YLW

Interesting exchange. I see value in both sides of this debate. I have no axe to grind, but occasionally use a TA to book a multi-leg, non-partner ita itinerary, and might use one again for a cruise. Depending on your legal location, a TA may be very useful if an operator ceases operations. This has happened to friends. Those who booked through a TA were taken care of, with no problems. Others? They were the ones we saw crying on the TV news. Only in BC? I don't think so.

tcook052

Sorry but that's just an excuse as Carnival is the 800 lb gorilla that could've surely bucked the trend other much smaller cruise lines began. But we all make choices and if those choices end up limiting your options that's the reality of the marketplace. Caveat emptor is what I'll close with while wishing you happy sails.

hedo_traveler

Travel agents STILL book approx. 88% of all Carnival cruises. Carnival, or any other cruise line, does not want travel agents to go away. They cannot afford to pay for a work force that books 100% of their sailings.

Madhouse24

It's certainly not as simple as you made it...have you looked at the money they are making (Carnival)? TA's didn't "push" for it the way it sounds, smaller companies were constantly being beaten by the larger companies because they would rebate commissions' they were making in favor of marking up the price on other items they sale. Similar to what walmart did to mom and pops

These days a vast majority of vendors have this dream utopia where they can eliminate TA's, expedia’s and kayaks of the world and keep as close to 100% of the money as possible....THAT's the issue....

Madhouse24

So would you call going to a restaurant "holding your hand" or do you simply go to the kitchen and cook the food yourself? I'm not knocking you for being a do it yourself type but there "are" those out there who would prefer someone else handle the details for them I don't see anything wrong with that...personally I just think it boils down to you wanting to spend as little money as possible because there are "plenty" of other retail/service business where you use the experience of someone else...

Madhouse24

[QUOTE=SRQ Guy;15725631]We'll have to agree to disagree on the value-add a TA can provide to the educated traveler.

QUOTE]

Fair enough, but would you not say just like beauty...."value" is in the eye of the beholder?

ps...nothing wrong with an educated traveler but once again...not everyone wants to do the research you do themselves....which is why there are the kayak's of the world

piper28

I still use a TA myself for booking a cruise, largely because I've worked with her for a few years now, so she knows what I want when I do things. 90% of the time I already know exactly what I want and need, and so it's just a matter of letting her know and she takes care of the details, every now and then I've bounced a couple of things off her to have her look into some options for me. But if I really felt like it, I could do it all myself, I've generally done all the research anyways. But there's also part of me that figures that you know, the price is going to be the same anyways, if I book through the TA, then at least one more person is making at least some money off of it. Otherwise the cruise company is just going to keep it anyways. But it's not costing me anything to use her. (FWIW, my TA is one of those at a large online place that caters to selling cruises, but even though I'm dealing with this company, I'm always working with the one TA that I've been working with all along.)

SRQ Guy

Bad analogy. Using a TA is more akin to hiring an agent to make my restaurant reservations for me, and handle the payment details. It might make sense to add the extra layer if there was a discount in it for me, but otherwise no thanks I'll just handle that stuff myself.

Jay71

I agree.
Comparatively, you should see the discussions on the real estate board I read about the benefits of using a real estate agent vs not (with the advent of tools such as For Sale by Owner sites, Zillow, etc).
Long and the short of it is:
- There's been a leap in access to information for consumers
- There's a been a push by businesses to streamline costs by setting up as much self-serve as possible and supporting it with access to information
- There will always be room for an agent to act on someone's behalf for people that need or want that hand holding AND for businesses that don't want to maintain (and all the overhead that goes along with it such as cost, training, facilities, etc) a sale force themselves. But, in order to capture their share of the marketplace, they need to continually evolve to offer value (not necessarily just price) to the consumer in various ways. Some people see benefit from some of the value adds while for others it's nothing special.

DeirdreTours

Alhough I don't use a TA for much else, I do use them for cruises--Mainly because I have always been able to get extra value in the form of OBCs, specialty dinners, wine or other tangible goodies. On our most recent cruise, we were able to capture the rock bottom price and $475 in OBC and specialty restaurant credit.

I have yet to encounter an agent that could offer me real info about a cruise/port/excursion that I didn't already have access to (but I am a fanatical researcher!).

Long term, it looks like the cruise lines are trying to gradually bring the booking business inhouse and capture the profits that have been going to TAs. I am sorry to see that happen as I think it will drive up the cost of cruising for me. For the average consumer, bringing the sales in house may actually slightly lower pricing (as long as there are multiple cruise lines out there competing for the vacationer's dollars).

SRQ Guy

On the three biggest lines, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and NCL, this is no longer a real option. TA's can no longer offer fares below those offered by the cruise line directly and the "goodies" (OBC, wine, dinners, etc) are severely limited in value. In the past I have saved as much as $500 on a $2000 cruise by using a TA. Now the savings are limited to about $100, and IMHO $100 isn't worth the extra layer of separation when using a TA.

DeirdreTours

Interesting that Carnival would not allow OBC through agents, while Holland America (owned by the same corporation) would. Or that Celebrity would allow it, but Royal Carribean ( both owned by RCI) would not. Our most recent experience (referred to above) was on a Celebrity cruise January 14-24, this year. When I look at the online site of one my favorite TA's they are still offering $400 in OBC for numerous Royal Carribean cruises ($250 in straight OBC, $100 in Spa Credit which is still just an obc on your ship account that can be used for anything, and specialty restaurant for 2 valued at $50) in balcony cabins (less in cheaper cabins, of course).

For me, I don't see any drawback to the "layer of separation"-- after booking, I require zero handholding and have found the TA notifies me upcoming payments or whatever faster that the cruiseline. So, in your example, I will still take the $100.

Madhouse24

like I said to each his/her own...but there are those who still like what we do for them whatever it is...some like doing all the research for their trip, some don't...we aren't the only industry where you could do something yourself, we're just trying to make a living like everyone else...so if it all boils downs to saving some imaginary money then go right ahead, best times ahead!

Madhouse24

why does it equate to hand holding? do you have something against TA's?; has one did you wrong? I mean honestly who in the world do you think kayak, expedia and the like are?; they are travel agents...behinds that is but nonetheless...all this direct model that the vendors are moving is simply to become travel agents themselves...which is what the big fights are about...more ancillary revenue for them

ak333

As a cruise T.A., I have quite a few clients who sail enough to know exactly what they want and do not need any "hand holding."

One of them who is brutally honest told me the other week that he uses me for these reasons:

1. He knows that he can always get me either via phone or e-mail.
2. He wants a backup in case something goes wrong - I have more clout as an agent and may be able to get something done faster than he can.
3. He likes a real person to bounce ideas off of; not a message board.

Let's face it - on F.T. most of us are very well traveled, and have all experienced irregular operations of some sort either on an airline or a cruise ship. If an airline, and you are an elite member, you have a special phone number to call with a dedicated rep. that will get you moving again quickly. Think of your cruise travel agent as that elite desk dedicated rep.