Why would a cruise consultant try to talk to me out of a Haven booking?

[NoMoreRain]

I've been talking to one of the NCL cruise consultants about a booking in January 2019.

 

It's my wife and I, adult daughter and 15 y/o son going on the cruise. We are torn between booking a 2 bedroom Haven suite or booking two mini-suites. Of course the cost for the Haven is more but the perks are appealing.

 

I had some questions so I contacted our NCL cruise rep and he has consistently told us how the two rooms would be so much better for the kids than the Haven. He's sent me all kinds of info on booking two mini suites but if I bring up the Haven he will say things like:

 

The Haven is a wonderful experience, however, given the logistics and cost of the Haven I would recommend two separate state rooms.

I have no idea what he means by logistics? :confused:

 

Is it more beneficial for him to book two suites than one Haven? I get that I can just book whatever I wanted online..just seemed strange. Not to mention the fact that according to them, the kids would get the Latitude rewards points on the second room instead of me!

[DevinScott]

If he gets credit by number of booked cabins, he would possibly get something out of it. Hard to tell. As a past travel agent, sometimes agents will make the mistake of judging your trip by their pocketbook. I don’t think you mentioned the ship, but I have been in a 2 bedroom haven suite and there is no way I would book 2 mini suites.

 

 

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[NoMoreRain]

If he gets credit by number of booked cabins, he would possibly get something out of it. Hard to tell. As a past travel agent, sometimes agents will make the mistake of judging your trip by their pocketbook. I don’t think you mentioned the ship, but I have been in a 2 bedroom haven suite and there is no way I would book 2 mini suites.

 

 

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That's all I could think is that maybe he gets a per booking spiff or maybe Haven bookers are routed to a different division and he'd get nothing? We are looking at the Getaway.

[Maya1234]

I am no expert but on the cruise I am on the 2 bedroom Havens were the first to sell out. When I originally booked the consultant seemed to be pushing me away from that option which I regret now.

[Two Wheels Only]

The PCC might have another fish on the line who only wants the same Haven suite that you want. It's either give you the suite and the other person walks or give him the suite while you take the 2 minis.

[rch3232]

The PCC might have another fish on the line who only wants the same Haven suite that you want. It's either give you the suite and the other person walks or give him the suite while you take the 2 minis.

 

Lol

[NoMoreRain]

Thanks for the input. Considering we've never been in the Haven before...would you spring the extra couple grand to get the Haven and it's perks for all or just do the minis this trip and save the Haven for the next cruise with just the wife and I?

[5280mom]

Thanks for the input. Considering we've never been in the Haven before...would you spring the extra couple grand to get the Haven and it's perks for all or just do the minis this trip and save the Haven for the next cruise with just the wife and I?

 

 

 

Always go for the Haven if possible. [emoji4]. Our teens loved it-fantastic experience on the Getaway.

 

 

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[abisutton]

Thanks for the input. Considering we've never been in the Haven before...would you spring the extra couple grand to get the Haven and it's perks for all or just do the minis this trip and save the Haven for the next cruise with just the wife and I?

 

 

 

Just did mg first haven this month, 2br, and it was without doubt, the best!! I would strongly encourage this with kids, I had my 19 yo son with me who loved the small extra bedroom and perks. I would have easily put my two adult kids there with no prob. The benefits of the haven life are without compare!

[NoMoreRain]

Just did mg first haven this month, 2br, and it was without doubt, the best!! I would strongly encourage this with kids, I had my 19 yo son with me who loved the small extra bedroom and perks. I would have easily put my two adult kids there with no prob. The benefits of the haven life are without compare!

 

Does the small bedroom have a pull down bunk in addition to the sofa?

[gambit57]

If he gets credit by number of booked cabins, he would possibly get something out of it. Hard to tell. As a past travel agent, sometimes agents will make the mistake of judging your trip by their pocketbook.

 

That's my guess. He gets more credit/commission with 2 suites over 1 Haven and/or he's making recommendations based on his own budget rather than yours.

 

For my upcoming cruise, I can tell my TA is basing things more on their own experience/budget, etc. I only booked the cabin with them and I only had 1 real choice so I kinda just ignored a lot of what they said (or it didn't really answer my questions).

[KeithJenner]

Not to mention the fact that according to them, the kids would get the Latitude rewards points on the second room instead of me!

 

 

Latitudes points are awarded to the people who stay, not those who book or pay for the room. You could book a dozen rooms for family and friends and will only get one set of latitudes points. The people who stay in the rooms get theirs.

 

In your case, regardless of which option you go for, each person will get one set of points each (although anyone under 18 doesn’t see theirs until they are 18). The only difference would be that everyone will get an extra point per night if you book the suite.

[Coastalbreezes]

Does the small bedroom have a pull down bunk in addition to the sofa?

 

Yes it does.

 

Tracy

[lisakoivu]

Don't some travel agents buy rooms in "blocks"? Maybe they don't have the room you want in their "block" or maybe they have lots of mini suites leftover in their block. You may need another travel agent, lol.

[KeithJenner]

Don't some travel agents buy rooms in "blocks"? Maybe they don't have the room you want in their "block" or maybe they have lots of mini suites leftover in their block. You may need another travel agent, lol.

 

The OP is talking to NCL direct. No travel agent involved.

[dexddd]

I do find it odd the agent would do that other than if they are being 100% honest.

 

You didn't mention which ship, but after being in the best room on BA, IF we were ever to do BA/GA again, we would have been better off doing two insides. The BA Haven experience was so lackluster we won't sail that ship again. We could have done so many other things with the difference in money spent.

 

That being said, we are trying Escape which seems to get many of the same complaints as BA/GA. Will see how that goes.

[dexddd]

Don't some travel agents buy rooms in "blocks"? Maybe they don't have the room you want in their "block" or maybe they have lots of mini suites leftover in their block. You may need another travel agent, lol.

 

They are using a NCL PCC from what I can tell.

[newmexicoNita]

If he gets credit by number of booked cabins, he would possibly get something out of it. Hard to tell. As a past travel agent, sometimes agents will make the mistake of judging your trip by their pocketbook. I don’t think you mentioned the ship, but I have been in a 2 bedroom haven suite and there is no way I would book 2 mini suites.

 

 

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good post: I also was a TA for quite a few years and I would notice other agents trying to convince people what they should and should not do without knowing anything about the client. My first question when dealing with clients I did not know was to ask them what they were looking for or what they expected out of their vacation experience?

[SouthLyonCruiser]

Your question is another reason I always recommend that people use a travel agent.

I have used the same travel agent for almost twenty years and could not be happier.

Knowing our taste and past cruises she saved me from a horrible experience when I asked her to book a fifteen day cruise on a cruise line that I hadn't used before and she told me that the level of service and food would not be what I have come to expect.

[Travelicious]

"I may even have used the word "gratuities" when you think I should have said "service charge". If this upsets you then bad luck. Don't bother telling me about it, I really don't care."

:')

[smplybcause]

How old is the adult daughter? The one advantage to two mini suites is that a lot of the perks are only for the first two guests (and the others are per stateroom). So while you get the dinning and drinking package in haven it is only for guest one and two. Where if daughter was 21+, each mini suite could do the UBP and UDP. So the daughter would get the drink package along with you and your wife and all four of you would get the dinning package.

 

But you'd have to weigh whether those perks are worth more or less than the haven experience.

 

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[brookie848]

As mentioned above, the only real advantage of booking two separate cabins is if all the adults want a beverage package that only costs the service charge (about $100/each).

 

If adult in your party does not drink, put that person as the #3 passenger. The other two will have the beverage package.

 

We asked our PCC and they mentioned that they do get more commission if they book people in suites (I don't know if that is true or not), so I do find it strange that the person you talked to is pushing you away from a suite.

 

There are both bad PCCs and bad TAs. We like booking directly with Norwegian because we have control of our reservation.

 

By the way, mini suites are really just balcony cabins with a larger bathroom, so if you do decide to go that route, look at prices. You might be better off just booking a balcony cabin.

 

We have only stayed in suites and we really enjoy the experience. As long as you are okay with people not having drink/dining packages and the two kids are okay with sharing a small room in the 2-bedroom cabin, that would be my choice.

 

By the way, if the person you spoke with was not actually your PCC, you may want to try calling back and talking to another representative. And, you can still do that -- just request a new PCC.

[LrgPizza]

I'm going to assume they are directing you away because they legitimately believe this would be better for you. It seems like a no-brainer to me.

[Mom2B&Z]

The other thing with the suite over the 2 mini-suites is that you get a decent sized living space. With the two mini suites, each cabin has a small sitting area (the sofa), but nowhere for everyone to sit together. This is one of the reasons we book 2 bedroom suites over two balcony cabins. The Haven perks are good too, especially on the larger ships where there is a dedicated Haven restaurant and priority disembarkation means you fly through the lines.

 

 

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[European_CruiseGirl]

I would also consider the two minis instead of the Haven 2 bedroom in op’s situation.

 

Just the perks would be much for me. In Haven only guests 1-2 would get the perks. In two minis all passengers would get for example the beverage package + dining package. Not so in the Haven. Even when the second child is underage (=no booze) i’d still see this as high value.

 

2. The second bedroom on the Haven suite is smaaaaaaal. I mean really small. So either it’s two big kids very cramped on the second bedroom or it’s one kid in the second bedroom and the second kid in the livingroom sofa with mom and dad losing part of their privacy (master bedroom very close to livingroom and the door is just a sliding door).

 

So in my opinion with this logistics (= amount of people and their ages) the two minis would make very much sense.

 

 

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