Why Bother with a Travel Agent?

[DeanD]

2 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

I have booked with and without a TA.  The last one we used for a cruise did nothing for us.  Literally nothing.  We made the booking and transferred it to them, never made any changes and only asked to add on insurance.  We were told to go to XYZ website and take a look...granted this was a very cheap cruise, about $850 for an inside room, but still. 

 

We tend to book less expensive cruises, inside or balcony, and then splash out on our trips to Jamaica.  If you cannot extend a little service for a cheap booking, (which we do multiple of these each year), then I am not interested in giving you our $7,000+ twice yearly bookings for Jamaica.  While I am fully aware that two $7G trips to Jamaica a year is a drop in the bucket to some, it is a lot of money to us, I am certain they bring in a bit of commission.  Work for me each time or I'll just do it myself I guess.

If they are a "good" TA the fare shouldn't matter.  They should give good and consistent service no matter what.  

[OSUZorba]

On 3/19/2022 at 7:55 AM, swmichigan cruiser said:

Not always true. I am one that mentioned I  am getting $750 cashback on a future cruise from my TA and we only have a balcony cabin. It is a 21 night cruise and by doing pre paid grats and insurance we moved up from $500 cashback to $750 cashback and we were going to do the grats eventually and insurance anyhow. 

They get commission on pre paid grats? I almost always do prepaid, but it hasn't ever gotten me more discount.

[swmichigan cruiser]

2 minutes ago, OSUZorba said:

They get commission on pre paid grats? I almost always do prepaid, but it hasn't ever gotten me more discount.

. My cash back has to do with my spend to them minus certain items on my invoices. In this case  because pre paid grats and insurance it got me to a higher level of cash back. Not sure if either has an effect on their commissions.

[Morecruisesplz]

7 minutes ago, DeanD said:

If they are a "good" TA the fare shouldn't matter.  They should give good and consistent service no matter what.  

Yes, the only thing that should change is your obc or cash back. Some cruise lines limit the remuneration a TA can offer.

[OSUZorba]

On 3/19/2022 at 11:25 PM, SPacificbound said:

I have never used a travel agent, I enjoy planning and booking everything myself.

People keep saying they like to plan.

 

I email my TA and say "I want your prices on these categories on this sailing." Then I email back and say "Book me in this cabin." Or yesterday I literally emailed and said "Move me to this other cabin."

 

I do all the same planning I would otherwise. I'm sure there are people that say "I want to cruise in July, find me something." But people do that direct too, heard someone doing it in the suite lounge last week with Next Cruise. But that isn't required with a TA.

Edited March 22, 2022 by OSUZorba

[SparklyPinkCruiser]

19 minutes ago, OSUZorba said:

They get commission on pre paid grats? I almost always do prepaid, but it hasn't ever gotten me more discount.

No, no commission on pre-paid gratuities at all. But definitely commission on insurance.

[bayou cruiser]

I've used the same agency pre-Covid for most of my cruises.  I've been trying to reach them for three days and no call-backs, no emails, nothing, goes straight to a recording.  Big agency in the northeast.  I'm so disappointed.  I'm ready to book and I want the perks.  So very frustrating.  How do I find these great agents?

 

[Tree_skier]

1 hour ago, OSUZorba said:

People keep saying they like to plan.

People saying this always strikes me as one oddest comments.  It's not like my TA picks my cruise ship or itinerary or cabin category or excursions or decides if I'm getting the DBP or which specialty restaurants I'm going to or my pre cruise hotel or even the airline I'll be flying in.  What part of planning is using a TA taking away from the compulsive planners.  They handle administrative part of a booking and charge you nothing and often save you money.

[DeanD]

1 hour ago, OSUZorba said:

People keep saying they like to plan.

Using a TA doesn't preclude planning or following prices.  IMO the planning is essentially the same other than asking their input where they have expertise or experience I don't.  Actually anyone that books and doesn't investigate the variables, TA or not, is setting themselves up for disappointment.  I've seen this happen far too many times in other travel scenarios like timeshares.  To me it boils down to how much time I'm willing to spend and whether I trust the TA.  Any additional incentives or extra discounts are secondary and since they don't apply to my TA, it isn't a factor for me.  My time and worry are worth far more to me than the OBC could be.

Edited March 22, 2022 by DeanD

[Morecruisesplz]

41 minutes ago, DeanD said:

Using a TA doesn't preclude planning or following prices.  IMO the planning is essentially the same other than asking their input where they have expertise or experience I don't.  Actually anyone that books and doesn't investigate the variables, TA or not, is setting themselves up for disappointment.  I've seen this happen far too many times in other travel scenarios like timeshares.  To me it boils down to how much time I'm willing to spend and whether I trust the TA.  Any additional incentives or extra discounts are secondary and since they don't apply to my TA, it isn't a factor for me.  My time and worry are worth far more to me than the OBC could be.

Using a good TA takes away worry and gives your time back.

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, bayou cruiser said:

 I'm ready to book and I want the perks.  So very frustrating.  How do I find these great agents?

Just do a Google search for TA's that compete for your business.

[blueslily]

10 hours ago, rennyn said:

 

Have you had to call them recently? Yesterday I was on hold for 90 minutes, and then they dropped my call 2 minutes after answering. It's a great experience 😐 

 

Yep. February. But, I have not called in the past three weeks since my cruise was over. All of my calls in February were answered promptly. So, just a few weeks ago. But, folks here are saying they've had wait time issues way before the past few weeks.  Again, Im not sure what I was doing differently than other people, but my max hold time during the month of February, just weeks ago, was 5 minutes. Can only speak for my experience. It was great. Not stressful at all. Since December, I've sailed once a month on MSC, Royal, and Norwegian. All easy peasy booking and customer service experiences. Skipping March and April since I know better, lol. 

Edited March 23, 2022 by blueslily

[blueslily]

On 3/20/2022 at 12:33 AM, SNJCruisers said:

Happens all the time on various lines primarily recently because of Covid.  The lines laid off many customer service reps and the volume of calls they are receiving nowadays for various reasons are causing long wait  times.  It's really frustrating to wait over an hour, then find out the person you're talking to doesn't have the answer you need and then you go back on hold for somebody else.

 

Just has not been my experience at all with my last three cruises, all on three different cruise lines. Wait was 5 minutes max. Not sure how I kept getting through, but I did. I cruised December, January, and February. All easy peasy bookings and contact with each cruise line. 🙂

[SRF]

15 hours ago, DeanD said:

If they are a "good" TA the fare shouldn't matter.  They should give good and consistent service no matter what.  

 

Mine does.

 

She gave me the same service for a 10 night $850 total fare cruise as for a 12 night in an Owner's Suite that cost 10 times as much.

[SRF]

14 hours ago, bayou cruiser said:

How do I find these great agents?

 

Try different ones.

 

And likely, the ones who give the most OBC back or most perks are ones that need more customers to make any money, so service suffers.

 

I found mine using a compete site and got several responses.  She was not the best deal on overall price, but I liked how she came across.  So I did a booking with her, and was happy with the results, so continue to book.

 

Sometimes, I book on board and have it transferred to her.  Sometimes I have her book.

 

Things she has done:

 

Check daily for price drops and apply them

Booked a Going, Going, Gone before the start of the sale

Booked a cruise 3 weeks before the cruises are published on the website.

 

And during COVID, she worked in lifting and shifting and rebooking and over and over.

[SNJCruisers]

11 hours ago, blueslily said:

 

Just has not been my experience at all with my last three cruises, all on three different cruise lines. Wait was 5 minutes max. Not sure how I kept getting through, but I did. I cruised December, January, and February. All easy peasy bookings and contact with each cruise line. 🙂

I have been on hold for very lengthy times with future bookings on NCL & Princess as well as reasonable hold with Celebrity.  Have not had to contact Royal or Carnival yet.  The worst though has been American Airlines.

[Susan in Maine]

I've had the same TA since 1980!! Yes - way back when you used a TA to book flights! 

 

Two very specific reasons I use a TA: About 15 - 20 years ago, the cruise we were on came back during a hurricane. The time we were told we would be docking kept changing all day. My TA was able to continually change our flights back so we could get home the same day.

 

Yesterday we got our Royal Up bid accepted. I wasn't happy with my cabin. My TA successfully got it changed to a different cabin - without me spending a lot of time on the phone! 

 

I tell her what I want, what ship, what cabin, etc. She does all the leg work. Why not use her?

 

(We were both 10 when we started working together Hehehehehe)

[blueslily]

7 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

I have been on hold for very lengthy times with future bookings on NCL & Princess as well as reasonable hold with Celebrity.  Have not had to contact Royal or Carnival yet.  The worst though has been American Airlines.

 

I just did a "test call" to Royal. I was only on hold 3 minutes. I'm not sure how I'm getting so lucky to get through to the cruise lines. Whatever I'm doing right, Im loving it 😁

[SNJCruisers]

1 hour ago, blueslily said:

 

I just did a "test call" to Royal. I was only on hold 3 minutes. I'm not sure how I'm getting so lucky to get through to the cruise lines. Whatever I'm doing right, Im loving it 😁

Like I said, have not contacted Royal.  But I did contact NCL today and it was only 4 minutes, I was happy with the hold time, but not with the results. 😉

[blueslily]

1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said:

Like I said, have not contacted Royal.  But I did contact NCL today and it was only 4 minutes, I was happy with the hold time, but not with the results. 😉

 

No problem. My response was for everyone. Glad you were only on hold with NCL 4 minutes. There is hope! 😁

[brillohead]

3 hours ago, blueslily said:

 

I just did a "test call" to Royal. I was only on hold 3 minutes. I'm not sure how I'm getting so lucky to get through to the cruise lines. Whatever I'm doing right, Im loving it 😁

Sometimes the hold time isn't to get through to the initial agent, but the time in getting your issue resolved.  

If you have to get transferred around to different people/departments and people have to ask their supervisor how to do something / permission to do something... that's when it can get lengthy. 

If you don't want to use a TA, that's fine.  Mine saves me time AND money, so it's worth it to me.

[blueslily]

19 hours ago, brillohead said:

Sometimes the hold time isn't to get through to the initial agent, but the time in getting your issue resolved.  

If you have to get transferred around to different people/departments and people have to ask their supervisor how to do something / permission to do something... that's when it can get lengthy. 

If you don't want to use a TA, that's fine.  Mine saves me time AND money, so it's worth it to me.

 

It appears that you might have missed the point of my posting. Enjoy your TA. Have a good evening 

[John&LaLa]

41 minutes ago, blueslily said:

 

It appears that you might have missed the point of my posting. Enjoy your TA. Have a good evening 

 

Pretty sure she understood. She just expanded on a key part or resolving issues

[blueslily]

7 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Pretty sure she understood. She just expanded on a key part or resolving issues

Yes, I understand resolving issues. I also read the postings here and was responding to a specific point that was being made. Thank you. 

[John&LaLa]

11 minutes ago, blueslily said:

Yes, I understand resolving issues. I also read the postings here and was responding to a specific point that was being made. Thank you. 

 

Still think you are the one missing the point, but thanks for your contribution 😊