Thread: online travel agents

Hey everyone, today I called expedia to check on some Holland prices and the first thing the lady asked me was" are you travelling with your grandparents" ouch!!! I said "sorry what do you mean?? well you dont sound senior she said and holland is for seniors..... i ended call really quickly. I was really upset and offended after that.




Can somene suggest another online place with great prices, I'm almost afraid to take holland now..... is their something about holland i dont know about perhaps. Its looks like a great line with great service and the best med itineraries.

Laura,
My suggestion would be to call a real travel agent. Not the cruise line.
The price will be the same but you will have someone looking out for you.
If you don't know of a good travel agent, maybe you have some friends that do? If not, we do have some here on CLF that would be willing to help you do a booking.
I would never book on line with a cruise line or an on line booking cruise company.

Originally Posted by Laura73

Hey everyone, today I called expedia to check on some Holland prices and the first thing the lady asked me was" are you travelling with your grandparents" ouch!!! I said "sorry what do you mean?? well you dont sound senior she said and holland is for seniors..... i ended call really quickly. I was really upset and offended after that.




Can somene suggest another online place with great prices, I'm almost afraid to take holland now..... is their something about holland i dont know about perhaps. Its looks like a great line with great service and the best med itineraries.

Laura, Holland America warmly welcomes people of all ages on their ships. They do tend to attract seniors, but I've seen passengers in their 20s, 30s, and 40s including kids on their ships, as I was leaving the Westerdam following a ship inspection.
They are a Premium line with good service, food etc.

I agree with Hanna - stay away from online sites and book with an agent. They'll look after you and help you find a cruise that will suit your needs. Most of the online sites hire people that have no cruising experience at all - they're just 'order takers', as you have witnessed from your dealings with Expedia.

As for Holland America, yes, they do tend to attract an older crowd. But that's not to say that younger folks don't truly enjoy them as well, especially their newer ships.

We love HAL and highly recommend them. They offer exquisite food, wonderful service, beautiful ships, and the most comfortable beds. Plus, they have some awesome itineraries!

We have a 35-year old couple that only travels on HAL and they absolutely love them. They travel when school is out, so there's alot more younger people onboard at that time.

So don't listen to Expedia; you'll love Holland America!

Pete

We do not use on-line agents. We have a TA that is not too far from us -- we can go to see her -- call her on the phone. We have used her for ver 23 years.

The older ships, longer itineraries do tend to attrack more of the senior people.

But you will find that on the Vista class and signature class ships HAL is attracking all the age groups.