Great Service from Agency

[bigrednole]

I am booked through an agency. I have been extremely lax in contacting them because I am sure they are slammed. I remembered to call them very early this morning to check why my payment hasn't shown. They said it was just a glitch between their system and RCL. RCL had the trip paid in full which is really all I was worried about. Since it was slow (4AM), the agent said he could check to see if there are any price reductions he could find me on the cruise. In the same category there wasn't any (2J), but there was in the (XN) category. So, we move from a Central Park Balcony GTY to a Neighborhood Balcony GTY for $750 less. Glad I called because they will cover all gratuities plus some. We do go down $50 in OBC, but still get $200. 

 

It was a great call this morning and well worth the ~30 minutes it took to complete.

[CruiserBruce]

Have had 4 or 5 interactions with our TA and our primary airline over the last week. I admit I am surprised at how pleasant, cheerful and helpful all have been. If you listened to recordings of the calls, without knowing the context, you would think nothing unusual was going on in the world.

[Georgia_Peaches]

Good to know.  I need to call our TA but I've been putting it off.

[broadwaybaby123]

This is why I book through an agent.  Most of the time, they try and get you all the perks they can.  Yes they get paid per booking, but they will also work with the cruise line to make sure you get the best treatment.  Sometimes they even send you free gifts onboard!

[Mallefiscent]

How do you find a really good travel agent?  I have a great one that specializes in Disney but nothing else.  I've been a bit disappointed in the travel agents I've tried for cruises.

[Host Kat]

1 hour ago, Mallefiscent said:

How do you find a really good travel agent?  I have a great one that specializes in Disney but nothing else.  I've been a bit disappointed in the travel agents I've tried for cruises.

 

Please see the Travel Agent Recommendations section in the Guidelines we all agreed to follow when registering for our free Cruise Critic memberships. No one here can recommend a TA.

 

We do have a Cruise Critic article Finding a Cruise Travel Agent that may be helpful. The article was last updated January 8, 2020. 

 

My suggestion is that you find a TA/Cruise Specialist that has actually taken a few cruises. There are lots of folks out there that want to sell you a cruise, but cannot help you with truthful & personal answers to any questions about cruising since they never cruised.

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat 

 

Edited June 7, 2020 by Host Kat
Typo due to fat fingers & skinny laptop keys!

[Robinsoncruiseso]

On the cruise lines homepage, usually near the bottom, there will be a “find an agent” link. It will direct you to an agent in your area who has completed the cruise lines training. Most agents work with most all cruise lines.

 

[Mallefiscent]

On 6/7/2020 at 9:55 PM, Robinsoncruiseso said:

On the cruise lines homepage, usually near the bottom, there will be a “find an agent” link. It will direct you to an agent in your area who has completed the cruise lines training. Most agents work with most all cruise lines.

 

Thank you very much.