? for TA's- is a 4 day "cheapie" ES cruise worth your trouble?

[gargoyle999]

lf they plan on reducing it, they should have let me know before I transferred my booking to them.

 

This is where your TA did not do a good job. And I agree with you, it should be explained that the OBC is based on CURRENT pricing and any reduction in price will result in less OBC.

 

My TA tried to explain it in an email, but I was confused what he was saying so I called him up and now I understand. But at least he made me aware that the OBC would change if the price of the cruise went down before I transferred it to him.

[gargoyle999]

That is true, but a 1st grader could fill it out and send it in.

 

And I would not even expect him to watch it for me! Checking for price drops is half the fun of booking Early Saver! :D

[EmmasNana]

My cruise is 7 day, balcony. It began as an 8A @ $709(not including port charges and such) x 2= 1418.

TA gave me $100 at this price.

 

First price drop $649 x 2 = 1298. Save $120.

TA drops OBC by $25 to $75.

 

Second price drop...$619 x2 = $1238 Get OBC, not price drop(

save $60

TA drops OBC by $25 more to $50.

 

I sent an email stressing that it may not be worth MY effort to use a TA that continued to remove the OBC.

 

Third price drop...$569...is there a reason I should not be trying to get this??? Isn't that why I booked early saver???

 

I did get this. I discussed not taking a price drop but getting an upgrade. TA wanted to charge me more than carnival would have so I decided to stay with my original cabin. I felt I was being worked over.

 

I think those of us who book with the early saver rate...are probably looking for a...good rate. I would say, if you are willing to watch the rates and send info to carnival yourself, do it on your own. Apparently the TA's or others will think we are trying to abuse them if we ask for what is due us.

[Kurbanfan]

That is true, but a 1st grader could fill it out and send it in.

 

What does that have to do with anything? Time is money where I work;)

[Kurbanfan]

I think those of us who book with the early saver rate...are probably looking for a...good rate. I would say, if you are willing to watch the rates and send info to carnival yourself, do it on your own. Apparently the TA's or others will think we are trying to abuse them if we ask for what is due us.

 

I believe ES was implemented to be booked thru PVP's.......PVP's have nothing to loose.......

[gargoyle999]

I did get this. I discussed not taking a price drop but getting an upgrade. TA wanted to charge me more than carnival would have so I decided to stay with my original cabin. I felt I was being worked over.

 

Percentage wise I agree that you are getting shafted a bit. Lose $25 OBC for $60 price drop? A bit steep. Should have been maybe $5.

 

Do you still have the $50 OBC after the price drop to $569/pp?

[EmmasNana]

Percentage wise I agree that you are getting shafted a bit. Lose $25 OBC for $60 price drop? A bit steep. Should have been maybe $5.

 

Do you still have the $50 OBC after the price drop to $569/pp?

 

I am assuming I do, but will not really know until I am on my cruise. TA OBC will not show up until you are cruising. The TA did not send me an email saying they were taking it back like they did the first $50.

If I had know about the reductions before hand, I would not have transferred my booking. I am retired now and spend much of my time planning vacations for us. I prevously worked in research and I am by nature always looking for a bargain. I enjoy finding ways to save money and my husband is more willing to go somewhere if he thinks he is getting good value. I am not trying to keep someone from earining a living... but do not offer me an incentive to use your services if you are going to take them away.

[gargoyle999]

I am assuming I do, but will not really know until I am on my cruise. TA OBC will not show up until you are cruising.

 

Ugh..another reason not to use that TA again. My TA puts the OBC (even what they are giving me) on the invoice so I have it in writing.

 

Good luck, I hope you get at least the $50! :)

[MszKitty]

During the swine flu issue, Carnival was offering CRAZY rates for residents for the 3 night LA-Ensenada cruise. The commissionable part of the rate was, literally, $20! My agency's commission rate is 16%. Of that 16%, I get 60%. So I made a whopping $1.92! Was it worth it? You bet! Because from every booking there is the potential for a more profitable future booking.

[Kenzibell]

And I would not even expect him to watch it for me! Checking for price drops is half the fun of booking Early Saver! :D

Yeah, but I like to watch them, just in case! You would be amazed how few people call about a price drop. So I just apply for it, then tell them when they get it. It is a nice surprise for them. I like to take care of my clients!

[gargoyle999]

The commissionable part of the rate was, literally, $20!.

 

This may be a dumb question, but I really have no idea how TA commission works. Is the commissionable part of the rate less than the cruise rate before taxes? I figured my TA was making commission on whatever I pay before the taxes.

 

Are they really making less than I already think?

[Kenzibell]

What does that have to do with anything? Time is money where I work;)

I understand, but I really like to take care of my customers. It isn't enough time to worry about. ;)

[S.S.Oceanlover]

My cruise is 7 day, balcony. It began as an 8A @ $709(not including port charges and such) x 2= 1418.

TA gave me $100 at this price.

 

First price drop $649 x 2 = 1298. Save $120.

TA drops OBC by $25 to $75.

 

Second price drop...$619 x2 = $1238 Get OBC, not price drop(

save $60

TA drops OBC by $25 more to $50.

 

I sent an email stressing that it may not be worth MY effort to use a TA that continued to remove the OBC.

 

Third price drop...$569...is there a reason I should not be trying to get this??? Isn't that why I booked early saver???

 

I did get this. I discussed not taking a price drop but getting an upgrade. TA wanted to charge me more than carnival would have so I decided to stay with my original cabin. I felt I was being worked over.

 

I think those of us who book with the early saver rate...are probably looking for a...good rate. I would say, if you are willing to watch the rates and send info to carnival yourself, do it on your own. Apparently the TA's or others will think we are trying to abuse them if we ask for what is due us.

 

While some others say the TA is losing commission on the price drops which is true but I doubt they were losing $50 on a $90 price drop.

 

Unless they were getting over 50% commission.:confused:

 

Bill

[mikew40]

Without a TA, you're on your own....

 

So many times I have prospective clients decide to book on their own, or through one of the big rebaters, only to call me a few days, weeks or even months later begging for help because they can't find their agent or the agent wants to charge a change fee for something as simple as changing the dining preference. I always hate to tell them that I can't touch another agents booking.

 

My clients never travel without my personal cell number and there have been many times I've been called at 2 in the morning to resolve a problem.

 

A great travel agent takes care of their clients....the big difference is some are true professionals, while others are merely order takers. Just because someone has taken one cruise doesn't make them a travel professional.

 

Just my 2 cents.....

 

Happy travels!

[grandmato4]

I think that is pretty amusing. I did not take advantage of anyone. I asked before I transferred my booking if my cost would be lowered due to early saver booking and that I would be watching. I was told they would not watch prices, but if I let them know they would take care of it. They did not tell me the OBC they inticed me to transfer my booking with would be reduced. I don't know yet if I came out ahead or not. I will need to wait until I come back from my cruise to see if I had ANY benefit from this TA. In my opinion, a TA should not offer additional OBC for early saver if they intend on reducing it every time there is a reduction in the fare unless they assume the consumer is not informed enough to know it will go down and will not be watching. lf they plan on reducing it, they should have let me know before I transferred my booking to them.

I am fairly new to this cruising world, but do to cruise critic have become somewhat knowledgeable.

 

 

IMHO your point is extremely valid in that they did not tell you they would be reducing your OBC. You asked if they would lower the cost due to any price drops that you found and they said yes. If they had not said it earlier verbally they should have told you at that point what would happen to your OBC if you did get any price drops. It is not up the customer to "Know". If there were conditions on the OBC it should have been stated up front and put in writting when you recieved your first invoice at the very least. Extremely unethical not to have done so. Some have said that TA's have to pay bills too but it is not the customers job to watch out for the profit of a TA but a TA's responsibly to inform their protential customers of anything that will change the original pricing (including OBC's) a customer was given and billed for at the time an original contract took place between that TA and customer.

 

The ES pricing certainly has added another layer of things to watch out for when using a TA. Hopefully your experience will be a learning lesson to people that are going to book through TA's or transfer booking to TA's that they need to ask up front what the policy is for OBC's as not all TA's disclose their polices as you've found just as everyone needs to be sure they know upfront if their TA will even do price reductions and if so if they charge a fee and then decide for themselves if they still wish to proceed or to look elseware for another TA with a different policy or hold the booking themselves directly with the cruiseline.

 

Personally I stopped using a TA about 18 months ago and have enjoyed simply dealing directly with the cruiselines. No surprises, no frustations, no phone tag or e-mail tag. As close as one can get to immediate results. I love a great price but what looks like the best price does not always turn out to be without a whole lot of additional conditions and strings and frustrations that I have no desire to deal with. Sure, I'd use a TA again if I found one that fit my needs and qualifications but until that happens I couldn't be happier being in total charge of my own bookings.

[MszKitty]

[quote name='gargoyle999']This may be a dumb question, but I really have no idea how TA commission works. Is the commissionable part of the rate less than the cruise rate before taxes? I figured my TA was making commission on whatever I pay before the taxes.

Are they really making less than I already think?[/quote]

Yes it is less than what you are paying before taxes.

Keep in mind, the cruise rate I was talking about was VERY unusual.

With that being said, however, say you are paying $500 for your cruise. And say, the taxes are $100, that brings the cruise rate down to $400. Of that $400, the non commissionable part of that is $120 (give or take a few dollars). That brings the commissionable part down to $280. The agency makes an average commission of 15%...that's $42 commission. I make 60% of $42...$25 is what I, personally would make off that $500 you paid.

This is just an example. Some agents make more, some less....depending on the agency.

Thankfully, this is not what pays my bills!

[picklebongo]

[quote name='Kenzibell']This is why we as TAs are getting such a bad rep. I just don't get it. If people are in the industry to make money, get out and let those of us who enjoy what we do make your $15. I will be happy to take it!;)[/quote]


I find your remarks quite incredulous for a professional!!!! You make it sound as though you can't enjoy your work and make a decent living too. Unfortunately this is the view some folks have of my job too, teaching, if you want to make money get out. Being a professional travel agent is a job, a career choice, and these folks have a right to make a decent living too. They have mortgages to pay, have to send their kids to college, pay car notes, just like you and I do. Just think about how many times the average person may call a TA about their cruise, not just YOU, but the average person. They may have questions about tickets, ports, need help with all kinds of things. A TA can easily spend several hours all total on such a booking before the sailing and it is unreasonable to unexpect them to work for nothing.

Some of you are so concerned about your stewards from third world countries and what they earn and would be willing to pay a fellow American who has bills up the kazoo 10-15 dollars for their work. Come on!!

[Kenzibell]

[quote name='picklebongo']I find your remarks quite incredulous for a professional!!!! You make it sound as though you can't enjoy your work and make a decent living too. Unfortunately this is the view some folks have of my job too, teaching, if you want to make money get out. Being a professional travel agent is a job, a career choice, and these folks have a right to make a decent living too. They have mortgages to pay, have to send their kids to college, pay car notes, just like you and I do. Just think about how many times the average person may call a TA about their cruise, not just YOU, but the average person. They may have questions about tickets, ports, need help with all kinds of things. A TA can easily spend several hours all total on such a booking before the sailing and it is unreasonable to unexpect them to work for nothing.

Some of you are so concerned about your stewards from third world countries and what they earn and would be willing to pay a fellow American who has bills up the kazoo 10-15 dollars for their work. Come on!![/quote]
All I can say is God bless you! I could never be a teacher. There is so much you have to deal with...I can't even imagine. My point wasn't that you can't make a good living, my point was that I didn't get into this for the money. I am sorry if you misunderstood. I was trying to keep the thread a little more light-hearted.

[picklebongo]

[quote name='Kenzibell']All I can say is God bless you! I could never be a teacher. There is so much you have to deal with...I can't even imagine. My point wasn't that you can't make a good living, my point was that I didn't get into this for the money. I am sorry if you misunderstood. I was trying to keep the thread a little more light-hearted.[/quote]


Sorry, I reread your post and still missed the lighthearted part, but oh well...

[Kenzibell]

Do you mind if I ask what about my post is so bothersome to you? You can make a good living doing what you love, no doubt. But the point the OP was asking about is would a TA turn down a low paying booking. Sadly enough, there are TAs out there that would because they feel it is too much trouble to deal with considering the low fare. Those are the people I am speaking of. I am sorry if I offended anyone else. Have a great day!;)

[MszKitty]

Any TA that would turn it down is probably not the TA you would have wanted in the first place.

[upstate_italian]

[quote name='picklebongo']Some of you are so concerned about your stewards from third world countries and what they earn and would be willing to pay a fellow American who has bills up the kazoo 10-15 dollars for their work. Come on!![/quote]
I love it! It you overpay a tipped person you are considered to have good etiquette but if you overpay a TA you got ripped off.