Is This Normal?

[SnuggsWife]

Long story short...I'll probably never use a TA again (edit: or at least THIS one ). I've asked four times in the last 5 months for our round-trip airport transportation to be added; each time our agent says she'll do it, and I never hear from her again (until the next time I ask).

 

We're now 8 days away from our cruise, and for me that's too close for comfort. I wanted everything wrapped up well before this point. She advised me to wait on checking in until the transfers are added.

 

For those of you who have used RC's transportation, how close to your cruise did you (or your TA) schedule them? It's just my husband and myself, so transport is cheaper through the cruise line (distance is about 50 minutes from airport to port).

 

Maybe I'm being impatient, but now I know I want complete control of my vacation planning. We used an agent this time because we've never cruised Royal before. But everything I now know has come from blogs, reviews, and discussion boards such as this one. Our agent booked the cruise, and that's it.

 

Thankfully Royal is the one paying her and not me!

Edited September 15, 2018 by SnuggsWife

[bethco]

I would never use THAT TA again, that's for sure. Can you not get the transfers without the TA taking care of it? I would just call Royal and do it myself.

[SnuggsWife]

Yes, I tried to call myself three days ago, but they say I have to go through her. :rolleyes:

[Carbuilder]

Hear me out... let say you go to a restaurant and have a poor experience overall. Would you never dine out again? Of course not. You just picked the wrong agency to do business with. Not your fault, just a poor choice.

 

In my line of work we “my family” have a customer first attitude. And I’m in a very unique business. And every customer is our most valued customer. As a small business owner, don’t let this experience influence you as it pertains to an industry because of this. That would be foolish, and your don’t deserve that. [emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[SnuggsWife]

Hear me out... let say you go to a restaurant and have a poor experience overall. Would you never dine out again? Of course not. You just picked the wrong agency to do business with. Not your fault, just a poor choice.

 

In my line of work we “my family” have a customer first attitude. And I’m in a very unique business. And every customer is our most valued customer. As a small business owner, don’t let this experience influence you as it pertains to an industry because of this. That would be foolish, and your don’t deserve that. [emoji2]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Thanks for your input. For a cruise, I'll probably not go this route again. Having to go through an agent for every change is not something I'm fond of. I'm a control freak...perhaps I didn't know how much so until now ;)

[cb at sea]

What is your airport/port? You might be better off with a cab or uber! Really depends on how far from the airport your hotel or port is.

[SnuggsWife]

And I should add that I've used her services before and have been satisfied. That's why I'm confused about the way this particular trip is going. She has grown quite popular over the years, so maybe she's just overwhelmed...but I'm just speculating.

[SnuggsWife]

What is your airport/port? You might be better off with a cab or uber! Really depends on how far from the airport your hotel or port is.

 

Houston Hobby/Galveston. I really haven't found anything comparable in price for two people yet.

[vistapat]

What is your airport/port? You might be better off with a cab or uber! Really depends on how far from the airport your hotel or port is.

This is a valid point. It really does depend upon your port, but in many cases the cost for a cab, let alone Lyft or Uber, is the same for two people as the cruise line charges for each. (You did realize that the costs you saw on Royal were per person?) In my opinion there are definitely ports where a cruise transfer is best, but most of them are in Europe, and Northern Europe at that. If you go to the departure ports board or the ports of call board for your embarkation port, you will find lots of good recommendations for private transfer companies that fellow cruisers have used and can vouch for. You should still have time to make arrangements.

 

 

Best of luck to you - I agree it's getting a little close for comfort.

[vistapat]

Houston Hobby/Galveston. I really haven't found anything comparable in price for two people yet.

You will definitely find recommendations for transfer companies from Hobby to Galveston on the Gulf Coast Departures board. I can almost promise what you find will be cheaper than the cruise transfers.

 

Pat

[pcur]

I used Galveston Express last year from Hobby to Galveston: $110 roundtrip for 2.

 

Please get a new TA; yours is not very efficient.

[ma23peas]

I honestly would have no trouble picking you up and taking you both, I go to Galveston several times to birdwatch and take in a bite at The Spot...I have a RAV4...if you get in a pinch-pay me for gas and I can help! 😂😂

But, I feel the same way, having an issue with poor service and having to continually call them only to be told 3 different things...I will do all my planning on my own from here on out.

[SnuggsWife]

I used Galveston Express last year from Hobby to Galveston: $110 roundtrip for 2.

 

Please get a new TA; yours is not very efficient.

 

Thanks. That's a little less than the price she gave me for Royal's. When researching, I thought it was closer to $150 now (honestly I've checked so many websites over the last couple of weeks so I probably have GE mixed up with another company). I'll definitely get some quotes together!

[twincheryl]

Thanks. That's a little less than the price she gave me for Royal's. When researching, I thought it was closer to $150 now (honestly I've checked so many websites over the last couple of weeks so I probably have GE mixed up with another company). I'll definitely get some quotes together!

 

I would definitely get some private quotes... taking the cruise line's transfer just means lots of sitting around waiting for the bus to fill up. As one control freak to another... it's much nicer being in control of your own transfer. We let the driver know via text message when we have our luggage, have gone to the restroom, etc... and walk to the curb and get in the car (of course, depending on pick up location at different airports). Always cheaper and much more comfortable.

 

Try looking on TripAdvisor as well...

[SnuggsWife]

I honestly would have no trouble picking you up and taking you both, I go to Galveston several times to birdwatch and take in a bite at The Spot...I have a RAV4...if you get in a pinch-pay me for gas and I can help! 😂😂

But, I feel the same way, having an issue with poor service and having to continually call them only to be told 3 different things...I will do all my planning on my own from here on out.

 

Haha! How nice of you! And we wanted to try The Spot on our last trip to Galveston, but the line just to sign in was out the door and around the corner, so we passed! Maybe next time...

[luvscruising2007]

I am not sure what your TA's problem is but our TA has always booked RC transportation when we booked our cruise. One less thing to worry about.

In your shoes I would now book independent of the TA.

Have a wonderful cruise.

[SnuggsWife]

I would definitely get some private quotes... taking the cruise line's transfer just means lots of sitting around waiting for the bus to fill up. As one control freak to another... it's much nicer being in control of your own transfer. We let the driver know via text message when we have our luggage, have gone to the restroom, etc... and walk to the curb and get in the car (of course, depending on pick up location at different airports). Always cheaper and much more comfortable.

 

Try looking on TripAdvisor as well...

 

Thank you. We were hoping the experience would be similar to Carnival, very smooth and efficient. The wait wasn't long, we bypassed the normal line upon arriving to the port (which was great because it was super long since the computers had just crashed), and once we returned to Galveston, we were in the first group off the ship - after the fancy folks, of course :D). For us it was definitely worth it, and I was hoping Royal would be the same. But I'll definitely get some other options lined up!

[Tree_skier]

Houston Hobby/Galveston. I really haven't found anything comparable in price for two people yet.

 

 

 

Just checked Galveston Express for your dates. $60 for two people each way. Cheaper if you are 55+

 

Uber is 39.60 from HOU to RCi Galveston

 

I'd call back to the TA tell her to forget about it and handle it yourself. She sounds incompetent. The last thing you want is a screw up on embarkation day

[RlrCstr]

I have taken the Royal bus from Hobby several times and have never made a reservation to do so. I just showed up in the baggage area in the morning and talked to the Royal representative there. She (same lady each time I have done this) always took my reservation number and told me where to be to line up to get on the bus. A few days into the cruise, the charge would show up on my account.

To get back to Hobby, I made a reservation with Guest Services.

It has never been a problem for me, or for others that I know have gone this way.

 

After reading some posts on here, I decided to try one of the shuttle services. I found them by Googling "Shuttle vans from Hobby to Galveston." Compare prices and availability, as those vary from one company to the next.

 

I have never gone with Uber, as it has always been the most expensive option for this particular trip.

 

I am sailing on Liberty OTS in a week, and will be doing the same.

 

 

(I also agree that it is time for a different TA, since this one does not seem to be on top of all parts of your reservation and not communicating with you.)

 

Happy sailing.

[SnuggsWife]

I have taken the Royal bus from Hobby several times and have never made a reservation to do so. I just showed up in the baggage area in the morning and talked to the Royal representative there. She (same lady each time I have done this) always took my reservation number and told me where to be to line up to get on the bus. A few days into the cruise, the charge would show up on my account.

To get back to Hobby, I made a reservation with Guest Services.

It has never been a problem for me, or for others that I know have gone this way.

 

After reading some posts on here, I decided to try one of the shuttle services. I found them by Googling "Shuttle vans from Hobby to Galveston." Compare prices and availability, as those vary from one company to the next.

 

I have never gone with Uber, as it has always been the most expensive option for this particular trip.

 

I am sailing on Liberty OTS in a week, and will be doing the same.

 

 

(I also agree that it is time for a different TA, since this one does not seem to be on top of all parts of your reservation and not communicating with you.)

 

Happy sailing.

 

Thank you for your reply! I didn't know boarding without a reservation was an option. I agree with you about Uber. It's pretty pricy according to what I've read and only something I would use as a last resort.

[lbjen]

I typically find Lyft to be cheaper than Uber.

[BecciBoo]

I have taken the Royal bus from Hobby several times and have never made a reservation to do so. I just showed up in the baggage area in the morning and talked to the Royal representative there. She (same lady each time I have done this) always took my reservation number and told me where to be to line up to get on the bus. A few days into the cruise, the charge would show up on my account.

To get back to Hobby, I made a reservation with Guest Services.

It has never been a problem for me, or for others that I know have gone this way.

 

After reading some posts on here, I decided to try one of the shuttle services. I found them by Googling "Shuttle vans from Hobby to Galveston." Compare prices and availability, as those vary from one company to the next.

 

I have never gone with Uber, as it has always been the most expensive option for this particular trip.

 

I am sailing on Liberty OTS in a week, and will be doing the same.

 

 

(I also agree that it is time for a different TA, since this one does not seem to be on top of all parts of your reservation and not communicating with you.)

 

Happy sailing.

 

Yes David, we've done that twice...shouldn't be a problem...Just ask directions to where the RCI rep is at airport.

[Merion_Mom]

Long story short...I'll probably never use a TA again (edit: or at least THIS one ��). I've asked four times in the last 5 months for our round-trip airport transportation to be added; each time our agent says she'll do it, and I never hear from her again (until the next time I ask).

 

We're now 8 days away from our cruise, and for me that's too close for comfort. I wanted everything wrapped up well before this point. She advised me to wait on checking in until the transfers are added.

 

For those of you who have used RC's transportation, how close to your cruise did you (or your TA) schedule them? It's just my husband and myself, so transport is cheaper through the cruise line (distance is about 50 minutes from airport to port).

 

Maybe I'm being impatient, but now I know I want complete control of my vacation planning. We used an agent this time because we've never cruised Royal before. But everything I now know has come from blogs, reviews, and discussion boards such as this one. Our agent booked the cruise, and that's it.

 

Thankfully Royal is the one paying her and not me!

 

We used Jeff and he was FANTASTIC. We ended up with a very difficult situation, but he was infinitely patient, helpful and wonderful!

 

http://www.jeffsshuttle.com/

[SRF]

Unless you are clueless about traveling and/or need your hand held, I see no reason to book airport transfers.

 

Taxi, Uber/Lyft/Super Shuttle, etc

[SnuggsWife]

Unless you are clueless about traveling and/or need your hand held, I see no reason to book airport transfers.

 

Taxi, Uber/Lyft/Super Shuttle, etc

 

I've addressed why we prefer transfers, but thanks for your input. :)

And it's only a $4pp difference compared to the shuttle.

Edited September 16, 2018 by SnuggsWife