Travel Agency Perks: What is Normal?

[bakerworld]

We use a TA. My BIL does not. The price is the same. We like short cruises so our OBC is usually $25. This past September we enjoyed a 6D cruise so the OBC was $100. The big difference is the DCL interaction. Apparently everything with DCL needs to be done by phone, as verified by my BIL. So the TA does the phone. She is very responsive so my emails and phone calls.

We were in a sticky situation in February '22 which had us cancelling 15 days pre-cruise. We don't know whether it was her or Covid but she called to say she was on the phone with DCL and if I could give a date they'd just move everything to the re-booking. We picked the following year and the cruise was actually cheaper so we saved. That was incredible. We loved that cruise.

This past September we decided on a cruise 7 weeks out. I tried to book it myself and the cabin kept 'disappearing' so I called her. She said to let her work on it and an hour later we were booked.

So after all that we are just gonna keep using our TA. I don't know whether it's her or coincidence but she's earned our loyalty.

 

[Akck]

For us, the main perk we go with a TA is for if/when things go wrong. For instance, a hurricane hit the area a couple days before our cruise. We normally stay in Orlando before it, but that changed as the resort canceled all reservations. Our TA was able to advise us on our alternatives and make arrangements for our changed plans. We went with Dreams Unlimited Travel, the sponsor of these boards, which offers a shipboard credit. Our TA prefers communications via email, which we like since it gives us a written record I can refer back to if needed. Her response time are amazing. I once asked a question on Saturday, not expecting an answer until Monday. She responded in hours. I consider that a perk too.