travel agent? why

[RACER_X]

so we are planning on a disney cruise next yr

wife has been emailing w/ a travel agent

but will they get us a better price? or ?

it's pretty cut and dry as far as cruises go, i think. especially disney


are they a thing of the past w/ the advent of the internet?

[~JJ]

I get the same exact deal when I compare pricing with an agent. Agents say the benefits of using them are coordination/planning, free upgrades and someone to call if things go wrong... from my experience.

[Cru Jones]

Went on a trip this past spring to an island in the Indian ocean where my 6-year old got very sick and we had to prolong our trip. Having a good travel agent really helped us out then.

[eman1200]

interesting question. I typically do my own research. as a single dude, I sometimes just want to "get out of dodge" for a long weekend trip. I can see a travel agent just knowing where the current good deal destinations are, but other than that I haven't used one in well over 10 years. if you're flexible, priceline is awesome for deals on hotels!

[figbo]

I usually get the best price on the net or book it with the cruise line itself,then call a travel agent to see if they can beat my price and what perks can they give us extra,i.e.,onboard credits,pre-paid gratuities and free excursions.Some will do them all.

[RACER_X]

since i'm a pretty straight up guy, i just emailed the travel agent and said

"i can already book my disney cruise, what can you do for me?"

lol

[RACER_X]

so this is what i got back

There are many advantages to booking through a travel agent, including the following:

1) I have been on the ships and can make recommendations based on that experience
2) You are dealing with someone local and not a random person/internet
3) You get the exact same rate as you would from Disney - they pay me to take care of you
4) Should there be an issue, I help you to resolve it and have contacts at Disney. If you book online or over the phone, you're stuck calling 800 #s and getting a random person each time
5) You have my office and cell # to use at any time should you have questions or needs
6) You can spend time researching all the details or you can let me take care of everything and I can answer any questions that you may have without you having to spend valuable time searching for the answers

[figbo]

No extras?Forget her or him,ask the same questions to someone else.

[joe100]

Traveling in the first world, I book myself. Third world? Travel agent all the way. Anything out of the ordinary I use an agent

[Dr. Robert]

Support your local travel agent.....it's worth it.

[Ebruner]

It really depends on the trip. I usually book all myself, but then some trips are just too complicated for me to book myself.

-Eddie

[Dan Pierce]

Leisure, book myself (well the wife does). For work, our office travel agent.
dP

[RACER_X]

Originally Posted by Dr. Robert

Support your local travel agent.....it's worth it.

what can they do for me?

disney cruise

i drive 60mi to the dock, get on board.

cruise = disney

get back, i drive home.

we don't officially vaction much, because we always go visit her son/family in Kansas. i would like a nice trip for us next yr as it's our 10th anniv along w/ the disney cruise.

i believe in relationship buiilding w/ business if there is benefit for both parties, but to pay for this guys rolex.......so he can baby-sit my paperwork?

[SLRdude]

I do not vacation much but when I do, I call AMEX and let them do it for me.

However, like somebody before me mentioned, support your local agent if you know one.

[MonBK]

Originally Posted by RACER_X

what can they do for me?

disney cruise

i drive 60mi to the dock, get on board.

cruise = disney

get back, i drive home.

we don't officially vaction much, because we always go visit her son/family in Kansas. i would like a nice trip for us next yr as it's our 10th anniv along w/ the disney cruise.

i believe in relationship buiilding w/ business if there is benefit for both parties, but to pay for this guys rolex.......so he can baby-sit my paperwork?

Then book it yourself and be done with it.

[Monte Cristo]

Originally Posted by Dr. Robert

Support your local travel agent.....it's worth it.

[experimentjon]

I actually just got off the phone with an agent from my company's travel center to book a few domestic flights. I had been looking on the Kayak app on my Android phone too (awesome app). Turns out, that for a particularly challenging arrival/departure time, she was able to find a transfer flight that fit my schedule and that Kayak didn't show me. And in my experience, it seems that they tend to get roughly the same prices as you could find online anyway.

So I think that if you're having a hard time finding an itinerary that you want, or if you are dissatisfied with the pricing that the online travel hubs are showing, then try an agent. There are also all of the other benefits others have mentioned. However, with your Disney cruise, it seems pretty straightforward and something you can book yourself.

[Ebruner]

Originally Posted by RACER_X

what can they do for me?

disney cruise

i drive 60mi to the dock, get on board.

cruise = disney

get back, i drive home.

we don't officially vaction much, because we always go visit her son/family in Kansas. i would like a nice trip for us next yr as it's our 10th anniv along w/ the disney cruise.

i believe in relationship buiilding w/ business if there is benefit for both parties, but to pay for this guys rolex.......so he can baby-sit my paperwork?

Then book it. Thread done.

-Eddie

[Demosthene]

I’ve never used a travel agent and nether has anyone else know under 30.

[Dr. Robert]

Originally Posted by Demosthene

I’ve never used a travel agent and nether has anyone else know under 30.

Youth, it's wasted on the young.

[Demosthene]

They just seem to offer a service that is completely unnecessary if your computer literate.

[Rbdport]

I use a travel agent about 90% of the time. I use a local agent who happens to work for AMEX. I do about 50% of the work....I lay out the place and timeline and give my agent (he's done trips for me for the last 5 years) a list of what I would like to see/do. He narrows it down and we go from there. Hubby works for an international hotel chain, so sometimes we do the rooms, sometimes the agent does. He usually books all the travel because we do everything from Self drive car rental to private limo to train to private yacht to canal boats, etc. A trusted travel agent has been able to make dream trips happen for us on a regular basis for a reasonable cost. It would have taken me an inordinate number of hours online/on the phone to make happen some of the things our agent was able to hook us up with.

[Ebruner]

Originally Posted by Dr. Robert

Youth, it's wasted on the young.

We could explain it to them, but they wouln't listen any more than we did back then. Unfortunate.

-Eddie

[Ebruner]

Originally Posted by Demosthene

They just seem to offer a service that completely unnecessary if your computer literate.

No, they offer a service to those of us who appreciate time IS the most valuable asset we have. I can find many more things to do with my time, than booking complicated travel arrangements.

-Eddie

[Demosthene]

Originally Posted by Ebruner

No, they offer a service to those of us who appreciate time IS the most valuable asset we have. I can find many more things to do with my time, than booking complicated travel arrangements.

Touché’ I’ll give you that one.
I don’t bring my work home with me so researching and organising a holiday schedule forms an enjoyable part of the process (especially if you’re doing stuff off the beaten track)

[Tools]

We travel a lot.. Usually 2 to 5 Cruises a year.. (We've already gone to Panama and Hawaii; will be on a California Coastal next month, then back to Hawaii over Christmas)

We do all the research, including what suite we want, then turn it over to a travel agent..

The Agent always (without exception) provides either on-board credit, a bottle of wine, or a free dinner at a specialty restaurant for using their service.. You cannot do better yourself.

[joeychitwood]

We booked a Mexican Riviera vacation a few years ago. Upon arrival, the hotel room was not satisfactory. I went to the Front Desk and was unsuccessful in changing rooms, having been told that there were no other available rooms. I then contacted the local representative of our travel agency. In ten minutes, we'd been upgraded to a corner three room suite with a hot tub on our private deck, no additional charge. I'm a big believer in using a good travel agency.