Price drop and TA out of touch?

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, NewlyMrs.Kilday said:

Man apparently I need a new TA for more ways than one! I had no idea about some of the perks you all are talking about. We booked 6 cabins with this agent and got ZERO anything. Same price I found online, to the dollar. Zero OBC, no specialty dining or anything. I thought those kind of perks were done away with years ago and nowadays TA’s are more just for convenience. I will be doing more searching for sure. 

You should have received significant benefit booking 6 cabins at once 

[voyager70]

2 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

What control do you think you relinquish when using a TA? As stated the only things I can think of that I do not control are, making payments and requesting price drops. 

 

I've saved thousands in price dllrops, many times on weekends or off hours when TA's are closed.  I like having total control of my reservation, you don't and that's  fine.

 

[not-enough-cruising]

1 minute ago, voyager70 said:

 

I've saved thousands in price dllrops, many times on weekends or off hours when TA's are closed.  I like having total control of my reservation, you don't and that's  fine.

 

Your right, that control doesn’t concern me. My TA usually gets me a dare significantly cheaper from day one, so price drops rarely happen for me. 

[voyager70]

1 minute ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Your right, that control doesn’t concern me. My TA usually gets me a dare significantly cheaper from day one, so price drops rarely happen for me. 

 

Peace out. Happy cruising.

 

[Iamcruzin]

20 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Have never had any spam issues with the web site. 

No, You submit the cruise information and bids will come in. Once you either decide to book through one agent or not use any agents at all you can turn off the request for bids. A survey will pop up with questions like did you book a cruise with an agent. If you didn't it will ask why and that is the end of it until you submit another cruise.

[Iamcruzin]

21 hours ago, Tree_skier said:

I have gone back and forth with using a TA.  Some I've booked direct and others I have gone through a large online TA.  I'm just  not convinced that I have gotten any real value from booking with the TA and on my last booking I have done it myself and will probably just continue to do so.  I saw we had a price drop for our cruise in April 2020 on Allure so I emailed the TA.  I got a reply from her at the end of the work day saying sorry she didn't get to repricing my cruise.  She was going to be out of the office for the next 5 days and that I should call in tomorrow and one of the other associates could assist me.  That sealed the deal for me, never again will I book with them.  I booked another cruise about a week later and I did it direct.  When I needed a repricing for that one I called Royal directly and got done immediately while I was on the phone,.  My wait time was about 10 minutes and that was during the No Cuba/Empress/Majesty debacle so I suspect my wait times would be even less during different times.

 

As far as group space is concerned... I see that on the TA's website there is the odd category that seems to have a slightly better price but these all appear to be gty staterooms and I prefer to select my cabin.  The prices that seem slightly cheaper than what is being advertised on Royals but not enough to tempt me.

This is basically my story as well. However I would be more likely to book a Royal Caribbean cruise using a TA who would offer a significant discount  or OBC up front because my experience with Royal Caribbean has been no price drops and booking early seems to secure the lowest price. Even though I book other lines I still shop Royal Caribbean up to final payment for a similar itinerary and have never found a better rate than what I had booked with Princess or Celebrity. Princess and Celebrity still drop price before final payment and I have called for adjustments many times. For me using a TA to book Royal Caribbean is my only chance of walking away with some type of discount or OBC.

[Iamcruzin]

20 hours ago, matj2000 said:

A bottle of wine..

 

We once got gratuities paid for,  Drink package, and $300 OBC from an online TA.

 

But I guess that's not worth it for anyone with control issues..

Once is the key word here. If those deals were a dime a dozen everyone would use that TA.  Once I got a category upgrade, a drink package, paid gratuities, $300 OBC and free wifi booking directly with Celebrity. It was a 7 day Bermuda cruise in concierge class and it was one of the least expensive cruises that I ever paid for. That will never happen again.

[Iamcruzin]

18 hours ago, Hammergirl said:

Where does everyone find these amazing travel agents? The one I use only offers me $100 OBC, and that is in a grand suite. 

They live in the same town as the Easter Bunny, Santa Clause and the Tooth Fairy.  Usually the more you spend the better the discount or OBC. Your TA was cheap. I received $250 from my Big Box Warehouse for booking a 9 day cruise in a 4D balcony. They haven't offered that same deal since. Believe me I check regularly. Bookings must have been slow. It was during wave season when I found that deal

Edited June 27, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[grandgeezer]

14 hours ago, voyager70 said:

 

I've saved thousands in price dllrops, many times on weekends or off hours when TA's are closed.  I like having total control of my reservation, you don't and that's  fine.

 

I haven't seen measurable price drops in years, maybe it's because I only book at a price that I'm happy with. If not, I stay home, simple as that. I've gotten every price drop I've asked for just by sending an e-mail. I have a life so I don't spend nights and weekends worrying about a price drop on a measly cruise. 

What about the times there aren't price drops? I'm sure there is much more of those. I've saved 12-15% on all most all 46 of our cruises, that more than offsets the price drops I might have missed out on. Since we only book balconys or higher and perks are based on total price paid, I'm betting our savings is more than a few thousand.

I also have total control over my reservation as nothing happens without my approval. I don't consider not getting a price drop as losing control, absolutely nothing changes but the cost.

Keep on booking directly through the cruise line so they can keep their profits up so my travel agency can continue to give me those generous perks and that also is fine.

[voyager70]

2 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

I haven't seen measurable price drops in years, maybe it's because I only book at a price that I'm happy with. If not, I stay home, simple as that. I've gotten every price drop I've asked for just by sending an e-mail. I have a life so I don't spend nights and weekends worrying about a price drop on a measly cruise. 

What about the times there aren't price drops? I'm sure there is much more of those. I've saved 12-15% on all most all 46 of our cruises, that more than offsets the price drops I might have missed out on. Since we only book balconys or higher and perks are based on total price paid, I'm betting our savings is more than a few thousand.

I also have total control over my reservation as nothing happens without my approval. I don't consider not getting a price drop as losing control, absolutely nothing changes but the cost.

Keep on booking directly through the cruise line so they can keep their profits up so my travel agency can continue to give me those generous perks and that also is fine.

 

Thanks for the spanking.  I'll continue to do as I wish.  You do the same.

 

[Baron Barracuda]

On 6/26/2019 at 12:18 PM, matj2000 said:

A bottle of wine..

 

We once got gratuities paid for,  Drink package, and $300 OBC from an online TA.

 

But I guess that's not worth it for anyone with control issues..

Was that perhaps on a Celebrity sailing?  Sounds like the "3 free percs" deal they sometimes run.  If so percs came from X, not your TA.

 

We use very large online agency that advertises on cc's Cruise Deals page.  For 20 years have received a minimum of free grats + group credit on every Royal sailing.  They also have customer service reps available 24 / 7.

[johnjen]

On 6/26/2019 at 11:28 AM, cruisinfanatic said:

That's like going to the dining room once and declaring the food there is no good.

Sorry you didn't like the one TA you tried. Many of us rave about our TA's because they give us fantastic service and great incentives. By not booking with one, you are basically paying 10% or more too much just to do it your way

That is not true. I know I didn't pay 10% more for our cruises just because I didn't go through a TA. Where are you drawing up 10%? The free bottle of champagne?

[cheeseheads4ever]

We booked our first cruise with a TA for a Nov 2019 cruise. It took alot to convince my wife to try a TA. Every cruise we've taken so far (10 total) has been booked directly with the cruise lines.

It started off as the nightmare we thought it would but tried to remain optimistic.

Quote came first wrong total. Right date but wrong total. 

Sent new quote right total but taxes and port fees were not broken out like first wrong quote was. But just left it to avoid even more phone calls.

Some of this was because we didn't know the drill booking through a TA and in our defense our TA never explained it to us either.

There was alot more to this like not being able to get ahold of her with questions. Her not answering our direct questions. 

We think because of the knowledgable cruisers on CC we have this figured out here goes:

The non refundable OBC paid by Celebrity will show up on Celebrity's site and has.

The refundable OBC given by the TA will not show up on Celebrity's site but will appear on our account a day or so after boarding.

The drinks pkg shows up on Celebrity's site under order history right now.

Free gratuities Im not sure who we got those from either Celebrity or TA and does not appear on Celebritys site.

This is what I think I have figured out so far. I have the invoice from our TA and has everything correct. So will take that with us when we board. If this was explained to us in the beginning we could have understood the process.

million dollar question? Would we book with this TA again.. No! Another TA? Yes!

If Im missing something please let me know. We do not need our hands held. But do need numbers to match..

 

 

 

[Ourusualbeach]

11 minutes ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

We booked our first cruise with a TA for a Nov 2019 cruise. It took alot to convince my wife to try a TA. Every cruise we've taken so far (10 total) has been booked directly with the cruise lines.

It started off as the nightmare we thought it would but tried to remain optimistic.

Quote came first wrong total. Right date but wrong total. 

Sent new quote right total but taxes and port fees were not broken out like first wrong quote was. But just left it to avoid even more phone calls.

Some of this was because we didn't know the drill booking through a TA and in our defense our TA never explained it to us either.

There was alot more to this like not being able to get ahold of her with questions. Her not answering our direct questions. 

We think because of the knowledgable cruisers on CC we have this figured out here goes:

The non refundable OBC paid by Celebrity will show up on Celebrity's site and has.

The refundable OBC given by the TA will not show up on Celebrity's site but will appear on our account a day or so after boarding.

The drinks pkg shows up on Celebrity's site under order history right now.

Free gratuities Im not sure who we got those from either Celebrity or TA and does not appear on Celebritys site.

This is what I think I have figured out so far. I have the invoice from our TA and has everything correct. So will take that with us when we board. If this was explained to us in the beginning we could have understood the process.

million dollar question? Would we book with this TA again.. No! Another TA? Yes!

If Im missing something please let me know. We do not need our hands held. But do need numbers to match..

 

 

 

The free grats were compliments of Celebrity as they have 2 included perks.  Pick 2 of the following 4,

 

free drink package

$300 OBC 

free grats

free internet.

 

BTW the $300OBC is a better perk than the free grats unless you are on a 10 day or longer cruise.

 

The  free grats do show up on Celebrity’s guest booking invoice.  Ask your TA to provide you a copy. 

 

Edited June 28, 2019 by Ourusualbeach

[cruisinfanatic]

6 hours ago, johnjen said:

That is not true. I know I didn't pay 10% more for our cruises just because I didn't go through a TA. Where are you drawing up 10%? The free bottle of champagne?

A good TA typically gives you 10% of the basic cruise cost in perks such as OBC, paid tips, etc. If you didn't get that 10% in perks, you overpaid

[AlanF65]

At the bare minimum you can book with RC, transfer booking to big box store online TA and they send you a cash card worth about 8% of the cruise fare (not taxes or port fees).

 

I did this on my last cruise, submitted final payment two weeks before due and the day before final payment was due there was a $1,150 price drop. I called the big box TA, they called Royal and because it wasn't past the due date I got the $1,150 credit. @eel in our roll call encouraged me to call.

[whitshel]

Just so you can see the difference between a group rate and non group rate, this is a great example.  Not all are this good but you can certainly find them.  This is live pricing right now.

 

This is a cruise I booked my SIL on.  Granted its Celebrity but RCCL is much the same.  15 night South American REPO March 15th, 2020.

 

1st rate is non refundable deposit (celebrity's cheapest rate and no perks) same policy as RCCL

 

 

 

2nd rate is a group rate, always refundable deposits and comes with 2 perks

 

 

So $6020 or $4315 a $1700 savings plus with the group rate you get 2 perks so lets add those in there as well.  They chose the Beverage package and Gratuities.

15 nights X $55 a day =$825 + 18% Gratuity $148=$953 x 2 people= $1906

15 nights x $13 (Gratuity) =$195 x 2 people =$390

So a total of $2296 in total perks from Celebrity

Plus I gave them OBC but we wont add that in

 

Grand total 

Group rate =$4315 -Non Refundable rate $6020 +$2296 (value of the perks)=$8316

 

Travel agent just saved this client  $4000

 

Sometimes travel agents are worth a little less control.

 

 

 

 

[grandgeezer]

22 hours ago, johnjen said:

That is not true. I know I didn't pay 10% more for our cruises just because I didn't go through a TA. Where are you drawing up 10%? The free bottle of champagne?

I traded my free bottle of champagne for $1150 in refundable obc, which I will take it all home, on my upcoming fourteen day cruise in August. I have another one in October, but I'm only taking home about $900, different cruise line, cheaper price.

It's your money to spend as you see fit and owe nobody any explanation. If you decide you have to justify it, use facts not skew it to your favor. If all you got was a bottle of champagne, it's time to look for a different travel agency if saving money is of any interest to you. If not keep doing what you're doing.

If you are reading all the posts, there are a lot of people who think saving money, with little to no risk, is worthwhile.

[travelplus]

Have you thought OP to be your own Travel Agent with a Host Agency? That way you can get commission on your own trip and apply that towards the cruise. Then you are in control as the TA and as the passenger! Whenever there is a price drop you just call in using your host agency credentials!  Then you can get clients  too but eve if you just book your own cruises as a home based travel  agency then that is fine! 

[AlanF65]

On 6/27/2019 at 11:50 AM, johnjen said:

That is not true. I know I didn't pay 10% more for our cruises just because I didn't go through a TA. Where are you drawing up 10%? The free bottle of champagne?

At big box store online TA you pay the current list price unless its one of their specials, they then send you a cash card worth about 8% of the fare total after you cruise.

[LilBlackDress]

On 6/26/2019 at 8:34 AM, not-enough-cruising said:

I use a web site that allows multiple agencies to bid on and “compete” for your booking. Google and you’ll find it. Have booked over 20 cruises through them and not one single issue. 

I have used them a few times... 

The 1st time I found a TA that was so helpful and really walked me through some stuff as a novice cruiser I was as green as green can be... When I went to book my next cruise, he was no longer with that agency... 

So, I went back to "compete" and booked a 2 more that were fine, but just not the same. 
The following cruise, I went back to "compete": and I saw my original TA with a new agency!! YAY,  It was 6 years later when I found him. When I contacted him to book that cruise, the first thing he asked was if my stepson was going to be joining us again? Can't beat that customer service :) 
 

 

On 6/26/2019 at 12:57 PM, Hammergirl said:

Where does everyone find these amazing travel agents? The one I use only offers me $100 OBC, and that is in a grand suite. 

Hopefully the information above answered it... 

If not It a Cruise website that Competes for your business... 
For a GS I received $350
For OS  I received $450 and another time $500

Plus others...
With some of those I have also received a specialty dining or a gift cert to the spa (limited times) bottle of wine, chocolate covered strawberries...  

[cheeseheads4ever]

Thanks. We got gratuities, OBC and drink pkg all included so as far as one being better than the other both are great when you get both included..

[LilBlackDress]

2 hours ago, cheeseheads4ever said:

Thanks. We got gratuities, OBC and drink pkg all included so as far as one being better than the other both are great when you get both included..

When booking with an Online TA, check their ratings (some are easier to find 3rd party ratings), see if they have other agents in the office (should they go on vacation or get sick, someone else can help you) and most importantly check to see if there are any fees or change price/name etc fees. The Cruise Line may charge a fee to change name or date, just makes sure the TA does not :) 

[Ronaldo807]

4 hours ago, travelplus said:

Have you thought OP to be your own Travel Agent with a Host Agency? That way you can get commission on your own trip and apply that towards the cruise. Then you are in control as the TA and as the passenger! Whenever there is a price drop you just call in using your host agency credentials!  Then you can get clients  too but eve if you just book your own cruises as a home based travel  agency then that is fine! 

Tell me more, I'm listening...

[grandgeezer]

5 hours ago, LilBlackDress said:

I have used them a few times... 

The 1st time I found a TA that was so helpful and really walked me through some stuff as a novice cruiser I was as green as green can be... When I went to book my next cruise, he was no longer with that agency... 

So, I went back to "compete" and booked a 2 more that were fine, but just not the same. 
The following cruise, I went back to "compete": and I saw my original TA with a new agency!! YAY,  It was 6 years later when I found him. When I contacted him to book that cruise, the first thing he asked was if my stepson was going to be joining us again? Can't beat that customer service 🙂
 

 

Hopefully the information above answered it... 

If not It a Cruise website that Competes for your business... 
For a GS I received $350
For OS  I received $450 and another time $500

Plus others...
With some of those I have also received a specialty dining or a gift cert to the spa (limited times) bottle of wine, chocolate covered strawberries...  

Last October we got $400 refundable obc and dinner for two in any specialty restaurant booking a grand suite on the Allure from our online TA. It might not sound like much but the cruise only cost a total of $3100 for the two of us.