Your experience: Do Connoisseur Club agents always offer perks?

[oceaniacruiserri]

Such as include tips, etc? We booked a future cruise onboard Insignia back in August. Oceania rep told me that they would send our agent the booking and the agent would add perks. Agent now says there are no perks on this cruise. Obviously I choose the wrong agent although she is a preferred agent. Its irritating because I would have shopped around had I known perks were not offered. 

 

[sammiedawg]

No, per our experience they might not offer any perks.  Stateroom flowers only.    So unless it is a real exotic trip and I need her expertise, I won’t transfer anything to this agent.  

[pinotlover]

You’re confusing, or actually co mingling, different perks. There are a set of pass through perks , O to the TA to you, that occur. One of those is often PPG. If O isn’t offering that perk to its agents on that particular cruise, you may not get them.

 

A totally different set of perks comes directly from the TA’ pocket. This may appear as cash rebates , extra refundable OBC, transfers, etc. Different TA provided different perks dependent upon their company policy. 

 

I always enjoyed PPG, whether provided indirectly by O or not, along with refundable OBC, paid Premium Drink Packages, and varying other perks. Some here want only hard cash back. You need to discuss the issue with your TA so to fully understand what they are providing for you. 

[oceaniacruiserri]

My agent has offered NOTHING!

 

Thanks for that explanation. I guess I assumed that if they are a Connoisseur club member, they would offer something as an incentive to use them again which I thought that was what the CC Club is for. I definitely need to shop for another agent. I guess I could argue the point with her, but I don't want to sound like I'm begging lol. But this is for sure our last booking with her. 

 

I wish the agent onboard had just booked the cruise and let me tell O later who to transfer the booking to after I shopped around.

 

Lesson learned.

 

 

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, oceaniacruiserri said:

My agent has offered NOTHING!

 

Thanks for that explanation. I guess I assumed that if they are a Connoisseur club member, they would offer something as an incentive to use them again which I thought that was what the CC Club is for. I definitely need to shop for another agent. I guess I could argue the point with her, but I don't want to sound like I'm begging lol. But this is for sure our last booking with her. 

 

I wish the agent onboard had just booked the cruise and let me tell O later who to transfer the booking to after I shopped around.

 

Lesson learned.

 

 

 

Did you ask  your TA  if they offered  any perks?

Are you sure  they a CCC  sometimes the reps will pass you on to TA in your area ?

 

When we booked onboard  the rep did ask if we wanted it transfered to the TA  we had used for the  cruise  we were on

 

[DrHemlock]

There was a thread started on March 15th regarding TA perks that eventually ran to two pages.  Lots of interesting comments.  You can read it here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2520101-what-is-the-standard-amenities-amount-wise-compared-to-the-paid-cruise-fare/?tab=comments#comment-54290105

[babysteps]

I think it can make a difference how many pax your TA (or their network) has on a voyage - sometimes we get PPG or extra OBC from our TA, sometimes nothing extra except helpful service.

 

Not sure if is still the practice, but sometimes O offers special perks or pricing on a short list of voyages to a specific set of TAs (I assume just CC TAs).  Used to come in an trifold mailer that was about half a letter-sized sheet of paper when folded.

[pinotlover]

This topic has been discussed before. Some cruisers, like Ken,  believe their TA is nothing more than a source of rebates and kickbacks. Others of us use our TA to handle most of the tasks for us while providing excellent service. This is an each to his own situation. It’s like some people never use or depend upon their Butler’s because they want to be in control of everything. We use or Butler a lot. 

 

Ken’s methodology probably works fine most of the time. However, when it comes time to book that cruise, with a single itinerary, and all PH and above are allocated to and prereserved by certain TA based on status prior to open booking, Ken’s methodology will leave him without his cabin just about every time. 

 

Each to their own!

[oceaniacruiserri]

This is just the type info and perspectives I was looking for. I'm marking this thread to refer to before our next cruise:) 

 

As side note, I did call another TA who probably does more volume than the one our booking is with, and bottom line she could offer us $200. It is past the time frame that we can transfer the booking (according to her) which is a good reason to maintain control of the booking until we do our research (thanks Ken the CC).

 

Pinotlover, I get your points as well, gotta find that good fit.

 

You would think by this our fourth Oceania sailing we would've figured it out by now.

[Classiccruiser777]

We usually book onboard or, now with the onboard benefit within 30 days of cruising, with our O rep. With rare exception we’ve booked category G cabins and after transferring the booking to our CCC TA have always received additional perks suck as PPG, additional OBC, and cash back at the end of the cruise.

Edited November 15, 2018 by Classiccruiser777

[ano]

We had good luck with one of the online bidding sites. You enter the cruise you want then different travel agents bid on it. We got some good deals. If your current agent is not offering the deals, this is the way to go. Rules don't let you mention them here, but they are easy to find.

[GeezerCouple]

On 11/13/2018 at 9:50 AM, DrHemlock said:

There was a thread started on March 15th regarding TA perks that eventually ran to two pages.  Lots of interesting comments.  You can read it here: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2520101-what-is-the-standard-amenities-amount-wise-compared-to-the-paid-cruise-fare/?tab=comments#comment-54290105

 

This link doesn't appear to work.   Could you double check?

 

Thanks!

 

GC

[JoePDX]

1 hour ago, ano said:

We had good luck with one of the online bidding sites. You enter the cruise you want then different travel agents bid on it. We got some good deals. If your current agent is not offering the deals, this is the way to go. Rules don't let you mention them here, but they are easy to find.

We also had good luck in finding an agent that offered additional OBC and prepaid gratuities through an on line bidding site.   She would up being a very good agent too.

 

Joe

[DrHemlock]

3 hours ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

This link doesn't appear to work.   Could you double check?  Thanks!

GC

Sorry, GC, that thread has disappeared.  

 

Probably not surprising.  While no specific TAs were mentioned (per CC rules), the discussion was nevertheless pretty specific about benefits that can be obtained from some, along with "how to" suggestions for finding a hot prospect.  

 

Frankly, I was surprised the thread lasted as long as it did -- from March through at least November -- running to two pretty full pages the last time I looked and posted the link.  (Full disclosure:  I did read the thread with interest but did not participate in the discussion.)