Should my Travel Agenthave done this????

[evildiva]

I spent over $10,000.00 on our cruise that we just got backfrom. I took my brother and his wife and 2 kids and 4 of us, we booked everything through our TA and she did not send a small gift? Should she have? I sent her flowers thanking her for all her help before we left. Im confused?

Thanks

[montana20024]

I think you should find a new TA...that is awful...no thanks for your contribution, (she is too busy going to the bank, with her commission.)she is ignorant...

But hope you had a good time...

[Happy ks]

Some do and some don't. We've had everything from nothing at all, to a different gift every day of the cruise.

 

It would have been nice of her, though.

[cruisingmimi]

Yes, she should have done something for you after spending that money. Our first cruise our ta sent a bottle of wine to the ship. Definitely think about a new ta.

[cruisingfreak]

We usually don't receive a gift from our TA, but she has the best prices around. I'd rather have a lower price, than a higher one with gift.

 

 

Minette

[hajekfam]

Did she give you a great deal? If she didn't make much commission because she rebated part of her commission, then I wouldn't feel bad about not receiving a gift. If you paid cruiseline price, then, yes, she should have at least sent a bottle of wine or a photo frame or album at the very least.

[tmp1127]

Not trying to hijack your thread but...

 

has anyone recieved a " gift " when they booked thru Carnival PVP?

[evildiva]

I paid the cruise line prices, no deals at all! Not that I am in need of a free gift just thought it would have been nice especially since it was our fisrt cruise!

[LARGIN]

No gifts from my agent, just the lowest price she can find.. I'll take that over a bottle of cheap wine any day

[jcanino]

I spent over $10,000.00 on our cruise that we just got backfrom. I took my brother and his wife and 2 kids and 4 of us, we booked everything through our TA and she did not send a small gift? Should she have? I sent her flowers thanking her for all her help before we left. Im confused?

Thanks

 

Did you check prices before you booked? If your TA rebated part of their commission to make the 10K+ palatable to you, then you already received your gift. If their price was the same as everyone else, then several or a huge gift would not have been out of line. Then again, all TA's are different and some never send gifts as they don't want to eat into their commission. What some agencies do not understand is that they are tax deductable under Sales & Marketing.

[spongerob]

For 8 people, that sounds like a pretty decent price. I would rather have that than a "free" gift I've paid extra to receive. I used to use a TA that always sent us little gifts on board - until I found out how much extra I was paying. I consider saving hundreds of dollars on a cruise a more sincere gift.

[smudge's mom]

A $10,000 cruise merits a gift - no matter how large a bargain the purchase was.

 

A token gift should not cost much - and it's a nice gesture. Since "gifting" is pretty much a standard way of doing business in the cruise "world," TA's should consider how many "warm fuzzies" their customers get out of the simple gesture and act accordingly.

 

I prefer photo albums or canvas bags to wine/champagne. We don't always get around to drinking the wine, but we always end up using the canvas bags. Another nice gift is a portfolio type thing - to place documents in - or a gift card/certificate for free photo processing.

 

It only has to be a simple gesture - no one is suggesting TA's spend their entire commission on a gift.

[geoherb]

The local TA we used to book with always had something delivered to our cabin--a bottle of wine, photo coupons, and other things from the cruise line bon voyage gifts. It was a nice little thank you. We booked ten cruises through her. Unfortunately, she retired a year ago.

 

On our most recent cruise through an Internet TA. We got a great last-minute deal--around $200 less than any other quotes I had received. He did have a promotion that we received a $25 Visa gift card after the cruise, but he did not send us anything on the ship. After the great price, though, I'm happy. We saved enough money to buy our own wine.

[jcanino]

A $10' date='000 cruise merits a gift - no matter how large a bargain the purchase was.

It only has to be a simple gesture - no one is suggesting TA's spend their entire commission on a gift.[/quote']

 

There are TA's out there that will reduce their commission to $50 just to get a sale. A reduction in a cruise commission like that PLUS a gift earns a TA nothing.

[catmand]

.......as some have said, "some do, some don't"..................I guess it just get s down to how they do business, we have recieved nothing, something, and nothing again........we now book on-line at prices that just don't warrent a "gift" BUT (and there is always that big but) I sure think a follow up phone call and a thank you card goes a long way.

[Ziggy7]

Trust me that TA made more than a 50.00 commission on a $10,00.00 booking. That said, our TA always lets us know that there will be a little Bon Voyage gift waiting for us because she was sending gifts to pax and they never got them, so its possible she sent something but it never made it to your cabin. On RCCL we didnt get our gift until we asked about it at the front desk, it arrived the next day. Short of asking her I dont know how you will find out but you should atleast ask :) or Just use a different TA. We get good prices, a gift, a welcome home and did everything go ok call. We also bring her home little souvenier gifts from the different ports. We have told her not to send gifts but she still does.

[smudge's mom]

Posted by: jcanino

There are TA's out there that will reduce their commission to $50 just to get a sale. A reduction in a cruise commission like that PLUS a gift earns a TA nothing.

I'm not doubting your information, but I do wonder how a TA stays in business with that sort of commission. Of course, if one makes only $50, one wouldn't send a gift. Then again, why would a TA do all that work for $50?

 

And really - how many $50 commissions would a TA have to make per day to stay in business?

[bluehorizonlover123]

I have been using the same TA for ten cruises. She never has given us a gift. But I know when I use her that she gives me the best price out there and I usually get photo vouchers, bottle of wine and shipboard credits while using her if they are available to her. Most TAs dont do anything. She should have sent you a thank you gift at your house possibly but those nice TAs of the past are few and far between in todays world.

[love2cruiseseattle]

On all of our previous cruises our TA had sent us a bottle of wine for our anniversary. This past cruise on the Vision, no wine came which seemed very odd to us. So when we got back even though I felt strange about doing it, I called her and asked her (only because she had sent wine on all of our other cruises) well she had sent it and RCCL never delivered it to us :mad:

So you just never know???

[smudge's mom]

Are you a TA? I got the feeling you were from some of the other responses you've posted on other threads.

 

If you're a TA, are you the one who accepted a $50 commission? If so, why?

[hogwildcruzers]

My TA and I seem to have a very good working relationship, she not only helps with our cruises but with our land trips as well, and whenever I pick up my docs. from her there is always some sort of gift. For the cruise coming up we recieved a nice travel bag.:)

[ciana]

Gosh.. you guys are very lucky or we just don't rate.. we've used 3 different TA's for cruises.. 1 land and 2 on-line and have never received anything!!!!:rolleyes:

[jcanino]

Posted by: jcanino

I'm not doubting your information' date=' but I do wonder how a TA stays in business with that sort of commission. Of course, if one makes only $50, one wouldn't send a gift. Then again, why would a TA do all that work for $50?

 

And really - how many $50 commissions would a TA have to make per day to stay in business?[/quote']

 

Most TA's that do that are home based agents that are in the business for little more than keeping their own commissions for their own travel (There are people like that but I need to add that NOT ALL home based agents work that way). If a TA is competing with others, some will likely reduce their commission to get the sale. The more cruises the sell, the higher their commission goes. With higher commissions, the can still stay competative and rebate less of their commission. The $50 was an extreme example but not unheard of for a cruise where the normal 10% commission is only $150. The TA reduces the price to the client by $100 and keeps the remaining $50.

[jcanino]

Are you a TA? I got the feeling you were from some of the other responses you've posted on other threads.

 

If you're a TA' date=' are you the one who accepted a $50 commission? If so, why?[/quote']

 

As you can see in my signature, I am a travel agent. I hold a Master Cruise Counselor certification from CLIA and a Certified Travel Counselor certification from The Travel Insitute. I can tell you what must be done to achieve either of those if you wish. I consider myself a professional and am well respected by other in the travel industry. I, nor the agency I am employed by, have ever or will ever reduce our commission to lower a cruise price to compete with any local or online agency. If someone asks us to discount a price to compete with someone else, I politely tell them that if they want, they are free to book with the other TA.

[smudge's mom]

I have the signatures turned off - so I don't see what you're talking about.

_______________

 

Thanks for your response.

 

I was just wondering why anyone would perform work and then not get paid enough to sustain their company - JUST to get a sale - a sale that doesn't provide them with income. That made no sense to me.

 

re: little token gifts - I can well understand why a TA wouldn't want to send something to the cabin. The prices the cruise ships charge for that service are horrendous. However, my TA sent a few inexpensive 4x6 photo albums to our home with our documents and I used one to make a nice photo album for my FIL's first cruise. He was thrilled to have a photo album - even if it wasn't in the most expensive binder.

 

It's really the thought that counts - the little extras - like towel animals -- silly but, a nice gesture.

 

I truly understand the competition that now exists - the people using full-service TA's and then using that info to book an on-line cruise - thus, cheating the TA out of the fee for all the work they did. And I do understand that if a TA spends $25 of their fee on a gift - that may well be a large portion of the income. But - for a first time cruiser - a token gift goes a long way in making the cruise even more special.