Travel Agent: Yes or No?

[court9008]

Hi! I'm currently planning on taking my first cruise. After some research, I've selected an itinerary that works with my schedule and includes ports that really interest me. As of now, I haven't booked my cruise yet. This is due to me being torn over whether I should book through a travel agent or handle all the planning on my own. I'm a planner by nature and have no problem with organizing a trip, but a cruise is new territory for me. With all that being said, I'm looking for some feedback to determine whether a travel agent is worth it. If you think so, I'd love some recommendations for agents that specialize in RCCL.

 

[AgentMama]

We use a travel agent for cruising if they have an onboard credit offer we cant get without them. Otherwise we book on our own. We've used Dreams and been happy with their service and offer.

 

[sam_gordon]

There's pros and cons for both. If you can find a TA that will give you a significant price advantage or "gifts" (OBC, reduced deposit, specialty restaurant meal, etc), it could be beneficial.

BUT, you want your TA to be able to be reachable at least seven days a week, if not 24/7. Obviously the TA themselves may not be, but hopefully they have an office they work out of. You want this because if you hear about a price drop, you want to try to take advantage of it, as soon as possible. Obviously, if you book direct, you can just call RCCL.

The other disadvantage of using a TA is THEY "own" your reservation. So you can't call Royal to make cabin changes. You'll have to go through the TA. You CAN book dining, excursions, drink packages, etc.

We have used two different TAs for our cruises, it all came down to the price. Don't forget to factor in automatic gratuities, if you TA doesn't include them in the quote, their price will look WAY WAY cheaper than RCCL's website price.

 

[court9008]

There's pros and cons for both. If you can find a TA that will give you a significant price advantage or "gifts" (OBC, reduced deposit, specialty restaurant meal, etc), it could be beneficial.

BUT, you want your TA to be able to be reachable at least seven days a week, if not 24/7. Obviously the TA themselves may not be, but hopefully they have an office they work out of. You want this because if you hear about a price drop, you want to try to take advantage of it, as soon as possible. Obviously, if you book direct, you can just call RCCL.

The other disadvantage of using a TA is THEY "own" your reservation. So you can't call Royal to make cabin changes. You'll have to go through the TA. You CAN book dining, excursions, drink packages, etc.

We have used two different TAs for our cruises, it all came down to the price. Don't forget to factor in automatic gratuities, if you TA doesn't include them in the quote, their price will look WAY WAY cheaper than RCCL's website price.

This is very helpful feedback. It's good to know that I can still book some things on my own like dining and excursions. However, I overlooked that gratuities may not be included in the quote. Thanks for pointing that out.

 

[OKW Lover]

We regularly use Dreams Unlimited Travel (the sponsor of this site) for our cruises. When you book through them the give you the same price as you get directly from the cruise line plus you get an on board credit. You can still do all your own planning even if they book the cruise for you.

 

[court9008]

We regularly use Dreams Unlimited Travel (the sponsor of this site) for our cruises. When you book through them the give you the same price as you get directly from the cruise line plus you get an on board credit. You can still do all your own planning even if they book the cruise for you.

Thanks for the info. Do you have a specific agent that you recommend from Dreams?

 

[OKW Lover]

Thanks for the info. Do you have a specific agent that you recommend from Dreams?

I use Tracey Heinrichs from Dreams. TraceyH@dreamsunlimitedtravel.com

 

[kevtlas]

I try to use a travel agent for pretty much everything now, but especially with cruises because as others have said, you get those extra perks you don’t get any other way. I do miss having total control over my reservations, but I think the tradeoff is worth it. For our 2025 cruise, we got an extra OBC for all cabins, as well as a free specialty dining meal. This one is on Princess, but we’ve gotten similar perks on MSC and Carnival as well. We did have an amazing deal for a RCL cruise, but that was unfortunately cancelled so we still haven’t cruised with them.

 

[plethera1]

Used dreams a couple times for the OBC. Used Costco travel the last two times as the OBC and the Costco gift card they give you was much more. Also, on the first Princess cruise they had a deal on the package which provided the drink package, internet, etc.

 

[LoveDaisy]

I use a travel agent to book my RC cruises. I use a travel agent through AAA. I have worked with her for years. The reason I prefer it is we usually cruise as a group trip and she manages everything for us. She also provides me with on board credit, a bottle of champagne, and chocolate covered strawberries. She takes care of the payment but we have the ability to book all of our ship and port items. We had issues with flights on a recent trip and having a travel agent handle it and rebook us before we were off the first plane was amazing. We were not among the group running to rebook our second flight.

 

[fly girl]

Used Costco travel the last two times as the OBC and the Costco gift card they give you was much more.

This!

I actually had a new dilemma arise this year. I had been watching a Mediterranean cruise we wanted on Celebrity and the price dropped on their website one evening so I put it on hold to see if I could beat or match that rate with Costco. Costco website had higher rate, and I couldn't call they were closed so it would have to wait until the next day.

Following afternoon, called and they couldn't beat the rate I had a hold on (Celebrity rate already went up again the following morning), but the TA said you can transfer the reservation over to Costco and receive the Costco Cash card. It was significant, $800, so it was no brainer. Naturally, I was a little nervous about it, but the transfer process was very easy. Entered it online (took only 4 minutes tops), and was processed within a few hours. Can still book all the extras on Celebrity too. Never knew you could transfer the reservation after you purchased on cruise ship website. Learned something new. I hope it is easy for other cruise Iines, but if you are a Costco member it is worth calling them to see what you can get.

 

[kevtlas]

This!

I actually had a new dilemma arise this year. I had been watching a Mediterranean cruise we wanted on Celebrity and the price dropped on their website one evening so I put it on hold to see if I could beat or match that rate with Costco. Costco website had higher rate, and I couldn't call they were closed so it would have to wait until the next day.

Following afternoon, called and they couldn't beat the rate I had a hold on (Celebrity rate already went up again the following morning), but the TA said you can transfer the reservation over to Costco and receive the Costco Cash card. It was significant, $800, so it was no brainer. Naturally, I was a little nervous about it, but the transfer process was very easy. Entered it online (took only 4 minutes tops), and was processed within a few hours. Can still book all the extras on Celebrity too. Never knew you could transfer the reservation after you purchased on cruise ship website. Learned something new. I hope it is easy for other cruise Iines, but if you are a Costco member it is worth calling them to see what you can get.

This is a nice tidbit to file for later. Thank you for sharing!

 

[mikeuno]

Learn something new each time I check this site, thanks for the info

 

[LuvBulldogs]

Disclaimer: A lot of people disagree with what I'm going to say.

We've cruised many times "on our own"; that is, making our reservations ourselves. I've always made my selection /called the cruise line and made my own reservations over the phone. I check our prices a couple times each week -- something not everyone wants to do -- and I don't mind calling and asking for a price drop when the price fluctuates. Some people complain about sitting on hold forever, but I call very early /very late, and I always get through quickly.

Note: If you book with a travel agency, you are not allowed to call the cruise line yourself. Your reservation "belongs" to the travel agent.

Anyway, so many people say, "A travel agent saves us so much!" and I've checked online prices -- but I haven't found it to be true. I suspect it's because we are SIMPLE. We JUST book the cruise. We're close enough to drive to the port, we reserve a cheap night-before hotel ourselves, and we travel off-season when prices are low anyway. I suspect people with more complicated travel plans -- airline, resort a couple days before, etc. -- may get more rewards from travel agents.

For our upcoming cruise, I decided I just have to try it -- and I booked with a well-known online travel agent. They advertise online, they have loads of excellent videos on You Tube, and they have very good reviews. I booked with them (paying the exact amount shown online) a couple months ago, and they gave me $50 OBC (on board credit) for using them. Nice but hardly a significant amount of money.

A few weeks after booking, I saw a lower price -- I emailed the travel agent, and they said, "Nope. You're telling us the price is lower, but you have to send us a photograph of the new price + the bottom line total price -- and it's already popped back up. I was disappointed to have missed the price drop, especially because I knew that if I'd been able to call myself, I would've gotten it.

I kept watching prices, and TWICE I myself found a price drop again. Each time I sent the appropriate information to the travel agent, and they secured the price drop for me -- and sent me an email confirmation that sounds like they themselves had discovered the lower price. I'm sure it's a form email. Thing is, saving those images + emailing the travel agent is about the same amount of work as calling the cruise line myself.

If I hadn't looked /found those price drops, would they've found them for me? We'll never know, but I am not overly impressed with the travel agent experience thusfar.

I do understand that if we were to find ourselves in trouble during the trip, we could call upon the travel agent for help -- but, again, we are SIMPLE. We are driving our own car to Florida. We have made our own reservation for our night-before hotel. We made our own reservations at the parking place. We have travel insurance, and if we were to have a medical emergency, we know what to do for ourselves. We don't do up-charge restaurants, etc. on the ship. We book modestly-priced rooms.

At this point, I feel like I gave over control of my trip for a measly $50 (which is the same thing I can get by booking onboard).