Expert: Curtis Thorsen - 7/20/2008

Question
QUESTION: I have booked  (last dec 2007)a family group cruise on the Celebrity Infinity- 19 passengers- 8/1-8/8/8mto Alaska 7 day cruise. I see in my emails from Celebrity that they are offerring $200 per cabin bonus for booking this cruise now. I asked my travel agent about thois- he says it is for NEW bookings-is the right. It was my understanding that we would be covered on any new offerrings after we booked. What do you suggest?????

ANSWER: Sorry for the delay getting back to you but I was out of town with clients on a cruise and just returned today !!!

Not clear if your TA booked the cruise as a "Group" booking or thru he regular reservations dept., but if they had booked it thru the group dept. then the new lower fares would NOT BE APPLICABLE to your group pricing IN MOST CASES...... Cruiselines are notorious for the "New Bookings Only" clause and unless your TA fights for this, and goes to a Celebrity supervisor, the rates will not be adjusted, but IT CAN BE DONE if they fight for their clients as I do for mine.... sometimes it cannot be a new lower fare, but can provide an onboard credit to be used towards onboard purchases to each booking for the fare difference.....Keep in mind that different agencies work differently regarding rate adjustments... some will do them and some will not. These are the kinds of things you should know about any TA before doing business with them along with any cancellation or change fees they may charge beyond cruiseline penalties...Just food for future cruise or resort planning you may be contemplating.

I have had to make some similar rate adjustments and happy to fight for the clients, despite lowering the commission received. My theory is that if you do everything you can to make your clients satisfied, the minimal loss in commission will be recouped by future bookings and referrals simply for providing the SERVICE and HONEST INTEGRITY that clients deserve !

As an FYI... I just had clients on the Infinity that returned from Alaska this past Friday... of course we found them 5 of the primo Concierge Class staterooms that are larger and some agents are unaware of when booking clients on this ship.... needless to say the clients called me from Seattle after boarding the ship and said "Curtis.... what the heck did you do....??? We are in a huge stateroom, with a huge balcony and flowers, binoculars, Concierge service....." and finished with "WOW" !!! They emailed me daily from the ship telling me how the cruise was going... how they loved their room... service was the BEST.... and always closed with a THANKYOU for everything you did to make our first Alaska cruise simply the best ! They also were kind enough to provide my email address to other passengers they met onboard and told about what I had done for them... end result... satisfied clients and new additions to our growing data base ! My office is a Virtuoso Agency and many times this has some pull with Celebrity to get done what we need....

Not tooting my horn, but in my years of travel assistance for clients, this is what a good TA does to make their clients happy, and the recognition we get from clients such as example above is why assisting in their travel planning is so rewarding... not always about the $$$$ as many may think, because I assure you, us TA's out here ain't getting rich as some may believe !

I hope I was of some assistance to you and that you can contact your TA and ask them to perhaps work a little harder for you to possibly lower the fares if possible.... If you are a Captains Club member, this could also help.... Best of luck in the outcome of this and regardless, I truly hope that your Alaska cruise experience provides lasting memories.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I wrote to the President of Celebrety cruise line about the issue of not getting the credit as per my Travel Agent- I was told that the credit only applied to new bookings- mine did not qualify.

Answer
Your real problem lies with your TA..... they promised you something that may have not been correct as it appears. On many occassions, the term "for new bookings only" are used when it comes to OBC or lower rates.....Your TA just promised you something they could not deliver it sounds like. In the end, I would be very careful whom you book with in the future and get all promises either in writing or via documentation from the cruiseline. I personally would never tell a client I could get them something when it was not even possible... I feel that shooting the truth is much better technique than promising the world and not being able to deliver.

Keep searching for the TA that fits your needs and you will be a happy client in the end.