Cruise Pricing Help

[Chicky331]

Hello All,

 

I have gotten so much information from this board, so I would appreciate some honest advice. We sailed on the Wind in August and I booked everything myself directly through NCL and was able to save $200 with an entertainment coupon.

 

After reading these boards, I thought that I would try a travel agent for our cruise to Alaska next summer. I checked the NCL prices online and then went to the TA. At first I thought the quote was great, but then realized the price difference related to the fact that I was getting the rate for an AB cabin on NCL.com and the TA had booked us to an AD cabin. Personally, we do not care about the cabin difference as they both have balconies. The TA also made a big deal about switching the room assignments so that our travel companions could get my husband and my lattitudes discount. My 25-year old husband is currently booked in the same room as my mom's 55 year old friend and neither is thrilled about this. We figured we could switch the rooms prior to boarding though. So I went on NCL.com and found that a full-price fare (without lattitudes discount) is only $40 per cabin more. We are also being told we cannot use the entertainment coupon on the fare booked by the TA b.c it is a "lattitudes fare." I completely understand that, but the lattitudes savings is only $40 and the coupon is for $100.

 

The really frustrating thing is that I had to do all the leg work and point this out to the TA. The TA said she would call NCL last Thursday and I have not heard from her since. I am really thinking this is a lousy TA, but we have already given our deposits and what not. I was wondering what advice from some frequent cruisers would be. Thank you in advance.

[merry]

First of all where did the $100 coupon come from and is it for $100 off a cabin or something else? A good TA should have their clients best interest in mind at all times. TA's do not get paid by the client but by the cruiselines. You may want to go back to your TA and ask what a AB cabin rate would be. What ship are you booked on?? You are entitled to your Lattitudes savings whether you book through NCL.com or through the TA. Your TA should have contacted you by now. I would give her another call and if you are not satisfied with her response then you can cancel without penalty. Penalties usually occur once final payment is made. Unfortunately it looks like you may have the wrong TA judging by her response time. The good thing about having a TA vs going through cruiseline web sites is that your TA is with you from the time you book your cruise and up until after you cruise and if there is a problem after your cruise you should be able to call upon your TA to assist you. When you work through the cruiselines directly you never know who you are going to get each time you call time.

 

Merry

[Chicky331]

Thank you Merry. The coupon we have is from the Entertainment book and it is $100 off per cabin (balconies & above). I used the same coupon when I booked through NCL for our trip in August. Personally, I feel like I am doing all the work the TA is doing nothing to help us get a better deal. I wanted to know if that was an unusual experience or if most people have to do their own leg work when dealing with TAs. The cruise is not until next August so we should be able to get our money back if we cancel with this TA. I plan to give her a few more days to respond, but then I am going to call her. The cabin category within the Balcony class does not matter to us, but I originally thought I had gotten a better deal through her b/c I had run the a quote on NCL.com with a different category, otherwise we would not have booked with her. I am just frustrated that I have to do so much work on my end. I am ready to cancel with this TA and just book directly with NCL, but I wanted to see if people thought this was foolish of me. Thanks for your advice.

[merry]

Sorry I did not get a chance to respond sooner, been busy. If you have contacted her since your last post and she still hasn't gotten back to you, then I would say it's time to change TA's. If you have your booking number you can contact another TA explain your situation and ask to have the booking transferred to the new agent. The cruiseline is not going to charge you for cancelling the booking. The coupon you mentioned should be able to be applied whether you are a Lattitudes member or if you use a TA or not. Unfortunately it only takes one incident with a bad TA to ruin it for the rest of us. I hope you have better luck with another TA.

 

Merry

Cruise Specialist

[Guest nhrich]

Merry is correct in that you should be able to use the coupon regardless of whether you're a Latitudes member. It's just not combinable with the Latitudes rate. Assuming the cruise price has not gone up, have your TA rebook you to the Leadership fare and apply the coupon, or find a new TA that will do this for you.

 

Rich, ACC

Carefree Vacations

[Leosmom]

Chicky,

Before you decide to cancel with your current TA check with them first to make sure they (the agency) do not charge a cancellation fee. A lot of agencies, especially online ones do this now. I always ask the agent now before i book a cruise with them. Fares change all the time, and you may wind up paying more by cancelling and rebooking elsewhere even with the Entertainment coupon; especially if you have to pay the agent a fee.

 

I also had an Entertainment coupon this year and found that it could only be used with the "leadership" fare . At the time, this fare was a lot higher than other fares i found online even with the discount from the coupon so I didn't use it. I called NCL directly and asked them what the leadership fare was for the cabin i wanted and the agent even told me not to use the coupon and to book with an outside agent!

Good luck, hope you can resolve this in your favor.

[merry]

What Leosmom says is true some TA's do charge a cancellation fee, but the majority of us do not. I feel if the cruiseline does not charge you one as long as you are not in penalty then why should I. From what you have previously said about this TA you would have a good argument to dispute their cancellation fee if they have one for lack of service.

 

Merry

[comfixit]

Merry is right. Don't discount TA's cause of the one you have. My TA is wonderfull. I came in finding the best online deal for my cruise. She was able to match it but with a better catagory. Then the price dropped (after the deposit was non refundable) and my TA was able to get me the difference of the price drop credited to my charge card. So trust me the right TA is worth it.

 

As for the Merry's discussion of the cancelation fee. I suggest that you try and switch booking. If the TA tries to charge you complain and see if you can get it reversed. If not then dispute the charges with your CC company. You may have a good case as your not getting the service you paid for. Ultimately the CC company will be the judge, but if the TA loses the dispute they will have to pay extra penalties, so they might just drop it at that point if they think you might have a case.

 

Lastly let me re-iterate, a good TA is fantastic and can do better for you then you could do for yourself. But TA's like realestate agents etc... only make money when you buy and sometimes that skews the wrong type to act in a manner that is not always in your best interest. For example if your TA makes 10% commission they are going to lose $6 off their wages if they take the time to fight to get you that extra $60 discounted. Most look at the $6 as a good faith investment, but some are greedy like in any proffession.

 

I see lots of posts from TA's on this site, many seem very helpfull and genuine (not just for self promotion purposes) if I didn't have a good TA I would probably consider contacting one of them to inquire about future vacations.