I feel violated...and not in a good way :-(

[floridacruzin]

The only way you are going to fix this is to cancel, pay the cancellation fee ( your dispute with AMEX will be denied because you agree that the cancellation penalty applies) and rebook.

 

This should be a lesson to people that use TAs that discount or give you great credits. These people are not working for free and every time you contact them you make them work more and usually to get less commission.

 

What part of you are not taking money out of my pocket do people not understand.

 

It is simply a matter of time until more TAs start charging for any change of any type to a booking including any price change or cabin upgrade, etc.

 

Better luck next time.

 

You are correct, they do not work for free they get a commision. Booked with them before, wont again......Lesson learned....Actually already had it learned before this post, just wanted to vent

[Peemagg]

The only problem with TA's charging for every little thing (like lawyers), is soon they will charge themselves out of business. With this day and age of internet, more and more people are going to do there own bookings, like a lot of us do already. The more people are charged these frivolous things, the more we will fight back and tell them "See ya, I can do this on my own cheeper.

[audcc77]

I booked thru TA too. I think this was a costly mistake. I booked ES back in August for an April (spring break) cruise. I'm seeing on the boards that some people are getting price drops for April, but I've heard nothing from my TA. I don't think she will look for a price drop b/c we're in a suite so we can't go higher. I'm beginning to wonder if I should have booked this myself. She was just so convincing though ....

[lillian marie]

I had a less than swell experience working with a TA on one of our cruises. CCL advertised a lower fare and there was a fee to change then too. I've just booked with CCL since then and I've had great service. Other people have wonderful service with their TA's. It's a personal preference. I have learned to ask for the extra details when booking a cruise. I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

[Kurbanfan]

The only problem with TA's charging for every little thing (like lawyers), is soon they will charge themselves out of business. With this day and age of internet, more and more people are going to do there own bookings, like a lot of us do already. The more people are charged these frivolous things, the more we will fight back and tell them "See ya, I can do this on my own cheeper.

 

 

A good TA's job does not stop at the booking.........anyone can book.......

[firefly333]

The only problem with TA's charging for every little thing (like lawyers), is soon they will charge themselves out of business. With this day and age of internet, more and more people are going to do there own bookings, like a lot of us do already. The more people are charged these frivolous things, the more we will fight back and tell them "See ya, I can do this on my own cheeper.

 

If its the TA I think, they discount the cruise portion of the fare by 10% which is what makes them attractive to book with.

 

Not everyone is on CC, and knows to watch for fare drops. I think they are good for the average pax not on CC.

[nbsjcruiser]

Booked through a TA.......any changes that I make to the reservation will incur a 25.00 fee...

 

Changes as defined in Terms and Conditions: Name change, cabin assignment, Change date of sailing, cancel sailing...you get the drift

 

So after I waited on hold today for 41minutes, I let them know that the price of my cruise has dropped and her reply "OK, but please note that is considered a change and you will be charged 25.00. The change takes time and we charge an admin fee."

 

Super friendly me replies "You are my TA should you not be looking out for my best interest in pricing? I am keeping my reservation the same per your T&Cs, and there is no mention of a charge for a price drop. Who shall I charge for the 1hour of my time wasted?"

 

After back and forth and now 58minutes on the phone, I am getting transferred to the mighty powerful supervisor (who did not want to talk to me) and then it happens BAM...the phone gets disconnected......

 

Thanks for reading...I will continue to call until I get the answer I want :D To bad I will be holding for 41 minutes each time

I'd tell you what I'd do. I tell them fine, never mind the price drop. Instead cancel my cruise. I'll pay the $25 and then am promptly calling Carnival to rebook with them and inform them of your behavior.

 

You are well outside the time frame where you cancel so do it.

[Kurbanfan]

The only way you are going to fix this is to cancel, pay the cancellation fee ( your dispute with AMEX will be denied because you agree that the cancellation penalty applies) and rebook.

 

This should be a lesson to people that use TAs that discount or give you great credits. These people are not working for free and every time you contact them you make them work more and usually to get less commission.

 

What part of you are not taking money out of my pocket do people not understand.

 

It is simply a matter of time until more TAs start charging for any change of any type to a booking including any price change or cabin upgrade, etc.

 

Better luck next time.

 

The couple of bucks our TA looses in commision for price drops is made up for by all the future and many bookings we do exclusively with her.......not to mention all the referrals which is a big plus.......they weed out the bad customers......any good TA knows this if they don't they should not be in business......

[Nunu]

A good TA's job does not stop at the booking.........anyone can book.......

 

T shirt worthy quote.

[Rancher Dave]

The couple of bucks our TA looses in commision for price drops is made up for by all the future and many bookings we do exclusively with her.......not to mention all the referrals which is a big plus.......they weed out the bad customers......any good TA knows this if they don't they should not be in business......

 

Depends how many price drops you ask them to process and how much of their time you take up.

 

Take a 3 or 4 night cruise to the Bahamas, book it see and ask for a few price drops where the commissionable cruise fare is quite small, agents are not paid on the port fees etc..., and all of the sudden your agent is getting not a lot for lots of work.

 

If you are a first time booking for that agent and have tons of questions etc...how willing do you think they are to keep on doing more and more for less money, and with all the extra time far less per hour spent... An inside cabin on a cheap 3/4 night sailing could end up sub-minimum wage in some cases. Add that some folks want their agent on call 24/7 for that bit of $$$? Flip it around, how would folks feel if their boss made them work in those conditions.

 

A good agent will provide good service, may have fees, may waive fees for good clients, or when the booking generates lots of commission, and will be available to their clients.

 

Like was said if you go for a sub cruise line offered price, you are eating at the agents commission and when that happens you can't expect the agent to spend tons of time eating away further at the commission without making up for the extra cost of doing business somehow. 10% of the fare is a larget chunk of the commission which does not leave much for covering overhead and income to the agents.

[anotherlurker]

Late to the party but I just felt compelled to add I love my PVP. He even answers my emails on his days off!

 

As far as price adjusting too remember the closer you get to your sail date, it limits what they can do. For example me being less than 75 days out I can only get upgrades if available. But most time spa staterooms tend to sell out quick.

[Kurbanfan]

Depends how many price drops you ask them to process and how much of their time you take up.

 

Take a 3 or 4 night cruise to the Bahamas, book it see and ask for a few price drops where the commissionable cruise fare is quite small, agents are not paid on the port fees etc..., and all of the sudden your agent is getting not a lot for lots of work.

 

If you are a first time booking for that agent and have tons of questions etc...how willing do you think they are to keep on doing more and more for less money, and with all the extra time far less per hour spent... An inside cabin on a cheap 3/4 night sailing could end up sub-minimum wage in some cases. Add that some folks want their agent on call 24/7 for that bit of $$$? Flip it around, how would folks feel if their boss made them work in those conditions.

 

A good agent will provide good service, may have fees, may waive fees for good clients, or when the booking generates lots of commission, and will be available to their clients.

 

Like was said if you go for a sub cruise line offered price, you are eating at the agents commission and when that happens you can't expect the agent to spend tons of time eating away further at the commission without making up for the extra cost of doing business somehow. 10% of the fare is a larget chunk of the commission which does not leave much for covering overhead and income to the agents.

 

And a good TA knows that their good clients don't just book 3 day sub cruise line priced cruises......they know which clients will generate more future bookings worth their while so a few cheap cruises we take they don't mind booking for us.....that's why I said they will weed out the bad clients......there are some of my friends that I will not even refer them to my TA;) They always are looking for something for nothing.........those I tell call the cruise line direct........

A good TA has no need to be on call 24/7 for bookings......but you can bet the farm the good ones are on call 24/7 if needed during the trip....i.e. missed flights, missed ship, lost luggage, change flights, or if you need to leave early off the ship in an emergency etc.........

[hill6]

Why cancel. Just call Carnival and tell them you want to transfer the booking

[Sparky2]

Wow.

 

Sounds like you should get to know your Carnival PVP next time!

 

She didn't use a Carnival PVP. She used a discount store TA.

[floridacruzin]

The TA I used requires that I buy a yearly membership to their store...So..I am already paying extra for the service to be able to purchase the cruise through them.

 

I am on hold now. I am going to cancel the cruise through them and pay the 25.00. I renewed my membership On Jan 27th. Once the cruise is cancelled, I am going to go to the store and get a refund on my membership....which is pro-rated and I have had it for a short time.

 

They lose more from me than the booking...and like an earlier poster said. The TA are putting themselves out of business. I cruise once a year...they will lose my bookings and my shopping...I will apologize for "taking a lot of their time"

[mistyinca]

The Splendor cruise I took last April I had booked with a TA. I upgraded from Inside rooms to an inside and a balcony a few floors up...it was a $1200 upgrade. You'd think she'd be happy with the extra commission, but when the price dropped over $300, she charged me $50 to take care of getting me a refund.

 

So I haven't used her since.

[Nickymjw1]

Yup, I knew the charges as listed in their terms and conditions...no mention of Price Drops. I am very much in charge as I will cancel my reservation with them as I am still 99days out, Dispute the charge with Amex (will supply them the T&C provided) and re-book through Carnival.

 

I would do exactly the same! I have never heard of this! I always book through the cruiseline myself since I do like to change my mind, upgrade, check for pricedrops, etc and didn't want to have to wait until the travel agent had time to take care of it for me. But reading this really makes me never want to go through a TA again.

 

I am sorry for your frustration. And I also appologize for any additional frustration you might have reading some people's replies saying you asked for it, etc. etc.

 

I never understand why people on these boards feel inclined to aggrevate people that just want some understanding of their problem and some compassion...

[floridacruzin]

I would do exactly the same! I have never heard of this! I always book through the cruiseline myself since I do like to change my mind, upgrade, check for pricedrops, etc and didn't want to have to wait until the travel agent had time to take care of it for me. But reading this really makes me never want to go through a TA again.

 

I am sorry for your frustration. And I also appologize for any additional frustration you might have reading some people's replies saying you asked for it, etc. etc.

 

I never understand why people on these boards feel inclined to aggrevate people that just want some understanding of their problem and some compassion...

 

 

Thanks! Dont worry about the responses...I have been around awhile and I am nowhere near bothered :) You get used to it

 

 

Does anyone know if I cancel this booking, when the room I booked will be re-released through Carnival? I did have my heart set on that room

[Rancher Dave]

And a good TA knows that their good clients don't just book 3 day sub cruise line priced cruises......they know which clients will generate more future bookings worth their while so a few cheap cruises we take they don't mind booking for us.....that's why I said they will weed out the bad clients......there are some of my friends that I will not even refer them to my TA;) They always are looking for something for nothing.........those I tell call the cruise line direct........

A good TA has no need to be on call 24/7 for bookings......but you can bet the farm the good ones are on call 24/7 if needed during the trip....i.e. missed flights, missed ship, lost luggage, change flights, or if you need to leave early off the ship in an emergency etc.........

 

You rrrrr (as my junior pirates says) right on... I had a TA who would help us and some other clients with anything because we would book good stuff as well. One day we were chatting about how little he gets on the small bookings, so I figured I would continue on your line of info with the more specific scenario...

 

I own an insurance agency selling various lines...and some of the customers who expect tons of time are the ones who have policies that pay the least. Some of the best sales are from clients who are also my biggest advocates, and have turned their friends into big sales as well.

 

I guess in the end it boils down to some folks have no idea what/how the travel agents get paid (same can be said about insurance agents, real estate agents etc...) and expect tons of service for in some cases what amounts to a few dollars earned.

 

I bet your TA really likes you since you only send good prospects along.

[Rancher Dave]

The Splendor cruise I took last April I had booked with a TA. I upgraded from Inside rooms to an inside and a balcony a few floors up...it was a $1200 upgrade. You'd think she'd be happy with the extra commission, but when the price dropped over $300, she charged me $50 to take care of getting me a refund.

 

So I haven't used her since.

 

I agree with you, that is pretty bad. The TA should have done the price drop as a courtesy waiving any fee given the large upgrade that would not have come if you kept your original booking...

[Kurbanfan]

I own an insurance agency selling various lines...and some of the customers who expect tons of time are the ones who have policies that pay the least. Some of the best sales are from clients who are also my biggest advocates, and have turned their friends into big sales as well.

 

 

Exactly! :)

[jessemon]

Is there a good way to feel violated? I'm confused.

 

Yes....her name was Inga and she threw me in a deck chair on the Liberty and....Now where was I ??????:eek::p:D

 

To the "OP"....Always know the rules of the game when booking.....

[gazingm42]

Like others have said... CANCEL now. Don't let them get their commissions.

Pay them the stinkin $25.00 and move on to a TA who doesn't charge

you. There too many good ones out there for you to use or go to a PVP.

[Ken076]

Why cancel. Just call Carnival and tell them you want to transfer the booking

 

Carnival doesn't do unilateral TA to Carnival transfers, except for exrtreme TA malfeasance, which this isn't. ken

[salty dingo]

A price drop is a change by almost any definition. Iv been mentioning a TA site which I quit using because they charge $25 for a change.. a price drop cutting into their commission, especially for a discounter, is a lot of work, hence they started to charge you for that work.

 

Next time book direct.

 

Cant have your cake and eat it too sometimes..

I can tell you for certain that the TA that books the CC group cruises does NOT charge a silly $25 fee for price reductions. And, you do not need to be on a group booking for that favor, either.

 

I had my NCL Hawaii cruise drop in price twice (Saved over $1,000) and the TA gladly updated my confirmation documents with the new price. There was never a hint that this was inconvenient. In fact, they made a point to mention that they will do price drops (but you have to ask.)

 

If there were a TA charging $25 for that service when other excellent TAs do not charge, I would have to ask how the TAs who charge stay in business.

 

Buyer beware!