Should you book your cruise directly with the cruise line?

In the last few years, many cruisers have been booking with the cruise lines directly rather than through a travel professional. Reasons could vary but, inevitably, many feel that they will get the best pricing and information directly from the cruise line.

One of my travel industry colleagues, a luxury travel consultant, decided to do some "mystery shopping" with a cruise line that has become very aggessive in marketing directly to to the consumer.

This is his report, as published in a well respected travel industry magazine:

"To find out, I played secret shopper and made a test call. I was "Rick," planning a cruise on the (Carnival) Magic out of Barcelona. I asked Carnival's vacation planner the kinds of questions that experience suggests my clients might have asked me. Here are her responses:

1) "It has been about 17 years since I've been to Europe, and that wasn't on a cruise."

OK, then how does she help guests plan? But let's give Carnival's vacation planner the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps she is well read and tutored on these ports.

2) "When the ship gets to Civitavecchia, Rome is right there."

Nope. Central Rome is actually a three-hour roundtrip, with bus transfer, from Civitavecchia, if traffic is light. There is, of course, a local train that connects Civitavecchia and central Rome, but my Carnival vacation planner didn't know anything about that.

3) When I asked about Livorno, Italy, the vacation consultant explained that it was "right next to Monaco."

This will come as news to residents of Monte Carlo.

4) The vacation planner volunteered that her "knowledge of ports is extremely limited."

It was kind of her to prove it. She was perfectly adept, however, at spewing forth the kind of misinformation that ruins an experience for folks who have been saving for a European vacation of a lifetime.

5) I changed the subject. Perhaps the vacation planner could advise me on the best insurance options for my situation?

"I don't know anything about any cancellation policies besides Carnival's," she explained. So, another crucial element of travel consultation was just not a part of Carnival's direct sales program. "Buy ours because we know nothing about insurance" is not a policy, and it could destroy someone's vacation experience.

We hadn't gone too far into our conversation when it became clear that I needed a real vacation consultant, not a headset pretending to be an agent. But she never once suggested that I consult a professional. She would have lost her commission.

So, yes, it's true that Carnival does have a clear policy about direct-sales contacts with a booked client. But that fact misses the point; this column could have been written about any of the major lines' direct-sales efforts. They all share the same sins.

They all justify their existence by asserting that a certain percentage of clients will not work with an agent. But does this mean that these consumers would rather speak with a sales rep in the home office who, lacking essential training and experience, cannot properly counsel them on matters of insurance options, pre- or post-travel, hotel options, air arrangements, privately arranged shore excursions, pros and cons of the various cruise lines, shore excursions, in-port dining recommendations? The list goes on and on.

The suppliers charge the direct guest for these services. Since it is built into the fare, the direct client is being charged commission for proper counseling but not actually getting any.

But you can't really blame suppliers that go direct. There are, after all, no legal or financial consequences for incompetent consultation practices, and the traveling consumer really has no clear advocate when it comes to misinformation or inadequate counsel."

The prices being charged by the cruise line's representative is no different than what a travel consultant can give the client since most cruise lines, including Carnival, have strong no discounting/rebating policies. With this mystery shopping experience in mind, why would you book directly with a cruise line? Do you see any advantages- I don't. .

My Vacation Lady is a Master Cruise Counselor, as certified by CLIA (Cruise Lines International Association, Inc). We won't just sell you a cruise, we'll help you plan your cruise experience!