Thread: Do TA's buy Bon Voyage Gifts?

We have used local TA's and online TA's.

The local TA's gave LOTS of perks! Cabin upgrades, premium tote bags, flowers, 2 bottles of wine!

The internet TA's are impossible to reach... but did give free trip insurance.

We still like a personal touch.

~T

Our main TA is local. On our first cruise, she gave us a knapsack with wheels from the Royal Caribbean catalog. It turned out to be a child's size, but we were glad to have that extra bag on debarkment day. Since then, there has always been something, including a gift certificate to my husband's favorite restaurant one time. That's not the only reason we use her, but it does make us feel appreciated.

John, if you've cruised with someone 25 times and they have stopped providing you SOMETHING, they don't deserve your business! I realize that all prices have gone up, and I believe commission percentages have gone down, but there is always something they could do. If they don't want to pay inflated prices on the ship, they could always send you bakery fresh cookies the night before you leave.

Our TA is with a large travel agency. Since 9/11 her boss said "no more gifts". So now we don't get anything.

KK, I think that's wrong, especially since you book premium rooms on a premium line.

She had warned us when the ruling went in. And she can't over rule her boss. She also can't afford to send gifts on her own. After 20 years at the agency she has been cut back to 4 days a week as very few people in our area take a lot of vacations. And she has 2 sons in college right now.

Originally Posted by Krazy Kruizers

She had warned us when the ruling went in. And she can't over rule her boss. She also can't afford to send gifts on her own. After 20 years at the agency she has been cut back to 4 days a week as very few people in our area take a lot of vacations. And she has 2 sons in college right now.

She obviously has won your hearts! I wish her all the best.

Good evening,
I always do something for my clients.....but tend to keep it very simple : Having determined what I can ''rebate'' back ( the amount $$ ), I often simply give them a discount, up front, instead of trying to guess what would please them as a ''surprise'' on board. Of course, if you've qualified your clients properly, you'd know what they like and dislike...but perhaps can't keep up to date with changing taste in wine, flowers, etc....
I find that telling the client up front ''look, I can slide back $xxx.xx to you off the price of your cruise, do you prefer good ol' cash , casino chips or a shipboard credit'' ?? works best for us.
2nd option that is a winner all the time: shipboard credits; your clients can use it whichever way they feel, at that particular time.

But I will ALWAYS thanks my clients in a tangible manner for trusting me with something they actually can do themselves, to be quite frank...they might miss the personnal service touch if they go that route....but would survive.


Cheers

I have rcvd.wine and chocolate covered strawberries(my favorite).