Should I use a TA for Virgin Voyages

[Cathy in Boston]

Hi all,

 

This is not a typical “pros vs cons” question.  Typically, we prefer to book everything ourselves.  We’ve booked all of our Celebrity cruises on our own.  However, we were given very good advice by someone on Cruise Critic to use a TA when booking an MSC cruise.  We followed that advice and am glad we did.  So, I guess we are looking for folks experience on booking their own trips on Virgin and whether they had wished they used a TA instead.

 

Thanks for any and all advice!

[basenji56]

13 minutes ago, Cathy in Boston said:

Hi all,

 

This is not a typical “pros vs cons” question.  Typically, we prefer to book everything ourselves.  We’ve booked all of our Celebrity cruises on our own.  However, we were given very good advice by someone on Cruise Critic to use a TA when booking an MSC cruise.  We followed that advice and am glad we did.  So, I guess we are looking for folks experience on booking their own trips on Virgin and whether they had wished they used a TA instead.

 

Thanks for any and all advice!

Yes.  I got much more in Sailor Loot with a TA.

[CanadianCruiser21]

Yes, it doesn’t cost you anything. And even if you are perfectly competent to book your own stuff, you get free on board credit. For example, if you book a sea terrace (not lock it in), you get $700 sailor loot (OBC). In addition, if there are any issues, they are the ones who deal with the customer service wait times, not you. 
Plus, it’s not like anything is out of your control if you use a TA. I’m still able to log into my account, make payments, changes, add ons, etc. 

Lastly, they can help deal with any issues you may have while on board too. 
Just make sure you find a good TA. 

[aqlollipop]

I've always been a book it myself gal as well, and I did convert to using a TA with Virgin. The issue with Virgin is their shoreside customer service is... inconsistent, and that would be a very generous way to phrase it. If you book yourself, using their website, they assign you a cabin, you don't get to pick or see what's available. You can always call them and ask to be moved to a different cabin, but why deal with the challenges of getting them on the phone when a TA can book you where you want right off?

 

When I was booking my own, I didn't have many issues, the only thing I regretted was a future voyage certificate I later booked the cruise for online. That could have not been handled by my new TA anyway because I bought during my first VV too long ago to transfer it to her stewardship. It all worked out fine in the end and all our cruises with Virgin have been great, but it's been very freeing and a lot less stressful for me planning things to have someone to go to with questions. The first cruise I booked with her was in early April right after one of their extensions of Deep Blue Extras, which I should have been eligible for. Because the cruise was happening very shortly after the announcement, I let her handle making sure I received those benefits. I didn't have to be on hold or trying to get up at the crack of dawn to be the first morning caller. 

 

I think until things are a little smoother with Virgin shoreside, it's just an easier and more relaxing experience to work with a TA.

[cantgetin]

YES, a thousand times YES.  On my first VV booking, I did it myself as my TA was on a long cruise an he told me to do it on my own and we'd "fix" anything that needed to be done when I got back. No special deals or service or anything.  However, VV can be "glitchy". 

I later met another TA who had much VV experience and have used her ever since.  What a TA can do for you--first, many purchase and resell future cruise certificates.  This currently gets you a $300 discount on the cruise (in addition to the $300 you pay for the certificate) and $600 on "Loot," which is onboard credit...and can be used on top of any current deals.  It is totally allowed for them to purchase the certificates when they are cruising and resell them to their clients.  Next, a good TA will track sales, etc. and contact you about rebooking if a better deal becomes available.  This saved me $400 on my upcoming cruise (same cabin, same deal).  Third, if the app gets glitchy, they can do things like booking dinners for you--let them know what you want.  4th, if they happen to do an on line sales event and you are booking in that time period, you can get an extra amount of OBC based on the cabin category you book.  If your TA has 10 clients booked on any cruise, that constitutes a "circle," which has other benefits.   5th, my TA had me send her my flight and hotel info and put everything together into one computer app that automatically tracked everything.  For instance, I gave her the confirmation numbers on the flights and hotels. The app automatically notified me of flight delays, gave the address of the hotel, etc.   It was the best service I've had from a TA in 30 years.

As always, some TAs are better than others, but VV can be such a pain that it is worth having someone to take care of the stuff that happens. Unlike some other lines, VV will talk to you and let you change things after you book with a TA.  For instance, you can buy a bar tab by calling VV or your TA or on line.  Your TA will still get the credit...or if you have an IT problem, you can call VV.  OK, I don't know why you wouldn't go thru your TA for most things, but you do still keep your options open.

[lisabucsfan1]

how does one go about finding a TA that specializes in VV?

[cantgetin]

17 minutes ago, lisabucsfan1 said:

how does one go about finding a TA that specializes in VV?

We are not allowed to name TAs here as Cruise Critic is basically a TA.  Some hints--in order to book VV, a TA has to have done their training.  Not a random someone in the office being trained, but each person has to be trained.  THat means that most of the huge companies do not book VV.  VV awards recognition to their "first mates" who do a lot of booking...these awards are done both nationally and by region of the country.  I don't know why you couldn't ask an agent if they are in the top 10 in their region, how many VV cruises have they booked, or how many VV cruises have they sailed on.  These are all fair questions in my book!

I think the best way is by personal referral.  I'd love to give you the name of my agent, but that is not permitted on this site.  You might want to join a roll call group on another social media site  (pick a group for the cruise you are considering) and ask there.  Another hint--ask the agent if they have any future cruise certificates that they can sell you ir if they have a cruise planned where they can get you one while they are on board.  The experienced ones seem to be doing this regularly.  I personally know the agent who was supposedly number 1 in the country and one who ranked in the top 10.....the one in the top 10 gives better service.  But both are very experienced.

 

Tootles!

[Cathy in Boston]

Wow, thank you all for your advice.  Okay, I’m convinced, TA it is!

[CruisingWalter]

On 6/22/2023 at 10:55 AM, Cathy in Boston said:

We followed that advice and am glad we did.  So, I guess we are looking for folks experience on booking their own trips on Virgin and whether they had wished they used a TA instead.

 

We've been cruising almost 20 years, have used a TA from the beginning and continue to do so. They just make life so much easier. And in the case of VV, they can select specific cabins for us from the get go. Recently our TA has been able to offer an additional $100 OBC with the bookings too and that has been sweet. 🙂

[Cathy in Boston]

Hi everyone,

 

I want to thank everyone who replied to us.  So after taking everyone’s suggestions, we found a TA local to us…about a 35 minute drive from where we live.  This particular person has taken 4 VV cruises, loves them and has a VV Gold level certification.  She also told us she would be able to get us some “extras.”  She has reminders set up for us so when 2025 opens up, she will contact us.  Overall, she was extremely pleasant to work with.

 

Thanks again!

[Back to school]

Hundred percent direct, I want to control!

[cantgetin]

6 hours ago, Back to school said:

Hundred percent direct, I want to control!

Unlike other lines, you don't lose  anything by using a first mate.  The only thing that you don't "control" is that your payments must be made either on line or thru your agent, so even this is not a loss of "control."  But if you enjoy waiting on hold and the joy of dealing with shoreside, go for it.  VV is all about doing things your way.

[rebeccac]

With any line, you shouldn't loose "control" if you have a good TA.  Sure the payments with other lines (unlike VV) have to go through the TA, but that TA should not do anything without your consent.  And more importantly, you gain time back since you are not the one waiting on the phone if you need to make any changes.  

[-The-True-North-]

Is there a Google sheet or Excel for verified Virgin Voyages TAs? And who gives the best kickbacks?

 

Looking at booking a 12k+ cruise.

[rebeccac]

Unfortunately, we are not allowed to mention any TAs by name on Cruise Critic.  

[cantgetin]

There are often groups on other social media sites devoted to each cruise.  They might be able to tell you who they used.  As above, we are not allowed to name TAs on the CruiseCritic site.

[pooh/tigger]

I wonder what I should type in the search box before hitting send? I’m not using the proper words because I’m not seeing any reliable hints. Would love to use a TA that could get us the most we can. 😎😎😎😎😎😎

[cantgetin]

If you watch videos of VV on YouTube, you might get some ideas.  Some of the people who do videos are also on cruise critic....like Walter. You might also get a sense as to whether any are people you want to deal with. I don't know what you are using  in your search, but you might try placing the word "travels" after your search.

I'm really sorry that I can't make suggestions here, but that is strictly against Cruise Critic policy. I lave my TA, but I can't violate CC policy.

 

Tootles

[Fogcityca13]

There is a subreddit for Virgin, YouTube is also a good suggestion as well. 

I was pretty happy to have a TA last week. A family member called Virgin to add some sailor loot for our up coming cruise. I see an email come in that I owe $200 on my cruise the leaves the 9th. All I had to do was send my TA a quick email and she was able track down what happened and we were able to get the account corrected. There was no way I had time that day to call in.

[Gretchendz]

7 hours ago, pooh/tigger said:

I wonder what I should type in the search box before hitting send? I’m not using the proper words because I’m not seeing any reliable hints. Would love to use a TA that could get us the most we can. 😎😎😎😎😎😎

 

Look for a TA that has Gold tier certification with VV. Also, many will have their own VV booking site available where you can book the cruise if you want and they have the booking to do all the things everyone has been commenting on.  A good thing to ask when interviewing one.

 

The Virgin subreddit does not allow TAs to sell directly but many will have Travel Agent as a tag in that subreddit and you can get their contact information in their profile.

 

Another common way is to google travel agent near me.

 

Just like any relationship, it's okay to shop around until you find a good match for what you want.

[pooh/tigger]

That first sentence worked perfectly. Got a nice list of agents to choose from now. 
 

Thanks Gretchendz 😎😎

[cantgetin]

The only part I don't agree with it having an agent "near me."  The agent I love is in Huntsville, 5 hours away from me by car.  These days, it doesn't matter as everything is done on line anyhow.  We can connect thru any number of platforms.
 

I'm not sure what the requirements for being a Gold tier agent are....all VV agents must complete their training--not just one agent in the office, but each agent.  I look for one who has cruised whatever line I'm interested in, preferably recently.  I know my agent placed in the top 10 only because she got a special cruise free due to her placement.

 

Tootles,

[Gretchendz]

5 hours ago, cantgetin said:

The only part I don't agree with it having an agent "near me."  The agent I love is in Huntsville, 5 hours away from me by car.  These days, it doesn't matter as everything is done on line anyhow.  We can connect thru any number of platforms.
 

I'm not sure what the requirements for being a Gold tier agent are....all VV agents must complete their training--not just one agent in the office, but each agent.  I look for one who has cruised whatever line I'm interested in, preferably recently.  I know my agent placed in the top 10 only because she got a special cruise free due to her placement.

 

Tootles,

 

So, depending how much VV voyage training they have taken and passed (there are quizzes), TAs earn various tiers..Gold is the highest meaning they have completed and passed all the VV training for TAs. Sometimes VV may make offers that are available only to Gold Tier agents.

 

I certainly agree it is best to use someone who has sailed with them too. You can't beat the knowledge that comes with experience.

 

I agree on the "near me"--it really does not matter nowadays. However, some people like to know their TA is nearby or even meet them. I mentioned it because so many people like that.

[cantgetin]

1 hour ago, Gretchendz said:

 

 

I agree on the "near me"--it really does not matter nowadays. However, some people like to know their TA is nearby or even meet them. I mentioned it because so many people like that.

I actually met my TA when I happened to be making a trip to her location for a totally unrelated purpose, and then later we were on the same cruise.  Yes, an in person meeting is great...but I also used a previous TA (she retired) for probably 10 years and we never met in person.

[j_anandu]

On 6/26/2023 at 12:12 PM, cantgetin said:

There are often groups on other social media sites devoted to each cruise.  They might be able to tell you who they used.  As above, we are not allowed to name TAs on the CruiseCritic site.

Email ? 😬