Booking new cruise while on board.

[hctraveler]

Was wondering if there is any advantage to booking a new cruise while on board and what they may be.  Also can my TA take over the booking?

[Flatbush Flyer]

2 hours ago, hctraveler said:

Was wondering if there is any advantage to booking a new cruise while on board and what they may be.  Also can my TA take over the booking?

Really depends on which cruise line.

For example, on Oceania, we usually only  "book onboard." We get a discounted price, current SBC, a "price drop" match guarantee and 30 day window post-cruise to transfer to a TA (we shop our purchase around to top selling TAs who belong to O's Connoisseurs Club).

[Shmoo here]

3 hours ago, hctraveler said:

Was wondering if there is any advantage to booking a new cruise while on board and what they may be.  Also can my TA take over the booking?

Generally, booking onboard comes with different perks.  It varies by cruiseline what they offer.  Some will give Onboard credit on the future cruise, some offer discounted fares.  Others offer room upgrades.

 

Most cruiselines have a time limit that you must transfer the booking to your TA by.  For example, I believe Princess requires such a transfer must be done within 60 days of booking.  And Disney's time frame is 30 days.  Again, it varies.

 

 

[Underwatr]

If your TA booked the cruise you're on there is an option to automatically refer the new booking to the same agent. Otherwise you need to arrange it after you get home.

My TA reprices the onboard booking with whatever discounts or other perks he normally provides in addition to the benefits I get by booking onboard.

[marco]

I  guess it depends on the line.  The last 3 cruises we've been on (two were on the same line), the price and perks were the same as those we got from our TA after we came home and booked the next cruise with them.  And we got a couple more TA perks.  In these instances, we saw no benefit by booking on board. And when you're on board, you're kind of a captive audience  for that line, when you're back home and talking with a TA, sometimes there's a better option on a different line......be it price, perks, itinerary or date.  

[RocketMan275]

We don't book cruises on board but we do buy what Holland calls Future Cruise Credits.  Cost $100 per person.  We get one to three for each of us.  We can use them in lieu of placing a deposit plus they come with $50 PP PFCC.  IOW, we pay $200 for two FCC.  We book a seven day cruise through our travel agent and do not have to put down a deposit and we get $100 OBC.

 

If you don't use the FCC the funds are returned to you after I think 3 or 4 years.  

 

You get them through the same person who books cruises on board.

Edited July 8, 2019 by RocketMan275

[SRF]

We have booked on board with RCi several times.  We get the perks that RCI offers, and then the perks when transferred to the TA.

 

And my experience on RCI is, you have to take specific steps to NOT automatically transfer the cruise to the same TA listed on the cruise you are on when you book.

[yorkshirephil]

We have only ever booked onboard with P&O when new cruises have been released and the price and OBC were good. The booking has always been transferred to whichever TA we had booked the cruise we were on with, we have then requested that the TA give us some discount/OBC to leave the booking with them.

 

 

[Ashland]

With RCI you get a discounted deposit ($200.00 per cabin JS category & below). You have a choice of booking a specific cruise at that time for OBC or if you go home and book within 2 months you'll also receive the OBC. This booking if not used in a year will expire.

 

I loved and miss the old NCC or FCC with their OBC and no expiration date....I used to buy 3 pp on every cruise. I only bought one on this last cruise because they had starting allowing you to purchase with no pre-determined sail date.

[MBP&O2/O]

My next cruise in October.

I am hoping that by then the company will have released their next set of schedules.

Assuming they have I will book on board and get a 5% discount.

As to whether I pass the booking onto my TA? ... Unlikely ... it will depend of what flight deal I dan get with the cruise company.

If it offers a good one then bringing a TA into it is a waste ... if It isn’ then I will sort my own flights as, in this case, i have restricted flight options and my TA doesn’t work with my airline of choice. 

I will speak to all parties before I go and have all facts and figures to hand before I book though 😀

[Shmoo here]

On 7/8/2019 at 6:42 AM, marco said:

I  guess it depends on the line.  The last 3 cruises we've been on (two were on the same line), the price and perks were the same as those we got from our TA after we came home and booked the next cruise with them.  And we got a couple more TA perks.  In these instances, we saw no benefit by booking on board. And when you're on board, you're kind of a captive audience  for that line, when you're back home and talking with a TA, sometimes there's a better option on a different line......be it price, perks, itinerary or date.  

Generally, if an onboard booking has perks, and your TA also offers perks on the same booking, you can get both.  If they are the same perks (say, $100 OBC per person) you double your OBC by booking onboard and then transferring to your TA once home, or putting your TAs name on the onboard booking.

 

At least, that's been my experience.

[clo]

6 hours ago, MBP&O2/O said:

my TA doesn’t work with my airline of choice. 

Is that unusual?  I've never heard of it.  Does s/he say why?  And we booked our own flights cause I had a specific airport and airline that I far prefer when going to Rio.  (Houston and United).

[MBP&O2/O]

CLO ... Using a TA we booked a cruise some 15 months in advance .... when the time came to sort flights I told the TA what I could buy and asked them to beat it ... they said they did not have a contract to work with that airline so could not get ‘preferred status flights’ as they could with BA amongst others. They said that even their best offering was well  in excess of what I could get booking direct and advised me to ‘go for it’.

My final bill was some 30% below anything they could offer.

As an aside .... I looked at a cruise to Asia that had economy fares included. There was an offer of £1800 per person, per journey to upgrade to BC. 

It was unclear if  “Journey” meant ‘per leg’  or ‘per return’.... I suspect it is per leg ... ergo £7200 to upgrade!

Had I elected to sort my own flights I would have had a ‘refund’ of circa £400. 

BC return flights via Amsterdam were going for £2400 pp ... a lot LOT cheaper!!!

Best case scenario is that booking  with the cruise company would have saved me £200 .... but I would have to take what flights and routing they offered ... so, to fly when I chose to do so, on the route that I wanted, I would have to pay a deviation of err err about £200.

From my point of view very much swings and roundabouts.

We elected not to book the Asia cruise and instead are looking at saving for a bit longer to go to the Galapagos in 2021 so I will be looking at my flight options later on as The cruise company's  t&c’s regarding ‘own flights’ are quite complex. My plan is to ask for an official quote using all options and then I can play it by ear. 

If that makes sense 🤔

 

[SRF]

On 7/11/2019 at 8:13 PM, Shmoo here said:

Generally, if an onboard booking has perks, and your TA also offers perks on the same booking, you can get both.  If they are the same perks (say, $100 OBC per person) you double your OBC by booking onboard and then transferring to your TA once home, or putting your TAs name on the onboard booking.

 

At least, that's been my experience.

 

Yeap.

 

Booked a 12 night on board in a suite.  $600 OBC from the booking, another $400-$500 from the TA.