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Dumping your Travel Agent


DDD

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Hi!

Late December, I booked an Ovation Alaskan cruise for late May '22. I used a local agent who has many years of experience. He was very helpful.

But lately, he doesn't respond to emails when I have questions. If this continues, is there an avenue to change cruise agents?

Edited by DDD
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I just checked with Royal's FAQ and I can't find anything on your exact subject/situation.  However, I'm guessing that if you do fire one TA and hire another, just let the new TA handle it for you.  Or if you decide to take care of the remainder of your "hurry-up and wait" period yourself (the time between now and your embarkation), just call Royal and one of the "phone answerers" may or may not be able to help you with that.  That's my guess.  

Happy sailing to you!

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15 minutes ago, DDD said:

Thanks for the advice. I'm sure another agent would know what to do.

I'll give it some time. I admit to getting anxious in my "hurry-up and wait" period!

By the Way, there are many TAs in here that may be able to answer that for you.  They may be a little hesitant to do so, thought.  They many not want to seem like they are poaching. 🤭 

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45 minutes ago, jay1021 said:

By the Way, there are many TAs in here that may be able to answer that for you.  They may be a little hesitant to do so, thought.  They many not want to seem like they are poaching. 🤭 

Without a doubt. It's completely understandable.

7 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

You have to call Royal and tell them the TA is unresponsive and you want to take the booking back under your control. Then you become the person who has to contact Royal if anything needs to be done for that cruise. You won't be able to transfer it to another TA.

Good information. I'm very hesitant to contact Royal, so I'll give it a week or so to see if I get a response.

I'd prefer to transfer to another TA than to handle everything on my own.

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Yes, what AshleyDillo said!  However, one thing I'd do, is contact a TA and let him/her know what is/has happened and that you will become a very loyal and fruitful future customer it they are willing to help you with the already booked cruise.  If they want your business, they'd be willing to help.  But, that's just me!

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Yes, you can fire a travel agent. I wrote a very similar post awhile ago about my terrible TA who started dodging my calls/emails and dropped off the face of the earth. To claw back your reservation from royal, send an email to agencychanges@rccl.com. You will need your:

1) Booking #
2) Ship
3) Sail Date
4) Guests
5) Reason why I want it out of the TA and back to RCCL.

If you are past final payment, you will not be able to claw the reservation back. In my case, I had to pretty much beg my old TA to just cancel the reservation (This was during CWC, so I just took the FCC and booked a new cruise with a new TA).

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7 minutes ago, jupiter03 said:

Yes, you can fire a travel agent. I wrote a very similar post awhile ago about my terrible TA who started dodging my calls/emails and dropped off the face of the earth. To claw back your reservation from royal, send an email to agencychanges@rccl.com. You will need your:

1) Booking #
2) Ship
3) Sail Date
4) Guests
5) Reason why I want it out of the TA and back to RCCL.

If you are past final payment, you will not be able to claw the reservation back. In my case, I had to pretty much beg my old TA to just cancel the reservation (This was during CWC, so I just took the FCC and booked a new cruise with a new TA).

Great info !

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5 hours ago, jay1021 said:

Yes, what AshleyDillo said!  However, one thing I'd do, is contact a TA and let him/her know what is/has happened and that you will become a very loyal and fruitful future customer it they are willing to help you with the already booked cruise.  If they want your business, they'd be willing to help.  But, that's just me!

She won’t be able to give the booking to the new TA.  That TA wouldn’t be able to access her reservation and make changes/adjustments. Royal will know it is a booking that belongs to Royal too. She would have to call Royal direct to ask any questions or make adjustments.

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Royal will investigate a claim that an agency isn't doing their basic job pretty seriously.  The rules are designed to ensure that a guest isn't trying to jump ship and move to a different TA based on the latest offer they see posted on the internet.  "Look, that TA is offering a specialty dinner, let's move the booking" sort of thing.  

There are legitimate times when an agency or agent needs to be replaced and there are times when a guest is trying to chase the latest best perk they read about on social media.  I'm not saying that's the case here but that is why there are rules about these sort of issues.

Is the agent also the owner of the travel agency?  One option before going nuclear on Royal would be to contact the owner of the travel agency and seek another travel agent.  If a travel agency has an employee who is not doing their job they'll want to know about it.  

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3 hours ago, twangster said:

One option before going nuclear on Royal would be to contact the owner of the travel agency and seek another travel agent.  If a travel agency has an employee who is not doing their job they'll want to know about it.  

Exactly! We had a situation regarding a foul-up by a combo of our TA and RCCL regarding a 2020 FCC (I won’t lay out the specifics as it would sound long and insane). But in the end I emailed the owner of the rather large cruise TA group and miraculously the TA got busy and fast. The outcome was RCCL ended up refunding the FCC a year our from the original FCC (probably the only way to untangle the mess), but at least something got done. Sometimes lighting a fire under someone is needed 🔥

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If I was in a situation where my TA, employee or owner, wasn't providing the service I expect from a TA, my main purpose for "firing" the agent/firm would be to make sure they didn't get paid for the booking.  I'd just call Royal, let them know that I fired them and I'll take it from there.  I don't know if that would stop the payment to the TA or not.  But, that would be my goal.  

 

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So let me ask you this. Should a TA be checking on Royals prices and sales, to try to get you better deals on your room, once your room is already booked, or would that be my responsibility? I had to watch every day to get a room upgrade, or it never would of happened. I went from an interior to a balcony and only paid $75 dollars more. If I wouldn't of been watching, I would of missed it. Once my rooms were booked, I haven't heard anything from my TA.

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13 minutes ago, Ja-sun said:

So let me ask you this. Should a TA be checking on Royals prices and sales, to try to get you better deals on your room, once your room is already booked, or would that be my responsibility? I had to watch every day to get a room upgrade, or it never would of happened. I went from an interior to a balcony and only paid $75 dollars more. If I wouldn't of been watching, I would of missed it. Once my rooms were booked, I haven't heard anything from my TA.

MEI is unique in that they have a proprietary script that automatically monitors for price drops.  Most travel agencies do not check for price drops.  The onus is on you.

Upgrades is a difficult item to model.  For some people cabin location is so critical they might not entertain an a great upgrade deal if it means being up high or forward or aft.  Some people wouldn't or couldn't pay $10 for something while other people would and can pay $250 for the same thing.  The value of an upgrade is in the eye of the beholder.   This makes monitoring for an upgrade a lot more difficult to automate.   Again, the onus is on the guest as only you know what you are willing to do and absolutely refuse to do.  

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10 minutes ago, twangster said:

MEI is unique in that they have a proprietary script that automatically monitors for price drops.  Most travel agencies do not check for price drops.  The onus is on you.

Upgrades is a difficult item to model.  For some people cabin location is so critical they might not entertain an a great upgrade deal if it means being up high or forward or aft.  Some people wouldn't or couldn't pay $10 for something while other people would and can pay $250 for the same thing.  The value of an upgrade is in the eye of the beholder.   This makes monitoring for an upgrade a lot more difficult to automate.   Again, the onus is on the guest as only you know what you are willing to do and absolutely refuse to do.  

What is MEI?

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

MEI is unique in that they have a proprietary script that automatically monitors for price drops.  Most travel agencies do not check for price drops.  The onus is on you.

Upgrades is a difficult item to model.  For some people cabin location is so critical they might not entertain an a great upgrade deal if it means being up high or forward or aft.  Some people wouldn't or couldn't pay $10 for something while other people would and can pay $250 for the same thing.  The value of an upgrade is in the eye of the beholder.   This makes monitoring for an upgrade a lot more difficult to automate.   Again, the onus is on the guest as only you know what you are willing to do and absolutely refuse to do.  

Agreed.  However, and I don't know about MEI or too many other TAs, but if a TA or TA agency advertises "Full Service", I would expect "Full Service" which would include monitoring for price drops.  I don't know if TAs get paid by a % of the final cost of a ticket or how their commission is paid.  However, if they get paid by %, it is counter intuitive for them to WANT to monitor for price drops unless it is a key part of their business model,  heavily advertised, and brings in more business because of it.

JMHO

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13 minutes ago, jay1021 said:

I don't know if TAs get paid by a % of the final cost of a ticket or how their commission is paid.  However, if they get paid by %, it is counter intuitive for them to WANT to monitor for price drops unless it is a key part of their business model,  heavily advertised, and brings in more business because of it.

I know @Sharla has talked about this, but you're right. Lower price = less commission, but you have to remember the path for any TA to actually make money is not to book one cruise. They want you coming back and booking many trips.  When you have multiple clients booking multiple trips, then you have a good cash flow for the agent and that's where the real money is.  

So keeping you happy as a client and coming back is the ultimate goal for any agent to make money. Not lose sleep over a hundred dollars here or there on the fare.

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7 minutes ago, Matt said:

I know @Sharla has talked about this, but you're right. Lower price = less commission, but you have to remember the path for any TA to actually make money is not to book one cruise. They want you coming back and booking many trips.  When you have multiple clients booking multiple trips, then you have a good cash flow for the agent and that's where the real money is.  

So keeping you happy as a client and coming back is the ultimate goal for any agent to make money. Not lose sleep over a hundred dollars here or there on the fare.

Totally agree.  That's 100% true for those TAs with integrity and who look beyond their nose.  Unfortunately, like many other industries, there are far too many bad ones, ones that are only looking out for the bottom line TODAY.  I've read nothing but good about MEI and a couple others.  And I'm sure they do look out for their customer's best interest and their own.  It is apparent that MEI does look out for the best interest of their customers as they do, as reported, have software that can scan for price drops.  

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20 minutes ago, jay1021 said:

I don't know if TAs get paid by a % of the final cost of a ticket or how their commission is paid.  However, if they get paid by %, it is counter intuitive for them to WANT to monitor for price drops unless it is a key part of their business model,  heavily advertised, and brings in more business because of it.

They do get paid a percentage but what you really want to look for is a TA that is relationship based and not transaction based.  As @Matt said fostering the relationship is what drives the business back to these TAs that provide the full service.  Sure you can go to any .com out there and book a cruise, but those are wholesaler TAs that are transaction based and deal in volume and you may find that the customer service will suffer. 

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25 minutes ago, jay1021 said:

Agreed.  However, and I don't know about MEI or too many other TAs, but if a TA or TA agency advertises "Full Service", I would expect "Full Service" which would include monitoring for price drops.  I don't know if TAs get paid by a % of the final cost of a ticket or how their commission is paid.  However, if they get paid by %, it is counter intuitive for them to WANT to monitor for price drops unless it is a key part of their business model,  heavily advertised, and brings in more business because of it.

JMHO

Ask your TA.  If you are assuming they monitor for price drops, we all know what happens when you assume.  I've booked a decent number of cruises and have used multiple agencies over the years.  MEI Travel is the only one I have used that has a price drop algorithm that proactively watches for price drops.  

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6 minutes ago, AshleyDillo said:

They do get paid a percentage but what you really want to look for is a TA that is relationship based and not transaction based.  As @Matt said fostering the relationship is what drives the business back to these TAs that provide the full service.  Sure you can go to any .com out there and book a cruise, but those are wholesaler TAs that are transaction based and deal in volume and you may find that the customer service will suffer. 

That's exactly why I'm not too excited about the TA I use.  Like I said several times before, I use my TA agency because of the OBCs they offer, I'm getting $1,500.00 + on my Alaska cruise in 39 days.  When I called a well advertised "Hi End" TA that posts many many Youtube videos, and told him about the OBCs that my TA offers, he, the owner and face of the Youtube videos, got upset and just wanted to knock the other TA agency and wouldn't talk about any other benefits that I would realize if I used him/his agency.  One of his knocks on the agency I use was that, "they deal in quantity".  What I don't like about the agency that I use is that they are a huge entity, they apparently Only deal with Cruises, get it, and when you call, you may not be able to talk to the agent that you booked with.  They say that any agent can help.  Well, I like to talk to the agent I talked to originally, we established a relationship during that initial call.  If I do press the agents extension #, I get a recording that she isn't available and press X (?) to talk to an agent, then a recording says that that was an invalid number.  But, I'm getting $1,500.00 + in OBCs.  🥵

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3 hours ago, twangster said:

Ask your TA.  If you are assuming they monitor for price drops, we all know what happens when you assume.  I've booked a decent number of cruises and have used multiple agencies over the years.  MEI Travel is the only one I have used that has a price drop algorithm that proactively watches for price drops.  

I've asked and they usually say it's impossible.  I don't assume anything that involves thousands of my $$$$.  However, I do have expectations.  MEI may meet or exceed those expectations.  I actually wanted to go on Matt's group cruise, I misread the date as 2023 and started the booking process with MEI's  online, then noticed that it was actually for this year and I'm cruised-out for this year.  So, I had to cancel it.  But, the lady that emailed me seemed to be very nice, competent, and helpful.  

Who knows, one day I may be a convert.  🤪

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1 hour ago, Matt said:

I know @Sharla has talked about this, but you're right. Lower price = less commission, but you have to remember the path for any TA to actually make money is not to book one cruise. They want you coming back and booking many trips.  When you have multiple clients booking multiple trips, then you have a good cash flow for the agent and that's where the real money is.  

So keeping you happy as a client and coming back is the ultimate goal for any agent to make money. Not lose sleep over a hundred dollars here or there on the fare.

This is correct.

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3 hours ago, Ja-sun said:

So let me ask you this. Should a TA be checking on Royals prices and sales, to try to get you better deals on your room, once your room is already booked, or would that be my responsibility? I had to watch every day to get a room upgrade, or it never would of happened. I went from an interior to a balcony and only paid $75 dollars more. If I wouldn't of been watching, I would of missed it. Once my rooms were booked, I haven't heard anything from my TA.

I think it's a partnership. If you see a price drop, let the TA know! They may be checking on it anyway, but most things work best if we work together! I know we all try and be proactive with the drops, but sometimes I don't get to it as fast as the client does just based on the list I'm working through. 

As far as watching for upgrades, that's something you'd need to be more on top of I think. But we can make notes saying "will upgrade if it's $x" but we can't check daily for something like that. At least I can't. 

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1 hour ago, Matt said:

So keeping you happy as a client and coming back is the ultimate goal for any agent to make money. Not lose sleep over a hundred dollars here or there on the fare.

Right- I'd rather you have the best price, and the best price for you means more money for you to book another cruise. 

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2 hours ago, jay1021 said:

I've asked and they usually say it's impossible.  I don't assume anything that involves thousands of my $$$$.  However, I do have expectations.  MEI may meet or exceed those expectations.  I actually wanted to go on Matt's group tour, I misread the date as 2023 and started the booking process with MEI's  online, then noticed that it was actually for this year and I'm cruised-out for this year.  So, I had to cancel it.  But, the lady that emailed me seemed to be very nice, competent, and helpful.  

Who knows, one day I may be a convert.  🤪

This is why I chose my TA. For the OBC, but nothing like your getting. That's crazy. I might think about going on an Alaska cruise for that, but is it worth a crappy TA? I pretty much keep tabs on everything anyway, until I'm able to truly trust the TA. So I guess OBC is my reasoning for now.

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1 hour ago, Sharla said:

I think it's a partnership. If you see a price drop, let the TA know! They may be checking on it anyway, but most things work best if we work together! I know we all try and be proactive with the drops, but sometimes I don't get to it as fast as the client does just based on the list I'm working through. 

As far as watching for upgrades, that's something you'd need to be more on top of I think. But we can make notes saying "will upgrade if it's $x" but we can't check daily for something like that. At least I can't. 

This, @Sharla is an amazing partner. Early on in this thread I didn't even want to react for fear she would think I had designs on firing her! She has always secured me a better rate, no matter who finds it she always makes it happen. I could not do what she does, she makes me feel like I'm her only concern & for that and her I am grateful. OMG she has more then one of me, she is a super hero in my book!

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On 4/2/2022 at 4:05 PM, DDD said:

Hi!

Late December, I booked an Ovation Alaskan cruise for late May '22. I used a local agent who has many years of experience. He was very helpful.

But lately, he doesn't respond to emails when I have questions. If this continues, is there an avenue to change cruise agents?

Have a very similar situation going on.   Started out great, now I don't get emails or phone messages returned.  Figured I'd allow the reservations I have in place run their course, but started making direct bookings until I can find a TA who'll do their job.

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18 minutes ago, Ja-sun said:

 

This is why I chose my TA. For the OBC, but nothing like your getting. That's crazy. I might think about going on an Alaska cruise for that, but is it worth a crappy TA? I pretty much keep tabs on everything anyway, until I'm able to truly trust the TA. So I guess OBC is my reasoning for now.

This is not intended to "blow my own horn".  Not one bit, it's just for information purposes:

My cruise in 39 days is a Star Class cruise which costs over 20K before discounts.  The $1,500.00 is one OBC, we also get a $50.00 loyalty OBC (that's for being loyal to the TA agency), another 50.00 excursion OBC to be used, supposedly, to be used towards excursions (but, I've been told it can be used for anything).  We also get a $300.00 OBC from Royal. 

This is from my invoice from my TA agency:

  • LOYALTY CLUB BONUS GOLD PACKAGE WITH $50 ONBOARD CREDIT
    Number of Offers: 1
     
    From: WTH/ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUIS
     
    Date: January 07, 2020
    Offers only valid for new, per-stateroom cruise bookings made on or after 2/1/17. $50 Onboard Credit only valid on select cruise lines. Onboard credit has no cash value, is not redeemable for cash, is not transferable, and will expire if not used on or before final night of cruise. $50 Excursion Coupon is valid for select destinations and must be used at least 4 days before departure on brand's excursion site to avoid rush charges. $50 Resort For A Day voucher is valid 60 days only, valid on select destinations, and valid on deposit. Shore excursion coupon and Resort For A Day vouchers will be sent to email address on file after final payment is received. To advance in reward tiers passenger must be the same person traveling specified minimum number of sailings to qualify. See our website for details.
     
  • $1,500 TO SPEND ON BOARD - REDEMPTION FORM SUBMISSION RECEIVED
    Number of Offers: 1
     
    From: WTH/ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUIS
     
    $150.00 OBC
    Number of Offers: 2
     
    From: ROYAL CARIBBEAN CRUISES
     
    I believe, all totaled, we have over $1,800.00 in OBCs.  It could be a little hard to use it all as Star Class is virtually all inclusive.  I guess we can use some of it on excursions and some in the casino.  On second thought, there is no problem using it.
     
    Conversely, we have a cruise booked in November that is not Star Class.  We are getting about $150 to $200 in OBCs.  But, we do have about $500.00 in reward points from Royal Caribbean Bank of America C.C.  
     

 

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@jay1021 this occurred ( additional OBC) with my previous sailing my one and only probably for a while Star class. I went to guest services and added additional gratuity for some crew members. It was notated on my final bill and I gave the individuals little notes so they knew. I took pics of name tags and wrote specifically who I wanted it to go to, I followed up and the recipient's did in fact say they would receive the additional funds.

 

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1 hour ago, Neesa said:

@jay1021 this occurred ( additional OBC) with my previous sailing my one and only probably for a while Star class. I went to guest services and added additional gratuity for some crew members. It was notated on my final bill and I gave the individuals little notes so they knew. I took pics of name tags and wrote specifically who I wanted it to go to, I followed up and the recipient's did in fact say they would receive the additional funds.

 

Fantastic idea.  I'll be doing that!

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Based upon the posts in this forum by MEI agent(s) and the email response I receive from an agent, wish I could remember her name, to my almost booking with MEI, I'll be calling in the future.  Well done, MEI, well done!  

Your number is BR549, right! 😉  Sorry if you're too young to know what that is!

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4 hours ago, cruisellama said:

Have a very similar situation going on.   Started out great, now I don't get emails or phone messages returned.  Figured I'd allow the reservations I have in place run their course, but started making direct bookings until I can find a TA who'll do their job.

I think I'll do the same. It's just strange. I actually thought he may have been taken ill and called to check on his welfare. I'm going to schedule an in-person visit real soon instead of attempting to converse by email.

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1 hour ago, jay1021 said:

Based upon the posts in this forum by MEI agent(s) and the email response I receive from an agent, wish I could remember her name, to my almost booking with MEI, I'll be calling in the future.  Well done, MEI, well done!  

Your number is BR549, right! 😉  Sorry if you're too young to know what that is!

 

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