Any advantages to using a TA left?

[TexasAlexus]

The internet TA that we have booked our last 9 cruises with has retired. I used to love to price shop and then have her beat the the best price I could find, that is until about 2 years ago when the industry essentially started price fixing. So my quetions is, now that the prices are the same everywhere, should I just book directly with the cruiseline, or are there advantages a TA can offer that I am missing? I know they sometimes offer on board coupon books etc., but they are usually so restrictive that they are difficult to redeem. Thanks to anyone who can shed some light on this for me.

[Tightlinerods]

Find a Carnival PVP and relax they do not work on a commision plan so they have your best interest in mind and insure you get all discounts when they apply....

 

 

john

[UpstateCruizer]

The internet TA that we have booked our last 9 cruises with has retired. I used to love to price shop and then have her beat the the best price I could find, that is until about 2 years ago when the industry essentially started price fixing. So my quetions is, now that the prices are the same everywhere, should I just book directly with the cruiseline, or are there advantages a TA can offer that I am missing? I know they sometimes offer on board coupon books etc., but they are usually so restrictive that they are difficult to redeem. Thanks to anyone who can shed some light on this for me.

 

I've booked our last 2 cruises through agents I found on cruise compete. The agents were both from the same agency so I felt very comfortable doing business with them. We are now researching the options for our 3rd cruise. Some of the other agencies have come back priced lower but I'm not as comfortable booking with them. I would really like to use a Carnival PVP but in both cases it would have cost me a significant amount more to book with a PVP. I couldn't justify that amount of money. Our sailings were in June and August and both cruises sold out. Prices on cabins went up instead of down so we lost nothing by using the cruise compete agent and saved hundreds of dollars.

[irishgirl]

I love my TA. I only do group cruises that he organizes. He always cruises with the group and everyone really likes him. We have the same group of people everytime with some newbies that have found us. Usually there are about 60-70 in the group and we are very close.

 

I like having my TA with me on the cruise in case anything goes wrong. We've had to have him intervene several times over the years when there was trouble.

[bakechef]

For groups or multi segment itineraries a TA can be a great help. For just buying plane tickets or cruise tickets, I don't think that they are any particular help.

 

I booked with an online TA and the experience was good(but nothing I couldn't do on my own very easily), but this time with my first cruise with carnival, I chose the PVP, and so far I am very impressed with my PVP he is very knowledgeable, and efficient.

 

I say if you have a good TA stick with them(support small business), but trying to find a good one can be a challenge.

 

MAC

[firefly333]

For Carnival someone like Costco who will discount is all I need. I book first with a PVP then transfer it when its closer to the date. Their insurance is also very cheap.

[mrleo33]

I assume since you are posting this on the Carnival thread, you are referring to Carnival's pricing policies. You seem to have gotten a bit of misinformation somewhere. The price is not fixed. Carnival simply prohibits a TA from advertising a lower rate than Carnival offers. This simply means that if you go online to a website, or see a newspaper ad, the agency cannot advertise a lower price, but if you call them or email them directly looking for pricing there is no reason they cannot discount it further if they choose. My TA always gives us a discount and has never charged us the advertised rate, as recently as this summer when we booked our Triumph cruise for September. At the time we saved about $300 - $400 off of Carnival's rates for four of us. The price now is over $1,100 more than what we paid then. Plus my TA has cruised many of the ships on the market today and has first hand knowledge of the products she is selling. Most of the PVP's I have spoken to, have never been on a cruise ship and often don't have correct answers to more complex questions.

Royal Carribean is one line that does have fixed pricing though. But even then TA's often are able to offer premiums and incentives to entice cruisers to book with them at the same price as dealing directly with the cruiselines.

[bigd332]

We booked with online cruise agency and have gotten free travel insurance from them and the cruise price was the same as through Carnival.

[trock]

For Carnival someone like Costco who will discount is all I need. I book first with a PVP then transfer it when its closer to the date. Their insurance is also very cheap.

 

 

hi! how do you transfer it once you have booked? Do you have to give up your choice of cabin?

[yst347]

A longstanding relationship with a skilled TA is an invaluable asset. If you do not have such a relationship and are trying to decide between an online agency or the line itself, you may as well just book directly. You can get bad answers from both. :(

[mrleo33]

Toni, your reservation doesn't change at all. All it takes is a phone call to Carnival to let them know you want to transfer the reservation to a TA. If you get a better deal from the TA, your final payment will decrease. The PVP's don't mind since they still get credit for the original order, and the TA's get their commission. It's a win - win situation.

[rucruizin]

I have a local TA, that also happens to be an internet discount agency. I have booked with Carnival directly, then transferred to this TA. They always discount 9-11% off the cruise portion. They don't advertise it up front, but it happens. I have never found anyone cheaper...ever. I've been with them since 1999, and have referred many of my friends to them. Even when they have had TA's they were happy with, you just can't walk away from a discount like that.

[hototo]

TA's can be a valuable asset to those who are not internet savy and aren't interested in spending the time to do heavy research. Good TA's find the best prices, monitor for specials, give great advice on cabin location, send valuable info on ports and shore excursions and are ALWAYS available to answer questions or hellp with questions from people who aren't seasoned cruisers.

 

They can help with finding better air fare and transfers, hotels for pre or post cruise activities.

 

In most cases, TA's return a good part of the commission as a gift, travel insurance.

 

For many of us, we don't need a TA, or at least we think we don't.

 

There are times when TA's are associated with a large travel group where they can find great deals on groups, etc. The secret is to find a good, hard working TA and staying with them.

[yst347]

The secret is to find a good, hard working TA and staying with them.

 

 

Bingo! :D

 

I could not agree more.

[TexasAlexus]

Unfortunately, the TA we have booked our last 9 cruises with has retired. We sail on all lines, but most often on Royal Caribbean and Carnival. When Royal Caribbean first made the rule that travel agencies could not advertise lower prices, I read on Cruise Critic that TA s were saying they were told they would get in trouble for offering lower prices behind the scenes. I know some used to offer lower prices by using part of their commission. I felt awful when I found out the my TA may have been cutting into her commission to offer me a lower price, so I stopped asking for price reductions. I have been under the assumption, probably incorrectly, for the last two years that there are no discounts out there, only perks. Thanks for enlightening me. I have cruised 11 times, so I really just use a TA to handle the booking. I call and tell them exactly what I want. Not too sure who I am going to book through at this point though.

[yst347]

Have you asked your retiring TA for a recommendation? He may not have one but that would be a place to start looking.

[trock]

Toni, your reservation doesn't change at all. All it takes is a phone call to Carnival to let them know you want to transfer the reservation to a TA. If you get a better deal from the TA, your final payment will decrease. The PVP's don't mind since they still get credit for the original order, and the TA's get their commission. It's a win - win situation.

 

 

Thank you and thanks to Firefly I Just DID!

Holy Cow, I just decreased my fare by almost $300 Dollars (of course CCL will be getting it back in the bar, eh eh)

 

THANKS!

[legalwife]

I do my homework on line simply because I enjoy it and then call my travel agent. She gets me the same or better, is a real person I can always reach if I need to, and is a very hard worker. She also does a small goody basket for most of her clients. PVP always is higher to me. As long as my agent is there, I will use her and if she does retire, I hope I will be lucky enough to find another real person in town who cares about their clients. Good customer service is definitely fading far away in this life!

[trock]

I now have a new TA and i must say i very impressed! Not only did she save me alot of $$

They offered a promo of a free 3day/2night getaway... (You pay your own transportation) But So what!!

loving it!:D

[Bassic]

We use my GF's travel agent, who is a friend of her employer's, and almost like family. Our biggest benefit is, on cruise day, we park there and they take us to the ship with our luggage. On return day, we catch a cab the five blocks or so, and our car is right there. Nothing is quicker! They also cut through much of the drop-off line at departure as well, using some kind of pass. :D Well, OK, maybe it's Kryptonite...:eek::D