TA seems annoyed that I called with a question...

[Hflors]

I just got off of the phone with our TA.  I called because out of the blue I got an invoice from her.  We booked a cruise last week that had a bump in the start, but last week we got it all straightened out.  Then out of the blue this morning an e-mail came  from her.  Knowing the problem we had last week and thinking I was missing something after I read it I decided to call.  Big mistake.  She answered the phone about as enthused as if I just cancelled my trip.  I explained and she said almost immediately "it's just a change in cabin numbers.  That's why I sent the e-mail."  I didn't know what to say.  So I mumbled something about ok.  Then I wished her a wonderful Thanksgiving and she said good-bye.   I am hoping I don't need to call again as I don't want have to talk to someone who I can just feel does not want to be on the phone with me.  

 

Thanks everyone for letting me vent.  If only I could get dh to make the final payment.  So I wouldn't need to call again.

[Fouremco]

Sounds to me like you and your DH need to start looking for a new TA.

[jbecker6469]

5 minutes ago, Hflors said:

I just got off of the phone with our TA.  I called because out of the blue I got an invoice from her.  We booked a cruise last week that had a bump in the start, but last week we got it all straightened out.  Then out of the blue this morning an e-mail came  from her.  Knowing the problem we had last week and thinking I was missing something after I read it I decided to call.  Big mistake.  She answered the phone about as enthused as if I just cancelled my trip.  I explained and she said almost immediately "it's just a change in cabin numbers.  That's why I sent the e-mail."  I didn't know what to say.  So I mumbled something about ok.  Then I wished her a wonderful Thanksgiving and she said good-bye.   I am hoping I don't need to call again as I don't want have to talk to someone who I can just feel does not want to be on the phone with me.  

 

Thanks everyone for letting me vent.  If only I could get dh to make the final payment.  So I wouldn't need to call again.

Sounds to me like you need to find a new TA ASAP!  If I had been sent an email informing me of a change in cabin numbers without my approval, I would be very upset.  TA's get a nice commission for booking cruises, and need to treat their customers professionally and happily.  

 

I had a TA at one point that always seemed annoyed when I called, so I moved on.  Her loss.

 

Just a point,  if you haven't made final payment, you should be able to transfer your booking to a different TA.  That will send a message!

[aa7yy]

That's why a lot of us don't use TA's. They work on a commission and every minute they "waste" on you cuts into their profit per minute.

[avian777]

35 minutes ago, Hflors said:

I just got off of the phone with our TA.  I called because out of the blue I got an invoice from her.  We booked a cruise last week that had a bump in the start, but last week we got it all straightened out.  Then out of the blue this morning an e-mail came  from her.  Knowing the problem we had last week and thinking I was missing something after I read it I decided to call.  Big mistake.  She answered the phone about as enthused as if I just cancelled my trip.  I explained and she said almost immediately "it's just a change in cabin numbers.  That's why I sent the e-mail."  I didn't know what to say.  So I mumbled something about ok.  Then I wished her a wonderful Thanksgiving and she said good-bye.   I am hoping I don't need to call again as I don't want have to talk to someone who I can just feel does not want to be on the phone with me.  

 

Thanks everyone for letting me vent.  If only I could get dh to make the final payment.  So I wouldn't need to call again.

 

Wow - it's a very good thing that more of us don't have to endure such (perceived) rude treatment!

[Krazy Kruizers]

I think that you should be looking for a new TA.  Does this TA charge a fee when you cancel/change to a new TA?

 

We are fortunate to have  a TA that we can call her any time -- and she calls us -- no e-mails.  Since we have used her for over 26 years, she even allows us to call her at home if there is an emergency.  Which we had to do one time.

[mamaofami]

I pick my cabin very carefully, looking to see what's above and below and how far from an elevator. If my cabin was changed , I would be upset to hear about it in an email. You need to change your TA,

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, aa7yy said:

That's why a lot of us don't use TA's. They work on a commission and every minute they "waste" on you cuts into their profit per minute.

True.  But the cruise or travel agent is also working for YOU....not the cruise line.   And the simple fact that we save 7-10% (and sometimes a lot more) by using a cruise agent is also a good reason to use an agent.  

 

Hank

[CruiseGal999]

3 hours ago, Hflors said:

I just got off of the phone with our TA.  I called because out of the blue I got an invoice from her.  We booked a cruise last week that had a bump in the start, but last week we got it all straightened out.  Then out of the blue this morning an e-mail came  from her.  Knowing the problem we had last week and thinking I was missing something after I read it I decided to call.  Big mistake.  She answered the phone about as enthused as if I just cancelled my trip.  I explained and she said almost immediately "it's just a change in cabin numbers.  That's why I sent the e-mail."  I didn't know what to say.  So I mumbled something about ok.  Then I wished her a wonderful Thanksgiving and she said good-bye.   I am hoping I don't need to call again as I don't want have to talk to someone who I can just feel does not want to be on the phone with me.  

 

Thanks everyone for letting me vent.  If only I could get dh to make the final payment.  So I wouldn't need to call again.

 

I don't think you venting.  You have a very valid issue and complaint with your TA.  IF, as others have said, you can cancel without penalties ... that's what I would be doing.  Money talks.  

[1025cruise]

Also, I'm not 100% sure, but even after final payment, you still need to communicate through the TA. If you are unhappy with the TA, you should find a new one.

[Wishing on a star]

I don't know what the deal is,  but when we made a change to our future HAL cruise,  we also found out, weeks later, that we were in a different cabin number.  Very ODD.

 

We had picked that cabin!   We did not want to be moved up the hall to a cabin that is adjoining.     It was a stroke of luck that I noticed it.   Another stroke of luck that the cabin we had chosen was showing available.  And, there was another slight discrepancy as well.      

 

It can be a pain working with a TA who is very busy as an agent with one of the huge cruise/travel companies.

But, it can save significant money!!!

 

[Copper10-8]

3 hours ago, Hflors said:

I just got off of the phone with our TA.  I called because out of the blue I got an invoice from her.  We booked a cruise last week that had a bump in the start, but last week we got it all straightened out.  Then out of the blue this morning an e-mail came  from her.  Knowing the problem we had last week and thinking I was missing something after I read it I decided to call.  Big mistake.  She answered the phone about as enthused as if I just cancelled my trip.  I explained and she said almost immediately "it's just a change in cabin numbers.  That's why I sent the e-mail."  I didn't know what to say.  So I mumbled something about ok.  Then I wished her a wonderful Thanksgiving and she said good-bye.   I am hoping I don't need to call again as I don't want have to talk to someone who I can just feel does not want to be on the phone with me.  

 

Thanks everyone for letting me vent.  If only I could get dh to make the final payment.  So I wouldn't need to call again.

 

I know what I would do with a TA like that...............

[aa7yy]

2 hours ago, Hlitner said:

True.  But the cruise or travel agent is also working for YOU....not the cruise line.   And the simple fact that we save 7-10% (and sometimes a lot more) by using a cruise agent is also a good reason to use an agent.  

 

Hank

Hank for all practical purposes I agree with you. The agent is working for you as long as he gets his 7, 8,+%. That is the way it used to be and the way it should be. I suspect you have an agent that you have worked with for a long time. They might take the good with the bad and average it out. The generation has change, I tried that way, and the agent was burdened by my calls. It is not for this venue to discuss how things work, I respect that. BUT, I do much better on my own.  I tried getting my agent to release me one time, that was not pretty. You think this guy has a problem now, wait till he tries to get a release.

[Hlitner]

1 hour ago, aa7yy said:

Hank for all practical purposes I agree with you. The agent is working for you as long as he gets his 7, 8,+%. That is the way it used to be and the way it should be. I suspect you have an agent that you have worked with for a long time. They might take the good with the bad and average it out. The generation has change, I tried that way, and the agent was burdened by my calls. It is not for this venue to discuss how things work, I respect that. BUT, I do much better on my own.  I tried getting my agent to release me one time, that was not pretty. You think this guy has a problem now, wait till he tries to get a release.

If an agent was "burdened" with my calls they would never have to fear getting another call...or another commission from our many cruise bookings :).   Yes, we have worked with our favorite agency for many years.  But we still shop around with every booking and do a comparison of that particular agency with at least 3 other of our favored agencies plus we also look at the cruise line's own web site deals.  In the past 5 or 6 years our bookings have only been through two agencies, one of whom always has the best deals on RCI products (RCI, Celebrity, and Azamara) and the other agency who seems to beat everyone on all other cruise and river cruise lines.  My favorite cruise agent actually retired to go cruising :).  I tell our current favorite agent that she is only my favorite as long as she offers us the best deal.  I have as much loyalty to agents as I do to cruise lines...which is that they are both only as good as the last booking.  We posted somewhere that we currently have 4 cruises booked with 4 different cruise lines....including 2 lines with whom we have never cruises (we find that exciting).  That will put us up to 16 cruise lines and there is one more (Viking Ocean) that are on our future "to try" list.  Guess we are just not the "loyalty" kind of folks.  Cruise lines and cruise agents have to earn our loyalty and work to keep it.  Right now, none of the main stream mass market lines impress us enough to get any degree of loyalty.

 

 

Hank

[terrydtx]

14 hours ago, Krazy Kruizers said:

I think that you should be looking for a new TA.  Does this TA charge a fee when you cancel/change to a new TA?

 

We are fortunate to have  a TA that we can call her any time -- and she calls us -- no e-mails.  Since we have used her for over 26 years, she even allows us to call her at home if there is an emergency.  Which we had to do one time.

We have used the same TA for the last 15 years for both cruise and non cruise vacations. I have her cell phone number and can call her anytime even at home. When we make any changes over the phone she follows up with a confirmation email. If she had treated me like the OP TA she would no longer be my TA.

[Herfnerd]

12 hours ago, 1025cruise said:

Also, I'm not 100% sure, but even after final payment, you still need to communicate through the TA. If you are unhappy with the TA, you should find a new one.

 

Yes - you have to go thru the TA for everything from the moment you book until the moment you set sail

 

 

15 hours ago, aa7yy said:

That's why a lot of us don't use TA's. They work on a commission and every minute they "waste" on you cuts into their profit per minute.

 

But a lot of us do.  We have a TA that we've used for years - we get discounts on fares as well as perks like free dining, OBC and the like.  Usually find a bottle of wine or champagne in the cabin from her as well.

[Hflors]

Thank you all for your kind words.  I do want to clear up one thing.  Last week after booking the cabin everything was fine until I found out that my category "E" Rotterdam 2709 is really a category "H" because it is an obstructed view. (see picture below)  As soon as I found it out,  at the time you couldn't see it on the deck plan it only showed a red square over the cabin because it was already booked.  So I went to another website that I use to look up cabins.  When I looked at it first I thought the triangle meant the cabin held three passengers.  I looked again and realized it meant the view was obstructed.  Then I googled the cabin and ship and that is when I found that this cabin though listed as an "E" is really a "H" because it is obstructed.  The outside stairway is right across the window.  That is when last week I called the TA and asked to be changed or reduce the price to a cat "H".  Luckily for me the cabin next to it which is not obstructed was available.  I got the revised reservation last week and I thought all was fine.  This is why I was so surprised when the e-mail came yesterday, and thinking something else had gone wrong it why I then called the TA.   DH says he will be dealing with the TA, bless his heart and after this cruise we will be looking for a new TA!

[whogo]

16 hours ago, Hflors said:

If only I could get dh to make the final payment.  So I wouldn't need to call again. 

You call your travel agent because of problems in your booking. Making final payment does not eliminate problems.

 

Edited November 20, 2018 by whogo

[Roz]

May she was just having a bad day.  I like to give people the benefit of the doubt.  Has she been a good TA with prior bookings?

 

Roz

[Djptcp]

Can the OP transfer the reservation to Holland America so as not to have to deal with the TA anymore? That would send a clear message to the TA.

[aa7yy]

1 hour ago, Herfnerd said:

But a lot of us do.  We have a TA that we've used for years - we get discounts on fares as well as perks like free dining, OBC and the like.  Usually find a bottle of wine or champagne in the cabin from her as well.

And that i the way it is suppose to be. But, this thread is about when it goes wrong.

 

At one time I was signed up for six cruises for next summer. No commissioned sales person should have to put up with me. I know it and I don't burden them. If something goes wrong it is on me. On your last cruise you got a free bottle of wine and maybe some OBC and I had $1800+ of OBC. We both won.

[Randyk47]

45 minutes ago, Djptcp said:

Can the OP transfer the reservation to Holland America so as not to have to deal with the TA anymore? That would send a clear message to the TA.

 

It’s a one-way street.  You can book with HAL and then transfer to a TA but not the other way around.   The TA is going to get the commission period.   Short of totally cancelling the booking and rebooking with HAL, which has its own set of complications, you’re stuck with the TA. Personally we have a great TA who not only gives us substantial discounts but also great service.   Took us a few years to find her but some seven years with her now I won’t until she retires or we quit cruising.   

[1of4]

I don’t understand TAs sometimes!  Honestly, it is a customer service job and some are just lousy at it.  I have encountered some narcissistic behaviours along with apathy, rude, condescending, insulting and, like you, I was never demanding and just had a question or wanted to refare or pay for something.  We have switched TAs and am glad to hear you will too.  Nobody deserves to be treated badly for asking someone to do their job.

[whogo]

You changed cabins.

Your travel agent emailed you.

You called to ask about the email.

Your travel agent explained that she sent the email because of the cabin change.

Why did you need to vent?

[Cruising-along]

3 hours ago, Hflors said:

I called the TA and asked to be changed or reduce the price to a cat "H"

Another reason this is a bad TA.  She should have known from the start it was a category "H" and priced it accordingly.