By Les Lee Roland

Welcome to the Flips and Flops column. We are able to do what we do here because of your input and information. If you want a supplier or a res agent or DSM to get special recognition, let us know. If there is something amiss with a company’s policies or actions, share them with us, as well. Let us know which booking engines and Web pages are hits and which are misses! E-Mail your suggestions to packagedeals@comcast.net.

A FLOP to the tour guides at Pearl Harbor’s USS Arizona Memorial. Clients have been complaining to me about the lack of dignity some of the younger guides have in explaining the history of the beginning of World War II. The clients, and I have had a few, say that they think it would be more appropriate for a veteran to be giving the commentary, rather than a young girl in shorts who refer to the soldiers and sailors as the “guys who drowned.”
A FLIP to Celebrity for personally contacting agents who had booked passengers on the Millennium’s trans-Atlantic sailing. When Celebrity knew, in advance, that the ship had mechanical difficulty, forcing a port to be cancelled from the itinerary, a $300 shipboard credit was given. This notification, before the sailing, allowed agents to cancel private shore excursions without penalty and deal with the problem promptly. So much better than boarding a ship and finding out the horror story then.
Another FLIP to Celebrity for its popular luggage delivery program. For just $20, a passenger’s luggage is transferred directly to the airport, bypassing the claim time at disembarkation and rolling cases to the waiting buses. Anything to make that last day of the trip go smoother is a winner.
A FLIP to Regent for truly making their cruises all-inclusive. Their new policy of including the alcoholic beverages in the cost of the sailing makes sense. For approximately $15 extra per day, this cruise line is providing an easy up sell for agents.
A passenger reported this FLOP. Waiting for take-off, he was watching luggage being loaded. To his astonishment, he saw the baggage handlers throwing the golf club carriers around, not with the special attention he expected. He called his agent and asked how he and his buddies can take precautions for protecting their clubs in the future. He was told about services to preship the clubs to their destinations, he is now booking that service for 16 players. And the agent is getting a commission, as well! Airlines err — agents profit.
A FLOP for too many changes in the date for passport requirements. The agents get some information, the newspapers print other dates, the cruise lines set theirs, and the airlines are all over the place. With the increase in application fees, some families are just not applying. This may cause an increase in domestic travel. And it may cause more availability on upcoming cruises. I wonder how many people who book online, and don’t have a passport, are going to be surprised when they try to check in.
A FLOP to the cruise lines that receive a letter of complaint from a passenger or a travel agent, and don’t respond within two weeks. All it takes is a form letter saying they have received the complaint and are researching it before a follow up answer is sent. One cruise line reports it takes six to eight weeks to respond at all. Don’t they realize that if these problems are dealt with swiftly, or at least acknowledged, the passenger may book still book again? The apathy is causing more irritation. And the longer they wait, the more the disgruntled passenger tells about her misfortune.
A big FLIP to MSC for offering a 5% commission on shore excursions. Oceania offers a few commissionable packages, as well. With the popularity of companies like Shore Trips and Port Promotions, it’s about time the cruise lines realize that the agent’s recommendations are valuable. One cruise line says that it is a bookkeeping nightmare if excursions are commissionable since some tours may be cancelled or passengers change their mind. At least MSC is trying hard to offer what agents want.
A luxury FLIP selling point for clients cruising with their dogs. If you book them on Cunard, dog walkers are provided. And both the walkers and the dog will be garbed in special matching attire, probably supplied by the onboard Harrod’s store. It is a talking point when you are selling luxury.
A FLOP not to be believed. A cruise line oversold a 12-day holiday itinerary this month. Rather than contacting the travel agent, the line contacted the clients directly and offered an alternate sailing, an upgrade and a shipboard credit. The clients turned down the offer since they were traveling with friends who booked their cruise with a different agent. And this second couple were never contacted at all. On top of it all, the second couple’s agent arranged a no charge upgrade for her clients.
Overselling is not unusual, especially with all the guarantee options offered. Princess has done this, but it contacts the agent with the offers for the client. But another cruise line handled it so differently. When two passengers showed up at the pier, with documents in hand, they were told the cruise was overbooked and they were turned away. The agent had to refund her commission and the situation is being investigated. More to follow on this one.
An agent reported a FLOP to the destination wedding she booked in Jamaica. The hotel changed wedding coordinators three times since the original booking nine months before. Upgrades, rehearsal dinner and special accommodations for the bride and groom somehow had been mixed up, and it was one disaster after another.
Tip for agents: if there is any change in coordinator personnel, make certain every detail was in writing and reviewed by each party involved. With wedding destinations so lucrative, an agent has to work even harder with the double and triple checking.