Travel Agent Questions

[leesam82]

Hello All 

I am going to be using a travel agent for the first time for an upcoming sailing. Because this is the first time for me I had some questions to ask those who are more experienced. 

1) I know everyone on the message boards have espoused the advantages of using a TA. Overall I was under the impression that TAs can find better rates than if I were to just look online. Is that the case majority of the time? Are there any reasons not to utilize a TA? 

2) Everyone talks about transferring a booking to a TA. Can some one explain to me what that means exactly? Secondly can you transfer a booking from casino royale? 

3) If i transfer a casino royale booking to a TA would the TA be able to reprice for me through Casino royale? or would it go through the regular RCL bookings process. 

 

Thanks Again 

[MuttMutt]

I have found that the rates are pretty similar most of the time.  Maybe a few dollars here or there but not enough to say it is a must do type of thing.  The big advantage is that you have someone to deal with RCCL.  No need to sit on hold due to an issue or asking for a reprice.  In fact most of what I do with my TA is via email except when making a payment.

As for the rest lets say you go onto the Royal website and book something directly.  You have a certain amount of time to contact Royal and ask them to transfer it to your preferred TA so they can handle things as already stated instead of you dealing with it yourself.  As far as anything to do with Casino Royale I don't have a single clue but I am sure someone else will chime in.

[MDabney]

I agree with MuttMutt's comments on similar pricing between TA and RCI and having someone to deal with RCI on your behalf above.  However, another advantage of using a TA is that mine always has extra perks like additional TA Loyalty Club OBC based upon completed cruises through them or access to TA-negotiated group rates that may have lower rates, taxes or fees.  You can't really go wrong with using a TA imho.  Good luck.

[BrianB]

I always book and manage my reservations myself. That gives me the freedom to make any changes directly with Royal and not give up control of the booking.

However…I am retired and a bit of a control nerd. Every day I need to check and make sure I can take advantage of price drops or upgrades or even cabin changes (locations and/or categories). Also, I check every day to manage my Cruise Planner purchases ensuring I have the best price for what I bought. I’ve learned through experience and information shared by others, mostly on these forums, tips and tricks to help me get the best value for my money…such as not cancelling a Cruise Planner purchase for a lower price until after locking in the lower price. Every time I find a better deal for my cruise, I call Royal and have to deal with whatever agent answers…virtually all have been nice, considerate and professional…but (a BIG but)…sometimes different agents give different answers. Not that they don’t believe what they are saying, just sometimes they don’t have the right information, or misunderstand what I want. That’s another good tip learned here…if you don’t get the answer you know is right, call again and get another agent! No one is infallible. The issue with calling Royal is there is virtually always a long hold period. After speaking with an agent…I am put on hold while they confer with their ‘colleagues’ and eventually return. The average hold time for me is thirty minutes. I just put my phone on speaker and wait. Then there is the issue of FCCs, Cruise Planner credits, and refunds. These take the most time to deal with.

These are just some of the many time-consuming, and sometimes frustrating, tasks I need to perform just to manage one reservation. If I booked and didn’t constantly check, I would definitely be missing out on excellent opportunities to save money or take advantage of upgrades and sales. 

If I wasn’t such a control nerd, and didn’t have the time, I would definitely use a good TA. Let them handle all the work and stress. Plus, they sometimes give some extras like OBC or a gift in your cabin.

[steverk]

9 hours ago, leesam82 said:

Hello All 

I am going to be using a travel agent for the first time for an upcoming sailing. Because this is the first time for me I had some questions to ask those who are more experienced. 

1) I know everyone on the message boards have espoused the advantages of using a TA. Overall I was under the impression that TAs can find better rates than if I were to just look online. Is that the case majority of the time? Are there any reasons not to utilize a TA? 

2) Everyone talks about transferring a booking to a TA. Can some one explain to me what that means exactly? Secondly can you transfer a booking from casino royale? 

3) If i transfer a casino royale booking to a TA would the TA be able to reprice for me through Casino royale? or would it go through the regular RCL bookings process. 

 

Thanks Again 

Let me try to answer these to the best of my abilty.

1) My travel agent will try to put us in a group whenever possible.  These rates are slightly, but not dramatically, lower than what I could get from Royal.  The difference is usually not worth getting excited about.  Maybe $50 or so.  As far as reasons to not use a TA, let me give you an example.  My first TA was very slow about responding.  It took 3 months to get an invoice for the trip!  I called Royal and they wouldn't talk to me since I had the booking with a TA.  Since then, I've found a different TA and haven't had any issues.

2) Transferring the booking means that you called Royal and booked a cruise, but you want your TA to handle the booking.  Perhaps you just like your TA or perhaps they will give you a little perk.  Whatever the reason, you can transfer it if you act within a certain amount of time. Once they have the booking, it works exactly like it would if the booking had been made with them originally.

3) I don't gamble and don't have any answers for this question.

[WAAAYTOOO]

1.  As the others have suggested, a TA really cannot offer a reduced price on a Royal Caribbean cruise unless the booking is part of an Agency group.  Some of the bigger agencies will "hold" a number of cabins [normally in the lower categories] and lock in a somewhat reduced price with Royal.  Rarely do these reduced prices make enough of a difference for me to be interested.

2.  If you book a cruise yourself directly with Royal Caribbean, you can transfer that booking to a TA within 30 days (used to be 60 but they changed it recently).  NOTE:  Booking with one of the consolidator agencies (Expedia, Kayak, Priceline, etc.) is the SAME as booking with a travel agency....those agencies ARE travel agencies so if you book through one of them you will NOT be able to move your booking.

3.  Yes.  A casino booking can be moved to a TA but some of the conditions have changed in the past couple of years and casino bookings are no longer as attractive to travel agents as they once were.  Rather than actually holding the booking directly, a TA can only be listed as an associate (my term, not theirs.  Not sure what the actual term is) on the booking.  The TA will be able to access the booking, reprice, cancel, change cabins and/or categories, etc. but they are not the owners of the booking (the casino still holds the booking).  I believe the TA still receives some commission but it is not the full commission that they used to get.  I believe it is a flat fee but I'm not sure about that.  Also, be aware that many travel agents are not particularly skilled at dealing with the casino.  If you plan on booking casino deals and you want a TA to help you with that, I recommend you get someone who knows how to interact with the casino program.  As I mentioned, a lot of the rules for casino bookings have recently changed and it is to your advantage to use a TA that is aware of recent changes and knows how to negotiate the casino program whims.  If you manage to get all of that in place, booking casino offers is still a very good option.

[ChessE4]

10 hours ago, leesam82 said:

Hello All 

I am going to be using a travel agent for the first time for an upcoming sailing. Because this is the first time for me I had some questions to ask those who are more experienced. 

 

 

 

The main reason to use a Travel Agent is for service rather than price.  A good agent resolves problems for you.  Obviously, a mediocre agent won't do you much good, so shop around or use referrals from other members.

[teddy]

57 minutes ago, ChessE4 said:

The main reason to use a Travel Agent is for service rather than price.  A good agent resolves problems for you.  Obviously, a mediocre agent won't do you much good, so shop around or use referrals from other members.

This is our reason for using a travel agent. 
 

While we’re all about saving money, we don’t care if the price is the same.  What we put value on is the service we receive from our agent.  
 

Throughout the pandemic, the service (with our cruises) our agent has provided us has made things easy and stress free. 

[Geektastic]

My biggest pro for a TA is to do with the FCC and Cruise Cancelations. I've read enough posts here to see the headaches involved with not having a TA. We missed some OBC when she had to reschedule our cruise the last time and it was fixed in two days with no effort. I'm sure it's work on their end and they don't get additional compensation for dealing with it but it makes it something I'd keep booking my cruise with my TA.

I've never noticed that much of a price difference but I've only booked suites and I'm not trying to get the absolute lowest cruise possible. It's a privilege for sure but to me I'd rather go less than cruise in a cubicle because it's cheaper. I'm not an extrovert and I worked Call Centers and I need none of that. It really just depends on your goals and preferences.

Having worked call centers I don't wanna be on phones so happy to not save as much to have my TA do it.

You can also book Next Cruise and move it to your TA and it's pretty easy.

Not a gambler and cannot help with the casino stuff.

Edited December 12, 2021 by Geektastic
Re wording/clarify

[FionaMG]

4 hours ago, ChessE4 said:

The main reason to use a Travel Agent is for service rather than price.  A good agent resolves problems for you.  Obviously, a mediocre agent won't do you much good, so shop around or use referrals from other members.

 

3 hours ago, teddy said:

This is our reason for using a travel agent. 
 

While we’re all about saving money, we don’t care if the price is the same.  What we put value on is the service we receive from our agent.  
 

Throughout the pandemic, the service (with our cruises) our agent has provided us has made things easy and stress free. 

I totally agree. I used to be a TA myself in my younger days and I know how stressful it can be. I'm done with that now. While I could certainly handle all the details of my bookings myself, I'd far rather pay the going rate to work with an agent I can rely on to have my back if the brown stuff hits the fan than one who might give me some OBC or a bottle of wine but then not be there when I need assistance. 

[dee02554]

28 minutes ago, FionaMG said:

 

I totally agree. I used to be a TA myself in my younger days and I know how stressful it can be. I'm done with that now. While I could certainly handle all the details of my bookings myself, I'd far rather pay the going rate to work with an agent I can rely on to have my back if the brown stuff hits the fan than one who might give me some OBC or a bottle of wine but then not be there when I need assistance. 

I agree , a TA isn't for the easy stuff you could do your self , a TA is for the tough stuff you don't / can't handle 1000 miles from home on a cruise ship , in a foreign country when things go to caca . thats when a good TA is worth her weight in gold

[smokeybandit]

Think of a travel agent as a home warranty for your cruise reservation. You don't truly need them to buy the house, but if something happens to the house after you buy, the agent will do the work to fix it, not you.

Certainly a good TA can help you book and can be of great value in the booking process if you have special requests or needs.

[Larry Muster]

Looking for advice on how to properly recognize my WONDERFUL MEI Travel Agent for all the amazing work they do for me.  With everyone working from home I don't really have a way to send a gift or card.  Surely I'm not the only person who has thought of this.

[Matt]

1 hour ago, Larry Muster said:

Looking for advice on how to properly recognize my WONDERFUL MEI Travel Agent for all the amazing work they do for me.  With everyone working from home I don't really have a way to send a gift or card.  Surely I'm not the only person who has thought of this.

You could get an e-gift card