Is there a benefit to using a travel agent for a cruise?

[Ginevra]

I have always thought not, because planning a cruise is super easy compared to planning any trip where you design your own itinerary. However, I am willing to be persuaded that a TA might be a good idea for planning a non-US-based cruise. But I’m not sure. What sayeth the Hive? 

[Carol in Cal.]

I have a friend who IS a cruise planner, and she says that she has access to ‘extras’ that she can comp into people’s vacations that they would otherwise have to pay for or not even be able to get.  She also is the point of contact if folks run into trouble, and can straighten things out remotely based on her experience and expertise.  

I’m not a cruise person myself so I can’t speak from experience, but I do like the idea of having a key contact in case things go south in some way.

[Ethel Mertz]

Our travel agent knew where the best rooms were. You don’t want to have your view obstructed by an evacuation boat, nor do you want a room above or below where a band is playing. Ditto re avoiding rooms by the elevator.

[Storygirl]

Yes. They can't necessarily get discounts on the prices, but they can get extras. Our upcoming cruise gave us $400 per cabin in onboard credits. This can be used for anything purchased onboard, including the expected tips (which add up quickly). The kind of credits offered varies.

DH picks the cruise that we want, then uses cruisecompete.com to get quotes from various travel agents and picks the best offer.

But you can certainly pick the travel agent first and let them help you choose the cruise and just accept whatever bonuses your agent offers.

[J-rap]

Our first and only time we took a cruise we did it through a travel agent.  I otherwise always plan every detail of our travels, but I knew nothing about cruising and I was really glad we had a travel agent.  She was able to walk us through what was important to us vs. what was available, the different cruise lines, the little perks to take advantage of (some of them because we were booking through the travel agency), how to get a better room without paying much or anything more, what part of the ship to get a room, and so much more.  Definitely worth it for us!

[lmrich]

And (or what I have been told) if something happens with  your flight, etc.. they will help you work things out. 

[Miss Tick]

What is the cost of a travel agent for a cruise? Do they charge the traveler or the cruise line, or both?

[shawthorne44]

It doesn't (shouldn't) cost you anything.   They get a kick-back from the cruise.  

I've been enjoying Cruisecritic lately since we have our first cruise booked.  

I'd expand what someone said earlier.  You want to pick a cabin where there is another cabin above/below/left/right/across from yours.    For example, if you are across from something that isn't labeled, it might be a crew cleaning supply closet and you'd awake to the sounds of the door banging as the cleaning crew got supplies.  You also don't want to be in a connecting cabin unless those are your peeps.   You also don't want to pick a cruise immediately before a dry dock, because they've started early during the last cruise and you'd get to hear the noise.   You also don't want to pick a cruise immediately after a dry dock because it might run long and your cruise would be cancelled.  

There are also some cruises/times you don't want to pick.  For example, in January I read about people being very upset to discover that they unknowingly booked a Yeshiva cruise.   The problem was that several venues were closed off to them because they were reserved for those that bought the Kosher package.