To use a Travel agent or not?

[Fitnessmaniac]

What are the advantages of using a Travel Agent when booking a cruise.

Or...is it better to book direct through Royal Caribbean?

Thanks.

[want2seaitall]

What are the advantages of using a Travel Agent when booking a cruise.

Or...is it better to book direct through Royal Caribbean?

Thanks.

 

For my first 3 cruises, I always used travel agents. She was always able to beat the prices on the RCI website. However, it seems lately that everyone's prices are the same. So I like to deal directly with RCI and avoid the middle man. I looked on 6 different sites yesterday and was quoted the same price by all for my upcoming cruise. One company did offer an OBC. But, I still like the idea of dealing direct. I've got a link on my desktop for my cabins and I check everyday for price reduction. If I see one, I just call RCI and get the price reduction. Easy peasy.

[pauline664]

:D

What are the advantages of using a Travel Agent when booking a cruise.

Or...is it better to book direct through Royal Caribbean?

Thanks.

I can say that while i have taken only 1 other cruise i used a TA but for my cruise this year(and lots more comming up i hope) i am trying RCL direct. My DD and I had a great TA but she is longer with the company that we used so at this point we are trying it alone. The Ta did print all are documents and made all our arrangements including all our shore excursions for us and was great. But we have decided that we will try this on are own this time and see how it goes. Have a great cruise and good luck no matter how you go...it will be fantastic,:D

[Terpnut]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=754214

[cb at sea]

If you know what you like and want, it's easy to do it yourself. Some TA's will give you a gift--and OBC or something--some don't! It really depends on if you enjoying the planning process, or if you'd rather someone else handle everything. The advantage to doing it directly with RCI, is that YOU can talk to them if you need to make a change, have a question or request. If you go through a TA, you won't be allowed to talk to RCI--the TA will be your middleman.

[pop5]

I just like being able to talk with RCCL when I need too.

[negc]

Even though I consider myself an experienced cruiser I find that sometimes there are intricacies in the booking process that someone who books cruises on a daily basis and understands the chain of command in the cruiseline can deal with more effectively than I can. I don't need to depend on having good luck in getting a knowledgeable and helpful CSR whenever I call with a question or a problem and the information a good travel agent can provide, not only about the ship and itinerary I am interested in, but about what other lines may be offering that might be a better fit is a valuable service and far more important to me than some minor perk or OBC that the agency sometimes offers (not that I will turn it down, but it isn't a significant factor in my decision as to how I book my cruise). I really don't feel I am sacrificing much if any control over my booking by using a TA and I think that the benefits far outweigh any disadvantages.

[nycruiser80]

As a TA I say find a good TA. When you book on your own it is just that no one is there to help if a problem arises. And from the looks of it my office gets a good 5-10 calls a month from people who booked their cruises alone and need advice. Which now we learned not to give since we did not do the booking! A good TA is a bit more unbiased then booking with a cruise line and you can still get price reductions if the rates go down. I monitor prices every other day for my clients however I am finding that more and more that price reductions are for new bookings.

 

TA's get the same rates as the cruise lines and a good TA will throw in a gift like OBC, wine, free grats. Remember usually the level of gifts is on par with what you spend. If I am making a $60 commission (which on 3 night "cheap" cruises I do) I will only give a $10 bottle of wine or possibly a $25 OBC if its a good client.

 

And remember even if you book directly cruise line's like RCI allow you to make a profile online and access and view your booking. You can make dining changes and fill out your boarding info (though I do this for my clients)

 

A good agent will fill out your boarding forms, book shore excursions and act like a concierge for you.

 

And if you really need to speak to the cruise line and can't wait for your agent (which a good agent would do their best to get to you so this is rare) you can call the cruise line even if you booked it with a TA. Just call the cruise line say that you are (use your real name) from (use the travel agency name) andask them to pull up a booking. They will ask your booking number and for the travel agencies telephone number and then you can ask them your questions. It is not impossible BUT if you are going via a TA you should not have to do this.

 

I say use a TA a GOOD TA that honors price reductions and who has experience in both selling and taking cruises. Of course its a free country so if you want to be on your own call the line itself. Whatever you choose enjoy your cruise!

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

Our TA works hard for us as we have sometimes booked and then changed or canceled our plans. She has gotten us waitlisted for certain cabins and has almost always gotten the waitlist cleared. Sometimes she is on hold for really long periods of time! She has battled for us when we had really horrible cabin steward service, contacting as many people as was necessary to get someone's attention and subsequently getting us a hefty cruise credit for a future cruise. (it was REALLY bad service). When we have a large group, we give everyone HER phone number and she keeps us all organized and works with RCI to get our group discount when we are large enough. Otherwise that would be my job and I while I don't mind dealing with MY changes, I don't want to be dealing with 12 cabins of family/friends and their issues. So, since RCI pays her and I trust her implicitly (we have cruised with her for 19 years), it's a no brainer.

[*Sparkle*]

I love my travel agent. She is just as wacky as I am. Whatever i need she gets. And I know that in the end she will be there when I have questions. And if she doesn't know she will find out.:)

[ubdkjrb]

...what the statistics are for peoples cruises that have had problems, major questions, etc. that required the "expertise" of a TA that couldn't have been solved or answered on CruiseCritic. As I have always said, the combined experience and knowledge of all the cruisers on this board is a million times greater than the world's best TA. I'd bet there isn't one problem or question that comes up on anybody's cruise that couldn't be answered via a post here. Just another technoligical process that combined with on-line reservations, excursions, profile and check-in process that has virtually made travel agents the modern day carbon paper. There really is no need for their services.

 

Challenge to all you travel agents out there: give us an example of something that you've done for one of your clients that the people on this board wouldn't have been able to do/advise/answer!

 

Peter

[pmfan]

In the beginning I used TA's, 3 different ones, and found I knew more from reading these boards than the TA knew. And I was never able to get my price reductions. So in fact it was costing me to use a TA. Now I book direct. :D

[CGBCruiser]

I have a wonderful TA and wouldn't think of booking any other way. If I have a question, she finds the answer for me, even if it means staying on the phone with RCCL for an hour trying to solve an issue. She is such a wonderful person and really does a great job and it is truly a joy to do business with her. :)

[WhenIsOurNextCruise]

...what the statistics are for peoples cruises that have had problems, major questions, etc. that required the "expertise" of a TA that couldn't have been solved or answered on CruiseCritic. As I have always said, the combined experience and knowledge of all the cruisers on this board is a million times greater than the world's best TA. I'd bet there isn't one problem or question that comes up on anybody's cruise that couldn't be answered via a post here. Just another technoligical process that combined with on-line reservations, excursions, profile and check-in process that has virtually made travel agents the modern day carbon paper. There really is no need for their services.

 

Challenge to all you travel agents out there: give us an example of something that you've done for one of your clients that the people on this board wouldn't have been able to do/advise/answer!

 

Peter

 

I'm not a TA, but the future cruise credit we got because my TA was persistent was $2,500. And that was months after RCI had contacted me regarding our issues, and though they were appalled they responded with "we're so sorry". And I don't really want the hassle of booking and keeping up with a whole group, which is how we often cruise. And it costs us NOTHING. I will use her as long as she is available because she has earned our business. Not just with the credit, but every time we cruise. Now - if she were no longer available I would probably book my own, get all our family and friends to book their own and hope things work out group wise.

[BJenn]

I value my title as Queen of Cheap.....but I know enough to know that I'd need to know ALOT more to feel comfortable booking my own cruise!! Have only cruised once (girls' cruise, 30 of us) with another scheduled w/ my family. Our girls cruise was actually booked & attended by the TA's we used....they got us a $100pp price drop before we sailed, bought us a

drink as we sailed away and also gave us a small OBC. When my excursion

in FLL went bad on debarkation day, they advised who to lodge the complaint with, what details to emphasize..& I got a partial refund on the excursion (& this when most of the girls on the cruise just said you can't get a refund, don't bother trying). It is SO WORTH IT to have somebody

I now actually know looking out for me. The internet is a wonderful tool, & I have fully utilized it in researching & selecting the next ship/cruise/cabins....but it does not endow one w/ the experience of

having been a professional TA. This is just my 2cents worth!!

 

Good Luck, Jen

[nycruiser80]

ubdkjrb,

 

As a TA I will give you a few examples of situations my client's have gotten in to and the cruise critic board could not assist them with:

 

I had a client booked on Holland America a few years back. As per the client's request I booked air with the line (something I do not recommend even though back then we got paid a commission for booking air with the cruise line instead of booking it with the airline direct and not making commission). We had a major snowstorm in the NYC area and the clients missed their Caribbean cruise and had to meet the ship in the next port. Clients called me at my house (we were snowed in) and I arranged with Holland to reaccomodate them. I called the airline and they could not reaccomodate them on anything and they would not speak with me because it was a special bulk ticket purchased through Holland America. Holland America would not pay for the new flights to meet the ship even though they arranged the air. They said it was an "act of god" which was not covered in their air/sea program. Clients did not want insurance even though I told them they should get it so they had to pay for new flights that would get them to meet the ship at the next port. If they waited to be reaccomodated by the airline at no expense they would have wasted an additional day of the cruise. Client's got angry at me. They did not beleive me that Holland would not cover their new flights so they called HAL w/ no success. I told them go on the cruise I would take care of it (or like a stupo I would pay out of my pocket the new air price which was in NO WAY covered by the commission I made!!!!) I was working through the chains of command and still I had no one who would assist me. Supervisors and customer service all could not help. But my local representative for Holland America stepped up and helped me and my client. After working with him he was able to give my clients a refund on the new air they purchased via Holland to meet the ship. Of course this took a week to do but it got done. This is something the cruise critic board could not do because these local sales reps deal with agents. We build a raport with them and when the going gets tough they help out.

 

This is one story I have more but don't want to bore. Again, a good TA can really help you and the info that people get on these boards are great I encourage clients to visit and contribute BUT I do warn them despite the adventages of visiting this and other sites there is also some misinformation on here too.

 

Think of it this way I am passionate about travel and cruises. I have developed this (I think strange) liking to ships at 6 years old and I was reading Fodor's Cruises and Ports of call since the age of 8! So for me cruises are my life (which can be scary.....I always want to be on one). I have been selling cruises since I was 16! I am now 27. I have studied travel, been on 24 cruises and have a deep passion for it so I consider my self an authority on the subject! So when my clients come to me or prospective client's come to me I make it clear that I will do my very best to assist them in planing a cruise. A cruise is not like buying an air ticket. Each line is different and putting somone who loves Ritz Carltons on a Carnival Cruise may not be the best fit. It is my job to see that I match clients to cruises that would be complimentary to their lifestyle. Ihave worked w/ agent though who dont know the 1st thing about cruises that is why if you are looking for a good TA you have to question them to make sure they are the right fit for you!

[nycruiser80]

Ok I have one more example of how my representative from Royal Caribbean assited me and my clients. This is something cruise critic can't do and this just happened to me! I had clients wanting to do the Explorer 5 night cruise just recently and they only wanted main seating. It was waitlisted. I put a call into my rep. and she got it cleared in 10 minutes! She said never to say anything to anyone but so long as I dont say her name I guess its ok! We do a nice amount of business with them and maybe thats why she was able to do it? Not sure but I did not ask! I was able to make the client happy and thats what counts.

[ubdkjrb]

Ok I have one more example of how my representative from Royal Caribbean assited me and my clients. This is something cruise critic can't do and this just happened to me! I had clients wanting to do the Explorer 5 night cruise just recently and they only wanted main seating. It was waitlisted. I put a call into my rep. and she got it cleared in 10 minutes! She said never to say anything to anyone but so long as I dont say her name I guess its ok! We do a nice amount of business with them and maybe thats why she was able to do it? Not sure but I did not ask! I was able to make the client happy and thats what counts.

 

So your two examples ultimately were assisted by the cruise line rep you deal with. Had the clients not used you, but used the cruise line direct one could surmise the cruise line booking agent would have also been able to take care of the problem.

 

Peter

[lvtotrvl1]

I'm not a TA, but the future cruise credit we got because my TA was persistent was $2,500. And that was months after RCI had contacted me regarding our issues, and though they were appalled they responded with "we're so sorry". And I don't really want the hassle of booking and keeping up with a whole group, which is how we often cruise. And it costs us NOTHING. I will use her as long as she is available because she has earned our business. Not just with the credit, but every time we cruise. Now - if she were no longer available I would probably book my own, get all our family and friends to book their own and hope things work out group wise.

 

For one, change flights when the airlines cancelled all flights ....rerouted clients....Secondly, changed a group to another sailing with the same amenity points and price when original itinerary was changed...the cruiseline was going to charge more and take away amenity points. Third, get a refund for a few clients that needed to cancel at the last minute without insurance....Fourth...reroute clinets when a hurricane interferes...5th...get price drops for clients when cruiseline says no, and I could go on and on....

 

Believe me, I love CC and learn alot here, however there also is alot of inaduquate information given out also.

[want2seaitall]

I think it is simple really.

 

Are you an A personality? Do you like to take control of things? You know...if you want something done right...then do it yourself attitude.

 

Then do it yourself and go directly through RCI agent. Cut out the middle man and take charge.

 

Are you a B personality? Do you like to lay back and let someone else take care of everything? No worries. As long as your on the ship for departure, you're good.

 

Then go through a travel agent.

[laseiber]

It would be great to have a great TA, we have used them in past, twice with great results and one really bad experience, and you could not request the agent you wanted, even after speaking with owner of agency. We would have continue to use them, but you did not know what agent you would get. So far, we have not had run into any difficulties dealing directly with RCCL. We handle our own air reservations, because normally the cruise lines books you on day of departure flights, and everyone knows you are just risking missing the ship that way.

[nycruiser80]

ubdkjrb,

 

In both cases the agents at the cruise line's call centers could not help me. For the air problem with HAL I spoke with many res agents they could not help. Spoke with a few res supervisors and they were no help. Then I spoke with a few agents in the air sea dept and a supervisor there and they could not assist. Then I even spoke with guest relations. It took my local sales rep to assist me. This is someone who only assits the TA community.

 

In the case of RCI the res. agents could not get a waitlisted dinning assignment confirmed. Try asking them if you run into this they just put it on a waitlist. Again, my local rep from RCI got the seating they wanted confirmed in 10 minutes or less.

 

In both cases I did not get any help from people that could also help the general public. It took my contacts with the cruise line and my relationsjip with them to get things accomplished. I can't see how these things would have happened if someone posted on cruise critic. Especially the dining thing. I am stunned she could do such a thing!

[ubdkjrb]

ubdkjrb,

 

In both cases the agents at the cruise line's call centers could not help me. For the air problem with HAL I spoke with many res agents they could not help. Spoke with a few res supervisors and they were no help. Then I spoke with a few agents in the air sea dept and a supervisor there and they could not assist. Then I even spoke with guest relations. It took my local sales rep to assist me. This is someone who only assits the TA community.

 

In the case of RCI the res. agents could not get a waitlisted dinning assignment confirmed. Try asking them if you run into this they just put it on a waitlist. Again, my local rep from RCI got the seating they wanted confirmed in 10 minutes or less.

 

In both cases I did not get any help from people that could also help the general public. It took my contacts with the cruise line and my relationsjip with them to get things accomplished. I can't see how these things would have happened if someone posted on cruise critic. Especially the dining thing. I am stunned she could do such a thing!

 

...but I will persist none-the-less. Ultimately the only people who helped in any of these examples is the cruise line. This is undeniable. Presumably, your argument is that the cruiseline will listen to TA's and not direct customers of RCCL. My guess is that the senior management of Royal Caribbean would have their expectations exactly the reverse. After all, they created their own booking department for a reason; eliminate as much of the commission expense from their P&L as possible. Given that as their objective it would be herasy to foster an internal enviroment that caters to travel agents.

 

If you pull up the publicly filed financials for the RCCL business unit for fiscal 2006, you would find that commissions are roughly 11% of Gross Sales. This means that on average they pay a commission of $220 for the average $2000 cruise. I'm always amused by cruisers who argue on this board that they book direct with RCCL and then transfer the booking before final payment for an OBC of, say, $150. They believe that's good math. I look at it another way. If we eliminate all the commissions to TA's by booking direct, I will now pay $1780 for my cruise instead of $1850 and the cruise lines makes the identical profit.

 

Peter

[lady_cruiser]

What are the advantages of using a Travel Agent when booking a cruise.

Or...is it better to book direct through Royal Caribbean?

Thanks.

 

My reasons for using a TA:

• I have more time to plan my tours
  
• If there are problems my TA gets better results because cruise lines likes dealing with TA(s).
  
• I know who I am dealing with and I have a face to face conservation.
  
• There is a physical address that I can go to, to pick up my tickets.
  
• If I want to make a chance to either upgrade or downgrade I get better results when doing the chances through a TA

[nycruiser80]

ubdkjrb,

 

I am a little confused at by what you were saying but yes in both instances the cruise line assisted me in a situation. But again the res agents that you or I talk to could not recitify the problem. It took RCI's sales rep. who work with TA's exclusively to make things better. From what I gather you are saying that RCI's top brass wishes the cruise line would listen to direct consumers then agents.

 

Maybe in your eyes you view this that the direct booking consumer could have recitified the situation. I beleive they could not have but maybe I am wrong. Who knows. What I do know over my 10 years as an agent problems arose and I got a lot of people out situations that were beyond my control.

 

Possibly you feel travel agents are useless and you are entitled to feel that way. I on the other hand I beleive that a good agent does help I have been doing it for a while and have seen instances were this was the case and I have seen the inverse bad agents who screw things up!

 

But getting back your commission discussion I don't that if RCI cute agents they would give the commission of their rates and if they did it would be 2-5%. They will keep that money just like most of the airlines did. When airlines phased out agents commissions most of the major carriers did not lower their fares the 5% commission they used to pay agents. At one point American Airlines offered a 3% discount for booking on their site verses calling them (after they stopped paying agents many more people called there res. centers instead of TA's and they do not want all those calls)

 

Ultimately the cruise line's will cut agents commissions. I am sure in 10-15 years maybe sooner. One of the main reasons the airlines cut commissions was because they did not like that TA's would tell clients that they could fly the same route on another carrier for less. The former CEO of American admitted this. I am sure the cruise line's feel the same way. Many TA's especially brick and morter agencies are not tied down to selling one line (my office gets 15% commission from RCI - wich is the highest amount) but in no way do we force people to sail with RCI! Certain lines are for certain people. So I do my best to match people with the best line for their lifestyle. Now I know that people will argue with me and say that new cruisers will come to cruise boards like cruise critic to learn about the differances between cruise lines and will be informed when booking their cruise with the line direct.

 

But keep this in mind when Celebrity cruises got rid of the Zenith to BErmuda last year and put those people on their new cruise line Azamara to Bermuda the ships were not equal especially to those who had families. Azamara did not have any children facilities. I sat here reading these boards and reading the responses of those that booked direct. They were upset of the change of ship but the Celebrity res agents assured them that the ships were equal. Than the came back and were not happy! Well of course the Celebrity reps would say that! They are not going to be unbiased. They were not going to say - cruise on the NCL Crown because that ship will have children facilities even though its a level below Celebrity. If they booked with a good TA the TA would know that the Azamara ship was a former R ship and that it lacked family amenities.

 

To me by cutting out the agent the cruise line's prosper and the traveling public looses a somewhat unbiased channel. They want that. But this is my opinion from a decade in travel and anyone is open to disagree.