We book through a local travel agent and always compare his prices with the big internet agencies- and he’s always the same or beats them. He hand delivers our tickets to us and always gets us onboard credit, not to mention a gift. It’s been nice to know he checks the details for us. In fact, one time the price went down after we had already paid- and he got us a credit of nearly $500– is that “useless” in your book? One time we did have an issue and he took care of it. I didn’t have to call the cruise line or send any emails. We like the personal service our agent gives us- so I guess I disagree with your comment about them being useless. Oh, if you like HAL you would probably like Celebrity. I find the quality excellent and not as many gray hairs as HAL- although a little older than Royal. JR

Bets

I read your blog Greek Cruise Crash? and I am concerned that you believe Vacations To Go no longer adds value to your cruise planning process. I’ll work harder to communicate the benefits of working with us in the future. For now, here’s a brief list of reasons of why I think you are better off working with a Vacations To Go agent:

Price: We have the most comprehensive list of last minute deals in the industry on our 90-Day Ticker. Many deals are lower than you’ll find if you go direct.

Rates: We have the most extensive list of specialty rates on every line, including 55+, past guest, interline, military, group, police/firefighter/teacher, singles and theme cruises.

Cruise Counselors: Call a cruise line or even a mega-agency like Expedia and you’ll get an underpaid, disinterested and largely unqualified agent to handle your trip. Most have no incentive to objectively find you the best deal, particularly at a cruise line where they can’t recommend any line but their own, and few agents have a direct extension or the ability to call you back. If you don’t book on the first call or have a problem, you must restate your issue every time you call.

In contrast, our cruise counselors are your single point of contact thru the entire pre- and post-cruise process. They take full responsibility for everything and will provide a prompt, educated and professional response when you call. If anything does go wrong, our team usually has the problem resolved before our competitors would even be aware of the issue.

Newsletter: We’ll keep you up to date on the most important issues in the industry, even sinking greek cruise ships, because we feel it’s our obligation to inform you of everything that may impact your vacation. I doubt any cruise line or competitive agency discussed the accident in greece or any prior sensitive topic that travelers deserve to know about.

Personal Touch: Although we are one of the largest sellers of cruises in the US, customers are still our number one priority. I hope you will reconsider working with us in the future. If so, I will personally ensure that your trip is handled flawlessly.

Best wishes,

Emerson Hankamer
President & COO
Vacations To Go

‘Course, now that we’ve got a young kid, it’s family-friendly resorts, Disney cruises, or Carnival for the next 10 years.