Best Price - Booking in Australia

[V8Babe]

Hope someone can assist (I realise we’re not allowed to mention names but any assistance would be appreciated).

Would like to book a cruise but when I request a ‘quote’ online, from Silversea,  I get the price that is advertised - no incentive, OBC, nothing, just the price online.  I’ve had a quote from a company in the US, good cash back after travel but with the exchange rate (no-one’s fault), not worth doing.

I’ve read so many people say their TA gives all kinds of OBC and perks.  Any ideas how we can get a better deal.  Travelling with my daughter who hasn’t sailed before but told because she is in my room the ‘referral’ bonus doesn’t apply.
Hope all this makes sense, thanks, Karin

 

 

 

[ging466]

Hi Karin, I know exactly what you mean but this is what we get in Australia. When the exchange rate was good (a dim dark memory!) I used to book with a US agent and get a % back that I could use as an OBC (always considerable). Can't do that anymore. If I use a TA here, they offer me a US$50 OBC and they think it's generous! so I just continue to book with SS, but I always push for an OBC and usually get it. I'd also be interested to hear from other Aussies and how they book and whether they get anything extra.

 

Cheers

Jennifer

[Stickman1990]

There are TA's who operate in both the US and Australia and can quote in A$ so you are not worried about exchange rates. They offer rebates as well as not charging credit card fees on the transaction

I prefer to deal with my Travel Agent and get the service and the rebate something that local agents struggle with and the cruise lines won’t offer directly 
Now your challenge is to find them - good luck with that 😉

I have no idea what your daughter was told but it seems you we're  thinking of her do a referral for you - has she sailed Silversea already? If not then she can't do a referral

Edited June 19, 2022 by Stickman1990

[V8Babe]

Hi Stickman, I was referring my daughter - I’ve sailed with Silversea many times but she hasn’t.  Makes sense that we share a twin room but unless she has her own room we don’t get the ‘referral’.  So annoying.

 

Jennifer, nice to hear from you, been a long time.  Hoping we Aussies might get a bit of advice.

 

[Jonesy333]

18 hours ago, V8Babe said:

Hope someone can assist (I realise we’re not allowed to mention names but any assistance would be appreciated).

Would like to book a cruise but when I request a ‘quote’ online, from Silversea,  I get the price that is advertised - no incentive, OBC, nothing, just the price online.  I’ve had a quote from a company in the US, good cash back after travel but with the exchange rate (no-one’s fault), not worth doing.

I’ve read so many people say their TA gives all kinds of OBC and perks.  Any ideas how we can get a better deal.  Travelling with my daughter who hasn’t sailed before but told because she is in my room the ‘referral’ bonus doesn’t apply.
Hope all this makes sense, thanks, Karin

 

Hi Karin ,

excuse my ignorance OBC ????

Jacqui

 

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Jonesy333

[Stumblefoot]

3 minutes ago, Jonesy333 said:

 

On Board Credit

[Jonesy333]

Thank you 

[les37b]

23 hours ago, V8Babe said:

Hope someone can assist (I realise we’re not allowed to mention names but any assistance would be appreciated).

Would like to book a cruise but when I request a ‘quote’ online, from Silversea,  I get the price that is advertised - no incentive, OBC, nothing, just the price online.  I’ve had a quote from a company in the US, good cash back after travel but with the exchange rate (no-one’s fault), not worth doing.

I’ve read so many people say their TA gives all kinds of OBC and perks.  Any ideas how we can get a better deal.  Travelling with my daughter who hasn’t sailed before but told because she is in my room the ‘referral’ bonus doesn’t apply.
Hope all this makes sense, thanks, Karin

 

 

 

 

Personally, I'd not purchase from a US based agent.

 

I'm guessing that OZ probably gives you legal protection for your travel booking which is likely similar to what we get in the UK. (Maybe wrong, just a hunch). 

 

You would lose all those rights.

 

Of course, that's not to suggest it's still not worth a gamble if it's a great deal, but do so with this in mind.

 

I almost did make a booking a few years back. They couldn't arrange the flights as I was starting in the UK. This could also impact your travel insurance as the booking is 2 separate entities. I've read on CC where the Insurance invalidated a claim because the commencement of travel of the booking was outside of the UK for the cruise 

 

Just things to bare in mind that could affect you.

[V8Babe]

Thanks for the advice Les.  I called Silversea Sydney today (waiting for a call back), hoping that actually talking to someone rather than an online quote, might be a bit better.

 

[jollyjones]

2 minutes ago, V8Babe said:

Thanks for the advice Les.  I called Silversea Sydney today (waiting for a call back), hoping that actually talking to someone rather than an online quote, might be a bit better.

 

 

I'm not sure why you think you'll get anything better than the price on the website? Surely the price they publish is the price they mean? And want?

I always try and book onboard for the extra 5% discount, but other than that the price I have to pay is the price shown on the website, no discounts, no OBC, nothing except the published price.

(Plus the solo supplement, but that's a whole other game)

 

[frantic36]

2 hours ago, V8Babe said:

Thanks for the advice Les.  I called Silversea Sydney today (waiting for a call back), hoping that actually talking to someone rather than an online quote, might be a bit better.

 

 

I hope you get a Silversea Rep as good as the one I got when I booked my first cruise a few years ago as he was helpful and offered OBC as well. He is based in Sydney. We were using him again when there was a faint chance we could do an Australian cruise late last year. I was very sad to have to cancel due to continuing restrictions but our next Silversea cruise I will book with him even though my usual TA is very good for other cruises.

Edited June 20, 2022 by frantic36

[V8Babe]

Have used a TA in America before (when the exchange rate was good) and they were cheaper, offered OBC and sent us a cheque when we returned home.  Was very good service but with the economy as it is at the moment, it’s no longer an option.

[dawntrdr]

I book directly with SS in the US and have had several cruise consultants over the years.  When I first starting booking, the SS consultant would give me OBC, either automatically or if I asked about it at booking as an incentive.  Most recently, however, I've been told that, since SS now has included excursions in every port, they do not offer OBC any more as it is not necessary to enhance the experience.  That said, I would still inquire about it if the voyage was pricey already, since OBC comes out of the agent's commission.

[Stickman1990]

6 hours ago, dawntrdr said:

That said, I would still inquire about it if the voyage was pricey already, since OBC comes out of the agent's commission.

Spot on and that’s why although we’re all talking about OBC and Rebates it ultimately comes down to the quantum of those things, which is not really a topic for discussion on Cruise Critic 

 

Cruise lines and agencies all have rules for staff as to how much OBC can be given (and whose pocket it comes from ie the individual TA or the owners share of the commission) - I think in Australia there’s never been a tendency for Australian owned agencies to dig very deeply into their commission 

[Stickman1990]

15 hours ago, les37b said:

 

Personally, I'd not purchase from a US based agent.

 

I'm guessing that OZ probably gives you legal protection for your travel booking which is likely similar to what we get in the UK. (Maybe wrong, just a hunch). 

 

No that’s not the case in Australia - the UK consumer protection for travel bookings is much higher (and you pay for that in the fares charged) - so an Australian booking in the US in US$ would not be forgoing any protection particularly if paying by credit card which affords its own consumer protection 

 

The travel insurance comment is a furphy - you buy travel insurance policies based on your country of residence and origination point for travel and the country where you purchase the insurance - none of those things change based on where you book the travel through 

 

You are correct that a US originated booking will only provide air ex the US departure points - but that’s not really a great surprise as that’s what their pricing is based on, just as if booking in A$ any air will only be for Australian departure points (maybe NZ as well but I’m not sure on that)

 

[les37b]

6 hours ago, Stickman1990 said:

 

No that’s not the case in Australia - the UK consumer protection for travel bookings is much higher (and you pay for that in the fares charged) - so an Australian booking in the US in US$ would not be forgoing any protection particularly if paying by credit card which affords its own consumer protection 

 

The travel insurance comment is a furphy - you buy travel insurance policies based on your country of residence and origination point for travel and the country where you purchase the insurance - none of those things change based on where you book the travel through 

 

You are correct that a US originated booking will only provide air ex the US departure points - but that’s not really a great surprise as that’s what their pricing is based on, just as if booking in A$ any air will only be for Australian departure points (maybe NZ as well but I’m not sure on that)

 

 

Im rather surprised your consumer laws are more similar to the US for travel, though I did say it was a hunch and could be wrong and different to the UK. A dispute from a cruise procured direct from the US, would be dealt with under US courts, if booked in the Aus, under your courts. So again it's still a factor for consideration.

 

From a consumer perspective the point is completely valid if you are from the UK or EU, so a  valid consideration and worth mentioning to anything thinking of doing similar and purchase from the US and not American.

 

My comment on Insurance is also completely valid, since I did specify it COULD impact your insurance and serves as a reminder it's a consideration that needs to be checked and validated and potentially falling foul. Certainly my own worldwide banking policy would fall foul since it would constitute two separate bookings and the second would not start from the UK. The OP might have a similar policy or not be something they had thought about. Just because insurance can be tailored, I'm sure most people would look at the whole thing as one trip, when it can be conscued differently. Your confirmation of my point on  flights confirms it can't be any anything other than 2 bookings.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 21, 2022 by les37b

[drron29]

We use a TA here who is a Virtuoso agent. We get a $US150 OBC each OR a really nice excursion. though with the new excursions included we think it will just be the OBC for us.

Google that name. There are such agents all over Australia.

[Stickman1990]

22 minutes ago, drron29 said:

We get a $US150 OBC each OR a really nice excursion.

 

If that’s what you’re happy with then that’s good but it’s really quite low by comparison to what many other TAs offer 

 

Not quite as bad as the local Australian agent who when asked by a couple of friends who’d booked their world cruise on a luxury line we’re told “there be something for you onboard” only to discover a bottle of wine waiting for them in their cabin (even though it was an all inclusive cruise) - they left about $7,500 on the table!

[gogo65]

I get about 3% discount from my TA on SS.

[drron29]

On 6/26/2022 at 3:57 PM, Stickman1990 said:

 

If that’s what you’re happy with then that’s good but it’s really quite low by comparison to what many other TAs offer 

 

Not quite as bad as the local Australian agent who when asked by a couple of friends who’d booked their world cruise on a luxury line we’re told “there be something for you onboard” only to discover a bottle of wine waiting for them in their cabin (even though it was an all inclusive cruise) - they left about $7,500 on the table!

There's a lot more than ONC when choosing a TA.

Ours got us significant compensation from Belmond due to problems on an irrawaddy cruise.

decent compensation from SS when they mucked us around.

Arranged Replacement flights before we even heard of the Qantas total shutdown some years ago.

Gets instant refunds from airlines even though they say it will be 12 weeks.

Basically she is our travel insurance.

[les37b]

On 6/26/2022 at 6:34 AM, drron29 said:

We use a TA here who is a Virtuoso agent. We get a $US150 OBC each OR a really nice excursion. though with the new excursions included we think it will just be the OBC for us.

Google that name. There are such agents all over Australia.

 

The agents we've used here in the UK give us 10% off the cost of the cruise fare.

 

Is $150 OBC really the best offer on the table? Obviously good service is the most important thing, but that amount for what you are spending seems crazily low. Even booking direct I've negotiated more than that from my usual rep.

[Stickman1990]

12 minutes ago, drron29 said:

There's a lot more than ONC when choosing a TA...

Basically she is our travel insurance.

Of course there is  more than OBC to consider - I don’t believe anyone suggests that was not the case - but once you’ve found a TA you can trust and who looks after you turn why wouldn’t you consider the obc/rebate they offer as part of your decision criteria? 

 

Sorry I would never consider my TA to be my travel insurance - how is yours at cardio thoracic surgery and are they available 24x7? Do they cover you when your baggage goes missing 😂  

[Stickman1990]

6 minutes ago, les37b said:

Is $150 OBC really the best offer on the table? Obviously good service is the most important thing, but that amount for what you are spending seems crazily low. Even booking direct I've negotiated more than that from my usual rep.

The Australian agents have conditioned their customers to accept very little by way of benefits 

 

Whilst it will vary from country to country the amount available as OBC etc comes from the agency commission so some try and retain almost all of it rather than allocating some to their clients 

[turtlemichael]

11 minutes ago, les37b said:

 

The agents we've used here in the UK give us 10% off the cost of the cruise fare.

 

Is $150 OBC really the best offer on the table? Obviously good service is the most important thing, but that amount for what you are spending seems crazily low. Even booking direct I've negotiated more than that from my usual rep.

The USD150 per segment per person OBC comes from Virtuoso itself. Any other credits would come from the agency as we have regularly been given. But service in a crisis beats out any discounts.

 

Edited June 28, 2022 by turtlemichael

[les37b]

2 minutes ago, turtlemichael said:

The USD150 per segment per person OBC comes from Virtuoso itself. Any other credits would come from the agency as we have regularly been given. But service in a crisis beats out any discounts.

 

 

No, I agree..... And said service is the priority in my eyes too.