Agent vs. Direct Booking

Granted, we are a cruise agency so we are a little biased but at the same time, before we were agents, we booked our own cruises directly with the cruise lines for over 15 years.  That does give us the advantage of knowing the good points and bad points of doing it each way.  I enjoyed the freedom and convenience of doing it myself.  I loved that there was no pressure and I was able to make my own decisions without being pushed in one direction or another.  The downside is we made a lot of mistakes that would have probably been prevented if we had used a good agent.  (All of those mistakes are partly what makes us good agents now though.). We now also see all of the benefits we missed out on that are received by using an agent.  In the end, it really just comes down to your preference and your priorities, but hopefully we can help you decide and at least you will know the good and bad side of each way.

Direct w/ Cruise Line

Using an Agent

Price

When you book directly, you will be most likely be going through each cruise line site or each booking site looking for the best prices.  You will get to see every promotion on every cruise line and get to read every fine print.  (Okay that may not be a high point.). 

One of the agreements the cruise lines make with agents is they will never under price them. That means any promotion you can get with the cruise line, you can also get with an agent.  If the price goes down, it is on the agent to call and get it lowered. As part of Cruise Planners, every cruise we have booked is compared to current prices each day and if a cheaper price is found, we are notified. We then get you the upgrade or cheaper price and notify you when its done. Agents also have access to group pricing and perks that aren’t available to you if you book directly.  

Using an Agent

Using an Agent

Using an Agent

Using an Agent

Direct w/ Cruise Line

Direct w/ Cruise Line

Direct w/ Cruise Line

Direct w/ Cruise Line

Freedom

This is the reason I always booked direct. I wanted the freedom to look at all cruises, all cruise lines and make my own decisions in the end. I didn’t want an agent to push me towards a specific cruise line or itinerary because it was “their” favorite or because they received more commission on it. I was always afraid they were going to turn into used car salesmen and pressure me to book the vacation they wanted me to book. A cruise isn’t cheap and I wanted it to be 100% my decision.  

Working with an agent doesn’t mean you can’t search on your own or tell them what cruise line, destination or ship you want to cruise on. Trust me, we like it when you know what you want. But honestly, if you aren’t sure and want some suggestions, that is what they are there for.  


Also, freedom comes with a little bit of a price.  You don’t know what you don’t know. I once booked a cruise direct that looked like a great cruise for us but we ended up being the youngest people on the ship by a good 20 years. In the end, we had a great time, but if we had used an agent that was familiar with the cruise lines, they would have been able to recommend a cruise line more suitable for us. Just because an agent is recommending something, doesn’t mean it’s in their own interest.  

The convenience of using an agency often comes over time. Once you book with an agent and they have your information and know a little about you, you can just make the decisions and they do the tedious stuff.  


The real convenience though comes after you book.  If you have a questions, have a special request or need, need to make a change or the unexpected, like a pandemic, happens, your agent takes care of all of that. We have access to their systems and can make the same changes and if someone has to sit on hold with them, it’s us.  

Convenience

Its super easy to book a cruise on almost all cruise lines sites. I have to admit, it was kind of nice to just book it. You could make payments when you wanted and do everything on your own when you wanted. If I wanted to search and book it at 3:00am, I could.  It’s nice.  

Security

When you book with the cruise line, you are paying them directly and if something goes wrong, you need to get refunded, you are dealing directly with the cruise line and have some comfort that they will do the right thing.  

When you book with an agent, they are booking it through the cruise line’s system. When we take your credit card for payment, it is the cruise line charging you. If you cancel, they are the ones refunding you, not the agent. If that agency disappears tomorrow, the cruise line, not the agency, has your money.  

Service

We aren’t going to say anything bad about our partners, and if you need something, they are all going to do what ever they need to make you happy. We all want you to be happy and have a great experience, not just on the cruise but from the moment you book it.  

The advantage to having an agent is you have one contact.  You contact us and we will either take care of your questions or request directly or we will work with the cruise line to make it happen. It’s one call and one person. We don’t havre an on hold message for a reason.  Because we don’t need it.  .  

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