Calling the travel agent tomorrow! What do I need to ask????

[elisamarie]

Hi everyone - I'm calling the travel agent tomorrow for a Nov or Dec 2011 wedding. What should I have prepared? I think we'd like either the Dominican or Mexico and we're not fussy about dates, so is there anything I should ask? I've been doing so much research but feel so unprepared. Also, do you pay right away as you book or do you pay a deposit and pay later? I would really appreciate any help from anyone who has used a travel agent. Apparently the one that was referred to me is really good so I'm probably panicking for no reason . (again). Thank you ladies and sorry if there is already a thread on this - I did do a couple searches.

[alm0411]

It looks like you may have already called your TA, but I thought I would respond anyway. I feel you on this, I did the same thing. I called many travel agents and asked a ton of questions. I just wanted to be sure to find the best resort for us. The problem is that there are so many nice resorts and so many destinations. We did decide to go with the Dominican Republic vs Mexico. For one big reason, if you are looking to do the legal wedding in Mexico, they require you to get a blood test once you get there that the hotel will set up for you. Not sure about you but I did not want anyone in another country taking my blood. Maybe I am just crazy, but I guess they come right to your room and do it and to me that is crazy. Also there seemed to be a lot of extra costs in Mexico, like the Judge's transportation fee of $75, translation fees of $50 and so on. So it came down to they were both nice places but DR was a little less money and somewhere we have never been. Then my next problem was finding a resort that had availability. This was crazy to me since when I started the process of picking a resort the wedding was still going to be at least 9 months out and no resorts had their 2011 prices out yet for rooms or wedding packages. I was surprised that people were booking not knowing the price, but they do. I do know if you go in December it will be cheaper, like right after Thanksgiving. As far as the payment with your TA, I think they all operate different. Ours, we had to put down a deposit of about 20% and the remainder we can pay anytime but it has to be paid off by 30 days before our trip. Same went for all of our guests, which was a nice option for some. I would just suggest asking your resort the most questions. Don't leave any room for them to wiggle in extra costs and book your wedding with the resort before you book your trip. Just keep an eye on the prices as for us they seemed to be cheaper at the beginning of a week. Good luck.

[elisamarie]

Thank you so much for your response. I've had to postpone calling the travel agent until next week due to my fiance's busy work schedule so your post is really helpful. I too prefer the Dominican. I have been there 3 times and love it! I also wouldn't feel comfortable with someone coming to my hotel room to draw blood! ewwww! Thanks for all the info, I know it will be helpful and I feel better about calling now. I just want to know where we're going to go so bad!!

[alm0411]

You are welcome. Glad you got to see my post before you called your TA. I know it drove me nuts every day until we finally picked our resort. Does your TA go through Apple Vacations? That is where my TA went through and I spent a lot of time on Apple Vacations website, looking at all the resorts and what they have to offer. It made my TA's job a little easier, but I didn't want to leave it in just her hands. That way if there was something I didn't like I wouldn't regret not looking into things more. Good luck picking your resort.