Travel Agent or HAL Personal Cruise Consultant

[srndpte]

We have cruised with HAL in the past using a travel agent that puts together group deals of their choice.  But we want to book a cruise for 2024 on HAL and want to find out if we can get better prices with getting our own travel agent or using the Personal Cruise Consultant that HAL has assigned to us when we get emails from them.  We have not done that before and would like advice as to what others have found to be most beneficial in booking cruises.  And will the HAL Personal Cruise Consultants actually give the best offers?  Thanks!

[Mary229]

The rates are pretty much the same however you book.  Some of the big agencies offer perks out of their own pocket but rates don’t really vary.  

[Florida_gal_50]

You won’t get any discounts with a pcc but you will have control of your booking.  I don’t like having to get others do things for me.  If there are upsells they come directly to me and I can deal with them immediately.

[rodndonna]

5 minutes ago, Florida_gal_50 said:

You won’t get any discounts with a pcc but you will have control of your booking.  I don’t like having to get others do things for me.  If there are upsells they come directly to me and I can deal with them immediately.

 

Do you mean you book direct yourself on HAL to help ensure you get upsells direct or do you mean you get them through direct via a PCC but not necessarily a TA?

 

[Hlitner]

Recently returned from a HAL voyage and a few days later, HAL put over $1300 credit onto our credit card.  Why?  Because we used a decent cruise agency that gave us so much On Board Credit (refundable) that we could not use it all on a 42 day cruise.  Not only did that OBC cover all of our on board account, but the $1300+ that was remaining came back to us.  If we had booked directly with HAL, we would not have had that money.  I have no idea what "keeping control" means, but I do know the meaning of cash.

 

Hank

[kazu]

5 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

Do you mean you book direct yourself on HAL to help ensure you get upsells direct or do you mean you get them through direct via a PCC but not necessarily a TA?

 

 

Not the person you are quoting but if you use a PCC/HAL the upsell offers come directly to you.  If you use a TA they go to them and they then contact you.  My TA is pretty proactive and usually reaches out before the offers if she knows I am interested in one.

[FlaMariner]

I've priced both (TA & PCC) over the years and the big internet TA ALWAYS has the lower price.

 

Many times the fare is the same but the OBC is more w/the TA.

 

As far as getting upsells, that was a struggle with the TA prior to the recent unpleasantness/Covid, we now get them quickly via email.  

 

The price difference is usually not that much but with us, every travel $$$ counts.

 

Also, I do prefer to use an "agent" for such an expensive purchase/contract. 

 

[alyssamma]

5 hours ago, Mary229 said:

The rates are pretty much the same however you book.  Some of the big agencies offer perks out of their own pocket but rates don’t really vary.  

I have found a good TA can get a lower price often...and when they can't, OBC always makes up for the difference.

 

My TA will typically be 10% cheaper that the HAL rate.

[mightycruisequeen]

In my experience, a good TA gives much better prices than PCCs, and the OBC from the TA is just icing on the cake.

 

[jayhawk66]

I book with the big box warehouse club whose name starts with a “c”. We get back in the form of a gift card usable at their stores an amount equal to almost 10% of the cruise cost. A great deal if you regularly shop with them. They don’t pass on upsell opportunities with any regularity however if that’s important to you. I was able to book Club Orange and stateroom upgrade directly with Hal and also book air through flight ease directly.

[DaveOKC]

Question for those using a TA or online agency - do you get a discount or OBC with them IF you are booking a casino deal (free or deeply discounted cabin)?

 

[Tampa Girl]

I received neither OBC or a further discount from a TA on a recent casino cruise.  And when I booked a deeply discounted cruise recently for another itinerary, through HAL, I believe that the fine print specifically provided for no OBC's or further discounts.  

[Mary229]

2 hours ago, alyssamma said:

I have found a good TA can get a lower price often...and when they can't, OBC always makes up for the difference.

 

My TA will typically be 10% cheaper that the HAL rate.

I use an agent.  The fares are carved in stone.  As I said above there are other perks they can offer like kicking back commission or other perks.  But the question was fares 

[rodndonna]

4 minutes ago, Mary229 said:

I use an agent.  The fares are carved in stone.  As I said above there are other perks they can offer like kicking back commission or other perks.  But the question was fares 

 

There is only one other potential factor with regards to fares which is currency rate offered (non-US bookings).  Someone else posted on here on another thread, that they were unable to get the current very favourable Canadian currency conversion rate HAL was using with their TA, so they booked direct with HAL. Not sure how common it is for those who book non-US currency, but worth considering for non-US folks. The difference in conversion rate last week in that discussion in the vicinity of 5%.

[alwaysfrantic]

I have an online only travel agency.  If I have a question I send an email and get an answer quickly.  When I want to book dining, excursions, see itinerary, order gifts, I do that directly via the HAL website.  I’m not sure what control of my booking another person mentioned means.  
 

 

[Mary229]

10 minutes ago, alwaysfrantic said:

I have an online only travel agency.  If I have a question I send an email and get an answer quickly.  When I want to book dining, excursions, see itinerary, order gifts, I do that directly via the HAL website.  I’m not sure what control of my booking another person mentioned means.  
 

 

She means upsells, fare changes, payments and a few other incidentals that have to be managed by the agent.  

[ontheweb]

3 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Recently returned from a HAL voyage and a few days later, HAL put over $1300 credit onto our credit card.  Why?  Because we used a decent cruise agency that gave us so much On Board Credit (refundable) that we could not use it all on a 42 day cruise.  Not only did that OBC cover all of our on board account, but the $1300+ that was remaining came back to us.  If we had booked directly with HAL, we would not have had that money.  I have no idea what "keeping control" means, but I do know the meaning of cash.

 

Hank

Yes, control. So, if a problem arises, they can call HAL (or for that matter any other cruise line), and say "I have control of my booking, immediately fix the problem." Without control, they would have to call their TA who may very well do lots and lots of business with the cruise line, not just their booking, and have him or her advocate for them. Surely this "control" is worth a lot of money! 🤣🤣🤣

[kazu]

49 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

 

There is only one other potential factor with regards to fares which is currency rate offered (non-US bookings).  Someone else posted on here on another thread, that they were unable to get the current very favourable Canadian currency conversion rate HAL was using with their TA, so they booked direct with HAL. Not sure how common it is for those who book non-US currency, but worth considering for non-US folks. The difference in conversion rate last week in that discussion in the vicinity of 5%.

 

I normally book in Canadian dollars and my TA accommodates that as well as the special rates.  She books in U.S. or Cdn which is as real plus for me.

[rodndonna]

4 minutes ago, kazu said:

 

I normally book in Canadian dollars and my TA accommodates that as well as the special rates.  She books in U.S. or Cdn which is as real plus for me.

 

I haven't checked with any Canadian TA's lately but is your TA giving you the current HAL rate at 77cents to the US dollar? It's a great deal based on the current exchange rate. The previous poster said their TA was unable to match that rate, but maybe some TA's will.

 

I was surprised as had I assumed that whatever exchange rate HAL used to price cruises into Canadian was then extended as Canadian pricing through TA's. Maybe they were booking a US based agent that also books in Canadian dollars?

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I use an agent.  The fares are carved in stone.  As I said above there are other perks they can offer like kicking back commission or other perks.  But the question was fares 

The fares aren't carved in stone 😀

 

Like.i said, my TA is normally 10% less than HAL.

 

The fare they have to pay HAL is different that what I have to pay. Part of that difference they give in a fare reduction. Part they give in OBC.

[Florida_gal_50]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Recently returned from a HAL voyage and a few days later, HAL put over $1300 credit onto our credit card.  Why?  Because we used a decent cruise agency that gave us so much On Board Credit (refundable) that we could not use it all on a 42 day cruise.  Not only did that OBC cover all of our on board account, but the $1300+ that was remaining came back to us.  If we had booked directly with HAL, we would not have had that money.  I have no idea what "keeping control" means, but I do know the meaning of cash.

 

Hank

Are you getting that same $1300 a seven day cruise?  What are you struggling with for the control aspect?  I thought it was straight forward.  I’ve gotten very little obc using a ta.  Zero for a price reduction.

Edited May 26, 2023 by Florida_gal_50

[bennybear]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Yes, control. So, if a problem arises, they can call HAL (or for that matter any other cruise line), and say "I have control of my booking, immediately fix the problem." Without control, they would have to call their TA who may very well do lots and lots of business with the cruise line, not just their booking, and have him or her advocate for them. Surely this "control" is worth a lot of money! 🤣🤣🤣

It has been very nice to have a huge agency go to bat for us on a couple of occasions.  If I had booked directly I would have had nowhere near the clout.   Not to mention the rebates. 

[kazu]

1 hour ago, rodndonna said:

 

I haven't checked with any Canadian TA's lately but is your TA giving you the current HAL rate at 77cents to the US dollar? It's a great deal based on the current exchange rate. The previous poster said their TA was unable to match that rate, but maybe some TA's will.

 

I was surprised as had I assumed that whatever exchange rate HAL used to price cruises into Canadian was then extended as Canadian pricing through TA's. Maybe they were booking a US based agent that also books in Canadian dollars?

 

My TA is in the United States - books in U.S. or Canadian.  Her Canadian rates are the same as HAL’s and she throws in some nice OBC. OBC works out well for me since I book in Canadian dollars and I get OBC in USD $ 😉 

 

I completely agree with @bennybear having an advocate work on our behalf.  It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it’s nice having someone else with the clout her agency has helping. 🙂 

 

 

[Tampa Girl]

1 hour ago, alyssamma said:

The fares aren't carved in stone 😀

 

Like.i said, my TA is normally 10% less than HAL.

 

The fare they have to pay HAL is different that what I have to pay. Part of that difference they give in a fare reduction. Part they give in OBC.

 

I am happy for you if you are still getting 10% fare reduction post pandemic.  Prior to Covid, we always got a 10%, or thereabouts, but now it is in the form of OBC and/or post-cruise "checks."  I keep hearing from one TA after another that HAL has  forbidden the TA's from reducing HAL's fares. Don't know if that is accurate, but I do know that I am not getting the pre-pandemic fare reductions from our TA's.

[ontheweb]

5 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Recently returned from a HAL voyage and a few days later, HAL put over $1300 credit onto our credit card.  Why?  Because we used a decent cruise agency that gave us so much On Board Credit (refundable) that we could not use it all on a 42 day cruise.  Not only did that OBC cover all of our on board account, but the $1300+ that was remaining came back to us.  If we had booked directly with HAL, we would not have had that money.  I have no idea what "keeping control" means, but I do know the meaning of cash.

 

Hank

I've thought more about this. On your thread about your cruise mostly in Japan on the Westerdam, you spoke of numerous overcharges for drinks and charges for excursions that should have already been paid for in your package. You had to go to the front desk or the excursion desk to get these straightened out. Now if you had booked directly without a TA, you would have had CONTROL. With CONTROL, all you would have had to do was stamp your feet and shout out I HAVE CONTROL, you then could have using your CONTROL, made all these overcharges disappear without having to do anything else.

 

Now do you understand the power of CONTROL! 🤦‍♂️🤣