Question for TA's

[bobbie0253]

We are booking a cruise soon. I usually transfer my booking to my TA who works for a major travel company that happens to have an office in our mall. We did this on 11 out of 13 cruises. It seems like the TA doesn't really care if we transfer to her or not. For the first two cruises she sent a gift to our room, but not since then. She is nice and does her job, but nothing extra. (like telling us if she stumbles across a great last minute deal)

 

My question is.... if someone books a GTY room does the TA really make enough for it to be worth the hassle of taking care of the booking?

 

How does RCCL pay the TA's? Is it more depending on room and sailing, or a certain percentage no matter what?

 

I don't want to transfer a booking to her if she doesn't want it. I just have always thought someone should get paid besides RCCL. If the work out weighs the paycheck, I will let RCCL do their own work.

 

Any info would be appreciated :) If you don't want to talk "business" on the board, my email is bobbieajd@aol.com

 

Bobbie

[rjg41]

Time to look for another TA.

 

TA's are generally paid on a percentage of the fare. The fare you see has a non-commissionable portion. The less you spend the less the TA gets but that is no reason for a TA to shun your business.

 

That said, while clients fire TA's, TA's fire clients. They may think they don't have the time for someone's business because they have enough clients who spend more money or some clients(not you) take/demand too much of their time for the business they bring in. Some may be huge pains.

[Radio]

Hi Bobbie,

 

The commission for a cruise can vary...but it is always 10% ( of the Cruise fare). The Cruise Fare us usually 80-90 of the total price. That being said, I have never turned down any client that wants to cruise....

 

I guess I must be hungrier than most :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

 

Radio

:rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[cindybeach]

That is true we are paid by the cruiseline and it is a percentage of cruise fare. I also would not turn down any client just because it was a cheaper cruise. I help all my clients.

[jcanino]

The commission for a cruise can vary...but it is always 10% ( of the Cruise fare). The Cruise Fare us usually 80-90 of the total price.

 

If the agency the OP is talking about is a major player with many offices, you can bet they are making more than 10% on the cruise rate. their commission can be upward of 16% or more depending on the volume that they do.

 

That said, any TA should be happy to have a booking transferred to them whether they are making $50 or $500.

[surfklutz]

I can't speak for travel agents- since I am not one. But I believe the reason that you are not getting wine or other little things from your agent is that they make very little on gty bookings - sometimes not even enough to pay for the go away gift. Cruises overall used to be more expensive upfront than they are now - so the agent did make more. But just a side note - even if you got a great deal initially on the cruise - you make it up on what you spend on the cruise. Remember what used to be included in the cruise?

[Ella2]

Like the other TAs who posted, I would never dream of turning down a booking. :) Commission is commission, it all adds up, and no good TA should consider servicing a customer a hassle...no matter how much they make off the booking.

 

Enjoy your cruise! :)

[mheinrich]

I can't talk for most cruise agencies, but for our agency, we're allowed to give a gift based on commission amount received. If we receive less than $100 in commission, no gift...$100 - $250, wine....$250 - $500, camera and photo album....$500 and up, all of the above.

 

Commssion is paid on the CRUISE ONLY portion of the fare (not included port charges, taxes and non-commissionables). Cruise only portions can be as low as less than $300 sometimes ($300 x 16% = $48) on a GTY so that could be the reason you're not receiving any "extras" on some of your sailings. Yes, that is a per person rate, but it's still less than $100 commission for the booking. Hope this helps!!

[jcanino]

I can't talk for most cruise agencies, but for our agency, we're allowed to give a gift based on commission amount received. If we receive less than $100 in commission, no gift...$100 - $250, wine

 

As a full service agency, we have a similar policy but each agent has the authority to choose a gift. It is based on the commission the agency earns and we are allowed to send a gift based on a percentage of our commission.

 

When it all comes down to the bottom line, every gift we send is tax deductable as a marketing expense.

[rjg41]

I can't talk for most cruise agencies, but for our agency, we're allowed to give a gift based on commission amount received. If we receive less than $100 in commission, no gift...$100 - $250, wine....$250 - $500, camera and photo album....$500 and up, all of the above.

 

Commssion is paid on the CRUISE ONLY portion of the fare (not included port charges, taxes and non-commissionables). Cruise only portions can be as low as less than $300 sometimes ($300 x 16% = $48) on a GTY so that could be the reason you're not receiving any "extras" on some of your sailings. Yes, that is a per person rate, but it's still less than $100 commission for the booking. Hope this helps!!

 

 

.....and the agent only gets a percentage of the commission. The rest goes to the agency.

[jcanino]

.....and the agent only gets a percentage of the commission. The rest goes to the agency.

 

Only if the TA is working on commission. I get paid hourly so it doesn't matter to me if I sell you a $1000 cruise or a $10,000 cruise.

[IvesGrandmama]

looks like time for me to change TA's. After 7 cruises only luggage tags one time.

[msraye]

I know I need a new TA but how to find a good one?

 

My recently current TA really left me in a lurch for my Russia trip. She booked the river boats and did nothing else!! So I had to find out about trains in Russia, apts for rent, guides over there, etc.

 

How do I find a good TA? What should I look for? What questions should I ask?

 

Yes, I like to do a lot of my own planning but when going to such a place where I have no hope of learning the language, the culture is so different, etc. I am willing to pay!

[Dem920]

I know I need a new TA but how to find a good one?

 

My recently current TA really left me in a lurch for my Russia trip. She booked the river boats and did nothing else!! So I had to find out about trains in Russia, apts for rent, guides over there, etc.

 

How do I find a good TA? What should I look for? What questions should I ask?

 

Yes, I like to do a lot of my own planning but when going to such a place where I have no hope of learning the language, the culture is so different, etc. I am willing to pay!

 

Biggest question I would ask is if they charge cancellation fees. I got caught short with that once from a TA and make sure to ask that first. You want someone that is going to get you the trip for the cheapest price they can possibly find, not just the first price.

 

I know a good one if you need it, but if not best of luck finding one.

 

-DEM920

[hrsh37a]

Biggest question I would ask is if they charge cancellation fees. I got caught short with that once from a TA and make sure to ask that first. You want someone that is going to get you the trip for the cheapest price they can possibly find, not just the first price.

 

I know a good one if you need it, but if not best of luck finding one.

 

-DEM920

 

It's hit or miss to find a good agent. Talk to people - get referrals from friends. Ask the agent how many cruises they sell. You want one that sells lots. that means that pother people have confidence in the agent. Ask the agent if they have preferred relationships with cruise lines. At the agency where I work we have a preferred ralationship with princess and not Norwegian. If we have a client with a problem on Princess we have a better shot at getting it resolved successfully than we do with Norwegian. We also get better service from Princess so our clients get better service with Princess. Also keep in mind that not all agents at the same agency are top notch agents. So if you find an agent you like stick with the agent like glue, no matter where they work.

[LindaandJeff]

 

Any info would be appreciated :) If you don't want to talk "business" on the board, my email is bobbieajd@aol.com

 

Bobbie

 

Seems like you have your choice of at least 7 people who responded to your post, if you are looking for a new TA;) I didn't realize so many of you were TAs. Guess that's why you have been on so many cruises!