Travel agent really against Carnival? New cruiser questions

[EZ4]

The customer is not always right. That's a myth perpetrated by customers. More often than not, an overbearing and obnoxious customer is best shown the door. They are not worth the trouble in the long run. Not all business is good business. Sometimes you come out better just staying home, than running all over hell's half acre for no profit.

[RRLLAL]

Dump the TA for being a liar and not providing a service you want. I've used the same TA for our past 8-9 cruises. Yes she says Carnival pays a lower commission but she still makes money. A smaller commission is still better than no commission.

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

[Jana60]

Hi,

We've taken one cruise last Christmas with Carnival on the Freedom and we had a great time! There were some things we didn't enjoy (Mainly the crowds at pools and really noisy in our room) however over all we had a great time! We're thinking of another cruise in 2014 and called the same cruise agent who helped us with this cruise and she is REALLY pushing Royal Caribbean over Carnival... I've been on their boards and website and I just can't see that it's worth $700 more... Just wondering what your thoughts are here? We're looking at the Dream or Breeze for Carnival 8 nights and Independence of the Seas Royal Caribbean ship. We have 2 boys, ages 10 and 7 with my husband and myself. Thank you!!!

 

Unless the $700 more is total for entire family and is for the Oasis or one of the newer RCCL ships, I sure wouldn't go for it. Are travel agents paid on commission? That would explain your TA pushing a more expensive cruise.

[Jana60]

I do think RCI is better at upkeep of their ships - the Carnival ships (cabin, public spaces, etc) have seemed to be more rundown than RCI ships of similar age.

 

Guess you have not sailed on the Monarch of the Seas yet. Most uncomfortable, worn out ship I've ever been on!

[Jana60]

Just got off the phone with my TA and he advised me that Carnival is tightening the control over bookings and three weeks before final payment date they are sending out pre-cancellation notices.

 

Not yet in effect, but rumour has it that all bookings through them in the future will have to be paid in full at the time of the booking. That sucks. Any price drops will end with OBC's but by demanding payment in full at the time of booking, they (Carnival) greatly improve their cash flow while draining mine.

 

Boy they are just making it up as they go along. No, you do not have to pay the entire cruise price up front unless you book a pack and go special and if you did pay in full and had booked early saver they would still credit your credit card if the price dropped before final payment date. I book cruises and have them schedule my final paymet ON the final payment due date and I don't receive any notices at all. Furthermore although the Carnival site says that they do not refund OBC, they actually do. I received a check at the end of my cruise in December for the amount of my unused OBC.

[Jana60]

I know it is never about ME either. New clients do not know what they do not know. I never believe a customer knows what they want even when they say they do. Sales 101.

 

Incredible! You are putting down the intelligence of your customers, the source of your livelihood, and doing so at a site where these same customers are most likely to be reading. Even if you don't say your name, from this time onward your customers who frequent cruise critic will question the motives of ALL TAs. SO WHO LACKS INTELLIGENCE????

[firefly333]

Guess you have not sailed on the Monarch of the Seas yet. Most uncomfortable, worn out ship I've ever been on!

 

Obviously the person was talking in general about the RCL fleet.

 

It would be like me saying the ugly blue plastic bathroom floors on Ecstasy look old and crappy and the ship is old and judging the Breeze and the rest of the fleet by the oldest ship Carnival has. (havent been on Fantasy yet, I know its the oldest, Ecstasy is the 2nd oldest and shows its age here and there, but its still a good cruise to me .. and I also enjoyed the Monarch.) I like almost any cruise where nothing goes wrong. Just get me out on the ocean.

 

Not that Im sure what that has to do with anything. .. the OP wants to book Carnival and clearly a lot of TAs say they dont listen to their clients.... they know best what the client wants and the customer isnt always right.

 

For once I agree with RRLLAL ..fire the TA and find a new one who will do what you want. RRLLAL .. I think the world is going to stop. We agree.

[Rrronnie]

We have done 2 cruises...1st one with carnival on the Valor the second one with RCI...our 2nd cruise was to be on the Dream..but it was canceled last minute, when the ship was stuck in St. Marrten .we had to scramble to find a replacement cruise 2 days before we sailed...we booked on the Mariner of the seas out of Galveston... that last minuet cruise cost about $1200.00 more than the Dream was going to be ...I did not see where Rci was worth the extra money...It was nice ..We had a blast and was a great trip... But I really did not see where it was worth the extra money...both trips were pretty equal in quality and fun

[Wennfred]

Im only guessing with all of the problems that Carnival has experienced in the last 2 years with engine failures, fires and generator issues that your Travel Agent doesn't want that to happen to you and feel as if its their fault, possibly losing a client.

 

RCI is a good brand but on top of the extra 700.00 they will nickle & dime you on other things once onboard.

 

 

Fred

[Cruizinman]

]Incredible! You are putting down the intelligence of your customers' date=' the source of your [u']livelihood,[/u] and doing so at a site where these same customers are most likely to be reading. Even if you don't say your name :eek:, from this time onward your customers who frequent cruise critic will question the motives of ALL TAs. SO WHO LACKS INTELLIGENCE????

[/color]

 

Yep , Sounds like Carnival .

[dave_k63]

I am a travel agent having my best year ever. I refuse to book any Carnival business for anyone except existing clients. I turn people to RCI or NCL. Carnival's agent unfriendly policies have caused many agencies to stop selling Carnival cruises. This has caused millions of dollars to be moved to other lines (even those owned by Carnival Corp which operate as separate lines with separate policies).

 

Most clients do not know what they want even when they say they do and yes commissions pay a part in it, but Carnival has taken other agent unfriendly actions that have caused many in the agent community to refuse the booking.

 

By the way, there are some sales with Viking river cruises that require a payment in full over a year in advance to take advantage of the savings. This is not entirely uncommon.

 

I'm just curious. What can you, as a travel agent actually do to make my cruise better. You can't give cheaper prices, give any more OBC or give drinks, excursions or free specialty restaurants. At least some of the big online TA's can do occasionally do some of that. It's just as easy to book online. No more expensive. A PVP from Carnival can usually get you the deck you want. If the other cruiselines will give you more commission or perks - book them. But Carnival is the largest, biggest selling cruiseline in the world and if you don't sell them, I would bet you're losing money.

[dave_k63]

I know it is never about ME either. New clients do not know what they do not know. I never believe a customer knows what they want even when they say they do. Sales 101.

 

That's a good philosophy. The customer is always wrong. hmmm

[dave_k63]

Nope not correct.

 

The only examples I will give you is I have had clients offered rates by a PVP that were less than I could offer. I have Carnival contact clients already booked by me offering upgrades I could not even when they were working with an agent. Business practices like that and several other reasons are why myself and others have refused to sell Carnival in most all cases.

 

Just as you don't walk into a Lexus dealership to buy a Honda, you don't contact me for a Carnival cruise. Simple business decision. To answer the OP, yes some TAs are really against Carnival for reasons I explained above.

 

I call BS on Carnival calling your clients

[Jana60]

Obviously the person was talking in general about the RCL fleet.

 

"Obviously" I was disaggreeing with the person who was making those claims "in general about the RCL fleet".

 

I agree that the real issue here is the OPs Travel agent does not wish to supply the service he wishes to purchase and that the OP should dump that TA.

[firefly333]

We have done 2 cruises...1st one with carnival on the Valor the second one with RCI...our 2nd cruise was to be on the Dream..but it was canceled last minute, when the ship was stuck in St. Marrten .we had to scramble to find a replacement cruise 2 days before we sailed...we booked on the Mariner of the seas out of Galveston... that last minuet cruise cost about $1200.00 more than the Dream was going to be ...I did not see where Rci was worth the extra money...It was nice ..We had a blast and was a great trip... But I really did not see where it was worth the extra money...both trips were pretty equal in quality and fun

 

I just did Navigator, out of NOLA on 3/30/13 and rates were rock bottom. $319 for inside, $419 for a OV and $669 for a balcony (and most RCL folks get discounts due to the loyalty program on balconys). Why pick Galveston and not consider driving to NOLA? I bet we went about the same week and RCL prices out of NOLA have been rock bottom. .. if you can get to Galveston, you could have driven to NOLA like I did to save money. Conquest out of NOLA would also have saved your money?

 

Im curious if Dream was cancelled why you picked RCL and not Magic? Magic prices have been sky high too right? Galveston being down one ship, thats why I drove a extra 5 hours each way to NOLA .. because Galveston prices are too high right now.

 

I cant wait for Triumph to come back to Galveston and give us Texans some lower priced cruises. I admit it .. Id like to do Triumph. I dont need to justify it.. or knock RCL .. I like Triumph and never had a bad cruise on her.

 

It does seem to me though.. comparing Dream out of Florida and RCL or any other ship out of Galveston .. almost always Galveston is going to be significantly higher.. its what we Texans put up with. I dont think thats a fair comparison. Magic would have been more than Dream too I bet?

 

Im tired of driving to New Orleans because prices are sky high out of Galveston too .. but I dont blame RCL for that.

 

btw Ive driven to NOLA last sept, Nov and lately this last Feb to do conquest .. same reason, NOLA depatures Im getting so much better deals. I loved Magic, did it last Sept, but prices are HIGH. .. so I usually do Conquest and drive a extra 5 hours each way to get there to save the $$. So, Im a Carnival fan too.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Wow!!! That doesn't make sense to me that you'll have to pay in full when doing initial booking. I would be surprised if that actually comes true. ??? We also looked at RCI, NCL and Disney and none of them have that policy. Seems like Carnival would be hurting themselves if they do that.

 

They seem to be getting pretty good at that.:(

 

Bill

[RRLLAL]

For once I agree with RRLLAL ..fire the TA and find a new one who will do what you want. RRLLAL .. I think the world is going to stop. We agree.

 

We agree more often than you think.

 

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

[Nonna50]

OBC is my reason to use a TA.

 

On my last cruise I booked thru a TA and my sister booked thru Carnival site. We paid the same amount for the cruise but when they had a price drop I got $60 less OBC than my sister.. I believe that was my TA's commission... I will NEVER book a cruise thru TA again...

 

As far as RCL vs CCL there is no comparison.. I paid $1500 more on RCL for the exact same Cruise I just took on Carnival Valor last Month. Southern Caribbean itinerary. Same islands but Carnival was a much better cruise. I just booked my next cruise on The Magic for Thanksgiving thru Carnival Website and it took 5 Min...

 

I will NEVER book a cruise thru my TA again...

 

I have worked with Salesmen my entire life and their Motto is "ANYTHING FOR A SALE" can you tell I'm not a fan of salesmen?:rolleyes: They don't care about the customer only what they will get out of it...

[RRLLAL]

The customer is not always right. That's a myth perpetrated by customers. More often than not, an overbearing and obnoxious customer is best shown the door. They are not worth the trouble in the long run. Not all business is good business. Sometimes you come out better just staying home, than running all over hell's half acre for no profit.

 

The customer always knows what they want better than the salesman. Thus they are always right. Only a dumb businessman looks at it differently and it is business 101.

 

Sent using my Commodore 64

[cx7owner]

My TA has booked a half dozen cruises for us (plus a couple that were cancelled) and she has said this is the last time books Carnival. I don't blame her. We have together and separately spent HOURS on the phone with Carnival. Everything (price drops, upgrading cabin, etc.) takes multiple calls and long waits. Yes, some of this was during all of the cancellations, but it has been very frustrating.

 

It seems that Carnival is really try to cut out TAs. I do get the math on that. But their policies also affect us, the passengers. I hope our actual cruise goes more smoothing (or first Carnival cruise will be on the Sunshine in a few weeks).

[hattack]

The internet and social media have proven to be game changers with both good/bad impact on the travel industry. The role of the TA and their relationship with both the cruiseline and the general public has also changed.

 

If you are lucky enough to have a long standing relationship with a TA, then you trust that your TA will have your best travel interest at heart and continue to be your advocate when something goes wrong. Travel is still very much a personal experience

 

A TA relationship with the cruise industry will continue to be a love/hate situation. Have you notice that new/small/upscale cruiselines emphasis their relationship/distribution system with a TA. On the other hand the "big three" understand how to utilize the internet/social media to their advantage to improve their bottom line.

When one of the "big three" cruiselines have a major PR challenge they always seem to seek out the TA community for assistance

[mikenhe]

my TA has booked a few cruise for me in the past. before booking we've talked about what I wanted out of the cruise and found one to fit depending on who was going - did one with 8 family member from Europe and the USA.

When we got sick on one cruise and were first off the ship in an ambulance to the hospital we were given contact info by the ship for that port. all of which turned out to be wrong. I called my TA and he was able to sort out the immediate issues we were having.

 

and he did that in the middle of an excursion on the ship he was on at the time!

 

However for this year I explained what we wanted and after a few back and forths decided that Carnival would be the best option for us. However he asked me to book it directly as he was having a lot of issues with Carnival and didn't want to deal with them.

 

Its service like that which is why I'll carry on using him as a TA - (I always give him a full and honest review of the ship which helps him in advising other clients of his).

[Rrronnie]

I just did Navigator, out of NOLA on 3/30/13 and rates were rock bottom. $319 for inside, $419 for a OV and $669 for a balcony (and most RCL folks get discounts due to the loyalty program on balconys). Why pick Galveston and not consider driving to NOLA? I bet we went about the same week and RCL prices out of NOLA have been rock bottom. .. if you can get to Galveston, you could have driven to NOLA like I did to save money. Conquest out of NOLA would also have saved your money?

 

Im curious if Dream was cancelled why you picked RCL and not Magic? Magic prices have been sky high too right? Galveston being down one ship, thats why I drove a extra 5 hours each way to NOLA .. because Galveston prices are too high right now.

 

I cant wait for Triumph to come back to Galveston and give us Texans some lower priced cruises. I admit it .. Id like to do Triumph. I dont need to justify it.. or knock RCL .. I like Triumph and never had a bad cruise on her.

 

It does seem to me though.. comparing Dream out of Florida and RCL or any other ship out of Galveston .. almost always Galveston is going to be significantly higher.. its what we Texans put up with. I dont think thats a fair comparison. Magic would have been more than Dream too I bet?

 

Im tired of driving to New Orleans because prices are sky high out of Galveston too .. but I dont blame RCL for that.

 

btw Ive driven to NOLA last sept, Nov and lately this last Feb to do conquest .. same reason, NOLA depatures Im getting so much better deals. I loved Magic, did it last Sept, but prices are HIGH. .. so I usually do Conquest and drive a extra 5 hours each way to get there to save the $$. So, Im a Carnival fan too.

 

 

we had no choice really....all of the cruises were booked...there were 3000 displaced Dream cruisers trying to find a last minute cruise somewhere..anywhere ....We were lucky to get a cabin at all...it was also spring break......The funny thing was We got a cabin that someone had canceled...they were Platinum cruisers...they were scheduled to dine at the captains table on the 2nd nite...and that was offered to us if We wanted to take their place...we did not...

[CoachT]

But Carnival is the largest, biggest selling cruiseline in the world and if you don't sell them, I would bet you're losing money.

We made the decision to stop selling Carnival before the first of the year, way before the issues with Triumph. We are having our best year ever. Carnival has tried to woo us back with offers of bonus commission and we still refused as we know they are totally a fair weather friend.

 

Carnival made the mistake once before trying to cut out the agent community and it backfired because new cruisers (which Carnival needs because of the massive amounts of berths to fill) overwhelmed their call centers with questions. Long wait times, quick turnovers of employees, wrong information. They need the TA community as a distribution channel as it fills up over 70% of their bookings. TAs do not need Carnival however.

 

Another major market cruise line, NCL, recently tried to change their distribution model and within 18 months and changes at the top came back with their tail between their legs and are moving business for that first time cruiser to them.

 

Personally I do not want Carnival to fail as what is going on with them paints the entire industry in a horrible light.

[MsTabbyKats]

The customer is not always right. That's a myth perpetrated by overbearing obnoxious customers. More often than not, the overbearing and obnoxious customer is best shown the door. They are not worth the trouble in the long run. Not all business is good business. Sometimes you come out better just staying home, than running all over hell's half acre for no profit.

 

Absolutely! I just changed your statement a bit, and I'll quote you next time someone tells me about the customer always being right.

 

I cannot understand why a TA would book Carnival, knowing that if there is a price drop he'll have to do extra work to make less money.

 

As a customer, I'd be embarrassed to ask a TA to do this.