kathy49

Know "tire kickers" all too well!!!

I was a travel agent (thats what we were not advisors) for many years but that was over 15 years ago. Things were changing fast. Yes for someone to sit down at your desk and plan a trip (not just book a cruise) but something involving air/hotel and sightseeing many agencies in our area charged fees which seem justified for a complex booking. The money in the business is commission from a cruise or expensive land tour....not that real detailed itinerary planning etc. I got out of the business as the benefits went away and it became order taking. Now it is mostly do it yourself. A good cruise only agency will negotiate discount or group rates but even then you have to monitor your booking as often sales are put on and undercut the agency rate. With all these drink and other package add ons even booking a simple cruise can be complicated/

not written in stone but many really full service agent do charge fees for their service. I still say that if a cruiser is booking the air thru the cruise line a good agent would have no problem booking that for them...if they want to do their own air and have agent check 15 permutations on flights etc. okay different story.

Okay well seems like this is the norm. I prefer doing it all myself ...I guess there are still fun service agents but you no doubt pay much more. Thanks for the replies.

yes the $$ to be made are in the actual cruise booking but if the air is thru the cruise line then the agent should be doing that booking. All I can figure is it is some very discount broker that sells with very low profit margin. A good full service agent is worth the extra $$ for a cruise booking in my opinion. In this case passenger goes in and books EZ air...does not inform agent and is late paying for the air and entire booking cancelled. So not the agents problem but not a good way to do business.

I have recently run across a "cruise agent" that will not book any air. They require the passengers to go into the booking and do EZ air if that is their choice. If other air passenger books with airline. I always thought a cruise agent would help with any travel that is associated with the cruise ie air/pre post hotels/transfers etc. Is this normal for passengers to be booking their own air if it is part of an air/sea package with the cruise line. Have things changed that much?

I would want a full refund...poor decision by Carnival and Captain. I would not want FCC only refund.

A cruise line and captain that made some poor decisions. I would want a refund.That looks horrific. All about the $$.

deliver 42 is exactly correct. They are actually trying to market the changes as something about protecting the "environment" just as they are doing with reducing the entertainment, no more night time service etc. It is all COST SAVING and at the same time they are raising their rates and fees for all the extras. Corfu is a very special island...not at all like the other greek islands...I think some may well reconsider and cancel. It seems that daily the value in cruising is going down and the product delivered is much different than expected. Using the "environment" as an excuse is pretty insulting to passengers.

should make no difference however it is interesting that for the press the regular crew is not up to par?

Wow I see that he was with Princess for 27 years! That is a big loss for Princess.

Makes sense and I bet benefits are better too. There was another one of the more popular captains that left too but can't remember the name. Reports are that Princess in general has one of the more severe staffing issues whereas people sailing on Celebrity and some other lines feel they seem fully staffed. Again I assume pay and benefits are involved. Princess seems to be raising prices...reducing perks for repeat cruisers and in general losing market share. Shame as it was once a much sough after line.

any thoughts on why very popular captains like Tuvo and others are choosing to leave Princess for other lines? Is Princess not competitive with benefits and pay?

media reports indicate that he seemed to have issues finding the right spots to "vape" in and his family said he was probably drunk. I think this guy should be charged the full amount this cost the coast guard and what an extraordinary job finding him. Carnival sure has some issues with passenger behavior.

yep on Luminosa and Spendor.

Thank you helpful suggestions....

it seems most every ship leaves before sunset which frankly as someone who usually stays on the island is great....are there any ships that either overnight or at least stay until about 11pm or Midnight? Thanks.

Thank you for the correction. Have only flown in and stayed on Grace Bay....and my info is clearly wrong above. Cannot remove posts on here...tried. Looks like a beach day for most on Grand Turk.

Yes get a taxi and have him show you the island based on what appeals to you. Beautiful island and taxi drivers may be entertaining too. You could check Trip Advisor for recommendations by frequent travelers and arrange in advance. When large ships come in taxis become scarce.

in general Turks is all about pristine expanses of white sand beaches. Not much else other than luxury villas and hotels etc. especially around/in Grace Bay. They are having some gang related crime reports targeting tourists and if I were to dock here these days and wanted to see the island I would arrange a cruise excursion or private driver. It is a beautiful island but not really a "walking" kind of place except along the beach.