Cruising - Choosing whether to use an independent travel agent (or not)

 Posted on 07/07/26

One has several choices in how a trip can be booked:

• Do you need help in planning a trip?
• Are you searching for the best value in the trip you want to take?
• Do you know exactly what you want from a trip?
• Are you comfortable with leaving trip planning in the hands of others?

This post sis meant to serve as a guide to help navigate through the thicket of cruise planning options.

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The most important question to ask yourself is whether you need help in planning the trip.  When one cruises for the first time, the options available can be overwhelming. 

What paperwork will I need for this trip? 
(See:: https://www.slowtravel101.com/2025/08/advice-to-wise-take-care-of-all.html) 

What should I look for when choosing a cruise line?
(See: https://www.slowtravel101.com/2023/05/cruising-how-to-select-cruise.html)

How do I prepare for the cruise?
(See: https://www.slowtravel101.com/2023/05/cruising-preparing-for-cruise.html) 

But nothing truly prepares a cruiser for choosing a independent Travel Agent (TA) or a company employed Personal Cruise Consultant (PCC).  This can be a simple choice depending on what one's needs are.  Yet, making the wrong choice can be the difference between an enjoyable cruise and a trip through hell.

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Virtually all cruise prices have a sales commission baked into the fare.  The greater the price charged fr the cruise, the higher the sales commission will be.  Cruise lines employ PCCs, so that they can retain the sales commission which would normally be paid to a independent TA.  The booked fare to the cruiser may be the same, but independent TA's have tools at their disposal that PCCs don't have.  Some travel agencies are able to negotiate lower group fares for selected cabins and then offer those fares to the public.  For example, one travel agency I use has offered "Included Gratuities" as part of its fare deal. On the cruises I've booked with them with this promotion, I saved $120/pp on a 7-day cruise. On other cruises from a different travel agency, I got extra onboard credits to use as I saw fit.  Although I paid the same rate as offered by the cruise line for these cruises, I got more benefits by using a TA instead of a PCC.

Yet, money can be the least of the reasons one uses an independent TA.  Many times, I use a TA to develop a package where my air travel, airport transfers, hotel stays, cruise transfers, and the cruise itself can be put into a single package for me.  I do not need to do the research to find out which hotel in a foreign land best serves my needs; I no longer need to worry about arranging transfers between airport and hotel, hotel and cruise ship, and cruise ship back to airport; and I have a single point of contact if something goes wrong related to the entire trip.  I can't say that about the average cruise line's PCCs.

The above doesn't mean that all cruise lines' PCCs are bad or worthless.  Often, one doesn't need the handholding an independent TA can provide.  For my Post-Covid cruise to Hawaii, I dealt directly with the cruise line to book my airfare (they had a half-price air promotion), hotel stay, transfers and cruise fare.  Would I do it again?  Maybe.  But on a trip that requires a little more than just driving to a pier and getting on a cruise, I'd want to deal with an individual that I could call and get service when I need it and not when the cruise line's service department is open.

So, what should a newbie cruiser to do?  

Let's start with my history of cruising.  About 30 years ago, I knew nothing about cruising and didn't even have a passport.  I was lucky in this pre-internet environment to have a local travel agency in town (since closed) as well as seeing ads from several travel agencies advertising their cruise offerings.  Sadly, the travel agency I used for my first cruise is no longer in business.  But I learned a lot about cruising on that first cruise.  (Note: That would be the only "Closed Loop" cruise I took using my birth certificate as US Citizenship proof.  I'd never sail without a passport again.)  Later on, I found cruise offerings on the website of a large volume travel agency, vacationstogo.com.   Most of the cruises I took from New York City were booked through VTG, as I wanted cheap fares, as well as not needing much help from this agency in planning my cruise. A couple of times, I booked cruises directly through the cruise line's PCCs, simply because I could set up the entire deal online.  For cruises which required long distance flights, I used an independent TA (associated with a larger operation) to handle booking for these cruises.

There is no one right way to book a cruise.  But there are many wrong ways.  My general rule is: If you need help in research or any guidance, use a travel agent.  If not, book direct or use a large scale travel agency.