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So miffed about TA...just need to vent


Keys2Heaven
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Here's the story. Please no flaming or judging. I don't think there is basis for either, but this is a forum and folks seem to think that anyone reporting something negative is fair game for criticism.

 

The wife and I had been considering an alternative to Carnival for quite some time. I'm 50 and she's not quite 50 ;), so we were looking for a cruise line that might suit our demographic better. We initially looked at Viking Ocean and really like them. We might do a cruise with them at some point in the future.

 

Well, to get a better idea of the ships and what is offered, we started perusing some you tube videos. Found lots of great reviews of folks cruising on these other lines and many TA's or travel companies that did their own reviews of these more upscale ships. One individual stated on their YT channel that they were a TA and would be glad to quote for the more upscale cruise lines. They even stated that if you had booked a cruise within the last 2 months, they could probably give a better price by transferring the booking to them.

 

Well, as part of our research, we found a great itinerary on a Celebrity cruise a couple of years out. And, we think this might be a great fit for our style of cruising now. My wife loves aft-extended cabins (Celebrity calls them sunset verandahs), so we found one and, not wanting to lose it, put a 24-hour hold on it. You do get a total price when you do this.

 

Now, this TA I mentioned has a website as well. So, I put in all the required info to see what kind of quote they could give us. I specifically mentioned having a hold on the room so as not to lose it. When the TA responded, they told me to give them a copy of our booking invoice. I repeated that we did not have a booking invoice, but had a 24-hour hold on the cabin so as not to lose it.

 

Well, here come the being miffed part. The email reply I received from the TA stated only this..."Well, good luck." That was it. No quote, no justification for why they weren't quoting this cruise. Yeah, they were blowing us off......but why?

 

We have a TA that we normally use and this is the first time we wanted to reach out and just see if another TA could do a better deal. In fact, we hadn't even contacted our normal TA yet for this cruise. We did reach out to one additional travel company that does YT reviews as well and they gave me a quote in a few hours. In the end, we booked through our normal TA and got a great deal as always.

 

I really try to not take these kinds of things personally, but we're not routinely blown off like this. I've racked my brain trying to think if I wrote anything in the initial quote request or first email response that would have given this individual a reason to do what they did. I even sent screen shots of the total price displayed via Celebrity but never heard from the TA.

 

From what I can tell, and is what contrary to what this individual promotes on their website and their YT channel, they really aren't interested in new quotes. They seem to only want active bookings (done within the last 2 months) so they can transfer the booking to themselves. Seems like easy money to earn a commission on something and not have to do a whole lot of work.

 

I will not mention name or website as I'm sure that's a no-no anyway.

 

Thoughts?

Edited by Keys2Heaven
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First this would not be the board I would be posting on. I would have posted this on the ask a cruise question board.

 

Since you asked based on what you said I don't feel you did anything wrong. If it was me I would just move forward.

 

Keith

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First this would not be the board I would be posting on. I would have posted this on the ask a cruise question board.

 

Since you asked based on what you said I don't feel you did anything wrong. If it was me I would just move forward.

 

Keith

 

 

 

I agree.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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First this would not be the board I would be posting on. I would have posted this on the ask a cruise question board.

 

Since you asked based on what you said I don't feel you did anything wrong. If it was me I would just move forward.

 

Keith

 

Thank you. I was unsure which board to post this under. I guess I was asking if there was any rationale behind this TA's response. Has anyone else ran into this before?

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I agree also. Stick with your normal TA. I'm sure they work hard for you and deserve your continued business.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

We did as they had the best deal anyway. As I said, it was the first time we cross-checked with other TA's to see if we really were getting the best deal. And our TA does work very hard for us. We're glad to give them our business.

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Very inappropriate response.

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

:confused: How so?

 

I was thanking the person I replied to as to guiding me to an appropriate board. The mods haven't moved this thread yet and that's fine if it needs to be in another forum.

 

The second part was trying to clarify a bit more as to what the "Thoughts ?" question I was mentioned at the end of my OP.

 

I have no clue as to what would you found inappropriate in my response.

 

Please enlighten me.

Edited by Keys2Heaven
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I guess I don't see why this would miff you to the point if needing to vent on a forum. Have you never been blown off by a contractor before? To borrow from Obi Wan, this was not the TA you were looking for. Or rather, you were not the type if customer the TA is looking for. You found a TA who meets your needs. No harm, no foul. Move on.

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:confused: How so?

 

I was thanking the person I replied to as to guiding me to an appropriate board. The mods haven't moved this thread yet and that's fine if it needs to be in another forum.

 

The second part was trying to clarify a bit more as to what the "Thoughts ?" question I was mentioned at the end of my OP.

 

I have no clue as to what would you found inappropriate in my response.

 

Please enlighten me.

I believe they were saying the response from the TA was inappropriate. At least, that is the way I read it.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Forums mobile app

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I believe they were saying the response from the TA was inappropriate. At least, that is the way I read it.

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Forums mobile app

 

Yes. X2

 

Sometimes you just get bad service. Don't let it bother you. At the least you confirmed you existing TA is doing a pretty good job for you. I think this was a good topic to post. Thanks.

Edited by ldubs
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I believe they were saying the response from the TA was inappropriate. At least, that is the way I read it.

That's how I read it too...but I had to think on it a bit....

Though I would be miffed at being blown off, it happens in various businesses and just isn't worth the energy expended.

Not everyone can even get off the ground floor with a TA, so glad you have one working with you.

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First this would not be the board I would be posting on. I would have posted this on the ask a cruise question board.

 

Since you asked based on what you said I don't feel you did anything wrong. If it was me I would just move forward.

 

Keith

 

This happens to be the “ask a cruise question” board.

 

Unfortunately there are a lot of cheesy, if not sleazy, operators who like to earn an easy dollar for little work. Best to stick with TA’s you know. I hope you did not lose a great opportunity.

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Thanks all. I don't normally vent like this, but it was just weird to get a response like that from a supposed TA. As I stated, this was our first attempt to see if a better deal was out there. We know now to stick with what we know.

 

 

I'd publish the companies name here if I thought it wouldn't get me in trouble.

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There’s no harm in shopping around for a TA, and I don’t think you were wrong in your approach to the new one. Some TAs are better than others, and I think you just found out that this one isn’t a very good one. It looks like you dodged a bullet there.

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Thanks all. I don't normally vent like this, but it was just weird to get a response like that from a supposed TA. As I stated, this was our first attempt to see if a better deal was out there. We know now to stick with what we know.

 

 

I'd publish the companies name here if I thought it wouldn't get me in trouble.

 

It would get you in trouble and it really isn't needed. My take- the TA couldn't match the price you were quoted and they gave a very curt response that likely cost them business. Yes, they could have been (and should have been) more gracious to a potential customer but that seems to be a lacking skill nowadays.

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Thanks all. I don't normally vent like this, but it was just weird to get a response like that from a supposed TA. As I stated, this was our first attempt to see if a better deal was out there. We know now to stick with what we know.

 

 

I'd publish the companies name here if I thought it wouldn't get me in trouble.

Glad everything worked out for you in the end. You will love the SV on Celebrity . Those are my favorite cabins. On the M class ships their verandas are immense !

Enjoy your cruise...

I loved Celebrity for many years, now I am trying out Viking Sea in 60 days!

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Hi

 

I don't see any reason to be "miffed". Yes, it does seem like you were being brushed off. Why didn't you just ask why they weren't able to give you a quote? Maybe they were misunderstanding something or maybe you misunderstood something. Getting a quote isn't unusual. If they can't do that without making it complicated, maybe you are better off not having to deal with them.

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If this is how they are treating you now, how do you think they will rtreat you onee they have your bookingI would not count on ggreatt service from them or even return phone calls etc. Let it go. Don' t stress yourself over a situation it is so easy to walk away from. IMMO, but, you did ask. :) If you book with them and are unsatisfied, you will need their permission in order to remove the booking f rom them and move it elsewhere. You are lucky you learned about them so early in the process.

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