Are Cruise deals over?

Just another reason why I like Crystal. I don't believe that you can
book directly with them. They refer you to a TA.

It seems to me that Celebrity will have to lower their prices to remain
competitive with the other mass market lines that don't discourage
rebating.

Some of them may be the same passengers who bring on boxes of wine, cartons of
cola, create endless posts about how to smuggle on booze

I dont have a problem with that at all. I agree that cruise ships
need to bring in more shipboard income but they have crossed the line
when it comes to booze. $5/drink + 15% gratuity. It gets to be
insane.

On our way to boarding the ship the taxi stops at a liquor store. My
wife buys some wine (which can be recorked for her glass at a time)
and I get Corona and some wine coolers. Put all that stuff in your
baggage that they take on the ship for you. You are no longer on the
plane so the wight isn't a real big problem. Use your clothes to wrap
them up. 12 pack of Corona = $11 plus the absolute convience of
having it in your room.

The fridge in our room keeps a few drinks cool and the rest are left
in our luggage under the bed. Drink a few and replace them that night
for the next day.

There is nothing like the evenings having a beer or wine while hanging
out in your balcony.

If the cruse lines didn't want to be complete RAPE YOU BLIND money
pirates, open up a freaking store on the ship. Sell bottles of wine,
bottles of beer and wine coolers with the stipulation that it is not
for shipboard comsumption but in your stateroom. That cola thing is a
problem too. Sell some ****ing resealable bottles already !!! You
may not want to order a $4 glass of soda every time you are a little
bit thristy. Having a cold resealable bottle to take a sip out of is
fantastic.

Selling huge bottles of booze for $12 is stupid if you can buy all you
want but they don't give it to you until you leave their ship.

If there are unfair practices in the world, there will always be ways
to get around them..........................

Some of them may be the same passengers who bring on boxes of wine, cartons of
cola, create endless posts about how to smuggle on booze

I dont have a problem with that at all. I agree that cruise ships
need to bring in more shipboard income but they have crossed the line
when it comes to booze. $5/drink + 15% gratuity. It gets to be
insane.

On our way to boarding the ship the taxi stops at a liquor store. My
wife buys some wine (which can be recorked for her glass at a time)
and I get Corona and some wine coolers. Put all that stuff in your
baggage that they take on the ship for you. You are no longer on the
plane so the wight isn't a real big problem. Use your clothes to wrap
them up. 12 pack of Corona = $11 plus the absolute convience of
having it in your room.

The fridge in our room keeps a few drinks cool and the rest are left
in our luggage under the bed. Drink a few and replace them that night
for the next day.

There is nothing like the evenings having a beer or wine while hanging
out in your balcony.

If the cruse lines didn't want to be complete RAPE YOU BLIND money
pirates, open up a freaking store on the ship. Sell bottles of wine,
bottles of beer and wine coolers with the stipulation that it is not
for shipboard comsumption but in your stateroom. That cola thing is a
problem too. Sell some ****ing resealable bottles already !!! You
may not want to order a $4 glass of soda every time you are a little
bit thristy. Having a cold resealable bottle to take a sip out of is
fantastic.

Selling huge bottles of booze for $12 is stupid if you can buy all you
want but they don't give it to you until you leave their ship.

If there are unfair practices in the world, there will always be ways
to get around them..........................

I have to disagree, there is every reason not to use a TA if the pricing,
due to no commission rebate, is the same. The primary reason is simply
eliminating one layer of possible fraud or payment problems.

There is one probably minor thing to think of when booking directly with a
cruise line. With some trip insurance plans this voids your financial default
coverage. For example, this is from Access America:

"The Company will not cover losses resulting from a Financial Default of the
person, organization, agency or tour operator, or their affiliated companies,
that solicited this coverage, and/or Your insured travel arrangements to You."

If you're booking direct and you have ANY concerns about the finances of the
cruise line be sure your insurer does not include this limitation. For example,
here's CSA's Gold plan:

"Arrangements canceled by a tour operator, cruise line, airline, rental car
company, hotel, condominium, railroad, motor coach company, or other supplier
of travel services, resulting from Financial Insolvency"

I have to disagree, there is every reason not to use a TA if the pricing,
due to no commission rebate, is the same. The primary reason is simply
eliminating one layer of possible fraud or payment problems.

There is one probably minor thing to think of when booking directly with a
cruise line. With some trip insurance plans this voids your financial default
coverage. For example, this is from Access America:

"The Company will not cover losses resulting from a Financial Default of the
person, organization, agency or tour operator, or their affiliated companies,
that solicited this coverage, and/or Your insured travel arrangements to You."

If you're booking direct and you have ANY concerns about the finances of the
cruise line be sure your insurer does not include this limitation. For example,
here's CSA's Gold plan:

"Arrangements canceled by a tour operator, cruise line, airline, rental car
company, hotel, condominium, railroad, motor coach company, or other supplier
of travel services, resulting from Financial Insolvency"

I have to disagree, there is every reason not to use a TA if the pricing,
due to no commission rebate, is the same. The primary reason is simply
eliminating one layer of possible fraud or payment problems.

There is one probably minor thing to think of when booking directly with a
cruise line. With some trip insurance plans this voids your financial default
coverage. For example, this is from Access America:

"The Company will not cover losses resulting from a Financial Default of the
person, organization, agency or tour operator, or their affiliated companies,
that solicited this coverage, and/or Your insured travel arrangements to You."

If you're booking direct and you have ANY concerns about the finances of the
cruise line be sure your insurer does not include this limitation. For example,
here's CSA's Gold plan:

"Arrangements canceled by a tour operator, cruise line, airline, rental car
company, hotel, condominium, railroad, motor coach company, or other supplier
of travel services, resulting from Financial Insolvency"

"Tom & Linda" wrote:

Perhaps in the future, TA's will be asking for more final payments to be
done by personal check. Or even cash.

I like cash. Are they going to come to my house to pick it up?

And perhaps when you choose to use a credit card, agencies will make the
charge against your credit card to themselves and later do electronic
transfer of the final payment funds to the cruise line.

Not with my card, they won't, unless maybe if they are a really big reputable
California agency that has been around for years, or they won't get my
business.

Plus... this has the added protection of NOT providing your credit card info
to the cruise lines.

RCI /Celebrity already has your private information, Tom.
I'm sure that you have only the best interest of brand new cruisers to the line
at heart, though. ;-)

I worry less about ONE company—the cruise line—having my data than having
all of the following having my data:

1. The TA and the private database they may maintain.
2. The agency that employs the TA and the agency's database.
3. The booking software database, and the company that maintains the database.
3. The database into which the TA keys your data and is transmitted to
online servers for your "easy access" to your flight schedules, etc.
4. The cruise line.
5. And more...like if any sensitive data is transmitted via email.

What happens when (if) they dispose of the paperwork at each step?
Do they shred religiously? How good is their shredder? What if the small TA's
shredder breaks? Do they just "sort of" tear the papers and toss them into the
trash? What happens when each of these dispose of their old computers?

CREDIT CARD information should never be STORED in a TA or cruiseline database
permanently, but rather entered as a transaction and then automatically deleted
after funds have been transferred from the credit card company. I think there
is a law here in California about this, and perhaps one of our TA's could
comment.

"Tom & Linda" wrote:

Perhaps in the future, TA's will be asking for more final payments to be
done by personal check. Or even cash.

I like cash. Are they going to come to my house to pick it up?

And perhaps when you choose to use a credit card, agencies will make the
charge against your credit card to themselves and later do electronic
transfer of the final payment funds to the cruise line.

Not with my card, they won't, unless maybe if they are a really big reputable
California agency that has been around for years, or they won't get my
business.

Plus... this has the added protection of NOT providing your credit card info
to the cruise lines.

RCI /Celebrity already has your private information, Tom.
I'm sure that you have only the best interest of brand new cruisers to the line
at heart, though. ;-)

I worry less about ONE company—the cruise line—having my data than having
all of the following having my data:

1. The TA and the private database they may maintain.
2. The agency that employs the TA and the agency's database.
3. The booking software database, and the company that maintains the database.
3. The database into which the TA keys your data and is transmitted to
online servers for your "easy access" to your flight schedules, etc.
4. The cruise line.
5. And more...like if any sensitive data is transmitted via email.

What happens when (if) they dispose of the paperwork at each step?
Do they shred religiously? How good is their shredder? What if the small TA's
shredder breaks? Do they just "sort of" tear the papers and toss them into the
trash? What happens when each of these dispose of their old computers?

CREDIT CARD information should never be STORED in a TA or cruiseline database
permanently, but rather entered as a transaction and then automatically deleted
after funds have been transferred from the credit card company. I think there
is a law here in California about this, and perhaps one of our TA's could
comment.

StephenM" wrote:

I really don't care what an extremely experienced TA should earn and I care
less if they are university educated.

I included "university educated" specifically to the equation not for you, but
because Tom is an engineer, i.e. university-educated, as am I.

I was trying to elicit from him what he felt someone equally educated and
working as a travel specialist should be paid for honest work on his behalf,
which I believe requires more work than merely booking a cruise, especially
when something goes awry.

I am of the opinion that TA's ought to be well-educated, well-travelled, etc.,
and not merely booking agents who only go on subsidized fam trips on Carnival
or NCL now and then. When TA's provide a truly valuable and knowledgable
service, they ought to be compensated well and travellers should not be trying
to get rebates out of them.

Otherwise, let's just call them BA's—booking agents, not TA's—travel
agents.

StephenM" wrote:

I really don't care what an extremely experienced TA should earn and I care
less if they are university educated.

I included "university educated" specifically to the equation not for you, but
because Tom is an engineer, i.e. university-educated, as am I.

I was trying to elicit from him what he felt someone equally educated and
working as a travel specialist should be paid for honest work on his behalf,
which I believe requires more work than merely booking a cruise, especially
when something goes awry.

I am of the opinion that TA's ought to be well-educated, well-travelled, etc.,
and not merely booking agents who only go on subsidized fam trips on Carnival
or NCL now and then. When TA's provide a truly valuable and knowledgable
service, they ought to be compensated well and travellers should not be trying
to get rebates out of them.

Otherwise, let's just call them BA's—booking agents, not TA's—travel
agents.