Fed Up with TA

[Michelle19]

Just curious.. What would you do if you just did not like the service you were getting from your travel agent? I dont wanna bash the company or get into any horrible details, but overall this vacation planning with him/her has been a nightmare. We still have 5 months before our European Cruise and I was just curious, if your TA just wasnt doing it for ya, what would/could you do?

[garycarla]

I guess some of it might have to do with the type of problems.

 

Personally, we only have the TA book the cabin, and then move on.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

If you're disgusted enough, they may release the booking and allow you to handle the booking yourself or go to another TA. They lose their commission, plus any efforts they've made for you thus far go to waste, but they may look at it as salvaging what little respect you may still have for them, so that your story to friends (and potential future customers) ends with, "At least, they were decent enough to let us go somewhere else" instead of "Those ba$(@r*s wouldn't even let us transfer the booking to another TA!" Depending on the issues, and from their point of view, they might agree that the best thing for both parties is to go your separate ways.

 

However, you're essentially asking them to forgo their future income, so they may not be receptive to letting you off the hook.

 

You could also cancel the booking and rebook somewhere else. You might miss out on your choice of cabin and any early booking incentives, and your TA may charge cancellation fees, but it might be worth it, overall.

[Michelle19]

Steve.. So wait.. I can switch TA's? Does my current TA have to approve this switch? So TA can say no? She/He knows I/we are upset but it's a family booking of 4 to Europe for 2 weeks.. My parents want away from her/him as well.. this ta is really really disappointing. Cost us money & well i know you dont wanna hear all the drama, but thanks for advice!

[curiouscat]

Steve.. So wait.. I can switch TA's? Does my current TA have to approve this switch? So TA can say no? She/He knows I/we are upset but it's a family booking of 4 to Europe for 2 weeks.. My parents want away from her/him as well.. this ta is really really disappointing. Cost us money & well i know you dont wanna hear all the drama, but thanks for advice!

 

Do they have a manager? Get someone else in the agency like the owner to help...otherwise unless you cancel and rebook,otherwise there might not be much you can do.

It's important to pick a TA NOT just for price..the old adage is you get what you pay for....

 

CC

[Lois R]

Steve.. So wait.. I can switch TA's? Does my current TA have to approve this switch? So TA can say no? She/He knows I/we are upset but it's a family booking of 4 to Europe for 2 weeks.. My parents want away from her/him as well.. this ta is really really disappointing. Cost us money & well i know you dont wanna hear all the drama, but thanks for advice!

 

Hi,:) when is your cruise? I would think if you are really unhappy?

You could talk to the Supervisor and/or yes, change agencies.

If this particular one charges a cancellation fee you might be out

whatever that amount of money. But from the tone of your post?

It might be worth it. Oh, you are sailing in 5 months? So no where

close to final payment.

Have a question, does the agent know how unhappy you are?:confused:

[Kevnzworld]

I switched TA's a few years ago when I became unhappy with the service. If I was you I would switch the reservation back to Celebrity. Interview a number of TA's before choosing your next one. I did that and my new travel agent is wonderful. I do a lot of homework when I travel and just let my TA do the booking so she can get the commission.

I also sometimes do my own flights since their aren't commissions for that. She rewards my courtesy with cruise discounts , OBC and free transfers.

[curiouscat]

I switched TA's a few years ago when I became unhappy with the service. If I was you I would switch the reservation back to Celebrity. Interview a number of TA's before choosing your next one. I did that and my new travel agent is wonderful. I do a lot of homework when I travel and just let my TA do the booking so she can get the commission.

I also sometimes do my own flights since their aren't commissions for that. She rewards my courtesy with cruise discounts , OBC and free transfers.

 

U can't switch it back to X.... has to be another TA...not likely to happen

[h20cruzer]

I had someone I was unhappy with at my current TA and called and complained to a manager. They did loose a booking over this as I booked with the cruise line. I thought this is stupid so I called back and spoke with manager and they hooked me up with another agent and I have been happy ever since.

I would certainly speak with a manager before jumping ship. I use a large agency so it was easy to switch agents.

[ghstudio]

Just curious.. What would you do if you just did not like the service you were getting from your travel agent? I dont wanna bash the company or get into any horrible details, but overall this vacation planning with him/her has been a nightmare. We still have 5 months before our European Cruise and I was just curious, if your TA just wasnt doing it for ya, what would/could you do?

 

Perhaps if you told us the issue, we could better help....

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Steve.. So wait.. I can switch TA's? Does my current TA have to approve this switch? So TA can say no? She/He knows I/we are upset but it's a family booking of 4 to Europe for 2 weeks.. My parents want away from her/him as well.. this ta is really really disappointing. Cost us money & well i know you dont wanna hear all the drama, but thanks for advice!

 

Right now, your TA "owns" the booking. You would need his/her approval to release it so you could transfer it to another TA, so your current TA would lose the commission that they're (supposedly) earning. It would be best if your TA would release the booking instead of you having to cancel it-- if the booking stays intact, and if you received any kind of bonus from the cruise line like OBC or an upgrade, you won't lose that bonus. If you must cancel to be rid of the jerk, the agency may charge a change or cancellation fee. And if airfare is already booked, there's usually a hefty cancellation fee if you have to start from scratch there. In any case, you'd lose any incentives that the current TA might have been offering, but your new TA might have similar or even better ones.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

U can't switch it back to X.... has to be another TA...not likely to happen

 

I think you can't arbitrarily and unilaterally switch it back to X, but if the TA releases it, somebody's got it. Another way to look at it is when you manage your own booking, you're dealing directly with X. With an agent, you're dealing indirectly with X. In the absence of that agent, you have, in effect, switched it back to X.

[A Sixth?]

Steve.. So wait.. I can switch TA's? Does my current TA have to approve this switch? So TA can say no? She/He knows I/we are upset but it's a family booking of 4 to Europe for 2 weeks.. My parents want away from her/him as well.. this ta is really really disappointing. Cost us money & well i know you dont wanna hear all the drama, but thanks for advice!

 

My old TA never charged me anything if I cancelled the booking before final payment. My new online one does.....

 

Just cancel and rebook. Once I did it on two telephones, one for the cancelling and the other live with the switch-to TA so they could grab the cabins as they reappeared....

[hulamoon]

I am in the same boat, I would cancel except that the price is up significantly. Best of luck.

[Shippy]

You are out far enough so the cruiseline will not penalize you.

Some travel agency's have a fee. Usually about $50. It would be worth that to me to get rid of someone who is upsetting me that much. Just rebook. Hopefully there might have even been a price drop or someone might be offering onboard credit.

We use 3 or 4 different internet agencys & have never had any trouble.

After booking our last cruise (coming up this May), I noticed another agency was offering onboard credit. I tried to switch agency's & found out it was a bit more complecated than you would think. You really need to do a whole new booking.

My problem was that I has scored a fantastic room & did not want to release the room.

I called Celebrity & explained the problem & asked them if I could 'waitlist' the room I was giving up to be sure the other agency could grab it...they said no.

 

Normally this would not be a problem because I would only want the catagory, not a particular room.

Anyway, in the end, it turned out the first agency had a 'match policy' & actually added the $150. onboard credit to our booking.

If you are not using an internet agency, you should try one of the big ones. We have had great service & contrary to what some people think, I can always call them & talk to a 'real person'.

[4774Papa]

Just curious.. What would you do if you just did not like the service you were getting from your travel agent? I dont wanna bash the company or get into any horrible details, but overall this vacation planning with him/her has been a nightmare. We still have 5 months before our European Cruise and I was just curious, if your TA just wasnt doing it for ya, what would/could you do?

Can I ask you why you use a TA? I never have used one. You lose control of your reservation and if the TA company goes bust, you can be out big bucks.

 

Also, most of the time when I check a couple of widely know TAs they never offer bennies that make it worth using them.

[ghstudio]

Also, most of the time when I check a couple of widely know TAs they never offer bennies that make it worth using them.

 

I use TA's to book cabins...and I pick the cabin or if guarantee, I wait and after it's assigned, I use the TA to change the cabin if I want. I don't use them for anything else.

 

My experience is that I always get at least $200 in OBC's, free gratuities or sometimes both on almost every cruise. We book balcony, cc or aqua. I think free gratuities on a 10-14 night cruise is worth using them.....and those benefits are paid by the TA, not celebrity so I can also take advantage of stockholder benefits or the on-board booking OBC.

 

I'm not sure why anyone books directly with Celebrity.....unless they book on-board and then transfer their booking to a TA in the first 60 days.

[Kellie Poodle]

I think you can't arbitrarily and unilaterally switch it back to X, but if the TA releases it, somebody's got it. Another way to look at it is when you manage your own booking, you're dealing directly with X. With an agent, you're dealing indirectly with X. In the absence of that agent, you have, in effect, switched it back to X.

 

A few years ago I was on a Mah Jongg cruise with DH's cousin. The cruise was put together by a TA, who worked out of her house and was horrible. While on board, I booked a cruise for me and my DH. When I got the paperwork the last night of the cruise, it had the TA's name on it, even though I had clearly told the loyalty person I wanted the cruise in my own name.

 

When I got home I called and they emailed me a PDF of a form that I had to fill out releasing the TA and putting the reservation in my own name, directly with the cruise line. I filled it out and faxed it back to Miami.

 

There is no reason you can't do this if it is before final payment. The same form, I believe, will work for switching the reservation to another TA.

 

One other thought: If you are so unhappy, perhaps a call to the local Better Business Bureau is in order?

[ghstudio]

I lost a hotel booking that I had paid due to the bankruptcy of the TA.

 

Of course there are war stories....there are also those who have lost money due to a cruise line going bankrupt, so how does booking with Celebrity protect you? Oh...they are too big to fail :)

 

The online TA's many of us deal with are also very large operations and belong to the industry protection groups. Yes, if you use one of the "bid for our cruise" sites, you are asking for trouble unless you check the agency out and don't just jump at the lowest offer. Additionally, our payments are processed by Celebrity, not by our online TA. If your TA is cashing your checks or the credit card payment is going to your TA, that might just be a warning sign.

 

I have AA tickets directly with AA. Is that safer than dealing with a TA???? :)

[SusieV]

I lost a hotel booking that I had paid due to the bankruptcy of the TA.

 

Um, did you not pay with a credit card? If you did, then you should have gotten everything back.

[Shippy]

Can I ask you why you use a TA? I never have used one. You lose control of your reservation and if the TA company goes bust, you can be out big bucks.

 

Also, most of the time when I check a couple of widely know TAs they never offer bennies that make it worth using them.

 

As soon as you pay, the money goes from the agency to the cruiseline...they do not 'sit on it' !

I think the odds of them going bankrupt during the few hours they are holding my money are slim.

 

They offer paid gratuities, onboard credit, & sometimes specialty restaurant cover & spa services. That is 'enough' bennies for me !

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I think you can't arbitrarily and unilaterally switch it back to X, but if the TA releases it, somebody's got it. Another way to look at it is when you manage your own booking, you're dealing directly with X. With an agent, you're dealing indirectly with X. In the absence of that agent, you have, in effect, switched it back to X.

 

Update (thought of this just as I was leaving for work, too late to add)-- if you are successful in getting your TA to release the booking, X may not allow you to transfer it to another TA if it's more than 60 days after the original booking. You might have to have another TA lined up to have it transferred directly to. Call Celebrity to see what can and cannot be done.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

As soon as you pay, the money goes from the agency to the cruiseline...they do not 'sit on it' !

I think the odds of them going bankrupt during the few hours they are holding my money are slim.

 

They offer paid gratuities, onboard credit, & sometimes specialty restaurant cover & spa services. That is 'enough' bennies for me !

 

Depends on the TA-- some of them do hold it, and it has happened where a TA went belly-up in the meantime.

 

Why use a TA? The reasons you mentioned. The trick is to find one that offers OBC, prepaid gratuities, and so on, and does not charge for changes. I've got one, and the name of the TA is WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. PLEASE STAND BY. Tell them Steve sent you!

[mom23guys]

Depends on the TA-- some of them do hold it, and it has happened where a TA went belly-up in the meantime.

 

Why use a TA? The reasons you mentioned. The trick is to find one that offers OBC, prepaid gratuities, and so on, and does not charge for changes. I've got one, and the name of the TA is WE ARE EXPERIENCING TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES. PLEASE STAND BY. Tell them Steve sent you!

Huh???

[Michelle19]

Can I ask you why you use a TA? I never have used one. You lose control of your reservation and if the TA company goes bust, you can be out big bucks.

 

Also, most of the time when I check a couple of widely know TAs they never offer bennies that make it worth using them.

 

 

I have never ever used a TA. Ever! But my parents do, & they feel more comfy, so I tagged along.. Big mistake.. She will not contact us with our questions, was trying to book us on an astronomical flight cost and oh my it goes on and on.. So my parents got upset and this is why I am now asking what our options are.

You all gave great advice, I will try my best to contact manager and i have learned my lesson.. I love controlling my own booking, I feel lost here..