Commission received by TA"s

[KazAllen]

Does anyone have any idea how much Commission TA's receive from the Cruiseline for a cruise? Does it change with the length of the cruise or the price?

Reason for asking is that friends on board an RCL ship made an Onboard Booking for us, paid the deposit of $250US and we received $250US OBC for a cruise coming back to Sydney from Hawaii in Sept 2016.

This will be the 3rd cruise that we will be taking and all handled by the same TA (friends transferred the booking to her while on the ship) and we haven't received any OBC from the TA at all.

The booking for this cruise was made on 28th May, can we change the TA that it is assigned to now or is it too late?

Another booking this TA holds is for a cruise on Celebrity Solstice which was booked a couple of months ago on a promo that Celebrity had of "Pay for an Inside Cabin and Receive a Balcony for the same price, plus a choice of three perks", okay we got a good price but the TA got 2 bookings and not a sign or offer of any OBC for either cruise.

All help really appreciated.

Edited June 10, 2015 by KazAllen

[travel guy]

The commission amount depends on a few things. That being said the cruise line does not pay TA's commission on the full fare. Subtract out taxes and then subtract out what the cruise line calls "non commissionable fare" which is supposed to represent some hard costs the cruise line has related to operating the cruise. The actual amount that commission is paid on will likely be at least 33% less than the full fare. More if it is a low cost cruise because the "non commissionable fare" is the same on a $1500 rate and a $500 rate. With the $500 rate there isn't much commission to provide an OBC.

[KazAllen]

The commission amount depends on a few things. That being said the cruise line does not pay TA's commission on the full fare. Subtract out taxes and then subtract out what the cruise line calls "non commissionable fare" which is supposed to represent some hard costs the cruise line has related to operating the cruise. The actual amount that commission is paid on will likely be at least 33% less than the full fare. More if it is a low cost cruise because the "non commissionable fare" is the same on a $1500 rate and a $500 rate. With the $500 rate there isn't much commission to provide an OBC.

 

First cruise is just over $,2000 and the second is just over $3,300 so a decent amount of commission for each cruise - so if commission is 10% that would be in the vicinity of $270 for 1st cruise and $520 for 2nd cruise, not bad for doing nothing as all the lead up work had already been done.

[sblair]

I normally get at least 10% back from my TA in OBC so I know they are getting more than that...

[willing292]

Wow. Does your grocery store give you a credit for buying your groceries there?

[purescottish]

Here in the UK, we have over the last 10 years booked 10 cruises with the same TA roughly costing £5-6K and never had a penny or a perk from them.

The price is what it is, and we have shopped around and all offering the same........nothing !

 

wendy

x

[Summerknight]

I do not know the exact amount or percent paid to TA. I did recently bump into a local agent and asked her what was the average commission on a cruise of $1000. She said roughly $75.

[idamae3218]

First cruise is just over $,2000 and the second is just over $3,300 so a decent amount of commission for each cruise - so if commission is 10% that would be in the vicinity of $270 for 1st cruise and $520 for 2nd cruise, not bad for doing nothing as all the lead up work had already been done.

 

As travelguy stated, deduct taxes & non commissonable fare, which can be $225pp + taxes. Then they get 10% on what's left. So if the $3000 is for two, It's $2550 minus taxes, let's say $200 for two. So it's $2350. So $235, if the non commissionable & tax amts are correct. If so, there is some room for obc, but not a lot. Again, if the amts I state are close. Non commissionable can be higher.

 

Agencies make money on bulk.

[elkay68]

We (my mother) uses a TA and she gives nothing. This year we have 2 Royal family suites and 2 owner suites, am expecting nothing. When my DH and I cruise alone and use different TA's always able to get something.

[KazAllen]

The amounts I mentioned are per person, the first cruise is for 12 days and the 2nd is for 18 days, both are Balconies

[Ourusualbeach]

On line TA's will generally give a larger amount of OBC as they are doing more volume and have lower operating costs than traditional bricks and mortar stores.

[Sitzmark]

Wow. Does your grocery store give you a credit for buying your groceries there?

 

I get 2% back on groceries.

[setsail]

17.33215%

[cruisinfanatic]

Does anyone have any idea how much Commission TA's receive from the Cruiseline for a cruise? Does it change with the length of the cruise or the price?

Reason for asking is that friends on board an RCL ship made an Onboard Booking for us, paid the deposit of $250US and we received $250US OBC for a cruise coming back to Sydney from Hawaii in Sept 2016.

This will be the 3rd cruise that we will be taking and all handled by the same TA (friends transferred the booking to her while on the ship) and we haven't received any OBC from the TA at all.

The booking for this cruise was made on 28th May, can we change the TA that it is assigned to now or is it too late?

Another booking this TA holds is for a cruise on Celebrity Solstice which was booked a couple of months ago on a promo that Celebrity had of "Pay for an Inside Cabin and Receive a Balcony for the same price, plus a choice of three perks", okay we got a good price but the TA got 2 bookings and not a sign or offer of any OBC for either cruise.

All help really appreciated.

You have to negotiate OBC before you book, not after the fact

[nelblu]

I get 2% back on groceries.

 

That's from the usage of the credit card. My TA ran a Memorial Day special that in addition to the $100 OBC offered, there was a coupon for an add'l $100 OBC for loyal customers. In addition, a dinner for 2 at a specialty restaurant. Booked N/E-Canada 9 niter on the Anthem (8/25/16) and a 9 niter on the Navigator for (2/3/17) to take advantage of the 30/30 promo. I 'm satisfied with the results.

[h20skibum]

The booking for this cruise was made on 28th May, can we change the TA that it is assigned to now or is it too late?

All help really appreciated.

 

Royal has a form for transfer of booking from one TA to another. The first TA has to agree to the transfer, and the new TA has to agree to pick it up.

 

We recently had a different situation with an open booking FCC that listed a TA that went out of business, so there was no one to sign the first part. Took about 4 weeks, but we finally got it assigned to a new TA.

 

Will have to go through it again, since we bought a few open booking FCC's when they were still good deals.

[Sitzmark]

That's from the usage of the credit card. My TA ran a Memorial Day special that in addition to the $100 OBC offered, there was a coupon for an add'l $100 OBC for loyal customers. In addition, a dinner for 2 at a specialty restaurant. Booked N/E-Canada 9 niter on the Anthem (8/25/16) and a 9 niter on the Navigator for (2/3/17) to take advantage of the 30/30 promo. I 'm satisfied with the results.

 

Nope, it's from the store, I get 2% back on all purchases except alcohol and gas. I also am getting a couple hundred dollars obc from our TA.

[LMaxwell]

I ususually get 6%-8% back as OBC.

 

If your TA is giving nothing it's time to find another TA.

[papaflamingo]

I have used the same TA for years. I get nothing from her other than fantastic service (she does send us wine and strawberries). I expect nothing from her except the service I need. I email or call and she does ALL the work. She fights for me to get me good deals. Twice she has gotten me good deals on suite upgrades that I was not qualified for (New booking only sort of thing).

It's her job and she does it extremely well. The commission is her livelihood. Why should she share it with her customers? Do you share your paycheck with frequent patrons? People come to you at whatever job you have because they like your service. Why should you have to "kick back" to them. You deserve your pay as you are the best at what you do.

The on-line TA's may give $100 OBC, but it comes at a cost. A friend of mine booked with one, and I had to sit next to her while she was on the phone with the TA and explain to her so she could explain to him how a Future Cruise Certificate worked. Yeah, she got an additional $100 OBC, but I did all the work. When she tried to take advantage of an upgrade, he didn't know how to do it, and she lost the upgrade. Some TA's have cancellation fees. I often book more than one cruise and cancel one when I know which on I can take. No penalty with my TA.

In my opinion, you get what you pay for. Excellent TA's don't need to "buy" your business, they earn it. For me, my TA deserves every penny she gets, and more.

Edited June 10, 2015 by papaflamingo

[JeffHatfield]

I ususually get 6%-8% back as OBC.

 

If your TA is giving nothing it's time to find another TA.

 

6-8% of what?

[AussieVisi2r]

KazAllan,

It's almost unheard of in Australia to get any OBC from an agent - let alone the other perks some countries get like Champagne, spa, specialty dining.

 

Aussie agents do very little for their commissions.

 

Raina

[nelblu]

Nope, it's from the store, I get 2% back on all purchases except alcohol and gas. I also am getting a couple hundred dollars obc from our TA.

 

I was thinking that you were using the same credit card as I get 2% back on all purchases with my Fidelity Amex card.

[Paul65]

The on-line TA's may give $100 OBC, but it comes at a cost. A friend of mine booked with one, and I had to sit next to her while she was on the phone with the TA and explain to her so she could explain to him how a Future Cruise Certificate worked. Yeah, she got an additional $100 OBC, but I did all the work. When she tried to take advantage of an upgrade, he didn't know how to do it, and she lost the upgrade. Some TA's have cancellation fees. I often book more than one cruise and cancel one when I know which on I can take. No penalty with my TA.

In my opinion, you get what you pay for. Excellent TA's don't need to "buy" your business, they earn it. For me, my TA deserves every penny she gets, and more.

 

That's really not a good rule of thumb, in my opinion. There are several online agencies that handle such a large volume of cruises that they know the ins and outs and how to get things done better than most "regular" agencies. So, while your friend may have had a bad experience with an online TA, I don't think it's indicative of what you can expect.

 

It is important to understand the details, like whether or not they charge cancellation fees. But those I've dealt with do not, and their service, knowledge, and responsiveness have been quite good.

[LMaxwell]

6-8% of what?

 

Of the cruise fare.

[finest14]

I have used the same TA for years. I get nothing from her other than fantastic service (she does send us wine and strawberries). I expect nothing from her except the service I need. I email or call and she does ALL the work. She fights for me to get me good deals. Twice she has gotten me good deals on suite upgrades that I was not qualified for (New booking only sort of thing).

It's her job and she does it extremely well. The commission is her livelihood. Why should she share it with her customers? Do you share your paycheck with frequent patrons? People come to you at whatever job you have because they like your service. Why should you have to "kick back" to them. You deserve your pay as you are the best at what you do.

The on-line TA's may give $100 OBC, but it comes at a cost. A friend of mine booked with one, and I had to sit next to her while she was on the phone with the TA and explain to her so she could explain to him how a Future Cruise Certificate worked. Yeah, she got an additional $100 OBC, but I did all the work. When she tried to take advantage of an upgrade, he didn't know how to do it, and she lost the upgrade. Some TA's have cancellation fees. I often book more than one cruise and cancel one when I know which on I can take. No penalty with my TA.

In my opinion, you get what you pay for. Excellent TA's don't need to "buy" your business, they earn it. For me, my TA deserves every penny she gets, and more.

 

Well said!