TA Question & OBC Question

[mom2travel]

Thanks everyone for the info. I will have all documentation and phone numbers with me. My TA has been very patient and answered all my questions and has been very responsive and I understand what they are saying BUT it just reads differently on various documents (invoice, final papers, blue book) The 3 way call is a great idea but at this point I'm just gonna focus on packing and getting excited to cruise in 10 days. I'm sure I am just over thinking it. I appreciate your comments StanandJim but ultimately I am a customer/passenger of Oceania and they will answer my exact question once I board so a little customer service 10 days prior I feel is a reasonable customer request whether or not I choose to also be a customer to a TA.

 

 

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[bob278]

As I have said several times, I am not familiar with the details of how Oceania works, but here is an example of where I don't think there would be anything wrong with having the passenger access O directly (assuming my understanding is correct).

 

I was told by O when I booked that once I transferred the booking, they could not talk to me for anything. I understood and accepted that. But when the time comes to make some restaurant reservations, it could get cumbersome. Unless I give my agent a long list of acceptable dates/times/restaurant name combinations, it could take many phone calls to get what I want. There is no impact to the agent's commission so I don't see why O wouldn't talk to me about that. Especially since I was told that I would be able to call the Air Deviation folks directly. Those two things just don't logically match up to me. It is certainly possible that I misunderstood that point.

 

In either of those cases, I think it is actually more courteous of me to leave my agent out of it as it could simplify everyone's lives if I could have those discussions.

 

But my agent gives me a generous perk while I am sure still makes a decent profit on me (through volume if nothing else as we usually book about 5-6 cruises a year and have referred about 10 other frequent cruisers to her). For what I get, I am willing to give up direct access. So while I would be happy to have the complicated discussions without her, I am also not at all inhibited about giving her those assignments.

 

And for mom2travel, I don't know what final papers and blue book are so I can't compare. But I can see on my O invoice and TA invoice everything I am supposed to have. There is no conflict as they include different things (except the base fare information). If you have conflicting information, then I understand your concern. But it you are expecting to see everything on any one of them, then I think you may be doomed to disappointment.

 

Logic says that the original vendor (Oceania) "should" deal with the end-user (passenger), but business logic is a well-known oxymoron (sort of like military intelligence or government ethics :D).

[cotto22]

I booked our first Oceania cruise this past Spring, a transatlantic on Insignia in October to celebrate an Anniversary. I booked it through a TA, who has given us additional OBC in addition to the OBC, free gratuities and, and free internet offered by Oceania. When it came to booking the specialty restaurants, I did that online when it was our time to do so without involving the TA. It was a very easy process.

 

Can't comment on the OBC and Oceania blue book or blue folder as I haven't received ours yet. Hoping all goes well!

[YoHoHo]

As I have said several times, I am not familiar with the details of how Oceania works, but here is an example of where I don't think there would be anything wrong with having the passenger access O directly (assuming my understanding is correct).

 

I was told by O when I booked that once I transferred the booking, they could not talk to me for anything. I understood and accepted that. But when the time comes to make some restaurant reservations, it could get cumbersome. Unless I give my agent a long list of acceptable dates/times/restaurant name combinations, it could take many phone calls to get what I want. There is no impact to the agent's commission so I don't see why O wouldn't talk to me about that.

They will talk to you about that. In fact the far simplest thing to do is book your restaurant reservations yourself, online. Granted a more robust page would be nice but it works. After you have made the reservation you are sent an email from 'the system" with the details confirmed

 

O will talk you you about buying an excursions, also bookable on-line, or a drinks package and such but will not discuss money related issues - such as cancelling or otherwise changing your booking or an OBC question.

 

Your agent might be giving that OBC directly, they might have a number of cabins blocked off in a group that allows them some pricing advantage they might pass on, etc. It is up to the agent to work that with you and they get paid their commission based on that. Not a direct analogy but one wouldn't call Ford to discuss the pricing deal they made with a dealer. Well some might.

 

So you are right, it is mostly about money things that can affect the agents commission O will not discuss with you.

 

A Especially since I was told that I would be able to call the Air Deviation folks directly. Those two things just don't logically match up to me. It is certainly possible that I misunderstood that point.

I could be wrong but I don't know if you or I can call the Deviation dept directly with or with an agent. I think they prefer to work off of email. What do you want? Here is the offer - yes or no. No, how about this? Here is the new offer, yes or no?

 

I agree that can be slow. My agent once made a conference call with the Deviation dept because they gave me a choice of two. One with waaaaay to tight connection time through North East US in winter and the other, with a bit more time, involved a carrier change so if missed that I am on my own. Could not get the point that either of these could leave me stranded so a phone call cleared it up and got better flights very quickly. So yes, I am with you there - a phone does work.

 

But my agent gives me a generous perk while I am sure still makes a decent profit on me (through volume if nothing else as we usually book about 5-6 cruises a year and have referred about 10 other frequent cruisers to her). For what I get, I am willing to give up direct access. So while I would be happy to have the complicated discussions without her, I am also not at all inhibited about giving her those assignments.

I am glad you wrote that the perks come from somewhere and that you might be getting the deal you got because of overall business you represent to the agent. If you purchase insurance and a few other things and 'book often, book lots' then they have more to play with.

 

I also think it is interesting your remark about not 'inhibited about giving her those assignments'. Some agents offer discounts etc and want to do no further work other than booking the cruise. It simply devalues the whole cruise vacation purchase experience. The cruise lines don't want this either.

 

On the other hand some clients take a lot of work and agents don't make money any longer. The time spent does not always equate. That is true though in any business. Client facing retail can be a tough job. An acquaintance has been asked to leave car dealerships trying to grind out a deal. More than once I think. Ironically he works the other side of the deal in commercial sales so maybe used to this.

Edited August 13, 2014 by YoHoHo

[luv2travel100]

mom2travel, I don't blame you one bit for wanting everything ironed out ahead of time. As an attorney, I learned long ago not to leave things to chance, especially when it comes to money.

 

There is simply no reason for there to be a behind the curtain Wizard of Oz moment during the cruise with respect to what the amenities are. As my situation shows, you can't always rely on your TA to get it right, unfortunately.

 

Yes, the fact that my original sales rep left several months ago probably explains why there was a mixup. The new rep may not have had access to the emails setting out the terms of the SBC deal in June of 2013.

 

But that's not a mixup I want to learn about 2 or 3 days into the Baltics cruise, which is when my current rep was telling me that the amenities would be posted onto my onboard account, and would be as originally promised....

 

I would have been more than a little bit embarrassed to tell my wife and our 4 travelling companions that we are all short $300 in SBC with no way of knowing whether to spend it anyway and hope we'd get it back once we returned home..... Fact is I'd have been stewing the rest of the cruise. No thank you. Not when a simple phone call to Oceania BEFORE I get on the plane to Stockholm can easily avoid such an unpleasant scenario.

 

And please don't tell me my TA is lousy. No, the service up until the time my original agent left had been superb. Timely, prompt, courteous, etc. But once I learned she left, my lawyerly instincts kicked in, and I wanted to verify that the new person knew exactly what amenities the 6 of us had been promised. Turns out she didn't, and her vague responses to my pointed questions raised that big red flag.

 

In my situation, there was one way to get to the bottom of things: Call Oceania! I'm glad I did, and I'm grateful that the O rep agreed to tell me exactly what their records show we would be receiving in SBC and how much was going to be refundable. (mom2travel, I'm sorry to hear that your two phone calls to O didn't yield the same result.)

 

As far as I'm concerned, trust the TA but verify when necessary.

 

The fact is I don't want to be arguing with O or my TA about my amenities during the cruise, when I'm supposed to be de-stressing from my day job, and I don't want to be doing it as soon as I get home either.

 

Bottom line for me is that my current rep made a mistake when reporting to O what we were to receive; I caught the error (thanks to the O rep) and brought it to my TA's attention; and the problem was then quickly solved.

[roothy123]

Just wanted to close the loop on this thread. I am currently on my cruise on Insignia and all the amenities promised were there when I boarded. The cards state that shipboard credit from one source cannot be used to get cash.Forget if that was TA or O credit. Free internet was not listed on a card but a quick call to reception confirmed it. Internet connection is really good despite previous cruiser comments. Everything is wonderful so far and as has been the case each time we have cruised there have been improvements. I have heard complaints on cruise critic about various things but so far all have turned out to be nonexistent. Excellent day in Lisbon and next up is pretty Cadiz and Sevilla and then the Rock and then fascinating Canary Islands. Spanish VAT is being charged on days we are in Spain. Was a shuttle in Lisbon.Found an excellent tour there if anyone is interested.

Edited August 17, 2014 by roothy123

[Queen of DaNile]

Sounds great roothy! Enjoy your cruise.

[CintiPam]

Just wanted to close the loop on this thread. I am currently on my cruise on Insignia and all the amenities promised were there when I boarded. The cards state that shipboard credit from one source cannot be used to get cash.Forget if that was TA or O credit. Free internet was not listed on a card but a quick call to reception confirmed it. Internet connection is really good despite previous cruiser comments. Everything is wonderful so far and as has been the case each time we have cruised there have been improvements. I have heard complaints on cruise critic about various things but so far all have turned out to be nonexistent. Excellent day in Lisbon and next up is pretty Cadiz and Sevilla and then the Rock and then fascinating Canary Islands. Spanish VAT is being charged on days we are in Spain. Was a shuttle in Lisbon.Found an excellent tour there if anyone is interested.

 

Great to hear that all is good. Enjoy your cruise!