Online agent, TA or direct through NCL

[Lyman713]

While there may have been some discussions in the past, being a reader for the past several months, I don't recall seeing anything recent on the subject...

 

I was curious on people's preference for booking cruises - through a local TA, through an online TA, or directly through NCL?

 

I haven't seen any real price differences (except for, maybe a hundred dollars or so on the $5000+ suites!) between online TA's and NCL's web site regarding pricing (can anyone recommend a good online cruise discounter?)... is there any advantage here of one over the other?

 

While I've never used a travel agent for any of my travels, I've thought of going that route for my upcoming cruises. Any one know of good TA's that work well with NCL?

 

I've done the online TA booking and booking with NCL directly in the past and never had any problems (knocking on wood), but was curious in the experiences of others.

 

Thanks and have a great day!!

[insidecabin]

Take a couple of hundred(depends on cruise) off the NCL prices(before tax,fuel) for NCF then discount 16% that would be a good target for an online agents price.

 

For NCL discount prices you may have to register with the on-line agent to see the discounted price.

[lawton54]

If you are just booking a cruise and nothing else, any of the ways you suggest will be about the same. When special rate reductions are planned by the cruise companies the TA's and online services are usually notified first, and adjust their advertising accordingly, so any "special price" you see on the web is probably the same price you can get through the company site. The difference comes in when you want to customize your trip just for you. A local or a web-based TA can be a big help in this area. Hotels pre/post cruise, flights, transfers, etc. can become a real juggling act to try to co-ordinate. If you have the time and expertise to search it all out yourself, then thats ok. But, if you get hooked up with the right agent, who takes the time to really find out what you and your family want in a vacation, then they can do all of that for you and it still costs you about the same. The companies pay the agents in the form of commissions, not you. There may be a few minor costs involved in mailing brochures/tickets/ etc. but for the most part the TA is working for you at no extra expense.

[isles1]

Online TAs will give you less hand-holding but are often the source of the best discounts.

 

Local TAs tend to have higher costs, give less discounts and (from what I have read here) tend to push the cruiseline that gives them the best commission. However, if you need that face time and a personal experience, this is probably the way to go.

 

NCL direct or PCC. Perhaps others can advise you of reasons to go this route, but the best pricing does not tend to be one of them. From what I have read on CC, this seems to be a function of personal preference rather than pricing. Some people really like their PCC or like the ease of just pointing and clicking to book their cruise.

[gagirl789]

We use a web based travel agent. She is great! We have never had a problem and her price is always lower than the cruise line. Plus if we have a problem we can contact her to help us.

[cpdad]

...I was curious on people's preference for booking cruises - through a local TA, through an online TA, or directly through NCL?

 

I haven't seen any real price differences (except for, maybe a hundred dollars or so on the $5000+ suites!) between online TA's and NCL's web site regarding pricing (can anyone recommend a good online cruise discounter?)... is there any advantage here of one over the other?

and never had any problems (knocking on wood), but was curious in the experiences of others.....

It pays to shop around for the best prices, if you enjoy that sort of thing; personally, I love doing the research. I found a $400 discount on a balcony cabin by booking on-line with a TA, compared to NCL's price. Other online agencies had prices somewhere between what I got and what NCL charged. I cannot recommend any specific agency because Cruise Critic generally takes a dim view of us posting referrals to agencies that possibly compete with their paid advertisers. Also, no one agency always has the best prices. You really have to shop for each specific cruise and not simply rely upon the agency that may have previously given you a good deal.

 

As others have mentioned, if you need a lot of pre-cruise advice/guidance then perhaps using a local TA would work best. For my last cruise, I booked it online, paid for the cruise, then sailed as planned. I had no need to ever contact my online TA again. I knew which cruise and cabin location I wanted ahead of time and simply booked it.

[BaileyandBella]

We booked with an online TA and saved $650.00. No problems...

[Cooks_Bay]

The on-line agent I price with seems to have the same cabins as NCL and cheaper prices.

 

If NCL has a cabin then it should be available through an agent.

 

The one problem with this that I've noticed is the "fine print". Online TA's have a clause there that says (paraphrasing), although you have selected this particular cabin, we only guarantee that you're cabin will be in this catagorie. For this reason, I would be inclined to book directly through NCL if I was concerned about cabin location. Also, I don't really see any savings through an online TA if you are booking far in advance. My guess is that the real deals they have are available 90 days out. (Once all final payments have been made by those who purchase early).

[sunluva7]

The one problem with this that I've noticed is the "fine print". Online TA's have a clause there that says (paraphrasing), although you have selected this particular cabin, we only guarantee that you're cabin will be in this catagorie. For this reason, I would be inclined to book directly through NCL if I was concerned about cabin location. Also, I don't really see any savings through an online TA if you are booking far in advance. My guess is that the real deals they have are available 90 days out. (Once all final payments have been made by those who purchase early).

 

Are you sure you weren't reading the clause for a "guaranty" cabin? Perhaps the cabin selected was not available, and there were only guaranty cabins left in that category. I usually book pretty far out, and I have always been able to pick my own cabin with both online TA's I have used.

 

I booked my first cruise through a local brick and mortar. For each cruise after that, I researched and booked on my own using an online TA who offered me the best deal. For my needs, the online TA's were able to provide me with everything the local person did, and I've saved a lot of money in the process.:)

[insidecabin]

The one problem with this that I've noticed is the "fine print". Online TA's have a clause there that says (paraphrasing), although you have selected this particular cabin, we only guarantee that you're cabin will be in this catagorie. For this reason, I would be inclined to book directly through NCL if I was concerned about cabin location. Also, I don't really see any savings through an online TA if you are booking far in advance. My guess is that the real deals they have are available 90 days out. (Once all final payments have been made by those who purchase early).

 

Nope if the cabin is on the list thats the one you get, they have a live feed from NCL, checked by taking a cabin off NCL list(start a booking on NCL) and refreshing the TA's list. From my calcualtions it is a 16% discount across the range of cabins on the comissioned fares allthough I did see bigger discounts when the Insides went on offer with NCL.

 

The prices are good, BUT you are dealing through an an-line TA so if you want to change things the FULL discount can be clawed back to a call in rate, changes like cabins or getting price drops can cause this so definately the way to go when you know what you want and it is inside final.

 

Booking a long way out and not the high grades(where the discount realy does kick in) then direct or regular TA may be a better option.

 

I also found that if the preference is to deal by email(uk based) things can take time which could be a problem if you need something done quickly other wise its OK and skype out keeps call costs down when needed.

 

As a couple of examples picking a cruise NCL Dawn for Jan 24 09

grade....NCL.....on-line

K..........$549....$489

AA........$3199..$2723

[FrankLasVegas]

Booked 04/18/09 Gem (15 Day) direct with NCL - Penthouse. Seemed easier at the time... Did the required deposit on NCL site.

 

Decided to check a couple of online sites after-the-fact that I have used.

 

One was $620.00 less for cabin - the other $705.00 less.

 

It really depends on the cruiseline/sailing as on shorter/less expensive cruises - only $25.00 or so less in many cases.

 

In this case I immediately had NCL assign the booking to the ageny offering $705.00 less - better in my pocket than theirs. They had it done in less than 2 hours.

 

Frank

Las Vegas

[weltek]

I found our category K stateroom for about $20 less pp online then the NCL direct price, but we have a friend that just started working for a brick & mortar place, so I'm eating the $20 and sending business her way.

 

I booked with NCL direct on our last cruise and it was great. Customer service was very helpful and had all records of our conversations. I felt comfortable that nothing was getting lost in translation between NCL-agent-me by going this route.

[conandrob240]

Question deleted- didn't realize it was against the rules (newbie here!)

[mbisson]

And what are some of the best (cheapest!) on-line TA sites for booking cruises?

 

Don't know how many replies you'll get. I mentioned a while back that I had a good PCC and got a permanent warning flag put in my profile as a warning not to do even that.

[Bocadude85]

I would book directly through NCL. I booked my last cruise with a online TA and when a problem arose it took me almost 2 months to get it resolved. So now I book directly through NCL

[isles1]

I would book directly through NCL. I booked my last cruise with a online TA and when a problem arose it took me almost 2 months to get it resolved. So now I book directly through NCL

Even if booking with a TA saved you 20% over NCL? That was the cost difference for my sailing.

 

Without knowing what the problem was it is hard to say if I agree with you.

[didan]

I've done it both ways. If there is no price difference, I book direct with NCL and have always had good service. For our upcoming cruise, I found an over $700 savings with the on-line TA plus they offered a $200 gift certificate that is delivered after sailing is complete.

[Host Kewlguy]

With NCL, I always get a better price booking with a large online travel agent. This is not the case with other cruise lines.

[sunluva7]

With NCL, I always get a better price booking with a large online travel agent. This is not the case with other cruise lines.

 

I've gotten better prices through each online TA I have booked with than all three cruise lines had to offer for each of my four cruises. Unless the cruise line can throw me a bone to entice me into booking with them, I just can't bring myself to spend the extra money.

[Wilcoam]

Via NCL.COM an inside Cat I inside cabin for 2 on the Pride of America is exactly $4,412.00 | The same cabin via a discount on-line TA is only $3,581.79

 

That's a $830.21 SAVINGS by not booking via NCL.com

 

The bottom line is by using a TA of any kind | either on-line | or brick n mortar | they're are saving to be had |

 

IMO NCL.com is a last option

 

jc

toronto

Jewel Jan 4 08

Pride of America Dec 27 08

[chrisbd1]

I've done all three. I never had a problem when I booked direct with NCL. MY PCC was great, but he's gone now.

 

I transfered my current booking to a local TA because I need help with a pre-cruise hotel.

 

I'm using an online TA, for the first time because of the price. I was going to book a BC but the online TA's price for a BA was the same as the NCL price for a BC. I was able to get on deck 11, a place I love. Then, I saw that the price was even lower with the military discount. I contacted the online TA and, 4 days later, my price has gone down again :) .

[x2tpd]

I have done a online TA twice and NCL once. I will say that having used a TA the first time was fine. The sceond time we were appearantly booked as part of group by the travel agent in order to get the lower rates and it has been a pain in the ..... When you call NCL half of the people wont talk to you because your part of a group booked thru a TA and they refer you back to the TA much of the time. I have been successful only by hanging up, calling right back and trying another representative. So far I have had to jump thru hoops to get a confirmation of my excursions, of my special order packages (like romance package, birthday decorations etc) I wanted to upgrade to another room and was unable to do that. I used the NCL $500 certificates and that was also a pain as my payments appearantly were for my room but were also applied to the groups total bill so when I overpaid it was like pulling teeth to get the travel agent to refund me the difference. Just my opinion.