Any Value in Travel Agents?

[AwayWeGo]

When Fairfax Band went to Orlando FL last month for the Association Of Concert Bands convention, a travel agent made all the group arrangements for airline travel, bus transfer between the airport & the convention site, & convention lodging. Traveling with the group was not mandatory, & band members were free to make their own arrangements. My son & I, for example, booked our own flights (flying separately to Orlando & together on the way back) and stayed at Wyndham Cypress Palms, commuting to & from the International Drive convention site via rental car.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​

 

[Ken555]

I have always been a Do It Myself type and I think most Tuggers are probably like me. I just booked a couple of Royal Caribbean cruises on the new ships Icon and Utopia for 2024 and 2025 since they are kid friendly and my daughters really want to go. On Facebook, many people say you should use a travel agent to advocate for you with cruises. There is no additional cost and they offer an on board credit and can monitor prices changes. I am able to transfer my reservations to a travel agent within 30 days of booking. I tend to like to have control of my vacations and not sure giving up control to a travel agent is worth an on board credit. Do others use a travel agent? If so, what are the pros and cons for you?

I use an independent travel agent. I previously used Costco Travel and others, including booking direct. My current agent is so much better than any of the others, and most importantly respects my time. He welcomes me contacting him via text or email, and he doesn’t require me on the phone while he makes every little change (such as Costco or the cruise line itself).

The question isn’t losing control of your booking. The question should be do you want one person who learns your travel needs, understands your priorities, represents you with the cruise line and offers you the best deal available. Often my agent recommends moving my cruise booking to a group booking he has available which offers greater on board credit, even though it may require a larger deposit. And, he’s able to move my bookings from regular to group at any time as long as the group is still available.

I have spent way too many hours on the phone with Costco Travel and the cruise lines direct, and it’s a rare day when I consider doing that again. I last booked direct last year with Virgin Voyages when I was part of a Circle (their name for group) and I couldn’t move my booking to my agent. Wow, was that a mistake. I spent no less than six hours on the phone for the one booking over the course of months as mistakes happened, info needed to be updated, etc. I will never ever book direct with VV again - while they may be the nicest representatives at any of the cruise lines (true, they are really nice) their back office is incompetent.


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[Ken555]

Based on the comments in this thread, I think it’s important to point out that:

a) not all travel agents are equal

b) it’s not always appropriate to use a travel agent

For cruises, I will use a travel agent.

However, I independently book all my hotels, flights, etc. I would never let a travel agent coordinate my visa for a country. There are always exceptions - for instance, I have bought several business class international flights from my travel agent since he was able to get great consolidator rates that were substantially less than any I could source, but that’s not always the case.


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[Ken555]

I am not aware of any travel agents that will notify you of a price drop. It is up to you to watch for these. When prices drop, so do commissions. So it usually isn't in the best interest of a travel agent to watch for these. Some of the bigger travel agents will charge for rebookings and price drop adjustments. I noticed this with United *Airlines* Cruises. Most independant travel agents won't charge such a fee because they want to keep happy customers. I don't beleive Costco charges a fee. Now we just need a company like AutoSlash to track cruise prices.

My travel agent notified me three times in the last couple of years of price drops. Even better, after all the cancelations during Covid, I thought I had all the details on refunds and credits but he was able to find ~$400 more Royal Caribbean owed me.

I know his system checks prices daily and notifies him of price drops. Sometimes he can’t move a booking to a new price, and in the last year some of the cruise lines (I’m looking at you, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity) will no longer honor price drops. So if you buy a non refundable booking, you’re stuck. I’ve heard they will sometimes let you reprice it once, but even that may not last. Of course, these types of pricing policies change like the wind.

I use CruisePlum for cruise prices, and while it’s not always 100% accurate it is the best independent site out there for cruise fares. However, it won’t calculate any elite discounts so it’s usually best to check the cruise line website itself for your booked cruises to determine if the price has dropped.


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[TravelTime]

I use an independent travel agent. I previously used Costco Travel and others, including booking direct. My current agent is so much better than any of the others, and most importantly respects my time. He welcomes me contacting him via text or email, and he doesn’t require me on the phone while he makes every little change (such as Costco or the cruise line itself).

The question isn’t losing control of your booking. The question should be do you want one person who learns your travel needs, understands your priorities, represents you with the cruise line and offers you the best deal available. Often my agent recommends moving my cruise booking to a group booking he has available which offers greater on board credit, even though it may require a larger deposit. And, he’s able to move my bookings from regular to group at any time as long as the group is still available.

I have spent way too many hours on the phone with Costco Travel and the cruise lines direct, and it’s a rare day when I consider doing that again. I last booked direct last year with Virgin Voyages when I was part of a Circle (their name for group) and I couldn’t move my booking to my agent. Wow, was that a mistake. I spent no less than six hours on the phone for the one booking over the course of months as mistakes happened, info needed to be updated, etc. I will never ever book direct with VV again - while they may be the nicest representatives at any of the cruise lines (true, they are really nice) their back office is incompetent.


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Would you be able to share the name and contact info for your travel agent?

 

[Ken555]

Would you be able to share the name and contact info for your travel agent?

Sure, send me a message with your email and name and I’ll put you in touch. I don’t think it appropriate to publicly post his contact info.


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[TravelTime]

Sure, send me a message with your email and name and I’ll put you in touch. I don’t think it appropriate to publicly post his contact info.


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Thank you Ken. I may transfer my bookings to Costco because they are offering a lot of cash back to spend at Costco. I am going to call them tomorrow. Does your agent offer on board credits?

 

[mdurette]

As alot of others have mentioned, only for our cruise travel with Disney. At first it was because they offered a higher on board credit. Then I realized how nice it was when our March 2020 cruise was cancelled and they managed all the cancel/cash back options without me needing to spend HOURS on the phone trying to do myself.

 

[Ken555]

Thank you Ken. I may transfer my bookings to Costco because they are offering a lot of cash back to spend at Costco. I am going to call them tomorrow. Does your agent offer on board credits?

Of course, but every cruise is different. Do what’s best for you.


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[tony_i]

Just my 2 cents... I became a travel agent in 2019 as Self employee working under a host company. This is very common thing, and a great source of information is at hostagencyreviews.com if you are interested. Very affordable too, and if you have a large network of people, you can be traveling for free!

Unfortunately for me, Covid hit in 2020, and I had to leave the business in 2022. But here are some interesting things I learned.

My host company was part of a larger travel consortium, so as agents we had additional (exclusive) benefits that we could offer to our costumers. For example, on some Royal Caribbean cruises (or any cruise line) we had exclusive rates with additional on board credits. These rates would only be available to anyone under the travel consortium, but not even Royal Caribbean would make these available to the public. Also, the bigger the consortium, the better the benefits/rates. Not all cruises qualify, and some get used and the rates are no longer displayed.

With regards to price changes on cruises. As agent we would get paid after the cruise is completed, however, every month cruise lines would offer additional incentives to sell bookings, and those would be completed and paid sooner or you would get some sort of bonus. So it would be of interest to us as agent to offer you the best rate, and keep the agent present and in communication for your next vacation. We would also not want for you to cancel and rebook directly.

As agents we would also get paid if you booked your next cruise onboard the cruise we sold. So we would definitely encourage you to shop on the cruise for better rate next trip.

On all inclusive type of vacations, we would also have exclusive rates not offered to the public. We would also receive special upgrades for our bookings, or some sort of benefit. So if you wanted the least expensive room, and saw the price on any website, I could usually match the price with some sort of upgrade, or same price for a nicer room plus some upgrade/benefit.

Also on all inclusive type of vacations, we could up-charge, and that extra charge would be ours on top of the commission paid by the provider. This additional fee is never showed to the costumer by the provider. We could also do the opposite, and reduce the overall cost by giving up our commission.

Most top agents I met at a convention from our host company would charge a retainer type of fee upfront in order to work with clients. These agents have great reputation, usually have direct contact with executive vendors (people that can resolve issues quick), and usually work exclusively with high end products. Vendors treat some of these agents like stars.

There are no commission on selling most flights. There were commissions on business/first class international, but I never sold one. Many people use miles/points for these.

Travel agent do travel for free... We would receive all types of offers to go visit hotels, all inclusive, etc, for free. Even if it is not offered to us, most vendors have a backend website for travel agents where we are able to request free stays. Even Disney parks had free days for travel agents (not their families)!

Group travel agents usually travel for free in the group. I meet some many agents that organize travel for groups, that they usually travel for free (some as free "guides"). Every vendor is different, but sell 10 cabins, 1 is free. Book 8 all inclusive rooms, 1 is free. Some of these agents organize church groups, business continue education on a cruise, anything you can think of, and they usually travel for free! On larger groups, they can even split any additional free rooms to reduce the overall cost of each person.

So the are are some clear reasons why you would use a travel agent or agency, and those are the exclusive perks and discounts not offered by big tech, and having someone work for you to make it all happen while having their support. On top of that, they are usually very knowledgeable on the products they sell, and can make big difference in planing activities, layovers, recommendations, and anything related. The negative would be, paying extra for their work (so shop around). Like I said, some agents can up-charge with no disclaimer (not all vendors allow this), or charge that "retainer" fee, but if you are dealing with a 20k river cruise and have multiple flights to deal with in another continent, it might be worth it!

 

[TravelTime]

Just my 2 cents... I became a travel agent in 2019 as Self employee working under a host company. This is very common thing, and a great source of information is at hostagencyreviews.com if you are interested. Very affordable too, and if you have a large network of people, you can be traveling for free!

Unfortunately for me, Covid hit in 2020, and I had to leave the business in 2022. But here are some interesting things I learned.

My host company was part of a larger travel consortium, so as agents we had additional (exclusive) benefits that we could offer to our costumers. For example, on some Royal Caribbean cruises (or any cruise line) we had exclusive rates with additional on board credits. These rates would only be available to anyone under the travel consortium, but not even Royal Caribbean would make these available to the public. Also, the bigger the consortium, the better the benefits/rates. Not all cruises qualify, and some get used and the rates are no longer displayed.

With regards to price changes on cruises. As agent we would get paid after the cruise is completed, however, every month cruise lines would offer additional incentives to sell bookings, and those would be completed and paid sooner or you would get some sort of bonus. So it would be of interest to us as agent to offer you the best rate, and keep the agent present and in communication for your next vacation. We would also not want for you to cancel and rebook directly.

As agents we would also get paid if you booked your next cruise onboard the cruise we sold. So we would definitely encourage you to shop on the cruise for better rate next trip.

On all inclusive type of vacations, we would also have exclusive rates not offered to the public. We would also receive special upgrades for our bookings, or some sort of benefit. So if you wanted the least expensive room, and saw the price on any website, I could usually match the price with some sort of upgrade, or same price for a nicer room plus some upgrade/benefit.

Also on all inclusive type of vacations, we could up-charge, and that extra charge would be ours on top of the commission paid by the provider. This additional fee is never showed to the costumer by the provider. We could also do the opposite, and reduce the overall cost by giving up our commission.

Most top agents I met at a convention from our host company would charge a retainer type of fee upfront in order to work with clients. These agents have great reputation, usually have direct contact with executive vendors (people that can resolve issues quick), and usually work exclusively with high end products. Vendors treat some of these agents like stars.

There are no commission on selling most flights. There were commissions on business/first class international, but I never sold one. Many people use miles/points for these.

Travel agent do travel for free... We would receive all types of offers to go visit hotels, all inclusive, etc, for free. Even if it is not offered to us, most vendors have a backend website for travel agents where we are able to request free stays. Even Disney parks had free days for travel agents (not their families)!

Group travel agents usually travel for free in the group. I meet some many agents that organize travel for groups, that they usually travel for free (some as free "guides"). Every vendor is different, but sell 10 cabins, 1 is free. Book 8 all inclusive rooms, 1 is free. Some of these agents organize church groups, business continue education on a cruise, anything you can think of, and they usually travel for free! On larger groups, they can even split any additional free rooms to reduce the overall cost of each person.

So the are are some clear reasons why you would use a travel agent or agency, and those are the exclusive perks and discounts not offered by big tech, and having someone work for you to make it all happen while having their support. On top of that, they are usually very knowledgeable on the products they sell, and can make big difference in planing activities, layovers, recommendations, and anything related. The negative would be, paying extra for their work (so shop around). Like I said, some agents can up-charge with no disclaimer (not all vendors allow this), or charge that "retainer" fee, but if you are dealing with a 20k river cruise and have multiple flights to deal with in another continent, it might be worth it!

Thank you for your detailed description of how agents work. So far, I am not seeing any independent travel agents or the online booking agents that are offering a better price than I can get direct. Even Costco is not getting better prices for any of the dates I asked about. Most agents are offering an on board credit. Costco is offering a very generous gift card of close to 10% of the cruise price. I am looking at suites on the new ships that come out in 2024 - Icon and Utopia. I was told by the independent agent that there is not group space for suites. I am leaning toward transferring my bookings to Costco. I also like the impersonal service of dealing direct or using Costco. Then I do not feel guilty if I make a bunch of changes or cancel after making an agent work too much! LOL

 

[CalGalTraveler]

Thank you for your detailed description of how agents work. So far, I am not seeing any independent travel agents or the online booking agents that are offering a better price than I can get direct. Even Costco is not getting better prices for any of the dates I asked about. Most agents are offering an on board credit. Costco is offering a very generous gift card of close to 10% of the cruise price. I am looking at suites on the new ships that come out in 2024 - Icon and Utopia. I was told by the independent agent that there is not group space for suites. I am leaning toward transferring my bookings to Costco. I also like the impersonal service of dealing direct or using Costco. Then I do not feel guilty if I make a bunch of changes or cancel after making an agent work too much! LOL

That is what we found. The base price is the same between the cruise line and Costco. However the discounts came in with the additional perks of Costco gift card, included Bev service, Onboard credits, free restaurant meals, Excursion credits. This added up to hundreds of dollars in discounts and enhanced our cruise.

 

[Icc5]

We've used Vacations To Go for most of our cruises for years now. We decide where and when we want to go, get discounted cruises and they tell us what,when,where we need to do and be. They have saved us several thousand dollars over our 12-15 cruises we've taken.
Bart

 

[TravelTime]

That is what we found. The base price is the same between the cruise line and Costco. However the discounts came in with the additional perks of Costco gift card, included Bev service, Onboard credits, free restaurant meals, Excursion credits. This added up to hundreds of dollars in discounts and enhanced our cruise.

Costco says they are only offering a gift card for shopping at Costco. It does come out to about 10% of the base price. I think that is very good. Did they offer more for you?

 

[CalGalTraveler]

We booked a 7 nite cruise with HAL with verandah. Costco gift card was about 10% (good as cash to us) plus $200 shipboard credits Signature Beverage Package worth about $300, Free restaurant dinner for 2 worth about $250, free Wifi ($50?) and $200 shore excursion. Plus Costco executive credit of about 2%. Plus Credit card 2% (credit card rebate would also apply to direct booking).

Perhaps it is because we are first time cruisers, we were offered none of this by the direct line but it had the same base cabin price. We would have bought these items regardless so has value of approx $1260 savings + 4% Costco Executive and Credit Card rebates.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

@Icc5 Thanks for the rec for Vacations to Go. I am searching for a cruise for next year and was able to sort all the cruises and rank by price and other factors for the places we would like to visit. As a DIY timeshare traveler, I will compare prices with Costco and cruisecompete.com but a good place to start.

I appreciate the recommendations on places to look and travel agents. Cruise Critic doesn't allow discussions like this which shares vendor names which I find frustrating as a new cruiser.

Another question for all. What are the refund policies if you book early like this? A year is a long way away.

 

[VacationForever]

We booked a 7 nite cruise with HAL with verandah. Costco gift card was about 10% (good as cash to us) plus $200 shipboard credits Signature Beverage Package worth about $300, Free restaurant dinner for 2 worth about $250, free Wifi ($50?) and $200 shore excursion. Plus Costco executive credit of about 2%. Plus Credit card 2% (credit card rebate would also apply to direct booking).

Perhaps it is because we are first time cruisers, we were offered none of this by the direct line but it had the same base cabin price. We would have bought these items regardless so has value of approx $1260 savings + 4% Costco Executive and Credit Card rebates.

Often the free bev, tips, onboard credits and wifi are included in the cruise line prices as part of their "offer". I always make sure that I am comparing apples and apples when I look at prices. Costco and other agencies would advertise that they are including free bev, tips, onboard credits, wifi. So, it is not a Costco or other agencies' perks. With Costco, the true money back is about 10% with the cash card and executive bonus.

 

[dioxide45]

I appreciate the recommendations on places to look and travel agents. Cruise Critic doesn't allow discussions like this which shares vendor names which I find frustrating as a new cruiser.

Cruise Critic is owned by TripAdvisor, so that explains why they don't want people naming the competition.

 

[TravelTime]

We booked a 7 nite cruise with HAL with verandah. Costco gift card was about 10% (good as cash to us) plus $200 shipboard credits Signature Beverage Package worth about $300, Free restaurant dinner for 2 worth about $250, free Wifi ($50?) and $200 shore excursion. Plus Costco executive credit of about 2%. Plus Credit card 2% (credit card rebate would also apply to direct booking).

Perhaps it is because we are first time cruisers, we were offered none of this by the direct line but it had the same base cabin price. We would have bought these items regardless so has value of approx $1260 savings + 4% Costco Executive and Credit Card rebates.

Wow, that is a lot. I booked 2 suites on the new ships that have not launched yet so they are about $23,000 combined. I would think Costco would try to give me the best benefits possible. I will call and see if they are offering anything better. Did you book your cruise with Costco or did you transfer it? Maybe it was a cruise that they wanted to sell so they were offering better benefits?

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I can see such incentives with cruises booked a year from now but these perks were not offered for our cruise for late summer.

@TravelTime Wow. You could buy a lot of timeshare vacations for that. We received quotes from both and purchased with Costco for the perks. We now have a cruise line login to arrange and pay for onshore excursions and reserve restaurants just as if we purchased from the cruise line. We paid $3500 for large verandah for 2 minus these perks brings it to about $2300 for two for a Norwegian Fjord 7 night cruise with large verandah. It is interesting that if we took same HAL cruise out of Amsterdam, the price is $1000 more than out of Copenhagen.

 

[dioxide45]

I can see such incentives with cruises booked a year from now but these perks were not offered for our cruise within 120 days of sailing.

As the ships fill up, the perks may diminish.

 

[dioxide45]

Wow, that is a lot. I booked 2 suites on the new ships that have not launched yet so they are about $23,000 combined. I would think Costco would try to give me the best benefits possible. I will call and see if they are offering anything better. Did you book your cruise with Costco or did you transfer it? Maybe it was a cruise that they wanted to sell so they were offering better benefits?

Generally, for the newest ships, the perks might not be as good. For these ships and some of the early sailings, they don't need to offer the best perks to get people to book. People want to book just because it is the newest ship.

 

[CalGalTraveler]

I would love a new thread for "Hacks for TUGers who cruise" Could include information and questions on cruises offered through TS providers with points and independent cruising questions like above.

TUGers know how to hack travel and I am frustrated that Cruise Critic doesn't allow discussion of vendors. I also find Cruise Critic difficult to navigate and search. (although I enjoy roll calls, specific cruise line info and the basic "what to bring on a cruise" topics which don't need repeating.)

@TUGBrian I know the topic is not directly timesharing. Would this be allowed?

 

[dioxide45]

I would love a new thread for "Hacks for TUGers who cruise" Could include information and questions on cruises offered through TS providers with points and independent cruising questions like above.

TUGers know how to hack travel and I am frustrated that Cruise Critic doesn't allow discussion of vendors. I also find Cruise Critic difficult to navigate and search. (although I enjoy roll calls, specific cruise line info and the basic "what to bring on a cruise" topics which don't need repeating.)

@TUGBrian I know the topic is not directly timesharing. Would this be allowed?

I find Cruise Critic to be awful. I don't like their forum software and rarely visit there anymore. Years ago before the software change, we used it quite a bit. I also find roll-calls to be hit or miss, though mostly miss. They used to be a lot more popular but it seems that Facebook groups for each cruise have taken over. So if you are looking for a roll-call, try searching out your specific cruise on Facebook to see if there is a group for it.

I find YouTube to be good overall for general cruise tips, what to pack, what to bring, what excursions are best. Tones of cruise content out there on YouTube.

You could create such a thread in the Vacation Travel Information forum, perhaps not in the TUG Lounge.

 

[Ken555]

So... as it's been years since I priced cruises at Costco Travel this thread has prompted me to check the prices on my booked cruises and see how they compare to what I received from my agent.

TL;DR - Costco doesn't sell MSC or Virgin Voyages. The rest are currently more expensive than when I booked, which isn't Costco's fault, but I did discover that Costco's web site doesn't include status discounts and doesn't permit the use of other cruise line discount codes, even though my agent can handle those.

1. Royal Caribbean 12N in Sept. They don't list it, and it may be sold out. Admittedly this would have been much more than I had paid since the price increased days after I bought when it was first released. Oftentimes I find that the best time to buy is the first day or two when a cruise is published or after final payment, but not at other times.

2. Virgin Voyages. Well, Costco doesn't sell this cruise line, so that would have been an easy decision.

3. MSC 21N transatlantic. Again, Costco doesn't sell this cruise line.

4. MSC 9N European. Oops, no can do at Costco.

5. RCL transatlantic. Costco has this listed (yea!) and the balcony price is $3410 with a $260 Costco card. Ironically, it also offered me a "30 Percent Savings" but it cost $100 more, so that's not any savings at all. And oops.. when I went to the next page it showed "The price of Stateroom 1 has increased by $100.00 New Total Price: $3,509.81" (after tax). And that's the price with my loyalty number (I'm D+ so I should receive discounts on balcony cabins, etc).

A few items of note for this particular cruise.

• I paid $1185.63 (after tax) for the same cabin type when I originally booked.
• RCL's website without any status or discount code shows a price of $3510, same as Costco.
• RCL's website with my status but without a discount code shows the price at $3160 after tax.
• RCL's own website shows the balcony cabin cost today direct would be $2462 (after tax) using my discount code.
• Costco's web quote process doesn't permit the addition of discount codes. I'm eligible for one and Royal's website works with it, but not Costco's. My travel agent always includes it, too.
• This means that Costco's web quote process does not include discounts based on status, even though it asked for my number and I provided it. Why not? Other online agencies are able to handle this - and this actually surprises me. So, if you have status with RCL and you want to book with Costco be sure to call and tell them to quote it with your C&A number.

6. MSC. We know that story by now.

7. RCL transatlantic (yeah, another). Same price increase of $100, which indicates that Costco's promotions may not be current and require an update. Costco quoted $2506 for this balcony cruise with a $165 cash card. I paid $1811 when I originally booked.

This is what I discovered when quoting a cruise I haven't yet booked but am considering (though likely won't go on this one, since I don't like the ship):

RCL transpacific for 2025. Balcony cabin after tax is $3664. Costco quotes $4718 with a $330 Costco card. I suspect they would match the direct price once they manually include my discount code. So the only question is if the $330 is more valuable than whatever OBC or other benefits my agent would offer, and given the price on this cruise I suspect he would do better.