kellyrc Posted February 16, 2023 Report Share Posted February 16, 2023 Hello, I am booking a cruise on Freedom of the Seas for January 8, 2024. I booked with travel agents in the past, but this time I found that the price is cheaper directly on the RC website than what my travel agent offered me. $85 cheaper! Should I stick with the travel agent or book directly on the website? Do the benefits of a travel agent outweigh the more expensive price? Last time, I believe my travel agent gave us onboard credit so I am hoping she would be able to do the same if we do book with her. I would love some advice! Thank you! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted February 16, 2023 Report Share Posted February 16, 2023 I've never had a travel agent charge more than the price on the website. I'd find a different travel agent. jbrinkm, VirtKitty, Cactus527 and 10 others 12 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloatyBoaty Posted February 16, 2023 Report Share Posted February 16, 2023 My last travel agent charged a per person "service fee" and an additional fee if they were able to reprice a cruise. After spending some time on these message boards and finding out that that was absolutely NOT the norm (and a couple of other reasons too), I changed travel agents. Jenn G-MEI Travel, Neesa, Sharla and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid4c4 Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 Travel agents get a commission from the cruise lines. Find one which will accept the commission as their total compensation. Our cruise lady has booked our last 60 cruises and has saved us thousands of dollars finding good deals and bookings. Bill ChessE4 and kellyrc 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AandD Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 We use a travel agent because he takes care of us. I think we get a little less OBC when booking with him versus next Cruise, but he takes care of us. last cruise we booked with him was a refundable deposit. It was cheaper than Royals nonrefundable deposit. kellyrc and ChessE4 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wordell1 Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 You can actually book it yourself and transfer it to a travel agent if you want the best of both worlds. TA's should not charge anything extra - definitely a red flag if they are doing this. Jenn G-MEI Travel, CruiseGus, Neesa and 2 others 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 19 hours ago, kellyrc said: I booked with travel agents in the past, but this time I found that the price is cheaper directly on the RC website than what my travel agent offered me. $85 cheaper! Did you ensure the web price also includes taxes, fees, insurance or gratuities? A lot of TAs will include these in their quote so there's no surprises later. The website, however, doesn't always add them unless you add them. Jenn G-MEI Travel, WAAAYTOOO and DoomSlayer 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoomSlayer Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 I've never paid more using a travel agent than if I had booked direct. In fact, I have always come out slightly ahead with a travel agent because they usually add some on board credit to the deal as well -- separate and in addition to any on board credit royal gives me. The only time I don't get on board credit from my TA is when he helps me book casino comp travel unless I do a big upgrade -- only because his margin is skinny on these deals which I understand completely. kellyrc and rjweber3 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rjweber3 Posted February 17, 2023 Report Share Posted February 17, 2023 20 hours ago, kellyrc said: Do the benefits of a travel agent outweigh the more expensive price? Last time, I believe my travel agent gave us onboard credit so I am hoping she would be able to do the same if we do book with her. I believe they certainly do. Ours provides many services upon which we have come to depend. Such as repricing, finding an existing group cruise to which to add us at the group rate, ensuring that special or medical requests are communicated and acknowledged by the ship and a host of others. If an agent tried to charge an upcharge, I would find another, as many above have said. IMHO $85 is no reason to forgo the backup of a good TA. kellyrc and DoomSlayer 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyrc Posted February 18, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2023 20 hours ago, Matt said: Did you ensure the web price also includes taxes, fees, insurance or gratuities? A lot of TAs will include these in their quote so there's no surprises later. The website, however, doesn't always add them unless you add them. Yes the web price included all of that! I think the problem was the travel insurance - she was using a more expensive travel insurance than what RC offered. I just switched to MEI travel SpeedNoodles, stevendom57, Sharla and 4 others 5 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted February 18, 2023 Report Share Posted February 18, 2023 3 hours ago, kellyrc said: Yes the web price included all of that! I think the problem was the travel insurance - she was using a more expensive travel insurance than what RC offered. I just switched to MEI travel Just remember that Royal's insurance contractor and policy coverage isn't as good as some others. There is a reason it is cheaper. We still use it for some cruises, but not all. We sometimes want better coverage offered by other carriers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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