In all fairness and accuracy if you use a full service TA and you pay the published cruise fare it does cost you something to use that service. It's all wrapped up in the fare and you don't see a separate bill for it but it's there, it's the TA's commission and that runs typically 12% give or take. Sure some TAs will throw in a bottle of wine, a small on board credit, an order of chocolate dipped strawberries, etc., etc., as a thank you for your business but I personally don't consider that much of a discount, rebate, or savings per se. That's all fine and good and if the person, couple, or group is taking a one-off cruise without being experienced in researching, planning, and booking a cruise then a full service cruise TA is probably the way to go. In fact, I'd highly recommend a full service TA for the novice cruiser. For us I use a TA for nothing more than the booking so I do business with one who rebates, in cash, a large portion of their commission. Through volume they make their money and I save on average 10% of the published fare.