Question for those who use TA

[Peteymil]

I think I might be getting some double talk from my new TA.

 

I am interested in knowing what kind of OBC your TA offers, if he/she does so.

Thank you

[SusieV]

It depends on the cost of the cruise.

 

For my last trip, we got about 7% of the cost of the cruise fare (before taxes and fees) as OBC.

[ghstudio]

Travel agents will discount using a number of options. Some provide free trip insurance; others provide a "loyalty" discount (in many cases, loyalty means, you called them back); some will give you a credit if you charge on a specific credit card; some will offer discounted shore excursions; some will offer coupon books.....and almost all will pass on any OBC's that are being offered by Celebrity, often claiming that they are giving you an OBC and neglecting to say it's from Celebrity. By the way, an agent can give you an OBC directly. Celebrity will not allow you to "stack" their OBC's, but an agents direct OBC is stackable.

 

The key is to shop around. Obviously anything that isn't coming from Celebrity costs the agent something, so it's their business decision.

 

Unfortunately, I can't give you any agency names here....against the rules.

 

Finally, RCL offers a shareholder benefit of an OBC...you have to own 100 shares of stock and the OBC varies based on the cabin type. However, it's not stackable with any other Celebrity OBC....so in many cases, it's not worth anything.

[spearmint]

We have never been offered and OBC. We did get a surprise after boarding, for the last birthday on board with a $25 credit. (That was the third birthday on board Celebrity ships, all with the same TA.)

[CathyCruises]

Wow. :( I'd switch TA's. I got prepaid gratuities last year--that was a gift that I could really use! Looking for the same deal for this year. I booked a couple of years ago through a friend who was a TA. Had a suite and upgraded to Business Class air through the cruiseline; got dinner in Murano's. Big deal. Somehow, that did not compute, and I started looking elsewhere for my next cruise. You gotta be a good shopper!

 

Cathy

[devnull]

Booked a FV on the Milly for 7 night Alaskan cruise this summer at $1309.00 pp and our TA is giving us a OBC of $200.00

 

Booked previously a Celebrity Suite for 7 night Alaskan cruise that we had to cancel due to husband's work schedule at a bargain $1800.00 PP with $200.00 OBC from Celebrity promotion back in March and TA was giving us Prepaid Gratuities for that one. I noticed after we had to cancel booking, that Celebrity raised the price on that suite by $600.00pp, really hated to give that up.

 

By the way our previous TA before the one we are using now, would only give us one night at the specialty restaurant for a credit of $30.00 each and this was on 2 week cruises where we were paying about $3500.00 or more each. It really does pay to shop around for a TA that will give you the best gift for booking with them. Also make sure they don't tack on any fees for canceling cruise before final payment. The TA that would just give the specialty restaurant credit had a policy of charging $100.00 cancellation fee per stateroom, the one that we are using now, doesn't charge anything.

[lynniep]

I would also keep in mind that they are in business to make money and at $1300 per person they are probably making a all of $200 on the cruise with all the added fees cruise lines charge that aren't commissionable. Just my 2 cents - been there, done that.

[dragongirl]

Travel agents typically make 12-15% commission off a cruise - minus "noncomissionable" items and taxes. So, on a 1300.00 cruise the commission was probably on 1000.00 or so - perhaps 120-150 per person. A total comm of 240.00 and you want 200.00 OBC back from them? Would you run your business that way?

 

As a long time experienced agent I want clients that want to work with me. I will offer OBC etc. when I can, for repeats etc. but will not match everyone elses offers, especially when they are digging that deep into the commission. Those agencies that do that are starting to fold one by one.

 

Just think about the value of your own agent - and also remember they are running a business. Would you give back 75% of your salary/income? Try to be fair with how much you expect and find a great agent that you feel is worth the little extra you might have to pay (or not get back as a freebie) to have the service and experience.

 

Just my 2 cents....

[rosesplus]

I've got 9% of the net booking value on my last 2 cruises in OBC's. It pays to shop around, there are discount specialist cruise T/A's. I kept the booking with X until just before final payment then transferred.

These days I'm only going to buy an X cruise on Exciting Deals, never 6 - 12 months in advance like I used to.

[Peteymil]

Thank you for your responses. I now feel that the OBC I received was quite fair.

[devnull]

Travel agents typically make 12-15% commission off a cruise - minus "noncomissionable" items and taxes. So, on a 1300.00 cruise the commission was probably on 1000.00 or so - perhaps 120-150 per person. A total comm of 240.00 and you want 200.00 OBC back from them? Would you run your business that way?

 

As a long time experienced agent I want clients that want to work with me. I will offer OBC etc. when I can, for repeats etc. but will not match everyone elses offers, especially when they are digging that deep into the commission. Those agencies that do that are starting to fold one by one.

 

Just think about the value of your own agent - and also remember they are running a business. Would you give back 75% of your salary/income? Try to be fair with how much you expect and find a great agent that you feel is worth the little extra you might have to pay (or not get back as a freebie) to have the service and experience.

 

Just my 2 cents....

 

 

The TA I'm using has been in business for 12 years, is a Elite travel partner with Celebrity cruises and I suspect others on CC uses them since another member here recommended the agency to me when we met at a cruise critic party on board ship a few years ago.

 

When I book my cruise, I do not demand anything from this TA. I tell them what cruise I want, which cabin and then they volunteer that they will be gifting me with OBC, or whatever. Given what a couple of you have said here that are in the TA business, I'm surprised those of us doing business with this agency (yes, it's a agency not a person selling out of their home) are getting these gifts. Obviously this agency is making a profit somehow.

 

I agree with you that we should think about the value of our own agent. Our former local TA, didn't provide much in the way of service so it was a easy decision to leave them. Perhaps they provide service for clients who don't do their own research, however I would research my own cruise, find my own stateroom and then ask them to reserve it. I usually booked my own air and got all the other information on the cruise from messages on Cruise Critic by members who have previously taken the cruise. If the price of the cruise went down I was the one that discovered it by checking periodically, the local TA always missed those opportunities. One year (2001, Infinity cruise) when my cruise was canceled I learned it here first and I was the one to inform my TA who wasn't aware of it.

 

When I left that agency for the one recommended to me, I didn't tell them I was leaving because I could get a better deal elsewhere, because I didn't care if they would match the offer. Perhaps if their service had been stellar I would have kept my business with them, because you are correct that's it's not always about the "gift". That's me though, I imagine some are on a strict budget especially now with the state of the present economy and for those persons it will pay to shop around, unless they are getting great service from their present TA.

 

I've been very happy with the new TA, because in addition to the more generous gift, they actually caught the price dropping for our SS on the Solstice before I did, so that was a nice change. For me so far the result has been better service and a better gift, not to mention the new TA doesn't try to charge me if I have to cancel a cruise before final payment due to my husband's career. If they stop the generous gifts, I will still do business with them because I'm not on a strict budget at least not yet, and they are giving me better service then the former TA.

[anniversay/grad trip]

i have brought the subject up to my TA about any sort of obc or such and have been told (ALTHOUGH I AM QUITE SKEPTICAL) that different TA's include whatever obc they may be offering into the final price as some sort of additional tax or escalated price in order to offer it as an incentive. she went on to say that it is illegal (in canada anyway) to discount cruises, unless it has been discounted directly from the cruise company itself? Is that true? we booked 3 cabins (for myself/dh, my 2 18yr old sons, my mother/daughter) and we got nothing...she also claimed that she has never seen a price go down by more than $40pp when booked as we did 6 months in advance. we are booked on the celebrity summit 12 day med cruise in august, so the total pkg price she got from us incl airfare is a pretty penny....

[dragongirl]

Your agent is not wrong in the case of RCI/Celebrity - they have very strict rules regarding rebating (that means taking money out of the agencies commission) - not that it stops agencies from doing so.

 

Here is a link to the information:

http://www.creative.rccl.com/sales/dual/General_Info/FAQ_external.pdf

 

Here it is in short:

No agencies can advertise, market or sell below our published or contracted pricing

programs. Any rebating or incentive programs that can be converted to cash or currency

are not allowed. Agencies in violation of these policies will be subject to a reduction in

the co-op support provided by the cruise lines and other effects such as a reduction in the

base commission paid on all future cruises booked by that agency. The marketing,

advertising and selling mediums shall include, but not be limited to, TV, radio, phone,

newspaper, catalogs, direct mail, call centers, and all on-line vehicles such as search

engines, websites, e-mail, pop-ups, and banners.

 

So, any OBC or actual cash value rebate is not allowed by RCI. There are tons of agencies that will do it. That is a reason I don't immediately compete with many of the "agencies" out there. If they are not following the rules they won't last long - generally their agents are not professional and they don't offer the level of customer service that we do. In short, each cruise line has different rules regarding this matter but your agent is correct when it comes to RCI/Celebrity.

 

Now...as far as the price not going down - I wouldn't say I'm in agreement on that given the current economy. Before final payment you can rebook for lower fare - once inside full payment each cruise line has different rules. Usually you can not change to the lower rate at that point - some will offer onboard upgrades etc. Always pays to check if you see a lower rate.

 

Hope that helps clarify what your agent meant :)

[PatC]

devnull - we had the same situation. We'd used quite a few ta's and then found our current one thru cruise critic friends. We've used her agency for the last, I think, 5 years and she's great. She does give us wonderful deals AND ALWAYS gives us some incentive. We've booked favorite cabins thru her, she seems to have great blocks, and is also and Elite TA with Celeb. I bet we use the same one;);)

 

Next March we're on Mercury with gratuities paid by the TA. Now, with a butler, that's a good deal. She's also been able to get us our favorite tables in the MDR AND always notifies us when the price of the cruise goes down. Now we've also watched the Celebrity web site for price drops but, if she misses one she automatically gets it for us.

 

All in all we'll stick with her unless we have a real problem down the road.

 

Pat C

[Conrycol]

i have brought the subject up to my TA about any sort of obc or such and have been told (ALTHOUGH I AM QUITE SKEPTICAL) that different TA's include whatever obc they may be offering into the final price as some sort of additional tax or escalated price in order to offer it as an incentive. she went on to say that it is illegal (in canada anyway) to discount cruises, unless it has been discounted directly from the cruise company itself? Is that true? we booked 3 cabins (for myself/dh, my 2 18yr old sons, my mother/daughter) and we got nothing...she also claimed that she has never seen a price go down by more than $40pp when booked as we did 6 months in advance. we are booked on the celebrity summit 12 day med cruise in august, so the total pkg price she got from us incl airfare is a pretty penny....

 

I'd run away from that travel agent. She's never seen a price go down more than $40 pp?:rolleyes: With 3 cabins you should be able to find a travel agent that will give you an OBC for each one!

[flagger]

My feeling is that you always find a better deal somewhere. It is service that sets any professional apart from the rest. The most OBC, or gratuities or whatever matters very little when somethings goes wrong and you need an advocate in your corner.

 

You can either have Wal-mart service or you can have Nordstrom service, which is more important to you?

[TMaine]

Our TA has not given us any OBC but that doesn't really matter to us. She is always there to answer questions and help us out and is just down the street if we need something.

 

As far as price drops go - our next cruise has dropped twice in the last two months at $325pp.

[raymay]

we were like you in the begining first we used a travel TA who got us hooked on cruising ,and then we had a problem on a cruise and the ship will tell you that you need to talk to your travel agent. We have since realized that the couple of hundred dollars or a couple bottles of wine we may get from a TA is not worth it . Sometimes the price of a cruise can change 2 times in a day and the TA is not aways available to take your call. I can switch rooms and do what ever I want when I want, Celebrity has given me my own planner and he works harder for me than any TA has ever. So..... the more you cruise the more we learn

[rosesplus]

My feeling is that you always find a better deal somewhere. It is service that sets any professional apart from the rest. The most OBC, or gratuities or whatever matters very little when somethings goes wrong and you need an advocate in your corner.

 

You can either have Wal-mart service or you can have Nordstrom service, which is more important to you?

 

Your assumption that you can't get good service and a large OBC credit ,is in my experience, incorrect. Nor have I seen any other threads on this forum with evidence to support your contention. Do you have any proof of this actually occuring? I would also like to note your assumption is often supported on this forum by non discounting T/A's who try to scare cruisers into believing that will lose out by using an T/A that offers an OBC.

On my last two cruises I received OBC's of $1000 and $750 and have had great service.

[Waterlily777]

devnull - we had the same situation. We'd used quite a few ta's and then found our current one thru cruise critic friends. We've used her agency for the last, I think, 5 years and she's great. She does give us wonderful deals AND ALWAYS gives us some incentive. We've booked favorite cabins thru her, she seems to have great blocks, and is also and Elite TA with Celeb. I bet we use the same one;);)

 

Next March we're on Mercury with gratuities paid by the TA. Now, with a butler, that's a good deal. She's also been able to get us our favorite tables in the MDR AND always notifies us when the price of the cruise goes down. Now we've also watched the Celebrity web site for price drops but, if she misses one she automatically gets it for us.

 

All in all we'll stick with her unless we have a real problem down the road.

 

Pat C

 

How can one find out who this TA is? I've heard of similar service from a TA alluded to several times on these boards, and always wonder how you find the TA.

 

We've never used a TA, and admittedly, giving up the control makes me nervous, but it seems silly not to taking advantage of such offers. I usually do my own research and know exactly what I want, so I probably would not be a high maintenance client.

[Richiebaseball]

Your agent is not wrong in the case of RCI/Celebrity - they have very strict rules regarding rebating (that means taking money out of the agencies commission) - not that it stops agencies from doing so.

 

Here is a link to the information:

http://www.creative.rccl.com/sales/dual/General_Info/FAQ_external.pdf

 

Here it is in short:

No agencies can advertise, market or sell below our published or contracted pricing

programs. Any rebating or incentive programs that can be converted to cash or currency

are not allowed. Agencies in violation of these policies will be subject to a reduction in

the co-op support provided by the cruise lines and other effects such as a reduction in the

base commission paid on all future cruises booked by that agency. The marketing,

advertising and selling mediums shall include, but not be limited to, TV, radio, phone,

newspaper, catalogs, direct mail, call centers, and all on-line vehicles such as search

engines, websites, e-mail, pop-ups, and banners.

 

So, any OBC or actual cash value rebate is not allowed by RCI. There are tons of agencies that will do it. That is a reason I don't immediately compete with many of the "agencies" out there. If they are not following the rules they won't last long - generally their agents are not professional and they don't offer the level of customer service that we do. In short, each cruise line has different rules regarding this matter but your agent is correct when it comes to RCI/Celebrity.

 

Now...as far as the price not going down - I wouldn't say I'm in agreement on that given the current economy. Before final payment you can rebook for lower fare - once inside full payment each cruise line has different rules. Usually you can not change to the lower rate at that point - some will offer onboard upgrades etc. Always pays to check if you see a lower rate.

 

Hope that helps clarify what your agent meant :)

 

Your information needs updating. RCCL updated their rebate policy in August, 2008. You can find it on cruisingpower.com. They now allow OBC's, they just have limits depending on the brand (you can get more on an Azamara sailing than a Royal sailing for example) and on the length of the cruise.

[flagger]

Your assumption that you can't get good service and a large OBC credit ,is in my experience, incorrect. Nor have I seen any other threads on this forum with evidence to support your contention. Do you have any proof of this actually occuring? I would also like to note your assumption is often supported on this forum by non discounting T/A's who try to scare cruisers into believing that will lose out by using an T/A that offers an OBC.

On my last two cruises I received OBC's of $1000 and $750 and have had great service.

CruiseCritic rules prohibit me from discussing my business practices, but I can only share anecdotal evidence of someone on my last cruise at Guest Relations inquiring about his promised OBC and the purser referring them back to their TA (who they had only dealt with by email) for any questions. There was nothing the line could do.

 

Everyone has a different level of expectation of service and not everyone's business model will allow for discounting or rebating of any kind. There are lots of ways to purchase a cruise and if what works for you works, by all means continue to use that.

[lvtotrvl1]

...and what alot of people don't understand is that most large agencies have group spaced blocked for alot of sailings....this is where the OBC's etc come from. You would not even know that you are booked in a group.

 

Also, many large agencies are given these "perks" to offer clients due to the volume they send to the cruiseline. Most times the perks are not coming direct from the agent. As others have said, the average commission is 12-16% of the cruise fare(excluding pc's taxes, govt fees etc). Let's say the average cruise is running 2000.00 (cruise fare, and this is high with current pricing)..the agency makes $300.00 (at 15% comm). This 300 is split between the agent and agency (sometimes agents do not even get the commission split). This also covers overhead, insurance, payroll, medical insurance etc.....not a lot of money available to discount if you want to stay in business.....

[flagger]

Not to promote any single agent or agency, but I am curious to learn from those of you who have used a TA what makes him or her "Good" or "Great". What characteristics about them make you return again and again.

[ghstudio]

Not to promote any single agent or agency, but I am curious to learn from those of you who have used a TA what makes him or her "Good" or "Great". What characteristics about them make you return again and again.

 

1) They return phone calls (believe it or not, this is the biggest failure of agents I've worked with)

 

2) They can recommend cabins on cruises..not just take what's showing...they know which the noisy areas are, etc.

 

3) They call the cruise line to check on prices, OBC's or other benefits if I find them on other sites (after booking)...they don't just say...we don't do that.

 

4) They put OBC's, loyalty awards, whatever else that we agreed to on the phone into writing, so there's no disagreement later.

 

5) They make sure that if we're travelling with others, then we are linked together even if the others booked with a different agency.

 

6) They Volunteer their best offer (travel insurance, gratuities, etc) rather than me having to ask or go thru the list.

 

Notice....I happen not to need a cruise TA to recommmend a cruise....others might put that number 1.....understands our interests,needs, etc and recommends excellent cruises. BTW, that's a big reason to use a local agent who gets to know you and can make tailored recommendations. But it's not on my personal list of what's important in a TA for cruises.