Switching Travel Agents

[whitshel]

I know this has been asked about moving your booking from RCCL to travel agent, but can you move your booking from one travel agency to another to get better perks. We have no deposit and 2 hotel nights free with our cruise, but our cruise rate just went down (i know, shucks:D) and now we only qualify for 1 night free. i know I can do better out there so I was just wondering if this is a hassle or even allowed?

 

Thanks....

[The Sunset Glow]

I know this has been asked about moving your booking from RCCL to travel agent, but can you move your booking from one travel agency to another to get better perks. We have no deposit and 2 hotel nights free with our cruise, but our cruise rate just went down (i know, shucks:D) and now we only qualify for 1 night free. i know I can do better out there so I was just wondering if this is a hassle or even allowed?

 

Thanks....

 

 

Here's a link to the form you will need. It's takes a couple of days but I haven't had any hassel with it in the past.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/TA_TransferForm.pdf

 

Enjoy your cruise!

[Clarea]

I know this has been asked about moving your booking from RCCL to travel agent, but can you move your booking from one travel agency to another to get better perks. We have no deposit and 2 hotel nights free with our cruise, but our cruise rate just went down (i know, shucks:D) and now we only qualify for 1 night free. i know I can do better out there so I was just wondering if this is a hassle or even allowed?

 

Thanks....

If your booking is already owned by a travel agent, then you need the consent of that travel agent to move the booking.

[Cigar King]

FWIW, it occurs to me that there's an economic incentive for a TA to not consent to a switch. However a TA that's willing to consent, even at a cost to him/herself, may be a TA worth keeping. Kind of a chicken and egg problem. Should I keep my TA? Ask to leave.

[xxoocruiser]

OP also needs to understand that the perks that a TA offers are all based on what the actual cost of the cruise. When the cost gets reduced generally the TA will always reduce the perks originally offered.

[whitshel]

Here's a link to the form you will need. It's takes a couple of days but I haven't had any hassel with it in the past.

 

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/en_US/pdf/TA_TransferForm.pdf

 

Enjoy your cruise!

 

That form looks like it would be to move it from RCCL to a travel agent, is it the same form to move from a t/a to another t/a. ?

[whitshel]

OP also needs to understand that the perks that a TA offers are all based on what the actual cost of the cruise. When the cost gets reduced generally the TA will always reduce the perks originally offered.

 

I get that, to get the 2 nights hotel you have to spend 2500 to 3500, and of course our price drop brought our total down to 2486. And the hotel is up to $100 on one of the bidding sites so we are getting basically $100.

 

There are tons of t/a's that offer at least free tips which is $190 plus some are offering up to $200 obc (I shop around probably too much :D) So I know there are better deals out there. Just trying to figure out if I can. Plus the no deposit helps right now, I know if I switch I will have to lay down $1000 in deposits so....

[The Sunset Glow]

That form looks like it would be to move it from RCCL to a travel agent, is it the same form to move from a t/a to another t/a. ?

 

 

Sorry, I misread. I thought you were asking to move from RCI to a TA which is what we've done with no issues.

 

I have never considered moving a reservation from one TA to another and like the others have said this may be difficult. Can you cancel with the original TA without penalty and book with the new one? Or even if there is a penalty fee for cancelling, if the benefits from the new TA still make it a better deal this may be the way to go.

[gerif]

Check to see if there is a cancellation fee. It may outweigh any additional benefits you might get from another TA.

[39august]

Many TA's charge a cancellation fee. You need to contact your current TA with questions about moving to a different TA. No one else can help you. I would be surprised if your current TA will release your booking at no charge.

[varoo]

OP also needs to understand that the perks that a TA offers are all based on what the actual cost of the cruise. When the cost gets reduced generally the TA will always reduce the perks originally offered.

True, but even at the same price there can be tremendous differences in the perks offered by different TAs.

 

Also, one TA may offer the best deal for one cruise, but a different TA for another cruise.

 

That is why it pays to shop around and compare offers for each cruise before transferring the booking to any TA .

 

From the passenger's point of view, it was much better back when the cruise line used to give us until final payment to decide on a TA instead of cutting us off at 60 days after booking the way they do now.

 

[PH8]

That form looks like it would be to move it from RCCL to a travel agent, is it the same form to move from a t/a to another t/a. ?

No,it's not.......that form is strictly to give an agent your booking when you booked directly with RCCL.

[molly2kit]

I did this once. I was told that if the original TA found out that I was rebooking with another agency that they could complain to the cruise line and they would get the comission on the trip. If they don't know then they can't complain. Don't know if this is really true but what I did was book with another agent and as soon as that was finalized I cancelled the original one. There was no cancellation fee that time.

 

I was just considering doing this now (I only qualified for $100 hotel night too) but when I checked 3 other TAs the total price was still higher. So I am just going to stay where I am. I am not overwhelmed with the service I have had so far but I will wait and see how it goes up til final payment date.

[Desert Cruizers]

If I had a booking with a TA, the only reason I would want to change mid stream is if that TA was totally mismanaging my booking otherwise I would leave it where it is and never book with that person again. I generally book really early so any price drops that do occur, never come down to the level they were at the time I booked.

[LovesCruising]

while I understand that you are looking for the best deal you can get - that's really a crappy thing to do to your current travel agent. Id be surprised if they consented to your transferring to another agent. You may have to cancel and rebook which could affect your pricing. Why not discuss the additional perks your looking for with your current agent and see what they say. In order to keep you, they may be able to give you something.

[critterchick]

FWIW, it occurs to me that there's an economic incentive for a TA to not consent to a switch. However a TA that's willing to consent, even at a cost to him/herself, may be a TA worth keeping. Kind of a chicken and egg problem. Should I keep my TA? Ask to leave.

 

The decision isn't likely to be the individual TA's but the the agency owner or a senior manager, so I don't think you can evaluate the TA on that basis, especially if it's a large agency.

[Coralc]

I tried to switch a booking to another travel agency once, years ago. The travel agent that held the booking refused to release it. They did give me another $15 off the cruise price.

 

You might be able to request that they release the booking back to Royal Caribbean....but it is highly unlikely that they will release it to another agency.

 

If you decide to try moving it or re-booking you would need to consider the current price, possible cancellation fees and the hassle factor.

 

Otherwise, just consider it to be a learning experience. :)

[Merion_Mom]

while I understand that you are looking for the best deal you can get - that's really a crappy thing to do to your current travel agent. Id be surprised if they consented to your transferring to another agent. You may have to cancel and rebook which could affect your pricing. Why not discuss the additional perks your looking for with your current agent and see what they say. In order to keep you, they may be able to give you something.

 

I agree with your post.

[CoachT]

while I understand that you are looking for the best deal you can get - that's really a crappy thing to do to your current travel agent. Id be surprised if they consented to your transferring to another agent. You may have to cancel and rebook which could affect your pricing. Why not discuss the additional perks your looking for with your current agent and see what they say. In order to keep you, they may be able to give you something.

To put it another way, this would be just the same as a travel agent or Royal Caribbean deciding to cancel your reservation because they found a client willing to pay more for it.

 

This is the reason many successful and profitable travel agents charge cancellation fees.

[hollon]

How do TAs get their commission, how much do they receive out of a cruise price

[oneputt18]

How do TAs get their commission, how much do they receive out of a cruise price

 

I don't know of too many business's that will reveal their commission structure (not to sound snooty, but really none of your business).

 

 

 

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[Rancher Dave]

I don't know of too many business's that will reveal their commission structure (not to sound snooty, but really none of your business).

 

 

 

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I will add that what most folks miss is that commission is only on a portion of the cruise fare paid not all of it.

 

Agree with your post that its between RCCL and the agency.

 

Folks need to evaluate if they want help or not and not expect the agency to work for min wage and be available 24x7. I doubt many would want their customers or bosses to treat them the way they seem to think its ok to treat travel agents. It's the same with expectations that cruise lines should give away the farm to guests because they are on vacation. Not that this applies to all or even most guests...most do believe in getting good service and realize here is a cost for such.

[LovesCruising]

To put it another way, this would be just the same as a travel agent or Royal Caribbean deciding to cancel your reservation because they found a client willing to pay more for it.

 

This is the reason many successful and profitable travel agents charge cancellation fees.

 

I have never heard of a travel agent or Royal cancelling someones res for no reason just to sell to someone else at a higher price. Has this happened to you?

 

How do TAs get their commission, how much do they receive out of a cruise price

 

TA's gt their commission from the cruiseline. The amount of sales with that cruiseline will determine the % they receive.

 

And - Id never recommend nor would I use a TA that charges a cancellation fee. There are many good agents out there who do not.

[Desert Cruizers]

I had a strange one happen with my Princess sailing in Sept, I had booked a year ago my Baja Room 504, last week while checking my information I see I am listed for B 245 or something, I called my TA ASAP who had just got off the phone with the agent after learning I got moved from my mid ship cabin to way forward. She told them to move me back NOW which they did. She even told the agaent I watch my bookings and would be on the phone to her pronto, which in fact I was less then 30 min after she got off the phone with the Princess agent. They were calling it an upgrade which she responded if you were upgrading Mrs *** put her in a JS not forward from a mid ship location. Now I wonder they could be trying to sell that room for a higher price then what i paid for and give me a less desirable room, although same category.

[LovesCruising]

I had a strange one happen with my Princess sailing in Sept, I had booked a year ago my Baja Room 504, last week while checking my information I see I am listed for B 245 or something, I called my TA ASAP who had just got off the phone with the agent after learning I got moved from my mid ship cabin to way forward. She told them to move me back NOW which they did. She even told the agaent I watch my bookings and would be on the phone to her pronto, which in fact I was less then 30 min after she got off the phone with the Princess agent. They were calling it an upgrade which she responded if you were upgrading Mrs *** put her in a JS not forward from a mid ship location. Now I wonder they could be trying to sell that room for a higher price then what i paid for and give me a less desirable room, although same category.

 

Interesting...you have a good TA tho