Work with travel agency or NCL consultant

[cb2367]

Over the years that I've been cruising with NCL, I've typically had an NCL consultant to call with questions, rescheduling, or booking a new trip. Those consultants have come and gone from NCL.

 

I got in contact with NCL before my last sailing on Prima to schedule what I thought would be my next cruise for April of this year. I ended up having to cancel. About a month or so ago, I got a call from the same consultant I spoke with previously informing me about a promo that NCL was offering.

 

I spoke with the consultant for a while and booked my next trip. Once the confirmation was sent, I didn't hear from them again despite calling and leaving messages to ask about details on my current reservation.

 

Just wondering if most here work with a travel agent or just call into NCL and speak with whoever to book or ask questions about their reservation.

[BirdTravels]

You can always just call the general reservation number to ask questions or get assistance with your reservations. 

 

A big travel agency (like the warehouse store that sells cheap hot dogs), will be the same. A general reservation number to call with questions. However, they will give you additional onboard perks and cash back in the form of a gift card if you book through them. 

 

In either case, there is no need to depend on a specific agent.

 

In general, the cruise consultant that you bought from got their sales and they are off to hustle other guests to book through them. 

[YVRteacher]

For years we used a travel agent but when I took over our cruise booking and planning I switched to an NCL cruise consultant.  The person I use is outstanding and has gone above and beyond.

[MeHeartCruising]

Keep in mind, cruise line personal cruise consultants are, like everywhere else, just employees who come and go.  They get better paying jobs, they retire, they get fired, etc.  They are corporate employees.  They don’t own their own travel agency.   Just because you never hear from them again, doesn’t always mean they just got their commission and moved on to another customer.  They may no longer be employed by the corporation. 

Edited February 25, 2023 by MeHeartCruising

[www3traveler]

I have had 37 cruises with Norwegian, ALL booked through a local travel agency.  My agent knows knows me well enough to know what I like and do not like.

[CruzCra-Z]

51 minutes ago, cb2367 said:

Over the years that I've been cruising with NCL, I've typically had an NCL consultant to call with questions, rescheduling, or booking a new trip. Those consultants have come and gone from NCL.

 

I got in contact with NCL before my last sailing on Prima to schedule what I thought would be my next cruise for April of this year. I ended up having to cancel. About a month or so ago, I got a call from the same consultant I spoke with previously informing me about a promo that NCL was offering.

 

I spoke with the consultant for a while and booked my next trip. Once the confirmation was sent, I didn't hear from them again despite calling and leaving messages to ask about details on my current reservation.

 

Just wondering if most here work with a travel agent or just call into NCL and speak with whoever to book or ask questions about their reservation.

I've always booked everything myself but recently started using a TA.  Only because she gives me OBC and always can get me a lower price than what I can find due to her agency group rates offered. Good luck and have fun booking whichever you choose.  

[itsnotjustme]

I use a Travel Agent because:

 

1) The TA company sometimes offers perks like free pre-paid gratuities or OBC that I do not see going straight through NCL

 

2) The TA offers frequent flyer miles for every dollar of cruise fare (but not port fees, taxes, gratuities).  For a balcony or above, it is usually 7 miles/$ which can be significant.  I am often using FF miles to get to/from my cruise embarkation/disembarkation port.  Nerdwallet wallet puts a 1.3 cents/mile value on these, which would be like a 10% discount, but I often get up to 2 cents/mile value by booking flights well in advance.

 

3) I like the agent we have used for many years.  She now knows me and gives good advice on cabin choice.  She does not complain when I rebook 3 times to keep getting better prices and/or perks. She will work to get answers to my questions if she does not know it.  She has even called post-cruise to ask about it.

Edited February 25, 2023 by itsnotjustme

[thespiritmovesme]

I have a good relationship with an NCL PCC. He responds to my emails & phone calls well within a reasonable time frame.

 

 

[debdel]

I learned the hard way not to use their PCC employees. As a first time cruiser last year, I tried to book a cruise to Alaska by myself and after having a bit of difficulty with the airline reservations I reached out to a PCC. I explained to him I also wanted to do the land tour after the cruise, and expressly told him I wanted to go to Denali. He brought up the same trip I had been looking at and trying to book, which was a northbound trip which included a tour of Denali. The price I was charged was the same I had been looking at, but I had no idea the land tour was not included in my trip, but rather 3 nights at the Hilton Hotel in Anchorage (which was a dump) for about $430 a night. I called twice to ask about the land tour itinerary and was told the information would be given to me at the hotel. Being new to this whole thing, it never dawned on me he had booked the wrong thing, and didn't figure this out until the night before disembarkment. I missed out on some of the things offered on that tour (train ride, nature center, bus ride into Denali), and paid almost $700 to get to Denali between a rental car, gas, hotel room, and tickets to the park. I tried to cancel 2 nights of the hotel, and the customer service center told me they would then cancel my flight home if I did that without receiving a refund. Numerous phone calls and emails, a registered letter sent to headquarters have all gone unanswered. It has been six months and all I got was an email saying they were looking into it. As an inexperienced first time cruiser, I am extremely disappointed in the way this has been handled and doubt I will be cruising with NCL ever again.

[phillygwm]

6 hours ago, cb2367 said:

Just wondering if most here work with a travel agent or just call into NCL and speak with whoever to book or ask questions about their reservation.

I work with NCL but that's because I'm Casinos At Sea.  If I weren't, I'd probably look at a TA first because sometimes they'll get you OBC or other perks.  Nothing inherently WRONG with an NCL PCC; friends have used them and have been pleased and there are people on here who swear by theirs. 

 

Either way, you need to be careful.  A bad TA or PCC can lead to a bad cruise experience as some of the comments above illustrate.

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

I got $200 OBC by booking my recent NCL cruise through an agency. That would not be available of I booked through NCL. Given that agencies are free to use, I honestly don't understand why anyone books directly through NCL. 

[jimsig]

11 hours ago, debdel said:

I learned the hard way not to use their PCC employees. As a first time cruiser last year, I tried to book a cruise to Alaska by myself and after having a bit of difficulty with the airline reservations I reached out to a PCC. I explained to him I also wanted to do the land tour after the cruise, and expressly told him I wanted to go to Denali. He brought up the same trip I had been looking at and trying to book, which was a northbound trip which included a tour of Denali. The price I was charged was the same I had been looking at, but I had no idea the land tour was not included in my trip, but rather 3 nights at the Hilton Hotel in Anchorage (which was a dump) for about $430 a night. I called twice to ask about the land tour itinerary and was told the information would be given to me at the hotel. Being new to this whole thing, it never dawned on me he had booked the wrong thing, and didn't figure this out until the night before disembarkment. I missed out on some of the things offered on that tour (train ride, nature center, bus ride into Denali), and paid almost $700 to get to Denali between a rental car, gas, hotel room, and tickets to the park. I tried to cancel 2 nights of the hotel, and the customer service center told me they would then cancel my flight home if I did that without receiving a refund. Numerous phone calls and emails, a registered letter sent to headquarters have all gone unanswered. It has been six months and all I got was an email saying they were looking into it. As an inexperienced first time cruiser, I am extremely disappointed in the way this has been handled and doubt I will be cruising with NCL ever again.

Check out https://www.elliott.org/  he is a travel advocate and also shows you how to advocate for yourself.  He lists contact emails for actual people at NCL.  Make sure to follow his advice on the steps to take, such as working from the bottom up and not using threats even as simple as I will never use your company again.  If you can not get a resolution they will sometimes take action on your behalf.

[BirdTravels]

In August 2022, we sailed on the Breakaway. On embarkation day, we were seated next to a table with a Senior NCL Personal Cruise Consultant and a few of his friends. He was all decked out in a NCL logo polo shirt and had a sea sick patch behind his ear. He excitedly bragged to his friends that he and been a PCC for 6 years and was now a "Senior" PCC with NCL. As the discussion continued, he told his table that while he was a Senior PCC, this was the very first time he was ever on a cruise ship. And that he he had a long list of things his clients would talk about/ask about, and was anxious to learn about all the things. 

[RocketMan275]

47 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

In August 2022, we sailed on the Breakaway. On embarkation day, we were seated next to a table with a Senior NCL Personal Cruise Consultant and a few of his friends. He was all decked out in a NCL logo polo shirt and had a sea sick patch behind his ear. He excitedly bragged to his friends that he and been a PCC for 6 years and was now a "Senior" PCC with NCL. As the discussion continued, he told his table that while he was a Senior PCC, this was the very first time he was ever on a cruise ship. And that he he had a long list of things his clients would talk about/ask about, and was anxious to learn about all the things. 

One of the things I like about my TA is her personal experience on multiple cruise lines.

Very few PCC will have extensive cruising experience and certainly not on multiple lines.

[BostonGal35]

19 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

For years we used a travel agent but when I took over our cruise booking and planning I switched to an NCL cruise consultant.  The person I use is outstanding and has gone above and beyond.

i wonder if we have the same one?  MZ?

[destar]

13 hours ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

I got $200 OBC by booking my recent NCL cruise through an agency. That would not be available of I booked through NCL. Given that agencies are free to use, I honestly don't understand why anyone books directly through NCL. 

I haven't found a TA that can offer me anything more than what the cruise line offers on their website. For that reason I do my own bookings.

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

8 minutes ago, destar said:

I haven't found a TA that can offer me anything more than what the cruise line offers on their website. For that reason I do my own bookings.

You're not looking hard enough, and you're missing out on lots of potentially good perks. The TA agency I use (can't name them here) gets me lower rates than NCL and better perks.

[RocketMan275]

6 minutes ago, destar said:

I haven't found a TA that can offer me anything more than what the cruise line offers on their website. For that reason I do my own bookings.

It takes work or luck to find one.  A lady on CC was talking about her TA and she had a link to her facebook account where I found her email.  She referred me to the TA, a small business, I use now.

CC forbids naming TA.  I've always suspected that has something to do with the fact that CC gets revenue from agents advertising on CC.

There are a variety of ways to locate a good ta. 

One is too talk to your fellow passengers.

Another is to consider any relationships you might have.

An example is the big box store with the cheap hotdogs.

Another is many professional organizations offer travel options.

The worst way is to do internet searches as many cruise lines forbid agents to advertise prices lower than what the cruise lines advertise.  IOW, don't waste  your time with the big internet travel agencies.

You need to work up a list and start calling them direct.  Ask what perks they offer.  Hang up if they don't sweeten the offer enough.

The agent I use discounts by 8% what the cruise lines charge.

[destar]

Thank you Rocketman, will have to research TA and see what they can offer. I do get the 10% military discount and the shareholder benefit, Im sure I can have them apply it to any reservation.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

In August 2022, we sailed on the Breakaway. On embarkation day, we were seated next to a table with a Senior NCL Personal Cruise Consultant and a few of his friends. He was all decked out in a NCL logo polo shirt and had a sea sick patch behind his ear. He excitedly bragged to his friends that he and been a PCC for 6 years and was now a "Senior" PCC with NCL. As the discussion continued, he told his table that while he was a Senior PCC, this was the very first time he was ever on a cruise ship. And that he he had a long list of things his clients would talk about/ask about, and was anxious to learn about all the things. 

Good that he wants to learn; sad that he could be doing this 6 years and received senior status without ever being on a cruise. About time he learned enough to answer questions.

[ontheweb]

2 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

One of the things I like about my TA is her personal experience on multiple cruise lines.

Very few PCC will have extensive cruising experience and certainly not on multiple lines.

I could have written the same post only changing her to his.

[wcook]

Just me, but use a TA or a cruise consultant. Just book online and that’s it. 

[RocketMan275]

13 minutes ago, wcook said:

Just me, but use a TA or a cruise consultant. Just book online and that’s it. 

Even though you're giving up a significant amount of money?

Eight percent discount can be a chunk of change.

[debdel]

12 hours ago, jimsig said:

Check out https://www.elliott.org/  he is a travel advocate and also shows you how to advocate for yourself.  He lists contact emails for actual people at NCL.  Make sure to follow his advice on the steps to take, such as working from the bottom up and not using threats even as simple as I will never use your company again.  If you can not get a resolution they will sometimes take action on your behalf.

Thank you for this information. I will give it a try.

 

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

9 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

Even though you're giving up a significant amount of money?

Eight percent discount can be a chunk of change.

I know, right? Or there's other perks like free gratuities. One of the big mass market travel sites is running a promotion right now with free gratuities for 2 on 7 night+ sailings. You don't get that if you book with NCL directly. Even without that, it's FREE, and wouldn't you rather have someone wait on hold listening to NCL's hold music for 2 hours instead of having to do it yourself?