Best Travel Agencies for HAL Good Pricing/Perks

[RocketMan275]

14 minutes ago, richwmn said:

This just points to the inconsistency that is HAL Seattle. The stated policy is that once a booking is transferred, the TA has be contacted for any questions. As I stated in my original answer, that policy is not always followed.

I will ask you a question though. Why should HAL pay the TA if an employee of HAL is doing all the work? What benefit is the TA providing HAL for their commission, that is mostly passed on to you. Why should HAL not do as the airlines did many years ago and cut out travel agencies all together?

 

The HAL rep told me they were supposed to be cordial and answer questions so as not to repel potential customers.

[richwmn]

34 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

The HAL rep told me they were supposed to be cordial and answer questions so as not to repel potential customers.

If the HAL rep is supposed to answer questions, why is HAL paying the TA?

 

[zentraveler]

1 hour ago, richwmn said:

This just points to the inconsistency that is HAL Seattle. The stated policy is that once a booking is transferred, the TA has be contacted for any questions. As I stated in my original answer, that policy is not always followed.

I will ask you a question though. Why should HAL pay the TA if an employee of HAL is doing all the work? What benefit is the TA providing HAL for their commission, that is mostly passed on to you. Why should HAL not do as the airlines did many years ago and cut out travel agencies all together?

 

 

Although not the poster richmemn is referring to,  totally understand this. And I would not blame HAL for politely referring you to your TA if they made the booking and you have questions or requests. Completely fair and reasonable in my mind. 

 

Although it is broadly applied among higher end ("luxury") brands that they want to provide quality service and it is worth it them to keep you happy. 

Edited May 27, 2019 by zentraveler

[RocketMan275]

3 hours ago, richwmn said:

If the HAL rep is supposed to answer questions, why is HAL paying the TA?

 

HAL doesn't want to antagonize a customer.  I'm only reporting my personal experience.  I had questions on an upsell offer.  HAL answered my questions.  I asked about the 'don't talk to customers of TA.  HAL told me there policy was to be cordial and answer question. 

 

I don't know why people perpetuate the myth that HAL won't talk to you if a TA owns the booking.  Think about it.  There are many things you can do directly with HAL even if the TA owns the booking.  For example, you can use Flight Ease.  You can buy beverage packages.  You can make specialty reservation online which requires that you pay at the time of booking.  You can book shore excursions.  All of those things include a conversation with HAL.  Whether HAL will talk with you depends upon the conversation.  Essentially, HAL will discuss anything that doesn't affect the TA commission.

[richwmn]

10 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

HAL doesn't want to antagonize a customer.  I'm only reporting my personal experience.  I had questions on an upsell offer.  HAL answered my questions.  I asked about the 'don't talk to customers of TA.  HAL told me there policy was to be cordial and answer question. 

 

I don't know why people perpetuate the myth that HAL won't talk to you if a TA owns the booking.  Think about it.  There are many things you can do directly with HAL even if the TA owns the booking.  For example, you can use Flight Ease.  You can buy beverage packages.  You can make specialty reservation online which requires that you pay at the time of booking.  You can book shore excursions.  All of those things include a conversation with HAL.  Whether HAL will talk with you depends upon the conversation.  Essentially, HAL will discuss anything that doesn't affect the TA commission.

Since I have been told on more than one occasion that a question i had needed to be handled by the TA I transferred a cruise to, it is not totally an MYTH. There is a line somewhere, and as I mentioned earlier the inconsistency of HAL Seattle continues to blur this line.

But now think about this. Back in the '70's until maybe the '90's travel agencies were able to book an airline flight for a customer and receive a commission for it. Through deregulation, mergers, and acquisitions airline tickets became a commodity item, much like cruise tickets are talked about here. Airlines realized that travel agencies were not providing the service they were being paid for and the airlines could save huge amounts by cutting out TA commissions. At this point, many travel agencies are not providing the service they are being paid to do, and it might not be too long before all cruise lines pull all reservations in house and cut out the travel agents. Will this result in lower fares, most likely not. It may not be too far from happening.

[richwmn]

4 hours ago, richwmn said:

If the HAL rep is supposed to answer questions, why is HAL paying the TA?

 

45 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

HAL doesn't want to antagonize a customer.  I'm only reporting my personal experience.  I had questions on an upsell offer.  HAL answered my questions.  I asked about the 'don't talk to customers of TA.  HAL told me there policy was to be cordial and answer question. 

 

By the way, you never answered the question I asked in post #177 - What service did the TA provide to you that was worth the commission HAL paid them?

Edited May 28, 2019 by richwmn

[RocketMan275]

8 hours ago, richwmn said:

Since I have been told on more than one occasion that a question i had needed to be handled by the TA I transferred a cruise to, it is not totally an MYTH. There is a line somewhere, and as I mentioned earlier the inconsistency of HAL Seattle continues to blur this line.

But now think about this. Back in the '70's until maybe the '90's travel agencies were able to book an airline flight for a customer and receive a commission for it. Through deregulation, mergers, and acquisitions airline tickets became a commodity item, much like cruise tickets are talked about here. Airlines realized that travel agencies were not providing the service they were being paid for and the airlines could save huge amounts by cutting out TA commissions. At this point, many travel agencies are not providing the service they are being paid to do, and it might not be too long before all cruise lines pull all reservations in house and cut out the travel agents. Will this result in lower fares, most likely not. It may not be too far from happening.

Well, since the cruise line will talk with you about some subjects, then it is a myth that they won't talk about all subjects.  The Myth states "if you book with a TA the cruise line won't talk to you."  There is no qualification in that Myth.

I've seen statistics posted here on CC that the vast majority of cruises are booked through TA.  Evidently, they provide a service the cruise line considers valuable.  Any speculative discussion of what cruise lines may or may not do in the future isn't all that interesting unless the object is to disparage TA.

[richwmn]

1 minute ago, RocketMan275 said:

Well, since the cruise line will talk with you about some subjects, then it is a myth that they won't talk about all subjects.  The Myth states "if you book with a TA the cruise line won't talk to you."  There is no qualification in that Myth.

I've seen statistics posted here on CC that the vast majority of cruises are booked through TA.  Evidently, they provide a service the cruise line considers valuable.  Any speculative discussion of what cruise lines may or may not do in the future isn't all that interesting unless the object is to disparage TA.

 

8 hours ago, richwmn said:

By the way, you never answered the question I asked in post #177 - What service did the TA provide to you that was worth the commission HAL paid them?

still waiting for an answer to this question

[RocketMan275]

Just now, richwmn said:

 

still waiting for an answer to this question

I'm not interested in a discussion of why TA should be eliminated.

[richwmn]

4 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

I'm not interested in a discussion of why TA should be eliminated.

And I am not discussing why they should be eliminated.

From the standpoint of the cruise line the travel agent is paid to take over customer service so that the cruise line doesn't have to do it. I am only suggesting that the travel agent do the job they are paid for.

10 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

disparage TA

I am also not trying to disparage any particular TA.

If a TA is involved in the booking and helps with excursions, air, hotels, and onboard experience then they are doing their job and should receive a commission.

However, if the only thing that the TA does is take the reservation while the customer calls HAL for anything else, then the TA is not really providing a service to HAL, they are just there as a way to pass the commission to the customer and HAL still has to provide the resources to answer the customer's questions. In essence, the TA receives their portion of the commission for doing nothing.

[syesmar]

On 5/14/2019 at 10:11 AM, syesmar said:

In 10 HAL cruises either booked directly through an agency or transferred over to the agency from HAL . . . not once have I been contacted about an upsell. . .  This time I’ve left my booking with HAL . . .  We’ll see what happens. . . .

Got an upsell offer today.  The price didn’t interest me, but I did call to check things out.  My email took about 10 minutes to get delivered, based on the time-stamp.  By the time I called, the offers were all gone.  Rep said there might be another in a couple says.  Interesting that I got one keeping my booking with HAL for the first time, but never through a travel agent.  Thanks again, everyone, for all the tips!

[DaveOKC]

16 hours ago, syesmar said:

Got an upsell offer today.  The price didn’t interest me, but I did call to check things out.  My email took about 10 minutes to get delivered, based on the time-stamp.  By the time I called, the offers were all gone.  Rep said there might be another in a couple says.  Interesting that I got one keeping my booking with HAL for the first time, but never through a travel agent.  Thanks again, everyone, for all the tips!

That is interesting - that you never got an upsell offer before and with your first booking through HAL you did.  As you found out, the good offers can go VERY quickly, especially if there are just a few cabins offered.

[Tampa Girl]

On 5/27/2019 at 6:23 PM, RocketMan275 said:

The HAL rep told me they were supposed to be cordial and answer questions so as not to repel potential customers.

 

I have never had a HAL answer my questions when I have had a TA.  They have always refused to do so:  "You will need to ask your TA about that."

[jakkojakko]

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

I have never had a HAL answer my questions when I have had a TA.  They have always refused to do so:  "You will need to ask your TA about that."

 

Same here. They even contacted my TA to admonish them that their client contacted HAL!

Now my TA is my daughter , so she told me.

[Ken the cruiser]

Interesting thread! Just thought I'd follow along as we used to solely book directly with the cruise line, but we now also transfer them shortly after to our favorite TA. However, it's always nice to hear various insights on this subject.

[doublebzz]

1 hour ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

I have never had a HAL answer my questions when I have had a TA.  They have always refused to do so:  "You will need to ask your TA about that."

 

8 minutes ago, jakkojakko said:

 

Same here. They even contacted my TA to admonish them that their client contacted HAL!

Now my TA is my daughter , so she told me.

If HAL agents are salaried as many have suggested on different threads, why would they not try to be helpful and please the customer if all the customer wants is some answers to simple questions?  I understand if the issue involves some aspect of the reservation, then its appropriate to refer the customer to the TA.  Of course, the premise that HAL agents aren't compensated in some way for the booking may be incorrect and, if so,  this factor may motivate them to refer questions to the TA in all cases.

[DaveOKC]

2 minutes ago, doublebzz said:

 

If HAL agents are salaried as many have suggested on different threads, why would they not try to be helpful and please the customer if all the customer wants is some answers to simple questions?  I understand if the issue involves some aspect of the reservation, then its appropriate to refer the customer to the TA.  Of course, the premise that HAL agents aren't compensated in some way for the booking may be incorrect and, if so,  this factor may motivate them to refer questions to the TA in all cases.

Another thought on this subject - perhaps the TA want it this way as well.  That way the client is tied in closer to them, especially for future business.  If HAL answered all their questions/issues, sooner or later the client may decide to just book though HAL and avoid the third party.

[RocketMan275]

It depends.  Suppose you have a booking with a TA.  HAL will answer many questions.  Here are some examples.  If you have a booking through a TA, you can still book travel excursions directly with HAL.  You can still book flights through HAL.  Surprisingly, you can book a flight directly with HAL but you can't book a pre or post cruise hotel room.  HAL will direct you to contact your TA for price drops.  

 

Another example, I received an upsell offer.  The TA (I now use a different one) was unable to answer some of my question.  I called HAL.  They anwered my questions which were process related.  I told them I was surprised they would answer my questions because I'd been told they wouldn't talk to me since my booking was through a TA.  They said:  "We've been directed to answer questions in a friendly and cordial manner."

 

It comes down to this:  HAL will not answer any question on that booking that will affect the TA commission.  Otherwise, they will answer your questions in a "friendly and cordial" manner.

[Tampa Girl]

39 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

It depends.  Suppose you have a booking with a TA.  HAL will answer many questions.  Here are some examples.  If you have a booking through a TA, you can still book travel excursions directly with HAL.  You can still book flights through HAL.  Surprisingly, you can book a flight directly with HAL but you can't book a pre or post cruise hotel room.  HAL will direct you to contact your TA for price drops.  

 

Another example, I received an upsell offer.  The TA (I now use a different one) was unable to answer some of my question.  I called HAL.  They anwered my questions which were process related.  I told them I was surprised they would answer my questions because I'd been told they wouldn't talk to me since my booking was through a TA.  They said:  "We've been directed to answer questions in a friendly and cordial manner."

 

It comes down to this:  HAL will not answer any question on that booking that will affect the TA commission.  Otherwise, they will answer your questions in a "friendly and cordial" manner.

 

I tried to book a Flight Ease flight directly with HAL and was told that they would show me how to do it on line, but that was as much info as they could give me since the cruise had been booked with a TA.  Later when I wanted to change the return flight and I called HAL again, they did give me more info (and something we should all be aware of):  According to the Flight East rep, if you change the return flight, the whole itinerary has to be rebooked.  The initial flight is cancelled as well.  That appeared to be true because I was not able, on line, to change the return flight and keep the initial flight.  Perhaps if one was booked through HAL, they would accommodate you.

[RocketMan275]

24 minutes ago, Tampa Girl said:

 

I tried to book a Flight Ease flight directly with HAL and was told that they would show me how to do it on line, but that was as much info as they could give me since the cruise had been booked with a TA.  Later when I wanted to change the return flight and I called HAL again, they did give me more info (and something we should all be aware of):  According to the Flight East rep, if you change the return flight, the whole itinerary has to be rebooked.  The initial flight is cancelled as well.  That appeared to be true because I was not able, on line, to change the return flight and keep the initial flight.  Perhaps if one was booked through HAL, they would accommodate you.

I had no issues booking Flight Ease directly with HAL even though my cruise was booked through a TA.  

 

Funny thing.  I played around with fake bookings on Flight Ease but never completed the booking.  While I was doing this I looked at pre post hotel options and had no issues doing fake bookings with them as well. But, once I had completed my Flights, actually booked flights, I could no longer do fake bookings with pre post hotels.  When I tried the website told me to call HAL.  HAL told me I would have to do the hotel bookings through my TA.  They had no explanation why things changed after I had booked flights.

 

I do not know this to be true, but I suspect that flight itineraries are somehow linked.  I think it's possible that the cost of the return flight depends to an extent on which outgoing flight you book.  I can't explain why but I think I saw a couple of cases where this happened.

 

I would really like to look at some other flight options but I'm concerned that might cause my booking to be cancelled.

Edited June 1, 2019 by RocketMan275

[jvbla]

On 4/1/2019 at 10:01 AM, Hawaiidan said:

Its good to check..... but if your jumping around shopping for a best agent  every time.... you NOT going to get the best deals over time.     Find a good agent, one that consistently performs.  Tell that agent that if you get good results you will stick with him  long term.   Let him know  how much you intend to spend on a yearly basis or how many cruises a year you will be booking through him !    Establish a mutual beneficial arrangement and stick to it.

LOYALTY  with an agent PAYS OFF    Mutual trust.     You will get stuff  even if it has to come from his own pocket to keep you happy.

We just have not found that great TA and we definitely hope for a great OBC - we seem to only hear about great OBC later

[Hawaiidan]

5 minutes ago, jvbla said:

We just have not found that great TA and we definitely hope for a great OBC - we seem to only hear about great OBC later

Keep looking then....  ask questions...  keep looking  before you book untill you get an Agent who gives you the answers you want and you feel comfortable with and he  you !      Then book  and stick with him if he performs.

[jvbla]

On 5/14/2019 at 3:52 PM, Hlitner said:

Although it is not my agenda to defend travel/cruise agencies (in general) I have a difficult time accepting that a cruise agency (we only deal with reputable high volume cruise agencies) would not pass along upsell (or other) info they get from cruise lines.  Failure to act properly would eventually doom that agency once the word got out (and bad news does travel fast).  In fact your post made me smile as we have received 4 communications in the past week from two of our favored cruise agencies.  3 involved very minor itinerary changes in 2 booked cruises which were forwarded and the 4th involved a slight air schedule change on a cruise air deal.  

 

The Cruise Agency industry is very competitive and there are many customers like moi who expect the best service, prices, and amenities.  Failure to deliver would quickly drive us (and many others) to a competitor.  Considering that we often book over 100 cruise days a year, the agencies we use have a strong incentive to treat us well (and they do).  Since we currently have cruises booked with 5 different cruise lines, I cannot even imagine having to deal with each cruise line on an individual basis.  One of our favored agencies has 4 of our bookings and another favored agency has the 5th.  When any cruise line (including HAL) contacts us to seek our direct booking business my offer is always the same (for any cruise line).  "If you can match the deals I get from decent cruise agencies you can have my bookings."  In forty + years of extensive cruising it has never happened!

 

Hank

Do you have an acronym or fairly "similar" name of your preferred TA you

could share???

[jvbla]

4 minutes ago, Hawaiidan said:

Keep looking then....  ask questions...  keep looking  before you book untill you get an Agent who gives you the answers you want and you feel comfortable with and he  you !      Then book  and stick with him if he performs.

Can you offer a "hint" here - because we have tried 😞 

 

[510picker]

3 minutes ago, jvbla said:

Can you offer a "hint" here - because we have tried 😞 

 

Same here. I’ve grown tired of looking for these TA’s.