Why should we switch to a travel agent

[chrismelissa]

Hello all, We have been cruising on Royal Caribbean for almost 20 years now. We have always made our own reservations cruise & air all this time, lately  we been hearing that we should use a GOOD travel to make all our arrangements for us, in all our trips we have never had any problems, can a travel agent save us more money , or do they have better deals that we cant get thru the RC website, we Diamond level at the Crown & Anchor Society, we currently have 2 cruises booked thru RC, please explain to us why we should switch to a agent for our next trip . 

[12thman]

This has been my experience using a TA. Recently I had to move a cruise to a future date and there are FCC's involved, plus I had a hold on the particular suite I wanted this switched to. My TA had to call RC and work with the agent for over 45 minutes (RC has outsourced some or all of it's call centers I don't call so I don't know it's what my TA told me) but she had to give up because this agent didn't know how to do what she was asking. She called again in the morning working with another agent and got it squared away. This saved me all that time and frustration in doing it myself. Also, the MEI TA does have software that lets the TA know when there's a price drop in my particular fare and she reprices it automatically. Can you hold a particular room/suite yourself for 7 days while you decide if that's the cruise you want to do? I haven't found a way to do this. @Matt mention in one of his videos that he got a lower price for a cruise because his TA was able to get him a group rate that's not available to the public I'm assuming. If you don't mind spending time on the phone with RC when there's an issue with your cruise or constantly checking for the best price then maybe you don't need a TA. I'm too busy to do that and it costs me nothing. RC pays my TA via commission to do this for me. 

[Ryan79]

I’m a very recent convert to using a TA and the only time I really “needed” him, he really came through. I have two reservations that I wanted to move the cabin to a different location and type. This would have taken who knows how long on hold with RC and they would have needed to speak to me and the person named in the other reservation….which is a pain. My TA had this taken care of 100% with a 2 line email and within 10 minutes. So while a TA may not be necessary all of the time on reservations with no issues and no changes, they pay off BIG when there are issues. With that said, I do not like not being able to make payments online when booked with a TA. 

[smokeybandit]

For the experienced cruiser the benefit of a TA isn't to book the cruise, but to take care of anything that comes up after you book. Which hopefully is nothing, but when it's something, it's good to have a reliable liason to do the dirty work

[DoomSlayer]

Lots of travel agents offer incentives for you booking with them too. I have received extra OBC from mine on several occasions. 

[ChessE4]

We had an air cruise land trip to NZ and Australia. TA handled our visa applications in addition to other travel arrangements. She also helped us track lost luggage. We also get some OBC as mentioned.

[Traveling Mike]

I do not think you need a travel agent.  You know what you are doing and what you want.  I book all of my own stuff with the cruise line then move it to Costco for the rebate they give me.  It is nice to get the Costco card after my cruise.  

[RCIFanatic]

Sorry to hijack your thread! 

Would a TA make any sense when it comes to comped cruises via Casino Royale? More specifically, do TA’s receive any commission from these comped cruise bookings and if they do, are they reduced commission? (In other words, do they have any incentive to help those with comped cruises)

[DoomSlayer]

2 hours ago, RCIFanatic said:

Sorry to hijack your thread! 

Would a TA make any sense when it comes to comped cruises via Casino Royale? More specifically, do TA’s receive any commission from these comped cruise bookings and if they do, are they reduced commission? (In other words, do they have any incentive to help those with comped cruises)

You can use a TA for comp cruises, but they will not receive much commission. I personally do use my TA for these, but he also does my business travel too which kind of makes up for it. 

[WAAAYTOOO]

3 hours ago, RCIFanatic said:

Sorry to hijack your thread! 

Would a TA make any sense when it comes to comped cruises via Casino Royale? More specifically, do TA’s receive any commission from these comped cruise bookings and if they do, are they reduced commission? (In other words, do they have any incentive to help those with comped cruises)

My TA used to handle all of my casino comps but since the restart, the commission paid to TAs is an insult.  Even though my TA offers EVERY time to take care of this for me, I never bother her with my casino nonsense anymore.  Not only do they get almost no commission, but it is difficult (depending upon who you work with) to get the comps moved over to a TA.  Sometimes (but usually not) the Next Cruise agent will assign the booking to the TA of record but I have had them refuse to assign the booking to the TA of record. Then, you have to take care of that once you are home and that is almost always a hassle.  It's just easier to do it yourself.  I think the commission on a casino comp is $25 flat fee regardless of whether you upgrade or not.  Pitiful.

[nickpants]

My TA saved me $4.5k off list price of my 11 night Celebrity beyond Med cruise. (Website quoted me 11.5k, she got it for 7k. drinks and wifi included +$800 OBC) Even on cheap 3 night cruises she's always at least $100 below website list.

I'll never book direct again.

[plethera1]

As others have said, I used mine to get the OBC.  With that said, I did book cruises that were cancelled due to covid and it was so nice to not have to deal with that headache.  My TA was able to make changes and eventually cancel my cruises for me without me having to be on the phone for a long time....just took a simple email.  So I agree with others when they say you really don't need one that much until you have an issue.

[RCIFanatic]

@WAAAYTOOO

@DoomSlayer

 

That’s really unfortunate especially if there are upgrades involved. I guess I won’t bother a TA then for future casino comp cruise bookings. Thanks again for your response!

[PL8SWPR]

Was able to get an interior room for our kids, refundable deposit, for about $200 less than a non refundable GTY a couple months ago with MEI.

Then just had to make some changes that impacted both rooms.  Simple email to the TA and it was done.

This is our first TA booked trip, 4 prior were direct bookings.  We will continue to us a TA.

[barbeyg]

We have, for years, booked our own cruises.  I enjoy the planning aspect of cruises, but not dealing with issues, and recently have had a few issues I sat on the phone over an hour for.

We decided to try TA a friend highly recommends. Not only have we gotten excellent, and swift, service, we received a great group rate on one cruise (plus onboard credit), we also got a very nice onboard credit for a suite we booked thru him.  I’ve decided that, as we move into retirement, I will book our land vacations and travel to and from a cruise, because I enjoy it.  But booking the cruise itself thru our TA saves us $$ we can spend on future cruises. AND he will deal with the odds and ends of issues.

[Al Miller]

It seems to me if you've been booking your own stuff for a long time, then you probably have a good idea what is involved in any change you might need to make. Some folks have a very detail-oriented personality and don't get frustrated very easily. So far I've never had a problem with any cruise I've booked, but if I did, I know I would not have much patience in dealing with third party customer support. So for me it's worth using a TA just in case. It's no more money and its no more work on my end. And I occasionally get some surprise OBC. Which is nice.

This is a similar discussion to the question "Do I need a passport?" and "Do I need travel Insurance?" You don't need it until you need it.

[SpeedNoodles]

54 minutes ago, Al Miller said:

This is a similar discussion to the question "Do I need a passport?" and "Do I need travel Insurance?" You don't need it until you need it.

Exactly.  Last year due to a Cruise Planner issue (a technical issue, not of my doing), my Alaska sailing got canceled 30 days prior to sailing.  Just....gone.  The amount of time and expertise it took for my TA (thank you @michelle and @Beci) was unbelievable.  And this was all over Mother's Day weekend.  I would not have had the time (as I worked all weekend) or the knowledge to reinstate this sailing and all cruise planner purchases (without losing any money).

I will never sail without a TA.  They are worth their weight in gold, and then some.

[SewerUrchin43]

I tried using a popular TA company on the Blog for our next cruise, but after numerous times trying to reach the TA that responded to my initial email I never got a response back so I just booked it myself. After reading some of these posts I think I will give them another shot for our next cruise

[Xaa]

23 minutes ago, SewerUrchin43 said:

I tried using a popular TA company on the Blog for our next cruise, but after numerous times trying to reach the TA that responded to my initial email I never got a response back so I just booked it myself. After reading some of these posts I think I will give them another shot for our next cruise

I think you should @SewerUrchin43.  I'm tagging in @Sara_MEI to help make sure you get the traction.

[Sara_MEI]

Hi @SewerUrchin43

I’m sorry you had trouble communicating with your agent! Chances are good this was a spam filter issue (they are the bane of my existence!), but I would be happy to look into it for you. Please email me at [email protected], and I would love for you to give us another chance! 

[Beci]

2 hours ago, SewerUrchin43 said:

I tried using a popular TA company on the Blog for our next cruise, but after numerous times trying to reach the TA that responded to my initial email I never got a response back so I just booked it myself. After reading some of these posts I think I will give them another shot for our next cruise

Thank you so much for posting and letting us know you have had an issue.  We apologize that you didn't receive the service we are so well known to provide.  As @Sara_MEI said,  in these cases we have found spam filters tend to interfere and we would welcome the chance to make it right.  I am headed to a cruise today. so please email [email protected] and we will diagnose the issue and connect you with a Travel advisor. 

Please always feel free to reach out to either of us directly if you have any difficulties communicating with MEI-Travel. We are happy to help! 

 

[Beci]

2 hours ago, Xaa said:

I think you should @SewerUrchin43.  I'm tagging in @Sara_MEI to help make sure you get the traction.

Thank you so much @Xaa!   We appreciate the opportunity to address any issues and appreciate you for the tags! 

[tjcruisers]

I think our first cruise on Royal I did via the website, after that we went with our TA.

We have a few reason:

- While we know which cruise we want to go on,we tell him and he calls us back when it's all booked. He knows what we like and he does all grunt work on phone. The time saved on our side is worth it.

- There are perks with his company giving OBC, free specialty dining, etc.

- He seems to have access to codes that the general public don't. A few examples, in one case RCL was advertising the 30% discount, but in his system there was another code, he tried that one and it turned it into 50% discount, ended up saving us like $1,000. Last cruise he tried a bunch a things and got us $500 OBC

[Ann Wheeler]

@Sara_MEI @Beci i so appreciate you both responding to the reply about having problems with communicating with a TA.  I am also having an issue, but it only started AFTER I booked my next 2 cruises with her. We've always booked ourselves in past but after finding RCB I used the form to reach out.  Heard back quickly from an MEI TA & she was very helpful & responsive right away. But I emailed 3 times this past week about an issue with an extra charge (which I'm actually ok with but am trying to find out which sailing it was applied to since it's only showing on my CC but not on either of my MEI Invoices). And since I want to set up monthly payments, I need an answer so I can figure out the amount to get this December's cruise payment amounts calculated to have it paid off by final payment date. Can 1 of you help me?  TIA

[Sara_MEI]

Hi @SewerUrchin43

I’m sorry you had trouble communicating with your agent! Chances are good this was a spam filter issue (they are the bane of my existence!), but I would be happy to look into it for you. Please email me at [email protected], and I would love for you to give us another chance! 

[Sara_MEI]

@Ann Wheeler Email me at [email protected] and I will be happy to reconnect you and get an answer for you! 

[SewerUrchin43]

10 hours ago, Sara_MEI said:

Hi @SewerUrchin43

I’m sorry you had trouble communicating with your agent! Chances are good this was a spam filter issue (they are the bane of my existence!), but I would be happy to look into it for you. Please email me at [email protected], and I would love for you to give us another chance! 

Thank you all that responded to my post! I wasn’t expecting that. I sent an email to you and looking forward using a TA for the first time….. agin. Lol

[barbeyg]

On 4/15/2023 at 4:33 AM, SewerUrchin43 said:

I tried using a popular TA company on the Blog for our next cruise, but after numerous times trying to reach the TA that responded to my initial email I never got a response back so I just booked it myself. After reading some of these posts I think I will give them another shot for our next cruise

I had a really poor TA experience once, and that jaded me on TAs.  Plus, I really enjoy travel planning.  I research like crazy (enjoy the research almost as much as the actual travel), and friends even come to me for input on their travels. But, we will be retiring next year, and I have transportation choices to make for a TA, land choices for Europe, and that is only our first big cruise after early retirement. We also booked a cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii. Lots of great travel decisions to make anyway.

My advice from someone who had a poor TA experience? Watch what other have to say here, and any other online forum you trust. Find a TA that is really responsive to clients, or whose client raves about them. I don’t do the big box stores because I like the personal attention that comes from agents I have seen here and on CC.  There are several here I would use as well as the TA I am using that is on CC. 

Good luck!

[Sara_MEI]

@Ann Wheeler It sounds like your agent (and the agent covering for her during travel) were able to get you sorted out! Please feel free to reach out to me if you have any other issues. Thanks!

[jeffmw]

We've done both. My issue is that once the TA books the cruise you (the customer/passenger) cannot do ANYTHING to adjust the reservation. Royal will not talk to you. It HAS to go through the agent. For someone adept at booking and making my own plans, that's a limitation I don't need. 

My advice is, if you don't know how to book a cruise and find a good sailing and price and you're not Internet savvy, I think a TA is a good idea.

If you understand how to look online to find a sailing, browse prices and cabins, etc. I don't think it's necessary. 

 

[Xaa]

I think a TA often also has savings from group rates and may give OBC as well.  On my last two cruises, TA saved me $700 on one plus some OBC and $1800 on the other also with some OBC because they had group rates (both Oceanview Balcony).  The cabins we book with more than 2 passengers though are always a wash on price but we still generally get some OBC.  Never a group rate to be had on those.

[Rogillioville]

Travel Agents often have the ability to book you into groups to save you money because they are holding spots from when the price was better.   The best part of using a good travel agent is knowing you a supporting a local small business owner.   

Not all travel agents are created equal.    Find a good one that will do their best for you.   

[michelle]

On 4/14/2023 at 10:38 PM, SpeedNoodles said:

Exactly.  Last year due to a Cruise Planner issue (a technical issue, not of my doing), my Alaska sailing got canceled 30 days prior to sailing.  Just....gone.  The amount of time and expertise it took for my TA (thank you @michelle and @Beci) was unbelievable.  And this was all over Mother's Day weekend.  I would not have had the time (as I worked all weekend) or the knowledge to reinstate this sailing and all cruise planner purchases (without losing any money).

I will never sail without a TA.  They are worth their weight in gold, and then some.

thanks and may was that 1 year ago?

 

[SpeedNoodles]

37 minutes ago, michelle said:

thanks and may was that 1 year ago?

 

It was!

[dustfsu]

One reason and one reason only, they are FREE! And save you money and hassle of things. But they are free

[Ampurp85]

10 hours ago, dustfsu said:

One reason and one reason only, they are FREE! And save you money and hassle of things. But they are free

Not all travel agents are free. 

[BrianB]

@Sara_MEI  What is the time limit for switching a booking I made myself, or via NextCruise, to a TA? 30 days from the initial booking?

[WAAAYTOOO]

1 hour ago, BrianB said:

30 days from the initial booking?

Not Sara, but yes.  

[dustfsu]

3 hours ago, Ampurp85 said:

Not all travel agents are free. 

Well if you use the ones that charge a fee then that's on you.  Most of them don't like MEI and the one my parent's use

[Ampurp85]

16 minutes ago, dustfsu said:

Well if you use the ones that charge a fee then that's on you.  Most of them don't like MEI and the one my parent's use

I'm just pointing it out that TAs aren't a blanket of free. You will get some that have fees. So it's better in this type of forum to clarify this applies to maybe half but mostly importantly the sponsors of this blog MEI.