TA's and cruise brides I need some advice.

[~St.T Bride~]

Ok. My FI and I decided that since we haven't cruised before and it is for a group wedding, that we would use a travel agent and decided that Cruiseship Centers was probably a good choice. We ended up using the person that we first talked to, which I'm not sure if there is any other way to get around it. First impression of her was pretty good, but as we go along I'm liking her less and less.

 

She's not good with communication. She doesn't let us know when there are new bookings, or cancellations. I have no idea if and what she's working on. She's supposedly working on flights for us (for the past month) and I really haven't heard anything. She didn't realize that the weekend we leave Miami is SUPERBOWL weekend...I found out through a friend that used her own TA to book the pre-cruise hotel (she doesn't like my TA) and this is just the tip of the ice berg with little rants that I can go on and on about.

 

My one big dilemma is about my 'group incentive' being the group leader. If I had booked through Carnival myself I would have been able to choose how to disperse my credits. ---Oh, and I had to ask about this incentive...she NEVER told me about it ----

 

My TA is choosing how this will be given out. She's chosen a bottle of champagne and chocolates per stateroom which is nice, BUT she's going to put from "The Bride, Groom & Mary" on the card...

 

I know that she wants repeat business, but this is MY group incentive for having people book. She didn't recruit anyone! And nobody even likes her/trusts her Is there a nice way to tell her I want the card to say "From the Bride & Groom" only?? Am I being a bridezilla? Do I just have to suck it up??

[Banana11]

We were able to choose how to use the group points. Instead of taking the free cruise we earned by having 12 cabins book we used it to bring the cost down for everyone. We also used group points to get our guests a $25 on board credit per cabin.

[cruisebride0410]

I booked through Carnival as well and they do let you decide how to use the group incentive credits. So I think you should definitely have a say in how yours are used. I don't think she should get to put her name on it either. If she wants to get some PR out there for herself, she should give your guests something. Don't feel Bridezilla-ish about asking her to have the card say "from the bride and groom"

[Jenn79]

Wow, that must be a TA specific thing, because we went through Cruise Ship Centers and were not only told about the incentive program up front, but were given the choice of how to disperse the points. To be honest I don't remember if we had a card given with the wine (what we decided on), so I can't help you there.

 

Our rep was also really good with keeping us in the loop in regards to who had booked, who owed what, when due dates were coming up.

 

I'm so sorry you're dealing with these problems, your TA definitely seems to be in it for herself. I know it's not easy when she's in control of your travel plans right now, but I'd seriously have a talk with her about how unhappy you are with how things are going. If she wants repeat business she should be catering to what you and your group wants, not what she wants.

 

good luck!

[TA Dina]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mddugas Ok. My FI and I decided that since we haven't cruised before and it is for a group wedding, that we would use a travel agent and decided that Cruiseship Centers was probably a good choice. We ended up using the person that we first talked to, which I'm not sure if there is any other way to get around it. First impression of her was pretty good, but as we go along I'm liking her less and less. She's not good with communication. She doesn't let us know when there are new bookings, or cancellations. I have no idea if and what she's working on. She's supposedly working on flights for us (for the past month) and I really haven't heard anything. She didn't realize that the weekend we leave Miami is SUPERBOWL weekend...I found out through a friend that used her own TA to book the pre-cruise hotel (she doesn't like my TA) and this is just the tip of the ice berg with little rants that I can go on and on about. My one big dilemma is about my 'group incentive' being the group leader. If I had booked through Carnival myself I would have been able to choose how to disperse my credits. ---Oh, and I had to ask about this incentive...she NEVER told me about it ---- My TA is choosing how this will be given out. She's chosen a bottle of champagne and chocolates per stateroom which is nice, BUT she's going to put from "The Bride, Groom & Mary" on the card... I know that she wants repeat business, but this is MY group incentive for having people book. She didn't recruit anyone! And nobody even likes her/trusts her Is there a nice way to tell her I want the card to say "From the Bride & Groom" only?? Am I being a bridezilla? Do I just have to suck it up??

Well first of all, not telling you about Superbowl in Miami the weekend you leave is a big issue. I'd advise you to start getting your airfare together now and booking it. Wait another few months and I can promise you won't get airfare to Miami. And I'd strongly advise your guests to go in early (altho they'll end up paying top $$ for a hotel most likely, if they can find a room at all). What a mess. Plan early....that's all you can do at this point.

As for the BS with her assigning points. Just tell her thank you for her suggestion but you want to see the list so you can assign your own amenities based on what you know your group likes. I can tell you horror stories about how I've sent wine to a room as a thank you only to find out they are recovering alcoholics (how embarrassing). It's none of her business so she needs not be involved. Needless to say, all my clients get onboard credit now and groups get whatever THEY choose. I don't choose for them. As for the card, I don't remember off the top of my head if Carnival includes a card with group amenities. I know with purchased gifts they do...they may not with a group (but I could be wrong...my brain is shutting down for the night right now

You are not being a bridezilla. This TA is stepping on toes and should be stopped. If you haven't paid in full yet tell her to shape up or you're going to transfer your group elsewhere.

[jenruss]

I didn't realize people still used travel agents. It's so easy to book everything nowadays. Ditch the agent and do it yourself!

[TA Dina]

Actually as seen by many posts on this board alone (as well as tons of other boards elsewhere), TAs (well good ones at least) are in strong demand. The sudden surge of DIYers actually boosted our business b/c many people found out the hard way it's not as easy as it looks. For my wedding day I don't know that I'd risk doing it myself (if I weren't a TA that is

[Prettyhazardous]

Lol Dina

To be honest in the past for reg cruises or mini vacays I'd do the planning myself. We have like 3 TAs in my family and I still book myself.

But in the future like for my honeymoon I will be using a TA (probably one of the BDW TAs too).

We booked our wedding cruise thru our Carnival PVP who we worked with for like 2 other cruises. We had about 35 ppl booked when she got promoted, promtly cancelled her phone ext and told us nothin. I was so pissed I really really liked her until that situation. We had to contact the main # to find our that our trip had been forwarded to someone else (some ppl had actually worked with this guy when our PVP went on vacay and they hated him) he was however on vacay and we were given someone else to contact for a week. I was soo pissed that no one even told us anything. I booked our group a group discount for Airtran airways who decided to cancel like all their flights on the day we were leaving a few weeks back so now everyone is flying in the night before... another expense... Organizing this thing was fun but next time I'm leaving it to the pros, well TAs....