Cruise Agencies

[L2J]

[quote name='RonNJ829']The hand that 'Feeds' me :confused: You may have me confused with Randy :rolleyes:
This board does nothing for me, except provide amusement. If I need claffication for a new policy that went into effect, I really cant figure what all the fuss is about[/QUOTE]
Yes. No, I'm not confusing you with Randy. If I read your post correctly you were questioning why we couldn't mention a TA or agency but the hosts (Randy) could. Or did I completely miss your point?

[RonNJ829]

[quote name='livtojump']Yes. No, I'm not confusing you with Randy. If I read your post correctly you were questioning why we couldn't mention a TA or agency but the hosts (Randy) could. Or did I completely miss your point?[/QUOTE]
You didn't miss my point,with all due respect, I didn't ask you anything. Laura answered my question, and as far as I'm concerned it's over and done with
Unfortunately, there are people on here, that cant let things go

[BigDoug]

[size=3][color=green]Why couldn't they have been up front about it being about the money. It is always about the money. I bet that they were getting complaints from their paying advertisers about the "free" mentions that other TA's or travel sites were getting. This also is a way of terminating all bad reviews of paying advertisers. They could have easily blocked the posts of the offending TA's but instead we have this blanket policy of no discussion. Now when someone asks "Where do I go to get the best prices?", all we can say is: "You are on your own. We are not allowed to help you. By the way, there are paying advertisers on this site who may or may not give you a good price. There are others but we cannot help you find them." Pretty soon, the cruise lines themselves will start complaining about our discussions of pricing, upgrades, discounts, etc. and that will be banned.[/color][/size]

[Randy & Carmen]

[size=3][color=red]Chris posted this on another thread that I tought would fit here since we're all sharing the LOVE :rolleyes:[/color][/size]

[img]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/images/icons/icon1.gif[/img] [b]Ok listen, here's an example of how to talk about Travel Agents without gettin banned[/b]
I too was hesistant to use an online agency but against my good judgement did anyway for our second cruise. The first one I booked through the cruise line directly then I found this board and saw the light.

While we can't recommend a specific travel agent we can provide you with the knowledge to make an educated decision regarding what to look for in an online agency (or any agency for that matter) and what pricing should be.

First and number one rule is : NEVER PAY THE PRICE LISTED IN THE CRUISE BROCHURE

If you do you are a fool and/or have been taken to the cleaners.

But well before that there's a whole lot of other steps to take BEFORE contacting any Travel Agent (TA), online or in person.

Begin by deciding when you can go.

Establish a "travel window" which is convenient to your schedule, you can get time off work for and is the time of year you'd like to vacation. Say for example you have 10 days vacation coming, you could make your travel window sometime between June 1st and June 20th. That allows you to choose from a whole bunch more possible cruises than to say you are going on vaction on the 1st of June and you'll be back on the 10th as you might in a (boring) land vacation.

After that, decide where you'd like to go.

Pretend you want Alaska. Go to an easy to navigate online source like one advertised on television or in magazines and plug in your numbers. Ask for an Alaska cruise during your travel window for x number of days and see what comes up. You'll be able to easily compare itineraries, ships and cruise lines.

Find two you like then come here and ask questions. See who's been on those cruises and how it went. Search Cruise Critic's review section for more information on specific cruises and sailings.

Then go back and search again, this time making note of the pricing offered by several of the online giants.

Armed with the information you've gathered, contact a travel agent. For specific recommendations go to the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) web site who will list member agencies in your area, or get a personal recommendation from a trusted source; maybe a relative, co-worker or someone you "know" online.

With the information you've collected you'll be able to talk the talk and walk the walk in a manner necessary to get a good deal.

What's a good deal?

Look at the average price you find available from your trusted online sources as the maximum you'll pay and expect to pay less.

If you find a particular sailing on your online source for $1000, don't pay one penny more and expect to pay $950 or less.

We can't give the names of specific travel agents in this forum in order to keep the playing field level for all of them. Endorsement of a specific agent y members of this board could be perceived as nothing more than advertising and distract from the objective nature of the board.

The information you get here will be the very best and most current available and the people you'll "meet" will be some of the best traveled in the world of cruising. I know that I learn something new all the time and you can too.
__________________
Happy Cruising

Chris

Mail: [email]Chris@LifeIsCruising.com[/email]
Website: [url="http://www.LifeIsCruising.com"]www.LifeIsCruising.com[/url]

[size=3][color=red]Once again......Good post Chris![/color][/size]

[GoinCruisin]

Hey Doug! Just my viewpoint :D But I don't think it was all about the sponsors (I think LS and all the hosts have posted some valid reasons...) Much of it was because there were bogus posts... you can't stop that until it is too late, so in an effort to save other CC members from being drawn in by "ooh, i got this great price at abc", when in reality, the poster is an agent of the TA, how fair is THAT to members? And yes, If I was a sponsor and saw some of the posts, I would be a little miffed too. Many don't even know about the sponsors, that is how little they push them on us (which I like, you don't find many sites these days that don't inundate you with "messages from sponsors")... I think the sponsor issue would be secondary to the issue of CC members being deceived by some tricky TA's...

And one quick thing... these sponsors are probably legit and have good CS (or they would not be listed on here)... good price does not always mean good service... I think most have stories of getting the rock bottom price and paying for it in the end... Just my opinion. I don't think I would trust my vacation in the hands of someone just because they had the best price...

[judithdh1]

I just want to say......I agree with the new policy, but I am also very glad I found this board before the Policy went into effect.

We would have never went on a cruise had it not been for finding this board and finding Host Randy. I can name at least one person on this board that can second that, Ms. Fran, you can chime in here anytime now, lol

I was calling cruise lines and finding the prices very unaffordable for us. I got on my computer and some how, I still don't recall how I ended up on this board, but I found it and asked a question about a cruise, Host Randy spoke right up and said come along and go with us. This is what it is going to cost, this is the deposit you have to make and call this person here at this place.

I will never book with anyone else now, none-the-less, had it not been for that very first interaction on this board and with Host Randy, as will as others, I would have never knew you could book with anyone other then the Cruise lines itself. I would have never booked my first cruise, because it was so unattainable for me.

I have turned many others, family members, co-workers etc, on to this board and they have booked through there findings on here. So I will continue to support this board and it's policies no matter what they are.

As I said in the beginning, I agree with the new policy, just glad I found this board before it went into effect.......Is that a double standard, I sure hope so, lol.

Thanks for allowing me to voice my opinon here.

Judi Hensley

[Randy & Carmen]

[QUOTE]I have turned many others, family members, co-workers etc, on to this board and they have booked through there findings on here. So I will continue to support this board and it's policies no matter what they are.[/QUOTE]
[size=4]Judi, You're a doll.......why can't they all be like you?.......lol;) [/size]

[SUSANITA]

[QUOTE][size=4]Judi, You're a doll.......why can't they all be like you?.......lol[/size];) [/QUOTE]Randy, if they were all like her, you wouldn't have a job. ;)

[Randy & Carmen]

[quote name='SUSANITA']Randy, if they were all like her, you wouldn't have a job. ;)[/QUOTE]
Yeah.......just not so much moderating........but I see your point........It's just that Judi and her family sailed with us in March and I have first hand experience how very nice and fun they are! :D

[CruiseMark]

I still don't understand why you just couldn't ban the IP address of the offending parties. This is easily done by any System Administrator. Personally, I think this has [U]everything [/U] to do with advertising dollars and the risk that people paying for advertising might have something bad said about them in this "open" forum. Not a very "Critic"-al attitude in my opinion. A truly open forum ensures that any agency will be held accountable for their actions (within the limited scope of the influence of these boards). Doesn't that help the cruise industry in general, as well as consumers?

Rogue spammers should have their IP address permanently banned, simple as that.

[GoinCruisin]

Some don't have fixed IP addresses and by the time anyone were to notice that the "offender" had done something wrong, it would be too late. I would think that the hosts don't have the time to go through every post to see who is violating the rules and that would seem awfully time consuming. As soon as you ban one IP, another one will be there... and there will be new offenders all the time. Would seem like an awful lot of work... These people are not "spammers", many of them that I have seen have acted like you and I... telling everyone they got this great deal at such and such for an unbelievable price... people are very tricky these days... I think since CC offers a free service to us, and they think this is the easiest, least time consuming method, and they run the joint... we go with the flow and move on...

[CruiseMark]

[quote name='GoinCruisin']Some don't have fixed IP addresses and by the time anyone were to notice that the "offender" had done something wrong, it would be too late. I would think that the hosts don't have the time to go through every post to see who is violating the rules and that would seem awfully time consuming. As soon as you ban one IP, another one will be there... and there will be new offenders all the time. Would seem like an awful lot of work... These people are not "spammers", many of them that I have seen have acted like you and I... telling everyone they got this great deal at such and such for an unbelievable price... people are very tricky these days... I think since CC offers a free service to us, and they think this is the easiest, least time consuming method, and they run the joint... we go with the flow and move on...[/QUOTE]
Silly me. That's what I thought a moderators job was.

[SUSANITA]

But Cruisemark, whoever said this was a "truly open forum"??? It's not! It's a sponsored forum, where the members have no say in the rules or guidelines. That's all there is to it.

It's not just about blocking IP addys. The very hand that pays the bills around here (advertisers) probably got sick of the members that they support recommending their competition. As I posted on RCI, take a poll right now and ask "Do you want to pay a membership fee here, or do you want to be able to recommend your TA to others", and see what the response is.

[GoinCruisin]

I just don't get it :( This board is called Cruise Critic... we all agree to terms and conditions here. They have NEVER stated that this is a place to come and get TA names, or what other TA's charge... FTLOG :rolleyes: I see it SO much here, so many people want others to do their research for them... there was a reason this was done... none of our business WHY it was done... we don't pay the bills!!!! Specifically, THIS is what they say...

Cruise Critic, launched in 1995, is [b]an interactive community[/b] of seasoned and first-time cruisers who enjoy the fun of planning, researching and sharing their love of cruising. Cruise Critic is a comprehensive cruise vacation planning guide which includes objective cruise reviews on over 175 ships, extensive cruise line profiles, information on what to do and where to go in over 100 worldwide ports, readers' ship ratings and reviews, cruise bargains and cruise tips. Cruise Critic is dedicated to helping cruisers find the best ship suited to their own personal interests and plan the perfect cruise vacation. Cruise Critic also delivers late breaking news to cruise industry professionals. Cruise Critic owns the most heavily trafficked cruise message boards on the Web, with over 110,000 registered members.

Cruise Critic is part of an online travel network owned, operated and published by The Independent Traveler, Inc., a privately held New Jersey Corporation. Cruise Critic's sister site is [url="http://www.independenttraveler.com/"][color=#0000ff]The Independent Traveler[/color][/url].

[kristikae]

[quote name='CruiseMark']Silly me. That's what I thought a moderators job was.[/QUOTE]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=darkorchid]It is our job to oversee these boards. It is a volunteer position. There is no way we can read each and every post on the board but we try! That's where the notify button is very helpful to us. If there is a post that is in violation and a member reports it we get an email notification. That helps us so much! [/color][/font][/b]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=darkorchid][/color][/font][/b]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=darkorchid]I'm a single mother of 4 who works 2 jobs, Randy owns his own business, and Graham is very busy at his job as well. We do the best we can to keep this a great place to learn about cruising but we do sometimes miss a post.[/color][/font][/b]

[RonNJ829]

[quote name='Host Kristi'][b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=darkorchid]It is our job to oversee these boards. It is a volunteer position. There is no way we can read each and every post on the board but we try! That's where the notify button is very helpful to us. If there is a post that is in violation and a member reports it we get an email notification. That helps us so much! [/color][/font][/b]

[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=darkorchid]I'm a single mother of 4 who works 2 jobs, Randy owns his own business, and Graham is very busy at his job as well. We do the best we can to keep this a great place to learn about cruising but we do sometimes miss a post.[/color][/font][/b][/QUOTE]
[b][size=3]So what your asking of these unscrumpulous TA's to adhere to is the honor system?[/size][/b]

[kristikae]

[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=darkorchid]Not at all??[/color][/font][/b]

[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=darkorchid][/color][/font][/b]
[b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=darkorchid]I'm just saying that we can't get to each and every post as soon as it comes on the boards. That's where our members are such great helps! Luckily the majority of the people who come to Cruise Critic like the way things are and are happy to help us keep it a site free from spam![/color][/font][/b]

[SUSANITA]

[QUOTE][b][size=3]So what your asking of these unscrumpulous TA's to adhere to is the honor system?[/size][/b] [/QUOTE]They don't have to adhere to the honor system, CC took care of the problem by eliminating the need to sniff out bogus TA posts by making a general rule that no TA names can be posted. It's seems logical, and easy.

[GoinCruisin]

Susanita, I agree... this horse is dead :D

[Randy & Carmen]

[quote name='CruiseMark']Silly me. That's what I thought a moderators job was.[/QUOTE]
[size=4][color=red]GEE.....if we didn't have to do so much Police work.....look what other fun things the Hosts get to do::eek:[/color][/size]

You will see some people with the [b]"Host"[/b] prefix on their user names around our Community. These people are the official Hosts of our community. Their primary purpose is to keep our forum running smoothly, with politeness and good humor. They perform a variety of tasks, especially answering your questions about the information available within Cruise Critic, and explaining how to navigate our forum.

Many of these [b]Hosts[/b] contribute to the various discussions. They are free to contribute, or not contribute, as they see fit. Their opinions are their own. Cruise Critic does not regulate what the staff says about a location, cruise line, shore excursion or travel provider.

Our staff is drawn from a wide circle of daily life. Most of them are experienced travelers -- either realtime or "armchair." Most, however, are outside the travel field in their professional lives. You should not believe that these people have any additional insight or information simply because they have a [b]"Host"[/b] prefix to their name.

[LauraS]

[quote name='judithdh1']I just want to say......I agree with the new policy, but I am also very glad I found this board before the Policy went into effect.

We would have never went on a cruise had it not been for finding this board and finding Host Randy.
Judi Hensley[/QUOTE]
ah, yes, the "cruising with Host Randy" fever....

Laura

[Randy & Carmen]

[quote name='LauraS']ah, yes, the "cruising with Host Randy" fever....

Laura[/QUOTE]
[size=3]I can explain.......the whole family are NASCAR fans and they toguth I was Dale Jared....I actually signed a napkin for them so don't say anything!:eek:[/size]

[GoinCruisin]

[quote name='LauraS']ah, yes, the "cruising with Host Randy" fever....

Laura[/QUOTE]Ooh, Ooh! I will have that fever soon, [b]twice[/b]! LOL! Do they make antibiotics for that? :D Maybe an elixir??????

Randy, you guys do a great job... I am continually impressed by the professionalism you all have when posting (I couldn't do it, I'd be wringing necks :eek: ) Keep up the great work...

[kristikae]

[quote name='Host Randy'][size=3]I can explain.......the whole family are NASCAR fans and they toguth I was Dale Jared....I actually signed a napkin for them so don't say anything!:eek:[/size][/QUOTE][b][font=Comic Sans MS][color=darkorchid]I'm guessing they won't get much out of the autograph considering his name is Dale JARRETT.[/color][/font][/b] ;) :D

[LauraS]

[quote name='CruiseMark']Silly me. That's what I thought a moderators job was.[/QUOTE]

There's really no need to come down hard on my MODs now....they are for all intents and purposes VOLUNTEERS....they do this because they LIKE IT....I still scratch my head at that :)

There were 196,418 new posts since these new boards went LIVE in June. That's alot of reading for volunteers. They aren't online 24/7, and travel agents literally were TIMING how long a post about them...with contact information...would stay live on the boards. I've got the e-mails to prove it.

I've had phone calls from irate travel agents when posts were removed.....screaming at my that I'm costing them business.

There just was so much nonsense going on over the years about this issue that it isn't worth spending the time on.

AND no sponsor ever has told me what to do within the community. Ever.

Cruise Critic is a business. Once again, our mission has been to provide a haven on the Internet for cruisers that is free from advertising and harassment. This is just another step in accomplishing that goal.

Our diligence in enforcing our guidelines, and writing new ones as determined by what we see happening within the community, is what has resulted in the BEST CRUISE COMMUNITY on the Internet. We sincerely hope everyone continues to participate...but of course that is your choice.

This pretty much covers it. You are all free to believe whatever you'd like to believe, and you've obviously spoken your minds about it.

That's a good thing.

Laura