What your travel agent needs to know to book your cruise
Without specific information about your preferences, travel style, and priorities, even the best agent can't match you with the right ship or itinerary.
TravelHost's Come Cruise With Me Editor in Chief Daniel Kline and his travel agent partner, Postcard Travel Planning's Dennis Post, recently revealed exactly what information travel agents need from clients before they can effectively narrow down options and prevent booking disasters in the video below.
A full transcript follows.
Subscribe to our Youtube channelfor expert advice on making the most of your cruise vacation.
Travel agents can't read minds.
Transcript:
Dan Kline: Hey there cruisers. Dan and Dennis, your travel hosts. And we're gonna do something a little different today. Dennis, we book cruises. People call of us up, and they call you up and they book a cruise. But a lot of times when they get on the phone with you, it's a bit pulling teeth, right? They don't know what they need.
Now, if you've never been on a cruise, it is great to call us or talk to us and say, I don't know if I want a balcony. I don't know if I want to be on the biggest ship.
Dennis Post: Right.
Kline: It's not important to me to have this or whatever it is. But what are the things you absolutely basically need to know in order to start narrowing down where they should go?
Post: How many travelers first? What are the ages of the travelers? What type of cabin do you like?
For even more tips and insider secrets? Subscribe to our YouTube channel for expert advice on making the most of your cruise vacation.
What are your dislikes? Not necessarily your likes, but what are your dislikes? What time of year do you want to go? And what are the cruise lines, if you saw something, that appealed to you?
Kline: And what's most important to you? Because maybe you really need a balcony.
Post: Right.
Kline: Maybe you sleep late. So not being under the pool is really important to you.
Post: Yeah.
Kline: Maybe you want to be near an elevator because you don't walk that well. Now, these are things Dennis and Amy will walk you through if you don't know the answers. But they can't decide when you're available.
Post: Right.
Kline: They don't know if your kids are going to be happy on a ship that doesn't have water slides.
Post: Right.
Kline: It's important to tell them everything they need to know, and then they might be able to come to you and say, hey, with what you're describing.
We really want to put you on a royal Caribbean ship, but it doesn't need to be an Oasis class.
Post: No, you're right.
Kline: You'll be happy on a Freedom class ship. Or maybe you can go on Celebrity and you can go on a Solstice class ship, which will save you some money. Or maybe you don't want any kids and we're going to put you on Virgin.
Want the latest cruise news and deals? Sign up for the Come Cruise With Me newsletter.
Or maybe you don't like to do things at night and we're going to put you on Holland America. I am just kidding, Holland America. I know there's things to do at night. You know, maybe you want a port heavy you trip. Whatever it is, you need to communicate to them what you like. If you're cruising because you want to eat well, if you're cruising because you like a diverse bar, that's very different than some of your other options.
And Dennis, have you had people not give you information and then have a bad cruise?
Post: We have and we've we got a form that we send them. If we're not getting the information, it lines it all out because we just recently had somebody wanting to take kids over to Europe and the cruise ship had no slides.
And we're like, ooh, wrong cruise ship. We can adjust that, change the itinerary slightly, or change the cruise ship and have a much better time.
Kline: I'm Dan, he's Dennis. We will answer any questions you have. There are no dumb questions.
Post: That's right.
Kline: If they come from a good place, we are always happy to help. Come cruise with us soon.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me's Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at amypost@postcardtravelplanning.com or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
Copyright 2026 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved
This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 4:55 PM.