Best gift from travel agent?

[T&J]

how do you expect your travel agent to stay in business if she rebates all of the comission?

 

Bill

 

We'll she rebates back everything save and except $50.00 per booking and she's the 3rd highest seller for Princess....she's NOT greedy and whether she books a 7 day Caribbean or 102 World Cruise it is the same effort for her...she passes along the commission to her clients.....

[steve20832]

Out of 4 cruises, I have booked through 3 travel agents and one directly through the cruise line.

Booking directly through the cruise line, don't expect anything. The advantage is no middleman to mess up dinner times, beds, etc.

Out of the 3 through the travel agents, one we got nothing, another we got flowers with a thank you card, and the one coming up in 3 months, we get a $50 on-board credit and a free bottle of wine. So far the last one will be the best even though I booked it through a major travel website.

Free wine is always a good thing. ;)

[VonS]

We used a well known agency for our cruise to Alaska last July. We had a PH for my DW and me, inside cabin for our two kids and a balcony cabin for my parents. The price we had for our cruise was the same as all the discount web sites. Our travel agent took care of everything and even called us about changes in airline flights. We were listed as VIPs on the Diamond Princess and were treated as such. We had a bottle of champagne in our room and my parents room, spa treatment for two and a gift certificate for $100 to use on board. We even got to tour the bridge. My in-laws used their AmX agent for the same cruise and got nothing. Paid the same rate as my parents.

 

Did we pay for these extras? Yes, in a way. But the travel agent used the money from their commission to pay for these gifts. Don't begrudge your travel agent making a profit. Just wait until you really need some help and have used an on-line broker. You will be on your own, trust me, I have been there, done that.:)

 

Ever since our local Travel Agent messed up our vacation, we ALWAYS use an on-line broker for any type of vacation. We have not had one bad experience in over 7 years. Customer service has been great and we have saved a lot of money! Also, we don't get the 'hard sell' we experienced with the local travel agent; i.e. trying to sell us things like a golf package when we repeatedly told her that we do not golf!

[arlenemilt]

The nicest gift we ever got from a travel agent was car service to and from the airport. That was quite some time ago.

 

We get that all the time when using our local agent.

Arlene

[shepp]

This is the first time I've booked a cruise for myself, and price was a deciding factor in my even deciding to sail just now. I found an online agent who not only beat Princess' bargain inside-guarantee price by 5%, but threw in an additional $50 pp OBC, making for a 12% total discount over direct booking. We've now been assigned to a cabin 6 categories above our guarantee, the agent is always there for me when I call and is almost overwhelmingly pleasant, and all my requests have been forwarded to Princess correctly. So I guess the biggest gift she's given me is making booking such a great experience. Fine with me if I don't get a free bottle of wine...

[CruiseGuruz]

Hi! I see quite a few people saying that essentially, YOU are paying for the gifts... That's NOT true. The price you pay booking your cruise with a travel agent is the same as you would pay booking directly. Travel agents dont mark up the cruise price on you just because they are servicing the booking. Yes, they receive a commission from the cruise line, but this does NOT affect your cruise fare. A travel agent can keep all of the commission for themselves and it would be okay, but instead, many travel agents (including me), take a part of the paycheck to buy a gift as a "thank you" to clients. Its the same way everyone else takes money out of their paycheck to buy a birthday or christmas gift for friends and family. If you find a travel agent who really treats you like friends or family and is willing to take less pay just to make sure you feel welcome or special or appreciated, then I would stick to that travel agent because I know he/she will always have my best interest in mind, not just their pocket.

[Cruise Raider]

The best and most appreciated gifts we've gotten from our TA has been free gratuities or refundable onboard credits. A couple of times, we've received a free beverage package -- before the AIBP was even a perk offered by the cruiselines. I have also had them discount the cruise in lieu of OBC, which is a nicety, to say the least. Loyalty credit has also been appreciated.

 

The most unique gifts we've received were a set of really nice bathrobes (on HAL) and a nice set of pool towels (on Celebrity) ... compliments of our TA. Money or discounts are the best but these other gifts have also been most appreciated.

[huskerdan25]

The best gifts we have gotten were just recently when we booked our Jan 2019 14 day cruise on the Royal. Both of us got the AIBP as well as our gratuities paid. The cost of the cruise was exactly what we would have paid booking directly with Princess without the gifts. Considering this is a 14 day cruise, when you add up the cost of the AIBP and paid gratuities, our gift amounted to about $2000 which is huge in my mind. This was our first booking with this online TA and we most likely will continue to use them for our future cruise plans.

[Coffeeluvr05]

Wow, this is a very old thread that was revived.

 

Although I've not used a TA a ton in my life, the best I've gotten is recently we booked a suite for a 9/2018 Alaska 10-day sailing. We got the AIBP, free pre-paid gratuities, specialty dining voucher, coupon book worth $1,000 in savings (I know, this is not much of a perk), $50 OBC from Princess, and an additional $300 from the TA. We had already booked the same room category and got these additional perks with the same price as we had originally booked. Not too shabby, eh?

[Kwaj girl]

Why do people feel that they must get some sort of gift for booking their cruise thru a travel agent? Do you get a gift from your accountant when you have him/her prepare your taxes? What about when you have your car serviced - do you get a gift from them ? Just sayin' :rolleyes:

[JF - retired RRT]

We use the same local agent and she looks after us well. I will say that we have never received anything from the agent or her company. The first crusie we took the group they belong to was offering some onboard credit. I read of others getting onboard credit and other things but not us. I am happy with our agents service so this is not an issue, but I can't help wonder if this is usual or is our local agency just tight fisted?

Tight fisted.

We get OBC or price reduction or BOTH, plus occasionally a bottle of wine which we trade for OBC.

[OCruisers]

The BEST sort of gift we get from our TA is On Board Credit. :D

[jwattle]

10% of our fare as OBC

[Coffeeluvr05]

Why do people feel that they must get some sort of gift for booking their cruise thru a travel agent? Do you get a gift from your accountant when you have him/her prepare your taxes? What about when you have your car serviced - do you get a gift from them ? Just sayin' :rolleyes:

 

I don't expect a gift, but I will certainly book with the one giving us what we consider to be the best deal for us. An accountant is providing a professional service that requires a college degree and is paid on a per hour basis, typically. A travel agent is more of a salesperson. I could become a travel agent pretty easily. I think the better analogy would be...would you walk into a car dealership and pay the MSRP? Most definitely not. It is expected that negotiations would take place.

 

Besides, I do most of the research so I do expect something for booking with a TA rather than giving my business directly to the cruise line.

[cflutist]

10% discount from the fare up front, and additional Group OBC. My TA added Sip and Sail to three of our bookings today and we got an additional $1300 obc (we don't drink) and Specialty dining in addition to the already complimentary one on embarkation evening for sailing in a suite.

[dickinson]

I know this is an OLD post but many of the people who posted who got some perks don't actually say if their fare was already discounted below Princess' fare. I think one person said that all the online agencies had the same pricing. Yes, you have to call them to see what their "real" pricing is.

 

Years ago I learned that some agents discount. I have used several and my current one is not an online one but lives in another state. She discounts 10% plus often times some extra OBC. The lower price also saves me in the price of travel insurance as that is based on the price of your trip. Those are the kind of "perks" I like! Oh, my current agent once gave us the AIBP. I didn't remember seeing it on Princess' website so the agency she works for must have had some group space available that had that as a perk (along of course with my discounted fare).

[spookyfudge]

how do you expect your travel agent to stay in business if she rebates all of the comission?

 

Bill

 

Bill I agree with you. Would any of you work for "free" and not get paid. These agents get paid by the commission they recieve and the number of cruises they sell through the cruise line. Some people are really greedy and should not be cruising at all if that money is so important to them!

[dickinson]

Bill I agree with you. Would any of you work for "free" and not get paid. These agents get paid by the commission they recieve and the number of cruises they sell through the cruise line. Some people are really greedy and should not be cruising at all if that money is so important to them!

 

They don't work for free. They work for volume. They don't give up their commission because people ask them to. My TA is one of the top sellers of Princess cruises. She appears to be doing quite well for herself. I'll continue to use her and get discounts just like I shop sales and markdowns in retail stores. If I am offered a discounted price by a reputable establishment I will take it.

[Charlie1422]

Wow, this is a very old thread that was revived.

 

Although I've not used a TA a ton in my life, the best I've gotten is recently we booked a suite for a 9/2018 Alaska 10-day sailing. We got the AIBP, free pre-paid gratuities, specialty dining voucher, coupon book worth $1,000 in savings (I know, this is not much of a perk), $50 OBC from Princess, and an additional $300 from the TA. We had already booked the same room category and got these additional perks with the same price as we had originally booked. Not too shabby, eh?

We must have found the same TA. We got all those same perks for the same cabin we had originally booked for the same price. I'm interested to see what the coupon book is all about. Probably like the ones you get in Las Vegas--not really worth much. Happy cruising!

 

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[Coffeeluvr05]

We must have found the same TA. We got all those same perks for the same cabin we had originally booked for the same price. I'm interested to see what the coupon book is all about. Probably like the ones you get in Las Vegas--not really worth much. Happy cruising!

 

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The TA ended up being a big online one that bid on my business through another site. He has been extremely responsive and I'd totally use him again even though he is on the opposite coast from me. As far as the coupon book, I had a coupon book in my room on our recent cruise that we never used so I wonder if it's the same thing. Now all we have to pay for is our excursions.

 

Trying to figure out how we are going to use that OBC since we have free gratuities. I wonder if we could book our excursions and then once we get on board have it credited back to our cc and then use the OBC for it...? With AIBP, gratuities, and all the amenities of a suite, I can't think of a thing we would need to buy on the ship.

[PoppyandNana]

They don't work for free. They work for volume. They don't give up their commission because people ask them to. My TA is one of the top sellers of Princess cruises. She appears to be doing quite well for herself. I'll continue to use her and get discounts just like I shop sales and markdowns in retail stores. If I am offered a discounted price by a reputable establishment I will take it.

 

My understanding is that a TA can only discount a cruise if they have their own self formed group. Otherwise they canteen discount below the cruise line published fare.

[Charlie1422]

The TA ended up being a big online one that bid on my business through another site. He has been extremely responsive and I'd totally use him again even though he is on the opposite coast from me. As far as the coupon book, I had a coupon book in my room on our recent cruise that we never used so I wonder if it's the same thing. Now all we have to pay for is our excursions.

 

Trying to figure out how we are going to use that OBC since we have free gratuities. I wonder if we could book our excursions and then once we get on board have it credited back to our cc and then use the OBC for it...? With AIBP, gratuities, and all the amenities of a suite, I can't think of a thing we would need to buy on the ship.

Agreed, but it's a great problem to have!

 

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[dickinson]

My understanding is that a TA can only discount a cruise if they have their own self formed group. Otherwise they canteen discount below the cruise line published fare.

.

 

Some cruiselines don't allow discounting but Princess does. The TA doesn't need to have group space.

[pris993]

The best gifts we received were not from Travel agent but from cruise lines... received 2 $500 on board credits from Princess.. $800 and $600 on board credit from Cunard... these were on 10 and 12 day cruises... better than anything we had ever received in 30 years from a TA; with 2 excepts... once got an up grade from a balcony to a full suite on HAL on a 10 Carribean cruise... and another time an upgrade from a balcony to a Sky Suite on a 10 Mexican cruise both from TA s

[Letsjettravels]

I surprised to see some TA does nothing! I thought most do something. That personal touch means a lot to clients!! I always try to give a token of my appreciation for booking with me. Or if it is a special occasion I send a little gift.

Also when cruise is paid in full they receive a little care package from me!

But I do understand some TA can't because off their larger agency policy.

Happy cruising !!!!