Travel Agent or Not??

A

aj4jc4et

Guest
Hi everyone,

I'm new to this site and see that you all have some great advice and lots of experience. I cruised nine years ago when I was 17, and my husband and I are planning a cruise for 06/14/08 on the Liberty. I talked with a vacation planner from Carnival and he gave me a price for the two of us $360 lower than the listed price on their site. He asked if we are going to use a travel agent and I told him I was checking into it. He said that if we do, we can transfer everything to them with no problem. I put down the deposit, but I'm wondering if we should use a travel agent. What are the benefits? Doesn't it cost more doing it with one instead of booking the cruise and air on my own since I'm sure they are paid a commission/fee? What is the usual fee for a travel agent? Additionally, he told me that if I see a price cheaper than what he gave me or if a past guest promotion comes up (which he guarenteed me it would) that he would adjust the price. He said that if I book with a travel agent that I can't get an upgrade or price adjustment if one comes up. Your advice and experience will be much appreciated! Thanks!

Alicia
 
S

SandyBeach

Guest
I've either used one or the other...didn't know people were transferring from one to the other until recently. We currently use a PVP and have been very satisfied.
 
W

Whimsy

Guest
I booked my first cruise thru a travel agent and it seemed to be a hassle with me calling her, her calling the cruise line and then calling me back. I asked her NOT to mail my cruise docs, I would come by and pick them up but she mailed them anyway. I found these wonderful forums after booking my first cruise with her and got more knowledgable answers from reading the forums and posting my own questions. Next cruise I read up on the forums to figure out what line, where to, where to stay, now to book flights, buy insurance, etc. Did everything on my own and had no problems.

I wish I had a wonderful travel agent like some seem to have but for these types of trips I can do it on my own. Luckily everything went smoothly both trips and we now have a 3rd cruise planned and I am doing everything myself again. I even helped the neighbors son plan his honeymoon cruise!
 
G

Gayle V

Guest
Well, things used to be different. The TA's used to have a lot more leeway to give you price discounts. Now they can offer a few perks, but the prices are usually comparable.

Still they are very helpful for people who don't know much about the ships and cruise lines. I firmly believe any newbie should be booking with a TA. Someone needs to lead them in the right direction.

I've been using the same TA for years, even though I do a lot of the leg work on our booking by myself. I still like knowing I have a go-between available to help me should there ever be a problem with my booking.

About getting the upgrade or price adjustments if one comes up, lots of TA's will get that for you. It's just that some are not willing to do so. You absolutely have to ask about that before you book. Never book with an agent that says they won't honor a price drop. (Remember no one will be able to give you the "for new bookings only" price drops.)

Even more important, never book with one that charges their own cancelation fee (over and above that charged by the cruise line.) They don't all charge one.
 
S

snorkelman

Guest
I have been on 20 cruises and I have NEVER found the cruise price to be cheaper than what I found through travel agents.

I just booked (yesterday) a cruise (also on the Carnival Liberty) with Elaine at VCA Travel (866-698-2220). I don't care if you use her or not, but if you do, please tell her that I referred you, as maybe I will get an upgrade! As an example, on my particular sailing, Carnival quoted me a price that was $58 per person more than what I booked with Elaine. That basically is a free excursion!

Anyway, if you still want to see if you are getting the best deal, go to cruise compete dot com and type in the info and you will get 4-8 cruise quotes from different travel agents. that is how I found Elaine for my recent booking.

hope that helps!

snorkelman
 
C

cherbeth

Guest
Hi. We have been on 11 cruise and just booked our 12 cruise this week. We have used the same agent Anne Koering at Cruiseone. 866-458-6654. Also there has never been anything cheaper than the price Anne has given us. Our very first cruise 1992 our friend booked with another agent and it was $20.00 less Anne refunded the difference. Anne has provided us with excellent state rooms, great prices and an occaitional
up grade. Our trips we feel are in excellent hands.
If you call her tell her I mentioned her name.

Cheryl Conrad
 
C

cruise-girl

Guest
I am not sure what TA's you have used in the past but a TA can give you a discount that the cruise lines can't. I know this because I am in the field.
 
N

nomadwench

Guest
I have never found a TA that gave me a better price than the one I got directly from Carnival. In fact, the prices I've been quoted by various TAs have been quite a bit more than Carnival's direct price. If you have a VP at Carnival that you like then I suggest just sticking with him. They are great about answering even nit-picky questions.
 
S

Sea Turtle

Guest
For my upcoming cruise I first checked out two referrals from cruisecompete. It was painful at best to get someone to answer the phone at the two agencies I contacted. One agency kept transferring me to different reps just because I was following up on a cruisecompete quote. The other agency couldn't answer my question when I originally called saying they would have to contact Carnival and call me back. I got one callback which went to my voicemail. So I called the rep back within five minutes and got reps voicemail and never heard from the agency again. That's not customer service in my book so any difference under $100 of what the cruise line is quoting is not worth it to me.

I am currently booked directly through a CVS at Carnival, and have spoken with the rep three times and been delighted with the service on all three calls. Granted I always get his voicemail when I call but he calls me back within the hour. I like the fact that with the direct booking I will never pay any kind of processing and/or cancellation fee (outside of the penalty phase); and if I do see a price drop, I don't have to phone a TA who then has to call Carnival for a decision.

Enjoy your journey, Alicia!

119 days until Triumph!! =COOL
 
J

jkmcroot

Guest
I have to say that the last 2 cruises I booked, I booked directly through Carnival. It's hassle-free and I found the service to be way better than through a travel agent.

When I booked our upcoming cruise aboard the Liberty I was told by the Carnival representative that we could reserve our cabins and then he would let me know if in the future Carnival had any specials or promotions going on. He called me a month ago (3 months after I booked the cruise) and told me about a special and we received $500 off our entire cruise due to the promotion going on at the time.
 
A

aj4jc4et

Guest
Can you tell me who you're dealing with at Carnival? Tony is my PVP. Thanks!

Alicia
 
B

baqtrvl

Guest
As a Travel Agent myself, and admittly a little bias, you can get better rates from a TA and let me tell you why. We often hold group space which is cheaper than doing one reservation at a time. You don't have to be with that particular group you just get the rate. When booking we can hold group space and try and sell those cabins and when the time of deposit comes and we only have one or two cabins sold we can still get the group rate. Need any info email me. Barbara
 
Top