What is it you want from your travel agent?

[CitygirlSF]

What is it that your travel agent does for you that keeps you coming back?

 

Is it just the OBC they magically find for you? How important is their service, and if it is important what specific service do they offer that you most appreciate?

 

When looking for a new travel agent, what should you ask?

 

Are there any blaring red flags that should send me running?

 

 

I am not looking to name names, or for referrals. So please don't give any because the thread will go to bad thread heaven.

 

Thanks!

[sassy12]

We are currently working with two travel agents. From the one we have been with for many years we get nothing but peace of mind that things are taken care of and that she will willingly undertake any task I ask of her. She is awesome!

 

We have used a travel agency recommended to us by a fellow cruiser a couple years ago for two trips in the last nine months. For that we received onboard credit, complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant and prepaid gratuities on the last cruise. Everything went very smoothly and I had no need to contact them with further questions. Everything was put in writing.

 

We are currently looking at a TA and will probably use the new agency as we will get benefits.

 

Prior to beginning international travel I did most of the bookings myself through RCCL. I always know exactly what I want when I call the agency, though.

[CitygirlSF]

We are currently working with two travel agents. From the one we have been with for many years we get nothing but peace of mind that things are taken care of and that she will willingly undertake any task I ask of her. She is awesome!

 

We have used a travel agency recommended to us by a fellow cruiser a couple years ago for two trips in the last nine months. For that we received onboard credit, complimentary dinner at a specialty restaurant and prepaid gratuities on the last cruise. Everything went very smoothly and I had no need to contact them with further questions. Everything was put in writing.

 

We are currently looking at a TA and will probably use the new agency as we will get benefits.

 

Prior to beginning international travel I did most of the bookings myself through RCCL. I always know exactly what I want when I call the agency, though.

 

Your detailed answer is exactly the kind I'm looking for! Thanks for that!

 

So just to clarify, you only went with the new agent to get the perks? You didn't get perks from the other agent?

[colesc15]

The one I used for the first time last year, worked out perfect. I don't mind giving up a little control for the perks I can get. Prices rarely go down and as long as it's not on the weekend, I can call and get it taken care of if I want. I don't mind having to call there. I rarely need to anyways since everything for the most part can still be done on Royals website. So yes, I do it for the perks. I booked cruises in the past on my own no problem, but I like receiving free obc of varying amounts (minimum 100), prepaid gratuity which saves me almost 200 bucks, and the dinner for two in a specialty restaurant. Way I see it, I save almost 500 bucks by using a travel agent after you add everything up.

[crazypriest]

What is it that your travel agent does for you that keeps you coming back?

 

When looking for a new travel agent, what should you ask?

 

I am not looking to name names, or for referrals. So please don't give any because the thread will go to bad thread heaven.

 

Thanks!

 

What a great question!!!

 

I have made the following agreements with my TA...

 

1. She will honor and do all the work needed to give us a lower fare when published. I have agreed to not touch the original commission (it is only a matter of a few dollars in difference).

 

2. She has agreed to answer any question I have in one business day.

 

3. If I am putting together a group.... we have FULL transparency... she promised I get full benefits of being a tour leader (i.e. GAP points and free berth credit)... and I promise to not touch her commission.

 

4. She will ask any question I have to the Royal Caribbean rep for the area and make the arraignments for any special needs I might have on the ship.

 

5. She puts up with my compulsive need to be in the details.

 

I REALLY LIKE MY TA!!!!

 

Ernesto

[wowprincess]

So, are you getting your gratified paid by your TA?

[KMagz]

Perks like OBC or pre-paid gratuities are the number one thing I'm looking for if I use a TA. I generally do all the "work" (researching & booking myself.) Then I'll call around to some TAs to see what they're offering if I transfer the booking to them. (Must be done within 60 days of initial deposit I think.) I'll even keep a daily watch for price drops up to final payment date and contact the TA to get the price adjusted.

 

Red flags? Is your TA available on the phone quickly or do you have to wait hours for a return call? What if there's an issue on the your sail date? Can you even get them on the phone on a Saturday or Sunday? (My past experience with one very prominent online TA -- probably known to many CC'ers -- is they could not be contacted on weekends, which boggles my mind.)

[Calico Jack Sparrow]

My first two cruises I booked my trip myself with guidance from CC.

I was fairly successful I felt.

My most recent cruise was booked through my credi card travel agency.

As one of their platinum card holders I got some very very nice perks.

1)Two category upgrade.

2) free dinner in a specialty restaurant.

3)$100 obc

4)double reward points.

 

Do your homework.:D

[sassy12]

citygirlSF,

 

Yes, we went for the perks. However, I'm now in negotiations with them for a TA in November. I do agree with another poster that about the only thing I don't like about them is that they are not available on the weekends. However, my other agent wasn't, either, so that didn't make much difference.

 

What I really like is that they get back to me quickly with an answer. And, the answer has always been correct. Unfortunately, with the RCL reps sometimes I had to make several calls before finding one that actually knew what I was talking about. And, these were fairly simple questions that I just needed clarification on.

 

The reason I tried another agency was because I was tired of hearing of all these great perks others were getting while we were paying almost full price and getting nothing - not even a bottle of wine. I was delighted with our recent Allure cruise. We booked the first week while on the Liberty last February and booked the second week after Thanksgiving with the new agency. We saved nearly $1,000 off the cabin price for the two of us, had a wonderful dinner in Chop's and had prepaid gratuities for the second week. That, in addition to the OBC we got from our RCL Visa card gave us a total bill at the end of two cruises of around $55 and if it hadn't rained the last day I would have stayed out of the spa and we would have had a credit!!!

 

Good luck in deciding which course to take.

[PattyG12]

We started booking through our TA for the perks. We keep using her because of the service. Whenever we have any type of problem, she jumps right in and handles it for us. I think I could probably do it myself but it costs me nothing, I get extras and don't deal with any BS.

 

I think the one thing that would make me run the other direction is a TA that charges any change fees or any TA that has me pay them or their company. All the payments should go directly to the cruise line!!

[geocruiser]

I love my TA. We use her not so much for the perks but for the great service. She takes care of all our needs with our cruise. She has helped us out in so many ways. At times we had to cancel our cruise. She sends us the insurance forms, I get them filled out, then I give them to her and she checks the forms over and mails them in for us. Another time our sister in law had to leave a cruise that we were all on before it ended because a family member got ill at home. I call her from the ship and she worked with the cruise ship purser to get her home. Another time we were on a cruise with a friend and a friend of his. The friend of a friend got sick and was brought to the hospital on the island. She worked with the cruise line the hospital and getting in touch with his family to get down to the island. My list just goes on and on what she has done for us and our friends.

[cjdixon4]

What is it that your travel agent does for you that keeps you coming back?

 

Is it just the OBC they magically find for you? How important is their service, and if it is important what specific service do they offer that you most appreciate?

 

When looking for a new travel agent, what should you ask?

 

Are there any blaring red flags that should send me running?

 

 

I am not looking to name names, or for referrals. So please don't give any because the thread will go to bad thread heaven.

 

Thanks!

 

 

One of THE most important things that my agent does is return my phone messages or respond to my e-mails same day. What I really appreciate is that I will hear from her whether she has a concrete answer to my concerns or not. She will always let me know that she got the message and will call back as soon as she can with a response.

That is, IMO, what I call excellent client service...and it's what always keeps me coming back!

[akcruz]

Things to make me go to a TA, the perks they can provide. They need to be "worth it" to me to make me give up control.

 

The red flags have mostly been mentioned, but the biggies to me are availability and charges for making changes, cancellations, etc. If the cruise line doesn't have these fees, no need for the TA to.

[B_Mc]

I want someone to provide me with options, some feedback on different ships or ports of call, advice on excursions and general tips. I appreciated our TA's advice for our first 2 cruises very much but when I wanted to book a third trip and gave her a general idea of what we were looking for, I expected more than 2 sail dates on the same ship. I can search the websites myself, but I wanted her to do the research for me. If I have to do my own prices comparison, I'll just go ahead and book myself as well!

[slk230red]

We started booking through our TA for the perks. We keep using her because of the service. Whenever we have any type of problem, she jumps right in and handles it for us. I think I could probably do it myself but it costs me nothing, I get extras and don't deal with any BS.

 

I think the one thing that would make me run the other direction is a TA that charges any change fees or any TA that has me pay them or their company. All the payments should go directly to the cruise line!!

 

This pretty much sums it up for me. I like knowing many months in advance which cruises offer the a free shore excursion, cocktail party, OBC, etc. I never need to touch my reservation, so using a travel agent that does price adjustments for me when there is a price drop works out great. I don't need to check for price drops, she checks daily. No fees, no BS, just great personal service.

 

I usually do 50% cruises and 50% land trips....Europe, Caribbean all inclusives, etc. With a budget of 50K per year, I don't like leaving the commissions with the cruise lines or tour companies. Why not bring the commissions to my area for her to spend. I also appreciate her contacting the resort managers prior to my trips so I receive a little VIP experience.

[cruisefan0110]

Not to hijack the thread, but I have a question. What kind of rooms are you booking to get these perks? When I cruise, I have no trouble wth inexpensive inside rooms. I'm not sure there is much room there to get the perks people are getting.

 

I have a wonderful TA that has saved my tail when I gave some wrong dates for a planned trip. That is well worth my loyalty.

[CitygirlSF]

Thank you all for your answers!

 

This has all been really helpful.

 

There was one comment about using a local TA to keep the commissions in the area to be spent locally. This is a fantastic point!