how are travel agencies paid?

[Emily]

Hi everybody! My hubby is wanting us to go on a cruise to celebrate our 30th anniversary on Memorial Day. We've never been on any sort of extravagant holiday before, and are sort of excited about this.

One question (although we have a LOT of quetions) -- if we book through a travel agent, do we pay them, or do they receive money from the cruise lines? How does that work? (We are completely clueless!)

Thanks, and happy cruising to you all!

[Raoul Fiebig]

Hi Emily,

the travel agency receives a commisson from the cruise line. If people tell you it's more expensive to book thru a travel agency because somebody has to pay them, don't listen to those folks. It's usually much better to book with a cruise-experienced travel agent than to book with cruise line directly. A good travel agent should not only be able to find "good deals" for you but he or she should also be able to find the perfect ship and itinerary for you. I would suggest using a CLIA-certified travel agent.

Any more questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Best regards,

Raoul Fiebig
Das Ruderhaus

[Emily]

Hello and thank you for this information. We found the CLIA website, and did a search for accredited travel agents in our area. There was only one -- an MCC and i spoke with her on the phone just a little while ago -- she sounds wonderful! She has been on many cruises and knew the answers to all my questions, and is now doing some checking around based on our "wish list". This is so exciting! Right now i'm printing out the cruisereviews.com Packing List and am kind of overwhelmed -- my goodness there is a lot to pack! LOL

Thanks again