What are the advantages of using a travel agent

[Debde]

I think good TA is worth their weight in gold but you have to kiss a lot of frogs along the way.

 

That made me chuckle.:)

 

I'm so happy I didn't have to 'swap spit' with any TA's. Mine from day one has been outstanding!!

We vacation once a year. Did Disney first, then Universal and voila-first cruise and I myself was hooked. In between cruises we have done land based vacations and she has helped us with things I never would of thought of.

As for cruises-she investigates air fare and has always found the chepest. Helped me with pre-cruise hotels and always catches the price drops. She never has given me OBC and I thought-why not? Read and learned some more about TA OBC here and said-does not matter. I would not trade her for the world.

I also like the fact that I book early with her and frequently go to the office and make payments. Breaking up payments is a plus for me.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

There is a big difference between a TA, a good TA and a GREAT TA. I have had the same TA for 25 years and we are good friends. If you have a great TA you will not have a problem advising them of a price drop...they will probably advise you of it first. They will answer your email and always talk to you on the phone...so that makes the argument about "owning your own reservation" a bunch of nonsense. My TA does not book anything other than cruises...and he knows more about cruising than any other person on the planet. He knows the folks who run the cruise companies. Over the years he has provided me with upgrades and bonuses that you will never find anywhere else. A great TA needs to sell at least $750,000 per year to any one line in order to reach the top commission tier. When a TA is hitting the top tier he/she can give you more. My TA consistantly sells enough bookings to make the top tier in discounts from the lines. A great TA will be plugged into the management of the cruise company you want to book with. Two years ago I was on RCI when I noticed that I had not received $450 in OBC's. I was told that I would have to wait until I got home to fix it all. Even the head of Passenger Services onboard, who was also a friend of mine, admitted to me that he could do nothing. I emailed my TA...within 2 days my OBC's appeared on my cabin statement. (The head of pax services and the Concierge were duly impressed...lol.) It turned out that my TA had gotten no satisfaction from RCI so he phoned a friend of his who was an assistant to one of the corporate heads. YOU CANNOT GET THAT KIND OF SERVICE BY BOOKING YOUR OWN CRUISES. I will never book any other way than my TA!!! For those of you who have had bad experiences with a TA...keep on looking and talk to some of the folks on these boards...you will find what you are looking for. For those of you who insist on booking directly...all I can say is...that I will be enjoying OBC's and comps that you will never see.

[THE GREAT ONE]

It has been my experience that when you use a ta, the cruise line will not talk to you, the passenger, for one very simple reason . When you use a ta the ta owns the reservation not you the passenger and anything that you want done or need you must go through your ta. You have not lived untill you book a cruise and then turn it over to a ta and after final payment is made something happens and you have to cancell. This is the time when you find out that what you think you were geting free service from a ta that there is no such thing as a free lunch. It is at this time that your ta tells you how much it is going to cost you to cancell in addition to the cancellation penality that the cruise line informed you at the time that you booked the cruise.

 

It has ben my experience that most, not all ta's are part time travel agents and a large percentage of them work out of their home. Furthermore they are not always available and it may take two or three days to get a return call.

 

The bottom line is that i book my own reservations and if there is a good reason to turn the reservation to a ta prior to final payment being made i will turn the reservation over to a ta that i know and have done business with. One good reason is that some tas have promotional offers like frequent flyer miles for booking a cruise. Since i am a frequent flyer freak i do strange things to earn frequent flyer miles.

 

As the old saying goes "buyer beware", know who you are dealing with. Some of the ta's have been offering double and tripple miles per dollar sent when you book and complete a cruise. This is a very good reason to transfer the reservation to a ta.

 

Happy sailing

[Loves_Dogs]

If you use a TA, THEY own the reservation---I like to "own" my own booking! I don't want to have to contact a "3rd party" to ask a question, make a change or whatever! I always book through the cruiseline.

 

I couldn't agree more. After my experience using a local TA (who specializes in cruises) for my first cruise, I decided never again. This place was of absolutely NO help to me nor did they save me any money. Anyway, with the exception of my CC Group cruise on Destiny, I have handled everything myself and have been very happy.

[azldw]

Unfortunately I'm in the "can't find a good TA" boat. My tale of woe - I got married at the end of October, my new husband left for Afghanistan Nov 14, (military contractor) we decided to meet in May for a Mediterranean cruise. Obviously it is difficult for him to make travel arrangements, and since I have never made overseas travel arrangements myself, I convinced my new husband we should use a travel agent. Spoke with two different travel agents, met with one, and got little to no assistance. RCCL offered one of their WOW promotions, so I went ahead and booked our cruise. On the same day, a TA returned my call (I'd found her name on the RCCL website) who sounded very competent and knowledgeable, and she convinced me to transfer my reservation to her, losing my aft balcony cabin in the process, with her assurances that where I wanted to be was the hump and that taking a forward balcony cabin wouldn't be an issue, cabins "turned over" at least 8 times before sailing.

 

Since then, I've booked my own airfare - the flights she recommended were multi-stop flights, getting me in from Tucson in the morning and my husband arriving late evening! (I booked us on flights with one stop, arriving in the morning within one hour of each other.) The hotels she suggested (we're coming in a day early and leaving the day after the cruise) were 3x the price of the same-quality hotels that I ended up booking - One had no references on TripAdvisor, another other hotel link she sent me set off my antivirus software.

 

The WOW promotion included $200 OBC which took months for her to verify. Now that I've made final payment, service is nonexistent. I recently asked to transfer to one of her other agents (in her initial call she said she ran an 8-TA agency). Now she says she only has a part-time agent that helps her out who is swamped.

 

I had asked her to set us up for MTD, she told me I had to do it from the ship. Told her that wasn't my understanding and later I get an email that she can reserve MTD for me in advance. Twice, she's said she's mailed me paperwork that I've never received. I had to call her about final payment (only to discover it was due that day) her only reaction was to say that she'd mailed me an invoice.

 

I called her today because I've never heard from the part-time agent she's assigned me to. She mentioned that she had just dropped pre-booking paperwork in the mail for me, and that her part-time agent was still swamped. What is pre-booking paperwork? Isn't it post-booking? Fortunately I did get her to provide me with RCCL paperwork that shows the OBC AND that the cruise is paid in full. Fortunately my reservation is still showing up under "my cruises" on the RCCL website - I'm taking that as an indication that all is well.

 

I don't begrudge anyone making an honest living, and had no problem with her making a commission off our travel arrangements. I was looking forward to working with someone who was knowledgeable about Mediterranean cruises and overseas arrangements and was ready to have a TA to handle it all. But instead, I ended up making ALL the arrangements for this trip, in the process losing my aft cabin, and receiving bad information or no assistance whatsoever with information/advice on the ship, ports or excursions (she did send a pre-printed bound booklet with the trip itinerary) for this cruise.

 

The sad thing is, I told her that we were interested in taking another cruise in September (hubby gets 2 2-week vacations on his contract) We're newbies at this, if she had made any effort at all, she could have money money off both trips (cruise, airfare, lodgings). Instead, she's limited herself to whatever she made on the reservation that she convinced me to transfer to her. (And certainly lost any possible business from any of my friends.)

 

For the record, this agency is listed on the RCCL website as a "Royal Caribbean Expert Plus!"

[mediator]

Without going into a lot of detail, I wonder if anyone has an answer for me. Before you all say I told you so..... I did transfer my reservation to a travel agent, and I'm not feeling all warm and fuzzy. Can you ever call RCL and tell them the sitution with the travel agent, and have them help you out? Thanks for your response.

[Ontherocks47]

Savvy travelers book direct. There's no one in the world who has your best interests in mind other than yourself. Booking thru RCCL is same rates as booking through any TA. It is nice just dealing direct with RCCL for changes, upgrades, or anything. They offer the savings certificates usually for most cruises so if you're TA is offering onboard credit, its a wash or actually the RCCL discount is generally better than any OBC a TA offers. Go direct. Have a great cruise.

[marci22]

On our last cruise I waited til the week before final and then transferred to a TA for prepaid gratuities. It saved me a few hundred dollars.

[mediator]

I did that (transfer). Which is the best way is not my question. The question is after the fact and the transfer is done, I am questioning if they are telling me the truth. Will RCL give me a hand? ie talk to me, and if necessary call the agent.

 

And yes, I know about direct booking. Used to use a TA, then only did RCL, and now I used a TA. From now on, I'll handle it myself.

[crisndeefromde]

Love my TA and will only book a cruise through him. Excellent service second to none. I was given his name from a fellow cc person. Sailed many times since then in 2006 and several more booked.

[mmacdcc]

Booked the Oasis direct with RCI really early. The cruises before this I've used the same TA, a physical building, multiple agents, very, very reputable.

 

They were great, but since we'd been on a few cruises I figured I could do this one myself. I always book my own air, and hotel.

 

My TA has always been great - if I have questions I call or stop by, and they check for me. They're always checking for price drops, though I do it as well and let them know if I see anything. They've checked on prices for me, spending probably close to an hour on the phone with various cruise lines while I kept changing my mind about what I wanted.

 

If they find an upgrade for a reasonable price, they call and ask me if I'm interested. The last few cruises, they've sent a bottle of wine. They make sure I get my luggage tags and cruise documents.

 

I know I'm not going to get a better price. I'm not expecting that. I use a TA for the service. Mostly I do it because I can pay cash if I want, or a check, or partly one way and partly another, I have paper copies of all my payments, (my husband isn't much on the computer), and my TA won't let me miss a final payment date.

 

If I want that type of service, I want somebody local, who's not likely to go belly up anytime soon. If it's an online TA, I'd rather do it myself and book directly with the cruise line. At least then I know if anything is screwed up, it's my own fault.

[mediator]

Can anyone answer the question. Can I call RCL with a problem I have with the TA. Will they talk to me, and if possible get on the phone via 3 way and try to get it resolved. That is what I am hoping for an answer to.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Can anyone answer the question. Can I call RCL with a problem I have with the TA. Will they talk to me, and if possible get on the phone via 3 way and try to get it resolved. That is what I am hoping for an answer to.

 

If you get a 3 way call going they might help but otherwise they won't usually help you. They are paying the TA the commission to help you so they don't want to pay the TA and also pay their employees to service the same booking.

 

All you can do is call and ask.

 

Good Luck

 

Bill

[Stags14]

I am sure there are unbelieveable TA's out there that are very pleasant to work with. But to me, it's not worth going crazy to look for the "diamond in the rough." I don't use a TA to book a cruise b/c I know what I want, I know how to look for price drops and it's fairly simple to book a cruise and airfare. If I was venturing into new territory and I needed someone to guide me in the right direction - I would certainly use a TA. If I am fortunate enough to someday get back to Italy, I will use a TA. But for a cruise - something I've done several times, I know what I want, I know the ships, etc... I'm not taking the change to "kiss a frog."

 

I also get myself airline credits when those prices drop, and I assume the TA would want the whole trip, door to door. Just not worth it to me when I'm pretty decent at doing it myself.

[mediator]

If you get a 3 way call going they might help but otherwise they won't usually help you. They are paying the TA the commission to help you so they don't want to pay the TA and also pay their employees to service the same booking.

 

All you can do is call and ask.

 

Good Luck

 

Bill

 

Thank you, that's a good idea and worth a try. I would be no worse off.

[bigtoeswim'n]

Hi Brenderlou: As you see, this is a hot topic with varied opinions. Here's my two cents.

Being a control freak, having lots of time around computers during the day, being a recent empty nester, loving to do online research, I booked all my cruises myself and captured excellent prices using the tips I learned on this board and lots and lots of reading. Then I decided to try a local TA for Alaska bc of half-deposit promo. I had transferred my booking to her.

In the end, the cruise went very well, but she didn't do anything for me that I couldn't have done myself, except for the half-off deposit and printed out my tickets. I worried constantly over loosing control of the booking. She promised and delivered the goods. When she wasn't in the office, her office mates helped me. If I had a group, I would reuse the local TA agency, though she isn't with them anymore.

After Alaska, I decided no more TA bc of my OC and worry. I booked myself on my upcoming New England cruise and have a next-cruise OBC as well as used my RCI VISA bonus points OBC. So, that is a nice nest egg of OBC. To tell ya the truth, however, I wore myself out trying to decide all the many things that go with cruises, like hotels, flights, excursions. I think more sand has passed thru my hourglass, and I am getting travel wary, I guess.

So, I met a "friend" on CC who mentioned an online TA was having a great offer to go to Hawaii. It was a combo deal, with Airport transport on day of arrive and to the ship, precruise hotel, breakfast and a local half-day excursion as well as booking. For the above reasons, I crossed my fingers and made this booking. It is for Dec 2011. I think it was a good deal and saved me some time and trouble. Could I have gotten a good deal myself at NCI, yes. But then I'd have to deal with the other things. Am I a bit worried over losing control??? Yes, but have learned not to sweat the little stuff. Most likely, everything will be okay. I plan to use my FFM to get us to Hawaii.

So you see, people do things for different reasons. If this Hawaii trip works out, I might continue using this online TA for one of their other combo deals that includes flights to CA, hotel and sailing from California somewhere thru the Panama Canal. But first, I need to experience first-hand this company. Hope this helps.

[Hobiecat01]

To use a TA or not use a TA... that is like asking someone who has the best mother. There are pluses and minuses to each, just like most other things in the world. My best advice is do what YOU feel is best. I use a trusted TA that I have access to in the office or at home. She books us at great prices and tracks the price, if it goes down we get it. But that is not why I use her...

 

Several years ago, DW and I ran into an issue during a cruise. I wrote the cruise line and complained after we returned home. I got a nice "so sorry" letter back. I mentioned it to my TA... she was furious. She called the line. The travel agency got behind me. Four weeks later I go a real check from the cruise line for 40% of my cost. (Yes I was bown away!!!) Thus the advantage (if you need it), one person against a cruise line is one cry in the darkness. A large, well established TA that books hundreds of cruises has a huge amount of leverage with the cruise lines. They listen to her.

 

Again this is my opinion. You have to make YOUR own choice. My recomendation is just that, a recommendation. "That's my opinion, we welcome yours..." :)

 

But the bottom line is this - GO Cruising! It is THE BEST vacation known to man (and woman). There I go with my opinion again...:D

-----------------------------

Sea ya!

Hobiecat01

Ron and Lee

Canton, Ga

Proud RCCL Platinum Member

"In wine there is wisdom, in beer there is freedom,

in water there is bacteria." – Ben Franklin

Previous Cruises – 66 Days at Sea!

Carnival Mardis Gras - 3 Day Bahamas - April 1982

Carnival Destiny - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 1998

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - April 1999

Princess Sea Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2000

Princess Grand Princess - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2002

RCCL Navigator of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - March 2003

RCCL Mariner of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - April 2005

RCCL Freedom of the Seas - 7 Days Western Carib. - 6/18 - 6/25/2006

RCCL Liberty of the Seas - 7 Days Eastern Carib. - 7/19 - 7/26/2008

RCCL Oasis of the Seas –7 Days Eastern Carib. with our Friends – 4/17 – 4/24/2010

Booked & Paid Cruises

Not yet… ready to pull the trigger…

Planned Cruises

RCCL Allure of the Seas – Our Neighborhood Cruise - 2011

The BIG One - Southeast Asia 14 day – 2012?

The Med – 14 day – 2013?