Okay to get opinions on a travel agent?

[rmmm]

Hi, I recently posted about cruising solo and I decided to go ahead and do it because life is short and I don't want to wait around for someone who wants to do what I want to do. Anyway, I went on ************* to get quotes and I wanted to know if it was okay to post the name of a travel agent to find out if others have used them and were happy. Thanks. Rose

[pms4104]

Sorry, per the board guidelines, it is not permitted.

[CowPrincess]

No, it is against CC guidelines to request or supply info re travel agents.

 

Is there a reason you are using a TA instead of booking direct thru HAL?

[rmmm]

Thanks for answering so quickly. I called HAL first and then got quotes from travel agents. There is a $600 difference between what HAL quoted and what the agency quoted for a room with a balcony. I wanted to try and find out if they are legitimate because they quoted a price that was not only lower than HAL but significantly lower than the other agencies that gave me quotes.

[CowPrincess]

There is a $600 difference between what HAL quoted and what the agency quoted for a room with a balcony.

 

Wow, that's HUGE! This is what I've found generally speaking when looking at online TAs (generally speaking, not specifically, and certainly not ALL online agencies)

 

Some online TAs have a fee they charge "processing", "booking", whatever. Usually only a few dollars ($25ish) but it IS added to the cost. Some TAs have cancellation policies that penalize you financially if you cancel before final payment date. Some have a different way of breaking down the costs. For example, some may add more to the "taxes and fees" part of the cost, so while the cabin cost may APPEAR to be lower, your total cost is the same or similar. OH!!! And some TAs (a big one that I've dealt with previously) insist that you pay 200% as a single -- they lost us over that one -- I was booking us and a single friend, and they wanted the single friend to pay 200% of the single fare.

 

Just a few things to watch and investigate.

[Jade13]

Thanks for answering so quickly. I called HAL first and then got quotes from travel agents. There is a $600 difference between what HAL quoted and what the agency quoted for a room with a balcony. I wanted to try and find out if they are legitimate because they quoted a price that was not only lower than HAL but significantly lower than the other agencies that gave me quotes.

 

Carnival/HAL allows discounting by their outside agents. Others such as RCCL/Celebrity/Azamara do not allow discounting but the agents can offer OBC (On board credit), which is really like cash. If the difference is only $100.00 I prefer to go direct with the cruise line as I can always call them up with questions. Once you use an on-line agent you can't speak directly to HAL agents, but you do have this board. With HAL you can also call Guest Services with questions.

 

Make sure the agency has a toll free number, make sure your credit card is charged directly to the cruiseline and not the agency and also request the agency give you a pdf copy direct from the cruiseline showing your payment has been received.

[mrskmirolla]

rmmm, the first time I used an online TA, I called HAL to make sure they were reputable. And I have never looked back. I can also call and get info from them so there really isn't too much difference other then the MONEY:D

Kathy

[serendipity1499]

Thanks for answering so quickly. I called HAL first and then got quotes from travel agents. There is a $600 difference between what HAL quoted and what the agency quoted for a room with a balcony. I wanted to try and find out if they are legitimate because they quoted a price that was not only lower than HAL but significantly lower than the other agencies that gave me quotes.

 

In order to find out if the TA is legitimate & a good HAL Agent suggest you phone HAL & ask to speak to a Supervisor..

In April 2005 we & our good friends booked two cabins on Deck "A" directly with HAL for the Prinsendam Amazon Cruise in 2006...Many posters were mentioning that they saved quite a big chunk of $$ by going thru an on-line Agent..

In Aug of 2005 we checked several on-line Agents...One of them quoted a fare which was more than $1,000 less for the same cabin one deck up (Main Deck)...:confused: Now I called HAL & asked to speak to a Supervisor..The Supervisor explained that they could not compete with their high-volume Travel Agents who have blocked space...I asked if this Agent was a good one & he confirmed it was!...The HAL Supervisor suggested we FAX HAL an OK to release the booking to the TA..

We did that, & the TA canceled our original booking on Deck "A" ..He then confirmed our two 2 cabins in his allotment on Main Deck just above our original cabins... Both couples saved over $1,000 each on our Amazon cruise..You can bet that we used the money saved for other things..

 

I should have realized this,as retired from an International Airline & we had exactly the same kind of agreements with our high producing TA's..

 

Wow, that's HUGE! This is what I've found generally speaking when looking at online TAs (generally speaking, not specifically, and certainly not ALL online agencies)

 

Some online TAs have a fee they charge "processing", "booking", whatever. Usually only a few dollars ($25ish) but it IS added to the cost. Some TAs have cancellation policies that penalize you financially if you cancel before final payment date. Some have a different way of breaking down the costs. For example, some may add more to the "taxes and fees" part of the cost, so while the cabin cost may APPEAR to be lower, your total cost is the same or similar. OH!!! And some TAs (a big one that I've dealt with previously) insist that you pay 200% as a single -- they lost us over that one -- I was booking us and a single friend, and they wanted the single friend to pay 200% of the single fare.Just a few things to watch and investigate.

 

I bolded your statement & completely disagree with it! It simply is not correct..TA's can not add to Govt. Taxes & Fees..:(

It's illegal for a TA to add on to Government Taxes & fees that are not exactly the same as HAL's taxes & fees..Every single quote from on-line TA's must have the same Government Taxes, fee's & port charges quoted by the Cruise line..Any extra fees for bookings cancellation etc. charged by a TA will be shown on a separate line in their quote & on their official WEB site..

I agree you should check out a TA with HAL & be careful of their cancellation policy in addition to their other fees..If it's only $25.to $50 it probably is not worth it, but for $600 I would call HAL..Be sure to read everything including the small print, the TA sends you with their quote..

 

Carnival/HAL allows discounting by their outside agents. Others such as RCCL/Celebrity/Azamara do not allow discounting but the agents can offer OBC (On board credit), which is really like cash. If the difference is only $100.00 I prefer to go direct with the cruise line as I can always call them up with questions. Once you use an on-line agent you can't speak directly to HAL agents, but you do have this board. With HAL you can also call Guest Services with questions.

 

Make sure the agency has a toll free number, make sure your credit card is charged directly to the cruiseline and not the agency and also request the agency give you a pdf copy direct from the cruiseline showing your payment has been received

 

Completely ageree with Jade's post above!

 

We've been using on-line agents since 2005 & have always received a better price for our longer cruises..On our next B2B (28 day) cruise we're also receiving a nice OBC, plus a Pinnacle Dinner from our Agent..Agree you must check out TA's...Many of them are excellent & work hard for their customers!..

Cheers...:)Betty

[CowPrincess]

Serendipity1499, there's a thread around here somewhere (don't have time to search for it right now) where someone had exactly the scenario I recounted. It may not have been taxes as a line item; it may have been fees or something. I'll try to find it later.

[JimVrhovac]

If you are interested there are a lot of travel agencies that specialize in connecting two singles and putting them in the same cabin the save money.

 

We have never used it but it may be worth wile to check around and see what you can find out.

 

Ruth & jim

[kryos]

Thanks for answering so quickly. I called HAL first and then got quotes from travel agents. There is a $600 difference between what HAL quoted and what the agency quoted for a room with a balcony.

Why does this not surprise me?

 

The agency that you got the quote from probably has group space reserved on the particular sailing you want to take ... hence the lower price. HAL doesn't "reserve" any group space. You pretty much get their best rate at the time, and that's it. What's worse, balcony cabins get no break whatsoever on the single supplement. It's 200% ... period. If you were to take an inside or an outside cabin, the single supplement would probably run more like 150%.

 

Keep getting quotes ... but just make sure each agent and HAL is quoting apples to apples ... meaning does the quote include taxes, port charges, etc.?

 

But ... no ... CC does not permit any discussion on their boards re the merits or lack thereof of any travel agent. And, if they find out someone posting is a travel agent, that person can't even supply an email address in their signature ... even if it's a personal (not an agency) email address. :( But, hey ... we're playing with CC's bat and ball, so we have to play by their rules ...

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[knitlady037]

Just transferred the cruise we booked on board in Nov. to an online agent. Saved $1,000. off the rate that we booked through HAL. Very easy to do. Just called HAL and gave them the name of the agent and it was done. Used the same online agent for last 2 cruises with no problems at all.

[CowPrincess]

So I've looked and looked and can't find the thread where I originally got the info about how some TAs have a lower fare, with higher "other bits", but there was (IIRC) someone suggesting it might be that the noncommissionable amounts were shown in a line OTHER than the cruise fare. It may not have been taxes, it may have been fees, it may have been something else. Again IIRC the original poster was very new to the board, and was wondering why some items were different in the quote s/he got from different places, and the actual cruise fare was MUCH lower from a TA, but by the time it was all added in, the costs were very similar.

 

Wish I could find it, know I didn't make this up :D but darn! I obviously am using the wrong search criteria.

 

I bolded your statement & completely disagree with it! It simply is not correct..TA's can not add to Govt. Taxes & Fees..

 

I think I've now clarified quite adequately the point I was trying to make, despite not being able to find the thread in which I first learned of this practice. The important point I was trying to make is to ensure the "all in" cost is what is being compared.

[serendipity1499]

Serendipity1499, there's a thread around here somewhere (don't have time to search for it right now) where someone had exactly the scenario I recounted. It may not have been taxes as a line item; it may have been fees or something. I'll try to find it later.

 

Cow Princess..I'm not saying anything about Agents Fee's all I'm saying is that your statement is incorrect: TA's can't add more to the Govt. Taxes or Govt Fees...That is why your statement is not accurate..

]"For example, some may add more to the "taxes and fees" part of the cost, so while the cabin cost may APPEAR to be lower, your total cost is the same or similar. "[/quote

TA's cannot add more to Government Taxes or Government Fees...These are non-discountable & non-commissionable items..Travel Agents must quote the exact same Government Taxes & Government fees as the cruise line quotes..Port charges are also non-commissionable, non discountable items..

When a Travel Agent charges a booking fee or any other fee, it must be shown on a separate line in the invoice or quote..Many times especially on 7 day cruises there is not a very big difference, but when you have a difference like the OP has of $600 or $1,000 which we had, it pays to check out the Agent...We also found that it's not unusual for a TA to have a better fare than HAL has especially on the longer cruises.. We've saved quite a bit by shopping around..

 

Cheers...:)Betty

[serendipity1499]

Just transferred the cruise we booked on board in Nov. to an online agent. Saved $1,000. off the rate that we booked through HAL. Very easy to do. Just called HAL and gave them the name of the agent and it was done. Used the same online agent for last 2 cruises with no problems at all.

 

 

Knitlady...Is your cruise a long one...You saved as much as we did on our 26 day cruise in 2006..that's a nice chunk of $$$...

Cheers..:)Betty

[kryos]

TA's cannot add more to Government Taxes or Government Fees...These are non-discountable & non-commissionable items..Travel Agents must quote the exact same Government Taxes & Government fees as the cruise line quotes..Port charges are also non-commissionable, non discountable items..

But you have to make sure, when you are getting multiple quotes on the same cruise, that those quotes all include these non-commissionable amounts. For example, one TA may give you what seems to be a great price ... but then taxes and fees will be extra. The other TA's will have included those amounts in their quote. Imagine your surprise when you book with the lower priced TA, only to find out that your quote is now actually pretty much in line with all of the others because that TA did not include taxes, fees and port charges in her quotation, while the others did.

 

"Extras" are another thing. Some cruise lines do not permit travel agents to "discount." RCL comes to mind. In other words, the TA's must quote exactly what their in-house agents are quoting, and the customer must be charged the full invoice price when they make their final payment. If the cruise line finds out that the agent has discounted, that agent can be prohibited from booking her clients on that cruise line in the future. So, of course, in this sort of case, the agents must be very careful with discounting ... but there are still some agents who will work around the problem and take the risk of getting caught.

 

For example, they will either give their customer a "rebate" in cash with their document package that the customer can use for onboard spending ... or they might buy the customer and his family an independent shore excursion of their choice in one of the ports ... anything to get the price they are offering down to the point where it is better than that offered by the cruise lines or other TA's. They could also provide spa gift certificates, specialty restaurant dining certficates, etc. So, if you're promised this sort of stuff, you might want to ensure the agent includes it in her quotation so that you can better evaluate the bottom line price.

 

So, my personal advice to anyone "shopping" a cruise among several TA's is to make sure to be very clear on what is included in each quote, and if you have a FAX machine or email, make sure they send you their quote in writing. This way you will be very clear on what you are expected to pay, and what you can expect to get, from the agent you do decide to book with.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[kryos]

When a Travel Agent charges a booking fee or any other fee, it must be shown on a separate line in the invoice or quote.

I agree 100% with you about the government fees. Those are standard and a TA can't add to them. But as for showing other fees separately, this is not always the case. What if the TA is acting as a group agent for an affinity group sailing on a general cruise? Obviously, the price charged to the people who are participating in the affinity sailing will be more than what others onboard the sailing are paying. For example, a writer's conference I attended on the Rotterdam back in 2004 was priced at almost double what other passengers were paying for the same cruise. But those passengers could not attend any of our special programming. In a case like that, the price shown on the invoice, for the cruise itself, will be higher. A TA that adds extra cost to her invoice could probably just show her cruise price as higher, and this might work if she's got a lot of long-time loyal clients who really would prefer not to book with anyone other than her, and don't mind paying a bit more for her service. After all, some TA's will do a lot more than others for their clients. For example, if the client is taking an elaborate cruise, they might want a private guide in a few of the ports rather than getting lumped in with the cruise ship tours. Some travel agents will actually have extensive contacts for those guides and will be more than happy to make those arrangements for their clients, and for that reason, their clients don't mind paying a bit more for that level of service.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[serendipity1499]

I agree 100% with you about the government fees. Those are standard and a TA can't add to them. But as for showing other fees separately, this is not always the case. What if the TA is acting as a group agent for an affinity group sailing on a general cruise? Obviously, the price charged to the people who are participating in the affinity sailing will be more than what others onboard the sailing are paying. For example, a writer's conference I attended on the Rotterdam back in 2004 was priced at almost double what other passengers were paying for the same cruise. But those passengers could not attend any of our special programming. In a case like that, the price shown on the invoice, for the cruise itself, will be higher. A TA that adds extra cost to her invoice could probably just show her cruise price as higher, and this might work if she's got a lot of long-time loyal clients who really would prefer not to book with anyone other than her, and don't mind paying a bit more for her service. After all, some TA's will do a lot more than others for their clients. For example, if the client is taking an elaborate cruise, they might want a private guide in a few of the ports rather than getting lumped in with the cruise ship tours. Some travel agents will actually have extensive contacts for those guides and will be more than happy to make those arrangements for their clients, and for that reason, their clients don't mind paying a bit more for that level of service.

 

Blue skies ...--rita

 

Rita...Yes I agree....That is a different scenerio.,.you are not only paying for your cruise, but for on board extra activities..It's just like the Tour operators which include side trips, plus on board hosts from the tour company, cocktail parties, sometimes special shore excursions, etc..In that case the invoice is completely different as it's an all-inclusive.. ..

I actually was only commenting on the straight cruise where TA's might add a booking fee, insurance etc. in their quotes..They all must be separate line items..An Agent cannot add to the Government Fees or Taxes or even the Port charges..

Also agree with your previous post, that TA's quotes should include taxes, Govt. fees & port charges...I've found that in all of our TA Quotes from on-line Agents they have included all the things which were pertinent..

Cheers...:)Betty

[knitlady037]

Knitlady...Is your cruise a long one...You saved as much as we did on our 26 day cruise in 2006..that's a nice chunk of $$$...

 

Cheers..:)Betty

our cruise is a 10 night Noordam March 5. I think we saved alot because we booked an SC guarantee. Don't know if the price difference would have been that dramatic if we booked a lower category.