michelle

Thank you for this question - the system we use is great at tracking fares, but LOTS of things factor into the tracker we use too. did you get booked into one of our group rates, do you have a current OBC that will drop if we adjust the fare, are you looking at non-refundable rates online, but you book refundable deposit rates, is the system working correctly to adjust??? (issue lately) and so forth.    I work in tandem with my clients and if they see rate drops, I look at them that day they email - sometimes we have to figure it out together and yes, sometimes the system does flag me of a drop, but the system does not grab things like you booked refundable vs non-refundable that is a big one>   

Clients are never "bugging me" to ask about prices, but it can take me all day to look into if, cause I may be on the phone trying to get a refund due that is taking 5 months !

Our team values every client - this system flags when a sale happens mostly - so if Royal announces a new sale it does sweep but it does not do it all in one day it does it over the course of the sale.

Thank you for the support - and mostly for supporting MATT and this blog - Cheers

Thank you!   best to you !
 

Thank you for this question - the system we use is great at tracking fares, but LOTS of things factor into the tracker we use too. did you get booked into one of our group rates, do you have a current OBC that will drop if we adjust the fare, are you looking at non-refundable rates online, but you book refundable deposit rates, is the system working correctly to adjust??? (issue lately) and so forth.    I work in tandem with my clients and if they see rate drops, I look at them that day they email - sometimes we have to figure it out together and yes, sometimes the system does flag me of a drop, but the system does not grab things like you booked refundable vs non-refundable that is a big one>   

Clients are never "bugging me" to ask about prices, but it can take me all day to look into if, cause I may be on the phone trying to get a refund due that is taking 5 months !

Our team values every client - this system flags when a sale happens mostly - so if Royal announces a new sale it does sweep but it does not do it all in one day it does it over the course of the sale.

Thank you for the support - and mostly for supporting MATT and this blog - Cheers

Thank you for this question - the system we use is great at tracking fares, but LOTS of things factor into the tracker we use too. did you get booked into one of our group rates, do you have a current OBC that will drop if we adjust the fare, are you looking at non-refundable rates online, but you book refundable deposit rates, is the system working correctly to adjust??? (issue lately) and so forth.    I work in tandem with my clients and if they see rate drops, I look at them that day they email - sometimes we have to figure it out together and yes, sometimes the system does flag me of a drop, but the system does not grab things like you booked refundable vs non-refundable that is a big one>   

Clients are never "bugging me" to ask about prices, but it can take me all day to look into if, cause I may be on the phone trying to get a refund due that is taking 5 months !

Our team values every client - this system flags when a sale happens mostly - so if Royal announces a new sale it does sweep but it does not do it all in one day it does it over the course of the sale.

Thank you for the support - and mostly for supporting MATT and this blog - Cheers

Thank you for this question - the system we use is great at tracking fares, but LOTS of things factor into the tracker we use too. did you get booked into one of our group rates, do you have a current OBC that will drop if we adjust the fare, are you looking at non-refundable rates online, but you book refundable deposit rates, is the system working correctly to adjust??? (issue lately) and so forth.    I work in tandem with my clients and if they see rate drops, I look at them that day they email - sometimes we have to figure it out together and yes, sometimes the system does flag me of a drop, but the system does not grab things like you booked refundable vs non-refundable that is a big one>   

Clients are never "bugging me" to ask about prices, but it can take me all day to look into if, cause I may be on the phone trying to get a refund due that is taking 5 months !

Our team values every client - this system flags when a sale happens mostly - so if Royal announces a new sale it does sweep but it does not do it all in one day it does it over the course of the sale.

Thank you for the support - and mostly for supporting MATT and this blog - Cheers

Hugs and Kisses to you
 

Thank you for this question - the system we use is great at tracking fares, but LOTS of things factor into the tracker we use too. did you get booked into one of our group rates, do you have a current OBC that will drop if we adjust the fare, are you looking at non-refundable rates online, but you book refundable deposit rates, is the system working correctly to adjust??? (issue lately) and so forth.    I work in tandem with my clients and if they see rate drops, I look at them that day they email - sometimes we have to figure it out together and yes, sometimes the system does flag me of a drop, but the system does not grab things like you booked refundable vs non-refundable that is a big one>   

Clients are never "bugging me" to ask about prices, but it can take me all day to look into if, cause I may be on the phone trying to get a refund due that is taking 5 months !

Our team values every client - this system flags when a sale happens mostly - so if Royal announces a new sale it does sweep but it does not do it all in one day it does it over the course of the sale.

Thank you for the support - and mostly for supporting MATT and this blog - Cheers

Thank you for this question - the system we use is great at tracking fares, but LOTS of things factor into the tracker we use too. did you get booked into one of our group rates, do you have a current OBC that will drop if we adjust the fare, are you looking at non-refundable rates online, but you book refundable deposit rates, is the system working correctly to adjust??? (issue lately) and so forth.    I work in tandem with my clients and if they see rate drops, I look at them that day they email - sometimes we have to figure it out together and yes, sometimes the system does flag me of a drop, but the system does not grab things like you booked refundable vs non-refundable that is a big one>   

Clients are never "bugging me" to ask about prices, but it can take me all day to look into if, cause I may be on the phone trying to get a refund due that is taking 5 months !

Our team values every client - this system flags when a sale happens mostly - so if Royal announces a new sale it does sweep but it does not do it all in one day it does it over the course of the sale.

Thank you for the support - and mostly for supporting MATT and this blog - Cheers

Thank you for this question - the system we use is great at tracking fares, but LOTS of things factor into the tracker we use too. did you get booked into one of our group rates, do you have a current OBC that will drop if we adjust the fare, are you looking at non-refundable rates online, but you book refundable deposit rates, is the system working correctly to adjust??? (issue lately) and so forth.    I work in tandem with my clients and if they see rate drops, I look at them that day they email - sometimes we have to figure it out together and yes, sometimes the system does flag me of a drop, but the system does not grab things like you booked refundable vs non-refundable that is a big one>   

Clients are never "bugging me" to ask about prices, but it can take me all day to look into if, cause I may be on the phone trying to get a refund due that is taking 5 months !

Our team values every client - this system flags when a sale happens mostly - so if Royal announces a new sale it does sweep but it does not do it all in one day it does it over the course of the sale.

Thank you for the support - and mostly for supporting MATT and this blog - Cheers

Thank you for this question - the system we use is great at tracking fares, but LOTS of things factor into the tracker we use too. did you get booked into one of our group rates, do you have a current OBC that will drop if we adjust the fare, are you looking at non-refundable rates online, but you book refundable deposit rates, is the system working correctly to adjust??? (issue lately) and so forth.    I work in tandem with my clients and if they see rate drops, I look at them that day they email - sometimes we have to figure it out together and yes, sometimes the system does flag me of a drop, but the system does not grab things like you booked refundable vs non-refundable that is a big one>   

Clients are never "bugging me" to ask about prices, but it can take me all day to look into if, cause I may be on the phone trying to get a refund due that is taking 5 months !

Our team values every client - this system flags when a sale happens mostly - so if Royal announces a new sale it does sweep but it does not do it all in one day it does it over the course of the sale.

Thank you for the support - and mostly for supporting MATT and this blog - Cheers

There's "lowest price" and then there's "best value".  Those terms are different for everyone.  Some people insist on getting Onboard Credit (OBC) from their travel agent (TA) and some would rather have more personalized service (you rarely get both together).
Some of the online agencies do large group bookings and are able to offer a somewhat reduced cruise fare, but using an online agency can have its drawbacks.  For one thing, some of them do not participate in the Royal Up program (Costco, for example), which allows you to bid on upgraded cabins.  Sometimes (but not always) it is difficult to establish a personal relationship with the online agencies b/c they only have a call center number to call and you get whoever you get when you call.
MEI Travel is the sponsor of this blog and many of us use them and love the service that we get.  Are they exclusive to Royal Caribbean ?  No, but they certainly get a lot of business for Royal and they know the ropes.
I use Michelle Cunningham
Michelle Cunningham, CTC
Certified Travel Consultant
[email protected]
Off:         571-479-4775  
 Mobile:  703-881-2727

Office Hours: Mon - Fri 9:00 am - 4:00 pm (EST)
        Saturdays by appointment
Sharla is also also a local favorite and frequents these boards.  Someone can hopefully provide you with contact information for Sharla or some of the other GREAT MEI agents.
Website:  www.mei-travel.com
 
Good luck !!

I'm sorry you are having a hard time, and that shouldn't happen. Sometimes a client will contact me before I will check, and then I try and check it right away. But sometimes it just isn't possible to do it quickly. Sometimes you have to call it in and that takes forever. 
Basically you should be able to communicate with your agent properly, and if that isn't happening you should ask for a new agent assignment. Every client is important, it could be that the agent was dealing with something and couldn't check those other reservations right that minute. 
If you'd like to switch agents email [email protected] and they'll reassign you to someone else. 

yes, they actually found some sites on their own but yes, I have the home tests myself for back up and they are much cheaper - thanks raye
 

happy it worked out and have no idea how royal is pricing things these days but not going to ask 🙂
 

yes, they actually found some sites on their own but yes, I have the home tests myself for back up and they are much cheaper - thanks raye
 

happy it worked out and have no idea how royal is pricing things these days but not going to ask 🙂
 

Used to be even more liberal. There were stories of people basically bringing a wet bar on board with them before the policy changed (right before the one time I went on a Disney cruise, naturally).

Me too! Yesterday @michelle got us $743 OBC for each of our cabins on Harmony at the end of this month. Woohoo! 😁
The weird thing is I have been checking the price religiously every day and as far as I can see there has been no price drop. The current selling price for the same cabin category is $500 more than we paid!
However, we are not ones to look a gift horse in the mouth and I am sure we will have no trouble spending it! 😊

I just have to chime in!!  Michelle at MEI got us $683 OBC yesterday for our cruise next month!  LOVE Michelle at MEI!

If the agent is part of an agency you could ask to be switched to a different agent within the company.

The most I have saved was over $1,500 on a cruise when the rate dropped.  I saw it and immediately called my TA, and was done minutes later!

Hi all
This one maybe I can get help with before calling Royal- I have foreign clients arriving in
Miami tomorrow- sailing next week - before they can cruise, they need to get an Antigen test 
somewhere close to the Port but every site they try and sign up for want a social security
number?  anyone know if there is a place they can just go to without needing that?

ANY help is appreciated 

Howdy!  nice to meet you - It Means awesomesauce, lol - welcome to the boards

Howdy!  nice to meet you - It Means awesomesauce, lol - welcome to the boards

Howdy!  nice to meet you - It Means awesomesauce, lol - welcome to the boards