Transferring Onboard Booming to TA

[lifeh2o4all]

I recently booked a 2018 cruise out of Amsterdam while on board a Celebrity cruise last month. I was offered $200 in future OBC for making the booking. I did not have the reservation transferred to a TA at that time as I wasn't sure which one I was going to use. I have been pricing this cruise with all the TAs I have used in the past, big online and smaller local, and have found something interesting and would like to know if others have experienced the same.

 

What I am finding is the offers directly from the TAs are consistentl lower by $300 pp if I don't use the on-board booking, but instead just book with the TAS.

I had thought when I did this in the past the TAs just took their best deal and added the $200 OBC. Obviously I was mistaken. Anyone else have this experience?

 

Thanks

[fielddreamer]

I booked while on board and got the $300 on board credit plus the $200 discount on the cruise. I was in the same book as you and shopped around when I got back. I found a TA that was better than all the other deals and got another perk plus a dinner. In watching the cruise since it has gone up $1000 since Dec.! It does go up and down so I watch it just in case since I got buened last year! Bob

[NantahalaCruiser]

I recently booked a 2018 cruise out of Amsterdam while on board a Celebrity cruise last month. I was offered $200 in future OBC for making the booking. I did not have the reservation transferred to a TA at that time as I wasn't sure which one I was going to use. I have been pricing this cruise with all the TAs I have used in the past, big online and smaller local, and have found something interesting and would like to know if others have experienced the same.

 

What I am finding is the offers directly from the TAs are consistentl lower by $300 pp if I don't use the on-board booking, but instead just book with the TAS.

I had thought when I did this in the past the TAs just took their best deal and added the $200 OBC. Obviously I was mistaken. Anyone else have this experience?

 

Thanks

 

My smaller TA accepts the transfer at the same price, continues to honor the OBC from the on-board booking and then gives me some additional OBC of his own.

 

It could be that your larger TA is offering you a lower group rate from their bulk purchase of cabins and that the group rate conflicts with the on-board OBC benefit. Just ask them.

[lifeh2o4all]

Booking not Booming

 

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[ricflyer]

I booked on board 2 weeks ago got the $200 OBC. Last week when home I called a large TA and they transferred the booking and reduced the price by $400 pp for Aqua Class and added an extra $200 OBC. They could reduce the price because they had a group rate available.

[Hlitner]

I recently booked a 2018 cruise out of Amsterdam while on board a Celebrity cruise last month. I was offered $200 in future OBC for making the booking. I did not have the reservation transferred to a TA at that time as I wasn't sure which one I was going to use. I have been pricing this cruise with all the TAs I have used in the past, big online and smaller local, and have found something interesting and would like to know if others have experienced the same.

 

What I am finding is the offers directly from the TAs are consistentl lower by $300 pp if I don't use the on-board booking, but instead just book with the TAS.

I had thought when I did this in the past the TAs just took their best deal and added the $200 OBC. Obviously I was mistaken. Anyone else have this experience?

 

Thanks

 

 

Happens all the time (with any cruise line). Over the years, we have posted hundreds of times, our recommendation to shop around among reputable high volume cruise agencies to get the best overall deals (often 7-10% less expensive then booking through the cruise line). The bottom line is that those that transfer online or onboard bookings to a TA have already lost most of their leverage with the agency. They know you have already booked the cruise, and while happy to have your business they are less worried about competition. If I am booking a cruise (a new booking) and tell my favorite 3-5 cruise agencies what I am booking...it essentially sets off a minor bidding war :). They know we are for real (cruise 70 - 100 days a year) and also know (from our past business) that we will simply book with whichever or our favorite agencies gives us the best overall deal (they know this because we tell them). The longer and more expensive the cruise....the more interesting the process :).

 

Hank

[eatdrinkfly]

If I am booking a cruise (a new booking) and tell my favorite 3-5 cruise agencies what I am booking...it essentially sets off a minor bidding war :). They know we are for real (cruise 70 - 100 days a year) and also know (from our past business) that we will simply book with whichever or our favorite agencies gives us the best overall deal (they know this because we tell them). The longer and more expensive the cruise....the more interesting the process :).

 

Hank

 

 

i know everyone is very "me first" these days, but this sort of thing really makes me really sad for agents.

It's one thing to browse online and see what kind of offers you can find, that's totally fair and a clever way to explore your options without wasting anyone's time, but to personally pit multiple agents against each other to see how much they're willing to take out of their own pocket to get your booking?

Maybe it's just my nice canadian-ness, but that makes me feel a little ill.

Please don't suggest that others do this. It's just not a nice thing to do to people that rely on comission for a living.

[Gopher1934]

Happens all the time (with any cruise line). Over the years, we have posted hundreds of times, our recommendation to shop around among reputable high volume cruise agencies to get the best overall deals (often 7-10% less expensive then booking through the cruise line). The bottom line is that those that transfer online or onboard bookings to a TA have already lost most of their leverage with the agency. They know you have already booked the cruise, and while happy to have your business they are less worried about competition. If I am booking a cruise (a new booking) and tell my favorite 3-5 cruise agencies what I am booking...it essentially sets off a minor bidding war :). They know we are for real (cruise 70 - 100 days a year) and also know (from our past business) that we will simply book with whichever or our favorite agencies gives us the best overall deal (they know this because we tell them). The longer and more expensive the cruise....the more interesting the process :).

 

Hank

 

Nice post thank you for the advice. We have done 35 cruises and the last around 10 we have used a large TA and that has worked good but I think I will need to shop a bit better

[lifeh2o4all]

Thanks for the info Hank. I won't worry about booking on board.

 

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[caribill]

i know everyone is very "me first" these days, but this sort of thing really makes me really sad for agents.

It's one thing to browse online and see what kind of offers you can find, that's totally fair and a clever way to explore your options without wasting anyone's time, but to personally pit multiple agents against each other to see how much they're willing to take out of their own pocket to get your booking?

 

 

If the agent quotes you a price, the agent is making a profit. The agency can decide how much of a profit they want to make when putting together their quote.

 

No different than when you haggle with a car dealer for a new car. Do you pay the list price or do you go for the best price possible and get quotes from multiple dealers?

[jagoffee]

i know everyone is very "me first" these days, but this sort of thing really makes me really sad for agents.

It's one thing to browse online and see what kind of offers you can find, that's totally fair and a clever way to explore your options without wasting anyone's time, but to personally pit multiple agents against each other to see how much they're willing to take out of their own pocket to get your booking?

Maybe it's just my nice canadian-ness, but that makes me feel a little ill.

Please don't suggest that others do this. It's just not a nice thing to do to people that rely on comission for a living.

 

 

That is one way to look at the situation. I try to settle on a particular TA, but I have never seen the "best deals" by just looking on line. From my experience you will almost always get a larger OBC via an e mail quote for a transfer. I believe this is because the TA does not wish to advertise what they are offering. I have fallen into a pattern when I expect around between 9-9.5% of the cruise price (without taxes and port charges) as a TA OBC. As I said I prefer to deal with the same person when booking my cruises if possible and this has been working for me.