Thread: Free Upgrades?

Pete, there is one exception to that rule of all agents offer the same price. And that is is an agent has a group cruise planned and the bennies are passed back to the travelers. But, all agents can do group cruises, they just have to do the work of putting together a group (and then the fun comes in, which ship, which line, and which date. No agent can have group cruises on ALL ships ALL the time)

But you are definitely right, I too prefer the knowledge and the service.

Yep, you're right about that, Neal. That's why I mentioned that sometimes an agent can do better than what is advertised online and it's mainly due to any groups they may have onboard. It can also do with the fact that sometimes their rates have not yet been updated to reflect the latest changes, whereas an agent will do a real-time check on prices and availability.

The other thing I hate about online sites is that they'll advertise a rate 'from $xxxxx'. But when you go in there to book it, you find out those rates are either not available or, as in the case of Carnival, could be an upper/lower cabin (bunk beds) or, as in the case of other cruise lines, it could be a 'guarantee' cabin. And they never explain what a guarantee cabin is. This can be very confusing, especially to a first-time cruiser. An agent will take the hand of a first-time cruiser and help lead them through the process and answer all the questions.

Pete

p.s. Neal, sent you a PM.

Sent you a reply.

I really shouldn't speak bad about AAA because I love them when it comes to discounts for hotels and rental cars, as well as their maps. But for travel, I've gotten alot of their clients because they are so unhappy with the service AAA provides. I once listened to one of their agents talking to a senior couple, while I was in there picking up some maps. The man was retiring and wanted to take his family on a cruise (all adults) to the Mexican Riviera. The agent kept talking about Carnival and never once mentioned any of the other cruise lines. The man kept telling her they wanted something really nice, a bit upscale, good food, etc, etc. The agent never listened to anything they had to say. Long story short, I felt really bad for the couple and could not understand why this agent kept pushing Carnival. When I got home, I found a special incentive from Carnival offering agents an extra $50 commission for certain bookings. So the agent was more concerned about the commission than what the client wanted.

Don't get me wrong, it's not just AAA I've seen or heard things like this, there are plenty of unscrupulous agents out there. I've heard alot of complaints about agents in the NYC area pushing the NCL out of NYC - reason being is because they pay 1% more commission than other cruise lines.

As I always say, steer clear of agents who push one cruise line over another. If they keep talking about one cruise line it's because of one of three reasons: 1) That's the only cruise line they know, 2) They've been on that cruise line and enjoyed it, but remember, we're different people. What one person likes, another may hate, so what worked well for them, may not be right for you. Or 3), they make a higher commission with that cruise line.

A good agent will provide you unbiased information so you can make a decision that's right for you based on your requirements. They should not be recommending nor should they be excluding cruise lines - that's your job, not theirs.

And it's not just cruise lines; I know agencies where a client will walk in and say they are interested in doing an all-inclusive resort. The agent will bring up Apple Vacations and provide a price. Problem is, there are dozens of wholesalers with whom the agent can use, but it's quick and easy for them just to bring up one of them, give a quote, and get on to the next client. It takes time and energy to look up the prices with a couple of other wholesalers to see who has the best price, but they don't want to spend the time and they're not interested in getting the best price for the client. So if the agent is in a hurry, find another agent.

On several occasions, I've had people call me after visiting a particular travel agency located in a local mall. They'll walk in and say they're interested in taking a cruise. The agent hands them a bunch of brochures, tell them to look through them and find one they like, then let the agent know and he/she will be glad to book it for them. Then they turn around and get on the phone leaving the clients with alot of questions because the agent is not interested in providing good service, just in making money.

And lastly, be leery of those "special deals". Often, a special deal is not the best deal. Same thing about pricing; an advertised price is not the total price and is based on double occupancy and may very well be for a inside cabin you don't want or a sailing date you're not interested in. I've seen a really good rate for an inside cabin on one date, but the balcony cabin was very pricey. But on another date where the inside cabin was higher, the balcony cabin was a great deal. So if you're interested in a balcony cabin, look at the rates for balcony cabins and not shop based on the advertised rates for inside cabins. And if you're interested in a triple or quad cabin, don't look at rates for double cabins.

Pete

I think it is really a factor of the AAA office. The one here in Dallas is excellent when it comes to cruises. They appear knowledgeable about most of the lines and can hold an intelligent conversation. Besides, they have shows all the time where they bring in several lines.

But I agree with you about agents who are more interested in their commission than they are in the people enjoying their cruises. Don't know what can be done about it, though.

A big AMEN to the special deals! Once again, know what you are looking for. It might fall into a totally different category than what you are seeing.

If a TA is interested in repeat business, then certainly they should try to match up the client to the best possible cruiseline, ship, itinerary. Not just be pushing a cruiseline that offers the most to the TA. Reminds me of working for a specialty store (I was the advertising/marketing coordinator but also did back up sales, accounting, purchasing). It was the premiere place for the film industry in terms of software, but it didn't just stock one brand. and the sales persons may had their personal preference of say, script writing software, but sometimes that wasn't the what the customer may want. And everyone, plus me, were knowledgeable about not only the software but what formatting was, what film scheduling was, etc. We were aware of other places that would also sell some of the same software, but often would just stock one or two brands, and also that people who worked at the stores like comp USA didn't have the vaguest clue as to how a properly formatted script would look like. Some of these other places are out of business while this company has an international reputation. And has been around for almost 30 years.

If a travel agency keeps pleasing its customers, hopefully each happy camper will not only come back but also recommend their friends.

And it's not just TA's who do this; as you've alluded to, it's anything where sales associates are involved. I was shopping for a TV for our son for Christmas and walked into HH Gregg. They had one from a company called Curtis, which I had never heard of before. I asked the salesman if that was any relation to Curtis Mathes, who manufacturers wonderful TV's and is an American company. Of course, he immediately said it was the same company, but I found out that Curtis is a Canadian company with no relations to Curtis Mathes.

As with alot of sales people, they will always tell you what you want to hear in order to get your money.

No matter the product, a good sales person will help you find what you're looking for, not convince you to buy something you may not want. A good sales person will give you unbiased information so you can make an informed decision based on your requirements instead of only giving you one-sided information to guide you where they want you to go.

Pete

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Crew Wolf- nice site! Is this your personal site or is it just one that you found?