Choosing a Travel Agent

[cruisegirl25]

Just wondering how you choose a travel agent. We have one but have not been happy so far. He says that he is going to send me information about my bookings but I have never received it. I do not know what to do. Should I transfer it to a new on or back to me. Thanks

[LARGIN]

Ex-host Chris has some info on his site on the matter.. check here.. http://www.lifeiscruising.com/about_travel_agents

Myself I just talked to friends until I found one I was most satisfied with..

[sunluva7]

I booked my first two cruises with a local TA (a national cruise-only site). It was great for our first cruise because I was new to cruising and needed a lot of help and had a lot of questions. We were even upgraded a couple of times. At the same time, I was learning a lot from these boards. By the second cruise, we booked from the same TA and she was able to match the least expensive web price I could find, but I realized by this point I probably knew nearly as much about the whole experience as she did. I've booked my third cruise for August which I am comfortable enough to do on my own with a bare bones on-line site. I was able to get a great price which my former TA could not come close to, and because I monitor the prices often, was able to get a decrease :) , something my former TA probably would have missed anyway.

[zurmoly]

Good TA..Sends confirmation via email as soon as you book. Checks to see if they monitor prices for a price drop. Do they charge you if you cancell with them? They should be easy to contact and give you a quick reply.

[98Charlie]

Number 1 - If you have booked all three of your cruises through the same agent/agency, they should be very responsive to your requests. Even if you only have a single booking with this agent, if he/she says tey are going to do something, it should happen.

 

Generally, you need to balance service and price when making a selection. If you want/need a lot of help you will want to use a full service brick & mortar agency where you can go in and talk face to face with your agent. OTOH if you are comfortable doing your own research and making arrangements, an online agency may be for you and save some money in the process.

 

As LARGIN said, personal references are very helpful.

 

Some agencies will charge you a fee if you transfer your booking from them. Check the fine print or ask.

 

Charlie

[Coral]

I like being able to call or email an agent. I would never book with an agency that only allows email. My travel agent works evenings and weekends - which is when I am planning my travel. This is important to me that I can call them on my own time, not while I am at work. I also agree about finding an agent who does not charge a cancellation fee or a fee for changes to a cruise.

 

I also find it valuable to establish a long-term working relationship with an agent. If your agent knows you, he/she can look out for your interests and will let you know if they come across something that you would like or that you would benefit from.

[paulsurf]

On the Carribean Prin May 28

Will be 15 th cruise.

 

One you have done 3 or 4 crusies , subcribe to Crusie Travel, Pothole and read boards , surf cruise line sites...you don't need a "live " TA

Try ***********.com , have used 3 times each time after "shoping" crusie411 and the rest........... ***********.com usually beats them by 1-%

They will answer emails promply are very efficient

[Casey12]

Recommendations from friends is how I found my TA. Remember that the cheapest price isn't always the best. We went with the cheapest price once and could never get our phone calls returned and questions answered.

[cnmiranda]

In general I choose the large internet brokers. After getting burned badly by a popular email only online agency I swore them off for good. Remember if you are booking through an email only site it is very easy for them to blow you off if a problem arises. Now we only book with online agencies with live representatives.

 

A good ta is hard to find. We have had the same travel agent for more than 10 years but she just can't beat the large web wholsalers. It took us a few years before I found another agency we were happy with.

 

Good luck:)

[cruisegirl25]

Thanks everyone for their help