Rebating agent for Ponant?
Does anyone know of a cruise agent that books (and rebate commissions) for Ponant? First cruises I booked through VTG (very low clearance rates never to be repeated ) but they're not offering anything special these days.
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Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
(Post 34109827)
Does anyone know of a cruise agent that books (and rebate commissions) for Ponant? First cruises I booked through VTG (very low clearance rates never to be repeated ) but they're not offering anything special these days.
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What's the incentive for an agent to rebate their commission? Most travel agents are actually in the business of making money and not doing charity work.
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Originally Posted by Randyk47
(Post 34109832)
Try Pavlus Travel. Annette is our agent and has always been excellent. https://pavlus.com/planners/
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Originally Posted by mahasamatman
(Post 34109909)
What's the incentive for an agent to rebate their commission? Most travel agents are actually in the business of making money and not doing charity work.
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Thanks. Has anyone used Luxuryonly.com? They clam to rebate up to $1,000 OBC,$2,000 travel credit and $2,000 Visa gift card up to 5-16% of cruise fare.
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Originally Posted by mahasamatman
(Post 34109909)
What's the incentive for an agent to rebate their commission? Most travel agents are actually in the business of making money and not doing charity work.
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Originally Posted by YVR Cockroach
(Post 34110118)
Looks like someone has been paying too much.
I can see an agent rebating part of their commission (usually in return for poor service), but your question asks for an agent who rebates the entire commission. You can find a ton of agents who do partial rebates by using cruisecompete.com, but I've tried it and have been dissatisfied with all of them. |
Originally Posted by mahasamatman
(Post 34111116)
I can see an agent rebating part of their commission (usually in return for poor service), but your question asks for an agent who rebates the entire commission. You can find a ton of agents who do partial rebates by using cruisecompete.com, but I've tried it and have been dissatisfied with all of them.
It also matters what type of cruise you are taking on what cruise line. An inside cabin on a mega ship for a 7-day Caribbean cruise out of Florida can be had for well under $1,000 so maybe the partial rebate of commission is no big deal. Now take a 10+ day cruise in the Med on an all inclusive luxury line and the fare is going to be around $1,000 per day. Any rebate or whatever incentives can add up quickly. |
As a FYI, cruise sales are one thing that still rely heavily on retail distribution so commissions can be very, very high (25% range even?). I've heard from someone who cruises on RSSC that it can be as high as 5 figures (obviously RSSC cruises can be very expensive). Those who offer rebates are the TAs who have minimum overhead (e.g., WFH, no bricks 'n mortar presence) so don't have to pay for that.
Originally Posted by Randyk47
(Post 34111168)
I don’t think YVR Cockroach necessarily meant 100% rebate of commission. I can’t speak for 747FC but we have been using Annette at Pavlus for 10 years now and have always gotten super service from her. Of course we don’t ask Annette or any travel agent for that matter for much more than booking the cruise. After 29 years of cruising it’s not like we need a lot of handholding. We typically book our flights, arrange pre and post-cruise hotels, and sometimes transfers without help. We actually like doing that and at the same time leverage awards, etc., that we’ve accumulated from business and personal travel.
I would say the only handholding I would needed - and more of an action - in the past 2 years would have been to get refunds on cruise fares due to COVID cancellations. Fortunately, I had absolutely no bookings for anything. It also matters what type of cruise you are taking on what cruise line. An inside cabin on a mega ship for a 7-day Caribbean cruise out of Florida can be had for well under $1,000 so maybe the partial rebate of commission is no big deal. Now take a 10+ day cruise in the Med on an all inclusive luxury line and the fare is going to be around $1,000 per day. Any rebate or whatever incentives can add up quickly. |
I'd be happy to pay full commissions (or rather, expect no rebates in an form) if the TA ha access to really good fares. Here s the excerpt from my Ponant booking (from invoice issued by Ponant)
Cruise French Polynesia & Hawaii Brochure Including port taxes : 940.00/pers. 8,040.00 1,2 16,080.00 Discounts : VTG Nonrefundable Offer -4,615.00 1,2 -9,230.00 Cruise Ocean Voyage : Honolulu - Maizuru Brochure Including port taxes : 250.00/pers. 3,900.00 1,2 7,800.00 Discounts : VTG Nonrefundable Offer -2,372.50 1,2 -4,745.00 Ponant fares may start at 30% off at launch for some cruises but generally the prices are either full rack for more popular ones (such as the wildly-expensive Northwest Passage), or there might be free add-on repositioning "ocean voyage" cruises, air travel allowance, consecutive cruise discounts and the like. I asked VTG if Ponant would allow the 2nd leg of the cruise above to be include as a free ocean voyage but the answer was no, or I would have had to pay close to the full fare for the 1st segment which would have been more expensive than both bought individually at deep discount. |
Count us as more Pavlus customers - Carol was our agent until she retired; now Susan cares for us. Which is to say she books the trip we ask her to and she tells us when payments are due and that's about all the customer service we ask for. I enjoy trip planning - I only want an agent if they're going to get better prices and/or perks than I can get on my own. However -my in-laws (who think they are low maintenance but are NOT when it comes to travel) also love Pavlus - they are a full-service agency if that is what you need.
We were scrolling the Pavlus website this weekend and boy - they are out there trying to show that 2% discount they can offer (seabourn cruises) like it's going to make a difference. I don't think 2022 is the year to find a cruise bargain..... |
Originally Posted by Hoyaheel
(Post 34114422)
Count us as more Pavlus customers - Carol was our agent until she retired; now Susan cares for us. Which is to say she books the trip we ask her to and she tells us when payments are due and that's about all the customer service we ask for. I enjoy trip planning - I only want an agent if they're going to get better prices and/or perks than I can get on my own. However -my in-laws (who think they are low maintenance but are NOT when it comes to travel) also love Pavlus - they are a full-service agency if that is what you need.
We were scrolling the Pavlus website this weekend and boy - they are out there trying to show that 2% discount they can offer (seabourn cruises) like it's going to make a difference. I don't think 2022 is the year to find a cruise bargain..... |
Originally Posted by 747FC
(Post 34114639)
It may be unadvertised, but in practice, their Seabourn rebates are 10%
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Originally Posted by Randyk47
(Post 34115546)
I would imagine Seabourn has the same policy as the rest of Carnival Corporation, and actually almost every cruise line, which looks very dimly on discounters openly advertising significant discounts or rebating of commissions. This became an issue probably 15 years ago across the whole industry. Brick and mortar travel agencies collectively threatened to stop booking cruises if the cruise lines didn’t come down on discounters. In defense of the brick and mortars they have a completely different business model than Internet agencies and sometimes several offices in a large city. On the other hand most Internet based agents work out their homes and the agency may have a small support staff in a small office. What that has meant is that Internet based agencies that provide significant incentives or rebates simply can’t and don’t openly advertise them.
If only cruisecos would treat their fares like airlines (no rhyme or reason at times, I know, + contracted pricing) at a best and final price for the masses and let those ho need handholding and arrangement pay for it as an extra. |
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