To the OP. Your travel agent is a slug....and that is not at all unusual. A good Virtuoso agent can do more for you in five minutes than the average storefront agent could in a week. You need to know how much the agent knows about the product you are booking and the type relationship they have with the supplier. Just ask a couple questions and you will know soon enough.
I've booked cruises through AMEX, Vacations to Go, local idiot (but nice) agent, Virtuoso. I was lucky that the one time a major on board problem occurred, the Virtuoso agent had the booking and saved the day for us during the cruise. Never would have asked any of the others to intervene.