WWYD: Agent put cruise booking on hold after I told her not to

[robinbtigger]

I hope that I have posted this in the right place.

 

I have been pricing an NCL cruise for mid April 2014. I would book directly with NCL, but some travel agents and consolidators have the same price plus OBC and other extras.

 

I called TA A and got a price then called TA B. The agent at B wanted to put the cruise booking on hold for me. I told her not to, mostly because I didn't want to have to hassle with canceling the hold if I didn't want to go with them. The agent said she would have to call NCL to find out which credits I would be eligible for. She asked me all my information, including our birthdays (should have been my first clue) and she emailed me back about an hour later and told me that she put the cruise on hold for me because it was "easier" for her to determine the OBC when she called NCL.

 

It turns out that the OBC for TA A is the same for TA B. TA A offers a free 7-day condo (which is probably useless for us, I'm sure) and TA B offers a $75 credit for an excursion.

 

How, I think I would usually go with TA B given that I would be more likely to use the excursion credit over some limited condo week. However, I think the booking hold was a dirty trick. Should I overlook the dirty trick and go with TA B who would give me a better deal or should I go with TA A and hope that I will be able to use the condo?

[thinfool]

The agent at B wanted to put the cruise booking on hold for me. I told her not to, mostly because I didn't want to have to hassle with canceling the hold if I didn't want to go with them.

 

Holds expire about in about three days if they are not 'booked'. You need do nothing.

 

Don't hold it against the agent who 'held' your inquiry. It is common practice. Often the customer doesn't even know it has been done. There is no cost or liability to the customer.

 

Take the deal that benefits you rather than the one that 'might' be useful.

 

You may have found a 'good' agent. Time will tell.

[LHT28]

I would google both agents & see if any negative reports are out there

Some promises never happen

 

I agree take the deal that works for you or keep looking

[luvscruising2007]

I hope that I have posted this in the right place.

 

I have been pricing an NCL cruise for mid April 2014. I would book directly with NCL, but some travel agents and consolidators have the same price plus OBC and other extras.

 

I called TA A and got a price then called TA B. The agent at B wanted to put the cruise booking on hold for me. I told her not to, mostly because I didn't want to have to hassle with canceling the hold if I didn't want to go with them. The agent said she would have to call NCL to find out which credits I would be eligible for. She asked me all my information, including our birthdays (should have been my first clue) and she emailed me back about an hour later and told me that she put the cruise on hold for me because it was "easier" for her to determine the OBC when she called NCL.

 

 

It turns out that the OBC for TA A is the same for TA B. TA A offers a free 7-day condo (which is probably useless for us, I'm sure) and TA B offers a $75 credit for an excursion.

 

How, I think I would usually go with TA B given that I would be more likely to use the excursion credit over some limited condo week. However, I think the booking hold was a dirty trick. Should I overlook the dirty trick and go with TA B who would give me a better deal or should I go with TA A and hope that I will be able to use the condo?

 

I'm not sure what I would do but the Trust issue is huge for me. TA B has already broken the trust. I would probably go with TA A because of that. If you can't use the condo, perhaps the TA would let a family member or friend use it. Good luck.

[fishywood]

Now I have long ago stopped using TAs--but I would hardly call this a "dirty trick"

 

It is very likely that to get the cruise line to give a firm and enforceable quote on OBCs that the TA needs to initate the booking process by placing a cabin on a hold--which will harmelssly come off in 2 or 3 days if the booking is not deposited. And look at it the other way--say the TA called the cruise line to verify the OBC, then called you back with the info and you said 'book it'. But in the time it took for the second phone call to be made that sailing went sold out on the cabins set aside for that promotion. You'd be screaming bloody murder because the TA didn't place a cabin on hold.

[robinbtigger]

Now I have long ago stopped using TAs--but I would hardly call this a "dirty trick"

 

It is very likely that to get the cruise line to give a firm and enforceable quote on OBCs that the TA needs to initate the booking process by placing a cabin on a hold--which will harmelssly come off in 2 or 3 days if the booking is not deposited. And look at it the other way--say the TA called the cruise line to verify the OBC, then called you back with the info and you said 'book it'. But in the time it took for the second phone call to be made that sailing went sold out on the cabins set aside for that promotion. You'd be screaming bloody murder because the TA didn't place a cabin on hold.

No, I don't think I would. I know that "you snooze, you lose" in some things. But, if such practice is common and the TA was looking out for ME and not HER then I'm willing to accept that fact :).

 

What happens if I want to go with TA A and the booking hold in my name is still in place?

[thinfool]

What happens if I want to go with TA A and the booking hold in my name is still in place?

 

Nothing.

 

TA A will enter your information and book your cruise.

 

The 'held' cabin will expire in about three days.

Edited March 12, 2014 by thinfool

[Salve]

I hope that I have posted this in the right place.

 

I have been pricing an NCL cruise for mid April 2014. I would book directly with NCL, but some travel agents and consolidators have the same price plus OBC and other extras.

 

I called TA A and got a price then called TA B. The agent at B wanted to put the cruise booking on hold for me. I told her not to, mostly because I didn't want to have to hassle with canceling the hold if I didn't want to go with them. The agent said she would have to call NCL to find out which credits I would be eligible for. She asked me all my information, including our birthdays (should have been my first clue) and she emailed me back about an hour later and told me that she put the cruise on hold for me because it was "easier" for her to determine the OBC when she called NCL.

 

It turns out that the OBC for TA A is the same for TA B. TA A offers a free 7-day condo (which is probably useless for us, I'm sure) and TA B offers a $75 credit for an excursion.

 

How, I think I would usually go with TA B given that I would be more likely to use the excursion credit over some limited condo week. However, I think the booking hold was a dirty trick. Should I overlook the dirty trick and go with TA B who would give me a better deal or should I go with TA A and hope that I will be able to use the condo?

 

 

Travel agent B seems to be an aggressive agent. She is covering her butt and yours. You can't sell a cabin if you don't have it on hold or available. This took extra work on her part. You may have called her back and it may have been sold out.

 

I would go with her. She most likely asked your ages to see if their might have been any other discounts offered.

 

Travel agent A offered you something useless, in your words. Travel agent B offered you something you may use.

 

A good travel agent is the best thing to have in your corner if anything ever goes wrong.

 

Just my opinion.

[rvsullivan]

I'll go the other way. If you specifically told the agent not to put a hold on/book it, and he/she did it anyway what else might be an issue? I would ask the original TA what other option they might have instead of the condo.

[MCC retired]

Putting a Hold on a booking is the only way a TA can guarantee that price & availability quoted , should you decide to go with it .

It is actually good/common business practice .

Yes , the hold (called an option) expires from days to hours after the hold is placed , depending on how close to sailing the option is taken.

[AmberCascades]

I agree that it wasn't a trick. We ask our agent about things all the time. She always comes back to us with the best deal and holds it for us for a couple of days. That gives us time to figure things out and meanwhile, she's secured the cabin we want, with OBC etc. calculated as well. It's no skin off either of you and only to your advantage should you decide you want to firm it up.

[marco]

I agree that is wasn't a "trick". She gave you applicable info. If she did not place a hold and you called back the next day and said "book it", it's unlikely, but suppose the perks changed and now she said, "sorry, what I offered you yesterday is not applicable now". Then YOU would have thought she was not on the up and up. Like other posters have stated, if you don't act on a "hold", it expires and nothing lost.

[TC1957]

Nothing.

 

TA A will enter your information and book your cruise.

 

The 'held' cabin will expire in about three days.

 

Unless that "held" cabin is the last in those set aside for the promotion.

 

I am huge on trust and having professionals I use do as I ask unless they can demonstrate that doing it differently gets me the same thing or better for the same amount or less. If I give clear instructions NOT to hold a cabin and they did that would be a huge strike against them.

 

As for "maybe finding a good travel agent"...let's see, went against expressed wishes of a potential client (how much will they ignore my wishes when I am a client) and was dumb enough to tell me they ignored my wishes. Not exactly my definition of a "good" travel agent.

[LHT28]

If you think the TA is not for you then just call & say you do not want to book the cruise ..they will take off the hold then you are free to use agent A

I would however confirm that agent A is still offering the same deal

 

Things can change hourly in the travel business ;)

[BlueRiband]

You had two TAs playing one against the other in your attempt to nickle and dime the best deal. One of them will not get any business despite spending their time with you. Since you asked, I'm going to say that you are the one pulling the "dirty trick".

[robinbtigger]

You had two TAs playing one against the other in your attempt to nickle and dime the best deal. One of them will not get any business despite spending their time with you. Since you asked, I'm going to say that you are the one pulling the "dirty trick".

Really? I shopped around and called for rates and bonuses. Since when is that playing one TA against the other?

[TC1957]

You had two TAs playing one against the other in your attempt to nickle and dime the best deal. One of them will not get any business despite spending their time with you. Since you asked, I'm going to say that you are the one pulling the "dirty trick".

 

Its called SHOPPING. Suppose you called a clothing store to see if they had a particular article and was told yes...the price is $100. But when you got to the mall you happened to walk by a different store that had the exact same brand, color and size for $75. Would you still go to the store you called or save $25?

[cherylandtk]

If you tell an agent not to place a hold, the quote expires the moment you hang up the phone. It is therefore useless as a comparison tool and a waste of both your time and the agent's.

 

Agent B is not guilty of dirty tricks, at most she is guilty of not taking her time to explain to you how bookings and quotes work. Agent A is also guilty of the same amount of 'deception' as Agent B because she did not tell you that her quote, without a hold, expired when you hung up the phone.

 

Because agent B is the only one who placed a hold, THAT is the only quote you have that is valid. Accept it or not as you wish.

 

In the future, please understand that holds are a normal part of the quoting/booking process, and quotes and holds both have expirations. The same quote without a hold may be available when you call back, but these forums have numerous complaints about 'quotes' that were not honored because the client did not want a hold to be placed. A hold is your ONLY guarantee that a quoted price will be honored when you call back.

[cherylandtk]

Its called SHOPPING. Suppose you called a clothing store to see if they had a particular article and was told yes...the price is $100. But when you got to the mall you happened to walk by a different store that had the exact same brand, color and size for $75. Would you still go to the store you called or save $25?

 

And suppose the different store had it for $100, so you kept walking to the store you called. But when you got there, the price was now $125. Angry, you went back to the store you walked by, only to see them also raising the price to $125. The only way to have received the $100 price was to have paid for it on the phone. That's called shopping, too.

[robinbtigger]

In the future, please understand that holds are a normal part of the quoting/booking process, and quotes and holds both have expirations. The same quote without a hold may be available when you call back, but these forums have numerous complaints about 'quotes' that were not honored because the client did not want a hold to be placed. A hold is your ONLY guarantee that a quoted price will be honored when you call back.

Thank you, I don't think I understood that yesterday.

[reedl]

If it does not cost me any money, and makes sure that the price I was quoted will be the price I pay, I see no issue with a hold being placed on a reservation.

 

If I had to give a credit card, and there was a deposit I would have to wait to get back, then that is a different story.

 

Sometimes I have had three different 24 hour courtesy holds at once. Then I book the one I want.

[TC1957]

If it does not cost me any money, and makes sure that the price I was quoted will be the price I pay, I see no issue with a hold being placed on a reservation.

 

 

 

If I had to give a credit card, and there was a deposit I would have to wait to get back, then that is a different story.

 

 

 

Sometimes I have had three different 24 hour courtesy holds at once. Then I book the one I want.

 

 

As I said...for me it is the trust factor. Especially if I have not used the agent before. The OP said they told the agent not to put a hold in place and the agent went against a clear and specific request. All the agent needed to do was explain or keep their pie hole shut...they chose neither. Basically assumed the OP had no clue when they may have booked 100 cruises previously and was just looking for a new agent. If you ignore my request when trying to get my business what chance do I have after you have me on the hook?

 

 

 

 

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[robinbtigger]

I just wanted to come back with an update. I ended up going with TA B because her over-all deal was better. I tracked down the company that administers the free condo through TA A and there were too many restrictions and opportunities to pay more to be able to use it (upgrade from a 1BR, travel outside of "low season", etc.) that I knew my initial gut reaction was correct and we would never use it. We will definitely use the $75 excursion credit through B. In the meantime, I also talked to TA C who was close to TA B but TA B's deal was still the best. So, I booked my cruise today and I'll be sailing in just a month!

 

Thanks for everyone's advise and thanks for letting me know that putting a cabin on hold is SOP. I thought that allowing a TA to put something on hold forced me to work with her even if I found a better deal (before putting down a deposit). Knowing the real deal about holds made me feel better about TA B and it gave me some breathing room to continue to poke around and convince myself it was the best deal for me.