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 Viking River Cruises. One year ago, agent, Lauren Skuse from Enterprise Travel in Spring Hill, FL, booked clients on a river cruise, air, pre and post. Viking cancelled the itinerary and when the clients couldn’t change their dates, Viking didn’t protect the agent’s commission. When Lauren complained, she was told she was “hedging her bets.” Seems they don’t have a set policy like most other cruise lines.
FLIPS to Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, which do protect an agent’s commission when a cruise is cancelled.
Julie Salazar-Garcia from Bakersfield, CA says a FLOP to Carnival. The line is encouraging clients to register online for the FunPass, and has a link to connect to the EDocs page. They now have the opportunity to choose between paper or EDocs. The problem is that the agent is not notified if the client chooses EDocs and is waiting patiently for the paper docs to arrive. And if the agent is managing a group, it’s more confusing when some paper docs arrive and some do not. This can be an easy change from FLOP to FLIP. Carnival should just E-mail or fax the agent!
How many times do you read all the disclaimers on a Web site? How would you feel if you read, “As is” and “No representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of this site or the information content, materials or products included on this site, you expressly agree that your use of this site is at your sole risk...Will not be liable for any damages or any kind arising from the use of this site, including but not limited to direct, indirect, incidental, punitive, and consequential damages.”
This is the warning on a popular card mill/pyramid booking Web site. A gal who paid her fee to become an agent told me that she knows nothing about selling travel, but she sends her friends and clients to the Web site to book. This warning is scarier than the warning on a pack of cigarettes. A big FLOP.
Heartbreak Hotel was a FLIP for 100 families who received free cabins on the Elvis cruise offered by Timeless Cruises LLC and Jazz Cruises LLC last month. The lucky ones selected for the cruise were all military families who had been separated because of assignments. And on the formal night, the dining room was filled with soldiers in their “step outs” or uniforms. No word of how many pairs of blue suede shoes, though. Truly a generous gesture. The cruise itself was so successful that Timeless is already taking reservations for next year for Elvis lovers.
Rita Sulick from Perfect Trip Agency received a less than perfect commission from Celebrity for a group she booked. Rather than the over $5,000 commission, she received only $1,350. Seems Celebrity deducted prepaid gratuities from her check. Problem was, the clients were charged the gratuities on their bills and some paid by cash while others had the charges reversed. What a mess to try to get it rectified — and, of course, a FLOP.
A tagalong to the previous FLOP. Agents are getting sick and tired of getting commission checks with money deducted for processing the checks. It may not seem like much, $2 here, $3 there, and one hotel chain deducts a percentage of the total cost of the check. It’s like going to the bank and having them charge you for making a deposit. Somewhere along the line, this is not right.
A FLIP for a most understanding Royal Caribbean clerk and a Homeland Security rep at the Ft. Lauderdale check in. No matter how many times an agent (who just happens to be ME), reminded her group about the proper documents, one elderly lady forgot her passport and her birth certificate. RCI was so patient and accommodating, and allowed someone from home to fax copies of the documents. (Warning! Whatever happened in Ft. Lauderdale, stays in Ft. Lauderdale. They don’t allow it at some other ports).
A FLIP to the Central Europe countries of Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia and their new marketing name, European Quartet. Besides the wonderful sights, sounds, and smells of this destination, it’s one area in Europe where our U.S. dollar is worth more. They are not on the euro system. If their trade show is in your area, attend and learn. Choosing the name Riviera Maya for marketing has been a big winner. Now the European Quartet is becoming successful too!
A FLOP to the cruise line that offered a shipboard credit to passengers who booked a future cruise while on board. That, coupled with the shipboard credit promised for a group cruise arranged by their agent, was a double whammy!
The agent checked three times before the sailing that everything had been properly documented and the credits would appear on the account. Not only were they not on the account, each day of the cruise, the agent had to wait and complain over and over to get the adjustments. All the time, the clients had been checking and asking where the credit was. To make matters worse, some got the full credit the last day of the cruise. Others got an incorrect amount — DOUBLE what they were supposed to receive.
When the agent discovered the error, and reported it, the purser said to just forget about it. It couldn’t be corrected. Many of the clients went to the purser who gave them cash for the extra money, since it was too late for them to use the credit onboard. A loss, minor as it was, for the cruise line. Aggravation for the agent. A FLOP.