TA Advice

[ClockingOut]

After lurking for some time and watching the Tuesday Facebook lives, I have decided I want to try a TA. My only problem is that I already have 2 cruises booked. Can TA's come in after I have already booked the cruise and take over or do they only start from before the cruise has been booked? My concern is that, I love booking cruises, doing the research and weighing options so I don't know if I will enjoy having a TA. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

 

[PG Cruiser]

8 minutes ago, ClockingOut said:

After lurking for some time and watching the Tuesday Facebook lives, I have decided I want to try a TA. My only problem is that I already have 2 cruises booked. Can TA's come in after I have already booked the cruise and take over or do they only start from before the cruise has been booked? My concern is that, I love booking cruises, doing the research and weighing options so I don't know if I will enjoy having a TA. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. 

 

If I remember correctly, my first transaction with my TA was to transfer a booking to her. So yes, a TA can come in after you've already booked.

Like you, I also love booking cruises, doing the research and weighing options, but from experience, I can say that my TA, @StephanieH, has always found a (much) better deal than what I have found in my research.  Probably the only part I play is to ask her about "deals" I've seen in my cruise hunting.

[twangster]

Within 60 days of booking as long as it's not paid in full a new booking can be transferred to a TA.

There are some exceptions but that is the easy answer.  

I still do all the research and narrow down my choices right to a specific cabin.  I often book it myself on a refundable basis if I see something I really want then xfer it later and convert to NRD when I know I'm committed. 

[Hagar]

Since I don't take new customers I can answer this honestly. My best customer was in the same boat (pun intended) over a decade ago. He met me on a cruise, requested my business card, and waited over 6 months to reach out and "test" me. You do give up some control of your booking so you need to make sure you're choosing a proactive agent, not just an order taker. I do believe the benefits outweight the cons and this site certainly seems to have some stellar recommendations by actual users of their sponsor agency.

The transfer does have initial restrictions so here is the cut-n-paste info from Royal;

Bookings may only be transferred to a Travel Advisor up until 60 days from creation if the request is made outside of Final Payment period and the booking is not paid in full. If a booking has a ChoiceAir ticket and the transfer request involves a change in currency we cannot accommodate a transfer.

[Matt]

18 minutes ago, ClockingOut said:

My concern is that, I love booking cruises, doing the research and weighing options so I don't know if I will enjoy having a TA.

You can still do all of those things, minus the actual booking.

Booking means entering personal info, credit cards, etc.  I think the novelty of that is long gone.

You still get to do all the fun stuff, and then when you decide what you want, a quick text message or email to your TA and they book it for you.  In my opinion, it's the best of both worlds.

Some people actually book it themselves, and then transfer the reservation to the TA after.  It's an extra step, but if you really liked that sort of thing, you could do it.

[wordell1]

It has to be no more than 60 days. You may have to manage any that are over that until you catch up. 

I made the change to MEI recently and was able to move one of my 4 previously booked cruises. I'll have to finish out the others.  No regrets btw, I will definitely be using a travel agent for cruises moving forward.

[alamode123]

7 minutes ago, Matt said:

Some people actually book it themselves, and then transfer the reservation to the TA after.  It's an extra step, but if you really liked that sort of thing, you could do it.

This includes booking from NextCruise. I've booked cruises there and mentioned my TA when booking so they can get credit.

[wordell1]

8 minutes ago, Matt said:

You can still do all of those things, minus the actual booking.

Booking means entering personal info, credit cards, etc.  I think the novelty of that is long gone.

You still get to do all the fun stuff, and then when you decide what you want, a quick text message or email to your TA and they book it for you.  In my opinion, it's the best of both worlds.

Some people actually book it themselves, and then transfer the reservation to the TA after.  It's an extra step, but if you really liked that sort of thing, you could do it.

This, the biggest issue for me has been dealing with "issues" that have come up after booking. It has been a nightmare with all the cancelations.

[twangster]

In my experience the only thing you lose control over would be cabin selection if you are already booked and later see a more desirable cabin.  

In that one scenario you can't call Royal to change cabins, your TA must be engaged.

For this reason it's important to choose a TA that is backed by some sort of team that can assist when your TA is not available on a whim. Even TAs need to sleep.

Other than that you retain control over everything such as booking activities, entertainment and all cruise planner purchases. 

[alamode123]

8 minutes ago, wordell1 said:

This, the biggest issue for me has been dealing with "issues" that have come up after booking. It has been a nightmare with all the cancelations.

It's been mentioned on this blog all that MEI's Sharla did for us when Royal chartered our cruise less than 6 ,months out.

[Neesa]

29 minutes ago, alamode123 said:

It's been mentioned on this blog all that MEI's Sharla did for us when Royal chartered our cruise less than 6 ,months out.

@Sharla never SLEEPS!!!

[JeffB]

Here's some stuff I've learned over the last 20+y of cruising:

TAs have evolved with the evolution of the mechanics of booking by the cruise lines. It used to be much easier to find value in a cruise fare on your own or with the help of a TA than it is now. Much easier to compare apples to apples than it is now. The airlines did it first with computer programs that adjusted fares based on demand (dynamic pricing), every other travel & leisure related industry, including cruising, followed. It's harder now to shop fares independently and score a great price.

That's not to say TAs can do it better than you can independently. What they have access to that you don't is "group rates." Travel agencies are basically consolidators. They are outlets that cruise lines provide discounted, groups of cabins. I'm told the better an agency is in selling cabins, the more price grouped cabins the cruise lines give them.

Pricing can get complicated here with lower prices when demand for a particular cabin category is low and high when it's high. For example, it's not unusual to find a balcony stateroom cheaper than an OV or inside cabin when working with an agency that has gotten group rates from the cruise line. It's very much demand priced on the cruise lines end. You'll see it as what appears to be a good deal from a TA.  

There are what are called "Big Box" travel agencies, Costco, for example. TAs that work for them are on salary and probably a small commission thrown in. Smaller agencies, MEI for example, are, as I understand it, commission only. Here's how that plays out: Costco may offer a booking incentive in the form of a cabin credit or specialty dining credit. Let's say that RCL has given a group cabin rate for a 7n cruise of $800pp. It's offered to you for $1200. The agency pockets $400 or it may "give back" a $150 OBC and pockets $250. For salaried TAs the company pays that. For independent type TAs that comes out of the TAs pocket. The trade off for you is that while you may get a fat OBC to book with a "Big Box" agency, the service you get from an independent is almost universally better. 

So, for new cruisers using an independent TA like MEI have the benefit of excellent service (and I can personally attest to that) in finding the right cruise line, itinerary and cabin for you based on your schedule and budget. As one gains experience in cruising and has a flexible schedule, you can shop for cabin pricing with perks from a smaller agency, larger agencies or independent TAs. They're out there.  

Where a TA comes in handy is after booking changes you may want. Tell the TA, the TA is the one on hold with the cruise line CSR. Have a problem or want to add something to your cruise? Contact the TA. They'll take care of it. During the pandemic, having a TA has been invaluable for me. One of the reasons for that is they know who to talk to at line X,Y,Z and they also know what the response should be to a particular question. It's not unusual for you to call and get a CSR that doesn't have the current info. Hang up and call again and you might get a different answer. TAs KNOW!  A downside of the TA route, for example, is that you can't just call the cruise line to find out when you'll get your refund that you asked for. Only the TA that you booked through can do that. Out of the 7 cruises I've had changes to (9 if you count an initial booking changed twice by the cruise line) during the pandemic, two of them had issues (long story!): one missing refund and one missing an FCC voucher. This got quickly resolved by the TA who knew who to call at the cruise line via a conference call between the three of us. Took 5 minutes. Within 3d I had my FCC voucher and in a week all my refunds back to my credit card. Good show.   

[Linda R]

I love researching cruise options and other travel.  I always do my own research in selecting cruises.  Down to the ports, length in port, the cabin I prefer, etc.

Once I get it all together I call my travel agent and she books the reservation.  And she always seems to get me a better price too.  Mostly I love that after a cruise is booked she can help with coordinating and researching other aspects of the trip, and will deal with any changes and problems that may arise.  Sometimes I book my own flights or hotels and will send her the information.  She will add those costs to my travel insurance.  But mostly I pick flights I want and hotels and she books them, often at a better rate.   I often use freq flyer miles, and points with hotels.   The research on trips and viewing my options is fun for me to do, but when I am done, I hand it over to my TA.

I have had the same TA over 25 years.  They are worth their weight in gold.  She has saved me thousands overs the years and provides excellent service.