travel agent etiqueitte

[factotumdeb]

i have been a cruise critic mostly silent reader for a few years now. but now i find i need some of the wonderful input that i have read so often on these boards. my dh and i have a hal cruise booked for nov 2011. we have relocated to another part of the country and felt we had to get an new travel agent, trying to use local. a man my husband works with said his wife was a cruise agent and she could help us. we used her for one cruise already and liked working with her. my dh and i have a hal cruise booked for nov 2011. my dilemma is that the price of our cruise dropped $300 per person and i emailed my agent. who when i booked said if there was a price dropped we could take advantage of it. she e-mailed me right back and said she was going in the hospital for minor surgery and will be home in a few days and take care of it the next week. that was three weeks ago. my husband has not see the man he works with and has heard that there was complications to the minor surgery. i sent a card and some homemade chocolates. i am truly concerned for her welfare, but i don't know what is the right thing to do or what our options are. the price has dropped again so now we are talking about $800. which is a lot to me. also the cruise itself has been taken off her web site. i don't even see it. the hal website still lists it as available, for that lower price. i don't want to appear insensitive, but i would like to know if i need to find other arrangements. i asked my husband to kindly text the man and ask if things are going better., just to get a feel for the situation. also, she works independently, so i can't even go to another agent in the business. please help. thanks for all your input. someone must have had something similar happen to them.

debbie

[KirkNC]

One option would be to book the cruise a second time and cancel the one with the agent when she returns. You can simply explain that you were afraid you might lose the savings as you were uncertain of her condition and when she might return.

 

Kirk

[kazu]

i have been a cruise critic mostly silent reader for a few years now. but now i find i need some of the wonderful input that i have read so often on these boards. my dh and i have a hal cruise booked for nov 2011. we have relocated to another part of the country and felt we had to get an new travel agent, trying to use local. a man my husband works with said his wife was a cruise agent and she could help us. we used her for one cruise already and liked working with her. my dh and i have a hal cruise booked for nov 2011. my dilemma is that the price of our cruise dropped $300 per person and i emailed my agent. who when i booked said if there was a price dropped we could take advantage of it. she e-mailed me right back and said she was going in the hospital for minor surgery and will be home in a few days and take care of it the next week. that was three weeks ago. my husband has not see the man he works with and has heard that there was complications to the minor surgery. i sent a card and some homemade chocolates. i am truly concerned for her welfare, but i don't know what is the right thing to do or what our options are. the price has dropped again so now we are talking about $800. which is a lot to me. also the cruise itself has been taken off her web site. i don't even see it. the hal website still lists it as available, for that lower price. i don't want to appear insensitive, but i would like to know if i need to find other arrangements. i asked my husband to kindly text the man and ask if things are going better., just to get a feel for the situation. also, she works independently, so i can't even go to another agent in the business. please help. thanks for all your input. someone must have had something similar happen to them.

debbie

 

I had a wonderful TA who I was very loyal until the day she retired BUT if she was out of commission, she had a back up. While I certainly sympathize with her situation, you are the one being left in the lurch.

 

I'm sorry, but I really think I would be booking elsewhere - of course to cancel it you have to reach her. You are between a rock and a hard place. I wonder if under the circumstances if HAL would do the transfer for you? (assuming the price is the same).

 

I'll let others chim in here. They might have brighter ideas than mine

[Krazy Kruizers]

you also need to find out if she will charge you a cancellation fee if you switch agencies

[serendipity1499]

Even though she works independently, doesn't she work for a HAL Travel Agency..Why not call HAL, ask to speak to a Supervisor...Explain your problem & ask them to give you the name of the Agency she works for..Perhaps you could call the Mgr of the Agency & see if they would assist you..

There are several TA's who frequent this board, perhaps one of them will give you another idea..

 

Other than that, then I think you will have to do what Kirk suggested..Cancel & re-book with another Agent..However don't cancel the Reservation until you know for sure there is a cabin available in the class you booked..

Good luck & please let us know how you made out..

Cheers....:)Betty

[sail7seas]

I think you need her permission to cancel your booking with her and rebook with someone else. Of course, if she is out of her office long term, she isn't able to either give or deny that permission.

 

HAL may make an exception and permit you to cancel and rebook elsewhere given these circumstances.

I'd call HAL and discuss this situation with them.

 

[factotumdeb]

thank you all for your input, i will keep you posted

[Krazy Kruizers]

we will all be following as to what happens

[cp556]

I agree with Serendipity ... this agent may work as an independent contractor, but she works FOR a host agency. Somewhere. You might scour her website, written confirmations, etc, and search for the name of the host agency she works for. Then contact them and proceed as others have suggested.

 

I'd hate to say cancel and rebook without speaking to her (I'm a kind soul and also a TA), but you might call her and leave a voicemail saying that you hope she's well, etc, but if you don't hear from her by (24 to 48 hours) you'll need to cancel the booking and rebook elsewhere to get the now-significant savings.

 

Keep us posted .... and best of luck.

[BEAV]

Another thought.....

 

Book another reservation directly with HAL to lock in the "deal". When your TA returns, cancel the original booking and call HAL to authorize the TA to take over the new booking.

 

I'd hate for you to lose out on the lower price while you wait for your TA to return......

[sail7seas]

Won't the computer kick out a new reservation in the same name for the same cruise on the same date? I would think the duplicate booking would be noticed.

[BEAV]

Won't the computer kick out a new reservation in the same name for the same cruise on the same date? I would think the duplicate booking would be noticed.

 

Good question, as I'm not familiar with HAL's booking system in this regard. Does HAL allow price adjustments before final payment due date?

[sail7seas]

Yes, often they do.

[andeesue]

$800 is a lot of money! I certainly understand your feelings of compassion and also frustration! I agree with cp556. Usually a TA has some sort of assistant or afilliated travel organization they work through. I would think that after this amount of time, your TA might have a Plan B set up.

I would call her and give my wishes for a speedy recovery and ask her what she recommends. You are being kind, but also remember this is a business. I'm sure you feel that your husband works with her husband and you don't want to come off as insensitive, but the bottom line is, she has a responsibility to her clients. Good luck to you and keep us posted.

[RickT]

I agree with Serendipity ... this agent may work as an independent contractor, but she works FOR a host agency. Somewhere. You might scour her website, written confirmations, etc, and search for the name of the host agency she works for. Then contact them and proceed as others have suggested.

 

 

What agency name shows up on the Holland America website? Might be a good place to start your search.

 

I also agree with others, while HAL may be reluctant to make any changes, they might be able to help you contact someone connected to your TA to help.

 

Good luck.

[patseacruiser]

She does not necessarily have a host agency so assuming that may be the case I would call HAL directly and explain the situation to them that she went in for surgery and has not been heard from since and you need their help. If they tell you that they can't help you ask for a supervisor and just keep asking for a supervisor until someone helps you. Another place to go is chris elliott at elliott.org and maybe they can help. Either way I'd be on the phone NOW to HAL.

 

Best luck to you

[jkrislc]

I'd recommend booking directly through HAL online and making a deposit if you're outside the final payment and cancellation fee window. We had to do this to lock in a sale rate on an SY over a weekend when our TA wasn't available. When she returned on Monday, she was able to square everything away with the pricing. There's also no risk if you're outside of the cancellation fee window. This will at least give you some peach of mind on price and a little bit of time to square everything away.

 

As to the PP's question, I was able to double book a cruise on the Oosterdam and wasn't bumped by the reservation system. Even used the same credit card. The only hassle was having to cancel the one reservation to get the deposit applies back to my credit card.

[Stevesan]

I'd recommend booking directly through HAL online and making a deposit if you're outside the final payment and cancellation fee window. We had to do this to lock in a sale rate on an SY over a weekend when our TA wasn't available. When she returned on Monday, she was able to square everything away with the pricing. There's also no risk if you're outside of the cancellation fee window. This will at least give you some peach of mind on price and a little bit of time to square everything away.

 

As to the PP's question, I was able to double book a cruise on the Oosterdam and wasn't bumped by the reservation system. Even used the same credit card. The only hassle was having to cancel the one reservation to get the deposit applies back to my credit card.

 

 

That's always a hassle. under any circumstance. Debits appear next day, credits often take weeks.

[sail7seas]

I wish OP would return and let us know how she worked it out.

 

I always feel 'at loose ends' when someone comes here with their issue and never lets us know how it resolves.

 

Maybe she is still trying to work it out and will share with us when it is decided.

 

[factotumdeb]

hi, sorry i haven't gotten back to let you know what's going on. i actually am still waiting on some help. i called hal yesterday after your helpful suggestions. they were very nice, but said i needed to call the corporate office of the booking agency. it appears that my agent does work for a big company, just from her home. hal gave me the phone number she had on my booking for the corporate office. i called them and got passed around a few times and was waiting for a call back today. i got called today at home instead of my cell (as requested) and was passed off to another person. so when i called their office again. i explained how many people i had been passed to and would like to be able to get resolution. i was assured that tomorrow i would get a call from the person who could help. we shall see. still no word from my agent. as you said- i'm between a rock and a hard place. But i'm still gonna go on my cruise, what ever happens! :)

debbie

[cp556]

I'm so glad you've found the agency name and number. HAL was nice to help you with that! Just be sure you have the details handy with your res #, the price you paid, and the current price. And don't accept any answer other than the one you're looking for. Please keep careful notes of whom you spoke with and make sure that you receive a written receipt/confirmation of the new pricing.

 

Keep us posted, and thanks for the update.

[sail7seas]

Thanks for the update. It is sounding hopeful resolution is close at hand.

 

Good luck. We'll look forward to hearing good news. :)

[kazu]

Nice to see HAL would point you in the right direction at least. :) Hopefully the agency will quit passing you around and get you taken care of. Thanks for giving us the update. Wishing you luck

[Stevesan]

That's always a hassle. under any circumstance. Debits appear next day, credits often take weeks.

 

 

I owe HAL a big time mea culpa. Cancelled a precruise shorex Monday, credit appeared Wednesday.

 

Good on ya, HAL!:D

[kazu]

I owe HAL a big time mea culpa. Cancelled a precruise shorex Monday, credit appeared Wednesday.

 

Good on ya, HAL!:D

 

I have always found them very good if I cancelled something too :)