Am I expecting too much from my TA?

[AlexandNessa]

Perhaps I am and am just a control freak, but ... we are booked into suite 8046, which is a cat. 3 (non-midship) where the murphy bed pulls down in the bedroom as opposed to the living room. On Saturday, before my TA had office hours, I shot her an e-mail asking her to be moved to one of the 4 mid-ship Cat. 3s instead (8032, 8034, 8532, or 8534) if they were available for our sailing since the murphy bed in those cabins pulls down in the living room. I am working midnights this week and was too tired to wait up for her office hours to start or I would have called her, given her track record for responding to e-mails thus far.

We are toying with the idea of bringing our niece with us (who will be 5 at the time), and it would be a lot better if we could maintain a modicum of privacy; hence the request to move to a cabin where her bed will be in a separate room from ours.

Of course I didn't hear from my TA over the weekend. A very helpful and friendly DISer (thanks budwmn!) gave me the idea of calling DCL myself just to check the availability of those 4 cabins for our sailing and then calling my TA to let her know. I did, and lo and behold, DCL does have all 4 mid-ship suites available for our cruise. So, I patiently waited for my TA's hours to start on Monday. She answered the phone and said she got my e-mail and she was going to call DCL that day. She said if one of the cabins were open, she'd move me. Now, I'm thinking to myself, as of 2 hours ago they were, but I didn't mention this to her. I figured that in 2 hours, all 4 of the cabins would not have been sold for a cruise that's 16 months away, but what do I know? I simply said, "great. thanks for doing that for me."

Well, that was Monday morning, and it's now Tuesday evening well after her office hours are over. I haven't heard from her, and I checked our ressie online at the DCL site, and they still have us in 8046.

Since she has had 3 days of office hours since I made the request, and she told me she was calling DCL yesterday morning, I would have thought this simple request would have been done by now. If the cabins did sell out in the 2 hours b/w when I called DCL and when I called my TA, don't you think she should have called or e-mailed me to let me know they were no longer available? Perhaps I am just anxious as she doesn't seem to understand that these are primo cabins and are in high demand.

Right now, I'm just thinking to myself that if I hadn't gone through a TA, I would've been moved 4 days ago with no worries. After all, the quote my TA gave me and the quote DCL gave me are exactly the same. So right now, I am seeing my TA has a hindrance and not a help.

Any thoughts? Believe me, I know I'm impatient and controlling when it comes to Disney vacation planning, so it's OK just to tell me that.

 

[Catnip0113]

All I know is my TA would have called immediately and got back to me as soon as he knew (works for AAA). Couldn't you have made the change yourself and just told your TA or does Disney give them a courtesy and not do that I wonder?

 

[Mmketeer]

Hi,

Don't panic yet, it could be the DCL hasn't updated their website to your new information when you checked it online. Or maybe your T/A had to rebook and make you a new res when she moved you. But, I must say it doesn't seem like her communication skills are what they should be with you.
If she didn't do what you asked her too, you may think about canceling the reservation with her as you are not asking for anything complicated.
Just my opinion...

ps
Those staterooms are great, I only had one complaint with DCL when stayed in that stateroom. It wasn't real easy to climb over the person seeping in the murphy bed to go out on the balcony for us early risers who like to watch the ship pull into port. But, bless Disney anyway for offering a stateroom that holds 5 people!

Mmketeer .... NEXT CRUISE DCL WONDER 2/2/06

 

[AlexandNessa]

It is my understanding that once you're dealing with a TA, DCL will only deal with the TA and you are not allowed to make changes yourself.

 

[kaseyC]

I do not think you are being a control freak. I think I probably would have gone one step further, I would have had her call DCL and make the change while I was on the phone with her. We have one of the Midship Cat. 3 Suites for our Dec. 2006 cruise and they can be difficult to get.
Good Luck, I hope you get the suite you want.

 

[smilingmouse]

It is my understanding that once you're dealing with a TA, DCL will only deal with the TA and you are not allowed to make changes yourself.

You are correct....I hope everything works out with your TA....

 

[lbgraves]

If the price is still the same, I would call DCL in the morning & if nothing has changed book with them on your own then call the TA & advise her to cancel the reservation you have with her. There is no excuse for the lack of communication from her IMO.

 

[Billinaz]

Call the TA ASAP and ask her if she changed the res. As you can see 8532 is my favorite.

If she says she has not changed it yet, let her know you will hold while they call DCL on another phone and get you the room you want.

If you do get 8532, email me.....

 

[ivanova]

it might simply be that DCL's website hasn't updated yet -- if you reach the TA and she hasn't done it yet, then ask her to CANCEL the ressie and either rebook through a better TA or directly with DCL for the room you want (assuming you won't suffer a price increase by rebooking).

 

[callahanjulie10]

If you have 16 months to go and you can't get anything done now- I would cancel and rebook with someone else. I have always used DU- Dagny and she always does anything I ask and more. I am a pretty hands on vacation person and like to know and change things frequently! The anticipation is one the best things about vacation. Even though you can't make direct changes to your ressie, you should be able to do this with no problem through your agent without feeling like you are a problem or that your concerns arent' worthy of action.

 

[AlexandNessa]

Thanks for the replies!

Now I am a bit more POd! I just got off the phone with DCL, and I asked if cabin 8034 was available (I told my TA that was our first choice) for our sail date, and the DCL agent told me it was available. So, my TA did not even call DCL on my behalf at all. That was 2 days ago that she said she was going to call.

Hmpphhh. I will leave her a message today, and if it's not taken care of by tomorrow, I am canceling with her and booking directly with Disney. That's just crud. I should probably just cancel with her now, and if I don't get the warm fuzzies that she'll take care of it, I surely will cancel with her. Too bad too, because we could have been loyal customers, and we rarely book the cheap seats.

BTW, my TA is with an agency that seems to be a fairly popular one on these boards (not DU) and mentioned about 8 million times on mousesavers, so I'm a bit surprised by the blow-off. But I guess room changes don't add to her commission ...

 

[webray]

Don't wait, call and book the room you want yourself, or through another travel agent and cancel the room you have booked with your current TA and never use this person again. There is no excuse for your current TA and you have given this person many more chances than I would have.

 

[Ker-Bear]

If there is no price difference book direct with DCL. Do not wait until tomorrow. I have over 13 years in the hospitality industry as well as a degree in it and this is absolutely unacceptable. If she worked for me she would definitely be getting a counseling session. Leopards do not change their spots. If this is how she is handling you now it will be how she handles you in the future. Trust me. Bad service and lack of communication on her part illustrates that she doesn't care about you as a customer. What benefit are you getting from having her?

Do not wait, why be upset if someone books your suite and you miss out because you are giving her a chance?

Just my opinion.... Good Luck

 

[lbgraves]

ITA. If you keep waiting, the rooms you want may not be available. Let us know when you have that stateroom in your name.

 

[goofymama]

Thanks for the replies!

Now I am a bit more POd! I just got off the phone with DCL, and I asked if cabin 8034 was available (I told my TA that was our first choice) for our sail date, and the DCL agent told me it was available. So, my TA did not even call DCL on my behalf at all. That was 2 days ago that she said she was going to call.

Hmpphhh. I will leave her a message today, and if it's not taken care of by tomorrow, I am canceling with her and booking directly with Disney. That's just crud. I should probably just cancel with her now, and if I don't get the warm fuzzies that she'll take care of it, I surely will cancel with her. Too bad too, because we could have been loyal customers, and we rarely book the cheap seats.

BTW, my TA is with an agency that seems to be a fairly popular one on these boards (not DU) and mentioned about 8 million times on mousesavers, so I'm a bit surprised by the blow-off. But I guess room changes don't add to her commission ...

I totally agree with everyone else - if it won't cause the price of your cruise to go up, I would rebook with someone else immediately. Who knows, you might even find a better rate! Good luck and let us know what happnes.

 

[clten]

I just wanted to add my two cents. As I am a travel agent, I know what goes on all day. Giving them the benefit of the doubt that they were in the middle of something pressing and time-sensative when you called the first time, they may not have been able to drop everything and get your cabin changed. However, I don't believe there is ANY reason that the change couldn't have been made by the end of that day. It is a quick phone call once you get through. (A lot of time the longest part is waiting on hold. If I am on hold, I work on something else while waiting for them to pick up.)

If you would rather work directly with Disney, I think you can have them remove your travel agent from the record (you may need to send them something in writing. Same goes if you want to keep the reservation but change travel agents). This will keep you from having to re-deposit and wait for a refund from the cancelled reservation. I know a lot of travel agents who just service you until they see the money and then forget about you. If this agent is one of them, get away while you can. What's going to happen if you need them to be your advocate for something else? Plus, don't lose your cabin, you don't want to spend your vacation thinking it would have been one notch better if only...

 

[katedrew94]

Your TA should definitely be responding more readily. Good luck!

 

[AlexandNessa]

Well, I am also going to post this in a new thread to see what others have to say, but, here's the latest ...

Although impatient, I do believe you have to give someone an opportunity to make things right. Sometimes we have to judge our experience by how a business or agency or cruise line, etc., handles a problem once they've been notified of it. Well, I did that when I left the message this morning and with the following saga:

This afternoon, I had a message from my TA, and she was very upset. It turns out the DCL would not *allow* her to switch my reservation. They said that these midship cabins are connecting category 3 staterooms that create a large 2 bedroom suite for larger families. Disney Cruise Line will not split them up unless you are traveling with another party who is also in a Category 3. Curious, I called DCL myself and inquired about booking the cabin. I told them I was looking to book a specific stateroom and asked to its availability. DCL said that it was available, no problem, I could have it. I put a courtesy hold on the ressie, and called my TA back.

I explained to her what I did, and she was very upset with the conflicting info DCL gave her and me. She asked what I wanted to do. I said, cancel the reservation you have for me, and we'll just transfer the reservation I just made to you. She said she would do that and transfer my deposit.

I had also received a message from the manager of the agency saying that she had received a call from my TA this morning and was very concerned about making the room switch right for me (I am working midnights right now, so I turn off the phone and turn my answering machine all the way down so as not to be disturbed, so this is why I didn't notice the call right away).

Anyway, I don't know if my TA ran into another glitch, but I haven't received notification yet that this was switched over.

More to follow...

 

[Laurarn]

Wow, I have to wonder if we're dealing with the same travel agency. I'm dealing with my Travel agency over not paying off my cruise in time. I put my deposit down (credit card)months ago for my Sept. cruise, then I sent a check to the agency to put more on the account (end of April), then paid off the cruise the end of May (with credit card). Well, the agency apparently cashed my check back in April, but didn't forward the money to DCL. Needless to say, I'm a compulsive planner also, and I was ready to place my ressies for Palo and the Spa on Monday (my 90 day window as a CC member), only to find out that my cruise wasn't paid off to DCL! (Remember I sent my final payment the end of May and they even sent me a invoice with a zero balance a few weeks ago!) They blamed DCL and I had even called DCL and DCL said they never got the money that I had sent via check to the agency (even though the agency cashed it when it arrived!). They couldn't book my ressies until I was paid off. So, finally the agency admits they just sent the money and now I have to wait until Friday to book my ressies. My travel agent (not the agency) has been supportive and trying to clear this up for me since he wasn't aware until I called him. I told the agency that I'm active on these disboards, and that DCL has just started the pre-trip ressies and wondered if they were aware of that. They said "of course we are". Yeah right, so if they knew,then it should've been paid off. This is my 3rd cruise booked through them and one also booked for next year. Depending on the outcome, I might look for a new agency. Thanks for letting me vent.

 

[AlexandNessa]

Well, I just got off the phone with my TA. And, she did make it right. She spoke to a supervisor and explained what happened and was completely honest about me being double booked right now because of the conflicting information that we each received from DCL.

Anyway, the supervisor said that the person who my TA spoke to shouldn't have answered the TA line (sounds like DCL has a line for us regular folk and a separate one for TAs), and didn't know what she was talking about. I'd hate to be this poor CM right now, as my TA had a name and was extremely upset that she almost lost a client over this. So, for a brief time, I was actually booked in 2 mid-ship Cat 3 staterooms (lucky me, if only we could afford to bring more friends along!).

So, I have to say that my TA did pull through and all is right in Jodie's Disney World. BTW, we wound up 8534, which is just fine with me!

Happy Days!