what to do about a bad royal booking agent?

[allennn]

we've done many cruises on RCCL and previously had an agent we worked with at royal who was really amazing.  She left the company and now we have an agent assigned who never returns calls or emails, is somewhat rude when we do get them on the phone etc.  I don't see any way though to get someone else assigned as there doesn't appear to be any links for that.  We are booking all star class rooms so its frustrating we can't get simple callbacks.  Any suggestions?

[Jimbo]

32 minutes ago, allennn said:

we've done many cruises on RCCL and previously had an agent we worked with at royal who was really amazing.  She left the company and now we have an agent assigned who never returns calls or emails, is somewhat rude when we do get them on the phone etc.  I don't see any way though to get someone else assigned as there doesn't appear to be any links for that.  We are booking all star class rooms so its frustrating we can't get simple callbacks.  Any suggestions?

Call the crown and anchor number and ask for a supervisor and tell them your concerns.

 

800-526-9723

[clochette]

i am always curious when people mentioned having an agent assigned directly from Royal, that has never happened to us, I just call one of the number when I have a question and just talked to whoever answers.  Is there an advantage to an assigned agent?

[Merion_Mom]

1 minute ago, clochette said:

i am always curious when people mentioned having an agent assigned directly from Royal, that has never happened to us, I just call one of the number when I have a question and just talked to whoever answers.  Is there an advantage to an assigned agent?

IMO, no.

[BazingAu]

Can you switch to using an outside TA? You get perks and a good one will do all the things that RCCL can do and more.

[Lane Hog]

32 minutes ago, BazingAu said:

Can you switch to using an outside TA? You get perks and a good one will do all the things that RCCL can do and more.

 The outside travel agent wouldn't qualify for commission on an existing booking.   No commission, likely no perks...

 

They might help you for a fee though.

Edited March 21, 2022 by Lane Hog

[nelblu]

2 hours ago, clochette said:

i am always curious when people mentioned having an agent assigned directly from Royal, that has never happened to us, I just call one of the number when I have a question and just talked to whoever answers.  Is there an advantage to an assigned agent?

Many years ago you were able to contact an agent that you dealt with in the past.  However, these days it's like you explained.  Many are in the Philippines and sometimes they sound like they are in a well.

[BazingAu]

3 hours ago, Lane Hog said:

 The outside travel agent wouldn't qualify for commission on an existing booking.   No commission, likely no perks...

 

They might help you for a fee though.

They do get a commission, but it has to be within 30 days of the RCCL booking. I think it's a split commission though when it's transferred, not full commission.

[allennn]

23 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Call the crown and anchor number and ask for a supervisor and tell them your concerns.

 

800-526-9723

do the royal vacation planners work for the crown & anchor desk?  Just curious what the connection there is?

[Jimbo]

11 minutes ago, allennn said:

do the royal vacation planners work for the crown & anchor desk?  Just curious what the connection there is?

Different department, much better service but they still may lead you in the right direction. Sounds like you might better off dealing with Crown and Anchor then any of  their so called "vacation planners".

[Wahed]

On 3/21/2022 at 9:43 AM, allennn said:

we've done many cruises on RCCL and previously had an agent we worked with at royal who was really amazing.  She left the company and now we have an agent assigned who never returns calls or emails, is somewhat rude when we do get them on the phone etc.  I don't see any way though to get someone else assigned as there doesn't appear to be any links for that.  We are booking all star class rooms so its frustrating we can't get simple callbacks.  Any suggestions?

 

Did you have Madeline by chance?  She was awesome.

[graphicguy]

The "so called" Vacation Planners are there to sell new bookings.  Follow up and post planning aren't things they make commissions on.  TAs can correct me if I misunderstand their commission structure.

 

As such, they don't make any money by making changes, other than to upgrade you to a more expensive fare.

 

Just guessing, but I'll bet that's the reason they aren't returning your calls.  They don't make any money by spending any time helping with your planning.  Have you been calling him/her a lot?  Do they spend a lot of time on the phone with you AFTER you've already booked?

 

One of the reasons I like my TA (who I've used for over a decade) she's been with me through numerous COVID cancellations and rebooks.  She knows if I'm cruising, I'm calling/emailing her.  And, I'm not just kicking tires on a cruise.  I'm close to booking if I contact her.  Plus, she always throws in some of her commission back to me either in the form of a rebate check, or OBC.  If there's a price drop, she lets me know, and does all the paperwork for me.

 

Before COVID, we were in Miami the night before an NCL sailing.  They were predicting a CAT 5 Hurricane, but NCL had not cancelled the cruise.  We were going to lose our cruise fare if we cancelled the day before sailing.  So, NCL finally cancelled at 3:00 a.m. the day of the cruise.  Woke up to a phone call from our TA who already had made reservations on a flight home for us.  That's a good TA.

 

I can't imagine Royal Caribbean's "vacation planners" doing that.

 

Long and short, find a good TA.

[nelblu]

Tha best that that I’ve dealt are the individuals at the Casino Desk. 

[allennn]

22 hours ago, graphicguy said:

The "so called" Vacation Planners are there to sell new bookings.  Follow up and post planning aren't things they make commissions on.  TAs can correct me if I misunderstand their commission structure.

 

As such, they don't make any money by making changes, other than to upgrade you to a more expensive fare.

 

Just guessing, but I'll bet that's the reason they aren't returning your calls.  They don't make any money by spending any time helping with your planning.  Have you been calling him/her a lot?  Do they spend a lot of time on the phone with you AFTER you've already booked?

 

One of the reasons I like my TA (who I've used for over a decade) she's been with me through numerous COVID cancellations and rebooks.  She knows if I'm cruising, I'm calling/emailing her.  And, I'm not just kicking tires on a cruise.  I'm close to booking if I contact her.  Plus, she always throws in some of her commission back to me either in the form of a rebate check, or OBC.  If there's a price drop, she lets me know, and does all the paperwork for me.

 

Before COVID, we were in Miami the night before an NCL sailing.  They were predicting a CAT 5 Hurricane, but NCL had not cancelled the cruise.  We were going to lose our cruise fare if we cancelled the day before sailing.  So, NCL finally cancelled at 3:00 a.m. the day of the cruise.  Woke up to a phone call from our TA who already had made reservations on a flight home for us.  That's a good TA.

 

I can't imagine Royal Caribbean's "vacation planners" doing that.

 

Long and short, find a good TA.

 

That totally makes sense on the commission structure.  Sucks for this guy though as he would make a lot of commissions from us if I thought we could trust him.

 

I've seriously considered using Harr Travel as we see their videos on youtube all the time when looking at premium bookings.  The thing that has kept me from doing that is that I've travelled a lot in my life and it just seems there are always less problems when I go direct with whatever company it is.  Maybe this is not the case with cruises.

 

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, allennn said:

 

That totally makes sense on the commission structure.  Sucks for this guy though as he would make a lot of commissions from us if I thought we could trust him.

 

I've seriously considered using Harr Travel as we see their videos on youtube all the time when looking at premium bookings.  The thing that has kept me from doing that is that I've travelled a lot in my life and it just seems there are always less problems when I go direct with whatever company it is.  Maybe this is not the case with cruises.

 

I get it.  

 

When I think about it, I do a lot of the research and pre-planning myself.  But, my TA really comes through when I need ancillary services like having to schedule/reschedule flights (which she doesn't make a commission on), hotels and I have pre/post-cruise billing issues.  In short, she's invaluable once things go a bit sideways....and something always goes sideways.

 

She's responsive, too.  Unless it's late at night, or a weekend, she always responds to my emails or phone calls in less than 24 hours.

 

Never found a "vacation planner" that was still with the cruise line much longer than a few months.  My TA has been with her agency for a decade.

 

I've seen Harr's YouTube videos.  Interfaced with him once last year.  Seemed nice enough.  Also seemed too busy to answer many questions outside of date of booking and cabin type you wanted to book.  Same goes for most of those YouTube TAs.

 

Bottom line, if you find a good Vacation Planner or a good TA, throw them ALL of your business.  It's well worth it.

[allennn]

On 3/23/2022 at 9:24 AM, graphicguy said:

I've seen Harr's YouTube videos.  Interfaced with him once last year.  Seemed nice enough.  Also seemed too busy to answer many questions outside of date of booking and cabin type you wanted to book.  Same goes for most of those YouTube TAs.

 

 

yea we reached out with some questions and basically got a 'tell us what you want to book and we will do it for you'.  Pretty sure they didn't read any of the email we sent.  My guess is that you are right about him being to busy doing the videos and such but doesn't have much time for booking travel for others these days.

 

[deliver42]

I've never been assigned a vacation planner with Royal. I've booked on line and by phone, and nobody ever said anything to me. if I have a question or a problem, I just call, and whoever answers the phone helps me.

[smplybcause]

On 3/23/2022 at 10:11 AM, allennn said:

 

That totally makes sense on the commission structure.  Sucks for this guy though as he would make a lot of commissions from us if I thought we could trust him.

 

I've seriously considered using Harr Travel as we see their videos on youtube all the time when looking at premium bookings.  The thing that has kept me from doing that is that I've travelled a lot in my life and it just seems there are always less problems when I go direct with whatever company it is.  Maybe this is not the case with cruises.

 

 

If you booked and could just use the regular number to talk to whoever is available. But the cruise line assigning me one person? So all the bad side of having an individual agent but none of the upside? Nah.

 

Honestly if I was throwing star class cash around I'd want to book with a TA just to get the perks. Might take a while to find a good one, but at least you get perks when the royal agent gives you nothing.

[DocNDo]

Having an assigned Royal Vacation Planner is similar to having a TA, and in some instances they can do more. That one person can manage all your bookings and reprice when sales come up just like a TA. They may not do it automatically like some outside agents but it’s not hard to reach out to have them check. It’s nice to have one point of contact that you can reach out to directly as opposed to having to hold for the next available agent through the main line.

 

I used to work with someone named Lori Magill who was great, but sadly she left RCL. She was a huge help when it came to doing all that Lifting & Shifting nonsense. Would handle flights through air2sea and make any changes with a simple phone call to her direct line. I originally got assigned to her because I wanted book a specific suite and she ended up being much faster at checking available dates, while most third party TA would take longer because they themselves have to check with Royal and then get back to you.
 

I tried using a TA to book an Alaska Star class suite subsequently but they kept telling me that only the Royal Loft Suite would fit my family of 5, which is technically true but Lori working for Royal was able to call for an exception with the ships safety officer to allow the 5 of us to book a Star Loft which has a capacity of 4. A regular TA would never be able to do that.

 

On our recent Wonder sailing I ended up making the booking myself through the website when they first became available last year. Then I transferred the booking to MEI to try them out. My TA was nice and kind of on top of things but I didn’t notice any significant “perks” from transferring a very expensive booking to them. 

After experiencing both I’d go with a good Royal Vacation Planner over a 3rd party TA.

 

[SRF]

On 3/23/2022 at 10:11 AM, allennn said:

 

That totally makes sense on the commission structure.  Sucks for this guy though as he would make a lot of commissions from us if I thought we could trust him.

 

I've seriously considered using XXXXXXX as we see their videos on youtube all the time when looking at premium bookings.  The thing that has kept me from doing that is that I've travelled a lot in my life and it just seems there are always less problems when I go direct with whatever company it is.  Maybe this is not the case with cruises.

 

 

FYI, it is against forum rules to mention any travel agency by name.

 

CC is owned by a travel agency

 

[CapiChris]

On 4/14/2022 at 1:09 AM, DocNDo said:

Having an assigned Royal Vacation Planner is similar to having a TA, and in some instances they can do more. That one person can manage all your bookings and reprice when sales come up just like a TA. They may not do it automatically like some outside agents but it’s not hard to reach out to have them check. It’s nice to have one point of contact that you can reach out to directly as opposed to having to hold for the next available agent through the main line.

 

I used to work with someone named Lori Magill who was great, but sadly she left RCL. She was a huge help when it came to doing all that Lifting & Shifting nonsense. Would handle flights through air2sea and make any changes with a simple phone call to her direct line. I originally got assigned to her because I wanted book a specific suite and she ended up being much faster at checking available dates, while most third party TA would take longer because they themselves have to check with Royal and then get back to you.
 

I tried using a TA to book an Alaska Star class suite subsequently but they kept telling me that only the Royal Loft Suite would fit my family of 5, which is technically true but Lori working for Royal was able to call for an exception with the ships safety officer to allow the 5 of us to book a Star Loft which has a capacity of 4. A regular TA would never be able to do that.

 

On our recent Wonder sailing I ended up making the booking myself through the website when they first became available last year. Then I transferred the booking to MEI to try them out. My TA was nice and kind of on top of things but I didn’t notice any significant “perks” from transferring a very expensive booking to them. 

After experiencing both I’d go with a good Royal Vacation Planner over a 3rd party TA.

 

 

Lori was also my Royal Vacation Planner, I got automatically assigned to her and she was one of my favourites. After she booked my first cruise I kept calling her to book all my future sailings. After she left Royal Caribbean I got assigned another Vacation Planner named Elise. She was also amazing but she is no longer with Royal as well. The new vacation planner I have been assigned sadly does not even respond to my emails I send off. Would like to get a new person assigned instead of getting random ones over the phone.

[Tree_skier]

On 3/21/2022 at 12:00 PM, Lane Hog said:

 The outside travel agent wouldn't qualify for commission on an existing booking.   No commission, likely no perks...

 

They might help you for a fee though.

I think you have 60 days after booking to transfer.

[iuki]

On 3/22/2022 at 5:45 AM, graphicguy said:

The "so called" Vacation Planners are there to sell new bookings.  Follow up and post planning aren't things they make commissions on.  TAs can correct me if I misunderstand their commission structure.

 

As such, they don't make any money by making changes, other than to upgrade you to a more expensive fare.

 

Just guessing, but I'll bet that's the reason they aren't returning your calls.  They don't make any money by spending any time helping with your planning.  Have you been calling him/her a lot?  Do they spend a lot of time on the phone with you AFTER you've already booked?

 

One of the reasons I like my TA (who I've used for over a decade) she's been with me through numerous COVID cancellations and rebooks.  She knows if I'm cruising, I'm calling/emailing her.  And, I'm not just kicking tires on a cruise.  I'm close to booking if I contact her.  Plus, she always throws in some of her commission back to me either in the form of a rebate check, or OBC.  If there's a price drop, she lets me know, and does all the paperwork for me.

 

Before COVID, we were in Miami the night before an NCL sailing.  They were predicting a CAT 5 Hurricane, but NCL had not cancelled the cruise.  We were going to lose our cruise fare if we cancelled the day before sailing.  So, NCL finally cancelled at 3:00 a.m. the day of the cruise.  Woke up to a phone call from our TA who already had made reservations on a flight home for us.  That's a good TA.

 

I can't imagine Royal Caribbean's "vacation planners" doing that.

 

Long and short, find a good TA.

Too bad you aren’t allowed to post her name.  When I was assigned a TA by RCCL, I had to do her work for her untangling the mess that the onboard booking agent created.  So I just book directly myself.

[iuki]

Since your TA is with RCCL, just call the general number and tell them what you need.  They can’t force you to deal with the person you booked with.

[graphicguy]

2 hours ago, iuki said:

Too bad you aren’t allowed to post her name.  When I was assigned a TA by RCCL, I had to do her work for her untangling the mess that the onboard booking agent created.  So I just book directly myself.

If you want, contact me directly and I'll send you to her.  It's my Cruise Critic user name (monicker) at Yahoo.