Travel agent expectations

[sesame_123]

I have not used a travel agent and am wondering what a reasonable expectation would be. I recently inquired with a travel agency about a royal cruise and the main reason why I even asked (as I usually book my own through Costco) has to do with navigating all the Covid protocols. My main hesitation is finding a way to test seeing as we will already be on vacation before the cruise and being unfamiliar with the area wouldn’t know where to go for testing. The travel agent responded that they can’t help with testing and gave me a link to the royal Caribbean Covid info. So is it unrealistic to expect a travel agent to at least give me a list of testing locations in the area. If I have to figure it all out myself. The. Why the travel agent??

 

[kdonnel]

The rules are in constant flux, I personally would not rely on the testing advice given by a travel agent. I would want to get the information directly from the cruise line as the travel agent suggested.

In my opinion the easiest way to test while already on vacation would be to order monitored at home tests. Take them with you and test 2 days prior to your cruise while on vacation. Order at least one extra in case something goes wrong with the testing.

Testing sites come and go. A list given to you by a travel agent today is probably not current come cruise time. I booked a cruise when testing was not under pressure. You could walk in anywhere and get your results back in 24 hours. By the time my cruise rolled around you had to have made a reservation 7 days in advance and your results took 4-6 days.

Here is the link from Royal Caribbean to get approved at home monitored tests.

https://store.optum.com/royal-caribbean/

 

[sesame_123]

I understand all of that and thank you for your input. I really was looking for first hand knowledge of what to expect and while I understand that testing can and will change I don’t think wanting a list of clinic and pharmacies in the area that can provide it is an unrealistic want from a travel agent. I would have already booked this cruise with the travel agent had they at least given me anything. Even if it would have had all of your smart advice. As far as the optum store that is what I had decided to do for the testing (and will book everything myself as I see zero benefit to the travel agent at this time) however they screwed the whole order up and I am currently waiting to see how they want to proceed. With a refund or what. So now I think I’m ordering tests from emed for substantial savings and since that is who proctors the test for optum I think we should be good.
Thanks again.

 

[sethschroeder]

Why the travel agent??

The main benefit I found is simply if they give you some benefit like a rebate or extra benefit when booking through them.

I find travel agents to be too slow IMO as I can more quickly just find the answer or just ask the question here or www.cruisecritic.com and more quickly get an answer.

finding a way to test

When is your cruise? Always a chance by then testing might not even be required. Additionally let us know where you are cruising out of and possibly people can help point you where you can get testing booked at.

 

[LSUfan4444]

During COVID cancellations I had a soft spot in my heart for travel agents so used one on my next bookings and after three agents with two different companies, I am reminded why I quit in the first place. Many times, delays of a couple of days can have big financial impact and we've been bit a couple of times.

Not to mention, the way Royal does their refunds is HORRIBLE. Whether in FCCs, OBCs or cash refunds when you have issues the agent has to do the work for you and it becomes frustrating because it's my money hung up and I have to go through one person to speak to someone else.

We're STILL waiting on a $750 deposit from November 2021 to be re-paid that our agent was told time and time again Royal had refunded to a card/account we cancelled over a year ago. After weeks and weeks and back and forth Royal finally agreed and now we're supposed to get the refund sometime in the next three weeks but if there are any issues...I can't even call them to check up on it.

 

[sesame_123]

The main benefit I found is simply if they give you some benefit like a rebate or extra benefit when booking through them.

I find travel agents to be too slow IMO as I can more quickly just find the answer or just ask the question here or www.cruisecritic.com and more quickly get an answer.

Yes. This has been my experience as well. I book through Costco travel which I guess is a travel agency of sorts but I can do it all online myself and got both onboard credit and a Costco gift card. I had even misspelled a passenger name and they have a nice online form to fill out. Said it could take 48-60 hours to update. Was done in three


When is your cruise? Always a chance by then testing might not even be required. Additionally let us know where you are cruising out of and possibly people can help point you where you can get testing booked at.

cruise is April 1st out of port canaveral. We will be in Orlando on March 30th yet. So I have looked in both places. I have ordered and already received the home telehealth tests from royal and felt confident enough in that to go ahead and book the cruise. Again you are correct that getting answers myself through here or other cruising sites is simpler and faster than using a travel agent.

 

[peacefrogdog]

What expectations do you (or have you had) of your TA's regarding watching out for price drops on cruises that are already booked?
Each time a price change (drop) has been possible it has been be who has notified the TA. Granted I tend to check quite frequently, and I realize TA's have many clients they have to look after.

 

[sesame_123]

I have never used a travel agent. I am an over planner myself and constantly check the resources available to me.(cruise lines websites, cruise critic, blogs, YouTube). I book with Costco travel and do all the work for that myself but still get the extra travel agent perks of shipboard credit and gift cards. This was the second time I contacted a real person agency and just like the first didn’t feel like I was getting anything worthwhile. If someone has a TA they work with that provides a true personal touch then that may be worth it. But for me, having the agent basically pawn off my worries by sending me to the RCCL website which I had already scoured for answers was not what I had “expected” which led me to wonder what is a realistic expectation of them.

 

[peacefrogdog]

Have never used a TA until I booked cruises that were to sail after the pandemic started. In this context, I ended up receiving FCC's for two cancelled cruises, that I then used to pay for another cruise, that was also cancelled after which RC issued me a third set of FCC's. However, the value of this third set did not equal the total value of my original two FCC's combined. Here, having a TA helped me a TON - she was able to sort out this mess of FCC's. Turns out RC has elected to issue new FCC's in chunks. I would have had a very difficult time sorting this out myself.

In general when it comes to making sure I get refunded for what I cancel, having a TA is worth the [free] cost of her/his services.