Our TA advised us to not tip!!!

[AngieB30401]

I need to vent about this, we went on Monarch the first of the month and here is the story as short as I can make it:

 

We were looking at cruises online and found a site that offered "free pre-paid gratuities" if you book through them. Well, we have a friend that is a Travel Agent and wanted to use him. I told him about the deal online and he called our reservation in and the lady said that RC would honor that. :) Yeah! Since we are on a very tight budget that will take like $100 off our expenses.

 

So cruise time rolls around and we take only a limited amount of cash (thinking if we spend it we will be ok and if we don't spend it all, great!) Cruise is great and on the second night we go to the information desk to check our account. We are told that NO there are no prepaid gratuites on our account!! :confused:Nothing they can do about it because we booked with TA. Told us we need to talk to the TA and have them fix.

 

Next day we are in Nassau and have cell service there so I text the TA and tell them there is an issue. TA replies that we can just have it added to our account and pay for it. I tell him that we did not budget for that and to please fix it. TA replies that we should not worry about it & to not tip them because they are paid and tips are just extra. Well, I tell him we just need it fixed because I do not intend to leave without tipping and it should have been on our account. He replies that he "does not understand the problem" At this point I am furious!!! Has he ever heard of Customer Service??? I tell him to please call RC and have it fixed before we leave. He replies "just dont tip". :eek:

 

I WAS SOOOOO MAD!!!!! :mad:Lession learned about trying to do something nice for someone else by using them as my TA. We ended up only tipping our room steward ($20) and our waiter ($20) so that we would have enough money left to get home. I have not heard a word from our "friend" since we have been home. Now we will book online directly with the cruiseline.

 

Other than that, our cruise was GREAT!!! :D

[Garyorient]

Short termist and fundamentally dishonest from your "friend".

I hav every sympathy becuase it clearly impacted on your holiday

[AngieB30401]

We were thinking that if we did well spending the money that we brought we would tour Kennedy Space Center when we got off the ship on Friday. Needless to say, we just cam straight home :(and maybe we can do the tour if we ever cruise out of Port Canaveral again.

[OV8]

We were looking at cruises online and found a site that offered "free pre-paid gratuities" if you book through them. Well, we have a friend that is a Travel Agent and wanted to use him. I told him about the deal online and he called our reservation in and the lady said that RC would honor that. :) Yeah! Since we are on a very tight budget that will take like $100 off our expenses. ...We are told that NO there are no prepaid gratuites on our account!! :confused:Nothing they can do about it because we booked with TA. Told us we need to talk to the TA and have them fix.

 

I really DO sympathize with your position esp. when it comes to money. :(

 

Lesson to others is that: everything should have revealed itself once you made final reservation & final payment in either your cruise documentation or confirmation via email or RCL C&A web account. It SHOULD say 'Prepaid Gratutities' somewhere. If not, start dialing!

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Always get offers etc in writing. Otherwise there is not much you can do. Shame it tainted the experience for you.

[Happy ks]

I feel so bad for you and for the people who served you. It's a shame they had to serve you for X days for so little money and I know we would feel as bad as you do about it.

 

We've started to pre-pay our tips and it is listed on the invoice, but this would be different, since the TA states they were going to pay them for you. At this point, a strongly worded letter to the agency is about all you can do...and hope for an apology. Of course, reading your letter a second time, it does sound like you booked through your friend and not the online agency, right?

 

I know I've read before about people taking advantage of "free" travel insurance from TA's, only to learn after the fact if they needed to use the insurance there was always a clause that didn't cover their claim.

 

I have to agree with others here, get the deal in writing before leaving.

[PSCruiser]

I think your "friend" was very dishonest, and told you a story to get your booking. Since RC does not allow TAs to discount, free insurance or gratuities is an alternative that they offer. However, they would have to pay the gratuities out of their commission, so a person at RC is not going to "honor that".

Don't feel too bad about it, because you were mislead. It is your TA friend that should feel guilty - he is the one that screwed your service staff out of their tips, which actually is most of their salary. Maybe he would be willing to give you his commission, which you could forward to the appropriate people on the ship.

[lvtotrvl1]

Everything should be noted on your final invoice as far as OBC or Prepaid tips. If not, you need to ask them to include it. There are times when the cruiseline is wrong, and if you have proof it is much easier to get taken care of...In this is case though, I have to agree, that the TA just wanted the booking and basically lied to you.....I'm sorry you ran into this...not a great way to finish a cruise.

[yogimax]

If the TA belongs to any travel association, they should be notified of, what seems to be, an ethical breech.

[Toddcan]

Don't feel bad about the modest tips you ended up paying due to circumstances that were clearly out of your control.

 

I would be livid with my TA if they did that, and would not let it go once I returned. But, everyone handles things differently, so good luck on coping the way that suits you best.

[momof2furkids]

I think your "friend" was very dishonest, and told you a story to get your booking. Since RC does not allow TAs to discount, free insurance or gratuities is an alternative that they offer. However, they would have to pay the gratuities out of their commission, so a person at RC is not going to "honor that".

 

PS Cruiser, what do you mean that RC does not allow TAs to discount? Just curious.

[Gonzo70]

I think your "friend" was very dishonest, and told you a story to get your booking. Since RC does not allow TAs to discount, free insurance or gratuities is an alternative that they offer. However, they would have to pay the gratuities out of their commission, so a person at RC is not going to "honor that".

 

PS Cruiser, what do you mean that RC does not allow TAs to discount? Just curious.

 

TA's have to charge the same fare that is listed on Royal Caribbean's web site - they can not "cut" the price of the cruise. The one exception would be if they have group space reserved on a particular cruise - then sometimes the prices they can offer are discounted from the prevailing rate. Since TA's can't sell cruises for less than if one books direct with Royal Caribbean, some TA's offer perks such as OBC, pre-paid gratuities, wine etc. to entice people to book with them. This comes out of their commission. This applies to TA's in the U.S.; I do not know if it applies to other countries as well.

[danajjj]

Live and learn. Hopefully, your next booking goes better. I think it was nice and responsible of you to forgo your Kennedy Space Center tour in order to pay the crew who served you.

[ehfl]

I hope you learned your lessons: There's no such thing as a free lunch (or a free tip)...the money has to come from somewhere. Don't cut your expenses too close...always leave a little wiggle room for the unexpected. Don't use TAs when you can simply book directly with the cruise line.

[Jsme]

Several online agencies will offer you the free tips. I am unsure how they do this or if they just pay your tips from the commission they receive.

 

I learned along time ago not to ever use a friend for any business deal. It was a hard lesson to learn as I am sure you guys have learned.

 

Sorry this happened and I hope it did not ruin your trip.

[smoosh21]

I think your "friend" was very dishonest, and told you a story to get your booking. Since RC does not allow TAs to discount, free insurance or gratuities is an alternative that they offer. However, they would have to pay the gratuities out of their commission, so a person at RC is not going to "honor that".

Don't feel too bad about it, because you were mislead. It is your TA friend that should feel guilty - he is the one that screwed your service staff out of their tips, which actually is most of their salary. Maybe he would be willing to give you his commission, which you could forward to the appropriate people on the ship.

 

I agree. Your 'friend' absolutely knew that the prepaid tips that the other TA offered were coming out of their commission. Your friend lied to you to keep their full commission.

 

One thing I don't know is the commission strategy that RCI offers. Do all TAs get the same commission, or do high volume dealers get more? It seems that some agencies offer better perks than others. I am wondering if they just live with less commission, or if their volume is so high that they actually get more money from RCI, so they are able to give the better offers and therefore help drive their volume even higher.

[lvtotrvl1]

I agree. Your 'friend' absolutely knew that the prepaid tips that the other TA offered were coming out of their commission. Your friend lied to you to keep their full commission.

 

One thing I don't know is the commission strategy that RCI offers. Do all TAs get the same commission, or do high volume dealers get more? It seems that some agencies offer better perks than others. I am wondering if they just live with less commission, or if their volume is so high that they actually get more money from RCI, so they are able to give the better offers and therefore help drive their volume even higher.

 

Commission is based on volume usually anywhere from 10%-16%. Larger agencies can cut commission more, but not all agencies do. Those that don't normally will have a higher customer service level with more experienced agents on the phone...they are counting for repeat business for profits. Many discounting agencies are call centers that rely on the number of bookings and not on the repeat business....there are enough new cruisers and people looking for deals, that they don't need to rely on repeat business. It's all in the way you do business....

[camofwilliamsburg]

I am surprised that no one commented on how low a tip they left! And the assistant waiter got nothing?

[luckyprincess]

I am surprised that no one commented on how low a tip they left! And the assistant waiter got nothing?

I think they were stuck in an awful situation and did the best they could with all things considered. It's been nice that the posters thus far have been kind and compassionate, I think.:)

[Toddcan]

I am surprised that no one commented on how low a tip they left! And the assistant waiter got nothing?

 

Did you even read the original posting? They tell you exactly why they had to tip so small amount. They did not WANT to do this.

[bluegirlum]

I am surprised that no one commented on how low a tip they left! And the assistant waiter got nothing?

 

Are you serious? They just had a really bad experience and are trying to figure out what to do. Clearly, they feel really bad about the tips they did leave, but that's not the issue here. They got screwed by a "friend," who I would go after by reporting to their professional agency, the Better Business Bureau, a state licensing board, and anyone else that could affect their ability to practice. And I would scream loudly to all my mutual acquaintances about what this friend did. This didn't just affect their trip--it did ultimately end up screwing the folks on board out of tips. The OP clearly wanted to pay the tips in advance, so wasn't trying to get out of paying a good tip.

[McNic]

 

TA's have to charge the same fare that is listed on Royal Caribbean's web site - they can not "cut" the price of the cruise. The one exception would be if they have group space reserved on a particular cruise - then sometimes the prices they can offer are discounted from the prevailing rate. Since TA's can't sell cruises for less than if one books direct with Royal Caribbean, some TA's offer perks such as OBC, pre-paid gratuities, wine etc. to entice people to book with them. This comes out of their commission. This applies to TA's in the U.S.; I do not know if it applies to other countries as well.

 

I am a TA in Canada and this story sounds shady...on the TA's side. I would never, ever tell a client that something was included when it wasn't just to get a booking. Thats no way to get repeat clients! I hope people come to me because of my awesome customer service. If a client came to me about a "free" deal offered online, I would check with the company and then make damn sure it was on the invoice...everything shows up on the invoice.

 

Don't lose faith in TA's! Maybe try one that isn't your "friend" for your next trip!

[lvtotrvl1]

Are you serious? They just had a really bad experience and are trying to figure out what to do. Clearly, they feel really bad about the tips they did leave, but that's not the issue here. They got screwed by a "friend," who I would go after by reporting to their professional agency, the Better Business Bureau, a state licensing board, and anyone else that could affect their ability to practice. And I would scream loudly to all my mutual acquaintances about what this friend did. This didn't just affect their trip--it did ultimately end up screwing the folks on board out of tips. The OP clearly wanted to pay the tips in advance, so wasn't trying to get out of paying a good tip.

 

Unless the OP had it in writing that tips were prepaid, it's going to next to impossible to go through any agencies you have recommended...Unfortunatly it will be a he said she said situation. Now the screaming to firends is definatly a route I would take, and probably the only thing the OP can do ...

 

...and to the poster with the comment about the amount of tips...that has nothing to do with what the OP was asking. Clearly they are upset...don't be so ugly to people.

[truffles2]

If the TA belongs to any travel association, they should be notified of, what seems to be, an ethical breech.

 

I agree. And your Better Business Bureau could be contacted also.

The owner of the agency should definitely be informed.

[danajjj]

I am surprised that no one commented on how low a tip they left! And the assistant waiter got nothing?

 

What would you have suggested they have done? I don't think they wanted to leave a small tip (or not tip some at all). They did not spend the money at the end of the cruise that they had budgeted for another activity so that they could pay the staff something (even if it wasn't the full amt.). They learned a lesson the hard way. Sometimes it happens in life, and you do the best you can in certain situations.