If you book with a TA

[misty57]

instead of directly with RCI, what should you expect from your TA? Our agent booked our last trip, but I had to arrange transportation to the pier and back to the airport. We didn't receive any "perks", had to call her to see if our documents were in, and she never checked with us after the trip to see if everything went ok. Should we expect more? She charged $150 fee. BTW this was the 5th cruise we booked with her company, but this is the first cruise she handle for us herself.

[Flyinman]

I think it is a waste of time and money to book through a TA or any other means than through RCCL direct. My last cruise I booked through the airline to get miles. Everytime I would call the airline, all they would do is call RCCL and place me on hold. I called RCCL direct and was told I would have to call the airline since I did not book it through them to make any changes. Boy I will never do that again. I have always booked direct in the past and will continue to do so.

[misty57]

Thanks. I'm leaning in that direction myself. If a TA just does what I could do, I can use that extra money for an excursion. I wonder... when you book through RCI do you have a specific contact person or is it random whenever you call. Also, has anyone had trouble with RCI not crediting payments?

[Sue L]

I only used a TA once for my cruises, the rest I have booked directly. This way you can call them whenever you want for payments, questions, price reductions, whatever. You will have to do your own homework to see if there are any reductions and find your own flights but both are easy. Try using sidestep.com or kayak.com for flights.

[Rala]

Misty, What was the $150 fee for. I have never had a TA charge a fee except maybe for booking airfare, but that was only $10 or $15 per person at most. Sounds like you can get a much better deal by shopping around for a new TA. Many TAs give perks like OBC, free insurance, wine, etc.. I would look around and ask some questions if I were you.

[nycruiser80]

I am a TA and with all due respect you can book on your own and you get - you are on your own.

 

Most TA's do not charge a fee to book a cruise! I cant beleive they charged you $150!!! A good agency would not charge you a fee to book a cruise. Remember travel agents get the same rate you would get booking directly. That is a fact.

 

The benefits of booking with a GOOD (I stress GOOD) Travel Agent:

- They are your advocate. Every agency has a local representative for each cruise line. Many times if there is a problem these reps. could make a differance.

-Most TA's are unbiased. An example is of all the people and families that booked the Celebrity Cruises Zenith from Cape Liberty to Bermuda this year. Celebrity suddenly took the Zenith from her Bermuda run and replaced it with a refurbished newer ship under a new deluxe small ship cruise line called Azamara. I was reading in the Azamara cruise boards of people who booked direct with Celebrity and the agents there assured them that the new Azamara Journey which was taking the place of the Zenith would have kids facilities and activities. The Celebrity agents did not say to them that this ship is NOT family friendly. They did not give them professional advice and say this ship is not for you instead (even though it is not the calibur of Celebrity) you should go on the Norwegian Crown since they have a similiar cruise to the Zenith and the ship has children and teen facilities. A good travel agent who knows ships would know that the Azamara ship in her previous life was a low key premium ship that did not cater to families and a good agent would have known that the ship under Celebrity would not have children facilities but limited activities since our representatives updated us on this. But by booking direct the agents would not want to drive business away.

-Many Travel agents are members of travel companies. My office is a member of Virtuoso and on some sailings on certain lines our clients may get a lower rate then the line or onboard credits, a free excursion, a bootle of wine.

-A good TA also sends a gift that is on par with what you sent. Maybe you will get a mug, an onboard credit, fruit basket, free insurance, bottle of wine.

-A good agent monitors your rates. Our office creates a spreadsheet and each week or two we monitor the rates and as long as we can we will lower the rate for the client.

-A good agent who cruises a lot can give advice from what they have experienced and what other clients have told them. A travel agent is a profession. Yes it is easy to book directly but an agent who is seasoned and professional knows the business and the many rules and in and outs.

 

Benefits of booking direct:

-You are in control of the booking.

 

Just some points to think about. I know people think agents are useless (even my family thinks we are!) but I think that is a stereotype.

[Samcat2]

I think $150.00 booking fee is very steep. We booked through an agent and the fee was $40.00 for two, which we were not advised at the time of booking, it just showed up on our credit card. For this fee we got nothing but an e-mail confirming our booking and directions on how to check in online, which I did and it took forever. We never received a package with a folder and cruise info or bag tags.All I had was one piece of paper which I printed out on my computer when I arrived at the pier.

I saw several other people who had received packages with computerized bag tags with their names, cabin number, color coded ect. printed out in advance. We got a generic tag at the pier and I wrote our name and cabin number on it, however it got ripped off along with all our ID and our bags ended up in the "lost luggage room" where we had to go and identify it at about 8.30 pm. We had no info on the layout ship until I got a map from customer relations the next day.

Our last cruise through HAL, we got a beautiful package with everything we needed to know about the ship and printed bag tags. I don't agree with this vitual ticketing.

 

We had no followup from our agent either, so next time I'm going to book direct through the cruise lines, and I'm not going to tell them I have a computer. I want my package mailed out to me to have in my hand.

[piercetc4]

some agencies charge fees- its good to ask before you book if there are any fees and if so what they are for- booking, cancelling, cabin switch, name change etc.....and also ask if they honor price drops til sail date-

150 fee is outrageous-

[mikedw]

I'm also a TA at an independent American Express Office. A lot of times when I check on things for clients the fare is either the same or cheaper then on the internet or with the cruiseline driectly. Amex has a lot of pull when negotiating fares. I have a lot of older clients who don't have computers, so we get there documents in and take a hour or more with them to do there boarding passes and get there shore excursions booked.

 

With the local reps, I can get 95% of problems taken care of with one email compared with calling the cruise line or faxing or emailing a letter to there headquarters. As the previous poster said, if you book yourself and something happens you're on your own. Every now and then I get a phone call or someone coming in who has booked a vacation online and wants me to explain everything to them cause they can't get through to the online company. We politely decline and tell them they should have considered us and our service to begin with.

 

As far as the company I work for, we've been in business for over 30 years and do a lot with different charities and organizations in the community. Would that online travel agency help raise money for the local kids soccer league or cancer walk? A good TA is usually free and helps keep the stress level for the client down by doing all the planning for them.

 

Take care,

 

Michael

[Autumnrose]

Every now and then I get a phone call or someone coming in who has booked a vacation online and wants me to explain everything to them cause they can't get through to the online company. We politely decline and tell them they should have considered us and our service to begin with.

 

 

Aaahh!:mad: This is one of my pet peeves. I hate when people do this. It happens often. Not just with those that book online but those that book direct. I also get people coming in that want help with a complaint for travel they booked online. I just hate that! Sorry:D ! I just had to rant for a second.

[MercedMike]

instead of directly with RCI, what should you expect from your TA? Our agent booked our last trip, but I had to arrange transportation to the pier and back to the airport. We didn't receive any "perks", had to call her to see if our documents were in, and she never checked with us after the trip to see if everything went ok. Should we expect more? She charged $150 fee. BTW this was the 5th cruise we booked with her company, but this is the first cruise she handle for us herself.

 

My DW is a CLIA Master Cruise Counselor. Her agency charges NO booking fee (of course they are commissioned by the cruise line.) Here are some of the services she offers for no charge to the client:

 

"Qualifying" the client, getting to know them, finding out what they expect of a cruise and what they want to do. Then assisting in considering a wide variety of different cruise experiences, and helping to select the one that will be best for them and their particular circumstances. She does this from a wide knowledge of many different cruise lines, lots of personal experience cruising, lots of ship inspections, lots of training and study with many different cruise lines. (That is what is required for a MCC).

 

Then she searches for the best rates, through the cruise line or through consolidators. She helps choose air packages, again either through the cruise line, off the rack, or through consolidators. She makes hotel reservations, car rental reservations, arranges for transfers or limo services, and in general helps arrange a total package vacation with everything meshing together properly. Usually she is able to find the very lowest fare for any particular trip.

 

She answers, again and again, so many of the questions we see on this board: When can I disembark, how soon can I fly out, do I need a passport, how much luggage am I allowed, which dining seating is better, what is anytime dining, can I rent a car in port ... on and on and on.

 

Then she monitors the entire situation, the cruise, the flights, changes, prices, the whole package, and deals with any problems as they arise. (Delta changed my schedule, what do I do?)

 

She takes care of payments, bonded and secured by a CST (California Seller of Travel) registration.

 

When documents are received, she reviews them with the client, makes sure that all questions are answered, and that everything is in order.

 

She spends most of her day on the phone to the various Customer NON-Service departments of the cruise lines (just read this board to know how frustrating that is!) Name mispelled on documents? She handles it. Want to change a shore excursion? She handles it. Need a cabin upgrade, or want to decline a cabin change? She handles it. On and on, every problem we have seen on this board and a lot we haven't seen. She makes herself available to the customer, either at the office or at home, when she is needed, or arranges for a colleague to do it. People even call her from on board or in foreign countries to trouble shoot.

 

Then when the client is finally on board the ship, she sends them a gift to say THANKS for your business! After the trip she calls up to see how it went (and naturally to suggest something for their NEXT cruise!)

 

Now -- what does your online or 800 number TA do for you? Or do you think you are able to do all that yourself better than a trained and experienced Master Cruise Counselor can?

 

To the OP -- I think you need to vote with your feet and leave that TA you have and find one in your town like my DW! (Too bad she doesn't do business online.)

[nycruiser80]

I was going to mention this in my post. I must get a few calls a month with someone who booked a cruise online with the cruise line and they want info on it. They did the work and they want information on it. I had a call like thos last week, it was a women who booked with Carnival directly and wanted information on insurance. The best one was a women about a month ago. I priced a Princess cruise and through our office affiliation with Virtuoso I was able to get her a 50 OBC and a bottle of wine. She calls me and tells me thank you (which was nice of her) but she wanted to book with the line and she was puzzled that the rate was the same. She ended up still booking through the line. Hey its a free country but she wants to actually give up 50 OBC and wine and my office was going to buy her a gift. I dont understand, I guess she wants to be in control over her booking. Little did she knows that I am a decent agent very well versed in the cruise industry (I hate to toot my horn but I have been doing this since I was 17!).

 

Also one of the posters said she never got actual documents. Keep in mind the major cruise lines are switching to edocs and most agencies will not fill out the online boarding forms only because it asks for very personal info.

 

At the end of day today my local Royal Caribbean rep who I love came in and gave us many many coupon books which we can pass to our clients. The local reps. (if they are good) can make a differance.

[Captain Jake]

Its apparent from reading these post (and common sense too) that there are good and bad TA's.A good one will be an extra set of eyes for price drops and maybe send a bottle of wine for dinner.On occasion their agency may have a block of cabins reserved at a rate that may be available after the cruise lines raises their rates.They may alert you if your dream cruise has a veterens discount.Then there are bad agents the ones you've read about here............................................

[snowmouse]

A little off topic, but to you Ta's on this thread. I am very interested in becoming a TA. I am a former teacher and have been a stay at home mom for many years, but really think this is something I would enjoy doing. How does one get started? I'm really not looking to make a killing, but would love to get back out there now that my kids are growing, and I practically do this job for most of my friends already who know of my passion for travel and researching both mine and their vacations. Any adviced

[daisysheridan]

We have a TA that has been very good to us, she always sends us a note after the cruise. But...if I could get a cruise for the same price and a few extra perks, well, $50.00 OBC actually makes it a cheaper cruise!

 

I h

[daisysheridan]

I have checked locally and most every TA I talked with won't credit our credit card if the price goes down after it is paid off. Our current TA does.

[willysgrandma]

I am a TA and with all due respect you can book on your own and you get - you are on your own.

 

Most TA's do not charge a fee to book a cruise! I cant beleive they charged you $150!!! A good agency would not charge you a fee to book a cruise. Remember travel agents get the same rate you would get booking directly. That is a fact.

 

The benefits of booking with a GOOD (I stress GOOD) Travel Agent:

- They are your advocate. Every agency has a local representative for each cruise line. Many times if there is a problem these reps. could make a differance.

-Most TA's are unbiased. An example is of all the people and families that booked the Celebrity Cruises Zenith from Cape Liberty to Bermuda this year. Celebrity suddenly took the Zenith from her Bermuda run and replaced it with a refurbished newer ship under a new deluxe small ship cruise line called Azamara. I was reading in the Azamara cruise boards of people who booked direct with Celebrity and the agents there assured them that the new Azamara Journey which was taking the place of the Zenith would have kids facilities and activities. The Celebrity agents did not say to them that this ship is NOT family friendly. They did not give them professional advice and say this ship is not for you instead (even though it is not the calibur of Celebrity) you should go on the Norwegian Crown since they have a similiar cruise to the Zenith and the ship has children and teen facilities. A good travel agent who knows ships would know that the Azamara ship in her previous life was a low key premium ship that did not cater to families and a good agent would have known that the ship under Celebrity would not have children facilities but limited activities since our representatives updated us on this. But by booking direct the agents would not want to drive business away.

-Many Travel agents are members of travel companies. My office is a member of Virtuoso and on some sailings on certain lines our clients may get a lower rate then the line or onboard credits, a free excursion, a bootle of wine.

-A good TA also sends a gift that is on par with what you sent. Maybe you will get a mug, an onboard credit, fruit basket, free insurance, bottle of wine.

-A good agent monitors your rates. Our office creates a spreadsheet and each week or two we monitor the rates and as long as we can we will lower the rate for the client.

-A good agent who cruises a lot can give advice from what they have experienced and what other clients have told them. A travel agent is a profession. Yes it is easy to book directly but an agent who is seasoned and professional knows the business and the many rules and in and outs.

 

Benefits of booking direct:

-You are in control of the booking.

 

Just some points to think about. I know people think agents are useless (even my family thinks we are!) but I think that is a stereotype.

 

Bravo - well said.

 

As soon as a TA told me they were charging me $150, I would have said goodbye.

[nycruiser80]

snowmouse,

 

I am actually in a converse situation I am moving from travel to teaching. I am currently getting my masters degree in education! Travel does not pay much and entails lots of work (as any profession!) but if income is not an issue it is a great career. I used to love travel more however it has gotten hard in the internet age but the industry adapts.

 

Here are some pointers:

I started out at 17 as an office assistant however I knew a nice amount about cruises already so everything else I learned on the job. I had great co-workers who taught me all that I know plus I always had a love of cruising so that helped. My suggestion is you can get a job as an office assistant and assist the boss or other agents with their reservations. You probably would not deal with clients however this helps you understand the industry.

 

You could also get an associates degree in travel and tourism from a community college

 

You could also (while working at an agency get your MCC or ACC from CLIA: www.clia.org). You can also get your CTC and other info on becoming a travel agent at this site http://www.thetravelinstitute.com/welcome.cfm?tn=welcome

 

And check out this site http://www.astanet.com/

 

Hope this helps

 

I personally was never trained formally however I learned from on the job experience (It was two years after starting that I handled my own clients) and I also read travel industry text books, attended seminars, and attended class to learn Sabre airline reservation system. Good luck.

[Fran Harp]

instead of directly with RCI, what should you expect from your TA? Our agent booked our last trip, but I had to arrange transportation to the pier and back to the airport. We didn't receive any "perks", had to call her to see if our documents were in, and she never checked with us after the trip to see if everything went ok. Should we expect more? She charged $150 fee. BTW this was the 5th cruise we booked with her company, but this is the first cruise she handle for us herself.

 

You'll get as many answers as people here!!!!

 

We have a TA who I met when he and I worked for the same organisation. He has always given us good service. He has looked after everything. I asked him if it's better to book with a TA or through the cruise line - he said a good TA will go to bat for you if things go wrong, and usually are better at badgering the cruise line for information. When he books for us, transfers to and from the airport, ship etc are included in the total price; he always calls when the documents are done, and usually delivers them to us.

 

For our upcoming cruise, we still booked cruise air, but didn't take the hotel RCI recommended, so we don't get transfers and will have to find our own way - but we don't mind that.

 

I guess this is the long way of saying your TA is NOT giving you the service you should be getting. If the TA books you a cruise, air and other stuff through RCI, all those things - transfers and everything - should be included in the price.

 

That doesn't mean TA's are all bad, and it doesn't mean always book with RCI. Perhaps you want to look around for another TA - because when you get a good one, so many things are made that much easier.

 

Fran in Toronto

[Fran Harp]

Misty, What was the $150 fee for. I have never had a TA charge a fee except maybe for booking airfare, but that was only $10 or $15 per person at most. Sounds like you can get a much better deal by shopping around for a new TA. Many TAs give perks like OBC, free insurance, wine, etc.. I would look around and ask some questions if I were you.

 

I agree. Our TA doesn't charge a fee - the cruiseline pays him...

 

He got us a lower rate than advertised on the RCI site, and got the discount for our coupons. He's provided a bottle champagne for sailaway, checked on any questions we have, arranges everything and always finds a far better deal than we could.

 

Fran in Toronto

[maggiecharlie]

Are the prices the same if you book online with RCI as if you called RCI?

 

or do you get better deals through a travel agent?

[Cuizer2]

instead of directly with RCI, what should you expect from your TA? Our agent booked our last trip, but I had to arrange transportation to the pier and back to the airport. We didn't receive any "perks", had to call her to see if our documents were in, and she never checked with us after the trip to see if everything went ok. Should we expect more? She charged $150 fee. BTW this was the 5th cruise we booked with her company, but this is the first cruise she handle for us herself.

 

A good TA will do a lot more than you are talking about, and not charge a fee. For example, my TA had to get up at 3:00am to call Miami as soon as RCI opened its switchboards to get the cabin I wanted. And he did it. I could not have done this because I was on a cruise on that day and there are only four Royal Family Suites on the Freedom OTS and they (as well as the Presidential Suite) were sold out in less than one hour on the first day they became available for the cruise I wanted.

 

Next I told my TA that I was having trouble getting the flights on Delta that I wanted, even though there were seats available. So he check for me. He also looked for a limo for me. He acts as a reference for my travel insurance needs, and obtained the policy for me. He also is sending quite a few gifts, though I would use him again even without the gifts (okay, granted, I am in an expensive cabin, so his commission for this cruise easily exceed $1,000).

 

One voice mail message and he was already looking up a cabin for me for my next cruise when I called him to book it. One e-mail and he changed my dining from late to early (my mistake for not telling him that to begin with). Soon after booking I had an e-mail from him with the reservation number, which I e-mailed to my friend so her agent could link us for dinner (same table). When I booked direct through Carnival the Carnival rep did not link the two cabins for dinner. Fortunately I found out about this before the cruise and was able to get it corrected.

 

A good TA will tell you the advantages and disadvantages of different cruise lines, ships and ports. Someone working for a cruise line is not going to do this. In fact, someone working for the cruise line might never have been on a cruise, and might give you wrong info. My TA has over 90 cruises under his belt. A good TA will go to bat for you when something goes wrong. If you booked direct, you are on your own.

 

Of course, all of this only applies to good TAs. A bad one can make things worse.

[mikedw]

A little off topic, but to you Ta's on this thread. I am very interested in becoming a TA. I am a former teacher and have been a stay at home mom for many years, but really think this is something I would enjoy doing. How does one get started? I'm really not looking to make a killing, but would love to get back out there now that my kids are growing, and I practically do this job for most of my friends already who know of my passion for travel and researching both mine and their vacations. Any adviced

 

I worked for Amtrak for about 4 years when I got out of the service in onboard service, working onboard the overnight trains. It was fun, but not if you want a life outside of the railroad. After that I skipped around for a year finding myself you might say, then I came across a course in Baltimore for travel and I took it, it was about 3 months long if I remember correctly. My first job was in DC, arranging travel for a government agency, it was a lot of fun, but after getting married and moving from Baltimore to western Maryland, I did a 4 1/2 hour commute everyday to DC for 4 years. I eventually moved on to a local agency and I'm having a blast. It was a definate cut in pay from DC, but I'm home by 5:30 instead of 8 every night. I kind of wish I started in leisure travel when I got out of school, cause it's much more fun then arranging flights and meetings for the government. That's how I became involved in travel.

[S10Catman]

instead of directly with RCI, what should you expect from your TA? Our agent booked our last trip, but I had to arrange transportation to the pier and back to the airport. We didn't receive any "perks", had to call her to see if our documents were in, and she never checked with us after the trip to see if everything went ok. Should we expect more? She charged $150 fee. BTW this was the 5th cruise we booked with her company, but this is the first cruise she handle for us herself.

 

Learned the hard way the value of a good TA. They can work magic when the chips are down or you don't have time. They know the ropes. Anything beyond that is gravy. Leave it to the professionals, just make sure you have a professional.

[cruisefanatic01]

In my opinion, a TA is very helpful in any vacation planning. Most of them have already been to the places that you want to go and can give you some helpful tips that you may not get elsewhere. I do think that it is very hard to find a good agent though. I'm on my 3rd one now and she is the best. She always responds in a timely manner and she is on top of everything. I don't have to do any work. She does all the work for me. Let me know if you would like her info. She is in SC, but can still work with distant customers because I'm in PA.