Travel Agent Booking Fees

[SATaxman]

I know that specific Travel Agents cannot be recommended on Cruise Critic. After reading about all of the "perks" offered by certain Oceania Connoisseurs Club  TAs, I went on a google search. The first one just responded by email to describe their process. A $250.00 fee to book a cruise, $400 to include airfare and other items. Waiting to hear from the other 2 TAs. Is this normal to charge a fee?

 Thanks for your responses. Our first O cruise in October 2023 we booked direct with O.

[EJL2023]

25 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

I know that specific Travel Agents cannot be recommended on Cruise Critic. After reading about all of the "perks" offered by certain Oceania Connoisseurs Club  TAs, I went on a google search. The first one just responded by email to describe their process. A $250.00 fee to book a cruise, $400 to include airfare and other items. Waiting to hear from the other 2 TAs. Is this normal to charge a fee?

 Thanks for your responses. Our first O cruise in October 2023 we booked direct with O.

Our TA does not charge a fee too book. 

[Vineyard View]

Our TA provides discounts, not fees. I have never researched whether she is part of ‘the club’. She works hard for us and we have always been happy. 

[SATaxman]

I will "pass" on this TA. Waiting to hear from 2 others. Thanks for responding.

 

[Vineyard View]

They are out there. Good ones. Don’t give up. 

[thebsinmiss]

In our Canadian province the cruise agent we used does not charge us any fees for the cruise advice/booking.  My understanding is they make a commission from the cruise line, likely based on the dollar cost of booked cruise (cruise, drink package upgrade, O tours booked beyond SM credits etc...)  I'm sure they also get compensated to a small degree if they sell you trip interruption/cancelation/medical insurance plans but that is a guess on my part. They are doing the work/taking work off our plate so they deserve their compensation. 

 

Our agent does charge a flat fee to search flights/book flights etc which is understandable to me. We booked our flights ourselves as the key for us was direct flights only and there were only 2 options form our airport so it was relatively easy.

 

One other point, I have seen posts referencing some cruise agents offering rebates (on board credits or picking up gratuities or picking up drink upgrade)  As far as I know that is not available from any Canadian travel agent/planner. 

[1985rz1]

51 minutes ago, SATaxman said:

I know that specific Travel Agents cannot be recommended on Cruise Critic. After reading about all of the "perks" offered by certain Oceania Connoisseurs Club  TAs, I went on a google search. The first one just responded by email to describe their process. A $250.00 fee to book a cruise, $400 to include airfare and other items. Waiting to hear from the other 2 TAs. Is this normal to charge a fee?

 Thanks for your responses. Our first O cruise in October 2023 we booked direct with O.

No that is not normal for a cruise specialist.

[Vallesan]

In the UK  TA’s do not charge fees to book they earn commissions from the cruise companies and usually pass a percentage of that onto the client as a discount. Never heard of a TA charging a fee to book.

[ronrick1943]

Same with us, our TA never charges  fee--but for the booking gives us perks or amenities.  The air I prefer to have control so I book myself to get the dates and class of service.  We always go in two days early and usually stay a week after the cruise.  

[ORV]

1 hour ago, SATaxman said:

I know that specific Travel Agents cannot be recommended on Cruise Critic. After reading about all of the "perks" offered by certain Oceania Connoisseurs Club  TAs, I went on a google search. The first one just responded by email to describe their process. A $250.00 fee to book a cruise, $400 to include airfare and other items. Waiting to hear from the other 2 TAs. Is this normal to charge a fee?

 Thanks for your responses. Our first O cruise in October 2023 we booked direct with O.

Was this on a bidding site or did you contact them individually?

[SATaxman]

Just now, ORV said:

Was this on a bidding site or did you contact them individually?

I googles Oceania Travel Agents Connoisseurs Club. After reading the Press Release from FDR when he "selected these TAs (without mentioning names), I just contacted the first 3 which all had the Connoisseurs Club Logo on their websites. Still have not heard from the other 2. What is a bidding site?

 

[Cruisedreamer1]

Run away from this agent. I believe that the TA Association is encouraging a fee since some customers don't follow through with a booking. Thank goodness our agent does not charge nor plan to charge a fee.

[PhD-iva]

I recall, you have mentioned in the past that the Travel Agent topic never came up when you were on board. I would encourage you to make another attempt on your next cruise.

It’s not necessary to ask someone how much they paid for their cruise, just let them know you’re looking for a good travel agent, and do they know one they can recommend to you. Also, good to ask why do they like their travel agent.
Not everyone uses a travel agent, and some people are not satisfied with their travel agent that they are using, but most people are eager to support their travel agent by passing along recommendations to new customers like you. Good luck. 

[SATaxman]

Just now, PhD-iva said:

I recall, you have mentioned in the past that the Travel Agent topic never came up when you were on board. I would encourage you to make another attempt on your next cruise.

It’s not necessary to ask someone how much they paid for their cruise, just let them know you’re looking for a good travel agent, and do they know one they can recommend to you. Also, good to ask why do they like their travel agent.
Not everyone uses a travel agent, and some people are not satisfied with their travel agent that they are using, but most people are eager to support their travel agent by passing along recommendations to new customers like you. Good luck. 

I am hoping to find on to book the December 2024 cruise I "held" yesterday. Thanks for the advice.

 

[PhD-iva]

Just now, SATaxman said:

I am hoping to find on to book the December 2024 cruise I "held" yesterday. Thanks for the advice.

 

Also, you could reach out by email to posters who include their contact information in their signature, in case you would like to further the discussion.

[jackdeb]

We on the west coast do not pay a fee to book a cruise, quite the opposite we often get perks like some obc, from the agent. Depending on the cabin level we have had gratuities, trip interruption/cancelation insurance from the agency. The agency we use is O’s largest partner in Canada 🇨🇦.

[shepherd really]

If a TA wants to charge you a fee the correct response is "no, thank you" followed by hanging up and blocking their phone number.

[Snaefell3]

30 minutes ago, shepherd really said:

If a TA wants to charge you a fee the correct response is "no, thank you" followed by hanging up and blocking their phone number.

Even better...

"Pardon.  I need to answer the door.  Be right back"

Then don't come back to just hang up for 10 min.  👼

[SATaxman]

The 2nd TA responded with an "offer" of $600 OBC. This is for a $14,000 cruise.

Waiting for a response from "door #3".

[ORV]

3 hours ago, SATaxman said:

What is a bidding site?

It's a website that you enter your cruise information then agents or companies "bid" for your business. I tried it many years ago when I was looking for a TA and the replies scared me. I've heard good results about them, but no way I would use any of the 3 that replied to me. Bad grammar, unprofessional email style, lack of response to questions. Just to mention a couple of things. 

[SATaxman]

2 minutes ago, ORV said:

It's a website that you enter your cruise information then agents or companies "bid" for your business. I tried it many years ago when I was looking for a TA and the replies scared me. I've heard good results about them, but no way I would use any of the 3 that replied to me. Bad grammar, unprofessional email style, lack of response to questions. Just to mention a couple of things. 

Thanks. Sounds awful.

[MarkWiltonM]

12 minutes ago, ORV said:

It's a website that you enter your cruise information then agents or companies "bid" for your business.

We found our agent on one of these bidding sites. It was for a Crystal cruise but we've used him now for years for mostly Celebrity, Oceania, and HAL. He provides travel insurance or OBC (your choice) as a perk and sometimes offers pre-paid gratuities depending on the cruise and cruise line. I suspect there are other agents that give larger benefits to customers but this agency is available 24/7 and everyone who works there is very professional and always on top of things. Our TA is the president of the agency but there are dozens of staff and we can always reach someone. 

Edited April 1 by MarkWiltonM

[SATaxman]

Thanks. I will try to find this bidding site.

[ORV]

6 hours ago, SATaxman said:

I googles Oceania Travel Agents Connoisseurs Club. After reading the Press Release from FDR when he "selected these TAs (without mentioning names), I just contacted the first 3 which all had the Connoisseurs Club Logo on their websites. Still have not heard from the other 2. What is a bidding site?

 

It's hard to find it on Google, but the new term for the "Top" agents is "Oceania Insider Elite"

[SATaxman]

6 hours ago, ORV said:

Was this on a bidding site or did you contact them individually?

One of the 3 I contacted that were found on the Google search for "oceania travel agents Connoisseurs club".