Price changes and your TA?

[pbnjrockette]

I was wondering if anyone's TA notifies you when there is a price change. I've been watching the Holland American website since we first booked our cruise and the price has fallen at least twice plus an additional OBC offer. I have called my TA and been able to take advantage of these changes.

 

My question is....do TA's ever monitor these changes and contact the traveler or is it up to the individual to find these deals on their own? Does it cut their commission if they find a better/lower offer ?

[innlady1]

I monitor the prices and my TA makes the changes.

[taxmantoo]

I usually monitor the situation and contact them when I see a price reduction. It did happen once they actually rebooked at the lower price and informed me later.

p.s. It definitely takes a bite out of the commission.

[sail7seas]

Most TA's do not monitor the prices.

It's up to us to keep track of price reductions, IMO

 

[Fouremco]

I monitor myself. Unfortunately, I've yet to enjoy price reductions on the booking we've made. On the plus side, I guess, I've seen the prices rise well above what we paid. :)

[iancal]

We monitor the prices.

 

Sometimes when the price decreases, the OBC that our on line TA gives us is also reduced.

 

We keep an eye out for two things-price reductions and category consolidations. There have been a few times when we have been able to move to a better category, better location with no increase in cost. We have had a number of very good price reductions.

 

You need to act quickly on these. We have seem some reductions last as little as 1-2 days, then the price was adjusted upwards.

 

We do not like to see the price rise above what we paid. It typically means the bookings are strong and the chances of our getting a subsequent price reduction are reduced.

Edited November 27, 2013 by iancal

[jtl513]

Most TA's do not monitor the prices.

It's up to us to keep track of price reductions, IMO

Most TA's have to deal with lots of cruises on lots of ships on lots of cruise lines. I think it would be very unusual if my TA knew of a price change before me! :)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Most Travel Agents have hundreds of clients, the time it would take to go through each sailing of their clients to check on a frequent basis if a price has change would consume every minute of their day. It is not that a Travel Agent would not like to provide that service it is just humanly impossible to do.

[DaveOKC]

Most Travel Agents have hundreds of clients, the time it would take to go through each sailing of their clients to check on a frequent basis if a price has change would consume every minute of their day. It is not that a Travel Agent would not like to provide that service it is just humanly impossible to do.

 

Do Travel Agents recheck client's fares when they KNOW a line is running a special sale? I would think that would be more doable, even if it cost the TA some commission, as it would build alot of goodwill.

 

DaveOKC

[iancal]

We use an on line TA and we are extremely happy with her services...and with the OBC that she gives us. We particularly like the extended business/weekend/holiday hours that the agency keeps.

 

We expect less service and in return we get OBC's. So we do the research, select the ship, and watch the prices. Our TA books the cruise, and re-prices or changes our cabin at our request. This is all we expect.

 

On the odd occasion, she has in fact told us of an unadvertised or special group price on a similar itinerary but different cruise line than the one we were planning to book. One such tip saved us $600. It was a different ship/cruise line than we had planned to book but it was equally as good.

Edited November 27, 2013 by iancal

[sail7seas]

Most TA's have to deal with lots of cruises on lots of ships on lots of cruise lines. I think it would be very unusual if my TA knew of a price change before me! :)

 

 

 

 

Most Travel Agents have hundreds of clients, the time it would take to go through each sailing of their clients to check on a frequent basis if a price has change would consume every minute of their day. It is not that a Travel Agent would not like to provide that service it is just humanly impossible to do.

 

 

 

Definitely. A TA could spend all their time checking prices if they do many cruise bookings.

 

I don't think it reasonable or practical to think the TA can watch everyone's cruise fares.

 

It's up to us to do.

 

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Do Travel Agents recheck client's fares when they KNOW a line is running a special sale? I would think that would be more doable, even if it cost the TA some commission, as it would build alot of goodwill.

 

DaveOKC

 

Travel Agents should check the booking prior to making a final payment but if they tried to check every time one cruise line had a sale... again that would be all they would be doing. Most cruise lines are constantly having a sale maybe two categories out of every 20 dates of a ship might be reduced.....again it would be totally impossible to go through and check every single client. It truly has nothing to do with being less commission it is simply logistics it cannot be done.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

Every time I thought there was a price change, I called my TA and she said she called HAL and they said no there wasn't any price change. After a few tries I gave up.

[kazu]

Agree - we keep our eye on things. That being said, my TA did catch a nice price decrease on a cruise we had booked. HAL ended up chartering that cruise and we are actually happy with the one we replaced it with and with the obc that we got :)

 

I have no problem to keep my eye on things, my hotels, etc.

 

It's not often I see price decreases but they do happen and it can be worthwhile to check.

 

Recognize that you will lose some obc, or Explore4 so it is worth it to make sure that it is worth your while :D It has been in our case :D

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Every time I thought there was a price change, I called my TA and she said she called HAL and they said no there wasn't any price change. After a few tries I gave up.

What most do not realize is that when you see a sale such as Balcony cabins is now $899 PP you call up because you have a Balcony cabin but you have category VB the one that is on sale is category VH Guarantee. Normally most cruise lines will only advertise their lowest category in that type of cabin. Unless that is what your originally booked then chances are you price may not have dropped.

[Fouremco]

What most do not realize is that when you see a sale such as Balcony cabins is now $899 PP you call up because you have a Balcony cabin but you have category VB the one that is on sale is category VH Guarantee. Normally most cruise lines will only advertise their lowest category in that type of cabin. Unless that is what your originally booked then chances are you price may not have dropped.

I can't speak for others, but the site I use gives a complete breakdown by Class, Type and Category, as well as historical price data for each of them for that cruise.

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

What most do not realize is that when you see a sale such as Balcony cabins is now $899 PP you call up because you have a Balcony cabin but you have category VB the one that is on sale is category VH Guarantee. Normally most cruise lines will only advertise their lowest category in that type of cabin. Unless that is what your originally booked then chances are you price may not have dropped.

 

Thanks for the info Lisa, that probably explains it. I know my TA is a good person, and I don't think she would tell me that there is no discount if there was one. I figured there had to be some explanation!:)

[RK88]

How does this system with decreasing prices work?

When I make my reservation at a Travel agency, I know what my vacation will cost.

 

If there is a price drop, will the Travel agency always lower the price once you tell them?

Untill when can this de done? Final payment date?

Is this only for guarantee reservations or also if you selected a cabin?

[LAFFNVEGAS]

I can't speak for others, but the site I use gives a complete breakdown by Class, Type and Category, as well as historical price data for each of them for that cruise.

 

If you are talking about that "fishy site" be very careful. I find a lot of wrong information. The pricing it gives is only good for double occupancy.

[iancal]

We gave up a balcony category to move to a gty on one cruise. We saved over $500.

 

And then they put us back in the very same category and at a location that was equally good. We were willing to take the chance for $500.

 

And as I recall, the prices went back up within a day or two. We were fortunate to catch it.

Edited November 27, 2013 by iancal

[Fouremco]

If you are talking about that "fishy site" be very careful. I find a lot of wrong information. The pricing it gives is only good for double occupancy.

That would be the one. }><((((*>

 

I'm a firm believer in the adage "trust but verify", but your comment is well taken. I wasn't aware of of the double versus occupancy issue, because I have the good fortune of still having my DW accompanying me, both on cruises and through life.

[startwin]

If you are talking about that "fishy site" be very careful. I find a lot of wrong information. The pricing it gives is only good for double occupancy.

 

I've never received an alert from that site yet, in spite of price drops. Not worth your $5!

[Cruzin Terri]

Just got an alert today. It does work. But it is for double occupancy.

Terri

[Thebes]

I've never received an alert from that site yet, in spite of price drops. Not worth your $5!

 

Most likely you're receiving emails but they may have been going to your junk box. It absolutely does work and I get emails even for a little drop of $3 or increase or if the cat disappears and when it re- appears. It saved me $620 very recently. The best $5 I have ever paid to a business. So look & see what problem u might have with email system , etc. but also like Lisa said, it only works for double occupancy.

Edited November 28, 2013 by Thebes

[cruz chic]

If you are talking about that "fishy site" be very careful. I find a lot of wrong information. The pricing it gives is only good for double occupancy.

Not sure what you mean by that. If the price goes down, it goes down. It's has saved me a lot!