How can I find a good travel agent for Celebrity Cruises?

[yorky]

50+ cruises, all booked directly with the cruise line. I don't see the need to waste time and add complexity by adding an unnecessary middle man. The cruise line won't even talk to you anymore when you use a TA. Go direct! :)

 

Had an inside booked with Celebrity, cancelled and received a Balcony with a TA for less money. Not worth the hassle ?

[rjrpar]

50+ cruises, all booked directly with the cruise line. I don't see the need to waste time and add complexity by adding an unnecessary middle man. The cruise line won't even talk to you anymore when you use a TA. Go direct! :)

 

 

You are wasting money and your last point is meaningless; you talk to your TA instead.

[RG306]

We always book through a TA. The perks always outweigh the inconvenience of having a middle man. For example, our upcoming cruise we got a concierge class cabin with drinks, gratuities & $475 obc for $1129 pp which was cheaper than booking with celebrity directly.

 

To be honest, I don't expect too much service wise from large online agencies. I know what I want when I want it and book at a price I'm happy with. If there's a price drop, I send an e-mail. All the other travel arrangements (hotel, flights, excursions) I make on my own.

[Wine-O]

Wow what a deal. How does your travel agent stay in business. $500 OBC on a $799 fare they couldn't have made much commission.

 

He's probably including the $250 shareholder benefit in the $500 figure.

[morbihan]

To the person in Sweden.

 

I booked onboard and, following tips from new friends, tried to move it to USA. Even phoned!

 

They could not accept it because I had paid the deposit in euro's. That or we live in France.

 

Can't remember I am afraid.

 

We have booked the last few onboard but finished now. Last minute Minnie, me. See the price, pay it and don't be shocked by changes in deals, promo, prices etc.

 

Would never ever ever go into a well known UK TA. Done once, finished now. Wish I had found CC before I made errors of innocence:D

[OBX-Cruisers]

I have mostly just used two online cruise agencies in our roughly 2 dozen cruises since starting cruising when we retired in 2006..........wish I hadn't waited but was a workaholic I guess.

 

One of the agencies I routinely use sounds a lot like your example and I have always been happy with their services, which although limited to basic booking, have always followed through on all of the promised perks and reminders of payments and cruise dates.

 

The second agency I deal with a specific agent and it is much more personable. However, this agency literally sucks for producing perks that are not already available from the cruise line and available regardless who you book with. However, for more complex bookings involving airlines, hotel and transfer arrangements, or at least suggestions, the second agency is my go to for European and TA cruises.

 

So the crux of the issue is what kind of service do you need and want. Most of the time I go with Agency #1 like you probably do as well. Those additional perks from the larger online agencies are VERY nice to have on the ship to pay for all of the "extras" that are cropping up everywhere on ships it seems. If all things are pretty much equal, I go with Agency #2 and pay the commission to the more personable TA.

 

Why I use an online travel agent?

 

14 day B2B on Silhouette December 4 and 11 2016. 2d balcony:

 

Celebritycruises.com wants $2243.62 p.p. Includes classic drink package and $300 per cabin per cruise.

 

Online travel agent has same cruise same category and cabin under a group booking for $1936.34 p.p.. Along with the drink packages and obc, it includes prepaid gratuities. They are a high volume broker so I'm sure they get a real nice commission from the cruise lines because of it.

 

For that kind of money I can put up with the inconvenience of going through a middle man. I can also live with the $50 per cruise charge if I cancel.

 

I've booked my last 17 cruises through them so I know exactly who I'm dealing with and what to expect.

Edited December 6, 2015 by OBX-Cruisers