Can a reservation be transferred from one travel agent to another?

[CuseJeff44]

I booked a cruise directl on RCL at the NextCruise desk and they automatically transferred it to the TA I had used previously, but honestly wasn't super happy with. But I since found another TA who seems much better. Is there any way to transfer the booking, which she didn't really do any work on, to this TA instead?

[leaveitallbehind]

Generally no, at least not through RCCL. They cannot and will not touch a TA booking, in particular to transfer to another TA.  You would have to demonstrate to the cruise line a viable business issue as a reason for them to assist with a change, such as misappropriation or mismanagement of funds, inability to communicate, or actions that jeopardize your booking, etc.  Just saying you don't like them is not reason enough for them to get involved directly.

 

You would have to do that yourself by asking the current TA to release the booking for it then to be placed with another TA.  Not an easy thing to do.  What they may offer at best to do is cancel the booking so that you can rebook with someone else, but they are certainly not going to give up a booking easily.

Edited July 16 by leaveitallbehind

[twangster]

Not directly and not exactly.

 

You can request to have the booking pulled from the TA you dislike but it will take some cooperation from them, or a complete lack of communication you can demonstrate to justify it.  It's a pretty drastic move to yank a booking from a TA even if you are not happy with them based on a prior experience so it's not something that Royal makes easy.

 

If you make it through that first step, if the timing is right, under 30 days old, you may be able to then have it associated to the new TA but that can sometimes be problematic too.

 

Royal doesn't want guests chasing the latest deal or TA who offers more OBC, or an extra dinner or whatever so it's not a easy thing to get done.

 

It's a lesson learned when booking at NextCruise.  By default it goes to the TA who booked the cruise you are sailing on when you visit NC.

[pcur]

It's RCCL's error with the NextCruise booking. They ALWAYS are supposed to confirm if you want the TA for the cruise you are currently on. Be sure to point this out when you communicate with them.

[wallyj]

1 hour ago, pcur said:

It's RCCL's error with the NextCruise booking. They ALWAYS are supposed to confirm if you want the TA for the cruise you are currently on. Be sure to point this out when you communicate with them.

@CuseJeff44, you should also have the option to have the booking stay with the Cruiseline at NextCruise which would facilitate an easier transfer to a different TA, but sounds like you did not have ‘new’ TA when you booked. 
 

 

[Biker19]

2 hours ago, CuseJeff44 said:

But I since found another TA who seems much better.

Book the next sailing with them - forget about the current one. 

[not-enough-cruising]

3 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

Book the next sailing with them - forget about the current one. 

And stay away from the "Next Cruise" desk

[CuseJeff44]

Just gonna eat it and consider it a lesson learned. 

[Ken at the beach]

3 hours ago, CuseJeff44 said:

I booked a cruise directl on RCL at the NextCruise desk and they automatically transferred it to the TA I had used previously, but honestly wasn't super happy with. But I since found another TA who seems much better. Is there any way to transfer the booking, which she didn't really do any work on, to this TA instead?

If it is shortly after the booking was made on board then yes they will pull it from the other TA at your written request and they do not need anything from the other TA as it was a next cruise error as they should have asked you.  Generally this request needs to be done within 30 days.

[leaveitallbehind]

49 minutes ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If it is shortly after the booking was made on board then yes they will pull it from the other TA at your written request and they do not need anything from the other TA as it was a next cruise error as they should have asked you.  Generally this request needs to be done within 30 days.

@CuseJeff44, let me first say that I am not challenging the credibility of your concerns or the events that occurred.  I am just a little confused with what was understood at the time of the booking and the subsequent timeline for wanting to make the change in the TA. I am only looking for clarity with what transpired on board.

 

@Ourusualbeach, I don't disagree with any of this, and you are correct in what the process for correction would be if it is a NextCruise error. But what l would like is confirmation from the OP that they were not aware of the original TA assignment at the time of the booking. 

 

What they said was that the assignment to their previous TA was automatic, but that doesn't confirm that they weren't aware of who it was assigned to at the time.  If not with the booking, when did they learn of the TA assignment? They also indicate that later they found a TA they liked better, and would now like it transferred to them. This can suggest that they did not have a different TA they preferred at the time of the booking.

 

Again, I am just seeking clarity as I completely support the comments on how it can be corrected if the OP was in fact not notified at the time of the TA assignment.

 

Thank you.

Edited July 16 by leaveitallbehind

[CuseJeff44]

22 minutes ago, leaveitallbehind said:

@CuseJeff44, let me first say that I am not challenging the credibility of your concerns or the events that occurred.  I am just a little confused with what was understood at the time of the booking and the subsequent timeline for wanting to make the change in the TA. I am only looking for clarity with what transpired on board.

 

@Ourusualbeach, I don't disagree with any of this, and you are correct in what the process for correction would be if it is a NextCruise error. But what l would like is confirmation from the OP that they were not aware of the original TA assignment at the time of the booking. 

 

What they said was that the assignment to their previous TA was automatic, but that doesn't confirm that they weren't aware of who it was assigned to at the time.  If not with the booking, when did they learn of the TA assignment? They also indicate that later they found a TA they liked better, and would now like it transferred to them. This can suggest that they did not have a different TA they preferred at the time of the booking.

 

Again, I am just seeking clarity as I completely support the comments on how it can be corrected if the OP was in fact not notified at the time of the TA assignment.

 

Thank you.

Let me preface this by saying this isn't a big deal. If I have to keep my previous TA, I'll deal. 

 

That said, I think it was a bit of a miscommunication. When booking (this was 3 weeks ago when we were on board) I said "can I add my new TA later?". They said sure "sure!"  And I think I wasn't clear enough about the fact this was not the same person on my previous booking (although in my mind I was). I think they interpreted it as "will this be transferred to my TA later."

 

I since then connected with my TA and he was unable to add the booking, and I realized my previous one has had it assigned to her. I got some email back about paperwork that I dont entirely understand.

I don't think they did anything ill-intended. I am just saying if it's possible, since I am well within my change period, to change it to my new TA vs this one I havent done anything with in forever, I'd like to. If not, no harm done. 

Edited July 16 by CuseJeff44

[leaveitallbehind]

21 minutes ago, CuseJeff44 said:

Let me preface this by saying this isn't a big deal. If I have to keep my previous TA, I'll deal. 

 

That said, I think it was a bit of a miscommunication. When booking (this was 3 weeks ago when we were on board) I said "can I add my new TA later?". They said sure "sure!"  And I think I wasn't clear enough about the fact this was not the same person on my previous booking (although in my mind I was). I think they interpreted it as "will this be transferred to my TA later."

 

I since then connected with my TA and he was unable to add the booking, and I realized my previous one has had it assigned to her. I got some email back about paperwork that I dont entirely understand.

I don't think they did anything ill-intended. I am just saying if it's possible, since I am well within my change period, to change it to my new TA vs this one I havent done anything with in forever, I'd like to. If not, no harm done. 

Thanks for clarifying.  As I said, there was no challenge intended, it just wasn't clear how things unfolded and who knew what when.  As mentioned before by others, you may well have a legitimate situation that resulted from the confusion that may be able to be resolved by RCCL with the change of TA's. Hope it works out to your satisfaction.

Edited July 16 by leaveitallbehind

[CruisingWalter]

19 hours ago, CuseJeff44 said:

I booked a cruise directl on RCL at the NextCruise desk and they automatically transferred it to the TA I had used previously, but honestly wasn't super happy with. But I since found another TA who seems much better. Is there any way to transfer the booking, which she didn't really do any work on, to this TA instead?

 

Yes actually you should be able to do this, but it generally requires a release from the original travel agency. You need to do this within 30 days of the booking and you need to talk to your new travel advisor for the procedure.  

 

Again, it requires a release from the original travel agency and they are under no obligation to do this. If you purchase another NextCruise certificate onboard, you need to make sure it's assigned to your new TA not the old one.  Be sure to get all of the necessary information from them before you go on the cruise.

[Ocean Boy]

16 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

And stay away from the "Next Cruise" desk

That is the last place I'd be spending my vacation time. A two minute email to my TA from the comfort of my den at home will take care of my needs.

[not-enough-cruising]

5 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

That is the last place I'd be spending my vacation time. A two minute email to my TA from the comfort of my den at home will take care of my needs.

EXACTLY!! 

Plus the “deals” are usually very poor.

 

Last week we were on Harmony, my sister went to Next Cruise out of curiosity to price Icon for next year. She was quoted an obscene amount for a D4 cabin. I emailed my TA, was quoted $1600 less for the cabin, and offered $250 OBC. 

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, not-enough-cruising said:

EXACTLY!! 

Plus the “deals” are usually very poor.

 

Last week we were on Harmony, my sister went to Next Cruise out of curiosity to price Icon for next year. She was quoted an obscene amount for a D4 cabin. I emailed my TA, was quoted $1600 less for the cabin, and offered $250 OBC. 

You can book through Next Cruise (for OBC) and still get the TA deal.  But, IMO, only worth the effort for longer sailings.

 

Booked 4 cabins at Next Cruise.  Rec'd. $600 OBC ($150 x 4) from Next Cruise.  Bookings were automatically transferred to my TA.  TA moved bookings to group rates ... rec'd lower group rate, group OBC, Next Cruise OBC, TA OBC, and Shareholder OBC.

 

Had 6 consecutive sea days, so the Next Cruise time saved me some calories.  😄 

 

Edited July 17 by Another_Critic

[Ocean Boy]

26 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

 

Had 6 consecutive sea days, so the Next Cruise time saved me some calories.  😄 

 

But you already paid for those calories. You should have brought them with you to eat while at Next Cruise.😊

[Another_Critic]

10 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

But you already paid for those calories. You should have brought them with you to eat while at Next Cruise.😊

Next Cruise on Quantum class is across from Cafe @ Two70.  👍

 

Edited July 17 by Another_Critic

[nelblu]

21 hours ago, twangster said:

It's a lesson learned when booking at NextCruise.  By default it goes to the TA who booked the cruise you are sailing on when you visit NC.

My experience is that they usually ask you to confirm.

[twangster]

Just now, nelblu said:

My experience is that they usually ask you to confirm.

 

I'm about 50/50.

 

I've booked 15 cruises at NC this year.  

[nelblu]

10 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

I'm about 50/50.

 

I've booked 15 cruises at NC this year.  

A few years ago, they asked me, and I told the agent "no" as I wanted flexibility during the 30 day period.  Since that time, the reservation(s) are under my control and evaluate if the TA offers are tempting enough for me to give up control.

[Ken at the beach]

2 hours ago, CruisingWalter said:

 

Yes actually you should be able to do this, but it generally requires a release from the original travel agency. You need to do this within 30 days of the booking and you need to talk to your new travel advisor for the procedure.  

 

Again, it requires a release from the original travel agency and they are under no obligation to do this. If you purchase another NextCruise certificate onboard, you need to make sure it's assigned to your new TA not the old one.  Be sure to get all of the necessary information from them before you go on the cruise.

If it was done at next cruise it can be done without a release of the TA on the booking.  Have done it on several occasions.   

[pcur]

21 hours ago, wallyj said:

@CuseJeff44, you should also have the option to have the booking stay with the Cruiseline at NextCruise which would facilitate an easier transfer to a different TA, but sounds like you did not have ‘new’ TA when you booked. 
 

 

Actually, I did have that exact experience with NextCruise when I was starting with my current (amazing) TA.

 

NextCruise tried to keep the current agent from the cruise I was on, and I had to tell them to change it. If I hadn't noticed it (they did not ask), I would have had to wrestle it away from my old TA.

[lovesthebeach2]

20 hours ago, Ourusualbeach said:

If it is shortly after the booking was made on board then yes they will pull it from the other TA at your written request and they do not need anything from the other TA as it was a next cruise error as they should have asked you.  Generally this request needs to be done within 30 days.

true… they did it for me….. well in my case they never asked me, but I saw it on the reservation and told them I was changing my TA…they gave me a kind of hard time, but it got done 😉

[CuseJeff44]

The answer is...yes!

Asking nicely and explaining the situation worked 🙂