booking with TA or booking with carnival

[mothergoose3]

Are there any perks to booking with a TA verses directly with carnival:) ;) :cool:

[gometros]

Are there any perks to booking with a TA verses directly with carnival:) ;) :cool:

 

Having just booked the Legend for 9/6/2006, we found that nobody gives you any breaks on the staterooms. However, at ecruises.com, they paid for our insurance,which was worth $138.

[Cotton]

To both of you - Welcome to the boards.:) Gometros, it's against the rules of Cruise Critic to mention any names of agents or agencies here.

 

As to the question, not usually any 'perks'. I book directly with a Carnival PVP. She's always there to answer any questions, and has always found some sort of little extras for me. It's a personal preference on how anyone books their cruises.

[Angibella]

I am going on my first cruise in September and I have never used a TA. I booked directly with Carnival for a guarantee balcony room. We just got our room assignment and they upgraded us to a "suite sized" room right next to the elevators on the Verandah deck. Not sure if we would have gotten the upgrade with a TA..... My PVP's name was Keith and he was awesome. He helped me with everything from deciding which cruise I wanted to go on to what I should wear while I was on it. And the best part is, when I call him, he ALWAYS answers the phone!:)

[momofzeke]

Booked our first cruise through a TA. Booked our upcoming cruise with a PVP. So far, I like the PVP better. No real problems with the TA last time, but she wasn't real attentive. I have had to call and email my PVP this time with several questions, and he ALWAYS answers my emails and returns my phone calls promptly. I think it probably depends on the individual TA or PVP that you get.

[travellady]

If all is equal, I book directly with the cruise line. I like calling them and getting answers to my questions vs. "I see you booked through a travel agent so you will have to call them". Also, because my husband is a military veteran, and because I booked our Valor Xmas cruise in July, Carnival gave us both the military discount as well as Friends and Family discount for my grown son's cabin. My online travel agent may not have mentioned it; I would have had to ask.

[want2cruisenow]

I always shop around and compare rates between several online discount agencies, several local travel agencies, and booking directly with Carnival. So far, my best rates have always been found by booking with an online discount agency.

[gometros]

To both of you - Welcome to the boards.:) Gometros, it's against the rules of Cruise Critic to mention any names of agents or agencies here.

 

Oops, so sorry. I promise not to do it again :o

[vivalas]

I have always dealt with my local TA, for 10 years now. I kept getting emails from Carnival's PVPs. So, before I booked my current cruise, I called this PVP that had sent me an email. This person was such a fast talker, and so pushy, it turned me off immediately. I couldn't get off the phone with her. I almost had to just hang up, she wanted me to sign up then and there. That was all she cared about. Not me, or any deals. I am sure it was just an isolated PVP, but it turned me off, and when I was ready to book, my TA, who is just as attentive, answers my questions, calls me back when I call her, got my business. I still watch the price I paid, comparing it to what Carnival has, and if it goes down, she gets me an adjustment. So, you won't get any better prices either. It is just a preference. If you catch on to someone you like, stay with them.

[Juliadlf]

We booked directly with Carnival PVP for our first cruise. He's been terrific in answering questions when needed. We were looking at local agencies but heck, no one at the agency had cruised to Europe before so it was the blind leading the blind. Thank goodness we found these boards which has so much information on cruising. Not our first time to Europe but our first time cruising. Still on the learning curve but heck, what's life without some adventure.

[dan40]

With over 40 cruises, and a million plus air miles in my lifetime, I should know my way around travel situations. But I always use a TA for cruises and would for air if the airlines still paid commish. If the price for a cruise is the same, TA or cruiseline, I figure why let the cruiseline keep the commision money. Let an independent bussiness person get the loot. Also then I'm dealing with the owner not a possible minimum wage rookie at the cruiseline.

Cotton has a good PVP and sticks with her [as she should], I have a good independent TA and I stick with her.

 

The problem is finding that good trustworthy person.

 

Dan

[coolestwife]

....and a million plus air miles in my lifetime, I should know my way around travel situations.

Dan

 

..and boy are your arms tired!:rolleyes:

[dan40]

I'll be dropping a big ball of blue ice on you,for that. My arms are in great shape, hardly any wattle.:rolleyes:

 

Dan

[Holgerdanske]

This is what happened to us. A couple of weeks ago we booked 2 cabins with a Carnival PVP for a Christmas cruise to Mexico. Because we are past guests, she gave us a $100.00 on-board credit, and what we thought was a good deal on 8A and 5A cabins. Just for curiosity, I followed one of the links on Cruisecritics.com to an on-line TA , and I found a substantially better deal for the same cruise. I found upgrades to 8E balcony cabins :p for less money than the 8A price with the Carnival PVP even though I had asked the PVP for the best deal.

 

We canceled the Carnival bookings and rebooked with the TA, two 8E fantail balcony cabins:D , side-by-side, for just a little more than the Carnival 8A and 5A cabins, (which were far apart). Then I found that the TA had messed up and e-mailed someone else’s reservation numbers:eek: . I found out by chance on the Carnival website when I tried to add our new reservation numbers to our profile and it said the reservation numbers did not match the name. I had to call Carnival to fix that problem and they found our correct reservation numbers. I then had to call our own TA and tell him the correct reservation number:mad: . He did apologize for the mistake.

 

I guess there is both good and bad either way.

[Legend]

Holgerdanske you really have contradicted yourself in your post.

 

In this part you said for less money

"I found upgrades to 8E balcony cabins for less money than the 8A price with the Carnival PVP even though I had asked the PVP for the best deal. "

(You asked for the best deal which normally means the LOWEST price)

 

Then you said

"We canceled the Carnival bookings and rebooked with the TA, two 8E fantail balcony cabins , side-by-side, for just a little more than the Carnival 8A and 5A cabins, (which were far apart)."

 

Now you say 'for just a little more'

Did you include the $100 on board discount with the PVP pricing?

[gometros]

On the subject of TAs - what do you all expect from a TA other than to deliver your documents on time? I'm an incessant planner, so I do most of the work myself. Other than excursions and travel plans (which we don't have to worry about, since we live in NY), what does a TA do for you for a cruise?

[K.T.B.]

I've always gone through an online TA since I've always found better deals than what Carnival offers you directly. While searching and comparing, the deal I got on my next cruise is still the best out there. Carnival has it listed at about $200pp more than what I paid, and the best I could find with another online TA is about $100pp cheaper.

 

Deals are out there, you just need to research. ;) And occasionally Carnival does offer the better price....

[AmyMelissa]

2 cruises in a row, my TA saved me over $200 on the same cabin. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the TA you have. Your best bet is to get quotes from a few places and go with the one that's the best

[Wennfred]

An example, go to *****.com and just enter your Ships name and date.. you will get Quotes from TA's that are linked with that Dot.com, They, all 16 replies offered the same rates but they gave different incentives to book with them, from Bottle of wine, Onboard Credits and most all of them gave the Full travel insurance. I did it just to see if I could really get a deal on the Radiance of the Seas, No one budged not even dropping the rate down by a penny.

 

I always book directly with the cruiseline, that way there are no hassles dealing with them directly when it comes to any price drops or discounts or even upgrades. :)

 

That website is like a Lending Tree . com, everyone competes for your business.