Price keeps dropping, TA getting aggravated w/ me!!

[Homosassa]

19 hours ago, YankeesFan4Life said:

So I don't know what the story is, but since my original post, the price dropped AGAIN!

 

My TA called and called (supposedly....) and wasn't coming up with ANY discount!!!!!!!!  She told me if I called, and got a better rate, I should book it and she would cancel hers, and I'd get my NEW reservation to them...

 

I called, got 2 adjoining balcony rooms (1x B2, and 1x B3) midship.....free air, air deviation ($25x4) and they took off the transfer (got a hotel with free pickup at MIA and free transportation to Port of Miami).  With the $500 I paid for the $1000 in CruiseNext vouchers, I saved a total of $1074!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   HOLY CRAP!!!  

 

All I can say is that I'm sitting back with a NICE big bottle of Cabernet, while celebrating MY WIN!  I think I'm going to wait for 20 some odd days before I hand it back off to the TA to see if there's more price drops, since I'm 29 days from final payment...

 

Yay me!!!

If you check the smallprint, your new rate and promotion were probably for only new bookings.

 

Your TA would not be able to obtain that rate and transfer were booking to the new offer.

[Aesop081]

1 hour ago, Homosassa said:

If you check the smallprint, your new rate and promotion were probably for only new bookings.

 

Your TA would not be able to obtain that rate and transfer were booking to the new offer.

Sometimes true but each time my TA has phoned the cruise line and they have almost always honored the price (just once they've said no).  She even managed to get me a 1 dollar deposit on the Black Friday booking deal on a cruise to short to qualify.  Hmmm, maybe a nice thank you bouquet for her desk is warranted.

[bjtravelnews]

My TA has a program that automatically alerts her when there are price drops and calls me to see if I am interested,  If it's just a few dollars, I tell her not to bother.  But if significant enough, I ask her to pursue the matter.  That is her job!

To let everyone know, sometimes the price drop only affects the guaranteed cabins (where they pick your room) and there would be no extra discount for the passenger.  

I know it's a bother for the TA to make changes,  Mine tells me that sometimes she is on hold for an hour or more waiting to have an NCL agent answer the phone.  But again - it's her job.  Her willingness to work with me and save ME money is the reason I keep going back to her.

 

[Granny DI]

6 hours ago, myjillian said:

My TA checks all of her bookings every week looking for price drops and or specials that she can pass on to her clients.  Her idea is to have her clients save money so that they would cruise more.  She works from home and if she has a local group that may not know each other she'll invite everyone to her home for a party before their cruise and helps them get on CC to join activities for their sailings.  Her clients are very loyal to her because she puts them first.  Once she even told my friends that she couldn't match the price of an online website ( she usually matches or her price is better) and gave them that information to book....she found the website ..not them....Once she called clients that booked their air with Princess and informed them that overall the air fare was cheaper now and she got them the reduced rate.  She just enjoys doing this...I don't think she makes much money but I do know she's looking out for me🤗  I also know that Princess would not have informed the client of the reduced air etc.  So sometimes we can find a gem in a box of rocks !

My TA of 18 years is the same. She is a personal friend now.

BTW I grew up in Plattsburgh NY.  Love visiting in the summer.

[YankeesFan4Life]

Too many posts to quote, reply to, but again, the TA is my company's Corporate TA, and I know she's in the midst of planning a HUGE trip with A LOT of people in my company.  A trip that I made, but cannot go due to timing.  Again, she has a pretty substantial travel voucher for me, in lieu of the trip, which is why I NEED to use her....I did have the option of taking the bonus in my pay as taxed, but that would have defeated any and all savings...

 

So I booked yesterday, final is due on 4/13, so before that, I'm going to keep an eye on it, and if I see any drops, I'll call myself, and then within the 30 day mark, I'll hand the booking over to her, so she can make my final payment...

[newmexicoNita]

18 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

My question would be why is your TA not watching and automatically getting you the less expensive rate? Mine is 100% on top of things like that and has more times than not notified me that the new discount/promotion either does NOT do me any favors or was better for me and she had already made the change. She's amazing!

 

If you are the one doing all the searching for things, why bother using a TA at all? Wouldn't it be easier to just book things yourself and make the changes?

you are right: good agents have ways to get tract of price drops. the exception  could be special group rates one booked. Even then the agent, if she/he sees a basic price drop should give the client a chance to take the lower rate even if they have to lose anything benefits of a group rate. Actually this happened to me a few years ago. I can't remember what I lost, but getting lower rate was worth it. I remember I did lose my assigned cabin. 

[Umbarger]

My TA gets mad at me too.  I think it is because their commission goes down.   

[DaCruiseBug]

5 hours ago, Umbarger said:

My TA gets mad at me too.  I think it is because their commission goes down.   

 

As others have said: IF your TA gets upset because the price dropped...then it's time to drop your TA. Yes, a TA is paid a percentage of a cruise fare so if a price drops they get less commission. Watching for price drops is part of the job of a TA. A good one at least. If they're bothered by you calling them about a price drop then drop him/her like a hot potato.

[Umbarger]

6 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

 

As others have said: IF your TA gets upset because the price dropped...then it's time to drop your TA. Yes, a TA is paid a percentage of a cruise fare so if a price drops they get less commission. Watching for price drops is part of the job of a TA. A good one at least. If they're bothered by you calling them about a price drop then drop him/her like a hot potato.

They never, ever call me with price drops. I find them. I think a lot of times my TA says no to my price drops because they simply don't want to mess with it. Think I'm going to book direct next time. 

[DaCruiseBug]

2 hours ago, Umbarger said:

They never, ever call me with price drops. I find them. I think a lot of times my TA says no to my price drops because they simply don't want to mess with it. Think I'm going to book direct next time. 

 

Or find a TA that doesn't give you a hard time when it comes time to do their job. A TA gets commission on a set percentage of the cruise fare so a price reduction also equals a reduction in commission. A TA will usually get 10-12% of the cruise fare in commission. So if you book a cruise that costs $3,000 they're likely getting over $300 for that booking. If they think that their job is over after the 15-20 minutes it takes to talk to you and go the booking they're sadly mistaken. If a TA refused to do a price drop for me i'd tell her to cancel the reservation all together.

[Zippeedee]

This is a big part of the reason I book directly with NCL. I call them when I want, make my own changes and don't have to deal with any attitude. Totally worth giving up a few $$ in OBC or whatever.

[shivelme]

I work for a corporation, there should be a way to offer a review of the TA.  I would make sure the department manager was aware of the details.  OP, this TA should be thankful that you are doing the extra work.  Maybe a quick thank you postcard after the trip will alert her to the fact that this vacation was important to you.

As for the agent that has made such poor statements on this thread, you can book all of those high dollar trips.

I recently became an independent agent- because planning is fun! It is a stress reliever for me.   I will meet more people that need a vacation that stays within a budget.  I recently had a young couple wanting a honeymoon- there will be no commission for their destination.  They have all of the details and they will be my best advertisement.  When they book their dream trip in a few years they will remember me and I will have the business of their friends and family and I didn't need to be greedy!

As for everyone else,,,, There are all kinds of ways to book a vacation and everyone is free to do what works best for them.  Just please hold those agents, to a customer service standard.  I was always taught to treat others the way I want to be treated.  I look for value and cost savings when I travel and my clients should expect the same.