What does your TA give you for booking?

[ready2travel54]

While reading another thread a poster mentioned that their TA throws in some type of insurance. Just curious what most TAs do. We won't cruise until July. Should we hope for something nice in our cabin or would we know now.

[vmom]

This cruise we got $ 60 of on board credit. Last cruise, nothing, Cruise before that, a bottle of wine.

 

I think it depends on their profit margin.

[Toto2Kansas]

While reading another thread a poster mentioned that their TA throws in some type of insurance. Just curious what most TAs do. We won't cruise until July. Should we hope for something nice in our cabin or would we know now.

Many times when you book, the TA will tell you what they include as a perk, other times it can be a surprise. Often we get wine, a photo credit, shipboard credit, and the best perk of all, a fantastic discounted price that is much lower than Princess offers. :) BUT, I have also booked with TA's that give nothing, not a thing, and not even shipboard credit. So, it can go either way depending on who you book with. Good Luck though! ;)

[Nanatravel]

It really depends on a lot of things.

A. Agency or Cruise Line Promotion = usally an OBC

B. Wine or strawberries - depends on the agency or cruise line

C. Anything else - or nothing. It probably depends on the business relationship or amount of commission earned. Agents/Agencies do have to pay for most gifts.

 

Example; we just cruised and we got a bottle of wine. I also (rate/promotion) got an OBC. Final comment: I know the agent really well and she didn't know about the gift!

[vakamalua]

My TA discounts or rebates 10% of the cruise fare. :)

[paul929207]

A discount - usually between 10 and 20 percent off what Princess is showing on their website.

[Princess Patches]

My TA gives me 5-15% off the cruise fare offered by Princess and he usually throws in a freebie such as shipboard credit ($50-$100 depending on how much I spend on the cruise fare), or a bottle of wine. Less often, he throws in free travel insurance or a photo credit.

[JimnKaren]

Loyalty to a TA will go a long way. You keep booking with the same person and they will show their appreciation in one way or another.

 

We get a good price and fast, efficient service. That is great itself. If she also sends us a gift or two, so much the better. We never expect anything. If we get something beyond a fair price and good service, then Wow!

 

We have gotten OBC, strawberries to unpack by, wine, photo credits, etc. I always tell my TA about our experience so that she can pass that word along to other clients. I also recommend her to others. She knows!

 

Jim

[Kinkacruiser]

I get a better price than offered on the ship (I transfer the booking from the ship to the TA when we return from a cruise) plus another lot of OBC's ...just wonderful.

[smurf1635]

Please explain transferring a booking to a TA? We've booked directly thru Princess, what would be the advantage and how does it work? Is there a deadline to do this?

[flashdog_1]

One #A agency I've booked with 3x gave nothing more than what the cruise line was offering in on board credit. Two others gave nothing. One got me an upgrade from an H to an F. One I've booked with 3x #B but only traveled on once (2 cruises booked for the future) gave an unexpected bottle of wine. Also their travel guard insurance is lower than cruiseline insurance since I am 70, and that costs more. That's why I booked with him #B again. Also, when I saw an offer for more obc with agency #A, #B matched it to keep the booking, in addition to what was already offered by the cruise line in obc. This 3rd time there are NO perks, just very low fare, so I don't expect any surprises. But maybe on the next cruise (see signature to know what I'm talking about).

[Travelrd]

when i'm on the cruise, i always buy a future cruise credit for $100 and usually book a future cruise. and many times it's a cruise way out in the future like over a year from the cruise i'm on. princess quotes me their best rate (i always cruise solo in a mini-suite) and i take it. when i get home, i call my online travel agent and tell her what i've booked with princess. she quotes me her price for the same cruise which is always lower and then she calls princess, while i'm on hold, and transfers the booking from princess to her travel agency. and it's done that fast and simple. if i've reserved a particular cabin, that stays with the booking. if princess had offered me an obc, that stays with the booking too.

hope this helps you.

 

cheers

[ssbeagle]

Besides getting a discount on the cruise fare, we get a bottle of wine. We usually don't drink it or give it to someone else. I liked the ta we had before that knew we weren't wine drinkers and gave us an additional shipboard credit or a photo album.

[Coral]

when i'm on the cruise, i always buy a future cruise credit for $100 and usually book a future cruise. and many times it's a cruise way out in the future like over a year from the cruise i'm on. princess quotes me their best rate (i always cruise solo in a mini-suite) and i take it. when i get home, i call my online travel agent and tell her what i've booked with princess. she quotes me her price for the same cruise which is always lower and then she calls princess, while i'm on hold, and transfers the booking from princess to her travel agency. and it's done that fast and simple. if i've reserved a particular cabin, that stays with the booking. if princess had offered me an obc, that stays with the booking too.

hope this helps you.

 

cheers

 

Not sure if you are aware of this but when you book the cruise on the ship with Princess, they can book it in your TAs name so you don't need to transfer it. Just saves a step.

[smurf1635]

Between now and final payment date, if I see my cruise at a lower price from another agency, or if another agency has a better deal, I can call them and have my current booking transferred? It's as simple as that?

Do you suggest calling a favorite TA and seeing if they can beat the deal or just wait and see if it comes up on line?

 

Thanks, and so sorry to be a pain about this :)

[Coral]

I usually know up front what my TA is giving me (OBC, etc...). My TA has a lot of group space and the items I get are her group amenities plus a discount on the cruise.

[Whoo]

Only used a TA a few times - once we got a free 8x10 photo, the other times we got nothing. Prices weren't any better than going thru Princess directly, though you will hear lots of people here saying you can save lots of $$$. I have tried to find significant savings online with TA's, but so far have had no luck. I like the security of booking with Princess directly, and being able to call and talk to a Princess rep if necessary (and I don't feel the need to do that often, either!).

[Princess Patches]

Between now and final payment date, if I see my cruise at a lower price from another agency, or if another agency has a better deal, I can call them and have my current booking transferred? It's as simple as that?

Do you suggest calling a favorite TA and seeing if they can beat the deal or just wait and see if it comes up on line?

 

Thanks, and so sorry to be a pain about this :)

 

If you booked directly through Princess then you can easily transfer it to your TA. Just call your TA and tell him/her you booked through Princess and you were wondering whether he can give you a better price because, if so, you would like to transfer the booking to him. He can transfer very easily and everything stays the same on your booking (cabin number, deposit, shipboard credit, dining confirmation, etc.).

 

If you are not booked through Princess but with a TA and want to change TAs you can do that too, but it is a little more complicated. You have to give written authorization to Princess and then things could change when you do this (price might change, old TA may charge a cancellation fee, etc). Exercise caution when doing this. Make sure your new TA can beat your current price and find out what fees the old TA might charge.

[1 HappyCruiser]

Only used a TA a few times - once we got a free 8x10 photo, the other times we got nothing. Prices weren't any better than going thru Princess directly, though you will hear lots of people here saying you can save lots of $$$. I have tried to find significant savings online with TA's, but so far have had no luck. I like the security of booking with Princess directly, and being able to call and talk to a Princess rep if necessary (and I don't feel the need to do that often, either!).

 

You should try asking around a little more as most times a TA will beat any Princess price with on board credit also- there are loads of decent ones.

 

If your TA is giving you all sorts of gifts for booking it's probably because you paid a higher price than can be found elsewhere with another agent. There only so much profit to be made when they book a cruise and I would rather receive a lower price than a carry bag, overpriced photo or bottle of wine any day. ;)

[paul929207]

Please explain transferring a booking to a TA? We've booked directly thru Princess, what would be the advantage and how does it work? Is there a deadline to do this?

If you find a TA giving a better deal than Princess, you can transfer your booking from Princess to the TA. Just ask the TA to arrange it. Better deal can mean a lower price, more OBC, free or reduced insurance, etc. Transfer must be done before final payment.

[Lovincruisin1321]

We were with our TA for three cruises and never received any perks. :confused:

I want to find a good TA. How do I do this?

 

Loyalty to a TA will go a long way. You keep booking with the same person and they will show their appreciation in one way or another.

 

We get a good price and fast, efficient service. That is great itself. If she also sends us a gift or two, so much the better. We never expect anything. If we get something beyond a fair price and good service, then Wow!

 

We have gotten OBC, strawberries to unpack by, wine, photo credits, etc. I always tell my TA about our experience so that she can pass that word along to other clients. I also recommend her to others. She knows!

 

Jim

[ready2travel54]

We were with our TA for three cruises and never received any perks. :confused:

I want to find a good TA. How do I do this?

AgreedI am going to start a new thread with this question.

[Richpontone]

For $429 pp for 10/8/2011 7 day New England/Canada trip from NYC and got $125 OBC.

[Yggdrasil98]

Hmmm, interesting. I usually get the bank details so I can transfer the deposit and final payment! I don't book a lot of cruises, about 50% of my stuff is for cruises.

[commodoredave]

If all you want is a discount, a free photo or OBC of $50, you are missing the point with a good TA. A good TA provides so much more -- getting you the best cabin, following up on your booking, answering your questions, solving issures along the way and giving great advice on a wide range of issues from cabin selection, to ship selection, to itinerary, to shore excursions and land hotels. I happen to have a great agent who also provdes great incentives. But that is only one of many reasons why I bring her my business.