Should I be unhappy with my TA?

[WpgCruise]

I wonder if the O.P.'s perception of "Good Service" and the T.A.'s definition are the same ? It may well be time for a conversation with the T.A. detailing expectations.

 

Once that is done, if the service doesn't meet expectations I'd suspect the O.P. is being "De Marketed". This is not unknown in the service industry when Clients requirements can't be met by a service provider.

 

It may well be he T.A. has a book of Clients who are much more low maintenance than the O.P. and they simply don't have the time to deal with the O.P's expectations. If that's the case, it's time for the O.P. to find someone who will meet their expectations.

[Cruise Junky]

I have not seen a ta that can do better for me than I can... in 30 years of traveling and cruising... this is especially true today with the internet and the amount of information available... if you have the time to handle things on your own... don't need someone to take care everything for you book direct. I book cruises, air, hotels and insurance all direct.. no packages... i am in control of my bookings if rates go down I request new rates and get them.

 

You're missing out big time on Princess Discounts.

[Colo Cruiser]

I have not seen a ta that can do better for me than I can... in 30 years of traveling and cruising... this is especially true today with the internet and the amount of information available... if you have the time to handle things on your own... don't need someone to take care everything for you book direct. I book cruises, air, hotels and insurance all direct.. no packages... i am in control of my bookings if rates go down I request new rates and get them.

 

 

How can you prove that? You have quotes from every TA in business? If you book through Princess I am beating your price by at least 10% every time. ;)

[4cats4me]

How can you prove that? You have quotes from every TA in business? If you book through Princess I am beating your price by at least 10% every time. ;)

 

 

 

Me, too. 🤠[emoji848][emoji483]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[msmoger]

Me, too. 🤠[emoji848][emoji483]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

Ditto and I received my "mass mailing" yesterday and actually read it. :cool:;p

[cflutist]

How can you prove that? You have quotes from every TA in business? If you book through Princess I am beating your price by at least 10% every time. ;)

Exactly, and if you are booking Owner's and PH suites, that makes a difference. I was foolish before and paid full price for two PH suites by booking directly with Princess. Never again! And if pris993 thinks they can get a $3000 discount with Silversea by booking direct, good luck.

[sonomaphil]

How can you prove that? You have quotes from every TA in business? If you book through Princess I am beating your price by at least 10% every time. ;)

 

I think the semantics of what a TA is could be in play here.

 

Do I have a TA that I have been calling up for years and ask questions and have them book a cruise? No. I book myself but that does not mean I don't use a Travel Agency site. I could care less who I have to talk to on the phone, or if I have to talk to a real person at all, they are just order takers. I use a site that competes for business, low price wins and perks wins. Then I go to my selections of sites I use form comparison sake. Do I care if I talk to Peggy, Jenny or Mark? No. Before the internet personal TA's were necessary, now they are not.

[carefreebee]

This is what I have learned.

My expectations are too high.

Discounts beat out strawberries.

Unicorns are rare. (I hope to find one, someday)

And a rummer is a pretty drinking glass!

[Dudleydog73]

I think the semantics of what a TA is could be in play here.

 

Before the internet personal TA's were necessary, now they are not.

 

You can do well for yourself sure, but there are times when having a personal TA (especially during irregular operations or when something goes horribly wrong) that can go to bat for you while you may have limited access to communications / internet is truly valuable. That is something that cannot be discounted. I know I have a single point of contact for all issues that may come up and all it takes is a simple call / email and she is on it. No need for me to spend vast amounts of personal angst on vacation to try to resolve issues.

 

We get great discounts as well as perks on the cruises and have yet to find Princess direct booking beating her pricing / service. All in all we wouldn't trade her.

[Katwoman007]

Okay... newbie question. I totally researched rates and decided to book through Princess myself. I know 15+ years ago when I did my last cruise, we had to go to a TA. What can TA actually do for booking? I thought you still had to pay them on top of everything else. Should I have found a TA for a better deal?

[neverbeenhere]

To get or retain your business a smart travel agency will not kick-in some type of extra that the cruise line won't. The prices will likely be the same, but the travel agency will forego some of their commission to provide you with something. (OBC, flowers, drinks, spa treatment...)

[Dudleydog73]

I think the previous poster meant will and not will not kick in extras. For Princess, TAs are allowed to discount pricing off the top but are not allowed to advertise the price difference. This means you must get quotes to compare apples to apples. With the discount and perks our TA has always beaten Princess direct booking prices.

[neverbeenhere]

To get or retain your business a smart travel agency will not kick-in some type of extra that the cruise line won't. The prices will likely be the same, but the travel agency will forego some of their commission to provide you with something. (OBC, flowers, drinks, spa treatment...)

 

 

Okay so I have a "not" in the wrong place.

[thinfool]

I thought you still had to pay them on top of everything else.

 

No.

 

There is a commission built into the fare you pay regardless of where you book.

 

If you book with the cruise line they just keep the 'commission'.

 

If you find the right TA, he/she may rebate part of their commission to reduce your fare or provide OBC. The cruise line will never do this.

 

There may be TA's that add a processing fee for booking a cruise, but a savvy consumer will avoid them for one that does not, and there are many that do not.

[cflutist]

A good TA can get you about 9-10% off the commisionable fare as a direct discount or an onboard credit. I have worked with two different TAs in the last year who did this, one got an Owner's suite booking, and the other a penthouse suite, that's a chunk of change imo. Ymmw.

[Hlitner]

My message to the OP is quite simple. From your post you are the type of traveler that expects/demands a lot of personal service from your travel agent. The fact that you feel compelled to post here....means you are obviously not satisfied with the extent of services (hand holding) you are getting from your agent. This means its time to look elsewhere.

 

I would add that we do a lot of cruising (over 100 days just last year) and deal with several different major online agencies (none of them are big box stores). We are signed-up for their private e-mails...which gets us access to special pricing/deals on many different cruise lines. We do not expect (or want) any hand holding...but just expect to be told of various promotions/deals. Once we see a cruise that we want to book, we simply contact each of our favored cruise agencies (by e-mail and/or phone call) and tell them we are going to book a certain cruise and we want their best deal. We then compare the offerings from our various agencies and book the best deal. This has sometimes saved us thousands of dollars (on a single cruise). Our agencies know we are for real, will not take up much of their time, and will book quickly. They also know we shop around...so they must compete.

 

Hank