Travel Agencies

[KokeBrew]

I know this is a touchy subject but can anyone share their experiences with travel agencies and still stay within the rules established here? I see some great deals but I am also aware of "Buyer Beware"

[Shmoo here]

I know this is a touchy subject but can anyone share their experiences with travel agencies and still stay within the rules established here? I see some great deals but I am also aware of "Buyer Beware"

The "established rules" say we can't discuss travel agencies by name, either good or bad. We can say general things like "I like having an online agency" or "I absolutely hated my online (or brick and mortar) travel agent".

[Langley Cruisers]

I know this is a touchy subject but can anyone share their experiences with travel agencies and still stay within the rules established here?...

 

No, sorry.

[Flatbush Flyer]

I know this is a touchy subject but can anyone share their experiences with travel agencies and still stay within the rules established here? I see some great deals but I am also aware of "Buyer Beware"

 

 

 

There are many many many posts on CC regarding what are the positives to be sought and negatives to be avoided in selecting a TA. They often include specific experiences.

Do the research necessary to have prospective TAs answer your "interview" questions and you'll get to a good one.

 

 

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[beachbum53]

I know this is a touchy subject but can anyone share their experiences with travel agencies and still stay within the rules established here? I see some great deals but I am also aware of "Buyer Beware"

 

My personal preference is to deal with a TA face to face, and NOT an on line agency. When making vacation plans, whether it's a cruise or a land-based vacation, I like having someone that I can talk to in person, rather than on the internet. If you're a member of a certain automobile club, where you get TripTiks, maps, etc., that's a good place to start.

[leaveitallbehind]

The only opinion I can offer is to research your intended TA carefully before making any kind of reservation or committing and money. All TA's are paid the same by the cruise lines through commissions earned by placing a booking with them. There are many, however, who charge separate fees not charged by the cruise lines for originating, modifying, or cancelling a booking made through them. This is additional money out of your pocket to them and as such I would avoid those TA's and look for one who does not have these additional fees.

 

I also agree with using a person you can talk with versus on line - just a personal preference so you have an individual who can assist with questions or issues on your behalf.

Edited February 13, 2018 by leaveitallbehind

[Rewind]

I've used an car club twice before and I won't use them again. I booked online with them and they only have one person in the office who handles the online bookings so anytime I wanted to make a change, I had to wait for the single person to get back to me. And half the time, the answer I got back was no even just for switching cabins in the same category. I think this is due to how the overall company is organized and that my booking was assigned to my local regional office so only that office would handle my booking.

 

The other place I have used previously and for most all future bookings is a membership club's travel site. I can still check prices online and book that way but they have plenty of people who can make changes and I've not once had a single problem adjusting my reservations (at no cost). Their hours seem to be better to as their call center handles both East and West coast of the US. I normally get some perk booking through them and I also seem to get the cruise lines perks as well.

 

There was a single time I booked directly through the cruise line as somehow their rates / perks were better. I did end up having to cancel that cruise due to scheduling conflicts with life events, but it was fairly painless.

 

Mostly I think it is trial and error - read the terms of the TA's contract. Some companies will charge if you make changes to reservations or cancel, others will not. But as for control over your booking, the only way to see how it works is to actually book through a TA and see how the experience goes.

[Hlitner]

Sure, we'll bite on the topic (and stay solidly within the board guidelines). We have been very active cruisers (and travelers) for over forty years and now travel nearly 7 months a year. We book all of our cruises through major high volume Cruise Agencies.....all online! Why? Because we save 7-10% on every cruise by shopping around among our favorite high volume agencies. It is just that simple.

 

As to our other travel bookings (cars, hotels, airlines, trains, etc) we almost exclusively do everything online. When it comes to hotels and cars we use multiple sites to compare prices and really like sites like "Kayak" that quickly search many other sites. We will also sometimes use cruise air....but only if it offers us significant savings. Over the years we have had some issues with cruise air.....so our normal preference is to handle our own air. But the cruise lines have been gradually improving their cruise air systems so we are keeping a very open mind. On an upcoming Princess cruise where we need to fly to Singapore....we were able to save over $2500 by using the Princess EZ Air site to book Business Class seats.

 

My advice to the OP (and any traveler) is open your minds to the many different booking options that are now readily available. Once you fix your mind on a single source (such as a favorite travel/cruise agency or a specific airline) you are simply guaranteeing that you will be paying more money (possibly a lot more money) then necessary. We live in a society where most enlightened shoppers have learned to shop around for the best deals and service. The travel industry is no different.

 

Hank

[KokeBrew]

Thanks to you and everyone else that took the time to reply to my post. Although not new to traveling I am new to CC and I have learned a great deal already. bd

[Flatbush Flyer]

My advice to the OP (and any traveler) is open your minds to the many different booking options that are now readily available. Once you fix your mind on a single source (such as a favorite travel/cruise agency or a specific airline) you are simply guaranteeing that you will be paying more money (possibly a lot more money) then necessary.

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

While I agree with the first sentence, I disagree with the second.

 

Of course, we always comparison shop. But, in certain aspects of travel- namely air and hotels, we ultimately book direct with the hotel or airline to take advantage of price match guarantees and FF points/perks allocations. Thus, the comparison shopping provides the lowest price benchmark which is then reported to the actual travel provider who will, at least, match the low price (often adding senior or AAA discounts.) BTW, we also keep an eye on apps like Hotel Tonight for last minute price matches as we're checking in. This is as true for airlines (e.g., United) as it is for hotels. For example: even with a non-refundable, non-changeable United ticket, you often can get a future travel ETC for matching their own fare drop (right up to the time of your flight).

 

For cruises, we most often "book onboard" to get a price drop match guarantee and other perks. We then comparison shop online (particularly with TAs who belong to two particular travel consortia that often have proprietary deals with key partner cruise lines - resulting in the addition of gratuities or similar value).

 

And now, here is where having a preferred TA (or three) makes a difference: Within the "transfer to a TA" window following a "book onboard," we present the best deal we can find ANYWHERE to at least two of our regular TAs (who are top sellers for our preferred lines). At least one of them will almost always be able to beat that deal by bettering their commission sharing. And because I've done all the booking work to begin with, they have no problem with that accommodation. Moreover, when upgrade situations occur, we (as regular customers) are among the first to get a call.

 

Worth the extra effort? On long cruises with a somewhat higher price tag, the difference of adding the final connect with your preferred TA can mean significant savings.

 

 

 

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[paul929207]

We have a great Travel Agent. She gets us a nice discount off the published fare.

[Hlitner]

While I agree with the first sentence, I disagree with the second.

 

Of course, we always comparison shop. But, in certain aspects of travel- namely air and hotels, we ultimately book direct with the hotel or airline to take advantage of price match guarantees and FF points/perks allocations. Thus, the comparison shopping provides the lowest price benchmark which is then reported to the actual travel provider who will, at least, match the low price (often adding senior or AAA discounts.) BTW, we also keep an eye on apps like Hotel Tonight for last minute price matches as we're checking in. This is as true for airlines (e.g., United) as it is for hotels. For example: even with a non-refundable, non-changeable United ticket, you often can get a future travel ETC for matching their own fare drop (right up to the time of your flight)

 

For cruises, we most often "book onboard" to get a price drop match guarantee and other perks. We then comparison shop online (particularly with TAs who belong to two particular travel consortia that often have proprietary deals with key partner cruise lines - resulting in the addition of gratuities or similar value).

 

And now, here is where having a preferred TA (or three) makes a difference: Within the "transfer to a TA" window following a "book onboard," we present the best deal we can find ANYWHERE to at least two of our regular TAs (who are top sellers for our preferred lines). At least one of them will almost always be able to beat that deal by bettering their commission sharing. And because I've done all the booking work to begin with, they have no problem with that accommodation. Moreover, when upgrade situations occur, we (as regular customers) are among the first to get a call.

 

Worth the extra effort? On long cruises with a somewhat higher price tag, the difference of adding the final connect with your preferred TA can mean significant savings.

 

 

 

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We agree with some of what you say :). There are some times when we will book a future cruise while aboard...but only if there is some kind of decent promotion. Once we return home we will contact a few of our favorite cruise agencies and tell them we have a future booking, give them the details, and tell them that we are shopping around for the best deal and will make our decision within a few days. We then wait to review all the offers and take the best deal. But since we cruise many lines (14 to date) we often do not book future cruises.

 

We also look at sites like Hotel Tonight. But when we do land trips it is often for more then a month in Europe. On those trips we often prefer to rent furnished apartments (usually for 1-2 weeks) in some of our favorite places. Otherwise, we generally have a rental or leased car....and at times will just drive to what feels right at the time (often with an eye on where the weather forecasts are best). Sometimes we do not book any hotel reservations since we do not know where we will be when we want to stop. Other times we will book at the last minute (often while driving).

 

The airlines are madness and drive me nutz. We have no special formula for dealing with airlines as much depends what part of the world we are going (we really prefer to avoid US airlines when flying international), the time of year, etc. And if the flight is more then about 4 hours...we are usually looking for a good deal on Business or First Class.....both of which open additional booking options. And then we also have to look at cruise/air deals which can sometimes (not often) be very tempting. When booking flights we will often use Seatguru to check out which arlines (and aircraft) have the best seat options. Business Class on some airlines might be a simple recliner with about 58 inches of pitch..while a competitor might offer a lay flat seat with 78inches of pitch. But you have to look to know.

 

As to hotels, we will sometimes look for the best online deals (at the last minute) and then call the hotel directly and ask for an even better rate. When hotels have empty rooms they are often willing to make amazing last minute deals. So, if Hotel Tonight has a good discount in a 5 Star Hotel....I might call them and ask for their best rate (which is never good enough). At that point we might suggest a much lower rate. If they want to sell an empty room you can often do quite well.

 

We disagree with your take on upgrades. These days decent upgrades are rare and upsells are more common. Cruise Agencies have nothing to say about upgrades and upsells (although they can certainly make an inquiry with a cruise line). When many lines play the upsell game they will send e-mails directly to those who book direct and usually to the cruise/travel agencies of those that handle their own bookings. The agency then forwards that info (and they better do it fast) to their clients. The agencies we use will do this quickly (usually within the hour). There is no discretion with the agencies.....as they are simply forwarding offers made by the crusie line to specific bookers. Some do argue that booking directly will get you more offers and perhaps that is true in some cases. But our experience is quite the contrary. In the past we have generally turned down upsells (because we book what we want)....but in one fascinating case we made a counteroffer.....which resulted in two subsequent counter-counter offers...until we got an amazing deal on a suite. It does happen...but its rare. The truth (for us) is that most upgrade offers we have received (over the past forty+ years) were not worth accepting....and in many cases were to a cabin that we though was less desirable then what we had booked. The fact that a cruise line would put a cabin in a higher category does not necessarily make it a better cabin. One great example are the A1 cabins on Celebrity S-Class ships. If booking Aqua we will choose a lower category A2 cabin....and would never except an upgrade to A1s because we think most of those cabins have an awful location (just under the pool deck..which has a huge overhang). On older HAL ships all cabin are not alike...and an upgrade or upsell can very easily put you into an inferior cabin (by our own standards).

 

Rental cars are among the most interesting deals. We have no loyalty to any rental car company, but are in the "clubs" of nearly every major rental car company in the world. Our decisions are based somewhat on location....but also on price. We have firends that like one particular rental car company (such as Hertz) and do nearly all their rentals from that 1 company. We see little incentive to deal with a single company. In Europe, the price differences on a weekly rental can be staggering...as are the various insurance coverages. And if keeping a car for more then 3 weeks, then there is also the lease options (primarily in France and Germany) which have their pros and cons. And one should also check with the auto rental "consolidators" or disounters which means outfits like Autoeurope and Kemwel (they are actually sister companies with different rates).

 

We view making travel arrangments as part of the fun :). And it can be quite rewarding.

 

Hank

Edited February 14, 2018 by Hlitner

[Flatbush Flyer]

We agree with some of what you say :). There are some times when we will book a future cruise while aboard...but only if there is some kind of decent promotion. Once we return home we will contact a few of our favorite cruise agencies and tell them we have a future booking, give them the details, and tell them that we are shopping around for the best deal and will make our decision within a few days. We then wait to review all the offers and take the best deal. But since we cruise many lines (14 to date) we often do not book future cruises.

 

We also look at sites like Hotel Tonight. But when we do land trips it is often for more then a month in Europe. On those trips we often prefer to rent furnished apartments (usually for 1-2 weeks) in some of our favorite places. Otherwise, we generally have a rental or leased car....and at times will just drive to what feels right at the time (often with an eye on where the weather forecasts are best). Sometimes we do not book any hotel reservations since we do not know where we will be when we want to stop. Other times we will book at the last minute (often while driving).

 

The airlines are madness and drive me nutz. We have no special formula for dealing with airlines as much depends what part of the world we are going (we really prefer to avoid US airlines when flying international), the time of year, etc. And if the flight is more then about 4 hours...we are usually looking for a good deal on Business or First Class.....both of which open additional booking options. And then we also have to look at cruise/air deals which can sometimes (not often) be very tempting. When booking flights we will often use Seatguru to check out which arlines (and aircraft) have the best seat options. Business Class on some airlines might be a simple recliner with about 58 inches of pitch..while a competitor might offer a lay flat seat with 78inches of pitch. But you have to look to know.

 

As to hotels, we will sometimes look for the best online deals (at the last minute) and then call the hotel directly and ask for an even better rate. When hotels have empty rooms they are often willing to make amazing last minute deals. So, if Hotel Tonight has a good discount in a 5 Star Hotel....I might call them and ask for their best rate (which is never good enough). At that point we might suggest a much lower rate. If they want to sell an empty room you can often do quite well.

 

We disagree with your take on upgrades. These days decent upgrades are rare and upsells are more common. Cruise Agencies have nothing to say about upgrades and upsells (although they can certainly make an inquiry with a cruise line). When many lines play the upsell game they will send e-mails directly to those who book direct and usually to the cruise/travel agencies of those that handle their own bookings. The agency then forwards that info (and they better do it fast) to their clients. The agencies we use will do this quickly (usually within the hour). There is no discretion with the agencies.....as they are simply forwarding offers made by the crusie line to specific bookers. Some do argue that booking directly will get you more offers and perhaps that is true in some cases. But our experience is quite the contrary. In the past we have generally turned down upsells (because we book what we want)....but in one fascinating case we made a counteroffer.....which resulted in two subsequent counter-counter offers...until we got an amazing deal on a suite. It does happen...but its rare. The truth (for us) is that most upgrade offers we have received (over the past forty+ years) were not worth accepting....and in many cases were to a cabin that we though was less desirable then what we had booked. The fact that a cruise line would put a cabin in a higher category does not necessarily make it a better cabin. One great example are the A1 cabins on Celebrity S-Class ships. If booking Aqua we will choose a lower category A2 cabin....and would never except an upgrade to A1s because we think most of those cabins have an awful location (just under the pool deck..which has a huge overhang). On older HAL ships all cabin are not alike...and an upgrade or upsell can very easily put you into an inferior cabin (by our own standards).

 

Rental cars are among the most interesting deals. We have no loyalty to any rental car company, but are in the "clubs" of nearly every major rental car company in the world. Our decisions are based somewhat on location....but also on price. We have firends that like one particular rental car company (such as Hertz) and do nearly all their rentals from that 1 company. We see little incentive to deal with a single company. In Europe, the price differences on a weekly rental can be staggering...as are the various insurance coverages. And if keeping a car for more then 3 weeks, then there is also the lease options (primarily in France and Germany) which have their pros and cons. And one should also check with the auto rental "consolidators" or disounters which means outfits like Autoeurope and Kemwel (they are actually sister companies with different rates).

 

We view making travel arrangments as part of the fun :). And it can be quite rewarding.

 

Hank

 

 

 

I think we're basically in the same camp of "do your homework" (and enjoy it). So many CC posters appear to spend more time and energy on choosing their "door decorations" than they do on solidifying value. Of course, there's a time commitment made easier when one is retired. But, even when I was working, it was hard to forget the mantra taught to me as a young child in Brooklyn: "Never pay retail."

 

Now, if I could only get a better handle on the art and science of airline fare coding..... [emoji102]

 

 

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[Hlitner]

I think we're basically in the same camp of "do your homework" (and enjoy it). So many CC posters appear to spend more time and energy on choosing their "door decorations" than they do on solidifying value. Of course, there's a time commitment made easier when one is retired. But, even when I was working, it was hard to forget the mantra taught to me as a young child in Brooklyn: "Never pay retail."

 

Now, if I could only get a better handle on the art and science of airline fare coding..... [emoji102]

 

 

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LOL re the airlines. We think of ourself as somewhat expert on the cruise world/industry...but despite flying for over sixty years we still feel like novices when it comes to dealing with the airlines. Lastly I have been spending significant time on some of the airline blogs, but still find it incredibly complex...especially with International Air Fares. For most of our life we have always sought out the lowest possible airfares, but in the past 3 years we have changed our priority to snagging comfy business class (and sometimes Premium Economy) seats. This is a complete minefield. Compared to the airlines...the cruise industry is childs play :).

 

Hank

[Flatbush Flyer]

LOL re the airlines. We think of ourself as somewhat expert on the cruise world/industry...but despite flying for over sixty years we still feel like novices when it comes to dealing with the airlines. Lastly I have been spending significant time on some of the airline blogs, but still find it incredibly complex...especially with International Air Fares. For most of our life we have always sought out the lowest possible airfares, but in the past 3 years we have changed our priority to snagging comfy business class (and sometimes Premium Economy) seats. This is a complete minefield. Compared to the airlines...the cruise industry is childs play :).

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

Agreed. These old bones now demand bizclass, at least when we cross an ocean. Lately, I've been finding the least expensive (though still pricey) tix on long layover codeshare Star Alliance partners of United (e.g., Asiana from SFO to Sydney through Seoul). Then I sit and wait/hope for a schedule change that will permit me to ask for/receive a better routing via ticket reassignment to United Polaris Class (kind of hybrid biz/first class). Occasionally, this will get me a far better routing/experience at the original partner price.

 

 

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