What gift did you get from your travel agent?

[MarkLem]

Price, good service, reliability are the most important to me. I personally could care less about a gift, and am surprised about all the quibbling over them.

 

[Gatormice]

We booked off the Mouse Savers recommended Agent - Small World Travel - NADA - did not receive any gift what so ever! Oh well maybe next time. Not that they were a bad agency but after reading the recommendations I expected more. Did not do anything to get my business back the next time. Don't you just love planning/buying something and you end up doing more research/knowing more about the product then the salesperson? Whatever happened to customer service?

 

[Brer-Rabbit]

We booked through www.planmycruise.com Our agent gave had a bottle of wine, a totebag and a very special pin in our room when we arrived. It was awesome! I recommend them highly, because in addtion to that they gave us a huge discount on our cruise.

 

[mkandk]

I hear you, Crisi!

I thought I was the only one who cringed a little when I see an expensive bouquet with my name on it. I love flowers as much as anyone else, but when it's coming out of "our" money, I'd just as soon put the $60 towards something a little longer lasting.

I wasn't expecting anything to be in our cabin. I only talked for the TA about 5 minutes on the phone...I don't think he owes me anything.

Although it'd be a nice touch.

 

[trishy]

I didn't mean to ruffle any feathers. My answer was simple and to the point relating to the op question: "What gift did you get from your travel agent?" In our case, it was nothing. If DU, their client's, or mods feel the need to debate the policy, a new thread on the Debate Board should be started - bet it would be a very interesting and spirited debate and I'd post my personal opinion on it. I'd hate to see this thread ended, which is the course it's going now that mods have become involved, because I'm finding the information very interesting and I'm taking notes for our next trip. I'd bet others are too. I'm very curious to see what others have gotten.

 

[AnnMorin]

And I love wine
Like I said before I have never recieved anything (and No I didn't book with dreams we are DVC) nor did I expect anything. The fantastic time I had was a gift enough.. I have shirley put wine in my cabin for me so I guess I do have a gift waiting.. from me (and I know it is the kind I like and that I will appreciate it maybe I should send myself a thank you note )

 

[scottygirl]

Remember, very few things in life are free. If you got a gift, you paid for it in the price of the cruise. I thought it was better to give than receive? No one should ever "expect" a gift. JMHO

 

[abitjaded]

Years ago we went on a honeymoon cruise (not with DCL). Our travel agent did not give us a gift. However, the couple we traveled with (not their honeymoon) got one. Go figure.

Our DCL cruise was booked with a local "cruise specialist". Again, nada. We didn't expect a gift, but did expect good service. No service was more like it. Instead we just got a tacked on service charge!!!! Our next cruise is booked through a larger Cruise Holidays travel agent. Not expecting a gift, but we got a cabin credit of $50 per cabin and have had nice, polite service. And they had a nice "booking show", free soda and treats and we did get some free Disney pins.

Carla

 

[strawberryblonde]

Originally posted by SueEllen
. John has clearly indicated that Dreams is following through on any sailings that had the promise of the gift and has more than 8 staterooms.

Sue Ellen [/B]

Actually it gets alittle cloudy.......

Our sailing date is considered a "holiday date" and for some reason that is throwing a wrench into things. Right now DU does not know what they are going to do with their staterooms booked for March 20, 2004 through them. Looks like it is a cruise date by cruise date basis and not just if you were booked along with 7 other rooms before July 2003.

 

[MrsPete]

We booked with AAA, and we received the free soda mugs. Something in the literature said that was our gift from the AAA agent.

Incidentally, we didn't drink anywhere near $20 of soda in our four days. If we hadn't known we were receiving these mugs for free, we would DEFINATELY have brought a couple six-packs of Diet Coke on board. Or we would have stuck with the tea, lemonaide, and fruit punch (which were all free and very good). I would absolutely not pay for the soda program.

 

[mcnuss]

I chose my TA for the invaluable service she provides, never thinking about whether we'd get a gift from her. (And I am not going to even mention whether we did or did not, bc it's beside the point.) We were on the cruise before the cancelled cruise last year. She went so far above & beyond in keeping us informed, dealing with Disney, etc... that she is now my TA for life! Not to mention, she did negotiate a great price & an upgrade for us. Now that's a gift!

While I understand Aprilgail's points about holding up one's end of a bargain, I don't agree that one should choose a TA based on a gift. That's like picking your bank bc they give you a toaster!

 

[pippy]

we booked with AAA and received a disney tote and 3 disposable cameras and a coupon for 3 free disney mugs!
I'm not expecting anything in our room.

 

[skatie]

we recieved a chese and cracker tray with fresh fruits

 

[polkadotladybug]

Our cruise in March - we got a disposable camera and a crappy dollar store photo album....LOL Um....Thanks!

This time we went with All Seas Travel - I have no idea what we will get (if any) - silly me asked her if there was any sort of gift (I prob. should not have asked!) and she said "just the low price" (which honestly - after getting prices from DCL and about 4 other places including Dreams, AAA and others) - they all run just about the same! I don't think I'm buying the whole "savings" business - it's a marketing ploy in my book. (but I'll be looking for our gift if we do in fact get one!)

Anyone else use All Seas Travel - if so what'd you get??

 

[FoodLover]

Originally posted by scottygirl
If you got a gift, you paid for it in the price of the cruise.

Actually, this is not necessarily true.

The gifts come from two sources.

The first and most common source is the travel agent's own pocket. Essentially the agent is spending part of her commission to purchase the in-stateroom gift for you, as a thank-you for your business.

In this case it could be argued that you're "paying" for this because the agent could have rebated you that $10-$25 the gift cost, instead.

The second and less common source of gifts is Disney. Larger agencies that do a lot of business with Disney qualify for various promotional items that Disney supplies and pays for. Some of these items are very nice (beach towels, photo albums, picture frames, etc.) Disney doesn't offer these all the time, but if you watch for promos, you may be able to nab a nice giftie that way.

In general my priorities are getting a good fare and great service. But in-stateroom gifts can be nice, too -- and they don't necessarily mean you're paying any more.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

 

[scottygirl]

Originally posted by FoodLover
Actually, this is not necessarily true.

The gifts come from two sources.

The first and most common source is the travel agent's own pocket. Essentially the agent is spending part of her commission to purchase the in-stateroom gift for you, as a thank-you for your business.

In this case it could be argued that you're "paying" for this because the agent could have rebated you that $10-$25 the gift cost, instead.

The second and less common source of gifts is Disney. Larger agencies that do a lot of business with Disney qualify for various promotional items that Disney supplies and pays for. Some of these items are very nice (beach towels, photo albums, picture frames, etc.) Disney doesn't offer these all the time, but if you watch for promos, you may be able to nab a nice giftie that way.

In general my priorities are getting a good fare and great service. But in-stateroom gifts can be nice, too -- and they don't necessarily mean you're paying any more.

Mary
MouseSavers.com

Mary,

I still beg to differ. Ultimately, Disney is still including the price of those promotional items in the price of your cruise. In the end the consumer always pays the price. Disney's responsibility is to their shareholders and hence their bottom line.

 

[trishy]

I have to agree with Mary (not just because she is a wonderful source of great information) because I have seen with my own eyes where some of these "promo" items end up (Oh Yeah!) when they are considered "old". These items are usually mass produced in such large quantities that the cost per item is miniscule. If the cost was transferred to the passenger, then the "promo" gift's cost would hardly be noticeable. I'm just surprised at the large number of "promo" gifts that end up at this warehouse. I'm sure there's more around the country, too.

I definitely wouldn't base my travel agent on what they'll leave me in my room (there are many factors; price, service, reputation), but you got to admit, it's a very nice gesture and generous touch - one that gets remembered.

 

[seastar]

We booked with AAA for our May 2004 cruise and received a shipboard credit of $100 and four soda mugs.

 

[erikthewise]

A gift from my travel agent? I should be giving HER a gift! She's been very helpful! (What do you get for the travel agent who has everything?)

 

[Nette1]

Ohhh, I got a wonderful gift tote bag, filled with all kinds of goodies from my TA. We got a disposable camera, an alarm clock, toilet wipes, needle and thread, kleenex, bandaids, motion tablets, 2 beach towels, and really nice brass picture frames....
Shes great! When I picked up my docs. She went over everything. Since this is our first cruise she informed us of places we might want to visit on each island. She gave me information on cash vs credit cards off shore. Her company is called Carleys Tours and Cruises.......