Visit our travel agent friends at MEI Travel

Why first-time cruisers should use a Royal Caribbean travel agent

In:
15 Jun 2016

Using a knowledgeable and helpful travel agent can take the stress out of planning a Royal Caribbean cruise vacation, which can be a complicated and overwhelming task for the first-timer.  

As a Royal Caribbean veteran, it is easy to forget the common questions and concerns those new to cruising and/or Royal Caribbean struggle with, such as what the difference is between the ships, leveraging discounts, what stateroom to book and more.  It is because of these sort of questions (and a whole lot more) why there is serious value in using a travel agent.

Why use a travel agent

The first and biggest reason to use a travel partner in planning your Royal Caribbean cruise is the service.

Imagine having someone with a wealth of knowledge about Royal Caribbean that can help you with your particular circumstances, preferences, and needs.That’s what a good travel agent provides. It’s a back-and-forth dialogue, and they’re there to hold your hand and give you personalized advice.

Travel agents that specialize in Royal Caribbean are often fans of the cruise line too and enjoy planning their own trips and want to share their knowledge with others.  When you seek out a travel agent, an agent with great knowledge of Royal Caribbean is critical to helping you have a better cruise experience.  Royal Caribbean has spent an incredible amount of time and resources to help educate agents in what Royal Caribbean offers and it all ends up benefiting you.

Given these folks' experience with the brand, that translates to guests as having someone "in their corner" that can provide advice and firsthand knowledge of the destinations they are helping to book.  Not only that, they are the ones that sit on hold with Royal Caribbean so you do not have to, and they are the ones constantly comparing new promotions to see which benefit you the most.

Beyond that, there is no cost to you.  A good travel agent is paid commission by Royal Caribbean on the cruises they book, so you are not paying anything extra.  

It is really a win-win scenario for everyone: you get great service, Royal Caribbean books another cruise and the agent gets paid by the cruise line. Arguably, the biggest "winner" is you.  You have one contact who gets to know you, is responsive to your requests & questions, and feels a vested interest in making sure you have a great trip. You don’t call Royal Caribbean, wait on hold for an interminable amount of time, and have to deal with any of the footwork of booking it on your own.

This is especially important in today's world of cruising, where you have specialty dining reservations, shore excursions, WOWbands and more.  Your travel agent is a liaison between you and Royal Caribbean, putting out fires and fixing problems that may arise. They save you headaches and stress in solving these problems because they are your buffer between all of that.

With all of that said, some folks argue they prefer to have total control over their vacations or simply enjoy spending hours reading blogs like this one (and thank you to those of you cannot get enough of this sort of content).  

Even if you are someone that prefers to "do it all" on your own, it might make sense to book through a travel agent so that they can monitor discounts and be your aide in case a situation should arrive, while you can focus on the "fun" stuff, like researching excursions and booking specialty dining. Most vacation planners are as hands on or off as you specify, and it’s pretty easy to let them know what expect of them and what you’d like to do yourself.

The other important truth about travel agents is they will find you the same prices as you can on your own.  In fact, travel agents are more likely to save you money compared to doing it on your own.  Travel agents not only have access to the same fares you can see on Royal Caribbean's web site, but they may also have access to group cruise rates within their agency network, or be able to offer you other booking promotions in addition to what Royal Caribbean offers. 

These days, we are all trying to save money so we have more of it to spend on another vacation (or maybe just more money to spend onboard).  What I love about using a travel agent is they price out various promotions Royal Caribbean offers and then tell me what is the best option.  I especially enjoy when I get up in the morning and check my email to find a message that the latest promotion has already been applied by my travel agent and I saved some money. It is that kind of hustle, knowledge and trust that really makes using a travel agent a no-brainer for me.

Picking a travel agent

If you are convinced that a travel agent is the right choice for you, then there are a few things to consider when choosing one.  

First, you should contact a couple of agencies with some general inquiries to find one that you can "connect" with.  Specifically, you want to find someone that understands what you are interested in, is knowledgeable and responds to your needs.

It should be pretty easy to tell based on their first email or two whether they’re someone you want to work with, but if you’re still unsure, request a quick phone call. You are trusting this person with your vacation and (potentially) will communicate with them a lot, so you should make sure they aren’t impersonal or will treat you like a number. This is typically a total non-issue, as most travel agents I have encountered are incredibly pleasant and enthusiastic, but it’s good to double-check if things don’t seem right from the get-go.

Second, you will want to make sure they are providing the level of service we mentioned in this post.  Figure out which aspects of the cruise vacation planning process are most important to you and ensure those are things they do.  Not all agencies offer the same services, so be sure the one you are considering will help you in the areas you would like assistance.

Finally, they have to know their stuff.  Ask them questions about their own experience to understand how well they know the brand.  They do not have to have cruised on every Royal Caribbean ship (not even I have done that), but you want them to know their stuff.  

Your thoughts

If you’ve used an travel agent to book a Royal Caribbean cruise, how was your experience? Any other tips you’d like for choosing a travel agent? Share your thoughts and questions in the comments below!

Royal Caribbean announces its 2015 travel partners of the year award recipients

In:
14 Jan 2016

Roal Caribban has announces its list of their annual Travel Partners of the Year for the United States of America and Canada.

"Royal Caribbean is delighted to name our 2015 Travel Partners of the Year to recognize these incredibly successful and meaningful partnerships," said Vicki Freed, senior vice president, Sales, Trade Support and Services, Royal Caribbean International. "We are driven by our ongoing commitment to travel agents and are very proud to acknowledge these travel partners who have displayed an exemplary commitment to our brand and achieved significant growth in their business with us. We thank all of our valued travel agent partners for recommending Royal Caribbean to their clients and their important role in creating incredible adventures for our guests."

Royal Caribbean’s 2015 Travel Partners of the Year award recipients are as follows:
 
Chairman's Award for Overall Achievement       

Cruise Planners- An American Express Representative
 
President's Award for Overall Achievement      

Vacation.com                   
 
National Partner of the Year

AAA/CAA
 
Home-based Partner of the Year

Nexion, LLC
 
Online Partner of the Year

Expedia, Inc.
 
Consortia Partner of the Year

Ensemble Travel Group
 
Corporate Incentive Partner of the Year

Maritz Travel Company
 
Luxury Partner of the Year

Virtuoso
 
Loyalty Partner of the Year

CruCon Cruise Outlet Plus, Inc.
 
Marketing Partner of the Year

Avoya Travel
 
Southeast Partner of the Year

Educational Travel Service, Inc.
 
Northeast Partner of the Year

Autism on the Seas
 
Central Partner of the Year

AAA Allied Group
 
West Partner of the Year

Auto Club Enterprises/AAA Travel
 
Canada Partner of the Year

Expedia CruiseShipCenters

Royal Caribbean announces its 2013 travel partners

In:
15 Jan 2014

Royal Caribbean has announced its list of 2013 Loyal to Royal Travel Agent Partners of the Year for the United States and Canada.

The award recognizes the travel agencies that are among the top performers as well as their "loyalty and commitment to the cruise line."

President's Award for Overall Achievement
World Travel Holdings 
Wilmington, Mass. 

Home-based Partner of the Year 
Cruise Planners-American Express Travel 
Coral Springs, Fla. 

Consortia Partner of the Year 
AAA Travel 
Heathrow, Fla. 

Online Partner of the Year 
Cruise.com 
Dania Beach, Fla. 

Corporate Incentive Partner of the Year 
Buy the Sea 
Plantation, Fla. 

Canada Partner of the Year 
Air Canada Vacations 
Ontario, Canada 

Southeast Region Partner of the Year 
AAA Carolinas 
Charlotte, N.C. 

Northeast Region Partner of the Year 
American Discount Cruises 
Englishtown, N.J. 

Central Region Partner of the Year 
The World of Travel 
Bloomfield, Mich. 

West Region Partner of the Year         
Morris Murdock Travel 
Salt Lake City, Utah 

Royal Caribbean Chairman to travel agents: "our fortunes depend on your support"

In:
08 Nov 2013

Royal Caribbean Chairman Richard Fain spoke at the keynote speech of the CruiseWorld convention and had a very direct message to travel agents that sell Royal Caribbean cruises,  "our fortunes depend on your support."

TravelWeekly reports that Fain's speech was about the role travel agents play in guiding people looking to book a cruise. Fain noted, "the vast bulk of cruising is still purchased through the travel agency community."

To illustrate his point, Fain used an analogy of shopping for a dress with his youngest daughter and how someone knowledgable in the product can make a difference in sales.

"I know what dresses are; everybody knows what vacations are. But people need to be guided."

Royal Caribbean begins month-long travel agent appreciation campaign

In:
16 Sep 2013

As part of Royal Caribbean welcoming its 50 millionth guest this year, the cruise line is introducing, "Travel Agents Make the WOW Go Round", which is a month-long campaign to recognize how important travel agents are to the cruise line and its guests.

During the campain, Royal Caribbean business development managers will visit and call travel agents across the United States and Canada to personally thank them for supporting Royal Caribbean and sharing the Travel Agent Make the WOW Go Round message.

Royal Caribbean senior vice president of Sales & Trade Support and Services, Vicki Freed, commented on the new campaign, "The unwavering support and trusted business partnership with travel agents are things we value immensely and reciprocate daily through our personalized sales support and our Loyal to You commitment."

The new campaign also will have Royal Caribbean giving away 50 staterooms on the brand new Quantum of the Seas cruise ship's pre-inaugural sailing.  Travel partners in the U.S. and Canada who make a booking between now and September 30, 2013, on any 2013 and 2104 sailing will be automatically entered for a chance to win.  Those travel partners who make bookings on Oasis of the Seas or Allure of the Seas for 2013-2014 sailings will earn two entries per booking.

Royal Caribbean values travel agents for their efficency

In:
21 Jun 2011

Royal Caribbean’s senior vice president of sales and trade support and services, Vicki L. Freed, believes travel agents play a vital role in selling Royal Caribbean cruises still.

In an interview with Travel Market Report, Freed indicated that Royal Caribbean still values the role travel agents play in today's market, “We look at travel agents as a very efficient cost of distribution.  You can’t look strictly at cost per transaction. It really has to be looked at as a value that the travel agent brings to us.”

In addition, the knowledge a good travel agent can have will often be helpful to the customer, "Travel agents bring value because oftentimes the consumer comes in thinking they want a certain type of vacation and a knowledgeable travel agent can say, ‘I think I have a better alternative.’".

Subscribe to Travel Agents