Travel Agent Questions

[snoopy5386]

Ok, so I know I can't ask you guys for travel agent reccommendations, but can you tell me some questions I should ask the travel agents I am considering using, so that I know they are good?

Thanks

Nicole

[CruiseFever]

Finding a good TA is much like finding a good insurance salesman. Travel Agents are sales persons, make no mistake about it. If you can find one that will be an advocate for your travel needs that's great. But it IS common for them to attempt to "upsell" you into a higher cabin category, going on and on about the wonder of a balcony cabin if you have an outside cabin or a suite if you have a balcony.

 

There's nothing wrong with this commonly used sales tactic.

 

Other travel agents might get you into some group booking space where they have said to the cruise line "Give us a bunch of cabins at a reduced rate and we will sell them". The cruise line in return says "Ok great, the more you sell the more goodies we will give you. You can make these goodies benefit your group by adding amenities or reducing fares or you can make these benefits benefit you with free cabins or extra commissions".

 

One of the most important features of a good cruise travel agent is efficiency. You need the behind the scenes part of your booking to be handled correctly and on time. Attention to detail in this area is a must.

 

But you need to be your own advocate too.

 

You're doing that right now by coming here to learn about this stuff and gain valuable information that could make or break your cruise later.

 

To find a travel agent, much like finding an insurance salesman, you can look to professional organizations like the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA, http://www.cruising.org ) who helps train and certify cruise travel agents, awarding various levels of competency. Look for one that's at least a Master Cruise Counselor(MCC) (There's also an "Elite" designation). They've gone through training, attended seminars and toured various cruise ships to get a goodunderstanding of what they need to know.

 

Another professional organization that is a good indicator that an agency is at least doing some business is The American Socisty of Travel Agents (ASTA, http://www.astanet.com), the members here have rigorous criteria to meet in order to join and maintain membership.

 

If you do an Internet search for travel agents remember that in many cases the listings you see first are sponsored meaning those people pay the search engine to be listed at the top of the list.

 

Word of mouth, of course, is one of the best sources of finding a good travel agent. Because recommending specific travel agents on an Internet based forum such as this is NOT the same as a recommendation from, say, your neighbor we don't allow it on Cruise Critic and you should be happy that we don't. The people you come to "know" here could be travel agents, sales people, trying to make a sale without the best interest in mind that your neighbor might have.

 

My point here is to find neutral, unbiased sources, ones with documentation to support their recommendations if possible like your state attorney general or consumer affairs office.

 

Personally, I think its important to develop a good business relationship with your travel professional, be that an agent you find from one of the professional organizations, a neighbors recommendation or, yes, even an attractive yellow pages ad.

 

Armed with the right information about agents and the knowledge to ask the right questions you'll fare much better than blindly accepting somebody's suggestion.

 

Before you contact that agent get an idea of what you want. Search online or send off for some cruise brochures. Read reviews and other first timer information here on cruise critic. Ask questions (there are NO dumb ones) and get answers from the members here.

 

THEN make that call

 

Welcome To Cruising!

[sue d. miller]

Make sure there are no charges/fees for cancelling.

[CaptData]

If you did your research before (on these boards) then you will already have an idea of what you want. Ask for all the pricing complete including varouis aspects but broken down so you can compare apoples to apples. Ie Cost of cruise, port charges, Gov taxes, air and hotel.

 

Then compare inside to inside and balconey to balconey.

 

Ask for cancellation costs and if you need to pay extra for their service (though it should be apart of what they do).

 

Ask if they check priceses and get you reduce price/cabin credit if it goes down or upgrade.

[katisdale]

I would also ask if they match prices by other agencies both before and after booking. I would not expect them to meet price drops after final payment date but I would ask what they would do if such a decrease occurs. Some will fight for an upgrade or give you shipboard credit if this happens.

[CruiseFever]

Good point!

[Justmetalkin]

Thanks Chris for the post!

[llund]

I do think that each agent has his/her specialty. For cruises, I go to an agent that specializes in cruising. But, I don't think I would book a European vacation (not cruising) with him. I would go to someone who specializes in land vacations.

[CruiseFever]

I do think that each agent has his/her specialty. For cruises, I go to an agent that specializes in cruising. But, I don't think I would book a European vacation (not cruising) with him. I would go to someone who specializes in land vacations.

If I was going to book a land vacation in Europe I would have to find and agent who did that. I don't think mine would have any idea.