Tamerlane Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 I'm sorry if this has been discussed already. I tried searching the boards, to no avail. If I have a Travel Agent that I really like, but know the next cruise I want to plan... What are the pros/cons of booking on-board during my current cruise vs with my TA? THANKS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JG1209 Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 Ok, I deleted my original post.. I totally misread what you asked LOL I do the same thing. I kind of do the research ahead of time. The advantage of TA- they can sometimes offer discounts that are not published. For example, they may offer an on board credit through them, because they have a group on that specific cruise... or they may be able to offer you a discount because of booking with a group. A good TA will also keep an eye out for additional promotions that might happen- allowing for a possible reduction in cost. I have booked with a TA with a refundable deposit and then when on a cruise- sat down with NextCruise. If I can get a better deal, I cancel with the TA and then book with NextCruise.. and just have them transfer the new info to the TA. I was told that this does not impact the TA at all. I hope that this is true. Tamerlane 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 We just booked at Next Cruise to take advantage of the lower deposit (nonrefundable). The Next Cruise representative transferred the bookings to our agent right away. ChessE4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Va4fam Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 I'm glad that you posted this question. Thinking about booking two more cruises right now during "wave season" but didn't want to miss out on the NextCruise offers either. Sounds like I can book now with the TA and doublecheck with NextCruise on my Feb. cruise to see if they can do better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L454S Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 Once you book with the TA, the only way you can get the "Booking Onboard Deal" would be to cancel and rebook while onboard your next sailing. If you book a nonrefundable with T/A, that will cost you. Even if you book a refundable with the T/A, you will have to cancel and rebook at the current rate while onboard. It works well when you book onboard(especially the longer sailings) and then transfer the booking to get your T/A OBC. You have 60 days after booking onboard to transfer to your T/A. If your current cruise(the one you are on) is through an agent, it will be on file with RCI, and usually is automatically transferred to your agent on file. My agent generally gives about 8% of the cruise fare(before taxes) as OBC. Booking a specific cruise ------------------------- •5-7 night cruises ◦Interior/Oceanview: $50 ◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $100 ◦Grand Suite and above: $200 •8-10 night cruises ◦Interior/Oceanview: $100 ◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $150 ◦Grand Suite and above: $300 •11-14 night cruises ◦Interior/Oceanview: $150 ◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $200 ◦Grand Suite and above: $400 •15 nights or longer cruises ◦Interior/Oceanview: $200 ◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $250 ◦Grand Suite and above: $500 Va4fam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JG1209 Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 8 hours ago, Va4fam said: I'm glad that you posted this question. Thinking about booking two more cruises right now during "wave season" but didn't want to miss out on the NextCruise offers either. Sounds like I can book now with the TA and doublecheck with NextCruise on my Feb. cruise to see if they can do better. Just make sure it is a refundable deposit Va4fam 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danv3 Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 I booked onboard recently. My TA almost immediately found me a much better deal for the same room and I rebooked the next day. Had to pay the higher deposit, but ended up much better off. Va4fam and AnnetteJackson 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 My experience has been that if you book on board and transfer to your TA you get the onboard booking bonus and whatever deal your TA would have given you as well. I think the second part depends on your TA more than anything else though and what their policy is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flacruiser99 Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 1 hour ago, danv3 said: I booked onboard recently. My TA almost immediately found me a much better deal for the same room and I rebooked the next day. Had to pay the higher deposit, but ended up much better off. Did you also loose your NRD? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 You can book onboard and still use your travel agent. I do this all the time. Tell the NextCruise agent to attribute the new booking back to your agent. codyh21, AnnetteJackson and dr martini 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Va4fam Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 Not trying to hijack the thread......my next cruise is in 4 weeks and some of the deals I see right now may not be around by the time I get onboard and meet with NextCruise. NextCruise has been fantastic with getting my TA (MEI travel) the information when I make a booking. AnnetteJackson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saytheb Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 I see a lot of people mentioning using TAs.. can other make some suggestions (even if in a direct message) or point me towards some previous threads? Seems like I'm missing out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 Just now, saytheb said: I see a lot of people mentioning using TAs.. can other make some suggestions (even if in a direct message) or point me towards some previous threads? Seems like I'm missing out! Suggestions for a good travel agent? I recommend and personally use MEI Travel (Disclosure: MEI Travel is a paid sponsor of this site. I used them even before they were a sponsor) https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/mei saytheb, Va4fam and AnnetteJackson 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VillainsGin Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 9 hours ago, L454S said: •5-7 night cruises ◦Interior/Oceanview: $50 ◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $100 ◦Grand Suite and above: $200 •8-10 night cruises ◦Interior/Oceanview: $100 ◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $150 ◦Grand Suite and above: $300 •11-14 night cruises ◦Interior/Oceanview: $150 ◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $200 ◦Grand Suite and above: $400 •15 nights or longer cruises ◦Interior/Oceanview: $200 ◦Balcony/Junior Suite: $250 ◦Grand Suite and above: $500 What kind of rates or ship is this? I have never seen it that cheap before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neesa Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 @TJ!, the above indicates examples of on board credits tethered to the actual monies spent on your cruise fare. When you book sometimes this incentive is afforded to make the booking more attractive. A great TA though is so much more then an OBC. (Albeit OBC is nice! ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnetteJackson Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 12 minutes ago, TJ! said: What kind of rates or ship is this? I have never seen it that cheap before. While these are OBC given by a particular TA remember that TAs are more than ways to get money back on your trip. They do work for you on your cruise and the cruise line pays them a commission. if they are giving you back a "gift" of OBC it is coming most times out of the agents pocket. The level of service you get could suffer if they are giving you back everything they would be making on the cruise as an OBC. I recommend interviewing a few agents and asking questions about services provided, will they price adjust for you, is there a fee as some agencies do have fees to work with them and some do not, knowledge of the product, how they communicate with clients, and gifts. And this is a short list - haha You are trusting this person with your vacation, memories and credit card.... make sure you know what you are getting Matt, teddy and Neesa 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
L454S Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 18 minutes ago, TJ! said: What kind of rates or ship is this? I have never seen it that cheap before. Those are the onboard booking discounts for each length cruise and cabin type given by Royal Caribbean, not your T/A. You then see what your agent will give you for the booking. A double discount...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teddy Posted January 24, 2020 Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 1 hour ago, AnnetteJackson said: While these are OBC given by a particular TA remember that TAs are more than ways to get money back on your trip. They do work for you on your cruise This. We used a travel agent for the first time ever when booking my cruise next week. After it was booked, I wanted to add my son to the booking so they could join me. All it took was an email, and they were added. It was just that simple. As far as I’m concerned, this was worth more to me than onboard credit..a simple email vs. waiting on hold forever to try to explain to a Royal Caribbean agent what I wanted to do. In addition, I’ve had questions that were answered immediately for me. No waiting on hold or straining to understand. Things like this are why I am so happy with our decision to use an agent. I feel I have an advocate in my corner who will navigate the tangled web of pre-cruise customer service. I’ll never go back to booking on my own Neesa and Tamerlane 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tamerlane Posted January 24, 2020 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2020 Thank you all for the great advice! This current cruise is my first time using a TA and he has been great. I didn't want to miss out on his service just to get a better ($$) deal onboard. It is comforting knowing that if I decide to book another cruise during my trip, it will be able to be connected to my TA Happy Sailing Neesa 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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