Booking with TA or directly with Royal Caribbean?

[kitiara]

A Canadian Travel Agent (TA) is offering the exact same price as Royal Caribbean for the same cruise (same cabin).

 

I would like to know what are the advantages (if any) of booking directly with Royal Caribbean instead of booking through a TA.

 

I read on this board that some people receive upgrade offers from Royal Caribean and I was wondering if that was also the case when you book with a TA (I usually book with a TA and I never received an upgrade offer!).

 

Thanks!

 

[Clarea]

You can still get upgrade offers if you book with a travel agent.

[matj2000]

You really want to go on that RC website?

[not-enough-cruising]

25 minutes ago, kitiara said:

A Canadian Travel Agent (TA) is offering the exact same price as Royal Caribbean for the same cruise (same cabin).

 

I would like to know what are the advantages (if any) of booking directly with Royal Caribbean instead of booking through a TA.

 

I read on this board that some people receive upgrade offers from Royal Caribean and I was wondering if that was also the case when you book with a TA (I usually book with a TA and I never received an upgrade offer!).

 

Thanks!

 

If the TA is offering the same bottom line price as RC directly, keep looking around 

[h20skibum]

If you are not getting something extra from your TA, you are using the wrong one.  

 

With the extra perks we got and the price difference for the exact same cabin on the cruise we just booked this week, it saved us $1,000 over what we could get on Royal’s website.

 

We have used this TA for the last 10 cruises, plus the three we have booked now, and always got a better deal than using the cruise line sites.

 

I think the only upgrade offers anyone gets anymore, are the Royal up program offers.

Edited August 31, 2019 by h20skibum

[Martini Sampler]

Another advantage of a TA is when there is a problem (Flight changes, weather, etc.), a good TA is invaluable.

[DaCruiseBug]

The cruise price is always going to be the same regardless of it you book directly with the cruiseline or with a TA. Sometimes you're able to find a cheaper cabin if one of the big TA outfits has a block of rooms saved at a lower price but that's not the norm.

 One thing you're going to get from most TAs is some type of additional incentive. Depending on how much you're spending on your cruise it can be as little as $25 in OBC or as much as thousands of $$$ in OBC. Usually you should aim for 6-9% in added value from a TA. This is something you're not going to get by booking directly with the cruiseline. If your TA isn't willing to throw anything else in...then look for a different TA. There's plenty of online TAs that show you exactly what they're throwing in extra.