Am I a control freak re: my reservation?

[FredS]

Since I am new to this, perhaps I am expecting the difficult, if not impossible. Not sure if this is a customer service issue, or if I just am too impatient. When I first inquired about cruising, TA was willing and able to put me on hold and check re: cabin availability. Since trip was distant there was lots of "good" rooms still available. I then gave my credit card info and all necessary reservation info, and was told that they would get room assignment and call me next day (this was fairly late one afternoon) Well, of course I am excited and curious, so when I don't hear from them by lunch I call. Am told it is "in the stack" to be processed and they will call me. No call that day. I call again the next day and finally, late on that day get a return call with room assignment. It just seemed odd that when I was being sold I got immediate response, but after I more or less committed it was back burnered.

I called to see about changing the date of the cruise, as we ran into an unexpected conflict. This cruise date is likely to be busier and cabins not as good. Again, I expressed my concern and that I would appreciate getting info on cabin assignment as soon as possible. I called on Saturday and left message for agent, and again yesterday morning to be sure she had gotten it. I still haven't gotten a response.

Is this normal? Is it that difficult to get my cabin assignment and call me? Perhaps it is, but I am frustrated that I have to call and wait, when I honestly feel like if I made the reservation directly I would have the ability to just handle it myself and it would be done more quickly. My next concern is that I get a cabin in an area that I don't want -- I won't know if the better areas (which I requested) are not available or if TA just took whatever.

Any feedback on what is reasonable and how to handle would be appreciated.

 

[sigafoos]

I would cancel the reservation with that TA and book with Dreams Unlimited! They are wonderful, they get back to you right away and no one knows more about DCL. I booked my upcoming cruise with them and also a trip to WDW last year and they are great. I would not deal with a agency that did not have time to awnser my questions or leave me waiting!
Kim

 

[MelissaE1]

This same thing happened to me. We booked through an agency associated with one of our credit cards who offered the bonus of $250 back at time of sailing. The agent was friendly, called me back right away, etc. until she had my deposit, and then I could hardly get ahold of her to track down info I was supposed to have had much earlier. Once when I did get her she had the nerve to say she was on her way out the door! (This was 30 minutes before she was supposed to leave.)

What I did was called the agency and asked for a supervisor, saying that I would like to give the agency a chance before I cancelled my reservation and took it somewhere else. I left a voicemail message for a manager who immediately got back to me and switched me to another agent, who did a better job of handling it (although not good enough that I will book with them again).

If that doesn't work I would suggest pulling your reservation unless you got a deal so good that you can't come close and it thus merits some inconvenience in your opinion.

 

[Dodie]

Sounds liike a lousy travel agent. This does not sound "normal" in any way, nor does it sound like a very good way to do business.

Cancel your reservation and submit a request via the Dreams Unlimited site. They are wonderful and open. Although your communication will be via e-mail, you will find the response time is wonderful and you will NOT get this runaround.

 

[floridaminnie]

I wouldn't walk...I would run away from the TA. That is just plain ol' lousy service and the only way to get their attention is to take your ressie somewhere else. Depending on their policy, they might charge you a cancellation fee. You should have recieved some short of noticie if they do have a cancellation fee in either writing or verbale when the TA took your ressie.

 

[Michelle]

No TA should take your deposit without a CONFIRMED reservation held for you that contains all your reservation information, including pricing and stateroom assignment. That is NOT a normal practice to take your information and your credit card information without already having a reservation held for you. It's fine to get your reservation request information first but they should not be taking credit card info unless they have a booking held for you.

 

[bahama97]

I agree with everyone else. I can't stand it (in any situation) where you get great customer svc right up to the point where they have your money. Then you hardly get anything. Plus if there are more conflicts, etc you'll want to be dealing with someone who is more responsive.

 

[CarolAnnC]

My vote goes to dumping that TA as quickly as possible!

 

[beetlemom]

I would also run from that TA! I am new at this as well - booking my first DC for April 2004 and I called DCL direct and they have been wonderful! I just called to change my room - due to some info I read on the threads re: room noise ect. - and they were great!
Good luck !

Lisa

 

[rmgoode]

I pretty much hd the same experience with my TA. I would not use her or recommend her to anyone again. But, because she was a relative of a friend, I did not cancel. We have yet to sail so I'm a little nervous as to how everything will pan out. I have spent more time checking travel arrangements on the phone and internet making sure my reservations are in place. I would cancel if you could do so without a penalty. I wished I would have.

 

[sjm]

FredS,

No travel agent should take a deposit from you, until you have a confirmed cabin number and reservation.

We have been on 11 cruises so far and have booked 10 of them with local TAs, who have an office we can walk into. The last cruise was booked through a TA not in our area and we communicate with her via email and/or phone. I know a lot of people who have used this person and I know that she works hard for her customers.

I would cancel my reservation and rebook with a local TA, or at least a TA that you can trust. I would not trust someone, who takes my money, before I know what I am buying.

Sue

 

[ohanakat]

FredS,
I am disheartened to hear about your experience, as I am also a travel agent, and hear stories like this constantly that give our profession a bad name. I am a small independent agent, and as such, control the type of business I handle, and always provide above and beyond customer service, my number is accessible 24 hours a day. I have been a lurker to this board since I found out it was available, and have gained a ton of knowledge that I am passing on to my customers. My family will get the chance to go on our first Disney Cruise in November, and as a Disney obsessed group, we know we will fit right in!
My travel specialty is Hawaii (wish Disney could add a ship in the Hawaiian Islands!! : ~ ) ), and all things Disney of course!

Sorry to hear about your experience! I believe there are more of us good guys out there than bad!!

Katie

 

[JLSM97]

Travel agents normally have a lot of things going on at one time, and sometimes it takes longer for things to be processed than expected. HOWEVER, there is no excuse for not returning calls to a customer, even if just to tell them, "I'm sorry this is taking a while, but I'll get the info to you as soon as I get it."

I sometimes wonder if they "backburner" us because it's (to them) such a long way off and why do we need all those details right now anyway??? BECAUSE FOR MOST OF US THIS IS A PRETTY BIG DEAL, that's why!

We made our cruise arrangements through a travel agent we don't normally use, and she's been nothing but frustrating from Day 1--giving us incorrect information, promising things she doesn't follow through on, and generally just being unavailable. I would think that losing a cruise customer who just plopped down thousands of $$ would be a bigger concern than it seems to be.

I know there are exceptions and there are good TA's out there. I'm just thankful that in the age of the Internet, we travelers are able to make a lot of our own arrangements and don't need to deal with those that can't make time for their clients.

 

[DoomBuggieDriver]

Ohanacat,
I love your idea about a Disney Cruise in the Hawaiian Islands! Gosh I'd book in a heartbeat. Anyway, on subject, I agree a new TA is in order. My booking has been a great experience so far....
Buggie

 

[Lilly's Dad]

DUDE: Ya, cancel the travel agent, get a full refund and book with Dreams unlimited. BUT, dude I'm a total stranger and I can tell you you're gonna have a terrible time on this cruise. chill. I see uptight "control-freak" dads like you and I feel sorry for their families. Get off your phone so much. Life is for LIVING. Things will go wrong, let them slide. It is not unmasculine to get therapy. You are not crazy, you just need to get back on track with perceptions / priorities and LOVE. Love is the important thing in this world. Pull yourself together, dude! I know a guy you should talk to about this. His name is Ferris Buhler.

 

[queenof4hearts]

We just booked using DCL directly and so did our friends. They were more than accomodating and extremely helpful and immediate service. No call backs. Good luck.

 

[buzz&woody'smom]

When I booked thru DU I told them the cabins I wanted while processing my ressie and they were not available so I picked something close. The cabins I wanted became available and Michelle switched them for me and I did not have to worry.

DU is sometimes more than other TA's but their customer service is exellant.

I think your TA's attitude is unacceptable and I would do to Dave's nosiy cabin list and look on Expedia or Travelocity for a layout of the deck plan pick cabins or areas you like and demand they reserve that for you right then.

 

[FredS]

Problem resolved with TA. I didn't think it fair to dump them without explaining my reasons and it basically came down to one person who was slow (due to overload or what, don't know) to handle her part of the booking. All is well and we are beyond excited!

And, Lilly's dad -- word of advice: Dude, don't make assumptions about people based on a couple of posts. You missed several marks by miles........

 

[buzz&woody'smom]

Glad it worked out and you kept a calm head. Have fun! I think a man or woman who is proactive in planning their vacation is smart not uptight and unable to enjoy their cruise. Taking care of your family is number 1 and you deserve to pick your cabin when you spend so much on the DCL cruise.

Have fun!

 

[AnnMorin]

Originally posted by Lilly's Dad
DUDE: Ya, cancel the travel agent, get a full refund and book with Dreams unlimited. BUT, dude I'm a total stranger and I can tell you you're gonna have a terrible time on this cruise. chill. I see uptight "control-freak" dads like you and I feel sorry for their families. Get off your phone so much. Life is for LIVING. Things will go wrong, let them slide. It is not unmasculine to get therapy. You are not crazy, you just need to get back on track with perceptions / priorities and LOVE. Love is the important thing in this world. Pull yourself together, dude! I know a guy you should talk to about this. His name is Ferris Buhler.

How Rude!!!!

There is nothing wrong with you at all Fred!!

and "dude" learn some manners