bkirkham Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 I recently booked a cruise on the Navigator of the Seas through the RCCI site. I have seen that I can transfer my booking to a travel agent. Has anyone done this? What would be the benefit? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 11, 2015 Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 I've done this before. The primary reason to transfer to a travel agent is to have someone assist you on a more personal level with the booking. In addition, some TAs will offer you booking incentives for doing so (onboard credit). This goes back to a larger discussion of to use a TA or not. Personally, I always use one. Hope this helps! bkirkham 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkirkham Posted January 11, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2015 Matt, I love to look at prices on line and see if there are any better deals. But to be honest we are going to have to fly to Houston then get transportation to the port in Galveston. So I am thinking about moving our booking to a travel agent for that purpose. We booked December 28th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 12, 2015 Report Share Posted January 12, 2015 Matt, I love to look at prices on line and see if there are any better deals. But to be honest we are going to have to fly to Houston then get transportation to the port in Galveston. So I am thinking about moving our booking to a travel agent for that purpose. We booked December 28th. I always look to see if there's a price drop and then have my TA handle calling RC to re-adjust the price. I figure, let them deal with the hold times and the "paper work"! I'll be honest, not sure what value a TA will give you for a cruise out of Galveston. I mean, what are you looking to get from a TA for that particular purpose? Most TAs wont even touch domestic airfare since the airlines don't pay them anymore and if you're looking for Galveston advice, unless that TA has done a lot of Galveston cruises, you'd get great advice by message boards like this and googling. I'm a big TA fan but I also dont want to sour your TA experience if you're looking for something they don't really offer. bkirkham 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkirkham Posted January 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 I always look to see if there's a price drop and then have my TA handle calling RC to re-adjust the price. I figure, let them deal with the hold times and the "paper work"! I'll be honest, not sure what value a TA will give you for a cruise out of Galveston. I mean, what are you looking to get from a TA for that particular purpose? Most TAs wont even touch domestic airfare since the airlines don't pay them anymore and if you're looking for Galveston advice, unless that TA has done a lot of Galveston cruises, you'd get great advice by message boards like this and googling. I'm a big TA fan but I also dont want to sour your TA experience if you're looking for something they don't really offer. We just recently booked and are still able to transfer our booking to another RCCI sailing or cancel and book elsewhere. We live in Knoxville, TN and booked the cruise out of Galveston due to its price. Maybe they could help with looking to see if there is a better fit for us. Then also help with excursions. I have a phone meeting with a travel agent tomorrow that I contacted through this site. Just to see what they might be able to offer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 13, 2015 Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 We just recently booked and are still able to transfer our booking to another RCCI sailing or cancel and book elsewhere. We live in Knoxville, TN and booked the cruise out of Galveston due to its price. Maybe they could help with looking to see if there is a better fit for us. Then also help with excursions. I have a phone meeting with a travel agent tomorrow that I contacted through this site. Just to see what they might be able to offer Thank you for checking out our sponsor! It helps the blog a lot! michelle 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkirkham Posted January 13, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 13, 2015 I actually had read many of the agents posts and sent them an email. Definitely looking forward to our conversation tomorrow Matt, michelle and markinct 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieCoasterKing Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I would LOVE to find a TA in Australia that knows anything about cruising. On our last cruise a group of travel agents were getting a tour of the ship. I told them to give me there business cards and they thought I was joking! ^_^ :lol: ANY suggestions would be appreciated! I've met two american TAs (including Michelle on here) I'd love to use but I don't think thats practical. Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I would LOVE to find a TA in Australia that knows anything about cruising. On our last cruise a group of travel agents were getting a tour of the ship. I told them to give me there business cards and they thought I was joking! ^_^ :lol: ANY suggestions would be appreciated! I've met two american TAs (including Michelle on here) I'd love to use but I don't think thats practical. The way RC (and the cruise industry works) is American TAs cant really do business with customers outside of US or Canada. I'd recommend asking around family or friends. Otherwise, start googling companies near you and when you find them, send each a couple of questions that you'd consider to be moderate in difficulty to test how the agents handle them. This way, you can get an idea of their level of expertise! AussieCoasterKing 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jticarruthers Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Primary reason for me to transfer to a TA would be the cash back. Typically about 8% per cruise or so in OBC ... adds up to a free cruise pretty fast :) Matt 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieCoasterKing Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 The way RC (and the cruise industry works) is American TAs cant really do business with customers outside of US or Canada. I'd recommend asking around family or friends. Otherwise, start googling companies near you and when you find them, send each a couple of questions that you'd consider to be moderate in difficulty to test how the agents handle them. This way, you can get an idea of their level of expertise! Unfortunately we don't have any family or friends who cruise but the emails are a great idea thanks Matt! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sulross Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 The main reason I transfer is to get the personal attention and I usually get onboard credit, prepaid gratuities and a specialty restaurant voucher. The cruise price is most often the same, but you get the extras which save you some money. bkirkham 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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