Booking Alaskan cruise opening day - TA or do it myself?

[erin1715]

Hi all, I am planning to book two staterooms with 2 adults in each room for summer 2018 Alaskan cruise for 7 nights.

I want to jump on this right on opening day (opening hour!) to make sure I get the best price and what I want. Depending on pricing, which I'm preparing to be high, I would like to get the cheapest OV on deck 2. If that price is too high then I'll go for an inside room.

I want to get the onboard credit by booking through the TA but I also want to make sure I don't miss out by going through the TA and having it take too long to book. Should I book this myself and then try to get it moved over to the TA?

In the past we've taken cruises with Disney but always booked after they've discounted the cruise with a GT rate, so this opening day is all new to me and I don't know how fast these rooms will go.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Hi all, I am planning to book two staterooms with 2 adults in each room for summer 2018 Alaskan cruise for 7 nights.

I want to jump on this right on opening day (opening hour!) to make sure I get the best price and what I want. Depending on pricing, which I'm preparing to be high, I would like to get the cheapest OV on deck 2. If that price is too high then I'll go for an inside room.

I want to get the onboard credit by booking through the TA but I also want to make sure I don't miss out by going through the TA and having it take too long to book. Should I book this myself and then try to get it moved over to the TA?

In the past we've taken cruises with Disney but always booked after they've discounted the cruise with a GT rate, so this opening day is all new to me and I don't know how fast these rooms will go.

You certainly MIGHT be able to "do it quicker" by booking yourself. One thing, though, most TAs will reduce the OBC that they offer on a transferred booking.

As long as you tell your TA what you want, a good one should be able to book just what you want. If it isn't exactly, say, the room you wanted, you can always have it changed, once the reservation is made. There's no monetary penalty for changing rooms/categories after initial booking.

 

[erin1715]

You certainly MIGHT be able to "do it quicker" by booking yourself. One thing, though, most TAs will reduce the OBC that they offer on a transferred booking.

As long as you tell your TA what you want, a good one should be able to book just what you want. If it isn't exactly, say, the room you wanted, you can always have it changed, once the reservation is made. There's no monetary penalty for changing rooms/categories after initial booking.

Yeah I'm not that confident in the specific TA I used before. She seems slow to respond, although the company is overall known for being good on these boards.

 

[PrincessShmoo]

Yeah I'm not that confident in the specific TA I used before. She seems slow to respond, although the company is overall known for being good on these boards.

Maybe it's time to find a new TA?

 

[erin1715]

Maybe it's time to find a new TA?

What if I just put in a request for a quote on their website for what I want? Do you think that will work well?