and then I transferred back to same TA resulting in a cheaper price and a much larger OBC. Have always found them helpful and have been able to speak directly to one person regarding any of my bookings if I have queries and can still call Princess direct with queries.

[hungryhippo]

I realise we cant mention TA names here so I'll just ask this as a general question.

 

Does anybody have experience booking through online travel agents, and are they reliable?

 

We are considering a cruise on Sun Princess next September and the price difference between the fare quoted by Princess Australian office and a large online Australian TA is quite considerable.

 

Several hundred dollars to be exact - plus good OBC thrown in as well.

 

I have no trouble with internet purchases normally but I'm just wondering if the service from online TAs is efficient and reliable.

 

This particular online TA accepts bookings for all the Carnival lines.

 

Thanks in anticipation - any thoughts??

 

 

Hi there,

I booked my P and O cruise through an online travel agent, and I found them to be great. The prices were a lot cheaper than they were through P and O at the time of booking, and they are extremely easy to deal with. :D

[wellsy1982]

I only just very recently booked my cruise through an online ta...After much hesitation...They had such a great deal that i booked straight away...The room i wanted, they had $100 cheaper than what i had previously priced..Also $150 obc each and half the amount of deposit at $150 ea...And we are able to pay it off for the next 7 months..Cant complain with that!! The girl i was dealing with was so very helpfull and went out of her way for me..Had a good look at the site and was very legit...Was also noticed through an austalian site similar to this...

[Brossy]

I have booked all my cruises through an online t/a and found them to be fantastic. I have always received extra obc which is a major bonus too. One oz t/a even gives free lanyards when they post your tickets out :D.

 

I have heard that one online t/a claiming to be the best in the west wasn't as good as all the others but there are lots out there :).

[Kiwi Kruzer]

We saw a deal with an on line agent in Australia once, but they could not book the air from NZ, so we rang P&O direct, and they quoted much more for the cruise. When we told them of the better deal from the online agent all they said was ..

that was their price, and the reason the other was cheaper was that they would rather sell 100 cabins to one agent, instead of 1 cabin each to 100 people.

In the end we managed to get the same cheaper deal,

as a local agent met the on line price for us here in NZ.

[cazz0069]

I realise we cant mention TA names here so I'll just ask this as a general question.

 

Does anybody have experience booking through online travel agents, and are they reliable?

 

We are considering a cruise on Sun Princess next September and the price difference between the fare quoted by Princess Australian office and a large online Australian TA is quite considerable.

 

Several hundred dollars to be exact - plus good OBC thrown in as well.

 

I have no trouble with internet purchases normally but I'm just wondering if the service from online TAs is efficient and reliable.

 

This particular online TA accepts bookings for all the Carnival lines.

 

Thanks in anticipation - any thoughts??

 

It would appear most people are in favour of online TA. I booked our upcoming Dawn Princess cruise online and not only was it $100`s cheaper than than Princess direct. Also we were pleasantly surpirsed to find that although not advertised the grade we booked came with $100 each OBC. As this is our 2nd cruise with Princess they even went so far to contact Princess directly and confirmed our extra OBC for as we had joined the captains circle club. We had originally booked Rhapsody and cancelled to go with Princess so when getting our deposit back from RCL they didnt even charge us a cancellation fee. I have nothing but praise for the online TA we have been using...:D

[Guest012]

Online agencies are great we have dealt with ones here and oversea's no complaints ....only thing i will stress is do your homework on their "CANCELLATION POLICY".....read the fine print ....many agencies have their own terms and conditions so just because the cruiseline says you will get a refund doesn't mean the agency you buy from will refund the lot....do your online homework...in fact do it with all travel agencies..........shiona

[thied]

the t/a we use has allway the best price for us , i have huntered around and used many on the on line T/a that we all know, if i do ever find a cheaper one and if i do its not by much they will bet it, either in price or with on board credits. I have never booked on line with them but I know you can but i just email them all good,

[Rasa Sayang]

Thanks for the feedback folks - its much as I expected.

 

They look good, and the one I had in mind seems quite OK to me.

 

I've actually had a yarn to them this morning on their toll free number and that has removed any lingering doubts I may have had.

 

Besides - they're Queenslanders :D:p

 

As I said, I use the net for just about every other type of transaction imagineable - why not travel?

 

Once again, thanks for all the feed back. :)

[Gaznjo]

I have booked all my cruises through an online t/a and found them to be fantastic. I have always received extra obc which is a major bonus too. One oz t/a even gives free lanyards when they post your tickets out :D.

 

I have heard that one online t/a claiming to be the best in the west wasn't as good as all the others but there are lots out there :).

 

we got a parcel from our online TA today and not ony did we get the lanyards but a really nice black travel folder with compartments to keep your cards, a zipper section for passport and tickets... very nice indeed

 

joanne

[NSWP]

Get the price from the Princess Cruise website, then hit the well known and established Aussie on line T/A's specialising in cruises with the Princess price, they will beat it every time, plus often OBC. All our 10 cruises have been booked with on line agents, I have used two companies that I cannot name.

 

Don't forget those Future Cruise Credit letters, you can get on board also, for low deposits ($200 each) and OBC according to cabin category, plus you can get deposits refunded or moved.

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

Online agencies are great we have dealt with ones here and oversea's no complaints ....only thing i will stress is do your homework on their "CANCELLATION POLICY".....read the fine print ....many agencies have their own terms and conditions so just because the cruiseline says you will get a refund doesn't mean the agency you buy from will refund the lot....do your online homework...in fact do it with all travel agencies..........shiona

 

 

So true Shiona.....I'm with you here. Caution is the word when it comes to booking with online T/A's. I always book online but it is imperative to read the 'fine print'. THE CONDITIONS OFFERED BY THE CRUISE LINE ARE NOT ALWAYS THAT OF THE ONLINE T/A....be aware, once booked you are under the 'conditions' of the T/A.

 

I wrote on a previous thread about an online USA T/A we used and had so many communication problems with and issues once on board that couldn't be rectified. This is NOT the USA T/A we all know and love, it's another one that does offer great deals but I wouldn't recommend them.

 

I must say here in Australia I'm not impressed with the online T/A's that are charging A$200 per person booking fees which are non refundable. Afterall what do they do? Call the cruise line, make the booking, take your deposit, then take the final payment and finally post out your documents....is that worth $400 for a couple....I don't think so, that's my opinion anyway.

 

Jillybean:)

[Oxymoron]

G'day Dennis, just make sure they are registered with the Travel Compensation Fund (TCF). You can do a search from this link http://www.tcf.org.au/

email me go2oz@hotmail.com if you have any other questions

[thied]

G'day Dennis, just make sure they are registered with the Travel Compensation Fund (TCF). You can do a search from this link http://www.tcf.org.au/

email me go2oz@hotmail.com if you have any other questions

thank you for that link may come in handy :D

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

G'day Dennis, just make sure they are registered with the Travel Compensation Fund (TCF). You can do a search from this link http://www.tcf.org.au/

email me go2oz@hotmail.com if you have any other questions

 

Thanks Brad, what an interesting site. I was surprised to see how many T/A's have shut up shop for one reason or another.

 

Jillybean:)

[Rasa Sayang]

G'day Dennis, just make sure they are registered with the Travel Compensation Fund (TCF). You can do a search from this link http://www.tcf.org.au/

email me go2oz@hotmail.com if you have any other questions

 

Thanks for that link Brad - much appreciated.

 

The firm in question is registered with that organisation.

 

I have sent you a quick email at the email address you supplied above.

 

Many thanks

[yamcrzr]

I have booked all my cruises through an online t/a and found them to be fantastic. I have always received extra obc which is a major bonus too. One oz t/a even gives free lanyards when they post your tickets out :D.

 

I have heard that one online t/a claiming to be the best in the west wasn't as good as all the others but there are lots out there :).

 

I did notice some passengers on our cruise with online TA lanyards - what a fantastic advertising idea! Personally i think $7.95 ea, (as they cost on board) is quite steep considering i grabbed my daughters from the reject shop before we left for $2. Alot of first time cruisers dont realise they need them and get stung with the $7.95. They should read cc before they go!! :)

[The_Big_M]

I have heard that one online t/a claiming to be the best in the west wasn't as good as all the others but there are lots out there :).

 

Hehe :-)

 

I did notice some passengers on our cruise with online TA lanyards ... Alot of first time cruisers dont realise they need them and get stung with the $7.95.

 

To be fair you don't actually need them...

[NSWP]

Gotta have that lanyard (I got the black Princess one) for the cruise card, part of the cruiser's uniform, feel naked without it !! First thing I do when I get on board..get the purser's office to punch that hole in the card for the lanyard, ABOUT THE ONLY THING THAT THEY DO NOT CHARGE EXTRA FOR ! The complimentary hole ! with no 15% gratuity ! LOL