When a good Travel Agent Makes ALL the Difference

I received an interesting call from a woman today who wanted to know if I could help her. She had booked directly with a cruise line, air, hotel, tour and purchased the cruise line insurance as well.

When she FINALLY received her air schedule it was apparent to her that there was no room for any delays and that she would be arriving at her point of departure less than 90 minutes prior to the sailing time for her transatlantic cruise. When she called the cruise line they wanted $150 per person to make the required changes.

This became an issue when her plane was held up in Charlotte and they were still sitting on the ground as the ship apparently was pulling away from the dock in Ft. Lauderdale. She had called the cruise line from the plane and said they were less than helpful (call back at 5P to see if they will hold the ship for you) and then suggesting that "she and her husband disembark their current flight, pay for tickets to Portugal, find a nice hotel and enjoy themselves for 6 days while waiting to catch up with the ship, oh, and by the way, here is the phone number for the insurance company, they will POSSIBLY reimburse you for the tickets to Portugal and the ensuing hotel bills."

Well, unfortunately, because I had not booked her cruise, flights or hotel, I cannot help her, although I did try to give her some "guidance". Had I been her agent there are several things that I could have done:

I would have checked her air schedule the moment it came to my desk and would have realized that the air schedule would not allow for the client to make it to the ship on time if there were any issues or delays and I would have been able to go to the cruise line and fight for a better schedule for them.

1. I would have made sure that she understood that, according to the cruise line contract, cruise ships are not required to wait for late arrivals, even if they have booked the flights. This is a common misconception and it is usually assumed that the ship will wait for you if you are late arriving via plane or shore excursion that was arranged by the cruise line.
2. I would have recommended that the client purchase 3rd party travel protection insurance because a 3rd party vendor works for the client and has a vested interest in helping them whereas the insurance sold by the cruise line is not nearly as comprehensive nor do they really work for the client
3. I would have made sure that this "trip delay" did not happen because I would have recommended my clients fly in a day before the ship left so that they had time in the event there were any delays.

As it stands now, this woman receive an e-mail from the cruise line stating that she had CANCELLED her trip by being a "No Show" and the likelihood of her receiving any compensation has been lessened because of this. I hope that she has kept the phone records of her calls and that she has documentation from the plane delay but chances are slim to none that she will be fully compensated for her cruise, air and hotel.

Recently one of MY clients was traveling in Scotland where he was involved in an accident and ended up in the hospital requiring major surgery.  Due to the time difference it was almost impossible for him to communicate with the insurance company and called me (I am available to my international travelers via cell phone 24/7) to assist with all the details.

1. I called the insurance company to start a claim and turned it over to their international department who then was able to contact my client during the daytime hours in Scotland.  Because of my recommendation for VERY GOOD travel protection, his hospital bills are covered, his non-refundable hotel bills and non-refundable air are being reimbursed.  Additionally his extended stay in Scotland AND his UPGRADED AIR to Business class for his return flight to the US and required assisted transfers to the airport in Scotland and from the airport in his home town were covered as well.
2. I contacted family members when, again due to the time difference, he had been unable to connect with them.
3. I called him daily to let him know he was not out there alone and ask if there was anything else that I could do for him.

Without a travel professional and the recommendation to purchase travel protection for his 3 1/2 week long trek around Europe, he may have been out thousands of dollars, left to his own devices and lonely and injured in a foreign country.

We travel agents do so much more than just book your trip and then "FORGET ABOUT YOU" which is what can very easily happen if you just book on line.