TA vs RCI

[mlmbar]

Can anyone tell me the advantage of using a TA, if any? I have used a TA for my three cruises because I had read a travel article that said that it was better to use one for a cruise than through the cruise line. I have used the same one each time. Last year I got a useless coupon book cause I am not into the casino, art auction, etc. I had to ask for luggage tags distributed by the agency (major chain). Used her again for my second oasis cruise and like last time, all she did was book the cruise for me. I guess I am a control freak but I booked the airline myself as well as the excursions, specialty restaurants, and entertainment through RCI. The only advantage I saw was I booked on a WOW sale and the agency had a contest where you popped a balloon and got whatever price came out deducted. I got no coupon book this time and when the price went down, I was the one that found it because of constant checking. She actually made the comment that if I whittled any more off the price, she would not get any commission. I found that my edocs were ready when someone posted on my meet and mingle thread. That was last Friday 8/3. I had them printed and luggage tagsordered before 9AM. Yesterday, 8/6, I got an email from TA telling me the edocs were ready. REALLY? Did I just get a bad TA or are they really unnecessary?

[hazeleyez3]

The perks.

 

My TA has given me obc, spa vouchers, dinner vouchers, and wine.

[Jeff A]

TA = Big OBC

If you know where to look.

[Ashland]

Some swear by good ones and the perks they offer.....I'm happy with doing it myself and cutting out the middleman ;):)

[Rewind]

AAA saved me $40 on the room, gave us $50 in on board credit, and a bottle of campaign. That's just about a $100 swing in my favor.

 

EDIT:

And that is on an interior stateroom, I'm sure you can get larger perks on a better cabin.

[mhester47]

My experience is the same. Don't use YA anymore.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I717 using Tapatalk 2

[mlmbar]

I got $50 OBC but that was part of the RCI WOW sale. She sucks LOL!:mad:

[nycruiser80]

Can anyone tell me the advantage of using a TA, if any? I have used a TA for my three cruises because I had read a travel article that said that it was better to use one for a cruise than through the cruise line. I have used the same one each time. Last year I got a useless coupon book cause I am not into the casino, art auction, etc. I had to ask for luggage tags distributed by the agency (major chain). Used her again for my second oasis cruise and like last time, all she did was book the cruise for me. I guess I am a control freak but I booked the airline myself as well as the excursions, specialty restaurants, and entertainment through RCI. The only advantage I saw was I booked on a WOW sale and the agency had a contest where you popped a balloon and got whatever price came out deducted. I got no coupon book this time and when the price went down, I was the one that found it because of constant checking. She actually made the comment that if I whittled any more off the price, she would not get any commission. I found that my edocs were ready when someone posted on my meet and mingle thread. That was last Friday 8/3. I had them printed and luggage tagsordered before 9AM. Yesterday, 8/6, I got an email from TA telling me the edocs were ready. REALLY? Did I just get a bad TA or are they really unnecessary?

 

 

It is a personal choice. I was a travel agent so I say a good travel agent is a great way to go for some people. By a good travel agent I mean one that tracks and honors price drops and one that does all the specialty dining arrangements and immigration info for you. One that is there when there is a problem and most importantly a good agent knows their trade. When I worked as a TA the office I worked for stressed all of these things. In regards to getting freebies from agents and special perks it goes like this. If you want on board credits, pre-pay grats and other special gifts you most likely will find that from a big internet agency. If your cruise cost was $2000 and you booked through a local TA it really is not cost effective to give you a lot of "goodies". Case in point years ago I booked an NCL cruise for $1500 and the commission was $27! So there is very little I could do for a client like that except a coupon booklet. Commission is of the base cruise fare excluding all taxes and fees and it ranges from 10-15% for most mom and pop agencies. Large internet agencies may make a higher percentage of commission or book a group and will be able to give you more benefits.

 

If you book it alone directly with RCI you own the booking and are responsible for doing whatever it is. You can check prices and get prices drops prior to final payment. Of course some TAs do this but you have to see who.

 

It all comes down to if you want to do it all or get service and hopefully an expert insight with a possible benefit like an OBC, or pre-paid grat.

[mlmbar]

It is a personal choice. I was a travel agent so I say a good travel agent is a great way to go for some people. By a good travel agent I mean one that tracks and honors price drops and one that does all the specialty dining arrangements and immigration info for you. One that is there when there is a problem and most importantly a good agent knows their trade. When I worked as a TA the office I worked for stressed all of these things. In regards to getting freebies from agents and special perks it goes like this. If you want on board credits, pre-pay grats and other special gifts you most likely will find that from a big internet agency. If your cruise cost was $2000 and you booked through a local TA it really is not cost effective to give you a lot of "goodies". Case in point years ago I booked an NCL cruise for $1500 and the commission was $27! So there is very little I could do for a client like that except a coupon booklet. Commission is of the base cruise fare excluding all taxes and fees and it ranges from 10-15% for most mom and pop agencies. Large internet agencies may make a higher percentage of commission or book a group and will be able to give you more benefits.

 

If you book it alone directly with RCI you own the booking and are responsible for doing whatever it is. You can check prices and get prices drops prior to final payment. Of course some TAs do this but you have to see who.

 

It all comes down to if you want to do it all or get service and hopefully an expert insight with a possible benefit like an OBC, or pre-paid grat.

Thanks for the insight. This was not a small, local agency but a large national one. Therefore, I would expect she would have had more leeway. I got no insight, benefits, or anything else. Had she been more on top of things, I would not have gone ahead and done all that I did. I booked in october and heard nothing from her til early June because my final payment was due soon. I called HER about the price drop.

[riclop]

By using an on line ta we got $250 obc and a free specialty dinner and a spa 50.00 voucher.

[mlmbar]

By using an on line ta we got $250 obc and a free specialty dinner and a spa 50.00 voucher.

Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by an online TA?

[Ashland]

Pardon my ignorance, but what do you mean by an online TA?

Website..online..not your local walk in home town travel agents..no office just a call center staffed by service reps for a particular company. ;):)

[seasearider]

OP, an OBC of ~10% is nice from a TA. It's the only way we do it.

[mlmbar]

That is what I thought an online TA was. My daughter works for one but she is not in their cruise division. Come to think of it, I used them for my first cruise three years ago. Got nothing from them either. LOL! I will NOT use this agent that I used for both of my Oasis cruises as I got NOTHING from her!

[spotgrey]

Used both TA and booked directly with RCI. Like booking with cruise line directly "much better" than with a TA. I have control of my own reservation and can make changes if needed. I do not like going thru a third person unless I get a huge benefit e.g., I sometimes book with an airline cruise agency to get extra frequent flyer miles. The last cruise I booked thru them I got 15,000 additional ff miles. However, 99% of the time I book directly with the cruise line. Have a great cruise.

[nycruiser80]

Thanks for the insight. This was not a small, local agency but a large national one. Therefore, I would expect she would have had more leeway. I got no insight, benefits, or anything else. Had she been more on top of things, I would not have gone ahead and done all that I did. I booked in october and heard nothing from her til early June because my final payment was due soon. I called HER about the price drop.

 

Your welcome. Doesn't sound like she is on top of her game! I would drop her and either look for a better TA or just book direct. I don't understand how TAs like that survive. These days it is all about the customer service. That's one thing my old boss got right otherwise I didn't get along with her!

[highlandlassie]

TA - got me balcony for £100 per person extra when RCC wanted £398.00 per person - also got me a D2 deck 7 - original cabin we got was on deck 3 ( LOS)

 

Nearer the time I will go into the TA ans she will do all my online checkin stuff, will book any packages I want and also excursions

[CoachT]

I sat on an executive advisory board call yesterday and I expect that RCI will soon be following Carnival's lead and limiting the amount of gifts an agency can advertize to no more than $25 or gifts branded with the RCI logo.

 

What Carnival has done is a game changer and other cruise lines and agents are taking notice.

 

Back to the OP, there are far more perks to using the right TA than just an onboard credit.

[TifffanyD]

While I definitely know how to book the cruises myself, I've used a TA for every single one. Actually the first one I booked and transferred to get an OBC. Future Disney cruises were all booked with the same TA - one thing I love is that they keep all my info and fill it in on my cruise info - so I don't have to look up and supply passport info and stuff. They can also have great tips! And of course the OBC. In December I am going on a cruise through my TA and they are having special events and speakers if you booked through them.

 

For non-Disney cruises, I've used different TA's. Sometimes I can get a better price through them because they locked in dummy cabins during a sale or they do group rates. And also - more OBC!

 

My next 2 non-Disney cruises are booked with a TA that left my preferred agency to form her own. She is SO helpful and knowledgeable. One thing that was great was she called to get me the onboard credit through a NCL deal... rather than me having to deal with all of that. So I booked our RCCL through her.

 

I know I am a newbie to RCCL but I wouldn't book a cruise without a TA (but not just some random one! One that provides great service in addition to perks!)

 

ETA: Oh yeah - I forgot to mention my most recent TA started doing gift baskets in the room. Nothing crazy elaborate but cups, highlighters, extension cords... just things that are useful on the cruise that you might have forgotten!

[PattyG12]

We love our TA. She gives us OBC and if we book a balcony or higher, she gives us pre-paid gratuities. She handles things for us. Yes, I look for price drops but she's the one that deals with the craziness that we call RCI Customer Service. That in itself is worth its weight in gold.

[Bluegirl]

I usually book directly through RCCL. For one thing, I call knowing exactly what I want (incl. exact stateroom) and so there's next to no inducement for me to give up full, 24/7 control of my reservation. (Well, there's one real inducement -- see below.) For another, it always seems like an RCCL agent can book my family into a stateroom in under 10 minutes, BAM!, once I supply our C&A numbers; with an external TA, I have found myself tethered endlessly to the phone while I have to feed the agent each bit of information piecemeal. That's annoying.

 

OK, the inducement .... always centers around the perks and OBCs offered by an agent. This time, not only did we go with a third-party TA because of, I believe, $250 in OBC, but in addition my husband found and booked the cruise.(2nd big mistake! WHY did I let him book?! Not only am *I* the one who always spends hours scouring CC, royalcarribean.com and other sites to do full recon on our cruise, its ports and excursions, but I'm also the one who, this time, would have immediately noticed that my children's passports had expired in April. There is no way I would have missed that while on the phone with a TA! Arrrgh!)

 

Anyway, I'm really hoping I'm right about the OBC being as high as $250 because only that will make up for the aggravation that the TA is now causing me. The story: we got a voicemail about an upgrade offer at an AMAZING price and, after contacting the TA repeatedly and either getting the runaround or just not dealing with a very good agency, we are still in limbo about the whole thing! And we sail a week from tomorrow.

 

The TA's story is that she/they can't get through to RCCL now to verify or even discuss the offer. She claims she has left messages. I've waited endlessly on hold. I essentially sat around all day yesterday waiting for callbacks. I gave up around 7pm because I saw on the TA's website that their lines are open all weekend, and of course RCCL customer care is as well.

 

But it was not so. Just made the call to the TA again this morning, only to discover that we'll be in limbo at least until Monday. They're not open after all. Fabulous. And -- oh wait -- Monday is Labor Day, you say? Then we'll be sitting and wondering and waiting till Tuesday, I guess.

 

I'M SO FRUSTRATED! If I had booked through RCCL, I would have had this worked out yesterday morning, and we wouldn't be on pins and needed, etc.

 

BUT ... the one thing I *don't* know is if the upgrade offer would have come if we had booked directly with RCCL. This is my first experience with a possible upgrade, and I have to admit I've no idea exactly how it all works and/or why we got singled out for an offer.

 

SIGH. I guess I just have to be patient. But I'm already so super-hyped for this cruise that I can barely sleep or think about anything else! Either way it goes, I know our cruise will be amazing because we really splurged this time in view of the fact that my husband has worked practically 7 days a week since May.

 

Fact remains, though -- never again with an external TA. I'm booking only with RCCL directly from here on out. Because I have full power and control. Because I can rely on 27/7 service. Because I'm an experienced cruiser. Because I never have to mull endlessly when I do have a question -- I can just pick up the phone and call and get my answer right away. (Or consult the vast cache of knowledge that is CC, of course!) RCCL TAs have never let me down.

 

I guess, when it comes down to it, I feel like the tradeoff (saving a few $$ in exchange for handing over all power) is not worth it. I feel like dealing directly with RCCL offers a kind of insurance that a TA can't. I don't think I mind paying a bit more for that insurance.

[Desert Cruizers]

I personally book thru a local TA, neither my husband nor I expect a lot nor require a lot of perks, as long as our TA handles our booking and she knows our wishes and we never have to tell her or her associates what we wish ( Table size, dining times ). She alerts me to any specials via email, I can reach her or she will contact me on weekends. I emailed my TA regarding a question to change rooms, which was handled, the owner contacted me by email early sat evening to acknowledge the matter had been taken care of. If I did not book thru the local office then I would book directly thru the cruise lines and not an online agency. I prefer to deal personally with someone regarding our booking. We are compensated by being loyal clients of hers which she greatly appreciates and the return, is excellant service.

[Bluegirl]

Desert Cruizers, I have not had good luck finding a good TA, as you have. That is the difference! The level of service you describe is laudable and I would definitely pay for that. I've now had bad and/or "nothing-to-write-home-about" experiences with three TAs.

[39august]

I have used both a big on line agency and my current TA who has an actual office in Ark. I got only wine or maybe $50 OBC from the on line agency, tho I frequently see them advertising gratuities, extra OBC, spa and dinner vouchers the last few years. However, I was told about my current TA by a fellow passenger on a Radiance cruise about 7 years ago. I now deal only with her by phone and e-mail. She has also given me her personal cell number so I can reach her on holidays, at night, etc. She has always given me a minimum of $100 OBC for less expensive cruises and gives me between $150-$250 OBC now that we are booking GS's. She is extremetly knowledgable and she and her agents get back to me very quickly if I have to leave a message or when I send e-mail. She charges NO fees for cancellations or any changes such as switching a booking to a different date and/or different ship. The on-line agency I used to use does charge cancellation fees. I would not have anything to do with a TA that did not respond quickly to my requests or questions, nor would I deal with a TA who gave me no OBC or other gifts or who charged for chages made. The OP needs to go shopping for a good TA.

[Desert Cruizers]

Bluegirl, after reading numerous bad experiences some CC members have had, it is hard for me to believe that I hear more negatives then positives. Friends of ours who used a TA for years suddenly had a terrible experience with this lady. This was when we were 2 months away from our RT Hawaii cruise in 2008, They called her when she was unable to print out their Set Sail pass following final payment. It turns out the TA was having financial problems and instead of calling into the cruise lines as she had always done, began charging the individuals credit card back to her office. Our friends booking was cancelled, however, after finally reaching the TA and RCL offices, RCL held their cabin from sale, until they wer able do a wire transfer of final payment and deposit. Our friends knew 1 month away that they still had a cabin, but stayed in constant communication with the TA and RCL. There just has to be far more excellant TA's then bad, but can understand why many on CC say they go with the cruise lines direct & I tell my friends, if they choose to book a cruise to do so direct with the lines over an internet office. The one we use, I was referred to by friends. The bottom line which ever you use, as long as you are happy with everything you received, that is the main thing. One advantage a TA can provide, should you have a problem, they have more pull then we as the passenger to resolve the issue.