Travel Agent Expectations

[wllm1969]

First time Cruiser ALERT. I booked a cruise from a local Travel Agent. We had to pay extra $35. That was before I saw any of Matt's videos. Now I know better. What should I expect for their service? If there is a lower price change should I expect them to be looking for that and change our price or is it on me to tell them? I am not really happy with their service so far. I went to my agent to ask about The Key and she acted like she had no idea what I was talking about. I was very disappointed. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

Sorry you had to learn that lesson the $$ way.  I certainly would expect the agency to track price changes but I wouldn’t count on it.  You are your own best advocate.

Keep in mind that if you decide to book another cruise on board, Next Cruise will automatically rebook through the Agency you are currently using so be sure and tell them NOT to use your current agency if you plan to make an agency change. 

[Pen]

6 hours ago, wllm1969 said:

First time Cruiser ALERT. I booked a cruise from a local Travel Agent. We had to pay extra $35. That was before I saw any of Matt's videos. Now I know better. What should I expect for their service? If there is a lower price change should I expect them to be looking for that and change our price or is it on me to tell them? I am not really happy with their service so far. I went to my agent to ask about The Key and she acted like she had no idea what I was talking about. I was very disappointed. 

for our first cruise last year, we went with a local travel agent. We too were quite disappointed with our service. They charged us an additional $20 which we found out later should not have happen every time we had a question the travel agent kept referring us to the 800 number with Royal Caribbeanwho then kept referring us back to our travel agent. What a mess!  I don't know if you can change TAs but if you can...do it.  Wished we did.  For our second cruise we have booked through MEI.

[sk8erguy1978]

Welcome!

Not knowing about The Key alone says find a new agent, transfer the booking and write the $35 off. As a first time cruiser you will definitely benefit from someone who doesn't see you as a $ sign.

MEI is a sponsor of this board, I'd suggest starting with them. (disclaimer, not an MEI customer but thinking about it for my next cruise - which I booked directly but should still be in the transfer window.)

[Matt]

No travel agent should charge you for their services for booking a cruise. Period.

[Momof4crazytocruise]

If it's not too late (60 days after booking) - why not transfer the reservation to another agent (MEI is great) who doesn't charge a fee, and then you get the service you were looking for, AND you're only out that $35. Just a thought. 

[CruiseGus]

Just to be clear

I was under the impression to transfer a booking from one agent to another, the original agent has to agree to release the booking?

So an agent that charged you $xx up front to book is not in my opinion going to easily release a booking because then the will also lose out on the Comm/
Admin Rate proceeds they receive.

If you know the answer for sure tell us please

Also I agree you need a new and much better agent.

[WAAAYTOOO]

2 minutes ago, CruiseGus said:

Just to be clear

I was under the impression to transfer a booking from one agent to another, the original agent has to agree to release the booking?

So an agent that charged you $xx up front to book is not in my opinion going to easily release a booking because then the will also lose out on the Comm/
Admin Rate proceeds they receive.

If you know the answer for sure tell us please

Also I agree you need a new and much better agent.

This is all true. Trust me, it is NOT easy to get the original agency to release the booking. I only had to do it once, but if they decide they’re not going to release it, there is nothing you can do about it.  Of course, they will lose any future business from you, but they were going to lose it anyway.  They do not have to release your booking if they don’t want to.

[sk8erguy1978]

17 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

This is all true. Trust me, it is NOT easy to get the original agency to release the booking. I only had to do it once, but if they decide they’re not going to release it, there is nothing you can do about it.  Of course, they will lose any future business from you, but they were going to lose it anyway.  They do not have to release your booking if they don’t want to.

Wow, even if you call (maybe a few times) complaining to Royal Caribbean that the service is poor? 

[AnnetteJackson]

22 minutes ago, CruiseGus said:

Just to be clear

I was under the impression to transfer a booking from one agent to another, the original agent has to agree to release the booking?

So an agent that charged you $xx up front to book is not in my opinion going to easily release a booking because then the will also lose out on the Comm/
Admin Rate proceeds they receive.

If you know the answer for sure tell us please

Also I agree you need a new and much better agent.

This can be really hard to get out of and even some agencies that dont charge a fee will give clients a hard time to give it back.  For MEI-Travel, we do not charge a fee to work with you (Royal pays all Travel Agents - so that fee is an add on) and if you try us and decide that it isnt right for you, we will either work to find another agent in the agency to work with you or we will transfer it back to you so fee or hard time given.  

 

[AnnetteJackson]

3 minutes ago, sk8erguy1978 said:

Wow, even if you call (maybe a few times) complaining to Royal Caribbean that the service is poor? 

It is very rare for Royal to get involved in the relationship with the client and the agent.  Royal will contact the agent to let them know that the client wants to transfer it back to them, but I have been involved in situations where the other agency would not transfer it back to the client or another agency without charging a cancellation fee.

Its really important to interview the agent or agency about fees, cancellations and level of services you expect BEFORE you book.  

[FManke]

@wllm1969 I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience. Maybe you should give your TA a call and let them know that it would be in their best interest to release your reservation as the poor service you have received isn't worth the $35 you have paid them after you tell all your friends of said service. Just saying.

[SPS]

4 hours ago, Pen said:

every time we had a question the travel agent kept referring us to the 800 number with Royal Caribbean

Talk about unacceptable.

Pen: Hey, we have questions about our upcoming cruise.

Travel Agent: Ok, I don't really feel like doing what is expected of me, so, if you could just go ahead and call this 800 number and do it for me, that'd be great.

[ChessE4]

11 hours ago, wllm1969 said:

First time Cruiser ALERT. I booked a cruise from a local Travel Agent. We had to pay extra $35. That was before I saw any of Matt's videos. Now I know better. What should I expect for their service? If there is a lower price change should I expect them to be looking for that and change our price or is it on me to tell them? I am not really happy with their service so far. I went to my agent to ask about The Key and she acted like she had no idea what I was talking about. I was very disappointed. 

I would try to arrange a booking transfer, and if the agent resists, I'd look at your better business bureau and consumer advocacy groups to register a complaint.  Other than that, you can have many questions answered by the other members of this site, and I am confident you will have a fantastic cruise.  We have been lucky in our dealings with travel agents, but they don't know everything (cruise line policies change all the time). 

[USCG Teacher]

29 minutes ago, FManke said:

@wllm1969 I'm sorry to hear about your bad experience. Maybe you should give your TA a call and let them know that it would be in their best interest to release your reservation as the poor service you have received isn't worth the $35 you have paid them after you tell all your friends of said service. Just saying.

Couldn't agree with this suggestion any more if I tried.

[YOLO]

@wllm1969  Hi and welcome to the RCB forums.

11 hours ago, wllm1969 said:

We had to pay extra $35.

Was the $35 a separate line item on your cruise docs?  Did they say what it was for?  Just curious.

Did you check with them to see if you could cancel without any fees?

[CrznTxn]

We have used several travel agents and MEI exclusively for RCCL. They always have worked great with us and sent us information ahead of pending sales. On our upcoming cruise with our oldest son and family in October we were able to save $500 prior to final payment which, since we are paying their entire costs, saved the wife and I enough to cover almost all of their excursions. Even our other travel agent did not charge for their service, plus MEI always has a perk or two added in from them.

[SpeedNoodles]

I feel your pain. (Warning: apologies in advance for those who have read this tired story before).

Before I started booking with MEI, I used a travel agent with a company that I used 10 years ago for booking cruises, who was listed on Royal's site for "Royal Caribbean Experts".  Back in the day, we'd arrive with a bottle of champagne in our stateroom from them (not necessary, not expected, but a nice touch).  Well, our last Alaskan cruise was booked with them, the agent knew far less about cruising and Royal Caribbean than I did, they charged a $100 booking fee (and she offered to book our flights for "only" a $50 fee - no thanks).  I thought, well for a $100 booking fee, I'm sure she'll have something waiting for us in our cabin (like in days past).  But, nope.

Unfortunately I suspect these things are just live and learn experiences.

[sabarwolf]

Can't necessarily help on the fee woes, but I can add something when it comes to The Key. We did inquire about the Key from our travel agent when we were thinking about whether it was worth it for our upcoming sailing. She hadn't used it and reported to us that none of her clients had (at that time either--this was May or June if memory serves). It may not be something that all travel agents have experienced/utilized at this point, since it seems that it is still a relatively new program.

[wllm1969]

16 hours ago, YOLO said:

@wllm1969  Hi and welcome to the RCB forums.

Was the $35 a separate line item on your cruise docs?  Did they say what it was for?  Just curious.

Did you check with them to see if you could cancel without any fees?

When we book she told me the charge $35 for cruises.

[wllm1969]

11 hours ago, sabarwolf said:

Can't necessarily help on the fee woes, but I can add something when it comes to The Key. We did inquire about the Key from our travel agent when we were thinking about whether it was worth it for our upcoming sailing. She hadn't used it and reported to us that none of her clients had (at that time either--this was May or June if memory serves). It may not be something that all travel agents have experienced/utilized at this point, since it seems that it is still a relatively new program.

Good point. 

[wllm1969]

20 hours ago, Matt said:

No travel agent should charge you for their services for booking a cruise. Period.

I just want to thank you for all your work in doing the Blog and the Live chats. I have learned so much about Royal Caribbean and can't wait until February when I go on Brilliance of the Seas. When I book another cruise I know better. I have already told friends of mine not to go with TA that will charge.  

[Rob&Ana]

We have worked with a few different agents in the past and all I can say is that you will have to try and try again until you find a agent that understands what your looking for. These people work on commision so the more they make from you the more they will do for you. There are quite a few agents that only do cruises and I think that's your best bet to get the best info and deals.

We always book onboard and take advantage of what Royal offers, OBC, choose your cabin etc. and then we transfer our booking to our travel agent who really has nothing more to do that remind us when to pay. For this they also offer us extra perks, more OBC, specialty dinning etc.

[VinceC]

On ‎8‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 9:10 AM, Matt said:

No travel agent should charge you for their services for booking a cruise. Period.

I AGREE....  I am a travel agent and I never add any extra charges.  I also follow up with the pricing changes,  just recently I saved one of my clients over $400 on a pricing change that I noticed and had them take advantage of.   I keep a file of all of my clients and their upcoming cruise dates and re-price them out at least on a monthly basis or every few weeks depending on how far out their cruise is.   As a travel agent it is my responsibility to make sure my client is getting the best price.   This is what brings me return business and client referrals.