Anyone booked with the TA that folded?

[C 2 C]

I can't mention the name of the agency... strange really since they won't be taking any business from any other agencies any more.

 

It's getting scary out there but I obtained this information from the HAL site.

 

http://www.thisworldtraveler.com/

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=873535

[FinelyCruising]

I am in NJ and never knew of this agency. The last couple of bookings I have on X are based with the cruise line so I can control my booking. To me that is worth a hundred dollars for the aggravation factor of an OBC offered by a TA to transfer to them to do their job. As a result I am still be able to react instantly with issues that impact or surround my sail dates.

[ccletzgo]

card mills and MLM's. :eek: The rug is being pulled out from under them one at a time. RCCL was the first cruise line to discontinue business with "I cant say the name" and another "I cant say the name"

 

Why would an agent want to give up to 40 percent of there commission to an UP line? The head honcho is living fine, but it can only last so long.

 

May as well join Amway. :rolleyes:

 

Dont know if the particular agency the OP read about is one, but its something that people should be aware of.

 

Another rule of thumb. Make sure the agent you use runs your credit card directly through the cruise line. That way you know the cruise line got your money.

[chuckdaddy]

Yep. My 12/07 trip on Solstice was booked through them. I called Celebrity as soon as I read this and they confirmed that I am paid in full. I was more worried about the prepaid gratuities, but they said those have also already been applied. Whew!:o

 

I was already digging for that travel insurance policy.... Glad it looks like I don't need it.

 

On a side note though, I have not received my tickets, luggage tags, etc. Guess I better call Celebrity back tomorrow about the documents since I'm only 3-4 weeks out.

[marylander2]

Kinda ironic...

I was trying to get ahold of the TA who sold me the cruise on Solstice - minor issue. Wasn't able for the last two days. Figured that something is really fishy, went online/cruisecritic and - voila! - first thing I found was your post. :eek:

OMG.

Called Celebrity - they confirmed that my cruise is paid in full. Fffeeewwww...;)

These days, you know... Can't trust anybody, can't go anywhere carelessly as was possible just last year.

Thanks OP for heads up. Really appreciate it!

[pris993]

Over past two years, we have booked cruises with two different agencies, where the principal TA has retired and sold the agency. First agency we had booked with for years. The second one my sister had booked with for years. The travel business is not an easy business to be in these days.

 

We still try to do business face to face, the old fashion way. In this economic climate, even this does not mean much. Hope things get better for everyone.

[ahwahoo2006]

Damn. I'm booked on the Dec 15th Century sailing out of Miami through them. Time to give X a call....

[aamiee]

i booked my wedding cruise through them, i just called carnival but they tell me to call back during business hour tomorrow.

[Jade13]

card mills and MLM's. :eek: The rug is being pulled out from under them one at a time. RCCL was the first cruise line to discontinue business with "I cant say the name" and another "I cant say the name"

 

Why would an agent want to give up to 40 percent of there commission to an UP line? The head honcho is living fine, but it can only last so long.

 

May as well join Amway. :rolleyes:

 

Dont know if the particular agency the OP read about is one, but its something that people should be aware of.

 

Another rule of thumb. Make sure the agent you use runs your credit card directly through the cruise line. That way you know the cruise line got your money.

 

Can you tell me when RCCL line discontinued doing business with this TA in question? As of the past weekend Celebrity cruises were still on their web site. I would also like to know when they stopped advertising on Cruise Critic as that would have been a sign something was wrong.

[chuckdaddy]

FWIW, I called Celebrity last night about my travel documents. They said the docs were mailed to Cruise Value around 10/22, but I've not received anything. Celebrity is sending me a replacement copy direct to my house at no charge. If any of you are in the same boat (sorry for the pun), be sure to ask Celebrity about your documents since it seems nothing at all is forthcoming from CVC.

 

The rep I spoke with at Celebrity said they had been getting a LOT of calls about this. Some people were fully paid, others sadly were not. What a mess.

[lvtotrvl1]

Can you tell me when RCCL line discontinued doing business with this TA in question? As of the past weekend Celebrity cruises were still on their web site. I would also like to know when they stopped advertising on Cruise Critic as that would have been a sign something was wrong.

 

The poster that mentioned that is incorrect. This particular agency was not one of the card mills that RCCL banned. However it is a large discount agency, and these are the agencies that you will see go under....With the lower price of cruises these days, an agency can't afford to discount and stay in business...Many large online agencies that do not compete with major discounts saw this coming....this company will not be the last to go.

[phoenix_dream]

Can anybody tell me why you would even want to book through a TA instead of through the cruise line directly, particularly experienced cruisers who understand how to read a deck plan and how to negotiate the web sites? I just don't get it. I guess on occasion you may get some kind of minor perk (but I understand that for Celebrity, TAs are not allowed to offer discounts per se - not sure if this is true?). But is it worth the risk and hassle of having to deal with a third person?

 

We always either book onboard for our next cruise, or book online. We have had absolutely zero problems in managing our cruises this way, and have on occasion changes rooms, dates, etc., with no issues at all. Why take the risk?

 

Plus - if more of you stopped using TAs then all of our prices would likely drop as the cruise lines pay commissions to the TAs even though those of us who book direct pay the exact same prices. Hmmm. Just a thought. And no offense to TAs - I can see the value for new travelers, and/or for travelers putting together complex trips to areas they are not familiar with. But for experienced cruisers.........just don't get it.

[lvtotrvl1]

Can anybody tell me why you would even want to book through a TA instead of through the cruise line directly, particularly experienced cruisers who understand how to read a deck plan and how to negotiate the web sites? I just don't get it. I guess on occasion you may get some kind of minor perk (but I understand that for Celebrity, TAs are not allowed to offer discounts per se - not sure if this is true?). But is it worth the risk and hassle of having to deal with a third person?

 

We always either book onboard for our next cruise, or book online. We have had absolutely zero problems in managing our cruises this way, and have on occasion changes rooms, dates, etc., with no issues at all. Why take the risk?

 

Plus - if more of you stopped using TAs then all of our prices would likely drop as the cruise lines pay commissions to the TAs even though those of us who book direct pay the exact same prices. Hmmm. Just a thought. And no offense to TAs - I can see the value for new travelers, and/or for travelers putting together complex trips to areas they are not familiar with. But for experienced cruisers.........just don't get it.

 

Cruiselines have tried to pull business to them.....but they need the distribution network that TA's provide...they could not hire enough people to do what TA's do for them....and prices would NOT go down....the small commission paid to TA's is nowhere close to payroll expenses for direct employees. Not sure if you remember Renaissance cruises....they chose not to pay TA's commissions, and by the time they realized their mistake, it was too late....they had burned their bridges and went out of business.

[flagger]

Can anybody tell me why you would even want to book through a TA instead of through the cruise line directly, particularly experienced cruisers who understand how to read a deck plan and how to negotiate the web sites? I just don't get it. I guess on occasion you may get some kind of minor perk (but I understand that for Celebrity, TAs are not allowed to offer discounts per se - not sure if this is true?). But is it worth the risk and hassle of having to deal with a third person?

 

We always either book onboard for our next cruise, or book online. We have had absolutely zero problems in managing our cruises this way, and have on occasion changes rooms, dates, etc., with no issues at all. Why take the risk?

 

Plus - if more of you stopped using TAs then all of our prices would likely drop as the cruise lines pay commissions to the TAs even though those of us who book direct pay the exact same prices. Hmmm. Just a thought. And no offense to TAs - I can see the value for new travelers, and/or for travelers putting together complex trips to areas they are not familiar with. But for experienced cruisers.........just don't get it.

But Cruise Critic does not represent a significant portion of the cruisers. There are a lot of ships coming on line with a lot of berths to fill. The lines cannot do it alone and hence have the distribution network of TAs.

 

I hate hate hate taking checks and insist on Credit or debit cards. It is for the protection of my clients. I was reading a report of about $3 million dollars of money that was not sent on to the cruise lines.

 

Honestly with the lowering of cruise fares and non lowering of the non-commisionable portion of a cruise fare, more TAs are going to be charging service fees.

 

What you get with that is someone who is an advocate for you their client as well as other perks. I say, want a discount, shop at Wal-mart. Want value, use a TA.

[Tinwoman]

Can anybody tell me why you would even want to book through a TA instead of through the cruise line directly, particularly experienced cruisers who understand how to read a deck plan and how to negotiate the web sites? I just don't get it. I guess on occasion you may get some kind of minor perk (but I understand that for Celebrity, TAs are not allowed to offer discounts per se - not sure if this is true?). But is it worth the risk and hassle of having to deal with a third person?

 

We always either book onboard for our next cruise, or book online. We have had absolutely zero problems in managing our cruises this way, and have on occasion changes rooms, dates, etc., with no issues at all. Why take the risk?

 

Plus - if more of you stopped using TAs then all of our prices would likely drop as the cruise lines pay commissions to the TAs even though those of us who book direct pay the exact same prices. Hmmm. Just a thought. And no offense to TAs - I can see the value for new travelers, and/or for travelers putting together complex trips to areas they are not familiar with. But for experienced cruisers.........just don't get it.

 

I agree, we always book direct.

[FLACRUISER99]

Can anybody tell me why you would even want to book through a TA instead of through the cruise line directly, particularly experienced cruisers who understand how to read a deck plan and how to negotiate the web sites? I just don't get it. I guess on occasion you may get some kind of minor perk (but I understand that for Celebrity, TAs are not allowed to offer discounts per se - not sure if this is true?). But is it worth the risk and hassle of having to deal with a third person?

 

We always either book onboard for our next cruise, or book online. We have had absolutely zero problems in managing our cruises this way, and have on occasion changes rooms, dates, etc., with no issues at all. Why take the risk?

 

Plus - if more of you stopped using TAs then all of our prices would likely drop as the cruise lines pay commissions to the TAs even though those of us who book direct pay the exact same prices. Hmmm. Just a thought. And no offense to TAs - I can see the value for new travelers, and/or for travelers putting together complex trips to areas they are not familiar with. But for experienced cruisers.........just don't get it.

To save a pile of $$$ sometimes

[SusieV]

We booked a land vacation with them and they stole our final payment. Now I'm out a lot of money and have to pay for my trip twice while trying to get my money back from the credit card company.

 

We're very upset.

 

They also owed us $100 from a previous trip where we upgraded and they said they'd adjust our OBC but it didn't go through, so that was applied to our final payment. Guess we lost that, too. Not to mention that when we paid, the exchange was at 94 cents. Now it's back down to 80 cents... if I could cancel now I would but we have nonrefundable airfare.

[ocngypz]

?

 

Plus - if more of you stopped using TAs then all of our prices would likely drop as the cruise lines pay commissions to the TAs even though those of us who book direct pay the exact same prices. Hmmm. Just a thought. And no offense to TAs - I can see the value for new travelers, and/or for travelers putting together complex trips to areas they are not familiar with. But for experienced cruisers.........just don't get it.

 

 

You couldn't be more wrong. As Carnival found it, it is more expensive to maintain large employee payrolls than it is to pay commissions to travel agents. They cut their PVP department to bits. Crystal does not accept direct bookings. Renaissance Cruises who went bellyup also found out the hard way too late that without the travel agency distribution channel.........you're on your own.

 

Did you know that a vast percentage of cruiseline advertising is actually done through individual agencies with co-op dollars based on sales? That's a win for the cruiseline.

 

I just picked up a booking from someone who had booked direct with the cruiseline. Not only did I have a better rate, but value added amenities: cocktail party, onboard credit and a complimentary shore excursion.

 

Try calling the rez center for the freestyle cruiseline for a direct booking. OMG...good luck with the language barrier.

[Susan-M]

We booked a land vacation with them and they stole our final payment.

 

Hi Susie,

So sorry to hear that ... I hope you are successful with your CC company (we were when Aloha Airlines went out of business in March...had used my Citi Mastercard.)

 

I often book direct, but with the protection of TICO coverage through TA's here in Ontario, it seems like a safer bet these days.

 

Hope all works out well with your refund and your trip.

[jerseygirl3]

Does anybody know if you booked through this online agency and they promised a significant OBC which HAL won't honor, can we cancel the booking altogether and put it through on our travel insurance? We're probably going to cancel this cruise completely. The only thing I'll lose is the airfare we booked, but if I can recoup that through our travel insurance (purchased through Travelex) I can at least get that back.

[BarbJ52]

Can anybody tell me why you would even want to book through a TA instead of through the cruise line directly, particularly experienced cruisers who understand how to read a deck plan and how to negotiate the web sites? I just don't get it. I guess on occasion you may get some kind of minor perk (but I understand that for Celebrity, TAs are not allowed to offer discounts per se - not sure if this is true?). But is it worth the risk and hassle of having to deal with a third person?

 

We always either book onboard for our next cruise, or book online. We have had absolutely zero problems in managing our cruises this way, and have on occasion changes rooms, dates, etc., with no issues at all. Why take the risk?

 

Plus - if more of you stopped using TAs then all of our prices would likely drop as the cruise lines pay commissions to the TAs even though those of us who book direct pay the exact same prices. Hmmm. Just a thought. And no offense to TAs - I can see the value for new travelers, and/or for travelers putting together complex trips to areas they are not familiar with. But for experienced cruisers.........just don't get it.

 

Minor perk??? How about a $250 obc. We usually book directly through the cruise line but the obc is pretty appealing.

[ccletzgo]

Does anybody know if you booked through this online agency and they promised a significant OBC which HAL won't honor, can we cancel the booking altogether and put it through on our travel insurance? We're probably going to cancel this cruise completely. The only thing I'll lose is the airfare we booked, but if I can recoup that through our travel insurance (purchased through Travelex) I can at least get that back.

 

 

I doubt loosing the OBC would be a good reason for the insurance company to pay out. IF you still have your cruise booking, what would your claim be? Just loss of an OBC?

[Jade13]

Does anybody know if you booked through this online agency and they promised a significant OBC which HAL won't honor, can we cancel the booking altogether and put it through on our travel insurance? We're probably going to cancel this cruise completely. The only thing I'll lose is the airfare we booked, but if I can recoup that through our travel insurance (purchased through Travelex) I can at least get that back.

 

I have not found any travel insurance that covers TA default, only supplier default.

[Maya57]

The name of the agency was mentioned on the HAL site, so why not mention it here.

 

Cruise Value Center located in New Bruswick, NJ was at one time one of the largest cruise sellers in the country selling on the internet.They were able to outsell everyone by giving large discounts. Details of exactly why they closed their doors is unkown but you get bet that discounting had something to do with it. The profit margin on selling travel is very small and giving some of it away will sooner or later take its toll.

 

Personally when I book my travel I want to sit across from my TA. I do not spend that much money on the internet not knwoing who or where it is going. I also do not book with a travel agent working out of their kitchen, I want to see an office indicating that they have some financial investment in their buisness. Out of all the TA's that went belly up in my area leaving consumers with no trip and no money 90% were agents that worked out of their home.

 

Why I don't book direct with the cruise line is service, service, service. On one of my crusies my TA was informed by RCI that they would not be stopping at one of the scheduled ports. On the ship I found a lot of mad people who booked direct with RCI and were not informed of this change until they were on board. When I have a problem I tell my TA and she handles it contacting the cruise lines or tours company.

 

BTW My TA does NOT charge me anything more than the cruise line would charge and sometimes is able to find better deals offered by the cruise line.

[Maya57]

Does anybody know if you booked through this online agency and they promised a significant OBC which HAL won't honor, can we cancel the booking altogether and put it through on our travel insurance? We're probably going to cancel this cruise completely. The only thing I'll lose is the airfare we booked, but if I can recoup that through our travel insurance (purchased through Travelex) I can at least get that back.

 

I don't think you have a valid reason for insurance to pay you, unless you took "cancel for any raeson" insurance in which case you will get back 85% (I think)