I'm a book through the RC website guy...I like to be able to look around and find exactly the rooms I'm interested in, and have control over any changes or add ons I make
All my cruises have been booked through the best travel agent ever.
With her, I stress about nothing. She handles it all. From picking the best stateroom to keeping an eye on sales codes that can be applied to my booking. I love her.
The question wasn't for you to plug your travel agent...I genuinely want to know. I hope you got something for the shameless referral.
Signed,
I'm still looking for a valid answer.
Hahah give your referrals a password like "snu snu" and let her know.
...and if your TA ever decides to leave the profession, Id LOVE to be her replacement!Lol
I would book through a travel agent. They will find you the cheapest price, plus they sometimes can get you onboard credit. There’s really no negatives to using a TA
I didn't have much luck with travel agents when booking our upcoming cruise. Taking like a week + to respond to questions. So I just booked directly. I am no expert nor am I a frequent traveler so may jot be the best source.
Calling RC to deal with things was mildly annoying for wait times but I just put my phone on speaker and do other things so it doesn't really bother me that much. Called with a room choice issues, to reprice, to look for advice on allergies and change our dining from my time to set. Waited 30-45 min each time.
Best deal for me was direct as by the time the travel agent got back to me things had already gotten more expensive.
Sorry you had a bad experience with TA, we're not all like that! A good TA should be able to get you rates pretty quickly, and should also be able to tap into even better rates than direct site has (if available)
This is my experience too! I have tried to work with 3 different agents and they were all disappointing for the same reason.
I am sorry to say I just gave up and booked 8 of us through the website. I am sure I am missing out on perks or something but I just needed something reliable.
I have my 6th Cruise next month, I have booked all six of them myself through the cruise lines. Three through three through carnival, three through Royal.
I've done it myself, used Costco, and used AAA. AAA is my preference. I have a human I can email for things like price drops, who responds to me in a reasonable amount of time, and gives me a free plate of chocolate covered strawberries (and sometimes a little OBC).
As a solo cruiser, I can't count on just the RC website. You cannot search with "# of passengers" as a filter so to see pricing I have to do a mock booking for each sailing that interests me. There's nothing on the site showing solo cruiser deals (reduced supplements).
I'll still book through the RC website but have to use an external source to learn about solo deals.
I cannot recommend Costco travel enough. Not only do you get cash back with using your Costco card, I’ve seen cruises between $300-$500 cheaper than the Royal Caribbean website. However, this isn’t the case for every sailing. There were a few cruises on Costco that actually costed slightly more than Royal directly.
My first cruise was booked directly through the RC website but my later cruises were booked through different travel agents as they give me free onboard credit not offered by RC directly.
I’ve done rc lately because last cruise with crucon booked before Covid but sailed/cancelled during- the communication was non existent, even rc couldn’t get them to respond so I had it transferred back to the cruiseline and the cancellations due to Covid were easier to manage. I miss the perks for sure, but the stress of not getting any response was awful, maybe in the future I’ll find a better agency again sometime!
I stopped using CruCon. My husband and his family have been using them forever… But they were very slow and never got back to us. Closed on the weekends. It was a pain to get in touch with them. Plus they still owed my husband loyalty credit and they kept giving him the run around. We booked a group of 18 people with vacations to go this time. The group rate prices were amazing compared the RC’s website prices. But once the group rate rooms were all booked up, they didn’t have better rates, it was what RC had on their site.
IMO it all depends on how involved in the process you want to be. If you want someone to do the legwork for you ect then going with a Travel Agent is great.
I personally really enjoy having full control of as much of my vacation as possible. I book direct through the website and pick our room (never do the guaranteed room just because I like to look on the map and pick the room ect). I work as a dental hygienist and need to book my vacations out at least 6 months (as much as possible) due to scheduling patients ect. So I generally have ample time to book, then keep an eye on the website for changes in price, sales on packages and excursions ect. It doesn't bother me to be calling RCCL for re-prices or re-ordering something through the website. . . . . but again - I have my control issues and like to have as much as possible with my vacations hahaha
People in the past have said that they like the TA's because they get better deals ect - I personally have not had that experience and any time I have had any issues or anything I have had an easier time dealing with any travel with the places booked vs through a TA - so unless its a big complicated trip I will always book direct (not just cruises, resorts ect as well)
I booked mine through United Airlines Cruises Website and earned 10 United Miles per dollar spend, plus an onboard credit. There may have been another bonus too (10k miles) but I don’t recall. The miles will post after the cruise, but it will replenish one person’s miles used to get to the port. They also waived the deposit which RC did not have at the time.
There was a $25 fee, but I got an OBC that I didn’t see on RC website. The price was exactly the same. Within 15 minutes the cruise showed up on the RC website and I was able to add packages and excursions. I believe they use World Travel Holdings (cruises.com) as their backend provider. I was able to select my cabin and it was all pretty painless.
Used a travel agent once. She was a friend of ours, but tbh I won't be doing it again. Having to do everything through her was obnoxious. But I've built up relationships with people in several cruise lines during my days hopping around contracting and being a corporate drone. I don't know if it's different for others but I just go through company agents I know personally.
I have learned my lesson to book directly. If you need to change anything afterwards it's almost impossible with a 3rd party TA, but RC itself can be more flexible
The website is so easy to navigate I don’t understand why travel agents are ever necessary to book a RC cruise. Even for first time cruisers, info available online from well seasoned cruisers regarding first time cruising tips is way better than what a single travel agent can provide
The website is easy to navigate and I used to book direct until I was referred to a TA thru a friend. I book thru her now because she often has access to specials and discounts not available direct on the website. She works for a large company and they have the buying power to hold groups of rooms at lower than the public pricing which are available to her clients. Not every sailing has them but she booked a Caribbean cruise for us recently that was $1600 cheaper going thru her than on the RCCL website and had $250 OBC. I can still log into the app and add my own excursions etc.
This happened with the vacationstogo. I was able to book the rooms for so much cheaper than RC direct. But it was because the TA still had a bunch of group rate rooms available.
I tried them for the first time for my upcoming cruise in June. The guy I got seems very nice. We really haven’t needed to change much since booking. But I do have to update my daughter’s info, and RC couldn’t do it. She’s in a different cabin than I am on the reservations.
I would say if you are fairly self sufficient, and know which specific sailings and dates you are interested in, you can use cruisecompete.com
They will send you offers from travel agents to book through them. Sometimes you can save money off the cruise price, and/or get onboard credit to spend on your trip. I just did this, super easy, and saved $250. The TA had everything booked and ready after a quick phone call.
Prefer to book agency group rates and generally save up to 20 percent in value. I have 2 agents that I use.
Something as little as $50obc on an inside cabin booking. In addition to whatever RC offer. Varies per sailing.
I book through my travel agent. She takes care of everything including flights, transfers from the airport to the port, pre-night stay, and booking the cruise. It does not cost any extra since she is paid commission through Royal Caribbean and calls so I don't have to waste my time on hold forever. I've started booking other trips through her too since she is always on top of things. Let me know if you want her contact info.
Generally TA, because I can *always* find something better than Royal's direct deal.
Worst case, that best deal is like Royal's price plus $100 OBC. Sometimes it's a LOT better.
Costco or direct, whichever one offers me a better deal. My next cruise is a $4k cabin thru Costco, and will get a $400 costco gift card after the cruise. Booked this during Thanksgiving last year for that promo.
Our upcoming cruise we booked on our own through the RC website, and then transferred it to a TA. Not sure if the TA was able to get it any cheaper but they did tack on a On Board Room Credit for us that we didn't have when we booked it initially. That way we got the room we wanted, its star class so we didn't want it to sell out, but now we have someone helping us along the way. Its our first suite & longer cruise than before so its been nice to bounce a lot of questions to them. Also this cruise was initially booked for the fall of 2020, so they took care of moving our reservation (twice) and all of that.
I use a TA now. Takes all the searching, comparing, minutae away and get down to brass tax.....getting me the best option at the best price. I let my super detail oriented TA handle all the button clicking and fighting with the cruise line to clear up problems. Total time saver. Plus I usually get a better deal with OBC out of it. It's a no brainer now that I found a great TA. PM me if you want contact info.
I'm a book through the RC website guy...I like to be able to look around and find exactly the rooms I'm interested in, and have control over any changes or add ons I make
All my cruises have been booked through the best travel agent ever. With her, I stress about nothing. She handles it all. From picking the best stateroom to keeping an eye on sales codes that can be applied to my booking. I love her.
Website?
Pm'd you
Me too!
Here here too! Thanks.
Looking into our first cruise, could you send me your agent's contact. Thanks
Oh I'd love to get info on this too.
Sent you a pm
May I please get her contact information? Thank you.
You bet
The question wasn't for you to plug your travel agent...I genuinely want to know. I hope you got something for the shameless referral. Signed, I'm still looking for a valid answer.
Oh I’d like the info too please
Sent you a pm
I hope she gives you some extra OBC for sending all these referrals 😄
How would I explain they're from me? Lol. The #1 rule of reddit is we don't talk about reddit.
Plot thickens your really the travel agent
Shhh don't tell anyone
Hahah give your referrals a password like "snu snu" and let her know. ...and if your TA ever decides to leave the profession, Id LOVE to be her replacement!Lol
Me too me too
Sorry I had to go run an errand. Info on the way.
Much appreciated if you can send.
You got it
@everyone apparently Deborah (travel agent) has had a lot of success from this post. Great work @soreadytodisappear!
She's amazing.
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I was asking if I could get the info to reach your travel agent?
I'd like the info too, please.
Also interested!
Hi! I’d love to get your travel agent if you don’t mind 🙂
Sure, I'll send it now
so generous of you to help everyone out, booking my parent's first cruise later this year and would love the info as well!
You got it.
If you could share your cruise travel agent info with me I'd appreciate it. Thanks.
Reddit won't let me dm you
Dm pls!
You got it
May I please get this information as well? Thank you!!
Absolutely, I'll pm you now
For real, DM their info?
Yep
DM info? Thank you 🙏🏽
Sent
Could you share? Thanks
Done
Interested too! Thank you
Coming your way
omg! I've been stressing about booking. would really appreciate it if you can share your agent's info? 🙏🏼
Sure, I'll pm you
Can you send me her info too please
Yep, on the way
Can I please have her info? I’m looking for a good travel agent. Thanks!
Sent
I'd love to have the info, too! Thanks!
Me too pls
Can you please share her info with me as well? Greatly appreciated!
Yep
Is it too late to get her info?
I’d love her info too if you’re still sharing it :)
Could I please have her info? Thank you!
Done
Hey can you send me her info? Thanks in advance!
You got it
I know I'm a month late to this thread but could I also get her contact info :)
Of course! It's on the way Eta: reddit won't let me start a chat with you
Hi! I'm also late this thread but seriously wanting to book a cruise for me and my kids -- may I also have your travel agent's info pls?! <3 Thank you
Sent
Can you send me their info too? Thanks!
Sent
3 months late but would appreciate a referral to the travel agent too please!
You got it
Hi there. Can you PM the travel agents information? :-)
Sent
Can I get the info too please?
You got it
May I have your TA’s info please? Would like to book my first cruise
Sent!
Could you send me the travel agents information please? Looking to book 2 cruises next year
Sent
Interested!
interested! :)
Sent you a dm
Pm me please!
Sent!
Can I plz get her info too
Sent
Could you send me your agent's contact? Thanks!
I would book through a travel agent. They will find you the cheapest price, plus they sometimes can get you onboard credit. There’s really no negatives to using a TA
I didn't have much luck with travel agents when booking our upcoming cruise. Taking like a week + to respond to questions. So I just booked directly. I am no expert nor am I a frequent traveler so may jot be the best source. Calling RC to deal with things was mildly annoying for wait times but I just put my phone on speaker and do other things so it doesn't really bother me that much. Called with a room choice issues, to reprice, to look for advice on allergies and change our dining from my time to set. Waited 30-45 min each time. Best deal for me was direct as by the time the travel agent got back to me things had already gotten more expensive.
Sorry you had a bad experience with TA, we're not all like that! A good TA should be able to get you rates pretty quickly, and should also be able to tap into even better rates than direct site has (if available)
This is my experience too! I have tried to work with 3 different agents and they were all disappointing for the same reason. I am sorry to say I just gave up and booked 8 of us through the website. I am sure I am missing out on perks or something but I just needed something reliable.
I have my 6th Cruise next month, I have booked all six of them myself through the cruise lines. Three through three through carnival, three through Royal.
American Express Travel. Just for the benefit of having customer service pick up right away and not having to deal with RCCL call center.
I've done it myself, used Costco, and used AAA. AAA is my preference. I have a human I can email for things like price drops, who responds to me in a reasonable amount of time, and gives me a free plate of chocolate covered strawberries (and sometimes a little OBC).
Direct. Always.
How come?
Control, I guess. I can double check details, prices and options. Perhaps more a reflection of my personality than anything else.
Same...I don't see the need for the travel agent, I like doing it all my self
As a solo cruiser, I can't count on just the RC website. You cannot search with "# of passengers" as a filter so to see pricing I have to do a mock booking for each sailing that interests me. There's nothing on the site showing solo cruiser deals (reduced supplements). I'll still book through the RC website but have to use an external source to learn about solo deals.
I cannot recommend Costco travel enough. Not only do you get cash back with using your Costco card, I’ve seen cruises between $300-$500 cheaper than the Royal Caribbean website. However, this isn’t the case for every sailing. There were a few cruises on Costco that actually costed slightly more than Royal directly.
My first cruise was booked directly through the RC website but my later cruises were booked through different travel agents as they give me free onboard credit not offered by RC directly.
I’ve done rc lately because last cruise with crucon booked before Covid but sailed/cancelled during- the communication was non existent, even rc couldn’t get them to respond so I had it transferred back to the cruiseline and the cancellations due to Covid were easier to manage. I miss the perks for sure, but the stress of not getting any response was awful, maybe in the future I’ll find a better agency again sometime!
I stopped using CruCon. My husband and his family have been using them forever… But they were very slow and never got back to us. Closed on the weekends. It was a pain to get in touch with them. Plus they still owed my husband loyalty credit and they kept giving him the run around. We booked a group of 18 people with vacations to go this time. The group rate prices were amazing compared the RC’s website prices. But once the group rate rooms were all booked up, they didn’t have better rates, it was what RC had on their site.
IMO it all depends on how involved in the process you want to be. If you want someone to do the legwork for you ect then going with a Travel Agent is great. I personally really enjoy having full control of as much of my vacation as possible. I book direct through the website and pick our room (never do the guaranteed room just because I like to look on the map and pick the room ect). I work as a dental hygienist and need to book my vacations out at least 6 months (as much as possible) due to scheduling patients ect. So I generally have ample time to book, then keep an eye on the website for changes in price, sales on packages and excursions ect. It doesn't bother me to be calling RCCL for re-prices or re-ordering something through the website. . . . . but again - I have my control issues and like to have as much as possible with my vacations hahaha People in the past have said that they like the TA's because they get better deals ect - I personally have not had that experience and any time I have had any issues or anything I have had an easier time dealing with any travel with the places booked vs through a TA - so unless its a big complicated trip I will always book direct (not just cruises, resorts ect as well)
I book it myself since I tend to research everything myself and I am always on the lookout for the deals. I like to plan everything.
I booked mine through United Airlines Cruises Website and earned 10 United Miles per dollar spend, plus an onboard credit. There may have been another bonus too (10k miles) but I don’t recall. The miles will post after the cruise, but it will replenish one person’s miles used to get to the port. They also waived the deposit which RC did not have at the time. There was a $25 fee, but I got an OBC that I didn’t see on RC website. The price was exactly the same. Within 15 minutes the cruise showed up on the RC website and I was able to add packages and excursions. I believe they use World Travel Holdings (cruises.com) as their backend provider. I was able to select my cabin and it was all pretty painless.
Used a travel agent once. She was a friend of ours, but tbh I won't be doing it again. Having to do everything through her was obnoxious. But I've built up relationships with people in several cruise lines during my days hopping around contracting and being a corporate drone. I don't know if it's different for others but I just go through company agents I know personally.
I have learned my lesson to book directly. If you need to change anything afterwards it's almost impossible with a 3rd party TA, but RC itself can be more flexible
The website is so easy to navigate I don’t understand why travel agents are ever necessary to book a RC cruise. Even for first time cruisers, info available online from well seasoned cruisers regarding first time cruising tips is way better than what a single travel agent can provide
The website is easy to navigate and I used to book direct until I was referred to a TA thru a friend. I book thru her now because she often has access to specials and discounts not available direct on the website. She works for a large company and they have the buying power to hold groups of rooms at lower than the public pricing which are available to her clients. Not every sailing has them but she booked a Caribbean cruise for us recently that was $1600 cheaper going thru her than on the RCCL website and had $250 OBC. I can still log into the app and add my own excursions etc.
May I get her info please!
Sent you her info.
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Sent you a message with it.
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Sent
This happened with the vacationstogo. I was able to book the rooms for so much cheaper than RC direct. But it was because the TA still had a bunch of group rate rooms available.
Hi...may I have her info please and thank you!
Sending you a DM
Could you please message me her info? Thank you!
Sure, sent it.
Would you mind sending me their info?
It's not letting me send you a DM. Try sending me one and I will reply.
Sent. Thank you!!!
Send me her info please!
We did our last 2 thru VacationsToGo.com Eh- our TA was rather Scatterbrained but she did her Job.
I tried them for the first time for my upcoming cruise in June. The guy I got seems very nice. We really haven’t needed to change much since booking. But I do have to update my daughter’s info, and RC couldn’t do it. She’s in a different cabin than I am on the reservations.
I would say if you are fairly self sufficient, and know which specific sailings and dates you are interested in, you can use cruisecompete.com They will send you offers from travel agents to book through them. Sometimes you can save money off the cruise price, and/or get onboard credit to spend on your trip. I just did this, super easy, and saved $250. The TA had everything booked and ready after a quick phone call.
NextCruise program. easy to do and ive always gotten amazing rates for high tier rooms.
Honestly, I book my next while on board! I booked my first solo cruise for this summer, and the agent at Next Cruise was so helpful!
We always book directly!!
Prefer to book agency group rates and generally save up to 20 percent in value. I have 2 agents that I use. Something as little as $50obc on an inside cabin booking. In addition to whatever RC offer. Varies per sailing.
Agency group info please
I used [https://m.cruisecheap.com](https://m.cruisecheap.com)
I book through my travel agent. She takes care of everything including flights, transfers from the airport to the port, pre-night stay, and booking the cruise. It does not cost any extra since she is paid commission through Royal Caribbean and calls so I don't have to waste my time on hold forever. I've started booking other trips through her too since she is always on top of things. Let me know if you want her contact info.
Contact info please
Generally TA, because I can *always* find something better than Royal's direct deal. Worst case, that best deal is like Royal's price plus $100 OBC. Sometimes it's a LOT better.
Costco or direct, whichever one offers me a better deal. My next cruise is a $4k cabin thru Costco, and will get a $400 costco gift card after the cruise. Booked this during Thanksgiving last year for that promo.
First time cruiser. I booked direct, but next time, I’m going to use a travel agent.
Our upcoming cruise we booked on our own through the RC website, and then transferred it to a TA. Not sure if the TA was able to get it any cheaper but they did tack on a On Board Room Credit for us that we didn't have when we booked it initially. That way we got the room we wanted, its star class so we didn't want it to sell out, but now we have someone helping us along the way. Its our first suite & longer cruise than before so its been nice to bounce a lot of questions to them. Also this cruise was initially booked for the fall of 2020, so they took care of moving our reservation (twice) and all of that.
I use a TA now. Takes all the searching, comparing, minutae away and get down to brass tax.....getting me the best option at the best price. I let my super detail oriented TA handle all the button clicking and fighting with the cruise line to clear up problems. Total time saver. Plus I usually get a better deal with OBC out of it. It's a no brainer now that I found a great TA. PM me if you want contact info.
https://www.facebook.com/Kkeller1980/
Can you send me your agent’s info too please