As above, you should be able to lock in the cabin with P&O as well. There's probably a link somewhere in the booking process that enables you to do that, but worst case you can call P&O and they can book it i.e there's no special rate that a travel agent will have that the cruise line won't that enables them to book a specific cabin that the cruiseline can't.
The main benefits of TAs here:
- some you may personally know so be comfortable with, and may give suggestions other times (doesn't sound like it applies in this case)
- they may have promotional incentives that you may prefer e.g. low deposits (But still the same fare in the end), sometimes extra OBC, rarely special availability of cabin grades or sailings
- some have certain perks/benefits of booking through them e.g. sometimes very small fare discounts, or FF points (as in this case)
- sometimes high volume agents have good relationships, plus their own channels, that may get a special request or matter resolved easier
Main downsides to agents here:
- Extra middleman to deal with, meaning the TA may have reduced hours to cruiseline, or getting exceptional issues resolved takes longer, as cruise line has to process THEN TA processes added on top e.g. I had a cruise some years back that the cruise line cancelled. They issued refunds immediately, so if I'd booked directly I'd have gotten straight away, but the TA had its own process that it had to wait for the refund for the cruise line, do its monthly+ accounting, then issue its own cheque refund, so took 7 weeks to get it.
- your contract is with the TA, not the cruiseline. TAs have their own fees on top of cruiseline costs, so e.g cancellations/changes that may be free by the cruise line will almost always have a cost with a TA. Some TA costs (usually cancellation) are quite substantial.
- per above point any queries/changes you need to make need to be done by the TA, even if simple or some special reason. The cruiseline can't do it. Sometimes something happens at a time you could do something with the cruiseline but the TA is closed.
- bookings/changes often take longer due to the extra handling
- sometimes when something weird happens, there's finger pointing and it's harder to get resolved as the TA points to the cruiseline, but you can't speak to the cruiseline about the booking, so it complicates resolution.
Pros and cons. Choose which you value more, or which risks are more likely for that booking.
