Booking Direct With RC

[Laszlo]

Sorry for the question I'm sure this has been asked a million times in the past. My wife and I have done 11 NCL cruises, and most of them have been booked with a TA. By booking with a TA we get OBC, discounts on beverage packages etc....I found our TA does not offer the same deals with RC. So at the end of the day does make sense to book with RC direct

[Jasukkie]

It depends. If you can find a good enough deal, book through a TA, but be aware you will lose the ability to represent yourself directly with the cruise line. For me, if I can find something that saves me $200 or so, I will go with a TA. It does add a layer of communication to any transactions with your booking that may be a problem for some people. 

[Biker19]

34 minutes ago, Laszlo said:

I found our TA does not offer the same deals with RC.

Other TAs do.

[JerseyGem]

We  cruise with both RCL and NCL. We usually use one of the many on-line TA's but find that fewer "deals" are offered for RCL cruises than for NCL cruises.  And lately we've had issues with our RCL cruises (FCC, etc.) that are frustrating to resolve because the TA is the middleman.  I like Jasukkie's idea of having an amount in mind- whether to go with the TA to save $XXX or to deal directly with RCL. 

[livingonthebeach]

8 minutes ago, JerseyGem said:

We  cruise with both RCL and NCL. We usually use one of the many on-line TA's but find that fewer "deals" are offered for RCL cruises than for NCL cruises.  And lately we've had issues with our RCL cruises (FCC, etc.) that are frustrating to resolve because the TA is the middleman.  I like Jasukkie's idea of having an amount in mind- whether to go with the TA to save $XXX or to deal directly with RCL. 

 

I agree with this as well. If you get a good deal, don't hit any snags and have a good TA, it's the best way to go. The reverse - not so much. During lockdown I had a problem I couldn't get resolved due to an unresponsive TA -  it was very frustrating to say the least. That said, there are many wonderful TAs out there, including on this forum, I was just unlucky and picked the wrong one. Until I find a good one that has great deals, I will continue to book direct with RCI - JMTCW.

[Laszlo]

Thanks All!

[billslowsky]

1 hour ago, Laszlo said:

Sorry for the question I'm sure this has been asked a million times in the past. My wife and I have done 11 NCL cruises, and most of them have been booked with a TA. By booking with a TA we get OBC, discounts on beverage packages etc....I found our TA does not offer the same deals with RC. So at the end of the day does make sense to book with RC direct

NCL and RC have different pricing models which might allow the TA to "discount" the NCL beverage package (the price of which is mostly in the base fare, just the gratuity) where RC doesn't.

 

I've booked direct with both.  If the TA gives you nothing, there's no big advantage unless you like having your luggage tags printed for you.

[smokeybandit]

Getting pricing perks shouldn't be what makes you decide to use a TA

[flamingos]

I do a dummy booking, then send it to my TA who can usually match or beat that price. The one time she could not, with HAL, she let me know and I booked on my own.

 

Before we started with her, I booked all my own cruises directly with RCI and had no issues.

[deliver42]

If you won't get anything extra from your TA, then book direct. That way you cantalk to anyone there and make changes or get price adjustments by yourself.

[alexgtp]

i normally book with a TA due to the added perks. For my most recent trip in April i booked directly with RC since my TA had no perks to offer. TBH i really saw no difference.

[Morecruisesplz]

13 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Sorry for the question I'm sure this has been asked a million times in the past. My wife and I have done 11 NCL cruises, and most of them have been booked with a TA. By booking with a TA we get OBC, discounts on beverage packages etc....I found our TA does not offer the same deals with RC. So at the end of the day does make sense to book with RC direct

Find the right TA and you will always pay less, have more cabin choices and have an experienced travel expert to advocate for you in case anything goes wrong. (No, I am not a TA. )

[Morecruisesplz]

12 hours ago, JerseyGem said:

We  cruise with both RCL and NCL. We usually use one of the many on-line TA's but find that fewer "deals" are offered for RCL cruises than for NCL cruises.  And lately we've had issues with our RCL cruises (FCC, etc.) that are frustrating to resolve because the TA is the middleman.  I like Jasukkie's idea of having an amount in mind- whether to go with the TA to save $XXX or to deal directly with RCL. 

You can also make your best deal with RC diect then tranfer to a TA for more OBC. 

[davekathy]

10 minutes ago, fredmdcruisers said:

You can also make your best deal with RC diect then tranfer to a TA for more OBC. 

I do that plus get paid gratuities along with additional OBC. 

[lenquixote66]

13 hours ago, Laszlo said:

Sorry for the question I'm sure this has been asked a million times in the past. My wife and I have done 11 NCL cruises, and most of them have been booked with a TA. By booking with a TA we get OBC, discounts on beverage packages etc....I found our TA does not offer the same deals with RC. So at the end of the day does make sense to book with RC direct

We booked our last RCI cruise with RCI direct and it was great.The rep we spoke to told us that it was his first day on the job and he wanted to impress his boss.

Coincidentally we share the same surname .