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Advantage of Dealing with a Travel Agent


SLSD
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Could we have a general discussion about the advantages of booking a Seaboard cruise through a good travel agent? What ARE all the benefits? And, how do you know if your agent is optimal?

 

We are generally pleased with our travel agent--but I may not even know what I do not know.

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I think the discounting situation is probably different in the USA from the UK - we in the UK have more restrictions on deposits etc., and can I believe maybe get a better discount from a TA.

 

Can only recommend that you consult any friends who have done high-end cruises, or look at adverts by Agents who obviously specialise in them, not dealing with the run of the mill lines. This certainly applies in the UK. We have several companies here who do just this; all can give you a price less than the Seabourn one; some give a bigger discount but are perhaps not as good at giving advice and being generally very helpful. You pays your money and takes your choice.

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Often you can get amenities by booking with a TA versus those offered by the cruise line. What you can realize varies by agent along with how much you spend.

 

My own view is that is just part of the equation. I say this because to me the agent who offers the largest amenities package is not necessarily the agent I would select.

 

I want someone knowledgeable about the specific cruise line and when it comes to luxury lines all of the lines and that includes having sailed on them. I also want an agent who knows how to get answers by cutting through the red tape at a cruise line, someone who is very responsible and responsive, who is very thorough and who sees me as an individual. I also want an agent that when away has a support team in place; either their own assistants or arrangements with colleagues.

 

I consider myself very knowledgeable but a good agent has allowed us to optimize our bookings and to avoid making certain mistakes.

 

How do you know the difference? Often it is by discussing this with other guests during your travels to learn about their agents.

 

Keith

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I am pleased with our travel agent in that she is an impeccable planner and on our last trip booked us a great hotel in Rome (in the best location) and had every transfer and private guide arranged and they were all great. She surprised us with a fabulous hotel on our last night before flying home. Everything was just perfect and her planning added immensely to our enjoyment of our trip (which included a cruise.) While she did seem to have very good communication with Seaboard and could answer all of our questions and get things done very quickly, we did not get a 10% discount. Should I be displeased about this?

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Yes, I did read that---and wondered if they are the only country getting those discounts. If they are, that would answer my question.

 

Can someone explain their deposit rules which make this possible for them? I'm just interested in understanding it.

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Discounts of 10% on Seabourn are certainly available through some full-service North American TAs. We use a Canadian TA for some bookings and a US TA for others. Both provide attractive discounts on all luxury lines, either as a fare reduction or as cashback.

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If discounts are available at these levels then why in the world would anyone book directly with Seabourn? No one I know does- apart from one couple whose decision maker says “I never use a TA” - as if that’s a convincing explanation.

 

To my mind direct is fine for airlines but never for a cruise line.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

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Do you understand the replies referring to 10% are coming from UK residents?

 

This is absolutely incorrect.

 

 

I am a USA resident and use a TA who is USA-based. On my last Seabourn cruise I got a 10% cash rebate and an additional OBC from my TA that was about 1%

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We have used 2 US-based TA's (one only on our first cruise, and quickly realized that was a mistake when booking our 2nd cruise) and 1 UK based TA. In my experience so far, the US TA we have used for > 12 cruises offers about a 9% discount and OBC or really good private tours, the UK one offers a more significant discount with no OBC but you have to be willing to play the currency risk - which we and others find acceptable. Both have, to date, provided excellent service when needed, the US based one also has relationships w/ various hotels and tour guides. YMMV.

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I live in the UK and have used a small specialist TA company for years. The do offer a discount on the fare but more importantly are there when something goes wrong. They have found lost luggage for me and was able to get BA to forward it to me on the trip. More recently, have solved a problem on a river cruise that had difficult flight times being offered by the river cruise company. If you want security then I suggest you find a good specialist cruise TA.

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I am pleased with our travel agent in that she is an impeccable planner and on our last trip booked us a great hotel in Rome (in the best location) and had every transfer and private guide arranged and they were all great. She surprised us with a fabulous hotel on our last night before flying home. Everything was just perfect and her planning added immensely to our enjoyment of our trip (which included a cruise.) While she did seem to have very good communication with Seaboard and could answer all of our questions and get things done very quickly, we did not get a 10% discount. Should I be displeased about this?

 

Not at all. The real advantage of a PROFESSIONAL travel agent is what they can do for you if something goes wrong. It can mean the difference between an enjoyable vacation and a disaster.

 

As far as the discounts and amenities, their value depends on how you travel. If you book only excursions from the cruise line, the discount and OBC they offer is more important. But if you want an experience that will be more memorable and want your travel agent to book private and semi-private tours with the best guides, the discount becomes less important. The difference in price and quality of those special tours can far exceed whatever upfront discount you receive.

 

We booked a private safari in Africa. Just by chance the cruise line was offering a safari and happened to be staying at the same lodge. The cruise line's price was more than 3 times higher than we paid.

 

The very best travel experiences you take will most likely be the result of consulting with an agent who is knowledgeable about the area (s) you will be going to. Sometimes that may mean you should deal with different travel agents for different locations. It is probably unreasonable to expect your agent to truly KNOW the inside scoop everywhere.

 

Based on what you wanted to do SLSD, you should not be disappointed with your travel agent. Planning a personalized trip takes time. They helped provide a memorable experience for you and may have saved you more money than any discount you would have received.

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artbcpa, I agree with you. So many of the things our TA planned for us made our trip truly memorable. Whatever commissions she made--she earned and then some. Thank you for articulating it so well.

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For me the TA isn't really there for the actual cruise booking but all the peripherals.

 

For the cruise this is what I expect from my TA:

- Honest appraisal of the itinerary. For instance I was considering the 2018 Ft. Lauderdale to Lima. With her connections and her research she was able to give me a feel of what would be available at each port. From that information I could see that the cruise would scratch the Panama Canal off my bucket list but that's about it and we made the decision to pass on that cruise.

- Book the best available cabin. We're familiar with the layout of the ship and really wouldn't need this but it's nice double check.

- Keep abreast of deals and price reductions and advocate with the cruise line on our behalf, especially after final payment has been made

 

The non-Cruise parts are where the TA shines for us:

- Use their extensive networks to set up private excursions at the various ports, help in booking hard to get in restaurants (ours snagged a reservation at Tickets in Barcelona for us), getting great hotel rooms which almost always have surprise gifts/upgrades involved

- Get opinions from their local networks on things like hotels, restaurants, and airlines. For instance, for a trip to South America I've found some great prices on various South American airlines but wanted to know how they rate vs. the big North American/European/Asian airlines before I book them.

- Suggestions for hidden gems that you would never have thought to do in the first place. Carriere des Lumiere in Les Baux comes to mind from our last cruise. It's a long drive from Bandol where we docked but such a unique site that it was definitely worth it. The longer you work with a TA the more in tune they are with your interests and will work to find things for you to do. Another example is our love of art pieces of glass. From Monaco we ended up in Biot where there is a fantastic glass workshop and exhibition museum that we wouldn't have found ourselves.

- Be on top of any problems that may occur. An example from our last cruise was the last minute change from Bonaffacio to Ajaccio. We left a message with our TA and within a couple of hours we had a call from the local guide with plans to reroute the private excursion. This ended up being a fantastic day in the mountains and beaches of Corsica.

 

What you want from your TA is different from person to person and it can take a long time to find the right one but if you are synch they can make a good vacation great and a great vacation to once in a lifetime experience.

 

Hope that adds something to the discussion.

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Spree75, I think I see this the way you do. We first used our TA 12 years ago--and she planned an exceptional trip. We had some years of no travel (family illnesses, work related no travel times, the building of houses at our farm and being there most of the time). We used her again for our September 2017 trip and cruise and it was memorable. I just need a reminder that we ARE on the right track.

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All these points about what to expect from a professional TA are excellent. I agree that a TA should not be selected solely because they provide discounts. But I would like to note that it doesn't have to be either/or with respect to service and discounts. The TAs we use provide top notch service, impeccable attention to detail (very important to me), full back-up teams, excellent industry contacts, exclusive amenities (hotel upgrades, private transfers) as well as substantial discounts, usually at least 10% on luxury lines. The discounts are real money, either a fare reduction or cashback. Great service and discounts are not mutually exclusive.

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  • 7 months later...

We are very happy with our TA.

 

She takes all the work out of the process for us. She has successfully negotiated with Seabourn - to our entire satisfaction - when cruise fares dropped below what we had paid, she got us incredibly good airline fares on our last cruise and about half of what we could find for ourselves. We get a nice bottle of wine on boarding, we get decent OBC and we get a ton of bonus points on our CC (which are worth real money).

 

She has offered to organize tours, hotels, etc.. We have tended to do our own thing but, I suspect, we will be using her services more rather than less going forward.

 

She is also very responsive.

 

We have tried - and changed - TAs in the past. Getting a really good one is easier said than done. Obviously everyone has their own criteria. For me, it is a question of service, responsiveness and getting it right more than a question of how much discount I can get.

 

We did try using a/the well known agency in the UK. I was very disappointed in the interaction I had with them to the extent that I walked away and took my business elsewhere. If it is just about the money then maybe they work for some. But if you are looking for service and a relationship then I think that they are the wrong choice (based on my experience).

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Could we have a general discussion about the advantages of booking a Seaboard cruise through a good travel agent? What ARE all the benefits? And, how do you know if your agent is optimal?

 

We are generally pleased with our travel agent--but I may not even know what I do not know.

My TA will always beat the best price from the cruise line plus they prepay my gratuities.IMG-20171128-WA0007.jpg.b17c86b2b63d300eaa99ddb0b41c6fb7.jpg
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Well... on Seabourn:

Tipping is neither required, nor expected.

That is one example but they will always beat any cruise lines price plus always give an appropriate extra and sort any queries if they arise so give peace of mind.
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