Travel Agent Shock

Not mentioning names but yesterday, more out of curiosity than anything, we visited two High Street travel agents to get a quote on a cruise. We've always booked with on-line agents but had wondered if we could get a better deal face-to-face.

First agent (has their own cruiseline:)) were absolutely clueless. We told her the date, line and ship, QM2, and after 10 minutes (not exaggerating) of her clicking away and mumbling to herself she said she couldn't find anything for the Majesty (close I suppose to the QM2) on the date given. Refreshed her memory and after another 5 minutes she actually gave up as she couldn't find anything, blaming the computer, etc etc. We walked.

Next agent (named after a gentleman traveller) were much more helpful until it came to the price which showed a difference of £600 ($886) to what we had seen on at least one website :eek: We walked.

Debating whether we can be bothered to go back with a printout of the cheaper price and ask for an explanation. Absolutely identical scenarios shouldn't have such a huge difference in price.

Meant to say it was £600 per person :eek:

It may not be the same situation, though. The online sites may have a group of rooms booked and have a deal with the cruiseline.

When we used a TA, the travel firm she worked for would book a block of rooms on a cruise and get a deal from the cruiseline. They could pass the incentives on and in some situations, add their own. If they hadn't sold all of their rooms at final payment, they would be released back to the cruiseline to sell (or assign to people who had booked guaranteed rooms).

It might not be as big a difference if you went to an agent or agency that specialized in cruises.

As for the cluelessness of the first agent.....like all industries, there are the good and the bad. Some travel agents are, at best, glorified order takers. Others have knowledge in one area and not in another. If you got this agent just because they were next in the queue to handle a customer, then part of the problem was yours.

Did you question the agent to see if they had genuine knowledge? Did you research the firm itself? Did you ask to work with a different agent once you knew this one was useless?

Brick and mortar agents are just as likely to be good or bad as online agents. It completely depends on the staff you work with, their experience level, and the relationships they have with their vendors.

As for the cluelessness of the first agent.....like all industries, there are the good and the bad.

I agree.

You take the good, you take the bad

You take them both and there you have

The facts of life, the fact of life.

I agree.

 

 

You take the good, you take the bad

You take them both and there you have

The facts of life, the fact of life.

Maybe the TA was Tootie.;)

I think a good question to ask of a prospective TA for cruises is how many cruises have you been on? Which cruiselines? Where did you go? If they hesitate or refuse to answer, leave.

As for the cluelessness of the first agent.....like all industries, there are the good and the bad. Some travel agents are, at best, glorified order takers. Others have knowledge in one area and not in another. If you got this agent just because they were next in the queue to handle a customer, then part of the problem was yours.

 

Did you question the agent to see if they had genuine knowledge? Did you research the firm itself? Did you ask to work with a different agent once you knew this one was useless?

 

Brick and mortar agents are just as likely to be good or bad as online agents. It completely depends on the staff you work with, their experience level, and the relationships they have with their vendors.

This firm has its own cruise line so I would have expected (or at least hoped) that their agents would have a better knowledge of the industry compared to those firms who are simply agents. There were only two members of staff present and the other one was busy with a customer. We had wasted so much time already that we couldn't be bothered to wait for her to finish. I suppose we could have gone back later, but sadly first impression was so negative we decided against.

I may well be wrong here, but I'm not sure that in the UK, or at least where I live in the North West, there are dedicated cruise agents/firms who actually have shops on the High Street. If any UK poster wishes to correct me I would be grateful.

This firm has its own cruise line so I would have expected (or at least hoped) that their agents would have a better knowledge of the industry compared to those firms who are simply agents. There were only two members of staff present and the other one was busy with a customer. We had wasted so much time already that we couldn't be bothered to wait for her to finish. I suppose we could have gone back later, but sadly first impression was so negative we decided against.

 

I may well be wrong here, but I'm not sure that in the UK, or at least where I live in the North West, there are dedicated cruise agents/firms who actually have shops on the High Street. If any UK poster wishes to correct me I would be grateful.

Hi Babs...I have been a TA for more than 20+ years, specializing in cruises. I can tell from first hand knowledge that I agree your TA is clueless. Though I am in the United States, I will tell you that commissions aren't that large for one cruise booking and/or cabin. Honestly, depending on the cabin type and category commissions are different but not by much. The agency gets a cut and the TA gets a cut. Unsold cabins are distributed back to the cruise lines for them to sell and as the sailing gets closer, more deals are provided. For a basic balcony cabin, commission is approximately $100 - $150 depending on the category, deck & area of the ship. What you were quoted is ridiculous! As a TA, I book my personal cruises with the cruise lines, however, in many cases the rates are usually the same as if you booked directly with the cruise lines. The reason being is that if you book with the cruise line directly, you can manage your own cruise reservation. This is a benefit because you then can take advantage of price drops, upgrades, shore excursions & your onboard account with the cruise line in lieu of counting on a TA to do it. Also, when you book with a TA, only they can manage and make changes to your reservation. Meaning you have to depend on the TA in lieu of managing it yourself with the cruise line directly. Many passengers are electing to book with the cruise lines directly to cut out the middle man. Price increases are also a result of using the cruise line's air instead of booking your flight separately. This is where you can save big bucks. I hope this was insightful to you.

jcruise

It's literally decades since we used the High Street. ;)

Some larger offices include a cruise specialist, but broadly you're dealing with all-sorts agencies more used to dealing with a fortnight in Benidorm so its perhaps unreasonable to expect them to know much.

Plus of course the overheads of running a High Street shop are high, so their cut needs to be bigger. On-line agencies don't have High Street rents etc, or staff to deal with enquiries from scratch -it's down to you to browse using your keyboard.

We use only on-line cruise specialists. Except for Thomson cruises, which are no more expensive direct - on-line, though apparently not in their shops :rolleyes:

We make our basic choice from what we see on-screen, then phone the agencies & usually get a little better - mebbe a price reduction or more usually perks such as an upgrade or on-board credit. Then we offer our preferred agency the chance to match the best deal we can find.

But the bigger savings are:

Late, late booking. We're now retired & can go anywhere, any time. And if a cruise books out or (occasionally) the price goes up, we pass on it & find another. Only works with cruises ex-UK or chartered fly-cruises or sometimes short-haul flights, because increases in scheduled air fares close to a date wipe out savings on a cruise fare.

And (other than chartered flights such as P&O and Thomson often use) jcruise is right about ship-booked flights. Cruise lines use their "preferred air partner" and as well as high fares you can end up with a convoluted flight-plan because that particular air partner doesn't operate a direct flight between your airport & the port.

Ditto hotels. Always good hotels, but often bland international clones & inconveniently located.

Just our experiences

JB :)

Just in case anyone is bothered. We booked the cruise with an on-line travel agent and the cost was £400 pp cheaper than quoted by the High Street store!!

We got a (inside) cabin midships and low deck with 2nd sitting which is what we wanted and an extra night pre-cruise hotel stay compared to the original quote.

We are more than happy :D

Like most other purchases, it pays to shop around.