Originally Posted by
wrp96
For most of the major cruise lines these days, the price you pay will not vary between booking direct with the cruise line or with a TA, because most of the cruise lines prohibit most discounting. There are exceptions, like if a TA has an existing group booking - and a good one should tell you if they are booking you into group space vs. individually.
These days, typically how TAs distinguish themselves monetarily is offering "free" perks like onboard credit, free gratuities, reduced deposit, etc.
Not quite or a 100% right. My TA gives a cash discount in the form of a cashier's check that averages 10% of the cruise fare. What they can't do is publish or advertise those reduced fares on their website. While they might on some of the larger lines they don't generally have group or large blocks of cabins they're reselling. That kind of buying power is really reserved for the really big agencies and the larger lines like Carnival, Norwegian, etc.