Travel Agent Pros/Cons?

skiergirl4 · Oct 19, 2016

What are your thoughts on using a travel agent for a Royal Caribbean cruise? Pros? Cons? Do I pay a higher price if using an agent?

My background: I am a planner, generally speaking. I LOVE planning Disney vacations for my family and we have always had successful trips. I love making the decisions, looking for reservations, scheduling all of the details, etc.

I have never used a travel agent and have no idea how it works.

This trip will just be my husband and me; we will be celebrating our anniversary. I cruised with Royal Caribbean as a young adult tagging along with my family, so my knowledge of RCCL is very limited.

I'd appreciate any feedback that you might have!
Thank you!

OKW Lover · Oct 19, 2016

Using a TA for any cruise (not just RCL) is usually a good idea. If you use a TA you should not be paying a higher price. In fact, some TA's offer you an On Board Credit or other incentive which effectively saves you money for using a TA.

gumbypee · Oct 20, 2016

you do not pay higher for the cruise but like was said you tend to get onboard credit for the cruise. I would go with the TA for the free money.

skiergirl4 · Oct 22, 2016

Thank you for the info!

sam_gordon · Oct 24, 2016

The "con" of using a TA is THEY are in control of your reservation. So if you want to change cabins, or there's a price drop, or any other kind of change, you need to go through the TA.

If they give you the RCI booking number, you can still make all of your dining/show reservations and excursions without going through the TA.

moericus · Oct 24, 2016

This day in age with the wealth of information available via the internet... TA's are merely for convenience. I haven't seen a TA provide anything that couldn't be researched or planned on your own.

skiergirl4 said:
My background: I am a planner, generally speaking. I LOVE planning Disney vacations for my family and we have always had successful trips. I love making the decisions, looking for reservations, scheduling all of the details, etc.

This here screams don't use a TA, at least to me...
Disboards are good to get your feet wet but if you want to tackle some great cruise trip planning ideas then consider the cruise critic forums at:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/

bumbershoot · Oct 24, 2016

moericus said:
This day in age with the wealth of information available via the internet... TA's are merely for convenience. I haven't seen a TA provide anything that couldn't be researched or planned on your own.

This here screams don't use a TA, at least to me...
Disboards are good to get your feet wet but if you want to tackle some great cruise trip planning ideas then consider the cruise critic forums at:
http://boards.cruisecritic.com/

But no part of the planning has to be done by a TA. Most normal things can be so online. For things like changing rooms you have to call someone; if you have a TA you call them instead of the cruise line. Not a huge deal.

I go through costcotravel.com because I get OBC. If you're looking into that make sure you are fully logged in to your account. If you aren't it will appear that the price is higher.

I use a TA for nothing but the money. I plan everything on my own. Just sometimes I have to call someone so they call the line for me.

skiergirl4 · Oct 25, 2016

It's great to hear both perspectives; thank you! We did end up going through Costco Travel for the OBC and lower rate. As always, there is so much great advice on the boards!

ludari · Oct 26, 2016

I've used my TA for my past 10+ cruises and I really like their service. I normally contact my TA with my parameters (vacation dates, budget, travelers, etc) and let them do the research for me and report back all the matching cruises, then I make my selection. My TA will normally give me shipboard credit but that all depends on the cruise line and itinerary. I normally have sailed with Disney but based on the recommendation of my TA I decided to try RCL earlier this year. I did enjoy the cruise and my TA was very informative about explaining those differences between DCL and RCL. When booking with my TA I still have total control over my reservation and able to go on-line to book my port adventures and dinning preferences. My TA is a small company owned by a husband/wife team and a few times I happen to be on the same cruise with them. During these cruises when the owners where on the same cruise as me they always reach out to me invite me to walk the deck in the morning and during these walks we talk about all sorts of things especially cruises and usually make arrangements for breakfast or lunch sometime during the cruise. They also invite me and other passengers who use their TA services to stop by their suite for drinks and appetizers usually daily. My TA has on occasion booked private tours (depending on the port) and these have been some of the best tours I have been on. I really can't say enough nice things about my TA and I don't see any downsides to using a TA.

bumbershoot · Oct 27, 2016

ludari said:
When booking with my TA I still have total control over my reservation and able to go on-line to book my port adventures and dinning preferences.

When people talk about control, they mean that they don't want to talk to a middleman at all. You do, if you're changing rooms, etc. Things that make the fare change.

But of course we do dining, excursions, etc, either with a call or through the website. But there ARE things that we cannot talk to the cruiseline directly about. And that's what people feel is a loss of control.

ludari · Oct 27, 2016

bumbershoot said:
When people talk about control, they mean that they don't want to talk to a middleman at all. You do, if you're changing rooms, etc. Things that make the fare change.

But of course we do dining, excursions, etc, either with a call or through the website. But there ARE things that we cannot talk to the cruiseline directly about. And that's what people feel is a loss of control.

I see what you are saying but talking to a middleman to change rooms or making a changes that that effect my fare but is not a big deal for me. I appreciate my TA advice about my room selection, what's above or below me, etc. We all have our preferences and I'm glad we all have options.

KashasMom · Oct 30, 2016

My TA gives me OBC and she watches for price drops. She just saved me $400+ on our upcoming Allure cruise! Can't beat that! I was able to book all our dining, entertainment, and excursions myself. Well worth it, I think!

Canadian Disney Mom · Nov 3, 2016

I usually plan and book everything myself but I did recently used Costco for a few cruises to get the Costco Cash card (they no longer do OBC for Canada). The ONLY issue I have is what others mentioned above. It is really annoying having to go through them to change rooms, rates, etc. It is like that old "telephone" game when you were little - you tell the agent one thing but they are not necessarily getting the message across to RCCL and they will not let me get on the phone with them and RCL anytime I have asked.

JJsmama · Dec 12, 2016

What can/ can't you do if you use a TA for DCL? I have never used one. I am considering booking soon and Mainly I am concerned about being able to get my dining changed to Main Seating and also booking the excursions on the 1st day available. Will I still be abel to do these things myself or will I need to contact her?

ludari · Dec 13, 2016

JJsmama said:
What can/ can't you do if you use a TA for DCL? I have never used one. I am considering booking soon and Mainly I am concerned about being able to get my dining changed to Main Seating and also booking the excursions on the 1st day available. Will I still be abel to do these things myself or will I need to contact her?

I used a TA for my RCL and booking with RCL is different from DCL. Once you have a reservation booked you can start confirming excursions and pay for them immediately (which is different from DCL) and the same is true for your MDR reservations and specialty dining.

Laz · Dec 13, 2016

I will find a TA I like and stick with him or her. The TA will know my preferences and keep a lookout for the cruise that best fits given my budget constraints. That does not mean I do not do my own research. If I find a good deal on line, I will contact the TA and see if the deal can be met or if a better deal can be had. Usually the TA can.

OKgirl · Dec 26, 2016

We use a travel agent and I look at it like free concierge treatment. I tell him the dates I want to travel and might give them 2-3 cruise ships to price and then he gives me the info within a few days. If there is a problem while traveling, we call him and he "fixes it". On our Hawaii trip last summer we arrived to the airport in our midwest hometown and found out our first flight would be delayed. This would mean missing our connecting flight to Hawaii. I immediately texted the TA who responded "I'm on it". He found out the status of the delay, rebooked a connecting flight out of LAX the next morning, cancelled our Hawaii Hotel for that evening and booked us a hotel in LA for the night. This took him an hour or so while we relaxed at the airport bar with a drink. I would have had a crying meltdown if I was the one trying to rearrange flights, hotels, rental cars, etc. from the airport! And if I didn't, my husband would have the meltdown for me. It costs us no more money to use his services and he typically will find us the best deals and discounts. If he has a large group traveling on a cruise ship and can get a group rate discount, he will let others know if they want to go as well and enjoy the discount. His commission is paid by the hotel, cruise, airline industry and not me!

Travel Agent Pros/Cons?

skiergirl4

Mouseketeer

OKW Lover

Retired and living 2 miles from The Castle.

gumbypee

DIS Veteran

skiergirl4

Mouseketeer

sam_gordon

DIS Veteran

moericus

Mouseketeer

bumbershoot

DIS Veteran

skiergirl4

Mouseketeer

ludari

DIS Veteran

bumbershoot

DIS Veteran

ludari

DIS Veteran

KashasMom

DIS Veteran

Canadian Disney Mom

Formerly Tollerwalker - originally joined July '05

JJsmama

WDW addict

ludari

DIS Veteran

Laz

DIS Veteran

OKgirl

Mouseketeer

Share this page

DIS NEWS & UPDATES

New DISboards Threads

Latest posts