Travel agent vs booking online (RCL)

[kruzerci]

Does your TA charge any fees for price drops, cabin change, cancellation, etc.?

 

That travel agent has a $50 cancellation fee, but no fee for price drops or cabin changes.

Edited January 21, 2014 by kruzerci

[chee7]

I believe first timers should consult a ta just to get some idea about cruising. There are ins and outs of the cruise world that many of the experience cruiser have weathered.

[grandgeezer]

Does your TA charge any fees for price drops, cabin change, cancellation, etc.?

 

They don't charge for any changes. I don't know about cancellation as I have never had the need to cancel a cruise. Except for calling someone in the middle of the night, I have complete control of my reservation. Nothing is done that's not requested by me.

[riclop]

Hi, would like to check what are the general perks of booking with a Ta? Is it cheaper or do you get more out of it?

 

I have always booked online as I get to see all the options.

 

Forum rules say no mentioning of any Ta allowed, so please do not point out any TA specifically. Cheers.

You get more from a TA such as OBC and a dinner for 2 in a specialty restaurant and sometimes a lower price.

[grandgeezer]

Just remember you don't own the reservation, your TA does. That means you lose all control of your cruise. I would never give control of my vacation to anyone but me and my DW.

 

That's completely false. It's like saying Scottrade owns my brokerage account because I deal with them not the New York Stock Exchange. In both cases, the travel agent and the brokerage firm, they just execute your wishes as you request. You own it as you are the one paying for it. It's in your name not the agents. The only tie to the agent is that they do the paperwork.

I control all aspects of my reservation, from date price, cabin, meals, tours, etc. They do nothing without my o.k. Only I go through an online agent.

If booking through the cruise line helps you sleep at night fine, that's your business, but at least state the facts when posting so the people who are undecided can make up their minds by weighing all the facts of all options.

[sblair]

I'm not a big fan of TA's and prefer to do all my own bookings and homework, however I do use TA at the end.

 

I do the initial booking myself, make the deposit and do all the changes myself. Just before the final payment is due and I know that there aren't any more changes then I'll find the TA that is willing to give me the most back in OBC and then transfer the booking to them.

 

They don't have to do any work and I get at least 10-12% of the fare back in OBC. For a Grand Suite that adds up to $550 or more.

[Clarea]

I'm not a big fan of TA's and prefer to do all my own bookings and homework, however I do use TA at the end.

 

I do the initial booking myself, make the deposit and do all the changes myself. Just before the final payment is due and I know that there aren't any more changes then I'll find the TA that is willing to give me the most back in OBC and then transfer the booking to them.

 

They don't have to do any work and I get at least 10-12% of the fare back in OBC. For a Grand Suite that adds up to $550 or more.

In case you are not aware of a change Royal made a while back, you only have 60 days after booking to transfer your cruise to a travel agent.

[momofmab]

I've done it both ways and saw no overwhelming advantage to using a TA (although I do think it was somewhat valuable for my first cruise - since I had no idea what to expect).

 

I do it myself now - I'm Type A and don't like to have to wait for return phone calls and emails to get what I want :)

[joetop2467]

Ok. So I figured out which agency you are talking about. We have booked one or two cruises with them and have a member number or whatever they call it. The thing I don't like about them is that they are closed on weekends which is when we are usually looking at cruises. I'm afraid that if I leave a message, the deal will be gone or changed by the time I get a call back from them on Monday or Tuesday. How do you handle that.

Edited January 21, 2014 by joetop2467

[hdowney]

I have never cruised before (first this year :) ) but I am rather obsessive compulsive about things like holiday booking so don't think I could ever use a travel agent. I like to get into every little detail available about my holiday and a cruise is no exception.

 

Sent from my GT-I8730 using Forums mobile app

[jndsilver31]

That's completely false. It's like saying Scottrade owns my brokerage account because I deal with them not the New York Stock Exchange. In both cases, the travel agent and the brokerage firm, they just execute your wishes as you request. You own it as you are the one paying for it. It's in your name not the agents. The only tie to the agent is that they do the paperwork.

I control all aspects of my reservation, from date price, cabin, meals, tours, etc. They do nothing without my o.k. Only I go through an online agent.

If booking through the cruise line helps you sleep at night fine, that's your business, but at least state the facts when posting so the people who are undecided can make up their minds by weighing all the facts of all options.

 

 

Sorry but you are wrong. IF you book through a TA you can not deal directly with RCI. The TA has to do the all the calling.

 

Would you let ScottTrade run your investments without your input, of course not, then why let a TA control your cruise.

[jonbgd]

I use an Online TA

 

The first one I used was a big box store

They would charge $50 change fee for price drops:confused:

 

Than I joined CC, clicked on one of the adds and have been using that online TA ever since.

Free gratuities and sometimes extra OBC or free specialty restaurant dinners

 

I use the same person at the agency. If he is off a certain day, someone else in the office will handle any request I have and contact cruiseline for me.

I have gotten all price drops, cabin changes and upgrades

[dsmith4675]

We have been considering about booking through TA, however, like everyone else said it all depends on the TA and how they handle with your booking, your requests, and other things. We have booked our 2 cruises (separate lines) directly on their official websites.... we are currently researching on finding a good TA (hopefully!) :)

[SoFlaCruzer]

I use a TA. There is absolutely no harm in doing so and you may get some extra benefits as mentioned before. The actual stateroom price point is pretty much the same.

 

Of course, for me personally, the #1 reason I use a TA is because my father owns a franchise that specializes in cruises. A no brainer for me ;).

[mistshar]

Ok. So I figured out which agency you are talking about. We have booked one or two cruises with them and have a member number or whatever they call it. The thing I don't like about them is that they are closed on weekends which is when we are usually looking at cruises. I'm afraid that if I leave a message, the deal will be gone or changed by the time I get a call back from them on Monday or Tuesday. How do you handle that.

 

Do a courtesy hold. That will hold it for 24 hrs. until you can get hold of the TA. I guess if it is longer than that you could do it again until you are able to reach the TA. I don't have that issue because my TA is available on Sat. & Sun.

 

Once I found a lower price and contacted her. She could not see it on her computer and Royal could not find a price that low either so she told me to put a courtesy hold on it. I did and she was able to get the price for us. I really enjoy having a TA and I am a take charge type person but I don't like having to stay on hold on the phone waiting for someone to find out something for me. I just email her and in a short time she gets back to me. To me it is much easier that way. However, if I had a TA that would not get back to me or was closed on the weekends, I might not want to use them either.

 

As someone else said, I believe, it is whatever your preference is. I believe if you got a good TA, you would enjoy having one too.

[mconthehighseas]

There is a lot of discussion on these boards about this question. Why not use a travel agent. YOu get the same price, or lower, you often get some extra perks and you are giving business to a local merchant in your area, assuming you are not using an on line site. If something goes wrong, which you never think is going to happen but it can, a good travel agent will be there for you. I know lots of folks that use travel agents, of all ages, and everyone has been glad they did.

 

This is exactly why we use a TA. Once we know what we want, our TA deals with the cruiseline, and makes it happen. She has access to people we don't. If you call the company, you get someone who is reading the same screen that you can see, and RC does NOT do a good job of updating their website!!! Thru her company, we get OBC, and she always sends us a gift for our cabin. If something goes wrong, she deals with the cruiseline and they fix it, because she brings them more business than just me.

 

 

If nothing goes wrong, booking online may be good enough. But my world includes things that go wrong - having to postpone and cancel trips - and having a TA means that I get the most for my money.

[Colorado Babe]

Do a courtesy hold. That will hold it for 24 hrs. until you can get hold of the TA. I guess if it is longer than that you could do it again until you are able to reach the TA. I don't have that issue because my TA is available on Sat. & Sun.

 

Once I found a lower price and contacted her. She could not see it on her computer and Royal could not find a price that low either so she told me to put a courtesy hold on it. I did and she was able to get the price for us. I really enjoy having a TA and I am a take charge type person but I don't like having to stay on hold on the phone waiting for someone to find out something for me. I just email her and in a short time she gets back to me. To me it is much easier that way. However, if I had a TA that would not get back to me or was closed on the weekends, I might not want to use them either.

 

As someone else said, I believe, it is whatever your preference is. I believe if you got a good TA, you would enjoy having one too.

 

Great advice. I did this on our recent B2B. First cruise went from a JS to a RFS. Second Sailing from a Balcony to an OS when the price dropped. Also held a GS for our first time cruising friends who had a balcony. Boy did they enjoy the GS for their first cruise all for the same price they paid for a balcony. Gotta love it!

[mutt58]

As far as TA's are concerned, been there done that and I'm not going back. I've had experiences with 3 TAs because of perks - free tips and so on. My experiences are all the same. They're great up front and all service oriented but once the money is down, good luck getting them to look into something or get a price drop for you. The third and last time I went through that garbage I said never again. Now if I see a price drop or want to change a room, its done with one phone call. No phone messages or emails that go unanswered. No missed price drops because the TA didn't get on the price when I noticed it. Plus, now that I've been on 13 cruises, I know more about it than most TA's anyway.

 

Nope. Never again.

 

Sorry to hear. My TA is just the opposite. She has called me in the past saying, "by the way, I happened to check the rates and they went down. I cancelled your trip and rebooked under the cheaper fare." She is AMAZING!!!! She even sends my kids presents every Christmas.

[nelblu]

I'm using a TA for the first time on my Allure cruise and for the identical fare, getting not only a matching OBC, but dinner for 2 at a specialty restaurant and other minor perks. On the Quantum cruise, I'm getting prepaid grats., specialty restaurant for 2, and other minor perks. Because of no airfare, my cost for an 11 nite is the same as a 7 niter. The service so far has been good. The only downside is a $100 per cancelling fee.