has anyone ever changed reservations/TA

[cepmom]

We have booked a 4 night cruise for 8/28/05, cat 4 family stateroom. I have been rethinking the cat 4 room and have asked my TA (small world vacations) to check on prices for two connecting cat 10 rooms. While I was waiting to hear back from her, I checked on All Seas website for the same cruise, same room cat and found that the price through All Seas was about $185 cheaper than what Small World came back with. I have pretty much decided to switch to the two connecting cat 10 rooms, but I am unsure if I should switch my reservation to All Seas to save even more money. Has anyone ever done this? I am feeling guilty because Laura at Small World has been very helpful in booking this trip. Any advice is welcome!!!!

 

[Lloyd Dobler]

I don't believe that you can "switch" a reservation between two travel agents. The current agent would have to agree, and they would essentially be agreeing to hand their commission for booking the cruise to another agency. I think there is a kind of unwritten rule in the industry which says one agency won't hijack an existing reservation from another one. You would probably have to cancel your current reservation and book a new one with All Seas. Make sure the current agent does not have a cancellation fee, as that could mitigate any savings you might get with All Seas.

 

[erikthewise]

You should feel guilty! I am also using Laura at Small World and I know she gives excellent service, and Small World does give discounts. I am surprised that the difference is so large even for two cabins. Mention this to Laura and give her a chance to make you a satisfied customer.

 

[cepmom]

I have been happy with Laura at Small World, but I am trying to save money any way I can in order for my family to take this trip. I just didn't know if this was common practice for people to find better prices then switch to save money. I have read before where people talk about switching their reservation to AAA for example but I guess in that situation it was from DCL to a TA.

I think that if Disney Visa has a similar offer for cruising in 2005 ($50 onboard credit per stateroom), then the savings wouldn't be so significant. (I guess I just answered my own question, didn't I?)

 

[Az Pirates]

I would definitely tell your TA about the price you found on the other web site - should be simple enough for her to check it out.
Maybe they will offer to match the price - it's sure worth a try.

 

[kcashner]

Yes, I have changed reservations. Due to a family emergency, we changed the date of a sailing--there was a $25 per person re-ticketing charge since documents had already been issued. I've been told that this is now $35. DCL and the TA were both very helpful.

We have also "changed" TAs...but it was from DCL to a discount agent. THe discount agents work in 2 ways. Most are able to give you a discount by essentially giving back to you a part of their commission. This is particularly true of those who work primarily on line. The other way is that some agencies book up huge numbers of cabins (which they get at a discount), and then re-sell them to customers. This happens mostly with large, nationwide agencies. Please check with your current agent. I've found that when AAA or someone else is advertising a special, my favorite local TA can almost always either match or better it!

The only way you can switch an existing reservation from one TA to another is if the first agrees to "give up" the booking. If you booked thru the agent and she did a lot of work for you, this makes no sense. The other way is to make a second reservation, then cancel the first (no charge or penalty if you are more than 60 days out.) While this would work, it is really unfair to the agent who did the work!