TA, PVP or Me?

[ray98]

The only reason I need someone else to book my cruise is if I am getting a kick back on the fare.  

 

All the information I need is out there to make my own decision and I guarantee I have more real world cruise experience than 95% of travel agents.

[beshears]

Here is MY 2 cents. 🙂 For my 18 cruises up till now, I have always used a TA close to home.  I then started reading of using a PVP.  This year, I decided to try "both" of them, they not knowing about each other, and see what they would come up with for what I was wanting, although I had done most of the homework.  I heard back from the TA and PVP in regard to what I was looking for.  The TA gave me a tad more information, but the PVP was pretty thorough with what I needed also.  That put me in a dilemma, not knowing "which" one to pick.  I then put a question out to both of them, was "waiting" to see WHO would respond first, not that it was anything major, but the PVP responded first.  That is how I decided on which one to go with. The TA normally gave me an OBC of $25 pp which was nice, and I know I will miss that.  Now I don't know if a PVP would do this, but just before boarding time, the TA a few times would move me up the ladder, with NO cost to me, which was even nicer! 🙂  I don't know if a PVP would do that or not??? I will say the PVP is making a little more money from me than the TA ever did, as I am booking for 8 people, instead of just normally 2 people.

[ceedoubleyou]

My family and i have been using a PVP for the past few years, its extremely more convenient than doing it yourself. IMO they also have more knowledge of the ship cabins, which is always a plus for me

[Organized Chaos]

12 hours ago, beshears said:

The TA normally gave me an OBC of $25 pp which was nice, and I know I will miss that.

 

I realize $25/person is better than nothing, but take solace in the thought that you're not missing out on a much larger amount that some TA's offer. Also, there's ways to make up for not getting that OBC. The discounted Carnival cards through programs like AARP, for example, can save you hundreds of dollars on your cruise fare alone. That kinda sounded like a Geico commercial. LOL

 

11 hours ago, beshears said:

 Now I don't know if a PVP would do this, but just before boarding time, the TA a few times would move me up the ladder, with NO cost to me, which was even nicer! 🙂  I don't know if a PVP would do that or not??? I will say the PVP is making a little more money from me than the TA ever did, as I am booking for 8 people, instead of just normally 2 people.

 

Could you elaborate a little more on this, please? What do you mean by being "moved up the ladder" before boarding? If you're talking about boarding earlier, there's no way to do that with Carnival unless you're a priority passenger. Platinum or Diamond level, staying in a suite, or by purchasing Faster To The Fun. Or be a part of a wedding party. Those are the only ways to board earlier than general boarding. A TA can't grant any of those things.

[Yellowjacket1799]

My suggestion is do it yourself. I’ve used all three methods over the years and suggest a TA if you have a prior relationship with them. If you’re only cruising and not doing other types of trips then they are not needed. 

 

PVP’s IMO are a complete waste of time. Maybe it’s just my PVP based upon the comments I’ve read in this thread. I’ve had the same one for years and he isn’t worth a dime. I’ve caught him in several bold face lies over the years, to the point it was entertaining. And I can’t tell you how many times he’s called and left me a voicemail about him needing me to call him back quick because “he’s finally got that special promotion for me but I need to book quick!”....days after I had logged in and booked myself. If he took ten seconds to verify if I was already booked he could’ve spent his time on other prospects instead of wasting it leaving me a voicemail. 

Edited September 17, 2019 by Yellowjacket1799

[n6uqqq]

43 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

Just to clarify, I wasn't implying that there's no advantage to using a TA, just that beshears shouldn't be too down about losing $25/person. I've seen a lot of people who say they get upwards of $200 OBC through their TA, so if hers was only offering $25/person, there's other ways to make up for that and then some. I had been following beshears posts for a month or two now and am familiar with her story. The company her long-time TA works for rarely handles Carnival cruises anymore (for reasons unknown), so in that situation, my advice would be to avoid booking a Carnival cruise through them. Whatever the reason is, they're no longer familiar with Carnival, so I wouldn't want them handling my cruise.

 

I understand. I wouldn't lose sleep over 25 bucks either 😉 . There is more than one way to skin a cat🤣.