Should I use a travel agent to book a cruise?
Jul 22, 2009, 6:49 am
#32
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: MSP
Programs: Delta 1 MM, Platinum. Marriott-Hilton Gold
Posts: 312
Having started the thread, I thought I would post my own experience after my cruise. I ended up booking direct through celebrity web site. There were two price drops (I used to monitor it on a daily basis) and got another $5000 per person off. I did not meet anyone on the cruise who had paid lower than me for a concierge class. In some cases prices would go down for a day or two. I don't think a TA would be looking out for me as much as i would for myself. No disrespect to the wonderful TAs on this board. It just could mean my TA was not as agile as some on this board.
A good place to monitor cruise price drops is through postings on cruisecritic web site. Our southbound Alaska Cruise was a great experience and we are already in the process of booking two more cruises for next year! I think Cruises are a wonderful way to see the world. Some one "drives' you in the night and you spend the day at the port of call and retire for the night only to wake up in another exotic location! The food on-board was great and the views were excellent.
A good place to monitor cruise price drops is through postings on cruisecritic web site. Our southbound Alaska Cruise was a great experience and we are already in the process of booking two more cruises for next year! I think Cruises are a wonderful way to see the world. Some one "drives' you in the night and you spend the day at the port of call and retire for the night only to wake up in another exotic location! The food on-board was great and the views were excellent.
Jul 23, 2009, 4:56 am
#33
Join Date: Aug 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: AA GLD (1MM), DL GLD, Marriott Plat, RCL D+, X Elite
Posts: 3,229
Upnorth,
Glad you enjoyed your cruise! We love cruising, having been on 14....and our next 3 are already booked!
I started using a TA 2 years ago when booking our honeymoon cruise. Not that I couldn't do it myself, but I felt that with all the wedding drama going on, I wanted someone on our side to look out for things, make sure I paid the bill on time, etc.
On the advice of someone from this board, I found myself a Virtuoso agent, and I've used her for our cruises ever since. I'm certainly able to handle a basic Caribbean cruise, but for our 11-night Eastern Med on Celebrity Equinox next year, our agent is arranging a couple of private tours for us, one during the cruise and the other in Rome beforehand. I like the idea of building an agent relationship for those slightly more complicated vacations (like our trip to Iceland 3 years ago where we never would've seen some of the things we did without an agent).
Glad you enjoyed your cruise! We love cruising, having been on 14....and our next 3 are already booked!
I started using a TA 2 years ago when booking our honeymoon cruise. Not that I couldn't do it myself, but I felt that with all the wedding drama going on, I wanted someone on our side to look out for things, make sure I paid the bill on time, etc.
On the advice of someone from this board, I found myself a Virtuoso agent, and I've used her for our cruises ever since. I'm certainly able to handle a basic Caribbean cruise, but for our 11-night Eastern Med on Celebrity Equinox next year, our agent is arranging a couple of private tours for us, one during the cruise and the other in Rome beforehand. I like the idea of building an agent relationship for those slightly more complicated vacations (like our trip to Iceland 3 years ago where we never would've seen some of the things we did without an agent).
Jul 24, 2009, 1:16 am
#35
Join Date: Sep 2002
Location: SLC, UT
Programs: SPG Plat, HH Diamond, AA LT Gold, SouthWest Comp Pass
Posts: 185
I have used Cruise Quick with great results. I have never seen their price beat and the service is very good.
http://cruisequick.com/
http://cruisequick.com/
Jul 24, 2009, 10:50 pm
#36
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: May 2002
Location: YEG
Programs: HH Silver
Posts: 56,446
Were you booking a round the world Penthouse suite on Celebrity?
I did not meet anyone on the cruise who had paid lower than me for a concierge class.
Jul 25, 2009, 9:26 am
#37
Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Beaverton OR
Programs: GE, AA PLT/2.6MM, BR Gld, Royal Carib. DM+, Celebrity Elite, NCL PLT, Princess Elite
Posts: 1,643
Aug 6, 2009, 3:28 pm
#38
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: 60137
Posts: 10,498
I have used Cruise Quick with great results. I have never seen their price beat and the service is very good.
http://cruisequick.com/
http://cruisequick.com/
Jun 18, 2010, 6:52 am
#39
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Adelaide,Australia
Posts: 273
I have a great travel agent we found using cruisecompete. Cruisecompete is a great service, but as others have said, having a travel agent is invaluable when there are problems.
My TA has also been able to get RC to move on some things that I couldn't get them to move on when I called directly. After that help, I was a convert.
No doubt it makes it tougher to get a lower price if you can't get TA on the phone when the rate drops. But, so far, haven't been stung by that. She's been available when I've needed her.
My TA has also been able to get RC to move on some things that I couldn't get them to move on when I called directly. After that help, I was a convert.
No doubt it makes it tougher to get a lower price if you can't get TA on the phone when the rate drops. But, so far, haven't been stung by that. She's been available when I've needed her.
Jun 22, 2010, 6:57 am
#40
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 842
Thanks for the information
I am not an experienced cruiser like many of you on this board. Cruisecompete just saved me $230 per person over anything else I could find online or through a local travel agent.
The lowest quote was from cruisevacationoutlet.com and I am very happy with their customer service.
It was very much worth going through cruisecompete because the published price on cruisevacationoutlet was $200 more than what I booked for,
The lowest quote was from cruisevacationoutlet.com and I am very happy with their customer service.
It was very much worth going through cruisecompete because the published price on cruisevacationoutlet was $200 more than what I booked for,
Jan 3, 2011, 5:56 pm
#42
Join Date: May 2006
Location: TX
Programs: AA PPro/ 1MM+, Marriott LT Plat
Posts: 287
Upnorth,
Glad you enjoyed your cruise! We love cruising, having been on 14....and our next 3 are already booked!
I started using a TA 2 years ago when booking our honeymoon cruise. Not that I couldn't do it myself, but I felt that with all the wedding drama going on, I wanted someone on our side to look out for things, make sure I paid the bill on time, etc.
On the advice of someone from this board, I found myself a Virtuoso agent, and I've used her for our cruises ever since. I'm certainly able to handle a basic Caribbean cruise, but for our 11-night Eastern Med on Celebrity Equinox next year, our agent is arranging a couple of private tours for us, one during the cruise and the other in Rome beforehand. I like the idea of building an agent relationship for those slightly more complicated vacations (like our trip to Iceland 3 years ago where we never would've seen some of the things we did without an agent).
Glad you enjoyed your cruise! We love cruising, having been on 14....and our next 3 are already booked!
I started using a TA 2 years ago when booking our honeymoon cruise. Not that I couldn't do it myself, but I felt that with all the wedding drama going on, I wanted someone on our side to look out for things, make sure I paid the bill on time, etc.
On the advice of someone from this board, I found myself a Virtuoso agent, and I've used her for our cruises ever since. I'm certainly able to handle a basic Caribbean cruise, but for our 11-night Eastern Med on Celebrity Equinox next year, our agent is arranging a couple of private tours for us, one during the cruise and the other in Rome beforehand. I like the idea of building an agent relationship for those slightly more complicated vacations (like our trip to Iceland 3 years ago where we never would've seen some of the things we did without an agent).
Jan 19, 2011, 12:40 pm
#43
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 2
Celebrity's prices are governed to be the same whether you call Celebrity direct or your travel agent. The prices on the Celebrity site don't include tax unless you go all the way through to the point of entering your credit card so there is the difference. I agree with above comments that travel agents, reputable ones are the best source! Celebrity will have you speaking with a different person everytime you call back for service and agents have value added offers like on oboard credits or paid gratuities on higher cabin levels. I found an agent on facebook that is affiliated with amex and she's awesome
Jan 19, 2011, 2:34 pm
#44
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Vancouver, BC
Posts: 1,552
Just to throw my two bits in...
In general, we normally like to research and book our travel ourselves direct. We only go through a TA if it's a quirky itinerary or if it's a deal through a consolidator.
However, for our four cruises, we've always gone through a TA. Main reason being is that there's no cost advantage/disadvantage in doing so, so why not have a second set of eyes for your trip. YMMV depending on how good of a TA you find but person experience has been...
We've always had to find & notify our TA about price discounts but they've been pretty good about following up with Royal Caribbean.
They've provided us some perks in our cabin
Never really got any nuggets of info that we found really handy. [Part of this tho is that we spend countless hours researching our trips as it is part of the fun. For someone where this is a chore, I can see where TA's can fill in the gaps.]
In general, we normally like to research and book our travel ourselves direct. We only go through a TA if it's a quirky itinerary or if it's a deal through a consolidator.
However, for our four cruises, we've always gone through a TA. Main reason being is that there's no cost advantage/disadvantage in doing so, so why not have a second set of eyes for your trip. YMMV depending on how good of a TA you find but person experience has been...
We've always had to find & notify our TA about price discounts but they've been pretty good about following up with Royal Caribbean.
They've provided us some perks in our cabin
Never really got any nuggets of info that we found really handy. [Part of this tho is that we spend countless hours researching our trips as it is part of the fun. For someone where this is a chore, I can see where TA's can fill in the gaps.]
Jan 20, 2011, 7:57 am
#45
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2000
Location: TPA
Programs: Hilton Gold, DL DIrt Medallion
Posts: 38,267
After using travel agents for our first 6 cruises because of the availability of better deals, we booked direct with our assigned Carnival Personal Vacation Planner (who has been very persistent in trying to get my business over the years) for the next one. It's actually been great, and I'll probably never use a TA again. I hope TA's like the results of what they pushed for.