We booked our Cruise over a year ago, May 2007. We will be leaving 10-19-2008. We try to live within our means, we got an cabin cat 6a with a Military discount. About 6 months ago our TA called and said she was just checking prices. For a total of $70.00 we could upgrade to a Balcony 7a. We jumped on it and paid the difference. Today we get a call and she said we could upgrade to a Cat 8g and get about $90.00 back. (I love to get money back) So we went from a 6a to and 8g and got $20.00 back.
I know there are allot of really good TA's out there but ours has to be one of the best. One of the reasons we use her. Her office does not have to pull our file and check for better deals, but they always do. This is not the first time we have been upgraded, or they have saved us money. Using a good TA like her we just book our cruise and let her do her thing, no more worry for us.
I would post the TA business name but that is a no no.
BTW, she got our hotel to move us from an inside to an oceanview at no extra cost also.
That is why we love our local TA .

What a great testimonial, Gary! Somehow I just don't see any cruise line website giving that kind of service. They might do the upsell; but sure aren't going to tell you if prices come down.

I'm very happy for you.

Rick

She is the best Rick, and we don't get alot of extra emails from her. She know what we like and focuses on that. I don't know myabe it is just small town mountain service.

Gary

I always like to hear good stories about travel agents. Most work very hard for not a lot of money, and they do it because they love it - "making dreams come true" is something I hear often from a certain agent who is on the forum staff.

You are lucky to have such a great agent, Gary. But you know that.

I also love to hear stories about excellent TAs. Your example shows that service is just as important as price.

Congratulations on the upgrade and cash back!

Congrats Gary!

Now this is an awesome TA that looks out for you. As Rick noted, I doubt you would get that service and care from an online agency. They will probably give you an on board credit for the difference instead of cash back. That's what they always do for me when inside penalty.

I'm also thrilled when I hear these stories.

Dwayne

You are correct Dwayne,the paperwork we got notes the money back as shipboard credit. That is fine with me.
We just love this place, it is owned by a husband/wife team, has a sister niece working there, just a nice family run place. Anyone would really feel at home there.
Dwayne we are leaving around the same time, our is Oct 19 out of Long Beach, on the Pride.
Thanks everyone
Gary

Sounds like a wonderful TA. We booked our cruise for last spring through a web site. They assured at the time of booking, that if the price went down, we could get our money back. It went down $100, but they didn't pay, because it was after the final payment. Of course, they didn't mention that was there policy when we booked. Oh well, we all learn from our mistakes.

MamaofEnS

MamaofEnS, don't kick yourself. It's pretty common for cruise lines to not allow pricing changes after the cruise is paid in full. But, you make a good point of reading the fine print.

This is very true. It is not common for them to make fare adjustments after the final payment date. Sometimes they give some leeway if not too far into it though. As has been my case in the past. Most special sales and promotions are restricted for new bookings only.

Dwayne

quote:

Originally posted by IslandCruz:
This is very true. It is not common for them to make fare adjustments after the final payment date. Sometimes they give some leeway if not too far into it though. As has been my case in the past. Most special sales and promotions are restricted for new bookings only.

Dwayne

The adjustment I just got was about 52 days out, well after final payment. (I think we always pay off early, isn't it 90 days out????)
A question here how does a TA get paid, is it per booking or on %. If it is percentage my TA gets less for finding me a good deal. Of course she really gets a lot of good PR from me around town and here.

quote:

They assured at the time of booking, that if the price went down, we could get our money back. It went down $100, but they didn't pay, because it was after the final payment.

Some cruise lines, like Royal Caribbean but there are others, will refund you right up until sailing, if the price in your particular category goes down. If not a refund, they may give you an onboard credit, or offer an upgrade.

Sandy

quote:

A question here how does a TA get paid, is it per booking or on %. If it is percentage my TA gets less for finding me a good deal.

Travel agents get a percentage of the base fare of the cruise price. Typical commissions start at 10% of the base fare. If your cruise costs you $1,000, the base fare is probably in the $700 range, with the remainder of the fare being things like port tax, fuel surcharge, security fee, etc., non of which is commissionable. So from your $1,000 fare, the agent is making $70.

You're right that an agent's commission is in inverse proportion to how hard s/he works for you. If the agent finds you a fare, and then works hard to find a lower fare, the agent gets 10% of the lower fare. There are ways agents can make more than 10%, having to do with increased volume with a particular supplier, or belonging to an agency consortium. But basically, agents who spend a lot of time getting you the lowest fare are also getting themselves less and less money. But agents do it because we want to do right by our clients, for a variety of reasons.

Sandy