my travel agent mistakenly cancelled my cruise

[Toofarfromthesea]

5 hours ago, Roz said:

 

My reading comprehension is excellent.  I was playing off your words.  I don't want a boiler room agent.

No, you weren't playing off MY words, you were making up some of your own to try to discredit mine.  

[Roz]

22 minutes ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

No, you weren't playing off MY words, you were making up some of your own to try to discredit mine.  

 

I wasn't trying to discredit you.  I just don't understand your assumption that just because someone is a brick & mortar agent, they don't work in a competitive environment and therefore have low information to offer.  

[Ashland]

23 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

If I used the same Dr. for years, while suffering from a chronic condition, and when he retired my new Dr. cured that chronic condition then no, I wouldn't say I had been given excellent care by my old Dr..  especially if the new Dr. charges 8-10% less than the old Dr.

Your second statement, of course is true but irrelevant as there are bad apples in every basket. 

I'm not telling anyone what THEY should do, I am simply relating what has worked well for me.  I'm much more impressed with tangible savings than I am with amorphous 'excellent service'.   But that's just me.

Your Dr. was giving you the best care that was probably available to him at the time...Science and methods to treat are evolving !

[sanger727]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

Your Dr. was giving you the best care that was probably available to him at the time...Science and methods to treat are evolving !

 

Not necessarily. My DH had a chronic condition that his family doctor mistreated for years. He finally got an accurate diagnosis and proper treatment and the condition has been well managed since. But the diagnosis of the condition/treatment didn't change. His doctor just didn't do a good job of diagnosing him. 

 

Like all professions, not all doctors are great at their jobs. And linking back to the OP, not all TAs are great at their job. 

Edited April 13, 2021 by sanger727

[rkacruiser]

5 hours ago, sanger727 said:

Like all professions, not all doctors are great at their jobs. And linking back to the OP, not all TAs are great at their job. 

 

Well stated.  I have never had a travel agent that was incompetent.  But, I have had a doctor--a "specialist" at that--who was a quack.  I also had a urologist who demonstrated his incompetence when he removed a catheter that resulted in the tube spraying urine around the room.  

 

Why didn't I file a lawsuit?   I know wonder.  

[Essiesmom]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Well stated.  I have never had a travel agent that was incompetent.  But, I have had a doctor--a "specialist" at that--who was a quack.  I also had a urologist who demonstrated his incompetence when he removed a catheter that resulted in the tube spraying urine around the room.  

 

Why didn't I file a lawsuit?   I know wonder.  

He should have let the nurse do it.

[sparks1093]

6 hours ago, Essiesmom said:

He should have let the nurse do it.

But he needed the practice. 

[rkacruiser]

9 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

But he needed the practice. 

 

Not much fun being the guinea pig, though.  

[sparks1093]

12 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

Not much fun being the guinea pig, though.  

Absolutely not. 

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 4/7/2021 at 6:35 AM, sparks1093 said:

And there in lies the rub- that process takes time and effort and one has to balance any potential cost savings and other benefits of booking with a TA against the time it would take to find a good one. 

I takes little time to research the travel department of a member warehouse big box store.  Took less than 30 minutes to determine when they are open (16 hours on M-F and 11.5 on S&S) whether or not they had any hidden fees (none) or extra charges for changes or cancellations (none.)  Now I use them for all my bookings and get back about 8% of the base fare of my cruises.

 

Yeah, I could probably have spent several hours to find another reliable TA that would give me 10% rather than 8%, but it would not have been worth the effort since we only book one cruise per year.

[Toofarfromthesea]

On 4/13/2021 at 10:40 AM, Roz said:

 

I wasn't trying to discredit you.  I just don't understand your assumption that just because someone is a brick & mortar agent, they don't work in a competitive environment and therefore have low information to offer.  

No, I meant that they are in a non-competitive environment because their competition is essentially other local b&m agencies so they have far fewer competitors than online agencies, which are more numerous and easier to compare.  As to low information, I was talking about the customers, not the b&m agents.  I think knowledegable experienced cruisers are far less likely to use b&m agents than are unsophisticated novice cruisers who don't really do their own research.

[sparks1093]

2 hours ago, Toofarfromthesea said:

No, I meant that they are in a non-competitive environment because their competition is essentially other local b&m agencies so they have far fewer competitors than online agencies, which are more numerous and easier to compare.  As to low information, I was talking about the customers, not the b&m agents.  I think knowledegable experienced cruisers are far less likely to use b&m agents than are unsophisticated novice cruisers who don't really do their own research.

I think we might have one brick and mortar TA in my state, maybe two.

[sparks1093]

11 hours ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

I takes little time to research the travel department of a member warehouse big box store.  Took less than 30 minutes to determine when they are open (16 hours on M-F and 11.5 on S&S) whether or not they had any hidden fees (none) or extra charges for changes or cancellations (none.)  Now I use them for all my bookings and get back about 8% of the base fare of my cruises.

 

Yeah, I could probably have spent several hours to find another reliable TA that would give me 10% rather than 8%, but it would not have been worth the effort since we only book one cruise per year.

I actually belong to a warehouse big box store and I do check their offers before I book with the cruise line. Anything they offer over and above what the cruise line offers raises the price accordingly (and typically it's a gift card that may be used in the store). If the day comes that they do offer 8% off along with what the cruise line is offering then I'll book with them. Until then...

[AF-1]

This is bad situation for the OP Baya.  If you are social media savvy and want  to take the time here is my suggestion.  Take your plight to social media.  Find out the parent travel agent website and their facebook and twitter account;(beleive me they all have them and they list them at the bottom of their websites).   And believe me when I say;  they do not like bad press.  Start posting on their facebook  and twitter page; let them know how one of their travel agents screwed you over and won't account for their mistake.  You can also check to see if your personal travel agent;  the one who's on vacation has a facebook page for their agency.  Post there too.  Good luck and all the best. 

[clo]

13 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

This is bad situation for the OP Baya.  If you are social media savvy and want  to take the time here is my suggestion.  Take your plight to social media.  Find out the parent travel agent website and their facebook and twitter account;(beleive me they all have them and they list them at the bottom of their websites).   And believe me when I say;  they do not like bad press.  Start posting on their facebook  and twitter page; let them know how one of their travel agents screwed you over and won't account for their mistake.  You can also check to see if your personal travel agent;  the one who's on vacation has a facebook page for their agency.  Post there too.  Good luck and all the best. 

Superb idea. I'd forgotten that people on The Points Guy regularly do that. And generally get positive results.

[AF-1]

12 minutes ago, clo said:

Superb idea. I'd forgotten that people on The Points Guy regularly do that. And generally get positive results.

I have gotten positive and quick results from Delta and American Airlines.  So it does work.  Have a great day

[Toofarfromthesea]

9 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

I think we might have one brick and mortar TA in my state, maybe two.

Exactly, which is why b&m TAs are a bad place to look for good cruise TAs as compared to the hundreds that are online.  

It is great that people are offering the OP a fish (advice about dealing with her lousy TA situation).  I think it is equally important to try to teach them how to fish (find better TAs in future planning). 

Edited April 15, 2021 by Toofarfromthesea

[Reina del Mar]

To return to the Original Post and BAYA...were you able to restore your cruise ?

[clo]

8 hours ago, Reina del Mar said:

To return to the Original Post and BAYA...were you able to restore your cruise ?

@BAYAseems to have stopped replying to suggestions.

[Ashland]

I'm always so disappointed when there's no ending or wrap up to the show.

[clo]

15 minutes ago, Ashland said:

I'm always so disappointed when there's no ending or wrap up to the show.

I know. But I think some people come to this and countless other sites more to vent their spleen than anything else.

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

I'm always so disappointed when there's no ending or wrap up to the show.

It is not uncommon. One finds it happening often when the original post is a first post by the poster (though that is not the case in this thread).

[Ashland]

3 hours ago, ontheweb said:

It is not uncommon. One finds it happening often when the original post is a first post by the poster (though that is not the case in this thread).

Of course it's not uncommon...but still disappointing being that the outcome could help other's in similar situations. 

Edited April 18, 2021 by Ashland

[clo]

1 hour ago, Ashland said:

Of course it's not uncommon...but still disappointing being that the outcome could help other's in similar situations. 

Well, we all got some ideas so that's good.

[ontheweb]

8 hours ago, Ashland said:

Of course it's not uncommon...but still disappointing being that the outcome could help other's in similar situations. 

I actually checked back to see if it was a first post by the OP. I think it is a much more common occurrence from a first time poster.