Travel Agent Deposits

[Megabear2]

Since my travel agent friend retired I have generally made my cruise and holiday bookings direct with the cruise lines.  However a particular cruise I want to book has appeared on a number of agent's websites with quite a large reduction so I though I might on this occasion use one.  I have noticed, however, that a number of these agents are requesting deposits which are larger than the amount P&O request.  Is this normal with the online travel agents?  

[room with a view]

Maybe the deposit included the air fare ...maybe P&O negotiate a deposit that included a reduced air fare  . Best phone to discuss . 

[ferretktf]

If these are ‘net fare’ deals (which they wont necessarily tell you) then essentially you are buying from the TA and not P&O and so they can operate under their own deposit schemes….and as they are holding the risk, should you cancel, then a higher non refundable deposit can be typical.

If they are just acting as the booking agent then they should follow the Cruise Lines deposit protocols.

Edited November 26, 2023 by ferretktf

[Gettingwarmer]

If it is a “net fare” deal then you might not get OBC for shares etc. 

[Megabear2]

14 minutes ago, ferretktf said:

If these are ‘net fare’ deals (which they wont necessarily tell you) then essentially you are buying from the TA and not P&O and so they can operate under their own deposit schemes….and as they are holding the risk, should you cancel, then a higher non refundable deposit can be typical.

If they are just acting as the booking agent then they should follow the Cruise Lines deposit protocols.

That's very interesting. Thank you. I'd best ask a few more questions as to what sort of deal it is! The quoted prices are nearly £650 less than the P&O fares which did seem a very large difference.

[Technoman2]

Here is a question for you re the insurance situation.

If you are booking a holiday for 2025 do you need to make sure that you have insurance in place at the time of booking or at the point you pay the full balance. I would guess that if you took advantage of the early booking option sometimes offered by the cruise line of £50 it would not be a lot to lose BUT if you were paying several hundred pounds and there is a risk of losing that would the insurance company not pay out if insurance was not in place at the time you paid the deposit.

If you just have a rolling annual policy then i guess this is not an issue.

[Leomins]

If it’s a like for like cruise, I would book with P&O direct and then claim the difference on their price match policy. Twice they have done this for me in a couple of hours. This won’t work if the TA are providing a bespoke package with their own flights and/or hotels.

[molecrochip]

It’s a 7.5% discount (rounded). Likely the majority of their commission on the cruise itself, so no profit here. However, likely to help push the agent up the loyalty/sales scheme.

 

Most cruise lines offer some kind of sales multiplier incentive scheme separate to commission being paid.

[jh1809]

7 minutes ago, ferretktf said:

If in the UK then check they are ATOL members. You are then protected as long as a flight is part of the package.

And if a flight isn't included then you are covered through ABTA so long as they are members (which I think is pretty much universal).

[Camberley]

I’ve never had any issue with my TA who take what I think is an acceptable deposit. But to be honest, even if they wanted a little more as a deposit or balance dates were earlier etc, they are 100% worth it for us for the hassle-free way they deal with our bookings, queries and other great offers that we just do not get with booking directly. So for us, our TA offers true value, excellent service and no stress,
 

On the other hand, the times I had formerly booked directly with P&O they were appalling at many stages: very hard to get hold off, throwing out an excess of “standard” responses/excuses when things had gone astray, lacking any decent personal service….almost flirting with competence but then missing the mark. It was as if everything is too much effort for them - and there are only so many hoops I am prepared to jump through! Thankfully their team is great when onboard and there are many other things to commend them for.