Do you use a travel agent?

[Putterdude]

 

I'll be passing your way in early September...and will give you a wave :)

 

What ship will you be on and when so that I can be watching for you.

[Beachdays002]

Go over to TripAdvisor's cruise forum and ask the same question. They do make recommendations. I am using a TA highly recommended on that site. We saved over 20% plus obc and drink packages.

 

I don't know if our savings are typical or we just got lucky because they had a good deal on the cruise and cabin we wanted.

 

I usually handle all our travel arrangements, but the savings was enough for me to give the TA a try. I did check for reviews and found only a few minor complaints that could happen with any business.

[Ashland]

What ship will you be on and when so that I can be watching for you.

RCI Radiance we leave Vancouver on her last Alaska cruise Sept 4-11. This will be a new experience (roundtrip) as we've always done the northbound...but decided a few months ago (last minute for us) to take the family and this worked out best for all of them.

[PoppyandNana]

We use a travel agent just for the cruise. She has gotten us cheap upgrades almost every time.

 

How does your TA get you upgrades cheaper than posted prices for a given category?

[Flatbush Flyer]

How does your TA get you upgrades cheaper than posted prices for a given category?

 

 

Some cheap upgrades are just "up sells" to unfilled cabin classes to get you out of a lower class cabin that is in demand and will sell at full fare. Cruise lines send e-mail offers to passengers direct or via TA.

 

A good TA provides perks to customers in one or more forms including OBC, free gratuities or a host of other things, which might include an upgrade. It all boils down to some dollar value you can use to compare "deals"

 

Cruise line "preferred partner" TAs are provided incentives to pass on to customers at the TAs discretion of how to use that budget. Likewise, that same TA (in conjunction with the cruise line), may have a special deal for passengers new to that line.

 

The key challenge is doing the research and getting a top producing TA for your preferred line. Where those TAs earn their keep is in championing your concerns or issues, e.g., getting you a price drop AFTER final payment.

 

And don't believe the BS about "losing control of your booking." A good TA will respond immediately to your needs. We call ours on his cell and he often talks to the cruise line while I'm on hold (getting things done that might take me multiple calls with little progress).

 

Search some of my previous posts on how to find a good TA.

[Bookish Angel]

On board credit or cash back. Last week, I got a $1000 check from my TA for our recent 10 day Galapagos cruise.

 

On less expensive cruises, we get OBC that because we spend so little aboard, pays all or part of our tips.

 

As fior losing control of one's booking, I once did not go through a TA for a Royal Caribbean cruise. My cabin price went down about $50 prior to final payment. It took well over 2 hours to get a Royal rep on the line to process the new price whereas my TA would have done it for me with just one email to her.

Edited July 1, 2015 by Bookish Angel

[iancal]

We have used the same on line TA for just under 10 years. Great service. She rebates commission in the form of OBC's to the tune of 8-12 percent of the commissionable fare. Sometimes we get a free upgrade or a free excursion if we join an existing group.

 

For us, it works out to being a free cruise for every 10- 12 that we take. Far better than any frequent cruise programs that the cruise lines offer. We have all the control we need to select our cabin, change cabins whatever. More than once she has brought our attention to a more attractive offer that we were unaware of. We have no reason to book directly with the cruise line.

[Putterdude]

RCI Radiance we leave Vancouver on her last Alaska cruise Sept 4-11. This will be a new experience (roundtrip) as we've always done the northbound...but decided a few months ago (last minute for us) to take the family and this worked out best for all of them.

 

 

Oops, you will have to go without the wave as we will be in London that week following a British Isles cruise.

[Ashland]

Oops, you will have to go without the wave as we will be in London that week following a British Isles cruise.

Enjoy yourself....I would much rather be in London...a favorite.

[Lulubelle45]

Only use a TA. He's great at getting me deals and if I find one or a price drop on my own, he'll match it. Plus I can text email fb msg him questions and he gets back to me asap.

[morbihan]

I am going to use a TA in America next time.

 

We booked the last two cruises onboard. I tried to transfer this last one but couldn't as in euro's. Bah! Even phoned Americaland!

 

I asked around and spoke to people on our last cruise roll call get together for recommendations.

 

What do you all look at for price drops? People on our next cruise have just been celebrating as they have either upgraded or got pockets full of money. We picked our cabin though and do not want to move. Paying less would have been nice.

 

Our first cruise was booked with a TA in England. Never going there again. I now know that they were useless.

[Hlitner]

This is a common issue on CC. Having been on an awful,lot of cruises for over forty years our take on the matter is simple. We always shop around among several reputable cruise agencies and compare thei offerings to booking direct. In a about 100 bookings, in all cases but one, we have saved from 7 - 10% by using agencies. On one HAL cruise we saved over $3000 by using a favorite agency. On very short 7 day cruises our savings are generally several hundred dollars. Those that have no interest in saving money might still prefer booking direct. But we have never understood why!

 

Hank

[iancal]

The one and only exception that we have had is a late booking cruise last Feb on RCI. We were travelling in Australia when we booked it.

 

We discovered two things. The first was that the RCI Australian site price, adjusted for currency was significantly lower than the RCI North American site price. The second was that when we called RCI Australia they kept giving us extra items....prepaid gratuities, $400USD OBC and another $200. discount for something else. Turned out that this price was lower that the Australian on line TA price. So it does pay to shop. Incidentally, no issue booking with RCI Australia and they immediately recognized our Diamond status.

 

We book travel on various sites. One UK site has been particularly good to us in terms of European arrangements to the point where they have returned my calls to Canada. Mostly they are looking for a European address although in the case of all packaged vacations we have had to use an accommodation address in order to receive the travel vouchers.

 

Our experience...it really pays to shop around. We are retired and have the time. My guess is that we generally travel at a 20-30 percent discount over what we would pay if we did not shop the trip, the hotel, the fare. Sometimes more. It enables us to travel more frequently and for longer periods than we might otherwise.

Edited July 2, 2015 by iancal

[cruznjan]

Hubby likes to book through the airlines cruise people to get frequent flyer credits and other perks.

[tipsygirl]

We always use a TA. Have used the same person for many years, and were very particular when we choose him. He has become a friend and continued as our agent when he moved out of state. We easily communicate by email or phone. Even were able to get his help on a problem on a cruise when he and we were on cruise vacations at the same time. He took my email and made contact with a VP for the cruise line. A call was made by the VP to the cruise director in less than 24 hours.

 

Our agent works for a company that often provides significant OBC's and other added benefits in addition to the OBC (or cash, or a VISA gift card) our TA always provides. I don't have him do the searching for trips since I enjoy that. I find the option that most appeals to me and after I have checked pricing online I give him a call or send a detailed email. He almost always comes back with something better than I would have been able to get if booked myself. He also has great contacts in the cruise industry, so has a direct email addresses or phone numbers for upper management.

 

I don't see any downside to using my TA, but have experienced many benefits. It is important to have an agent who can be contacted easily, as we have. Also is a good thing to have an agent who specializes in cruises and works for a well respected company.

[clnugget]

Thank you so much for all of the great feedback.

 

I remember on the roll call for our last RC cruise, watching many people say that they had just scored a better room, or "such and such" just became available and they jumped on it. I guess I wrongly assumed that it was because they had a great TA looking out for them. I wonder if there is anyother way to find out about changing room availability in real time that I am missing?

 

I'm bummed that recommendations aren't allowed. It seems like you guys really know what you are doing, and some of you have great help to get that done. I hesitate to experiment with a TA because this is a special cruise for us. We are surprising the kids with a New Years cruise to celebrate my son, who is turning 18 on the 30th and getting ready to leave for college. Oh well, rules are rules.

 

Thank you all for the guidance and Happy Cruising!

 

Lisa

[cruznjan]

Thank you so much for all of the great feedback.

 

I remember on the roll call for our last RC cruise, watching many people say that they had just scored a better room, or "such and such" just became available and they jumped on it. I guess I wrongly assumed that it was because they had a great TA looking out for them. I wonder if there is anyother way to find out about changing room availability in real time that I am missing?

 

I'm bummed that recommendations aren't allowed. It seems like you guys really know what you are doing, and some of you have great help to get that done. I hesitate to experiment with a TA because this is a special cruise for us. We are surprising the kids with a New Years cruise to celebrate my son, who is turning 18 on the 30th and getting ready to leave for college. Oh well, rules are rules.

 

Thank you all for the guidance and Happy Cruising!

 

Lisa

 

I booked my last cruise online. I looked at available cabins daily and was able to score one in the middle of the hump on the Serenade of the Seas.