ThreeDaughters Posted January 20 Report Share Posted January 20 Hello, I’ve been researching for our first cruise (family of 5, 3 kids ages 9-13). At this point I’d like to engage with a couple of travel agents to get some price quotes and recommendations. Can anyone help me find some reputable TAs who specialize in RC cruises? Thank you!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpeedNoodles Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 MANY of us use M.E.I. Travel. They are a sponsor of this website, but they are an amazing team. You can fill out the yellow form on the main page of www.royalcaribbeanblog.com and someone will get back to you! Ryan79, Sharla, markinct and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrinkm Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 Hi @ThreeDaughters! I *think* I just directed you over here from the "other" board? I have the same username over there. I also use MEI and have had a fantastic experience with them. Ryan79 and ThreeDaughters 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan79 Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 MEI gets yet another vote from a very happy customer CruiseGus, markinct and ThreeDaughters 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 "Best" is subjective. Some people try to find the TA that offers the most OBC or other perks. Some people value service and being able to interact with a TA on an on going basis over time. In my experience booking nearly 100 cruises with one TA or another is that chasing the best perks works okay until there is an issue and you need a TA to invest time to address the issue. It seems the TAs that give the most perks don't have a lot of money for them in these bookings. They often don't have time to invest in servicing bookings, their focus is achieving mass numbers of bookings. As a result you suffer when things don't go perfectly. Finding the best TA for me took some time. I've had some less knowledgeable TAs to work through before finding one that worked well for my needs. The best one for me resulted in a long term relationship where that TA came to know me and the types of cruising I was interested in. With several cruises behind us she learned me and started to offer cruises she thought I might be interested in. WAAAYTOOO, Gilley, fireclan and 3 others 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_Texas Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 I’ve had 3 different TAs but have settled on MEI as the best for my RCL cruises. ThreeDaughters 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThreeDaughters Posted January 21 Author Report Share Posted January 21 9 hours ago, jbrinkm said: Hi @ThreeDaughters! I *think* I just directed you over here from the "other" board? I have the same username over there. I also use MEI and have had a fantastic experience with them. Yes! It was me . Thank you so much! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tjcruisers Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 Depends on what you mean by "best". Ourselves we wanted someone we wanted somehow who provides great service who we can trust. Might not get as many "perks" but they know what we want and offer helpful suggestions WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckruetze Posted January 21 Report Share Posted January 21 I would go for a TA from your country of residence. And then just listen to what other people use. But just because something is the best for one person it might not be the best for you. Maybe best is the one who finds you the cheapest price or maybe best is the one who doesn't need so much input from you or best is ... So keep that in mind and also think about what you consider best or what services you want and then read from what other peoples experiences were. But please whoever you find and go with report back if it was the "best" for you so that other people can learn from it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AOlivr Posted January 23 Report Share Posted January 23 I work with a mother/daughter team at Cruise Planners. I like working with them, and they always can get me a much better group rate than what I can book on my own. I met the daughter on our last pre-pandemic cruise (in 2019) and we really enjoyed getting to know her and her husband (we were seated at the same table in the MDR for dinner quite by coincidence). Before meeting her I had no idea the benefits of using a TA, but I wouldn't do it on my own now that I know the difference. OCSC Mike and WAAAYTOOO 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCSC Mike Posted January 23 Report Share Posted January 23 41 minutes ago, AOlivr said: Before meeting her I had no idea the benefits of using a TA, but I wouldn't do it on my own now that I know the difference. I didn't meet a TA in person but I went through the same thing once prices increased and I sought out how to get better deals. Now I wouldn't book without my TA group rates (unless it's from the GGG sale or some other last minute deal). AOlivr 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom Cruise Posted January 25 Report Share Posted January 25 Do people from the UK use MEI as a travel agent? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 26 Report Share Posted January 26 19 hours ago, Thom Cruise said: Do people from the UK use MEI as a travel agent? They can, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrismelissa Posted January 29 Report Share Posted January 29 We use MEI Travel they are the best WAAAYTOOO 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markinct Posted January 30 Report Share Posted January 30 On 1/20/2024 at 6:10 PM, ThreeDaughters said: Hello, I’ve been researching for our first cruise (family of 5, 3 kids ages 9-13). At this point I’d like to engage with a couple of travel agents to get some price quotes and recommendations. Can anyone help me find some reputable TAs who specialize in RC cruises? Thank you!! You may have to work with a couple of different TAs before you find a person who's a good fit for you. That said, add my vote for MEI. We've been working with @michelle from MEI since 2019, and she's great. She helped us navigate the ups and downs of having an Alaska cruise get cancelled/rescheduled/cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020/2021. WAAAYTOOO and jbrinkm 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 Borrowing this topic to ask a question I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to... So...after some begging, arm-twisting and flattering, my mom and I have managed to convince some family to join us on a cruise next year and while I'm pretty well versed in handling a standard 2-person reservation, I have some concerns about a linked multi-room, multi c&a status reservation. We do already have a TA service but it's one that we got because of the perks (OBC and spa & dining vouchers every time) and I've been on here enough to get the idea that a TA with a lot of perks isn't as customer focused as one that has no or less perks. BUT...is there a magical place where I can find someone who does both? We only cruise once a year and save up for it so OBC and those vouchers are really important to us as they let us stretch our dollars to enjoy the experience more and stress less. Couple that with bringing people on their first cruise and we want to make sure they don't dislike the experience because of cost limitations. So the question...anyone have any TA recommendations that can give me both great customer-focused experience AND great perks? (And just to say, I have no problem or issue with our current TA service and have even recommended it to people on here. I'm just building a net of options in the event I think it's more than our agent at that place can handle.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJones Posted February 6 Report Share Posted February 6 @CrimsonCruiser I don't have an actual answer for your question, but unless you're booking 6+ rooms, you might be overthinking the complexity. You can link the rooms yourself in the cruise planner once you have the reservation numbers. If everyone knows their C&A number and level, it should be fairly easy to send that to your current TA. I could be overlooking something, so hopefully a TA on the boards here will chime in. CrimsonCruiser 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eighty8 Posted February 7 Report Share Posted February 7 20 hours ago, CrimsonCruiser said: Borrowing this topic to ask a question I'm pretty sure I already know the answer to... So...after some begging, arm-twisting and flattering, my mom and I have managed to convince some family to join us on a cruise next year and while I'm pretty well versed in handling a standard 2-person reservation, I have some concerns about a linked multi-room, multi c&a status reservation. We do already have a TA service but it's one that we got because of the perks (OBC and spa & dining vouchers every time) and I've been on here enough to get the idea that a TA with a lot of perks isn't as customer focused as one that has no or less perks. BUT...is there a magical place where I can find someone who does both? We only cruise once a year and save up for it so OBC and those vouchers are really important to us as they let us stretch our dollars to enjoy the experience more and stress less. Couple that with bringing people on their first cruise and we want to make sure they don't dislike the experience because of cost limitations. So the question...anyone have any TA recommendations that can give me both great customer-focused experience AND great perks? (And just to say, I have no problem or issue with our current TA service and have even recommended it to people on here. I'm just building a net of options in the event I think it's more than our agent at that place can handle.) Unless this is some elaborate trip overseas with a huge group and a lot of coordination with flights, cruises, etc....I would just use any competent one with good reviews that gives you the best deal. This is booking a cruise, not brain surgery. Things like linking reservations and looking up a C&A number is pretty baseline competency that anyone should be able to do. I only use a TA to get the best possible rates. They don't really do anything beyond that for me. markinct and CrimsonCruiser 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markinct Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 On 2/7/2024 at 8:52 AM, Eighty8 said: I only use a TA to get the best possible rates. They don't really do anything beyond that for me. That ALONE makes your TA worth the extra steps/e-mails. With the exception of the COVID shutdown, I haven't had problems. But it's nice to know there's someone I can call if things get craptastic. OCSC Mike 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RCIfan1912 Posted February 8 Report Share Posted February 8 We use Matt Hoffman who has a YouTube channel, Hoffman travels and he has been absolutely amazing. This guy or his assistant answers emails within minutes. He was sailing on Icon and changed the cabin we are in on Liberty in October. His assistant responded, then he responded and we upgraded to a bigger cabin. There are lots of great ones out there in sure. CrimsonCruiser and markinct 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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