Duties of a Travel Agency

[richwmn]

Over the years we have had many discussions, as allowed by Cruise Critics rules, about the differences between the various means of booking a cruise. The ways normally discussed are small travel agencies, big box travel agencies, general 800 number for the cruise line, and Personal Cruise Consultants.

 

In a current post on the new Cuba cruises, a user states: "I have asked my TA if they received the email from HAL and failed to notify me." She then states that she owes someone at HAL an apology if that was the case.

 

This brings up a question of what we should expect of the various agencies that we can use to book a cruise.

 

For the most part I have booked my cruises with a PCC at HAL. I receive excellent and courteous service. Many of my cruises have been transferred to various Travel Agents. From these TAs I have received anywhere from no service to reasonable service, but none matched my PCC. From some I received OBC, from a couple nothing.

 

From my experience, and reading posts on Cruise Critics, I come to the conclusion that travel agents fall into several broad categories, sometimes within the same agencies.

 

1. Order takers - There are many agents out there that are only interested in booking the cruise and getting the commission. I don't know if it still exists, but at one time there was a group you could join that gave you a website and allowed you to receive commissions. I had several friends join that group, and ask me to transfer bookings to them so they could get the money. They had no interest in providing any service.

 

2. Some service - Other agents try to give some service. However, since they have never been on a cruise, or at least the line they are booking, they are really not much help. These agents will at least make a call to try and get answers.

 

3. Full service - Then we have the agents that have been on multiple cruises on several lines. They have also visited many of the destinations and can give information that is helpful to the new visitor to that port.

 

Over the years I have had dealings with each type. Some cruises I transferred I received nothing - no OBC, no upgrades, no gifts. Other cruises I got OBC and service and some just OBC.

 

We have no way of knowing what kind of TA we will be dealing with when we book or transfer a cruise. Even a TA that gives great service to one client may act differently to someone else.

 

This brings up questions - what is the minimum we should expect of a travel agency, even if we get most of their commission as an OBC? How much should we expect of a travel agent that doesn't give us anything? Should all agents monitor price changes for us?

[3rdGenCunarder]

I think the most important thing is that the agent know the business, and gets that it's a SERVICE industry. Seems obvious, but I've heard too many horror stories to believe they're all as good as mine.

 

In all the years I've been cruising, I've had only two agents, both category 3. I was with the first one until she retired. Before the lines kept moving around and changing staff, she had good contacts and got us some great deals. She would ask the cruise line for things I didn't expect to get. After QM2 took over the transatlantic route, QE2 was based out of Southampton all the time. To get her loyal fans from the US to follow QE2 to her new home, Cunard offered $99 each way air. We happened to be booked on Caronia at the time, and the offer was for QE2 only. A lot of agents would have just said the deal wasn't available to us. But she called Cunard and said "These people have done a lot of cruises with you. How about letting them have this deal?" And they did!

 

When she retired, I changed to an agent I met through friends. She's another go-the-extra-mile person. She has cruised a lot, she knows the business. She hears from her clients after cruises, and remembers their feedback, which helps her make suggestions. She's with a large agency and sometimes they have astonishing deals. She will check prices with and without my loyalty number, see if their agency is holding cabins at a special rate, find me the best price and/or perks.

 

Many years ago I worked with someone who was a part-time travel agent as a sideline. She did it mainly to get the good travel agent rates. (I don't think TAs get as many perks as they used to) She wasn't the brightest Crayola in the box, and the fact that it was a spare-time job did not make me comfortable with the idea of booking with her. When she'd ask if I would book with her. I always said that I'd been with my TA for so long, I couldn't possibly change. She was category 1, the order taker.

[kazu]

What a great thread you have started.

 

I agree with your assessment. I think it applies to PCC's and TA's alike.

 

I do not expect a TA to monitor prices for me. Between websites that notify you and this board (and the HAL site), it's not hard for any of us to keep on top of a price drop and notify.

 

I do expect to be notified of upsell offers, to have someone knowledgeable enough that can advise if I have a question.

 

And, I like to feel that my business is appreciated ;)

 

Now, here's a stupid question - why transfer from your PCC if there is no incentive from the TA you are transferring to? (Ie., no OBC or discounted price?)

[cbr663]

Travel agents are in business to make money, just like any other business. If you are expecting a travel agent to "buy" your business by gifting you most of their commission as OBC, then I would expect them to be little more than an order taker. I would expect that they would take care of simple requests (such as price adjustment) and notify you of any price reductions. I would not expect them to spend considerable time answering telephone calls and lengthy emails providing thorough advice and guidance on your particular itinerary and ports. I compare it to someone wanting to redecorate their home and is shopping at Walmart. You ain't going to find anyone at Walmart who will help you make all your choices. For that type of service you have to go elsewhere. Same with travel agents.

 

A full service, full commission travel agent meets with you face to face. They take the time to know your likes and dislikes, limitations and budget and builds the very best travel experience for you. Value is added by offering suggestions that you would never find on your own and little known alternatives. They recommend the things that you should see and tell you why you skip certain things. They have lots of experience traveling and know first hand how to make things go smoother. This agent is giving you a full experience that you would not be able to get on your own.

 

One agent provides you with a less expensive experience while the other provides you with a much more full experience. You just have to decide which you want.

[retird]

I have always booked direct with the cruise line and I never expect anything more than what they advertise is available for that particular cruise. I sometimes will deal with one cruise planner for a particular cruise and in other instances I may deal with more than one cruise planner for the same cruise. Maybe I have been lucky, but I have always received great service from the planners I dealt with. For instance, I recently put a 24 hour hold on b2b cruises but since there were only Gty cabins left in the category ,the planner was suppose to explore with the assignment team the possibility of being assigned the same cabin for both cruises when cabin assignments were made . She/he was to call me back within the 24 hour period so I could decide to firm up the booking. The planner apparently did the checking but forgot to call me back. Just before the 24 hours were up, I called the 800 number and a supervisor I spoke to apologized for the mix up and said that to make it up to me she was assigning an upgraded cabin immediately for both cruises.

 

Whether I were to use a TA or cruise planner, it doesn't much matter what I expect from them. I cannot control how either would treat their clients.

 

I like having control of my booking and a cruise planner gives me 24/7 access to service.

[iancal]

We match our requirement with our TA. We expect our TA to book our cruise. Period. On the infrequent occasion when we book outside the final payment window we expect our TA to re-price. Which she does. We do not expect her to monitor prices for either price decrease or cabin category changes. This is our job.

 

So we deal with an on line TA that gives us the best prices and OBC's as well as good service to the level that we require it. Most often, her price, net of agency OBC's is 8-12 percent lower than going with the cruise line direct. That equates to one free cruise for every 10-15 we take.

 

From time to time our TA has, at time of booking, advised us of a more attractive, unpublished offer that we were not aware of or been able to provide slightly increased OBC or cabin cat. because she is tacking us on to a small group. She occasionally gives us feedback on ships that she has rec'd from customers.

 

If we required a higher level of service we would not expect to get the same level of discounts that we do. We realize that it is a very reasonable expectation that we should pay more, or get less discount, if we require, or demand a higher level of service. We are low maintenance clients. We are not looking for a long chat, a new best friend, or to swap stories about grandchildren. Just book the cruise, reprice, and thank you very much.

 

We have never understood the 'control over booking' issue. After numerous cruises we have never felt that we have lost one iota of control over our booking in dealing with our TA. She has repriced, changed cabins, and brought very a very attractive Princess move over offer to us in the past.

 

In the event that we have an issue with a cruise line we would much rather have an independent TA on our side that a cruise line employee cruise consultant.

Edited May 29, 2017 by iancal

[whogo]

This brings up questions - what is the minimum we should expect of a travel agency, even if we get most of their commission as an OBC? Book the correct cabin on the correct date on the correct ship and see that the cruise line makes the credit card charges. How much should we expect of a travel agent that doesn't give us anything? Book the correct cabin on the correct date on the correct ship and see that the cruise line makes the credit card charge. Should all agents monitor price changes for us? No, I would not expect that.

 

I wrote a long explanation, but see that iancal has said the same thing better.

[RocketMan275]

We match our requirement with our TA. We expect our TA to book our cruise. Period. On the infrequent occasion when we book outside the final payment window we expect our TA to re-price. Which she does. We do not expect her to monitor prices for either price decrease or cabin category changes. This is our job.

 

So we deal with an on line TA that gives us the best prices and OBC's as well as good service to the level that we require it.

 

From time to time our TA has, at time of booking, advised us of a more attractive, unpublished offer that we were not aware of or been able to provide slightly increased OBC or cabin cat. because she is tacking us on to a small group. She occasionally gives us feedback on ships that she has rec'd from customers.

 

If we required a higher level of service we would not expect to get the same level of discounts that we do. We realize that it is a very reasonable expectation that we should pay more, or get less discount, if we require, or demand a higher level of service. We are low maintenance clients. We are not looking for a long chat, a new best friend, or to swap stories about grandchildren. Just book the cruise, reprice, and thank you very much.

 

We have never understood the 'control over booking' issue. After numerous cruises we have never felt that we have lost one iota of control over our booking in dealing with our TA. She has repriced, changed cabins, and brought very a very attractive Princess move over offer to us in the past.

 

In the event that we have an issue with a cruise line we would much rather have an independent TA on our side that a cruise line employee cruise consultant.

 

Completely agree. Your expectations match ours as well. All I want is someone to answer the phone, book my order, and discount the fare. Our TA does not charge any fees other than those imposed by the cruise line. We usually sent the TA an email detailing the date, ship, itinerary, and cabin number and class. We get an email back with the invoice. If we notify her of a price drop, she gets it. We don't need advice on excursions or hotels or someone to book airlines. Furthermore, we feel that this gives us as much control as any other booking method.

[voyageur9]

Duties may be a little strong. It's a commercial arrangement. You pay for a service which entitles you to that service. In exchange the agent gets a cut of the price. The bigger the price, the more service (including a kickback of OBC etc) you can expect.

 

All warm-and-fuzzy personal chuminess aside, it's a paid-for service.

 

And like many broker-intermediaries in an era of easily-available online markets where prices are increasingly transparent; cruise agents may be doomed. Just as retail, storefront, travel agents have almost disappeared (certainly they don't write much airline business) and stock brokers can't rack up ridiculous percentage fees; the value added by cruise agents may be diminishing. Some function as wholesalers in that they block buy from the cruise lines. Others are mere sidelines at bigger businesses.

 

I suspect few current cruise line travel agents would advise 20-somethings to get into the business which seems likely to disappear. It may not put groceries on anyone's table soon. Ditto real estate agents; at least for commodity housing like 2-bed condos.

[bUU]

Regardless of what the travel agent offers in terms of service, it is critical to remember that when you choose to book through a travel agent you are choosing to get all of the customer service regarding your cruise that you'd expect to receive before your cruise from the travel agent instead of the cruise line.

 

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[Flatbush Flyer]

....We have no way of knowing what kind of TA we will be dealing with when we book or transfer a cruise. Even a TA that gives great service to one client may act differently to someone else.

 

 

...and that is the root of your problem. Of course, you have a way of knowing- do the research essential to finding a good TA: Minimally, to be a "knowledgeable cruise consumer":

 

1.) Acquire bona fide recommendations from expert sources like Condé Nast Traveler, travel editors of major metro newspapers, non-profit consumer review groups (e.g., "checkbook.org") and even review sites like Trip Advisor and Yelp (taken with a grain of salt). Consider, but do not rely solely on, recommendations from friends who cruise.

 

2.) Cross reference all recommendations and the "cream will rise to the top" providing you a "short list."

 

3.) Interview the short list agents/agencies. Ask about professional and personal cruise experience, TA certifications, extent of what they will and won't do, nature of any fees and two very important questions- "why you?" and "cite a significant booking screw-up you had how you handled it (successful or otherwise)?"

 

4.) If you are focused on a particular cruise line, make sure that those TAs on your short list are top sellers for that cruise line (e.g., belonging to "preferred provider" club of that cruise line). Those individuals are privy to unpublished specials, may be paid higher commissions based on sales numbers, etc.

 

5.) Most importantly, ask questions- particularly as regards what the TAs you are considering are willing to add as amenities to the best deal currently available from the cruise line. Whether it is from cruise line provided incentive funds, travel consortium add-ins or commission sharing, the monetary value of TA added OBC, tips, etc should range from 5 to 10% of the commissionable fare. Obviously, on a longer cruise by premium/luxury lines this could amount to "four figures."

 

6.) Even when you've settled on a cadre of three regular agents to usually compare for a cruise purchase, do occasionally spot check what others have to offer. It will make you a knowledgeable consumer when you discuss deals with your own preferred TAs.

 

 

 

 

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[Tampa Girl]

...

4.) If you are focused on a particular cruise line, make sure that those TAs on your short list are top sellers for that cruise line (e.g., belonging to "preferred provider" club of that cruise line). Those individuals are privy to unpublished specials, may be paid higher commissions based on sales numbers, etc.

 

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You have made some good suggestions, but how do you learn who the "top sellers" or "preferred providers" are? Also, what do you define as the commissionable fare? The list price?

[Flatbush Flyer]

You have made some good suggestions, but how do you learn who the "top sellers" or "preferred providers" are? Also, what do you define as the commissionable fare? The list price?

 

 

"Top sellers" will belong to the "preferred partner" clubs of a cruise line (if it has one), e.g., Oceania's Connoisseurs Club. Those TAs will usually advertise that in their materials (or just ask them). Need to find out which lines have clubs? Google is your friend.

"Commissionable fare" generally refers to whatever the advertised promotional fare may be minus any port taxes and associated fees. Of course, you can also ask what percentage s/he is providing.

 

At the bottom line however, you need to convert all perks to a dollar value - whether talking about the cruise line's own perks or the TAs added perks.

 

For example, look at similar itineraries of HAL and Oceania for a TransAtlantic cruise. HAL's cabin price will be lower, that is, until you add the cost of airfare, beverages, internet, specialty restaurants and some amenity like booze or excursion (which are included in the Oceania cabin cost). And then, of course, there is the significant difference in quality of food and service.

As for the TAs: a preferred provider may get "pass through" incentive funds like gratuities, occasional unpublished fare sales (approx 5-15% off on select cruises). Travel consortium member TAs may get added OBC on featured cruises. Some consortia even have special arrangements with specific cruise lines. And then there is the sharing of TA commissions (most often the source of "refundable" OBC).

Bottom line: do the research (and read the fine print.)

 

 

 

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[richwmn]

What a great thread you have started.

 

I agree with your assessment. I think it applies to PCC's and TA's alike.

 

I do not expect a TA to monitor prices for me. Between websites that notify you and this board (and the HAL site), it's not hard for any of us to keep on top of a price drop and notify.

 

I do expect to be notified of upsell offers, to have someone knowledgeable enough that can advise if I have a question.

 

And, I like to feel that my business is appreciated ;)

 

Now, here's a stupid question - why transfer from your PCC if there is no incentive from the TA you are transferring to? (Ie., no OBC or discounted price?)

Not a stupid question, but a good one. I have done this twice. Once was the mother of a friend who told me she would take good care of me. Long story short, she didn't. The second was more recently. A friend told me that a local person had just been hired as a TA. I was told that this new TA had taken very good care of my friends and for that matter the TA was someone I had met. Same result. In both cases the OBC that I had been offered was not enough to otherwise transfer the cruise

[richwmn]

...and that is the root of your problem. Of course, you have a way of knowing- do the research essential to finding a good TA: Minimally, to be a "knowledgeable cruise consumer":

---snip----

 

I don't believe I ever said that I had a problem. I did say that I have a PCC that gives me great service and I will continue to use her. Also, as I mentioned, two different people might get vastly different service from the same TA.

 

My intent in starting this thread was to get discussion about what a TA should do, particularly those in the "order taker" status. I feel that even if the TA is only booking the cruise, they should forward all emails concerning the cruise from the line to the customer. Many times there have been threads about poor customer service from HAL which are traced to an error on the part of the TA. An example of this is one of the cruises I transferred to a newly minted agent. About a month before the cruise I got an email from her. It was a forward from HAL and her message was that she didn't know why she got it but thought I might want to see it. It was about a cabin upgrade which I didn't want anyway.

[Flatbush Flyer]

What a great thread you have started.

 

 

 

I agree with your assessment. I think it applies to PCC's and TA's alike.

 

 

 

I do not expect a TA to monitor prices for me. Between websites that notify you and this board (and the HAL site), it's not hard for any of us to keep on top of a price drop and notify.

 

 

 

I do expect to be notified of upsell offers, to have someone knowledgeable enough that can advise if I have a question.

 

 

 

And, I like to feel that my business is appreciated ;)

 

 

 

Now, here's a stupid question - why transfer from your PCC if there is no incentive from the TA you are transferring to? (Ie., no OBC or discounted price?)

 

 

Great thread? There's got to be more than two dozen previous threads on exactly this same subject.

Nonetheless, I've added a few comments in my earlier post. But here's another:

PVPs are most often cruise line employees and, unlike a top selling preferred partner TA, isn't employed by you. Beyond any added TA perks (not available from a PVP), there's also the issue of who goes to bat for you when the cruise line says "no." In addition, that TA, who may do a $ million(s) in annual bookings with them, has far more clout than the line's own low level employee.

 

 

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[Flatbush Flyer]

.....An example of this is one of the cruises I transferred to a newly minted agent.....

 

 

You've just validated my point: why would you transfer a cruise to a "newly minted agent" (or to an agency [web-based or otherwise] where there is some "gatekeeper" position limited to taking orders?

 

"You get what you pay for" (in this case, the "pay" is doing the research and whatever other effort it may reasonably take to identify/employ a first class/full service agent).

 

When you finally do that month long $25k transpacific cruise, the approx $2k+ in combined perks (above what any PVP could ever do) will have been worth your 2 hours of homework and "al dente" demeanor in working with the right TA.

 

 

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[richwmn]

You've just validated my point: why would you transfer a cruise to a "newly minted agent" (or to an agency [web-based or otherwise] where there is some "gatekeeper" position limited to taking orders?

You are good at selective reading. I said in another post that what I was being offered in OBC was not enough to cause me to transfer from my PCC. New agents need to have a chance to find out what is going on, and I felt that since this was someone I had met and a friend of a good friend of mine, I chose to give her the commission. My example was to show that some agents might not realize that emails need to be forwarded.

 

"You get what you pay for" (in this case, the "pay" is doing the research and whatever other effort it may reasonably take to identify/employ a first class/full service agent).

 

As I mentioned, this agent came highly recommended by friends

 

 

When you finally do that month long $25k transpacific cruise, the approx $2k+ in combined perks (above what any PVP could ever do) will have been worth your 2 hours of homework and "al dente" demeanor in working with the right TA.

 

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I do shop around to see what is available.

 

But this thread was not started as to get hints on "how to find a travel agent" which I agree there are many threads about, instead it was started to solicit opinions about what we as consumers should expect from the travel agents we employ.

Your first post on this thread, and to some degree the others, was a good guide on how to pick a travel agent.

[Flatbush Flyer]

You are good at selective reading. I said in another post that what I was being offered in OBC was not enough to cause me to transfer from my PCC. New agents need to have a chance to find out what is going on, and I felt that since this was someone I had met and a friend of a good friend of mine, I chose to give her the commission. My example was to show that some agents might not realize that emails need to be forwarded.

 

 

 

As I mentioned, this agent came highly recommended by friends

 

 

 

 

 

I do shop around to see what is available.

 

 

 

But this thread was not started as to get hints on "how to find a travel agent" which I agree there are many threads about, instead it was started to solicit opinions about what we as consumers should expect from the travel agents we employ.

 

Your first post on this thread, and to some degree the others, was a good guide on how to pick a travel agent.

 

 

As for what to expect from any service provider, I am always reminded of that great read of my youth: "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" where one of the main tenets boiled down to "do it yourself" (but only after you understand your own limitations, do the research and follow the correct [often obvious] non-corner cutting path to solution).

 

That said, I would always want/expect a TA to apply demonstrable expertise in validating the correctness and efficacy of my own preliminary research findings and offer appropriate alternatives to assure the best cruise experience in each case.

 

Along with that, and the added value/money perks, I would want the TA to have enough of a close relationship with the cruise line to be able to fix a SNAFU in short order (most often while I remain on hold (or in a conference call) during the telephone conversation with the TAs regional rep or other appropriate cruise line manager.

 

 

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[knittinggirl]

How often do travel agents give perks above and beyond what the cruise line gives (like Explore 4)? Is this something you negotiate in advance when you transfer the booking to them, or something they surprise the customer with?

 

What's considered a reasonable perk?

[retird]

Duties may be a little strong. It's a commercial arrangement. You pay for a service which entitles you to that service. In exchange the agent gets a cut of the price. The bigger the price, the more service (including a kickback of OBC etc) you can expect.

 

All warm-and-fuzzy personal chuminess aside, it's a paid-for service.

 

And like many broker-intermediaries in an era of easily-available online markets where prices are increasingly transparent; cruise agents may be doomed. Just as retail, storefront, travel agents have almost disappeared (certainly they don't write much airline business) and stock brokers can't rack up ridiculous percentage fees; the value added by cruise agents may be diminishing. Some function as wholesalers in that they block buy from the cruise lines. Others are mere sidelines at bigger businesses.

 

I suspect few current cruise line travel agents would advise 20-somethings to get into the business which seems likely to disappear. It may not put groceries on anyone's table soon. Ditto real estate agents; at least for commodity housing like 2-bed condos.

 

 

You say that you pay for a service which entitles you to that service. Do (you )really pay the TA for a service??

[bUU]

You Do (you )really pay the TA for a service??

Giving up the cruise line providing you customer service before your cruise quite a cost imho.

 

 

 

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[RocketMan275]

How often do travel agents give perks above and beyond what the cruise line gives (like Explore 4)? Is this something you negotiate in advance when you transfer the booking to them, or something they surprise the customer with?

 

What's considered a reasonable perk?

Post #11 above provides a reasonable approach to selecting a travel agent. You should approach a new TA as if they are applying for a job, ie, your TA. Ask them during this process what their policies are on providing perks. The two TA I use have a standard policy for Princess and Holland. They discount the price you see on the cruise line website by approximately 10%. They pass through all the cruise line provided perks like $xplore 4. They charge no extra fees for their services like cancellations, fare reductions, etc.

 

BTW, those cruise line provide perks like $xplore 4 are included in the price. They are not free. You still pay for them. On Holland you can ask for a fare that does not include those "free perks". On my last seven day cruise, eliminating $xplore 4 reduced the fare by slightly over $1000.

[RocketMan275]

Giving up the cruise line providing you customer service before your cruise quite a cost imho.

 

 

 

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The customer service provided by a competent TA is no different from that provided by the cruise line.

[bUU]

Ymmv.

 

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