should I fire my TA?

[iceleven]

Just what is considered a good OBC offered by a TA? Do they generally offer more the greater the cost of the cruise, or does it even matter?

[RocketMan275]

Just what is considered a good OBC offered by a TA? Do they generally offer more the greater the cost of the cruise, or does it even matter?

 

The cost of the cruise does matter. One big box TA pretty much offers 8.5% of the commissionable fare.

[caribill]

Does anyone know if the 2 for free perks show up in your personalizer and if they do, where?

 

Not that I could find.

[caribill]

Just what is considered a good OBC offered by a TA? Do they generally offer more the greater the cost of the cruise, or does it even matter?

 

In addition to any OBC that a TA may optionally give out of their commission, if the TA has group bookings with Princess for a cruise, they get "amenity points" that can be used for either the TA's benefit or the passenger's benefit.

 

For example:

 

Four amenity points can be used on a cruise of 6-8 days to either give $50 OBC to a cabin or to give $50 additional commission to the TA.

 

Two amenity points can be used on a cruise of 6-8 days to either give a bottle of wine at dinner or to give $25 additional commission to the TA.

[JF - retired RRT]

In addition to any OBC that a TA may optionally give out of their commission, if the TA has group bookings with Princess for a cruise, they get "amenity points" that can be used for either the TA's benefit or the passenger's benefit.

 

For example:

 

Four amenity points can be used on a cruise of 6-8 days to either give $50 OBC to a cabin or to give $50 additional commission to the TA.

 

Two amenity points can be used on a cruise of 6-8 days to either give a bottle of wine at dinner or to give $25 additional commission to the TA.

It definitely varies widely. We got a bid from a site that does that sort of thing. One of the bids was LESS (way less) for an OW cabin than for an IE (which is where we usually book. We ended up cancelling, changed our plans to a different cruise altogether.

[iuki]

Out of curiosity, if you had fired your TA, would you have been charged a cancellation fee by the TA?

[JF - retired RRT]

Out of curiosity, if you had fired your TA, would you have been charged a cancellation fee by the TA?

No, that is the FIRST question I always ask.

[cactusrose]

Not that I could find.

 

Thank you. I couldn't find it either.

[colonialinnkeeper]

May I ask what a "casino rate" is?

[Colo Cruiser]

Out of curiosity, if you had fired your TA, would you have been charged a cancellation fee by the TA?

 

 

Some do and some don't.

I would steer clear of TA's that charge any extra fees.

[caribill]

May I ask what a "casino rate" is?

 

The company that runs the casino will sometimes have a special casino rate which is significantly lower than the then current Princess rates.

 

So far nobody has figured out how someone is targeted for that rate which is limited to some cruises and is capacity controlled.

 

Sometimes the person eligible for that rate gets a notice in the mail that the casino rate is waiting for him/her. Sometimes it is just a surprise when booking a cabin and once the cabin is selected, a lower rate is displayed, usually with no indication why the pricing is lower than expected.

[suzyed]

Not that I could find.

 

The free gratuities show up in the Personalizer. If you go to the section that you would normally book and pay for your gratuities, it will have the passenger name and a little box checked to show it was paid for.

[caribill]

The free gratuities show up in the Personalizer. If you go to the section that you would normally book and pay for your gratuities, it will have the passenger name and a little box checked to show it was paid for.

 

Thanks. That worked. (It just said "Paid" without a little checked box.)

 

Do you know where to find proof of the free specialty restaurant information in the Personalizer?

Edited September 16, 2015 by caribill

[Sfr1959]

We are going on cruise in Nov with RCI.

They have drop price by nearly 40% from when we booked 6 mths ago.

I rang RCI and asked if we could upgrade to a JS which I calculated would have cost $1500. They said I couldn't at the promotion rate and it would cost us $3200. Anyway after 30 min trying to get someone to understand how silly this was with no outcome.

I cancelled my booked ,

2 min later rebooked the same cabin, saving me $1450

After cancellation penalty of $637

Profit was $813 plus the promotion OBC of $400.

 

Thanks RCI , because your sales personal can't think outside what's written on the screen or manual in front of them, I just made $1213 which could have been your profit for an up grade

 

WIN , WIN, WIN FOR US [emoji41][emoji41][emoji41][emoji41][emoji41][emoji41][emoji41][emoji41][emoji41][emoji322][emoji322][emoji322][emoji485][emoji485][emoji485][emoji485]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[JF - retired RRT]

May I ask what a "casino rate" is?

Apparently the company that runs the casino (not Princess) subsidizes (?) the fare for some passengers.

How do you get it? No one here knows, it just "magically" shows up, some get an e-mail notification. We here are pretty sure you have to play in the casino. No one has reported getting it unless they have gambled at least a little. Some report a lot of play, some not much at all.

 

In my case, when I clicked on the button where you pick a cabin the price dropped:eek:. A Panama cruise that I recently booked went from $2500 to $1500. YAY!! I have been in the casino on my last 2 cruises to "spend" my non-refundable OBC (never had leftover OBC before, so had never been in the casino). Lost a total of $5.00 of the $200 or so that I was using.

 

I talked to someone on a cruise we were on earlier this year and she was offered a free cruise! Balcony, sailing solo, only had to pay for air fare and port fees/taxes. She admitted she gambled quite a bit.

 

There are a couple of threads on CC discussing Casino Rate, do a search for more info & stories.:)

 

[nbsjcruiser]

Before you cancel, book the new cruise at the new price then cancel.

[caribill]

We are going on cruise in Nov with RCI.

They have drop price by nearly 40% from when we booked 6 mths ago.

I rang RCI and asked if we could upgrade to a JS which I calculated would have cost $1500. They said I couldn't at the promotion rate and it would cost us $3200. Anyway after 30 min trying to get someone to understand how silly this was with no outcome.

I cancelled my booked ,

2 min later rebooked the same cabin, saving me $1450

After cancellation penalty of $637

Profit was $813 plus the promotion OBC of $400.

 

 

Not surprising since this was way after final payment and the new pricing was for new bookings only.

 

Sometimes the penalty is not worth cancelling and rebooking and sometimes it is. In your case, it was.

Edited September 16, 2015 by caribill

[flip side of fifty]

In addition to any OBC that a TA may optionally give out of their commission, if the TA has group bookings with Princess for a cruise, they get "amenity points" that can be used for either the TA's benefit or the passenger's benefit.

 

For example:

 

Four amenity points can be used on a cruise of 6-8 days to either give $50 OBC to a cabin or to give $50 additional commission to the TA.

 

Two amenity points can be used on a cruise of 6-8 days to either give a bottle of wine at dinner or to give $25 additional commission to the TA.

 

I think I might look for a new TA. :mad: Too late for my next big trip, however.

I booked the 15 night Connoisseur Escorted tour for May 2016. I notified my TA of the Princess internet price for the cruise date I wanted, the specific stateroom number I wanted, added on 2 nights before and 2 nights after the trip at hotels through Princess (through the TA). Everything was laid out for him. In return I received No OBC, No specialty dinner, No bottle of anything, and the price was exactly what was listed on Princess's site.

 

When I asked him if we could "add on the 3/free promo" that is now attached to my cruise date he wrote back that "the costs saved by the promo would not offset the added PP price of the cruise" that was the only comment. I knew that - it would have been nice if he would have just bothered to call Princess and ask to add it on.

Feeling burned now that I have this info...

[Happy2cruise]

The free gratuities show up in the Personalizer. If you go to the section that you would normally book and pay for your gratuities, it will have the passenger name and a little box checked to show it was paid for.

 

How soon did yours show up?

We have the deal with free gratuities and made final payment 2 weeks ago. Followed your instructions to check and nothing was showing paid. We do have the documentation from TA that we have it.

[JF - retired RRT]

I think I might look for a new TA. :mad: Too late for my next big trip, however.

I booked the 15 night Connoisseur Escorted tour for May 2016. I notified my TA of the Princess internet price for the cruise date I wanted, the specific stateroom number I wanted, added on 2 nights before and 2 nights after the trip at hotels through Princess (through the TA). Everything was laid out for him. In return I received No OBC, No specialty dinner, No bottle of anything, and the price was exactly what was listed on Princess's site.

 

When I asked him if we could "add on the 3/free promo" that is now attached to my cruise date he wrote back that "the costs saved by the promo would not offset the added PP price of the cruise" that was the only comment. I knew that - it would have been nice if he would have just bothered to call Princess and ask to add it on.

Feeling burned now that I have this info...

May 2016 is a loooong way off. Fire your TA. Rebook with Princess and shop for a new TA.

OR you could call Princess and fire your TA, thus keeping everything the same except no TA. Then shop for a new one.

 

I usually book direct with Princess and then check with 3 or 4 TAs for best price/benefits. Then I switch to the TA who offers me the most. This is usually the TA that I complained about when I started this thread.

 

Go for it!!

[RocketMan275]

I think I might look for a new TA. :mad: Too late for my next big trip, however.

I booked the 15 night Connoisseur Escorted tour for May 2016. I notified my TA of the Princess internet price for the cruise date I wanted, the specific stateroom number I wanted, added on 2 nights before and 2 nights after the trip at hotels through Princess (through the TA). Everything was laid out for him. In return I received No OBC, No specialty dinner, No bottle of anything, and the price was exactly what was listed on Princess's site.

 

When I asked him if we could "add on the 3/free promo" that is now attached to my cruise date he wrote back that "the costs saved by the promo would not offset the added PP price of the cruise" that was the only comment. I knew that - it would have been nice if he would have just bothered to call Princess and ask to add it on.

Feeling burned now that I have this info...

 

Just did a quick check and one of the online agencies that I cannot name is offering 3 for free, and $525 OBC for your cruise. Same price as princess for a balcony.

 

Call your TA and tell them that you're transferring the cruise back to Princess unless he sweetens the pot.

[Retiring cajun]

Wow! That's a big difference!!

[caribill]

I think I might look for a new TA. :mad: Too late for my next big trip, however.

I booked the 15 night Connoisseur Escorted tour for May 2016. I notified my TA of the Princess internet price for the cruise date I wanted, the specific stateroom number I wanted, added on 2 nights before and 2 nights after the trip at hotels through Princess (through the TA). Everything was laid out for him. In return I received No OBC, No specialty dinner, No bottle of anything, and the price was exactly what was listed on Princess's site.

 

 

Obviously not a discount TA.