Just booked Galapagos Cruise - should I transfer booking to travel agent?

Hi, we are very excited to have booked our first Silversea cruise to the Galapagos islands, departing on 1/25/18.

I booked directly with Silversea reservations dept (including the air option) and did not use a travel agent. The reservations guy I talked to answered all my questions and explained everything so well (and also offered OBC and a cabin upgrade) so I just agreed to the deal and paid full amount over the phone. He said Silversea air dept would contact me within 3 days of final payment to arrange air, but this has not happened. I have subsequently sent a couple emails to the contact I had regarding my preferred flight times, and wanting to add another night in Guayaquil to avoid an overnight flight - with zero response. He was very responsive before I handed over my cc details :).

Should I transfer the reservation to a travel agent and have them handle the flight situation or is it better to contact Silversea directly? I have never used a travel agent before, preferring to book online myself but I have researched and found a local Virtuoso agent who seems to get good reviews.

Any advice appreciated!

Hi, we are very excited to have booked our first Silversea cruise to the Galapagos islands, departing on 1/25/18.

 

I booked directly with Silversea reservations dept (including the air option) and did not use a travel agent. The reservations guy I talked to answered all my questions and explained everything so well (and also offered OBC and a cabin upgrade) so I just agreed to the deal and paid full amount over the phone. He said Silversea air dept would contact me within 3 days of final payment to arrange air, but this has not happened. I have subsequently sent a couple emails to the contact I had regarding my preferred flight times, and wanting to add another night in Guayaquil to avoid an overnight flight - with zero response. He was very responsive before I handed over my cc details :).

 

Should I transfer the reservation to a travel agent and have them handle the flight situation or is it better to contact Silversea directly? I have never used a travel agent before, preferring to book online myself but I have researched and found a local Virtuoso agent who seems to get good reviews.

 

Any advice appreciated!

If you have already made final payment, I doubt a TA would get any commission from Silversea and thus want your business.

I have had good experience with Silversea agents serving as TAs. Yes, I can perhaps get better perks from some other TAs not directly associated with Silversea, but these Silversea folk do offer OBCs, etc., and they have deep and longstanding connections within the entire cruise line and can be helpful and effective in a way that I think few TAs can.

If you are having issues with air department, you might ask the person who booked your cruise tickets to help.

Hi, we are very excited to have booked our first Silversea cruise to the Galapagos islands, departing on 1/25/18.

 

I booked directly with Silversea reservations dept (including the air option) and did not use a travel agent. The reservations guy I talked to answered all my questions and explained everything so well (and also offered OBC and a cabin upgrade) so I just agreed to the deal and paid full amount over the phone. He said Silversea air dept would contact me within 3 days of final payment to arrange air, but this has not happened. I have subsequently sent a couple emails to the contact I had regarding my preferred flight times, and wanting to add another night in Guayaquil to avoid an overnight flight - with zero response. He was very responsive before I handed over my cc details :).

 

Should I transfer the reservation to a travel agent and have them handle the flight situation or is it better to contact Silversea directly? I have never used a travel agent before, preferring to book online myself but I have researched and found a local Virtuoso agent who seems to get good reviews.

 

Any advice appreciated!

I am not sure about Silversea's policy to transfer booking to a TA, but my TA gives discount on Silversea as I am sure other TA's do as well. It might be worth checking, and especially since you need help with your flight and deviation that they are not responding to.

I love working with my cruise consultant at Silversea! Have you tried asking for a manager? They are usually very responsive.

I love working with my cruise consultant at Silversea! Have you tried asking for a manager? They are usually very responsive.

I agree about helpfulness of cruise consultants, and I use mine for the entire process. As I understand the situation, the issue is with the air department and not the cruise consultant. I gather they are quite separate. But the consultant may be able to light a fire under the air department.

Thanks everyone for your advice . Actually I heard back from the cruise consultant just now, and he confirmed the flights I wanted are all confirmed so perhaps I was a little impatient! The delay was due to the air dept being closed over the weekend.

The travel agent I contacted said I would need to contact Silversea to transfer the booking, and she could offer OBC but as I already have a significant amount of OBC already from Silversea directly I'm not sure I need to do this. From what I have read there is not a lot of opportunities to spend extra $$ in the Galapagos.

We are not allowed to mention specific travel agents on this board, but if you will google travel agents specializing in luxury cruise travel on Silversea and Regent, you will get some ideas. Your travel agent does not need to be local, in fact, probably should not be unless you happen to live in a city where one of the top agents live. Any of these agents should be sending you a rebate check (amount varies, but 5-7.5% of the cruise fare) about a week prior to your cruise. The OBC's are nice, but in the Galapagos, you have limited things to use them on. We used ours for laundry, and my husband got a couple of massages.

From what I have read there is not a lot of opportunities to spend extra $$ in the Galapagos.

FYI-A few years ago, my travel buddy spent $15 on one lip balm onboard Silver Galapagos!!

We are not allowed to mention specific travel agents on this board, but if you will google travel agents specializing in luxury cruise travel on Silversea and Regent, you will get some ideas. Your travel agent does not need to be local, in fact, probably should not be unless you happen to live in a city where one of the top agents live. Any of these agents should be sending you a rebate check (amount varies, but 5-7.5% of the cruise fare) about a week prior to your cruise. The OBC's are nice, but in the Galapagos, you have limited things to use them on. We used ours for laundry, and my husband got a couple of massages.

My TA rebates much more than 5 - 7.5%

labates629;

We very, very strongly recommend booking with a good Travel Agent vs booking direct with Silversea. We have at least saved tens of thousands of dollars booking direct with our TA vs. with Silversea

By booking with a good Silversea Travel Agent (TA), not only do you want to get a good deal pre cruise (rebate, OBC, help in suite selection), you want dedicated support during your cruise (if SBC is not posted in your account or if you paid with American Expresss Platinum card, that your $300 SBC is not in your account your TA can help resolve). We had a very significant issue with a Silversea Hotel Director during a long cruise Silver Spirit (2015) cruise--our TA got involved and within 24 hours (due to the scale of business our TA does with Silversea and the TA's owner ability to reach out directly to senior SS management) that Hotel Director was apologizing face to face to my wife.

Also, you may need a dedicated TA's support post cruise (help in processing a Travel insurance claim, for example). A good TA is your advocate pre, during and post cruise but an outstanding TA also puts their clients first and is generous with discounts/SBC/and rebates.

Furthermore, if your TA is one of the cruiselines top accounts they (do to the scale of their success in booking clients on the cruiseline) is offered tactical pricing (much better than what you see on the cruise web site).

We use to book with Silversea direct then transfer to our TA (same TA as Carol From California uses), but a few years ago Silversea stopped allowing this practice book direct and transfer process.

Regardless of who you book with for your cruise, Fair Winds and Following Seas--have a terrific cruise.

Will I still be able to get a rebate for my upcoming cruise even though I have paid final payment directly to Silversea?

I wish there was a private message feature on CC so I could get some recommendations from you guys. I will call a couple TA's I have found from a google search as suggested by Rachel.

If you have already made final payment to Silversea, I don't think you would be able to get a rebate from the TA as they are giving you that out of their commission. And I doubt you can transfer your booking after final payment has been made. I could be wrong, as I have never done that, always booked through my TA. But your research is useful for future cruises.

Will I still be able to get a rebate for my upcoming cruise even though I have paid final payment directly to Silversea?

 

I wish there was a private message feature on CC so I could get some recommendations from you guys. I will call a couple TA's I have found from a google search as suggested by Rachel.

As Wes pointed out you probably can't transfer the booking since Silversea is no longer allowing this....however, maybe you can cancel and rebook depending on what the penalty is. Getting the rebate may make it worth it. I would first contact the TA and have them see if they can take over your booking or ask what they can do for you.

Well I have certainly learned my lesson for next time - thanks for all the advice!

I feel like a fool having booked 3 cruises directly and not using a TA and not getting a rebate. Next time...

I feel like a fool having booked 3 cruises directly and not using a TA and not getting a rebate. Next time...

That's exactly how I feel!