Booking through Cruise company or travel agent?

[Nebr.cruiser]

Although we sometimes book directly, we usually use an online TA and the website that lets TA's bid for your cruise--we do not always use the same company. Local brick and mortar companies are limited and usually much higher than the big online companies.

 

Often the base price is the same (not always), but perks and OBC can be substantial. Hundreds of dollars of savings is worth giving up a little bit of control, for us.

 

We usually book a balcony cabin; often balconies and higher do get the better perks, but not always. Suites often show a really big savings with a TA, but that's because their base price is so outrageously overpriced to start with that big discounts are the norm. Hopefully no one pays those huge prices.

[JTBCruiser]

I found a great TA who does cruises only, he is in Florida and I'm in Southern Illinois. I found him using a site that competes cruises. You enter basic info and you will get numerous e-mails from TA's competing for your business. The first thing I learned and I didn't know is TA's can't offer lower prices than the cruise line with exception of group bookings. They can provide perks out of their commissions. My TA offered the best deal then I bombarded him with questions kind of like the questions here on CC. I found him to be very personable and he took time to answer my questions. He made numerous recommendations on what to pack, tips on excursions, which cabins to go after plus offered the most for OBC. When the prices went down, he made the changes immediately. I've used him two more times and used the competing cruise site to find out the best deals and he beat them hands down. On the two other cruises, I've booked, the price has gone down and he has honored those as well. He has no hidden fees and does everything he promises. He always offers more OBC than the cruise line. :cool:

[Flatbush Flyer]

What are the pros and cons of booking directly with the cruise company vs. booking with a travel agent? I just don't see the benefit of including a middle man, so I must be missing something here.

 

 

Just had yet another experience that proves the value of a top producing TA for a specific cruise line.

 

Occasionally, I get "exclusive deal" e-mails from several TA's (each of whom was recommended on Conde Nast Traveler's "best of ...." lists). If it appears to be a true "exclusive deal" (I.e., a short term cruise line discount for a top producing TA partner, as opposed to a marketing gimmick), I will check it out.

 

I received one of those e-mails the other day and, although I had already booked (at a decent discount w/perks) our next cruise while onboard our prior cruise (and then transferred it to one of the two TAs who have earned our trust and business), I followed up and got a quote. The "exclusive" price (good for the remainder of February) is 15% lower than the current price (and 12% lower than our current price - not including the TA OBC) advertised everywhere and there was some minor perk like an Amazon gift card.

 

Quick e-mail to our TA, who is a top ten producer for our preferred cruise line and, after he checked with his "people," we got the same cruise line deal. An expected decrease in his OBC was not a deal breaker as we still would be getting about 13% of the cabin cost.

 

"Almost final" discount (including $ value of the TA OBC) = 27%. Add the free gratuities and we're at >30%. I say "almost final" because I know that our TA will do his best to get any additional price drops that may occur - even after final payment.

 

One final note: By booking onboard and not assigning a TA until you're home and have checked out the TA perks (decision to transfer within the next month required on our preferred line), you get the cruise line best "early booking" deal including current cruise OBC, cabin choice, etc. AND the TA perks. On a premium line, we're talking a "chunk of change."

[calliopecruiser]

Just had yet another experience that proves the value of a top producing TA for a specific cruise line.

 

How does one find out who are the top producing TAs for a particular line?

[Flatbush Flyer]

How does one find out who are the top producing TAs for a particular line?

 

 

Triangulate your research (approach this from multiple directions).

Start with the Conde Nast "best of..." lists and other ratings such as Trip

Advisor, Yelp, etc. (all taken with a grain of salt). Also, look through the occasional "cruise special" travel sections of major newspapers for the sources (TAs) the reporters used. Even just googling "cruise specialist" will also get you some names that appear in the reviews and you can read about them on their site (including awards, etc.).

From this first round of research, you'll see a few TAs rising to the top if for no other reason than positive citation frequency.

 

Next step is to ask acquaintances who have cruised to make a recommendation (more salt please). If you're lucky, their TA will already be on your "short list" from the initial exercise.

 

If you happen to have already booked a cruise on your own and are on a ship of your preferred line, go to the future cruise desk and ask the rep what s/he may have heard about agencies/folks on your list even if only in terms of "how often do you see this TA/agency get the booking?". Also, on the ship, come right out and ask folks you meet: "who do you use and why?". Your list will start to shrink considerably.

 

Not done yet! Take the "short short" list and interview each agent asking specifically "are you a top ten or twenty producer for our preferred line(s)?". Of course, also check out their fine print policies.

 

Worth all the work? ubetcha!

[calliopecruiser]

Yeah, but none of those things answers my question. I'm not wondering how to find a good travel agent, I asked about finding out who are the highest producing agencies for a particular line.

[Flatbush Flyer]

Yeah, but none of those things answers my question. I'm not wondering how to find a good travel agent, I asked about finding out who are the highest producing agencies for a particular line.

 

 

Read my post's last paragraph: you will need to research and/or interview the TAs to get a ballpark figure (still with a grain of salt) about who is a top producer. Lines like Oceania have what they call a Connoisseur Club and TAs may be invited to that club in recognition of their relationship to O. No doubt, they will publicize that on their website or in their materials and you may be able to get a referral from an O phone rep to a member (w/o any identification of their production status). I seem to remember the old O Website actually having a TA referral spot (can't find it on new site just introduced).

As to an actual list, someone on CC may be able to point you in another direction. But, I find it hard to believe that any business would want to publicly ID top producers at the cost of their relationship with all others.

This is just one if those areas where you have to do as much of the digging as you think is worthwhile. If CC allowed it, I could share two top O producers. But that ain't gonna happen.

[mellowmarshmom]

While looking at room photos online, we realized the cabin we booked would've had my teenage daughter in a Pullman bunk directly over our heads! (In an aft balcony cabin? Weird!). Tried to call RC to switch to a different cabin with a fold out sofa bed. The cruise line reps we called seemed like they were dragging their feet to find a solution. I was so frustrated we ended up calling an online TA. (I picked them because I liked the funny YouTube videos one of the agents puts out.). We ended up with a really nice guy out of Arizona (who bought a franchise from the big online company) and he and his wife do this as a retirement job out of their home. Within a few hours we were booked in a HUGE oddly shaped corner aft cabin with a giant balcony and were able to get my dads cabin upgraded from reg balcony to aft. He has switched our dining times without a problem and watches the prices to get us guaranteed lowest prices. I'm so pleased. He has even said we will have a surprise in our room from them when we arrive, which I think is more onboard credit. Much improved from our last direct booking experience.