my complaint with some of princess TA's

[DrivesLikeMario]

Funny! :D

[willysgrandma]

I can tell you, though, that there are many CSR's at the cruise lines that take your booking and do a great job. They will tell you what is above and below your cabin or suggest a better location cabin. Many aren't just order takers - they really do know the ships,even if they have never been on one.

[freetocruise]

My daughter was a CSR at Princess for a year. It is an entry level position and everyone starts there and moves up from that position unless they were hired for a specific dept like HR or public relations. I can positively state that she did indeed book cruises and she did not get paid a commission. She also answered a lot of questions for people that were only looking for information. The earlier poster was correct in that they had to account for every minute and their phone calls were often monitored by supervisors. Each person she worked with had different levels of expertise based on their background and frankly, some CSR's with ambition tried harder because they wanted to move up. It's all luck of the draw who you get.

[message4u]

I booked a Princess cruise last month thru the 800# for Oct 1. A week or so later I got a call from someone from Princess asking me if I would like him to handle my reservation, said he worked for Princess, and he would keep track of rising/ falling prices, keep in touch with any changes, fill out all the paperwork for us, etc. Of course I usually do all that myself.

 

He called me several times the next 2 weeks, and after I made sure he was with the cruise line I told him to go ahead and do it..he gave me a different booking #.

 

I'm still not sure what his title is, but he did send me confimation of an upgrade a couple weeks later....(had booked a guarantee obstucted ocean view and got confirmed with an ocean view).

 

Has anyone ever booked directly thru Princess and then had a Princess 'travel agent' contact them?

[GottaLuvCruising]

I booked a Princess cruise last month thru the 800# for Oct 1. A week or so later I got a call from someone from Princess asking me if I would like him to handle my reservation, said he worked for Princess, and he would keep track of rising/ falling prices, keep in touch with any changes, fill out all the paperwork for us, etc. Of course I usually do all that myself.

 

He called me several times the next 2 weeks, and after I made sure he was with the cruise line I told him to go ahead and do it..he gave me a different booking #.

 

I'm still not sure what his title is, but he did send me confimation of an upgrade a couple weeks later....(had booked a guarantee obstucted ocean view and got confirmed with an ocean view).

 

Has anyone ever booked directly thru Princess and then had a Princess 'travel agent' contact them?

 

The whole scenario sounds fishy to me...especially the new booking number. I'd log into cruise personalizer ASAP and check the booking. I'd also check my credit card. Anyone else think this is weird?

[message4u]

Sounded a little fishy to me too, since I've never heard anyone else mention this...but Cruise Personalizer definitely shows our new cabin and booking #. Also credit card (which is checked daily by huz..always!) is a-ok.

No one else has heard of this????

[Pia1913]

Sounded a little fishy to me too, since I've never heard anyone else mention this...but Cruise Personalizer definitely shows our new cabin and booking #. Also credit card (which is checked daily by huz..always!) is a-ok.

No one else has heard of this????

 

Never ever have I heard something like this and I book everything direct with Princess. Pick up the phone and verify everything with Princess. You make the call. If they tell you that you have to go through your travel agent, let THEM tell you who your TA is. Can't get to first base? Speak to a supervisor.

[cherylandtk]

Never heard of that type of Princess contact before - take Pia's advice and follow up.

[BalconyGal]

I booked a Princess cruise last month thru the 800# for Oct 1. A week or so later I got a call from someone from Princess asking me if I would like him to handle my reservation, said he worked for Princess, and he would keep track of rising/ falling prices, keep in touch with any changes, fill out all the paperwork for us, etc. Of course I usually do all that myself.

 

He called me several times the next 2 weeks, and after I made sure he was with the cruise line I told him to go ahead and do it..he gave me a different booking #.

 

I'm still not sure what his title is, but he did send me confimation of an upgrade a couple weeks later....(had booked a guarantee obstucted ocean view and got confirmed with an ocean view).

 

Has anyone ever booked directly thru Princess and then had a Princess 'travel agent' contact them?

 

I had the same thing happen to me last year. This lady called me and said she was my personal vacation planner and send me mailers 2-3 x's a week. Emails were daily. I did get a formal letter of introduction and a business card from Princess so I know it was legit. And when I called the 1-800 number they wouldn't handle my booking they would always transfer me to her.

She was very annoying! I didn't want to talk to her when it would be a quick call to 1-800 otherwise. She kept me on the phone for 20 mins just to change my dining preference!

 

Anyway, I had to tell Princess that I refused to deal with her anymore when after planning and researching for 6-mos. she ruined my "surprise" 10-YR. anniversary cruise by sending my partner a letter about it! :mad:

[DrivesLikeMario]

Wow! It would've taken a TA about one minute to make that change. :cool:

[WeBeGone]

I booked a Princess cruise last month thru the 800# for Oct 1. A week or so later I got a call from someone from Princess asking me if I would like him to handle my reservation, said he worked for Princess, and he would keep track of rising/ falling prices, keep in touch with any changes, fill out all the paperwork for us, etc. Of course I usually do all that myself.

 

He called me several times the next 2 weeks, and after I made sure he was with the cruise line I told him to go ahead and do it..he gave me a different booking #.

 

I'm still not sure what his title is, but he did send me confimation of an upgrade a couple weeks later....(had booked a guarantee obstucted ocean view and got confirmed with an ocean view).

 

Has anyone ever booked directly thru Princess and then had a Princess 'travel agent' contact them?

 

This sends all kinds of red flags for me, especially the "different booking number". Call Princess immediately. Give them your "old" booking number and your "new " booking number. Find out what's going on. There should be no reason for a new booking unless an unscrupulous travel agent "skimmed" your booking.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I thought that sounded weird too...

[Pia1913]

One of my cruises went down in price and when I called to refare they had to cancel the original and rebook at the new price. This was instantaneous, but I did get a new booking number. I also saved $200/PP by jumping into this new promotion. Happened yesterday.

[message4u]

I did call Princess and they confirmed everything. Said that yes, David works for them and is a CVP...Cruise Vacation Planner and acts kind of like a travel agent (for Princess only of course). And everything is as I originally booked it, except for booking # and upgrade.

So I will give David a chance, and hope more upgrades are to come!

[Pia1913]

I did call Princess and they confirmed everything. Said that yes, David works for them and is a CVP...Cruise Vacation Planner and acts kind of like a travel agent (for Princess only of course). And everything is as I originally booked it, except for booking # and upgrade.

So I will give David a chance, and hope more upgrades are to come!

 

So why is this the first time we are hearing about a CVP?

[Pam in CA]

And what scares me is the thought that novice cruisers believe that the CSRs at cruise line offices are Travel agents. You really need to do your homework before you take a cruise.

I agree; and the OP needs to do their homework before spreading or implying misinformation.

[RickEk]

Here's a link to the Cruise Vacation Planners...

 

https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/jsp/planner.jsp

 

And there are some Princess reps who get commissions, but they deal exclusively with groups.

[kooljamming]

Here's a link to the Cruise Vacation Planners...

 

https://book.princess.com/captaincircle/jsp/planner.jsp

 

And there are some Princess reps who get commissions, but they deal exclusively with groups.

 

Thank you.

We learn something NEW everyday!

[jplewis]

A few weeks ago I ordered a brochure online as I wanted to see the deck plans for Ruby. I already knew what cruise I wanted but wanted to see where cabins were located, etc. A few days later a Cruise Vacation Planner called. We had future cruise deposit and did book cruise with her. She has called once with a price reduction. This is on their website so I would have seen it myself. However, I may change to an online TA if I get a better price or OBC. This young lady was so nice I hated to think she was losing our commission if I changed.