bonus's from T.A.

[fasted]

Does anybody get any free perks from their travel agent when booking a cruise , air and travel package. After all they are getting paid from ncl

[SoFlaGuy]

We didn't book air and hotel with our booking, (we live close by) but we got additional on board credit, plus our pre-paid gratuities paid.

Edited March 2, 2015 by SoFlaGuy

[LMaxwell]

I am booking cruise only and my T/A has offered OBC for transfer. Not a ton of OBC. Some other T/A's offered more OBC but also wanted to charge me booking fees and / or (potential) cancellation fees.

 

So in short, yes, I was able to get OBC from my T/A.

[warriorking]

I basically got exactly what was offered from the NCL website..

No perks, additional OBC , nothing..

Any additional savings were due to me calling my TA and keeping her current on any offers or reductions...

To be honest I am a bit disappointed thus far with my service...

Hopefully she will offer me some kind of reward before my sailing, but if not I will book elsewhere or by myself from now on...

Edited March 2, 2015 by warriorking

[keichman]

We always get OBC, which varies according to the cabin category we book. We've ranged from $270 for a DCL balcony cabin to $425 for an NCL suite.

[NYteacher]

We get the bonus of fantastic service from our TA. The weekend that the new promotions were offered and everyone called in and spent hours on hold, our TA did that for us. Last summer my mother had a serious health crises while we were on a TA. Within fifteen minutes our TA had provided my with three different travel options for disembarking the ship in Iceland. Last year, we got stranded in Florida due to flight cancelations and our TA spent time rebooking us and finding accommodations so we could just do fun touristy stuff while he did the pin in the butt holding on line, etc.

[twinsmom2001]

We got OBC, plus 2 night of specialty dining from ours.

[chrisc71]

Does anybody get any free perks from their travel agent when booking a cruise , air and travel package. After all they are getting paid from ncl

 

So they should pay for your vacation? What does it matter who pays them?

[bambione]

Thanks for posting this question. I always wondered what other TA's offered their customers. I've dealt with a TA twice, through a major cruise company. My MIL likes to deal with one, so we did this together. There is a 24.95/per cabin booking fee, a 100.00 cancellation fee. We get the same perks as NCL of course, in addition to a 50 OBC. I personally don't think there's any benefit to using her, I could do the same stuff by booking online. My cruise in Jan 2016 there are 15 of us, for my dad's 90th bday. I know he just wanted to call someone up so we did the TA thing again.

 

I do think there should be some incentive to using a TA. For some people, like my dad and MIL, it's the convenience of not using the internet and not being on hold for a long time with NCL, the OBC offered is secondary.

Karen

[moesyk4]

We have been booking directly with the cruise line and then transferring to a major national club store. For our ncl cruises, they offer a lower price and some obc. So for our upcoming spa mini suite we saved about 165 on the upfront cost and got 50 obc. There were offers from other companies that offered more ( for this cruise we found one that offered 100 obc and prepaid gratuities for two) but the lower cruise cost was more valuable to us.

[newmexicoNita]

First of all: let me say, a good TA is worth their weight in gold with or without any perks. Someone mentioned they were charged $24.95 per passenger, our agent charged $24.95 per booking and no cancellation charge, but I understand why they might charge a cancellation fee. I would never base my choice on whether to use an agent on what kind of freebees they are giving me. I don't think many people realize how little TAs really make. They are not in the business to get rich, they just like having a happy job. Now, does my agent give me something? Yes, she gives us either an obc, a casino credit or a bottle of wine, sometime all three, depending on the price of the cruise. I know sometimes she doesn't give anything. Some of those super discounted cruises leave her with a huge commission of about $25.00. For thoe who are not aware of this: commission isn't paid on taxes and port charges and normally there are franchise fees to pay or other charges the TA has to absorb.

[mearsfansinboise]

Our TA is with a national brand and typically sends us some sort of on-board gift. Sometimes it's a bottle of wine & chocolates, and sometimes it's a free photo through the ship's photographer. One time on a larger dollar cruise we got nothing (which was a little disappointing). They are running a deal now that gets you OBC which they have never done before, so that's cool.

And we don't get charged any booking fees - the receipt from NCL goes from them to TA to us and there are no additional charges.

[mitsugirly]

We ALWAYS get OBC when booking with a TA (one of the reasons we use a TA). Sometimes we have gifts in the stateroom from wine (which we don't drink :() to free dinner to other things. :)

[Pikaia]

We have booked with two travel agents from different agencies. Both have offered us ~10% in either OBC or dollars off the cruise fare. Neither has booking, cancellation, or change fees. It took some hunting around to find them.

 

I've also booked with an online cruise booking agency that added $500 OBC, but they might have $50 cancellation fee (agent on phone said no, but docs said yes).

 

I do prefer to have control over the initial booking though. For my most recent booking I used NCL's website to put a hold on the room with NCL. Then I called the travel agent to get a quote. Once we agreed on terms, I logged on to the NCL website and paid my deposit. Then I submitted the transfer request form to NCL in order to transfer the reservation to her. Note that you can only transfer your reservation once within 60 days of booking, and you can't transfer a reservation after final payment.

[BusyFLmom]

I booked our most recent cruise directly thru NCL. The next week I transferred that booking to a TA. No incentives other than wanting to see what a TA would offer in comparison to booking directly. The week following the transfer...NCL had that amazing sale and my TA spent 2 hours on the phone rebooking our cruise to add our kids for free! That was worth it for me!

[mitsugirly]

Note that you can only transfer your reservation once within 60 days of booking, and you can't transfer a reservation after final payment.

 

So if you book with a TA, can you transfer to a different TA if you are not happy? Is there a 60 day rule on that as well?

[sandinmyshoes]

We like to book thru the cruise department of one of the major US airlines. We always get between 6 & 8 airline miles added to our frequent flyer account for every dollar we spend on the cruise (not taxes, fees, or gratuities). For a $2000 cruise we get 12k-16k miles. It only takes 20k miles for award tickets within the US with the airline we use, so that gets us there pretty quick.

They usually also have chocolate strawberries or a bottle of wine in our stateroom too (depending on cost of cruise).

The price is the same as the cruise line's price except they add a $25 transaction fee. That's worth the miles in my book!

 

The agents are nice & know their stuff & do the price adjustments if you let them know about lower prices.

[Pikaia]

So if you book with a TA, can you transfer to a different TA if you are not happy? Is there a 60 day rule on that as well?

Yes, but you need the cooperation of the first TA. And I think the 60 day rule still applies.

 

From the FAQ:

Q: Can a reservation be transferred to my agency of choice? A: Yes up to 60 days from creation.

 

 

Q: I already made a reservation with a travel agency ,but I would like to transfer the reservation to a different agency. Can I make the request?

A: No, the agency with which you have your reservation must authorize Norwegian Cruise Line to release it to the new agency. You will need to work with your current travel agent to submit the transfer request.

[AKR2011]

My TA is worth everything. She works with NCL to get me the best offers with inside agents that I don't have access to myself. Sure, I'm also getting a ton of OBC, but more important is the service. She has helped me work through the different promotions the past couple months so I can save the most, and she knows about some of the price hikes in advance so I can avoid over-paying. I used to just use the web myself, and since NCL doesn't really allow the cruise prices themselves to go down, I never thought I needed a TA. Now I know that I won't be booking without mine again.

[Flatbush Flyer]

A lot of folks on this thread need to look for a new TA.

I recommend checking the Conde Nast Traveler "best of..." lists for suggestions of specialists for certain cruise lines or destinations.

We found one of the two we use that way. The other was from multiple recommendations by other cruisers we respect.

Both TAs are top producers for our preferred line.

Beyond their added OBC at an average of 8% of the total cabin cost, we get all the cruise line perks and no booking/change or other fees. Most importantly, these TAs have been able to get us price reductions after final payment and/or discounts we found that other top producers were getting in a special (truly - not hype) sale. For our recent and upcoming cruise, that has meant more that $750 each time.

I agree with the suggestion to consider booking future cruise (particularly while on board) and then transferring to TA within allowable time window.

A good top-producing TA for your preferred line is a real no-brainer decision.

[mitsugirly]

A lot of folks on this thread need to look for a new TA.

I recommend checking the Conde Nast Traveler "best of..." lists for suggestions of specialists for certain cruise lines or destinations.

We found one of the two we use that way. The other was from multiple recommendations by other cruisers we respect.

Both TAs are top producers for our preferred line.

Beyond their added OBC at an average of 8% of the total cabin cost, we get all the cruise line perks and no booking/change or other fees. Most importantly, these TAs have been able to get us price reductions after final payment and/or discounts we found that other top producers were getting in a special (truly - not hype) sale. For our recent and upcoming cruise, that has meant more that $750 each time.

I agree with the suggestion to consider booking future cruise (particularly while on board) and then transferring to TA within allowable time window.

A good top-producing TA for your preferred line is a real no-brainer decision.

 

 

I just checked out that site and for the life of me, can't figure anything out let alone find any listing for a TA. :confused: It almost looks like some type of blog and just cluttered with "stuff". Where do you find this "list"?

[Selluks]

I am currently working on a group booking with a TA. We have 9 cabins booked so far. We booked a Haven Spa and are getting $100 and each other cabin is getting $50. No booking for cancellation fees.

 

I always wonder how much travel agents make.

Edited March 3, 2015 by Selluks

[mitsugirly]

I am currently working on a group booking with a TA. We have 9 cabins booked so far. We booked a Haven Spa and are getting $100 and each other cabin is getting $50. No booking for cancellation fees.

 

I always wonder how much travel agents make.

 

You are booking the Haven and only getting $100 OBC?? I get that or more by booking an interior with my TA. Something don't sound right. :confused:

[Flatbush Flyer]

I just checked out that site and for the life of me, can't figure anything out let alone find any listing for a TA. :confused: It almost looks like some type of blog and just cluttered with "stuff". Where do you find this "list"?

 

 

Conde Nast Traveler, the magazine, has various "best of ..." lists published every once in awhile. We subscribe to the mag and one of the lists (repeated every so often) was for travel experts. We found one that was highly respected for premium cruise lines and Alaska (which is where we were headed.

 

Here's the list from a few years ago: http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2009-07-14/126-top-travel-specialists

 

Another way to do this is to google "cruise specialists" and check the web sites that pop up for a front page that has the Conde Nast "seal of approval" and/or identification that the TA is a preferred partner (e.g., Oceania had their Connoisseurs' Club for top producers).

 

This is one of those areas where a few hours of research will save you hundreds of dollars. (It only took me 30 seconds to find the 2009 list above).

 

One caution though: don't expect hundreds or thousands in discounts on a mass market 7 day Caribbean cruise.

Edited March 3, 2015 by Flatbush Flyer

[Criticname]

Does anybody get any free perks from their travel agent when booking a cruise , air and travel package. After all they are getting paid from ncl

 

Im glad you think your travel agent should work for free......