Travel Agent or RCI

[missy2662]

I purchased a RCI cruise online with the agents and then transferred to my travel agent. I am having problems with the now travel agent that I transferred it to. Does anyone know if I can transfer this back to Royal because obviously I am doing more on my own than she is doing for me? This was about a week ago that it was transferred to her.

[minn0315]

We use a travel agent because she has given us perks that RCI would not. On our Navigator we had both a complimentary dinner for two in Chops. Then she also upgraded my premium drink package to ultimate package.

 

On this Adventure we are on right now we have dinner for two in Giovanni's Table as a gift.

 

She also contacts dining and room attendants to make sure our every request is met. TAs make good commissions for these cruises and good ones pass them on to loyal customers. Also RCI wants to keep them happy to keep recommending these cruises, so they are very responsive to TA requests and communications.

[missy2662]

That is what I thought my travel agent would do but I am not getting any return emails from her!

[Ashland]

That is what I thought my travel agent would do but I am not getting any return emails from her!

 

You must now ask the TA you have opted to transfer it to do a release of booking for you...good luck with that.

[Ashland]

We use a travel agent because she has given us perks that RCI would not. On our Navigator we had both a complimentary dinner for two in Chops. Then she also upgraded my premium drink package to ultimate package.

 

On this Adventure we are on right now we have dinner for two in Giovanni's Table as a gift.

 

She also contacts dining and room attendants to make sure our every request is met. TAs make good commissions for these cruises and good ones pass them on to loyal customers. Also RCI wants to keep them happy to keep recommending these cruises, so they are very responsive to TA requests and communications.

 

This is what is working for you...obviously not the case with the OP ;)

[missy2662]

That is exactly what Royal said, I need to contact my current travel agent and have her release it back to Royal. If she won't even answer my emails, why would she transfer it back. So aggravated! Wish we could just name the great Travel Agents on this site!

[voyager70]

Good luck OP. You have been given some great advice. This is a hotly debated topic on CC. Personally I haven't used a TA in 15+ years. The little perks they give aren't nearly worth the convenience of having total control over the reservation. Best of luck whatever you do.

[cruisinfanatic]

That is exactly what Royal said, I need to contact my current travel agent and have her release it back to Royal. If she won't even answer my emails, why would she transfer it back. So aggravated! Wish we could just name the great Travel Agents on this site!

What won't your TA do for you?

Pick up the phone and call

That's what you would do if Royal had your booking

[Ashland]

That is exactly what Royal said, I need to contact my current travel agent and have her release it back to Royal. If she won't even answer my emails, why would she transfer it back. So aggravated! Wish we could just name the great Travel Agents on this site!

 

Correct, and there in is the problem...Certainly (hopefully) there must be another way to contact this particular agency (phone at all)...And why I said "good luck" they will not want to give up this booking easily or maybe at all...and even if you cancel more than likely they would charge you a fee to do so. Sorry but this is the reason why I retain ownership of all my bookings and always have...the few things offered by TA's isn't worth it in the long run to me...JMHO and many feel otherwise. Again good luck I hope the TA you have opted for will step up and perhaps end up doing right by you.

[matj2000]

Good luck OP. You have been given some great advice. This is a hotly debated topic on CC. Personally I haven't used a TA in 15+ years. The little perks they give aren't nearly worth the convenience of having total control over the reservation. Best of luck whatever you do.

Those "little perks" are Paid Gratuities, $100 - $200 OBC, Bev package, Etc.

 

They sit on hold with the cruise line and deal with them.

 

And I have total control of my reservation........

 

[missy2662]

She is a friend of a friend who is a one man show working out of her home. I had a question about OBC from another site asking if I could get that credit. Also, planning another trip and no response. Learned my lesson the hard way I guess. I always planned my own vacations but thought an agent would take the pressure off of watching for price reductions, OBC, perks as you have all mentioned. I work all day and do not have the access to call during her so called working hours so I email her. Just thought if she was in the business with smart phones that she gets my emails.

[voyager70]

Those "little perks" are Paid Gratuities, $100 - $200 OBC, Bev package, Etc.

 

They sit on hold with the cruise line and deal with them.

 

And I have total control of my reservation........

 

 

First of all, welcome back from probation! Guess what, I get all the same perks and never have to wait on hold! Plus I've saved thousands by phoning in price drops when all the travel agents are closed for the weekend!

[matj2000]

Plus I've saved thousands by phoning in price drops when all the travel agents are closed for the weekend!

 

Mine is not.

 

I believe they have longer hours than the cruise line does.

 

And I still get the gratuities paid for every time.....

 

[voyager70]

Mine is not.

 

I believe they have longer hours than the cruise line does.

 

And I still get the gratuities paid for every time.....

 

 

Good for you!

 

Bye bye <ignore>

[Wilson]

We use a "major" online travel agency. I always get a reply to my emails the same day or the very next morning. If I leave a message with customer service they call back in the same time frame. For our upcoming April cruise Royal offered us $350 obc. Our TA doubled that so we will have $700!

 

Is your TA an individual or a company? Maybe he/she is on vacation. Your signature is outdated. When is the cruise? Call someone else with that company.

[cruiselife4me]

TA's have a wealth of knowledge, and are here for you. I know, I am one!

[FSUNole]

That is exactly what Royal said, I need to contact my current travel agent and have her release it back to Royal. If she won't even answer my emails, why would she transfer it back. So aggravated! Wish we could just name the great Travel Agents on this site!

 

Have you tried calling? Maybe your emails are going to spam or something.

[grandgeezer]

First of all, welcome back from probation! Guess what, I get all the same perks and never have to wait on hold! Plus I've saved thousands by phoning in price drops when all the travel agents are closed for the weekend!

 

The first thing that comes to mind when you said you saved thousands because of price drops is that you must have grossly overpaid to begin with. We've done 37 cruises and I've never had a cruise drop more tha $100 or so.

Last December we did a B2B on Celebrity Silhouette, when we booked it, it was the Pick Your Perk promo. We took the drink package through Celebrity and our online travel agent gave us prepaid gratuities and $150 obc for eac leg.

[missy2662]

I booked a 2016 Alaska Cruise. Note: I called and booked, called back when I found the $100 OBC and then the next day gave it to my Travel Agent. Wish I knew the "major" online travel agencies. There are many. As I mentioned she only has day hours and cannot call during the day. These days with email it should be a given that a Travel Agent check her emails daily. Just looking for someone to watch out for me and if I an entitled to "perks" I will receive them.

[shippmates]

Sorry your TA is not working for you. Just remember when the price changes, the TA will loose some of her commission due to the lower price. She should be checking her email and her spam box several times a day unless she is that busy and doesn't have time. Hope you can find a more helpful agent. Most agents do have a wealth of knowledge and take the long on hold time away from you.

[knittinggirl]

A few years ago, someone here mentioned transferring a booking back to Royal. The TA had disappeared, and they needed to make final payment. So, Royal finally transferred it back before the deadline.

 

Keeping a time log should help you build your case.

 

Give it a little more time. Our TA has been known to disappear for a week at a time.

 

She was out of town when I had to cancel a cruise at the last minute. But managed to come through in the emergency the next day.

Edited March 10, 2016 by knittinggirl

[runawaysoul]

For others wishing to learn from this post, you can search a trade organization, such as ASTA (american society of travel agents). From there you can pick the agent near you with the best reviews. I agree with the others that this is a hotly contested topic. Personally, I believe that finding a good TA is a blessing, and the real rewards come from building a relationship with the TA.

[CruiserTB]

For others wishing to learn from this post, you can search a trade organization, such as ASTA (american society of travel agents). From there you can pick the agent near you with the best reviews. I agree with the others that this is a hotly contested topic. Personally, I believe that finding a good TA is a blessing, and the real rewards come from building a relationship with the TA.

 

I think that's the key, finding a good TA. I'm struggling with this as well. I normally do my own bookings and go on a cruise once or twice a year. I even organized a group cruise where I was in charge of everything, all the bookings, collecting payments, paying it off, etc... Quite frankly it was a real hassle. So for the next big group cruise I'm doing, I wanted to find a TA that could handle it all.

 

This past weekend I went on a cruise and I used a TA I found online as kind of a test and I did explain to her I was trying the ship out for a group cruise next year of which I expect 50-100 guests to sail with me. She seemed nice and excited and said she could try and arrange for me to meet with someone onboard to discuss the cruise next year since she was going to be on the sailing with me.

 

However, I was disappointed in the service I received from her. Maybe I had unrealistic expectations. I thought TA's monitored your booking for price drops and would let you know if they saw anything. With the one I had, I learned of the price drops and would let her know and there were a few times when she waited too long to get back to me and so I missed the price drop because by the time she looked the price had increased again. I even resorted to sending her screen shots so that she could see the price drops. In the end I did get one price drop but it seemed like I was bothering her by asking her to send in the request (this is based on a remark she made about how much business she does with the cruiseline). Also, other than sending me my cruise documents I never heard from her again, so needless to say we didn't meet on the cruise.

 

I'm a very laid back type of person and don't really need much but for the group cruise I would like a TA that can look out for my guests and for me that means letting us know when/if there's a price drop and being on top of it. Other than that I just want someone I can direct my guests to concerning the cruise. So yeah it's hard because not all TAs are alike and finding a good one is hard. I also wish CC would allow people to recommend specific TAs:D

[voyager70]

The first thing that comes to mind when you said you saved thousands because of price drops is that you must have grossly overpaid to begin with. We've done 37 cruises and I've never had a cruise drop more tha $100 or so.

Last December we did a B2B on Celebrity Silhouette, when we booked it, it was the Pick Your Perk promo. We took the drink package through Celebrity and our online travel agent gave us prepaid gratuities and $150 obc for eac leg.

 

Not true at all. I've been on roughly the same amount of cruises as you so I know what I'm doing. Just one example, booked a 12 night Med cruise several years ago for roughly $3400 for two (standard balcony). Priced dropped by around $800 per person before final payment so I called and got the reduced rate. Have gotten price drops in the $500+ range many times. It adds up to thousands and I never grossly overpay when I do the original booking.

[Ashland]

Not true at all. I've been on roughly the same amount of cruises as you so I know what I'm doing. Just one example, booked a 12 night Med cruise several years ago for roughly $3400 for two (standard balcony). Priced dropped by around $800 per person before final payment so I called and got the reduced rate. Have gotten price drops in the $500+ range many times. It adds up to thousands and I never grossly overpay when I do the original booking.

 

AGREE.....I take my travel plans very personally too....and I doubt there is any one 3rd party that can or would monitor them the way I do. And be an advocate if ever necessary any better than I can be for myself. The bit of perks they offer just isn't worth it to me either.

Edited March 10, 2016 by Ashland