Jump to content

Online booking vs. Agencies


Recommended Posts

Sorry if the question as been answered before, but I tried searching for the answer but couldn't find it.

I'm from Canada, friends of ours from Denmark booked a cruise and asked us to join them.

I went on line to book and the CDN cost was +/- $12,000

I went through their agency and it was +/- $7,000

Everything is the same, Is this normal? Do you get better price with agencies?

 

Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 minutes ago, Cruisealot2020 said:

Sorry if the question as been answered before, but I tried searching for the answer but couldn't find it.

I'm from Canada, friends of ours from Denmark booked a cruise and asked us to join them.

I went on line to book and the CDN cost was +/- $12,000

I went through their agency and it was +/- $7,000

Everything is the same, Is this normal? Do you get better price with agencies?

 

Thanks

Their agency most likely had block group space available.. This is when agencies buy up a bunch of rooms at a discount price and "freeze" the price so it won't go higher.. I am a travel agent and my host agency does this all the time.. I am going on a family cruise in December and was able to save my family $3000 per cabin on celebrity by booking them into the group space.. So to answer your question it is very possible you just need to find out from the travel agency if that includes all taxes fees and costs..

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the board @Cruisealot2020 that's a large amount in difference. Not sure why it's that different without knowing what you told the agent. I know my MEI travel agent uses several options when looking at cruise fares. Like age, residence, C&A status, special offers etc. The advantage of using a travel agent is if there's a problem they will handle it for you. You don't waste your time on the phone or emails with Royal. Plus most travel agent offer a perk of some kind for booking with them as the cruise line pays them a commission. 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, AGSLC5 said:

Their agency most likely had block group space available.. This is when agencies buy up a bunch of rooms at a discount price and "freeze" the price so it won't go higher.. I am a travel agent and my host agency does this all the time.. I am going on a family cruise in December and was able to save my family $3000 per cabin on celebrity by booking them into the group space.. So to answer your question it is very possible you just need to find out from the travel agency if that includes all taxes fees and costs..

That's good to know! What happens if the agency can't sell a the cabins purchased?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

30 minutes ago, Fairlynew said:

I use MEI travel and have never any information about a block of rooms.  Does MEI not do this?  How can you find out if there are less expensive ways to book a cruise that MEI does not discount?

its not something that agencies advertise.. When MEI does the group cruises for Matt they use this method to obtain pricing.. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

59 minutes ago, AGSLC5 said:

after final payment if they cant sell the cabins the get released back into general inventory but at current pricing. 

So agencies can take blocks of cabins early at very low prices which drives up the price I see on Royal's website, then after they don't sell the cabins are released to the general public? I wouldn't be happy if I found out my cruise had that happening. It's mentioned all the time the cruise lines increase cabin fares as inventory for that particular category diminishes. 

So when I see those ads about ridiculous prices for a particular cruise that's what that agency did? Block out several categories of cabins? Always thought it was like a new car selling at a really low price and when you look at the details it's only for one car.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@Cruisealot2020  Hi and welcome to the RCB forum.

With enough research you will find that travel agencies will almost always have better overall deals than booking directly with Cruise lines.

I do wonder if booking with a US based agency (if even possible) will get you a better deal than booking with a Canadian one.  Did you check this out?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

18 minutes ago, YOLO said:

I do wonder if booking with a US based agency (if even possible) will get you a better deal than booking with a Canadian one.  Did you check this out?

There may indeed be a price difference when booking through a US vs non-US agency.  However, booking rules are based on where you book your travel.  For instance, US bookings are able to get price reductions but that isn't true in the UK.  On the other hand, UK bookings sometimes have drink packages included and that never happens in the US.  Another cause of price differences will be what consumer rights/protections are included based on country of booking.  I've heard European fares are generally higher but they have a lot of protections we don't have here in the US.

So to sum up, price isn't everything, make sure you understand what you are getting depending on how/where you book.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, 12thman said:

So agencies can take blocks of cabins early at very low prices which drives up the price I see on Royal's website, then after they don't sell the cabins are released to the general public? I wouldn't be happy if I found out my cruise had that happening. It's mentioned all the time the cruise lines increase cabin fares as inventory for that particular category diminishes. 

So when I see those ads about ridiculous prices for a particular cruise that's what that agency did? Block out several categories of cabins? Always thought it was like a new car selling at a really low price and when you look at the details it's only for one car.

That is exactly right.. Its very frustrating for me. I am a small agent who cant compete with big guys like vacations to go or cruises.com.. They buy up blocks of cabins when itineraries are first released and that's how they give people deals.. Now I have a host agency that buys some but they don't buy it for every sailing so its a crap shoot on whether I can actually save people money.. What I can do is offer really good customer service and OBC.. But plenty of times I lose out to big guys. Im not mad about it. its business and I understand but yes you now know how the big guys get deals lol. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 11/8/2019 at 3:10 PM, Fairlynew said:

I use MEI travel and have never any information about a block of rooms.  Does MEI not do this?  How can you find out if there are less expensive ways to book a cruise that MEI does not discount?

MEI does room blocks, primarily when they see a need for one. The most common scenario is an event like a RoyalCaribbeanBlog group cruise or a large family gathering or company event. Basically, if it makes sense to grab a bunch of rooms on a select sailing, they can do it.

Moreover, an agency such as MEI is part of a larger network of travel agencies. MEI could potentially have access to room blocks that other agencies in that agency have set up.

I often advocate to use a travel agent for the fantastic service they provide, but from time to time, they can also net you a great deal too! In short, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...