Travel agents and discounts

[vareseitaly]

I am a newbie here and through reading the posts I have learned that it seems travel agents often are able to give $500 discounts on Viking cruises. I checked with my agent on discounts on both Viking and AMA for next August 2014 and she said that neither are offering any discounts beyond the brochure discounted prices. She said August is considered in the high season and often the river cruise lines don't offer discounts during that time.

 

Do you think it is worth checking with another agent? I thought those of you who are frequent cruisers would likely have a sense of whether or not discounts are typically available in "high" season.

 

Thanks,

 

Kim

[id est]

I am a newbie here and through reading the posts I have learned that it seems travel agents often are able to give $500 discounts on Viking cruises. I checked with my agent on discounts on both Viking and AMA for next August 2014 and she said that neither are offering any discounts beyond the brochure discounted prices. She said August is considered in the high season and often the river cruise lines don't offer discounts during that time.

 

Do you think it is worth checking with another agent? I thought those of you who are frequent cruisers would likely have a sense of whether or not discounts are typically available in "high" season.

 

Thanks,

 

Kim

Here is a quote from Viking's 2014 Travel Agent Guide:

--------------------------------------------------

COMMISSION

• Averaging over $1,600 per Viking Longship booking, commissions are paid 29 days prior to departure.

• No NCF’S: earn commission on every aspect of your clients’ bookings — cruise and air, port charges, taxes, fees, travel protection plans, gift orders, shipboard credits and more.

TOUR CONDUCTOR POLICY

• One free TC (cruise only) for every 9 paid guests to Russia / Ukraine and Europe (except Portugal).

• One free TC (cruise only) for every 15 paid guests to Portugal.

• One free TC (cruise, land and intra-China air only) for every 9 paid guests to China.

• One free TC (cruise, land and domestic air within Southeast Asia) for every 15 paid guests to Southeast Asia.

--------------------------------------------------

So as you see each TA receives a commision from Viking from which they usually provide a discount to us, their customers. From my experience the decent discount should be around 10% off the cruise price. $500 is what we usually get. It has nothing to do with the "high" or "low" season. In your case I'd definitely check with other agents and run away from your TA.

[nana541]

Discount and benefits usually do NOT come from the river cruise company, they come from the TA portion (ie out of their commission) as an incentive to get more business. Short sighted TA's want to keep every dime of their commission and offer no Benefits to their clients....I had a TA like that and after spending $1,000's of dollars (many many thousands) and I got a $50 Discount once just once! I finally got a new TA. New TA offered $1200 off and paid for our transfers on our last cruise. Also provided an extra $250 for a referral who booked with her.

 

These Travel Agencies, are usually large consortiums that advertise themselves as "Luxury Travel Experts" specializing in Lux travel.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Why not try a different TA.

[diane.in.ny]

Discount and benefits usually do NOT come from the river cruise company, they come from the TA portion (ie out of their commission) as an incentive to get more business. Short sighted TA's want to keep every dime of their commission and offer no Benefits to their clients....I had a TA like that and after spending $1,000's of dollars (many many thousands) and I got a $50 Discount once just once! I finally got a new TA. New TA offered $1200 off and paid for our transfers on our last cruise. Also provided an extra $250 for a referral who booked with her.

 

These Travel Agencies, are usually large consortiums that advertise themselves as "Luxury Travel Experts" specializing in Lux travel.

 

I have a TA who doesn't rebate (she does pay for referrals). Her skill and expertise when it comes to cruising is worth every penny she earns as an agent. She faithfully stays on top of my booking and I know she is looking out for me from the time I book to the time I return home. Yes, over 15 years of being her client she has done things like upgraded us and provided dinner in a specialty restaurant. But I know that when things go sour, she can't be compensated enough.

[bobalink]

I think I have been lucky. In 2012 I was looking to book an AMA Danube river cruise for summer 2013. I started receiving emails from AMA. I really wanted to go on the AmaCerto, and the dates worked for us. I was talking to my TA and was just about ready to book it but I needed to call her back with some information. I happened to check my email, and I had received a promotional offer from AMA for a very similar itinerary on the Danube, but it was for the AmaLyra. The savings was HUGE, the dates were almost identical, for simply choosing a different (older) ship. I called my agent and she hadn't received that promotion. She called AMA to see about availability and to verify the promotion. We booked it and with the AMA promotion and the TA's discount, we saved $2,000.

 

We were tied up to the AmaCerto 3 times on our cruise so I got to see it, walked through the lobby. It IS beautiful and new, and wonderful, I am sure. The savings I got for choosing the AmaLyra was even more wonderful!

 

Similar thing happened a few weeks ago. I had been looking at the Paris & Normandy cruise, the next day I got an email from AMA with a great offer, so we called the TA and found out there were only 5 cabins available, so we booked it!

 

Moral of the story... Get on the mailing list for ALL the river cruise lines and watch for special promos.

[krzi]

The first cruise I ever booked was on priceline, however afterwards I learned that a travel agent makes a big difference, since then I have been booking with the same travel agent. Sometimes they give me OBC, wine onboard, welcome aboard gift, and other surprises. I personally recommend going to a travel agent.

[pbnjrockette]

We book our rivercruise directly thru Vantage. There are discounts for past travelers or being referred by a current Vantage customer. Grand Circle has the same policy. Our TA cannot book thru these 2 companies but we have had good results with them.

[jiminyC_fan]

I'm another one that got a whooping $50.00 and thought that was a nice gesture. What a dummy. I always, always plan our other vacations/cruises but this one had me a bit nervous so I went with a TA. I've learned my lesson!

[diane.in.ny]

My TA is a member of Ensemble Travel Consortium and there are many agents across the U.S. who are a member.

 

We sometimes get the benefits of an Ensemble sailing but most often don't.

 

What is important to me is that I have a TA who cares that I have a great trip and who does everything within her power to make sure all the i's are dotted and the t's are crossed.

 

We had a recent sailing cancelled by the cruise company. She pushed and shoved and made max use of the offers made by the cruise company. We got a sailing we've been wanting to do for years but has been too expensive. Not only did we get it for the same price as our original cancelled cruise (part of the cruise line offer), but she got us a two category upgrade.

 

Worth more than I can put a $$ value on.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

We book our rivercruise directly thru Vantage. There are discounts for past travelers or being referred by a current Vantage customer. Grand Circle has the same policy. Our TA cannot book thru these 2 companies but we have had good results with them.

Maybe that will change and they will us TA , like they are getting read of the program mangers ...