PG Cruiser Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 I have been reading about the advantages of having a Travel Agent for booking cruises. I want to try it but I do not know what steps to take to do so. Is it as simple as calling them (MEI, for example) and getting them to help me? Can someone please help me? You may also want to send me a private message about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 You can fill out the form on the main page of the blog on the right and an MEI agent will reach out to you. @AnnetteJackson checks these boards too and I'm sure she can hook you up. Using a TA is great..they will do all the leg work in helping find something that works for you and answer questions. You don't have any obligation to use them and you don't pay them anything for their service. They are paid through commissions from the cruise line. They will work with you in whatever way works best for you. I hate phone calls so mine works with me through emails and text messages! AnnetteJackson and RCIfan1912 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PG Cruiser Posted September 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 11 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said: You can fill out the form on the main page of the blog on the right and an MEI agent will reach out to you. I filled out the form on the MEI site ... let's see what happens AnnetteJackson and wllm1969 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CruiseGus Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 please review your experience with the rest of us once you are reached out to KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sabarwolf Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 We just approached one of the local travel establishments in our (former) home town. We weren't disappointed--particularly as we continued to use them after we moved (just did everything through conference calls, email, etc.). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 Thanks for considering supporting our sponsor! StephanieH 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lovestotravel Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 I am interested in hearing about your experience. We have a trip booked for May 2020 and used a travel agent in our town. She has been ok. I think she locked us in to the best rate, but she doesn't seem proactive with anything. She responds quickly when I reach out to her with questions, or with "we need to get on booking flights", but so far she hasn't initiated anything. She also assigned us a cabin and dining time without any input on our end, which caused me to have to ask her to change both. She did that just fine, but it could have been avoided had she asked our preference to begin with. She also didn't get us any OBC, which I hear is sometimes the advantage of using a travel agent. So, all that to say, it is fine for this cruise, but for our next we will probably go with a different agent or just book ourselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neesa Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 I reached out to MEI having never sailed Royal before. Sharla was assigned to me & she has put me at total ease as well as saved me money after I booked as a promotion was introduced. Can't say enough about the TA-MEI experience. Once you do it I'm sure you will love it. My experience was an A+ Matt and packercruising 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 We booked our entire cruise with MEI by email. Beyond simple, never even had to make a phone call. Very happy going with MEI. Matt and Neesa 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PG Cruiser Posted September 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 UPDATE 1: They sent me this email almost immediately after I requested for a quote from their website. I went to my Junk folder so I hadn't seen it until this morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ptod Posted September 14, 2019 Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 @RatedPG did you book the Odyssey trips on your own? If you decide to go ahead with MEI Travel, Keep in mind that you can move the booking to him/her and they could check for possible better pricing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PG Cruiser Posted September 14, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 14, 2019 11 minutes ago, ptod said: @RatedPG did you book the Odyssey trips on your own? If you decide to go ahead with MEI Travel, Keep in mind that you can move the booking to him/her and they could check for possible better pricing. Yes, I booked the Odyssey trips on my own over the phone with Royal. I'm planning to move the bookings to MEI once they contact me. RCIfan1912 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sea Dog Posted September 15, 2019 Report Share Posted September 15, 2019 I would be interested in hearing experiences about MEI. My TA who is a friend of mine has booked 3 cruises for us and manages to screw something up every time. We went yesterday to pick up our cruise documents ( which I also printed out on my own but thought I would be nice to visit) and come to find out after getting home she did include the set sail passes. Now I know I have them on the Royal App but this mistake was completely avoidable. Rule number one, don't do business with friends. sk8erguy1978 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 16, 2019 Report Share Posted September 16, 2019 On 9/14/2019 at 10:50 AM, Neesa said: I reached out to MEI having never sailed Royal before. Sharla was assigned to me & she has put me at total ease as well as saved me money after I booked as a promotion was introduced. Can't say enough about the TA-MEI experience. Once you do it I'm sure you will love it. My experience was an A+ On 9/14/2019 at 11:19 AM, RCIfan1912 said: We booked our entire cruise with MEI by email. Beyond simple, never even had to make a phone call. Very happy going with MEI. Thanks to you both for supporting our sponsor! Neesa and RCIfan1912 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChessE4 Posted September 16, 2019 Report Share Posted September 16, 2019 On 9/13/2019 at 10:00 PM, RatedPG said: I have been reading about the advantages of having a Travel Agent for booking cruises. I want to try it but I do not know what steps to take to do so. Is it as simple as calling them (MEI, for example) and getting them to help me? Can someone please help me? You may also want to send me a private message about this. If you are an AAA member for the auto services you can leverage that relationship for travel. That is what we have done. AAA has call centers and local offices with travel agents. If you aren't already an AAA member, I like the advice on using MEI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PG Cruiser Posted September 16, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 16, 2019 Update #2: I hadn't gotten a reply from MEI since Friday so I decided to follow up today. I wasn't sure if they conducted business on weekends. A travel planner promptly replied to my follow-up. We are now in touch with each other. The plan is to move the booking for the Odyssey Inaugural Sailing to them. ellcee and WAAAYTOOO 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PG Cruiser Posted September 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2019 Update #3 My B2B bookings for the Inaugural Cruise have already been transferred to my MEI Travel Planner. She works fast! Within minutes, she got me a price lower by $116 for one of my bookings. Matt, WAAAYTOOO, SpeedNoodles and 5 others 5 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AshleyDillo Posted September 17, 2019 Report Share Posted September 17, 2019 9 hours ago, RatedPG said: Update #3 My B2B bookings for the Inaugural Cruise have already been transferred to my MEI Travel Planner. She works fast! Within minutes, she got me a price lower by $116 for one of my bookings. Excellent! I know MEI has a group for the inaugural that has the rates locked in lower than the current going rate on the site...just a heads up for anyone interested in that sailing..doesn't hurt to get a quote and no obligation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PG Cruiser Posted September 17, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2019 Update #4 I just electronically signed the documents sent to me by @StephanieH of MEI Travel. She got me a total discount of $258 for my B2B cruises from the original price I signed up for with Royal. She also got me $50 onboard credit from Special Groups rate and $25 from Agent (her) FOR EACH sailing. That's a total of $150 for onboard credit - almost covers the VOOM package for the trip. I am loving this! Thanks Stephanie! Baked Alaska, ptod, StephanieH and 4 others 6 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PG Cruiser Posted September 18, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 Update #5 I called my travel consultant today to clarify some confusion I had with onboard credits. It turns out I had misunderstood what she said about me losing those OBCs if I canceled a purchase of cruise planner items. Everything is clear to me now. Sorry @Matt for bugging you last night with this question on FB Live. Thanks @StephanieH for the clarification. StephanieH and Matt 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 25 minutes ago, bytheslice said: I was very surprised to be quoted a price higher than I found myself using an online site and no financial benefit/perk from MEI included. Be wary of online sites because many do not include taxes and fees until you go all the way through with the booking. Also, gratuities may have been part of your initial quote from MEI. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAAAYTOOO Posted September 18, 2019 Report Share Posted September 18, 2019 Royal Caribbean does not permit any Agency to discount their cruise fares. The only way a fare can be lower than the published rates is if the Agency has negotiated a group rate. It’s possible that the rate you were quoted is an Agency that has group space. As Matt said, be very wary of an online cost estimate. Before comparing it to a quote from Royal (or MEI) make sure you are comparing apples to apples. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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