Jump to content

What to expect from travel agent


Recommended Posts

Hello- I know Matt always recommends a travel agent but my question is what should I expect.  My first ever cruise I found an agency that matched internet price but gave me some onboard credit. Since then I have used the same person for around 8 bookings and have also used that person to book for friends and family traveling with us.  Certainly we aren’t high rollers but have sent a decent flow toward the agent.  We have never had an issue or complaint but also never had any onboard credit, reduced fairs, or any other perks.  I have watched videos of one agency that gives you a welcome basket.  Should I begin to expect something extra or am I living in a dream world?  Also in my head I would sorta expect the agent to reach out occasionally to let us know of a deal or sale dates or something.  Can people please write in a typical experience?  Do you try out other agents or stick with one?  Maybe other related things I am not asking.  Thanks

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We booked thru Royal the first two cruises. No problems. Then we started booking thru an agent suggested by a co worker. About the only thing thing I expect is a reply to an email or phone call. With that being said he has texted from Antarctica and called from South America. I could call him right now, 6:30am on Saturday, and he would probably answer.  He usually has cookies or strawberries and wine sent  to our room. He has also called with good deals we might be interested in. That is good enough for us.  So we stay with the one agent.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How do they decide who gets their special travel agent rates? I figure there aren’t too many cabins available so are they giving them to their biggest spenders? There’s probably no point in getting one for me since I’m a solo, budget, no extras cruiser. I kind of expect them to not give me the best deals. Their value is in handling complex bookings which I don’t need at the moment.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, chopper said:

Hello- I know Matt always recommends a travel agent but my question is what should I expect.  My first ever cruise I found an agency that matched internet price but gave me some onboard credit. Since then I have used the same person for around 8 bookings and have also used that person to book for friends and family traveling with us.  Certainly we aren’t high rollers but have sent a decent flow toward the agent.  We have never had an issue or complaint but also never had any onboard credit, reduced fairs, or any other perks.  I have watched videos of one agency that gives you a welcome basket.  Should I begin to expect something extra or am I living in a dream world?  Also in my head I would sorta expect the agent to reach out occasionally to let us know of a deal or sale dates or something.  Can people please write in a typical experience?  Do you try out other agents or stick with one?  Maybe other related things I am not asking.  Thanks

The biggest thing is competency.  There are a lot of "amateur" agents out there.  Travel can get complicated, and I want someone that can help plan my vacation if needed, but most importantly deal with issues that can come up.

While a gift/credit of some kind from your agent can be nice - understand that it comes out of their commission.  I want my agent to be making money so I am happy to receive whatever thank you gift she may want to send, but I have no expectations.

With Cruises, there are a lot of issues that can come up.  A good travel agent knows the rules and can save you a lot of time in dealing with these issues.  This is my main reason for using an agent.

My Agent routinely checks the cruise price and gets any reductions that may be due.  Not all agents do this automatically - some you need to call them.

Another thing to point out is that you are not paying your TA.  They make a commission from Royal.  You are paying the same fare you would have paid if you book it yourself. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We only get special perks from our agent when we book a balcony room, but our agent does talk Royal into giving us the best deal possible for the rooms we want, which have varied from ocean view to balcony and now a junior suite on our next trip.  Royal usually provides $50 to $75 OBC.  We book over a year in advance to get the best rate.  We only got shafted by Royal once when they cancelled our Serenade cruise -- the new prices for a replacement cruise were higher than our "cheap" advance prices.

At any rate, what we want and get from our agent is service -- like negotiating with Royal on the cancelled cruise, arranging pre and post cruise accommodations or travel, dealing with airlines on lost luggage, and providing us options for travel insurance.  We are always reminded a couple of weeks in advance of final payment.

We don't expect our agent to check cruise prices to see if they drop -- that is our job, and usually the price online isn't real (it is for a less desirable room).  We have never found that our room prices actually dropped because we book so far in advance.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our agent will send out promotional emails for various cruise lines or destinations. She has handled all sorts of bookings, rebookings (due to price changes or schedule changes) and cancellations. She sent a swag package with items like lanyards and sanitizer, and she had chocolate strawberries delivered to our cabin. If she is not traveling herself, she will always respond within a few hours, even on the weekends. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have an awesome travel agent who is affiliated with MEI Travel.   
 

Both my wife and I are extremely thankful she was our advocate during our cancellations and reschedules over the past couple of years.  I cannot imagine if we had to navigate the shutdown without her.  
 

In addition, she responds to our emails fast and puts up with my stupid questions.  
 

In short, she is always there when we need something.  We feel like we are her sole focus, and to us, that’s priceless. 
 


 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow thank you for all the great responses!  It does sound like I may be missing out on some support and perks. I would rather not discuss the agent or agency I use now but does anyone have recommendations?  My person certainly does answer questions and responds but none of the above and beyond people have mentioned.  Maybe we aren’t big enough spenders.  Only done jr suite and balconies never a big suite.  I know grass is always greener but I would be thrilled with some of the extras others are writing about.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Travel agents can have access to group rates unavailable on Royal's website and in many cases some cabins are not in the inventory found on Royal's site but can be booked through an agent.  That was my experience in 2016 booking a loft suite on Oasis and for aft balconies on Odyssey in September 2021.  The Royal website didn't show any 4D aft balconies while my agent gave me several aft balconies I could pick from.  The public booking on the website couldn't get an aft balcony cabin.  

If you are seeking maximum goodies like free dinners or OBC that's fine.  You're a bargain shopper.  Nothing wrong with that but you are probably going to experience less service on your booking.  They may refuse to let you reprice because that cuts commission and they can't afford that given the perks you got.  They aren't going to be willing to invest a lot of hours on your booking as there isn't money in it for them.  You got what you paid for and shouldn't expect much help if things go off the rails.  This scenario often yields posts like "I'm never using a TA again" when things go wrong.

A good TA is passionate about their profession and eager to ensure you have a great vacation experience but good TAs need to make money so they don't always have things like OBC to offer.  Compared to paying the website rate on Royal's website or the same price for a good TA you will always be better booking through a good TA.  If all you are looking for is OBC or dinners then accept what are giving up in exchange for that.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks good points!  To be honest I am not sure what I want from the agent which is why I am asking.  The obc or discounted rate are obvious but one person mentioned support for booking hotels pre and post cruise or recommendations on excursions.  My current experience is we go on website spend hours finding a room email the agent asking to book.  Don’t really have much beyond that.  What made me start to question if I am getting the most was my recent cancelation from Royal.  My cruise was chartered and I had a Disney cruise planned first then was getting on the Royal.  I would have hoped the agent would help with finding a replacement cruise.  Instead we had to search all lines checking dates before and after to find we will get of Disney in Miami and drive to Fort Lauderdale to catch a cruise.  I hoped for more than your cruise was canceled.  The fact that she had booked the back to back she knew it was a bigger issue.  I wondered if I expected to much and that is why I was asking 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

One thing to remember....Royal Caribbean does not permit ANY travel agent/agency to offer a discount from a publicly published cruise fare rate other than a group booking which that agency may have independently negotiated.  So if an agent is telling you that they are giving you some kind of "special" rate not offered to the public, there is a slight of hand there, somewhere.  As I said, the group booking is the exception to that rule.  As @wordell1said, any kind of promotional bonus (gift baskets, OBC, free specialty dining, etc.) is coming directly out of the Agent's commission.  Now, a TA will have access to all of the current promos which may not be immediately apparent to someone looking at the website and that is absolutely a good thing....but the published rate will not change...only available promos (or a group rate).

I absolutely concur with @smokeybandit's post about the true value of a good agent being their personal service and NOT necessarily the small trinket that they throw to you on embarkation day.  Nothing could be more true this past 2.5 years when things were so dicey for cruisers.  I cannot imagine how much more I would have struggled with this tough situation had it not been for my awesome MEI agent (Michelle Cunningham @michelle).  There is a special place in heaven for these patient and thoughtful MEI agents for all they have been through these past 2.5 years.  

I used to be a "I will do it all myself" gal until I started using @michellewhen I was organizing a big group cruise.  BOY did I find out how much easier it was to have a strong advocate and I never looked back.  Yes, I love doing the "research" and there is nothing to keep you/me from doing that even if you have an agent working with you.  But when things go south - like they did in 2020, you will thank your lucky stars that you have someone on the other end pushing, while you are pulling.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, chopper said:

Wow thank you for all the great responses!  It does sound like I may be missing out on some support and perks. I would rather not discuss the agent or agency I use now but does anyone have recommendations?  My person certainly does answer questions and responds but none of the above and beyond people have mentioned.  Maybe we aren’t big enough spenders.  Only done jr suite and balconies never a big suite.  I know grass is always greener but I would be thrilled with some of the extras others are writing about.

I use MEI, which is a sponsor of the site. Many on here use the same.  You can locate them from the home page.  I would make sure you have a conversation with your agent about expectations.

Keep in mind that some use sites like Costco that offer great perks but are actually worse than booking yourself if you have any issues.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Sharla said:

Key word here occasionally! They aren't just handing those out.

Just like the 2-day GGG sale from a couple days ago. Sure these deals aren't constant but they sure can be worth keeping an eye out for.

I used a Friends & Family sale for the B2B I got off of yesterday and would have used a more recent one for a cruise in early September but our schedule did not allow for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, chopper said:

Thanks good points!  To be honest I am not sure what I want from the agent which is why I am asking.  The obc or discounted rate are obvious but one person mentioned support for booking hotels pre and post cruise or recommendations on excursions.  My current experience is we go on website spend hours finding a room email the agent asking to book.  Don’t really have much beyond that.  What made me start to question if I am getting the most was my recent cancelation from Royal.  My cruise was chartered and I had a Disney cruise planned first then was getting on the Royal.  I would have hoped the agent would help with finding a replacement cruise.  Instead we had to search all lines checking dates before and after to find we will get of Disney in Miami and drive to Fort Lauderdale to catch a cruise.  I hoped for more than your cruise was canceled.  The fact that she had booked the back to back she knew it was a bigger issue.  I wondered if I expected to much and that is why I was asking 

I think it is important to get to know your agent and allow your agent to get to know you. 

I remember when I was planning my honeymoon in 1996, and I had no idea what cruising was like or how to book a nice trip.  I went to a local agent and told her what I wanted -- a nice honeymoon in Spain, and with a ballpark figure to work with, she arranged all of the details from start to finish.  Now I am a more savvy traveler, but I still want someone to do the leg work, once I know where I am going.  Different people have different travel and planning needs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I booked my last RC cruise on my own, but thanks to you all and your advice I went with MEI for a girls trip I am helping to plan for next year. It’s been fantastic so far! Our agent responds promptly and told us she looks for price drops (we’re about a year out). I don’t expect anything on the ship from her, but it’s been helpful when I’m planning not just for my family to have an outside person helping. Bermuda here we come! 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...