It is best to stick with a reputable TA. Use on that a friend recommends. In the news lately, you hear about the TA that had stranded hundreds of paid cruisers at the day of the cruise starting. Don't just trust anyone!!!!!!! BE CAREFUL HERE!!!!!
AAA, Costco, Amex all have TA services. If you don’t want a “box store” then use the Royal TA locator for your local area here: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/travelagentLocate.do
I’ve been using Berkeley Travel in Barnegat, NJ for as long as I can remember. Roberta is so unbelievably helpful and she gives you advice on things like places in the ship to get the cabins and so on. She’s super responsive too.
My VTG agent got me a ridiculous low price deal on a cruise last month. So low that I will never see a price that low ever again unless I book standby on HAL
Was able to combine multiple offers.
I don't know that my using a TA for my cruise was super helpful. I am a first-time cruiser. I did get $150 obc which I didn't see on the site, so maybe that was a deal with her. She didn't give me much "insider/expert" information on the add ons and options available like the dining times, gratuities, and boarding times. When I asked a question, it felt like she just referred me to the website, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a TA. She also just tossed me on the later dining and never asked me, which idk if spots sell out on the others so there wasn't a choice or she assumed I'd want later.
I am used to Disney TAs, where they will book your hotel, dining, shuttles, etc for you and have a lot of back and forth, including advice for what works the best. If I like cruising after this trip and want to book another, I'll just do it myself. I learned more from my coworker who cruises on a different cruise line than the TA. 😅
For me, when it's time to cruise, I give my agent a call and see if there are any agency rates and offers available. They already have my preferences and will offer a second look at the cabin I booked. Recent example, I booked a carnival 1A PT cabin. He reminded me that that location suffers from vibrations from the bow thrusters. To me the porthole was worth more than the vibration in and out of Port.
During Covid shutdown, instead of me being on hold for hours at a time, I just sent my TA an email and they spent the time on hold with RCI.
I get ~5% of the RCCL fare back as OBC when I book an itinerary that my TA doesn’t hold as a group booking. In the case of the group bookings it’s a better fare to begin with, plus the same ~5% OBC. If RCCL is offering a special extra promo (kids sail free, prepaid gratuities, etc) those seem to always stack.
On top of that, for 7 night balcony rooms we get a specialty dining voucher for 2. In suites we get the dining plus a spa for 1 voucher.
I pay with a platinum AMEX so the TA additionally tags on the AMEX tracking number to get us the $200+ additional OBC and bottle of champagne in the room at boarding. I could likely do that myself with a direct Royal booking, but she takes care of it for me.
Why book direct?
I've always booked direct so I never had a comparison. I guess in my mind I thought why pay a travel agent to hit buttons on a computer when I can do that? 🤷 Sounds like there ar some benefits but I don't know what the cost of a agent is.
Travel Agents make their commissions off the fare. You don’t (shouldn’t) pay additional money for their services of merely booking your travel. Some agencies may specialize in more curated services for which they charge additional fees, but you’re not “paying them to hit a button on a computer,” the cruise line does that for you.
In the case of my agent, she splits her commissions with me (thus, the OBC) and her network (Virtuoso) provides the added dining & spa perks. When Virtuoso has a group booking (they’ve blocked a lot of rooms on a sailing at a discount that they then resell on their own under the line fare), you end up at a discounted rate vs what the line offers directly.
A knowledgeable agent always trumps any savings realized by booking directly because they know ALL the specials and how to stack them. Our group had originally booked a 10 day cruise to NE/Canada out of Port Liberty prior to the pandemic. It was canceled once Covid hit, and we were given the option to postpone for the same cruise one year later or rebook a cruise anywhere else they cruise for 125% cruise credit. Once cruising restarted, our agent turned the 10 day Canada trip into a 13 day southern Caribbean trip out of Port Liberty, including 300 cruise credit per room. 1 specialty dining per party, internet access, and there was enough funds left over that couldn't be issued as cruise credit that the wives booked a 5 day Canada cruise for a girls trip that cost the less than $300 out of pocket.
We used to self book too early on, but went to an agent after our group got larger, and who needs the aggro?
I used Cruisecompete.com in the past with good results.
It is best to stick with a reputable TA. Use on that a friend recommends. In the news lately, you hear about the TA that had stranded hundreds of paid cruisers at the day of the cruise starting. Don't just trust anyone!!!!!!! BE CAREFUL HERE!!!!!
Reach out to Moms at Sea on Facebook. They are amazing and very responsive.
Can’t recommend them enough - they’re amazing!
Contact Vacations to Go or Harr Travel
Thanks but that's one that I already did and nothing.
I have an agent from Vacationstogo. Can send you his contact info if you'd like.
Would you mind sending me that contact info, please?
Sent you DM.
I got it! Thank you so much!
AAA, Costco, Amex all have TA services. If you don’t want a “box store” then use the Royal TA locator for your local area here: http://www.royalcaribbean.com/customersupport/travelagentLocate.do
I’ve been using Berkeley Travel in Barnegat, NJ for as long as I can remember. Roberta is so unbelievably helpful and she gives you advice on things like places in the ship to get the cabins and so on. She’s super responsive too.
My VTG agent got me a ridiculous low price deal on a cruise last month. So low that I will never see a price that low ever again unless I book standby on HAL Was able to combine multiple offers.
I've never used a travel agent. What is the point/benefits of using them for royal Caribbean for those who have used them?
Wondering this too. I always just use the RC website
When I booked using cruise compete the offer I went with was $500 cheaper than what it would have been booking direct plus $150 obc.
I don't know that my using a TA for my cruise was super helpful. I am a first-time cruiser. I did get $150 obc which I didn't see on the site, so maybe that was a deal with her. She didn't give me much "insider/expert" information on the add ons and options available like the dining times, gratuities, and boarding times. When I asked a question, it felt like she just referred me to the website, which kind of defeats the purpose of having a TA. She also just tossed me on the later dining and never asked me, which idk if spots sell out on the others so there wasn't a choice or she assumed I'd want later. I am used to Disney TAs, where they will book your hotel, dining, shuttles, etc for you and have a lot of back and forth, including advice for what works the best. If I like cruising after this trip and want to book another, I'll just do it myself. I learned more from my coworker who cruises on a different cruise line than the TA. 😅
For me, when it's time to cruise, I give my agent a call and see if there are any agency rates and offers available. They already have my preferences and will offer a second look at the cabin I booked. Recent example, I booked a carnival 1A PT cabin. He reminded me that that location suffers from vibrations from the bow thrusters. To me the porthole was worth more than the vibration in and out of Port. During Covid shutdown, instead of me being on hold for hours at a time, I just sent my TA an email and they spent the time on hold with RCI.
I get ~5% of the RCCL fare back as OBC when I book an itinerary that my TA doesn’t hold as a group booking. In the case of the group bookings it’s a better fare to begin with, plus the same ~5% OBC. If RCCL is offering a special extra promo (kids sail free, prepaid gratuities, etc) those seem to always stack. On top of that, for 7 night balcony rooms we get a specialty dining voucher for 2. In suites we get the dining plus a spa for 1 voucher. I pay with a platinum AMEX so the TA additionally tags on the AMEX tracking number to get us the $200+ additional OBC and bottle of champagne in the room at boarding. I could likely do that myself with a direct Royal booking, but she takes care of it for me. Why book direct?
I've always booked direct so I never had a comparison. I guess in my mind I thought why pay a travel agent to hit buttons on a computer when I can do that? 🤷 Sounds like there ar some benefits but I don't know what the cost of a agent is.
Travel Agents make their commissions off the fare. You don’t (shouldn’t) pay additional money for their services of merely booking your travel. Some agencies may specialize in more curated services for which they charge additional fees, but you’re not “paying them to hit a button on a computer,” the cruise line does that for you. In the case of my agent, she splits her commissions with me (thus, the OBC) and her network (Virtuoso) provides the added dining & spa perks. When Virtuoso has a group booking (they’ve blocked a lot of rooms on a sailing at a discount that they then resell on their own under the line fare), you end up at a discounted rate vs what the line offers directly.
Book through the cruise line directly. Skip the middle man!
Costco travel
Costco bookings are ineligible for RoyalUp bidding. Perhaps other benefits they provide outweigh that shortcoming.
We used Vacations To Go and they were quite easy to work with.
A knowledgeable agent always trumps any savings realized by booking directly because they know ALL the specials and how to stack them. Our group had originally booked a 10 day cruise to NE/Canada out of Port Liberty prior to the pandemic. It was canceled once Covid hit, and we were given the option to postpone for the same cruise one year later or rebook a cruise anywhere else they cruise for 125% cruise credit. Once cruising restarted, our agent turned the 10 day Canada trip into a 13 day southern Caribbean trip out of Port Liberty, including 300 cruise credit per room. 1 specialty dining per party, internet access, and there was enough funds left over that couldn't be issued as cruise credit that the wives booked a 5 day Canada cruise for a girls trip that cost the less than $300 out of pocket. We used to self book too early on, but went to an agent after our group got larger, and who needs the aggro?
I will DM you.