Booking through a TA or HAL - is there a difference?

[Carnevale]

We've always booked through a TA in the past but this time opted to book directly with HAL online (seems we are getting more and more into doing things online ourselves). But, having made our booking, we are wondering if we did the right thing or if we should move the booking over to a TA.

 

We'd really appreciate it if others who have done both forms of bookings can share their experiences and let us know if there is a difference or if we should just stay with things as we've currently got them set up.

 

Many thanks in advance!

[Krazy Kruizers]

I don't know if you use the AMEX Plat card to pay for your cruises. If you do, then HAL will not give the shipboard credit that you are entitled to.

[DaveOKC]

We've always booked through a TA in the past but this time opted to book directly with HAL online (seems we are getting more and more into doing things online ourselves). But, having made our booking, we are wondering if we did the right thing or if we should move the booking over to a TA.

 

We'd really appreciate it if others who have done both forms of bookings can share their experiences and let us know if there is a difference or if we should just stay with things as we've currently got them set up.

 

Many thanks in advance!

 

If you are going to book through, you might want to ask for a Personal Cruise Consultant (PCC) to be assigned to you. That way you deal with the same person all the time.

 

DaveOKC

[mame42]

IMO nothing beats the personal service of an experienced, persistent TA, willing to go to the mat for her clients (see post under increased prices using mariner #).

 

My TA has cruised most itineraries, including the exotics, on most ships. She has first hand knowledge of airports, excursions, hotels, and ports. Since I travel solo, I rely on her advice about everything from manageable flight schedules and efficient transfers to appropriate hotels and what cabins to avoid. In case of problems, she is available to me 24/7 via cell or home phone.

 

Oh, and she also saves me lots of money!

[0bnxshs]

What you probably won't find is a cruise fare price difference. What you should find is a difference in the level of personal service, knowledge and some sort of incentives, like OBC, dinners in the pay restaurants, embarkation gifts such as wine and such.

 

One thing to be aware of is that when dealing with a TA for your bookings, you'll need to run everything, like shareholder's benefit paperwork and such, through your TA. Generally, deviations will also need to be handled by your TA, which is why having one who is available 24/7 is a must.

[whogo]

IMO nothing beats the personal service of an experienced, persistent TA, willing to go to the mat for her clients (see post under increased prices using mariner #).

 

My TA has cruised most itineraries, including the exotics, on most ships. She has first hand knowledge of airports, excursions, hotels, and ports. Since I travel solo, I rely on her advice about everything from manageable flight schedules and efficient transfers to appropriate hotels and what cabins to avoid. In case of problems, she is available to me 24/7 via cell or home phone.

 

Oh, and she also saves me lots of money!

I always wonder how a travel agent can sail most itineraries, including the exotics, on most ships and still be available 24/7 via cell or home phone.

 

I get lower prices by booking with an online travel agent than what Holland America offers for direct bookings. Carnevale, you might want to do some comparison shopping and see how much you can save by switching your booking.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

A TA might be able to give you more than Holland.

Edited April 21, 2014 by we're sailing away....

[mame42]

I always wonder how a travel agent can sail most itineraries, including the exotics, on most ships and still be available 24/7 via cell or home phone.

 

I get lower prices by booking with an online travel agent than what Holland America offers for direct bookings. Carnevale, you might want to do some comparison shopping and see how much you can save by switching your booking.

 

That is what i phones and i pads are for! The last time I needed to contact her in an emergency, she was in India. Yes, she handled the problem expeditiously, arranging an alternate mode of transportation from the airport in Athens during a strike.

[igraf]

This is especially true for airline travel which might require a last minute change. I ran into a situation where the airline refused to deal with me directly even though it was the airline who cancelled my flight. They insisted that every change, their fault or mine, had to go through my TA,

 

So, now my TA books the cruise and I book the airline travel directly on the airline's web page (no Orbitz, etc).

 

igraf

 

 

 

 

..One thing to be aware of is that when dealing with a TA for your bookings, you'll need to run everything, like shareholder's benefit paperwork and such, through your TA. Generally, deviations will also need to be handled by your TA, which is why having one who is available 24/7 is a must.

Edited April 21, 2014 by igraf

[SJSULIBRARIAN]

Used to use a brick and motor agent and did not get any great discounts. Now I book online and like control of my entire booking realizing that I am probably not getting the best price but that's OK for me- heresy I know. And in days of yore, I was a travel agent.

[Carnevale]

Many thanks for all of these opinions and experiences! It is very helpful to hear from all of you.

[Randyk47]

Personally I use an Internet TA and go for the discounted fare. 10-12% a cruise adds up. I don't need or want assistance with picking ships, itineraries, cabins, hotels or airlines so a full service TA who charges me full fare is not for me.

[utahtea]

We've only be on two cruises and we prefer to do book them online ourselves though HAL. If we have any questions we contact our personal cruise consultant though HAL. Last year when prices dropped $450 per person we called our consultant and she reduced the price.

 

I love planning our trips so I spend a lot of time investigating where and what we want to do.

 

Utahtea

[luvs2travl]

We've always used a TA. On our upcoming cruise she got as a great upsell to a Verandah Suite, $500 in OBCs, a free dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, and a beverage package that gives us 15 free drinks per day (drinks must be under $7.95). Hard to beat!

 

We've been with the same TA for years now. We do onboard bookings to get our cabin choice & the OBCs from HAL, but she always manages to get us some additional great perks. The longer the cruise, the better the perks. She constantly checks the cruise prices for any changes there as well.

 

We have had some dealings with the cruise line directly, both HAL and Princess, and both have been quite friendly and knowledgeable. Unfortunately, they don't offer the perks,and if course, to some, that makes no difference. But, we love `em!

 

Smooth Sailing Always!:):)

[jimmy2x]

Personally I use an Internet TA and go for the discounted fare. 10-12% a cruise adds up. I don't need or want assistance with picking ships, itineraries, cabins, hotels or airlines so a full service TA who charges me full fare is not for me.

 

What he said - on the money.

[kennicott]

Used to use a brick and motor agent and did not get any great discounts. Now I book online and like control of my entire booking realizing that I am probably not getting the best price but that's OK for me- heresy I know. And in days of yore, I was a travel agent.

 

I agree, and this is a most often asked and discussed question. It seems like yesterday, but actually it was long ago that you could not book a cruise without a TA. Same went for other type travel excursions, like coach tours (COSMOS, etc.). But the industry began to change and eventually you were allowed to book online directly with the cruise line or travel company.

 

Having been in the airplane game all my life I was used to working with TAs on behalf of my airline. Fine and dandy then. But after moving on to other professional endeavors and then being able to travel a bit but forced to use a TA, when the day and the opportunity arose to book directly, avoiding the middle man (TAs), it was a "Thank God Almighty" I uttered. Since then, our world travel experience over the last couple of decades has born this out, no more screw ups like not being able to get hold of the TA, which caused a problem, when we are in mid trip on the other side of the globe, no more bills coming in two months after a trip that the TA was supposed to take care of but didn't, and on and on. Much more relaxed today doing it directly and no more subsequent grief experiences caused by a middle man during at least 500 sea days since. Whew.

 

We only voyage on three lines though, HAL, Regent and Princess. We have endured the gamut of itinerary changes and other complicated travel complexities, all handled without difficulty dealing directly with the cruise line personnel.

 

It is probably true that if we had a real good and trustworthy TA backed up by a knowledgeable associate when she/he is gone from the office or out of contact, that we could probably get better deals here and there now and then. Hey, I agree, but the gamble that we might experience the stress we endured before, multiple times, tells me I would gladly pay a premium to avoid that harassment. You know: "Fool me once, shame on you, Fool me twice, shame on me."

 

Now, having said that, I have a brother-in-law that voyages almost as much as us. They have a TA that works with them and a few friends and all travel together in a relatively small group. Money is no big deal for him and they have a great time, I'm sure that having that TA makes their travels much better than if they tried to arrange it themselves through the lines. So I can't knock it, maybe they lucked out. We didn't luck out though, but did when the day finally came we could jettison the TA.

[nonni2]

We prefer to not book through the cruise line because, if there's a conflict, there's no one to advocate for us. I do the research myself; but book through a TA. I like the knowledge of a particular online TA; but when I have no questions, I like the discounted travel insurance that's available when booking with a particular call-center-type operation.

[Jim Henry]

We are using a TA for our upcoming Alaska trip. She booked sea/land cruise for us and the airlines. Nice to get notices and reminders on what I needed to do. She has held our hands during the whole process so far. Cheaper? Don't think so since we had to pay her a service charge. But she claims she will save me money but the cruise cost was the same as HAL advertised. Go figure, unless she surprises us with something OBC or upgrade. I suppose I shouldn't hold my breath.:o

[CruiseGal60]

We have used a TA and also booked direct. We could not see any difference and decided to just do it ourselves. Well, as luck would have it, the first cruise we booked ourselves, we ran into problems. It was a NCL to Alaska and everything that could go wrong, did. I might have saved a lot of hair, LOL, if I had a TA.

 

For our upcoming trip we are using a TA. She was really helpful in the planning/booking stage as we wanted a longer cruise but still round trip from a driving distance port. She got holds on several different scenarios which would have taken much longer on my own. We decided on a trip which entails 3 back to backs with the same cabin. I doubt I would have had the patience to do this myself and I am sure I would have driven a personal cruise So, I say go with a TA.

[Hlitner]

Somebody once asked us the OPs question and our answer was quite simple. If you like to pay more for your cruise then book directly with a cruise line. If you prefer to save money, then shop around among the large reputable cruise agencies.

 

Hank