MEI Travel

[Reigert2008]

Hello,

    I'm a long time lurker, first time writer, but have some questions about MEI Travel and their agents (which I hear are wonderful).  Thanks in advance.
 

• Once a cruise is booked with MEI, do the agents check for better deals when they are released?
• In general, how quick are they to respond to questions?
• How knowledgeable are they about the various ports of call?
• How knowledgeable are they with the embarkation ports and hotels/transportation?
• When paying for items, are we paying MEI and they they pay RCI or does the TA pay RCI directly using my credit card information.  I've had issues with AAA in the past with paying for some things with Disney.

 

We have a travel agent and we do enjoy working with them, but they are a "family friend" and travel agent is NOT thier primary job.  We've not had any real issues, but I do have to check thee deals on my own and ask for a re-price to ensure I get the best deal.  I'm a pretty hands on person, but love using the TA for cruises since I don't want to miss anything.  Typically, I book the cruise with the TA and then book the hotel and flights on my own since we utilize our rewards programs and get some benefits by booking directly.  

 

We have two cruises still scheduled for this year, but am thinking about making the switch with our next cruise we book.  I wanted to check here to get some information before I contact MEI and talk to an agent or two to see if we can make a good team for planning vacations.

 

 

 

[Fairlynew]

I use Sharla at MEI.  She is incredibly responsive.  I have never waited more than 12 hours for a response to an email, even on the weekend.  She checks frequently for price drops and reprices even if the savings is only a few dollars.  She is knowledgeable about both ports of call and embarkation ports.  I have used AAA in the past and am far happier with MEI.  I am not sure how the payment process works, but my credit card statement shows direct payment to Royal, even though I give the number to Sharla.  

 

Best of luck!

[Matt]

Welcome to the boards!

36 minutes ago, Reigert2008 said:

Once a cruise is booked with MEI, do the agents check for better deals when they are released?

Typically yes. Not every day, but most agents I've talked to at MEI will reprice when a new sale is announced. 

In addition, the agents that work on Royal Caribbean talk amongst each other a lot, and if one sees price drops, they alert the other agents to check.

That's a long winded way of me saying they do periodically check for better prices, but I don't want to make it seem like they're doing it every day.

 

[sammy79]

Another vote for @Sharla!

[SpeedNoodles]

They pay Royal Caribbean direct with your credit card information.  They do not hold the funds.  Like @Fairlynew stated, the response is quick.  @michelle always responds quickly. I'd be lost without her!

[Neesa]

@Sharla gets my vote! I can also say her response time is lightening fast. Kind, gracious and never ever balks at my crazy requests...  she is just wonderful. 

 

 

[Iluv4n6]

Wow!  great to see the kudos pouring in for @Sharla!  She gets our vote as well. 

Just riding out this season's Artic blast here in the upper Midwest...nothing like taking the dog out in 30 below wind chills to motivate me into checking back in on cruise news and itineraries!   

[LogicallyLazy]

Does Mei Travel handle customers outside the US?

[JBC1]

3 hours ago, LogicallyLazy said:

Does Mei Travel handle customers outside the US?

I live in Thailand and a UK national. I have used MEI for all my bookings over the past few years with no issues. I us Kathy, who has been great.

JOHN 

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, LogicallyLazy said:

Does Mei Travel handle customers outside the US?

I live in Portugal.

The only thing is your booking must be in US dollars so you have to factor in exchange rate differences and possibly foreign currency transaction charges on your credit card.

[Mike.s]

1 hour ago, FionaMG said:

I live in Portugal.

The only thing is your booking must be in US dollars so you have to factor in exchange rate differences and possibly foreign currency transaction charges on your credit card.

Does it cause an issue that many of the RCL offers state for US residents only, can those of us outside the US still benefit from the offers (they're always different to the offers we have in the UK).

[FionaMG]

1 hour ago, Mike.s said:

Does it cause an issue that many of the RCL offers state for US residents only, can those of us outside the US still benefit from the offers (they're always different to the offers we have in the UK).

I don't really know the answer to that I'm afraid, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it probably doesn't. I'm trying to remember exactly how the booking process went when I booked on Royal's US website. I know it asked for a state and I chose California because my son does actually live there, but I'm pretty sure that at the end it let me put in our Portuguese address and still accepted the booking. I was a bit concerned that the system would give us a resident's discount that we weren't eligible for. I would have felt uncomfortable with that but it didn't in the end (you can see all the discounts listed on the invoice) so it was all good.

Alternatively, you could browse the website and, once you see what you want, ask your MEI agent to book it all for you from scratch, in which case you don't need to worry about the state/address bit as they'll sort it out. Because of the global scope of this site, MEI are allowed to take bookings from international guests so you're definitely not breaking any rules there. 

[Matt]

10 hours ago, LogicallyLazy said:

Does Mei Travel handle customers outside the US?

Yes they do. No country restriction.

[Sharla]

18 hours ago, Reigert2008 said:

• Once a cruise is booked with MEI, do the agents check for better deals when they are released?
• In general, how quick are they to respond to questions?
• How knowledgeable are they about the various ports of call?
• How knowledgeable are they with the embarkation ports and hotels/transportation?
• When paying for items, are we paying MEI and they they pay RCI or does the TA pay RCI directly using my credit card information.  I've had issues with AAA in the past with paying for some things with Disney.

Hi! I'll answer all of your questions on behalf of all MEI agents- any one of us is happy to help!

Yes, we check for better deals. We have an alert system that notifies us of any price changes to your cruise and we will apply that if it's better. Plus, as @Matt said we frequently talk to one another.

I try to get back to you within an hour, but on busy days or if it's overnight (or a complicated question) it might take a little longer.

Pretty knowledgeable with ports of call and embarkation ports- everything is customizable but I know of great hotels for each budget in the major embarkation cities, as well as what there is to do in most common places such as the Caribbean, cruise ports in Europe, and Alaska.

We pay RCCL directly, all charges show up on your credit card from RCCL, NOT us. I just do it on your behalf. 

[alamode123]

You can look back on my previous posts and see how Sharla saved one of my vacations. 

RCL chartered our ship with 6 months to go. Sharla got us on a similar class ship, same exact room, same price.

[Reigert2008]

Thanks to everyone!  All of this was amazing information, when it is time for us to book our next cruise, we will certainly consider MEI !  

 

#StaySafe

[Coach9]

What does MEI mean?

[Lovetocruise2002]

5 hours ago, Coach9 said:

What does MEI mean?

https://mei-travel.com/

[WAAAYTOOO]

MEI Travel is the travel sponsor of this blog site.

[michelle]

On 2/8/2021 at 4:31 PM, SpeedNoodles said:

They pay Royal Caribbean direct with your credit card information.  They do not hold the funds.  Like @Fairlynew stated, the response is quick.  @michelle always responds quickly. I'd be lost without her!

Back at you!

[RickinSTL]

@Jacki_MEI is awesome! Ill be using MEI for all of my cruise bookings form now on! 

[Aron_Ross]

Does MEI only book cruises with Royal Caribbean?

[wordell1]

6 hours ago, Aron_Ross said:

Does MEI only book cruises with Royal Caribbean?

No, they are a full service travel company.  They do specialize in cruises (and Disney) which is helpful as they do know the ins and outs of booking cruises.  

[Done]

On 2/9/2021 at 8:21 AM, Sharla said:

Hi! I'll answer all of your questions on behalf of all MEI agents- any one of us is happy to help!

Yes, we check for better deals. We have an alert system that notifies us of any price changes to your cruise and we will apply that if it's better. Plus, as @Matt said we frequently talk to one another.

I try to get back to you within an hour, but on busy days or if it's overnight (or a complicated question) it might take a little longer.

Pretty knowledgeable with ports of call and embarkation ports- everything is customizable but I know of great hotels for each budget in the major embarkation cities, as well as what there is to do in most common places such as the Caribbean, cruise ports in Europe, and Alaska.

We pay RCCL directly, all charges show up on your credit card from RCCL, NOT us. I just do it on your behalf. 

I am unfamiliar with the travel agent certifications.  What are the CTC and MCC  certifications?  TY                

[JC Pats]

12 hours ago, Toby said:

I am unfamiliar with the travel agent certifications.  What are the CTC and MCC  certifications?  TY                

Certified Travel Counselor and Master Cruise Counselor 

[Sharla]

On 5/14/2022 at 9:19 AM, Toby said:

I am unfamiliar with the travel agent certifications.  What are the CTC and MCC  certifications?  TY                

Someone already answered but Certified Travel Counselor and Master Cruise Counselor. But thanks for reminding me, I never updated my signature here, I have the Certified Travel Industry Executive (CTIE) accreditation as well.