TA's discriminating against C&A members?

[cruzincurt]

I just went cruise shopping with some large online TA's. Some offered prepaid gratuities and/or other perks for booking with them. As soon as I mentioned I qualified for the C&A balcony discount they pulled their offer saying that with the C&A fare reduction they could not offer those perks.

 

Seems unfair to offer perks to the general public then withdraw them from C&A members. I'll keep shopping.

[molly361]

I just went cruise shopping with some large online TA's. Some offered prepaid gratuties and other perks for booking with them. As soon as I mentioned I qualified for the C&A balcony discount they pulled their offer saying that with the C&A fare reduction they could not offer those perks.

 

Seems unfair to offer perks to the general public then withdraw them from C&A members. I'll keep shopping.

 

We found out the hard way. We had a ressie that was booked with RCL and the online agency told us that as long as it was a balcony we could get the prepaid tips and specialty dinner. Transferred the reservation and then once they saw the price we paid (Diamond discount AND a B of A certificate) we got an email saying that our price was too low to qualify. Long story short it took RCL Resolutions Dept to get our booking transferred back to them.

[kyriecat]

I had that problem 6 or 7 years ago when I was still a Platinum member. I transferred the booking then found out all the TA perks went away. I had the balcony discount, a C&A coupon (still combinable back then), and Visa rewards already on my reservation. I ended up keeping the booking with the TA but learned a valuable lession - ask about terms, discounts, etc. BEFORE using a TA. I also give the TA a breakdown of what discounts I have and get in writing how it affects my booking and any TA perks.

[Gonzo70]

I do not think "discrimination" is the best word choice. Some of the online TA's have deals/promos with the cruise line where they offer perks that are coming out of the cruise line's pocketbook rather than from their own commission. As such these offers generally come with restrictions about what other perks/OBCs they may be combined with. Take a look at the total value of the package you receive versus what you can find elsewhere and decide from there whom to book with.

[mochi]

Now I am concerned. I booked a cruise through one of these online TA's which offered the balcony discount, OBC, specialty restaurant credit, and spa credit. I was also able to apply a C&A balcony discount to the fare. Does that mean I can't cash in my RCCL Visa points for additional OBC for this cruise?

[kc320]

Now I am concerned. I booked a cruise through one of these online TA's which offered the balcony discount, OBC, specialty restaurant credit, and spa credit. I was also able to apply a C&A balcony discount to the fare. Does that mean I can't cash in my RCCL Visa points for additional OBC for this cruise?

 

That should not be a problem as it does not reduce your cruise fare & the TA's commission...which is what the perks they offer come from..

[mochi]

That should not be a problem as it does not reduce your cruise fare & the TA's commission...which is what the perks they offer come from..

 

Thanks for your quick reply! That is a big relief. I've been using my RCCL Visa card the past few months just to accrue enough points for an OBC certificate. Glad to hear I can actually use it :)

[kyriecat]

I've never had a problem using Visa points for OBC. I've been told by both RC and TAs that the OBC does not reduce the TA commission.

 

I still haven't figured out about using Visa points to reduce the cruise fare. I've had 2 TAs tell me that it does reduce the commission, and some of them won't even take the certificates. I've read posts here that say the certificates don't reduce commission.

[Gonzo70]

Thanks for your quick reply! That is a big relief. I've been using my RCCL Visa card the past few months just to accrue enough points for an OBC certificate. Glad to hear I can actually use it :)

 

You need to verify this with your travel agent; some might allow you to do this, some might not. While it is probably safe to say that most TA's would permit you to use the RCI Visa points, there are likely some that would not. Try e-mailing or calling your TA as only they are able to answer this question for you. Hopefully you receive the answer you want.

[SANDY823]

Certificates DO reduce the commission. Agents get paid after all coupons/discounts have been applied.

Cashing in a rccl visa for obc - won't affect commission.

[dyjack]

Happened to me too. Used a big name TA for the first time and all the promised perks vanished. In the end, all I'm getting is priority line which I already qualified for. Won't go down that road again.

[molly361]

I used my b of A certificate for an upgrade which reduced the fare and with our balcony discount were told by the TA that our price was too low to qualify for the perks

[TWELVEOHONE]

Cruise lines will offer large consortium members on-line and brick and mortor, perks. In most cases the only restrictions are cabin category, ship, booking date and sailing dated. Discounts C&A or other does not affect the perk. These perks are offered on ships and sailings that are light in sales.

In most cases they offer an upgrade. more recntly they offered a dinner for 2 at one of the specialty restuarants and a spa treatment (Oasis and Allure). I have never seen them offer pre-paid gratuiites, too costly.

 

Most agencies that offer the perks mentioned here are given by the agency and paid out of his/her commission. As soon as you mention a discount C&A or other, the base price goes down and so does the commission received since it calculated on base price. Agent cannot afford giving away perks costing more than commission received.

 

For example;

Base fare of $1,000 commission at 12% is $120.00. The cost to you is considerably more than $1,000 as they have to add taxes, fees, port charges (not always included in taxes and fees) and something called NCF which agents do not get commission on. Commissions usually run from $10% to 15% and in rare caes 16%. and are always calculated on the base price. The vast majority of agencies get 10%. I used 12% as a more realistic percentage

 

C&A discount is about $125.00 per person which is a reduction of $15 in commission. Agent commission now is $105.00 ($120 - $15). All discounts are a reduction of base price, taxes, fees, etc remain the same

 

Perks being offered like graduities, 7-night cruise is $80.50 pp. Specialty restaurant is $25.00 pp. Cost is $105.50, agent now lost $.50. If restaurant is $20.00 (some are) then agent is making $4.50 not enough to cover postage

 

This is the reason they will not give you any or most of the perks when booking with a discount.

 

This is NOT discrimination but pure economics.

[MCC retired]

The TA is not discriminating at all.

The extras that they are giving you come out of their commission.

C&A discounts reduce that comm.

Can't give away the store.

RCI is also just as guilty with their rules restricing combinability of C&A with WOW Sales , etc.. Are they discriminating ?

[FLACRUISER99]

The TA is not discriminating at all.

The extras that they are giving you come out of their commission.

C&A discounts reduce that comm.

Can't give away the store.

RCI is also just as guilty with their rules restricing combinability of C&A with WOW Sales , etc.. Are they discriminating ?

No the TA's are just plain greedy!! I had one that did that and will never use them again and I tell all the folks I know not to use them. I am sure the few bucks they thought they saved cost them $1000's in ill will!

[MCC retired]

Ouch! :eek:

 

A non flexiable TA can lose a client .

It's a strange occupation .

When $$ are the reason a client books with a TA and he/she

has to give away part of their pay to make a booking :mad:.

 

Glad I'm retired from that job .:)

[CoachT]

No the TA's are just plain greedy!! I had one that did that and will never use them again and I tell all the folks I know not to use them. I am sure the few bucks they thought they saved cost them $1000's in ill will!

That is ok. There are many many travel agents who discriminate against Cruise Critic members and will not take them on as a client. It is just not worth the headache. As a general rule, a CC member will pump an agent for information and then get a quote and then start shopping all to save an extra $20 or $30.

 

If a TA wants to stay in business they are not going to operate at a loss since a C&A discount does affect the cruise fare that their pay is based on. Glad that there are some of us who would rather turn business away than deal with some people. Some business just is not worth it.

[cruisinfanatic]

You need to verify this with your travel agent; some might allow you to do this, some might not. While it is probably safe to say that most TA's would permit you to use the RCI Visa points, there are likely some that would not. Try e-mailing or calling your TA as only they are able to answer this question for you. Hopefully you receive the answer you want.

Nothing to verify. Cashing in a Visa certificate for OBC has nothing to do with any other discount whether from the TA or RCL.

[cruisinfanatic]

No the TA's are just plain greedy!! I had one that did that and will never use them again and I tell all the folks I know not to use them. I am sure the few bucks they thought they saved cost them $1000's in ill will!

Geez, here we go.

They're all bad, LOL

[celle]

Ouch! :eek:

 

A non flexible TA can lose a client .

It's a strange occupation .

When $$ are the reason a client books with a TA and he/she

has to give away part of their pay to make a booking :mad:.

 

Glad I'm retired from that job .:)

 

So right!

 

We are currently booked through a TA, because that is how we had to book, until a few months ago - we live in New Zealand. This TA has refused to allow us the Diamond balcony discount, as they say "Your cruise is already heavily discounted."

 

C&A has been equally unhelpful, telling us "You have to deal with this through your travel agent."

 

We did get a good price for the cruise, but it seems unfair that we get nothing extra for our loyalty to RCCL.

 

The end result? Now that it is possible for us to book on-line, direct with RCCL, we will be by-passing that TA in future.

[cruisinfanatic]

For those of you having been given a surprise reduction or elimination of your TA perk, that's your fault.

If the TA clearly knows the cost of your cruise (the base fare) after your RCL balcony discounts or other, they can give you an accurate OBC or other perk amount.

[FLACRUISER99]

Geez, here we go.

They're all bad, LOL

I did not say they are all bad. I said the one I dealt with was bad.

[cruisinfanatic]

I did not say they are all bad. I said the one I dealt with was bad.

Ok, I'm good with that.

[FLHugh]

• Do TA's pay wholesale or retail rates for the Speciality Dining or Spa perks they give? I can understand the Pre Paid Tips must be $ for $, but I would think there would be a discount on the Dining and Spa.
  

[dirtgirl]

• Do TA's pay wholesale or retail rates for the Speciality Dining or Spa perks they give? I can understand the Pre Paid Tips must be $ for $, but I would think there would be a discount on the Dining and Spa.
  

 

 

TAs do not get them wholesale. It's full price out of their pockets unless it is a deal offered by the cruise line for booking a certain cabin, etc.