Sometimes it’s just as hard to locate a competent doctor, dentist, or another service expert as it is a good travel agent who will work with you to design the greatest trip possible. Finding the travel agent to locate your ideal cruise follows a similar pattern.
Local Agencies
A local agent who can meet with first-timers in person is ideal. Inquire with regular cruisers among your friends, family, or coworkers for recommendations. Most cruisers like assisting folks who are taking their first cruise. If that doesn’t cut it, look for ads from local travel agencies in the Sunday paper, then call them to set up an in-person or over-the-phone meeting with one of their agents.
It will help if you are looking for a travel agent with extensive expertise and experience with the location. For example, suppose you are going to ladies ascot day. In that case, by interviewing with a travel agent, you must know about the meals, rooms, entertainment, fellow passengers, facilities, common areas, and anything else that matters to you, like ballroom dancing or playing bridge. Find a travel agent who asks you questions about your interests and makes suggestions based on how they think you will like the wide range of cruise lines and ports of call.
Large Organizations
A local travel agent may have access to different offers than a national cruise agency would. The issue is that the other party and inexperienced cruiser could be hundreds of kilometres away. Using an 800 number to reserve your vacation is a convenient and, in certain cases, cost-effective option if you are:
- prepared to invest in your investigation
- Have a specific cruise in mind already?
- Neither air travel nor air/sea transfers are required.
If you have an issue after your trip, a good local travel agent you’ve met in person can help you fix the situation and negotiate with the cruise line on your behalf, making the whole process easier. Of course, an enormous cruise discount agency could do the same thing, but they wouldn’t have as much to lose in the neighbourhood if they didn’t provide excellent service.
Commission-Based Jobs
A travel agent can be a valuable resource for advice, organization, and haggling. Remember, too, that their income comes primarily from commissions on sales. Be wary of any travel salesperson who appears to be “pushing” one location above others, like magical breaks; this is the standard operating procedure for any “sales” person. The increased commission could be the only reason.
Today, choosing a reliable travel agency may not be as crucial as it once was, especially for those who are comfortable navigating the Internet and count trip preparation as part of the “joy” of travelling. For example, if you wanted to go on a cruise ten years ago, you had to use a local travel agent. You’d visit the agent’s office, grab some literature, study it at home, return to sit down and then book the trip.