Ever had a cruise show up as paid in full when it isn't?

[2Labs2Many]

Long story short, I booked a cruise online through a TA. I gave them my credit/debit card number and requested that it be paid in full as the final payment date isn't that far away and I just wanted it to be done and paid for. I didn't realize that there was a $5,000 daily limit on my account.

 

The next morning, I see the charge for the travel insurance went through and realizing what happened, I called the bank and got a one-day authorization for the full amount (the bank won't authorize over $5,000 for more than one day). I called the TA, she said it is common, and called HAL. Came back on the phone after quite some time and said that it went through and was all taken care of.

 

Now, a few weeks later, the charge STILL isn't there, although a credit for a price difference did go through. It is not pending (I actually went to the bank today in person to make sure), and both the TA and HAL SWEAR that it is paid for. In full.

 

Right now, as it stands, I've paid $31 for travel insurance and a $7,000 cruise. And they won't take more money because it is "paid."

 

Sigh. I DO NOT WANT to get to the pier and find out at the last minute that (a) it's not paid for (b) they don't have any rooms © they don't have any rooms in or above our category.

 

Any suggestions?

[pms4104]

I would surmise that the charge for your $7000 may have been applied inadvertantly to someone else's credit card. The T/A needs to have his accounting gurus do some research, figure out who unknowingly paid for your cruise and square it away.

 

Also, it is possible that the T/A processes credit cards on its own behalf rather than on the cruiseline's ... and someone somewhere will come out on the short end of this.:eek:

 

The T/A needs to fix this ... if there is an issue, surely HAL will find it before your embarkation day.

[2Labs2Many]

I'm sure it's going to get worked out in the end (I'll make sure it does because I'm taking no chances) but at this point, I've called so many times that I'm starting to be a pest.

 

I don't think that it's applied to someone else's card since the original attempts as well as the charge for the travel insurance went through my account.

 

And I don't think that the TA processes the cards, because the initial attempts (before the credit limit was lifted) were by HAL (per the bank).

 

I have to imagine that at some point they balance their books and will figure it out. The TA has called HAL and they tell her they have payment confirmation.

 

I guess maybe I need to start requesting copies of that payment confirmation.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

I have never heard such a strange sroty.

Certainly hope that you get everything straightened out before you cruise.

Don't want to hear that you got to the pier and were denied boarding because you bill wasn't paid.

[pms4104]

I don't know what to tell you ... all I know is that my T/A called in my final payment Friday and, as of yesterday afternoon, I confirmed with my credit card company that the monies were pending on my account and would be applied before midnite yesterday. The delay from Friday being due to holiday weekend.

 

Yes, you likely need to have the T/A send you the Guest Copy of HAL's confirmation reflecting paid in full. But then somebody, HAL or T/A, needs to research where your paid-in-full monies came from if not from your credit card.

 

In any event, I'm guessing an accounting error at the T/A or at HAL ... because the monies should have been on your credit card account long before now.

[2Labs2Many]

Thanks for the suggestions.

 

Sounds like I'm going to need a big shovel to dig to the bottom of it.

[cp556]

I agree with those who say that eventually HAL or the TA will determine that your cruise is NOT paid in full by your credit card, and believe me, you'll get a phone call FAST!

 

In the interim, DO get a copy of the HAL confirmation that shows a zero balance due. Save this just in case you need it. And keep your eye on your credit card account balance.

 

If you really wish to protect yourself, consider sending a letter to HAL telling them what you're telling us. And request an immediate response. That should clear it up.

 

Please do keep us posted ... this is very interesting ...

[Toad]

WOW! Maybe this is the true "UPGRADE FAIRY"!

[2Labs2Many]

WOW! Maybe this is the true "UPGRADE FAIRY"!

 

LOL. Wouldn't that be nice. After the year we have had, I thought that just booking a veranda suite was good!

 

I've got some time so I'm sure I'll get it settled. I just don't want to take ANY chance that they fill up and don't have a room for us. It's a special trip (birthday, anniversary, and vow renewal) after an especially hard year of family tragedy, so to miss out on it completely because of a dumb snafu like this would be awful.

 

Besides, I'm the kind of person that likes all my ends tied up and this is just making me all jittery.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

How long ago did you make this payment? And when is your cruise?

Unfortunately the booking system that HAL uses is POLAR and it just shows that payment is made and does not show approval of the credit card and last 4 numbers of the card like NCL and RCL does. I would ask the TA if they processed the payment directly thru POLAR or did they use another booking engine to process the payments? If they did use a different engine rather than POLAR it is possible they can at least tell you the last 4 of the Credit Card number that they show as charged and you can at least verify if it is yours.

 

If this was done recently it is possible that with the holiday that HAL may show it paid but it is still in limbo and has not reached your credit card company although the hold should be there :confused:

 

My guess is the agency typed in some one elses credit card number when they processed the payment and that soon this will all come out. Sounds like a bit of a mess for the agency :eek: but it can be resolved and everything will be fine :)

[jimmy2x]

Ever had a cruise show up as paid in full when it isn't?

Only in my dreams.

[jhannah]

Enjoy your $31 cruise!

 

This is strange. Every charge I make shows up within a couple of days, except for a few small merchants whose charges won't show up for almost a week. As others have said, get the hard copy of HAL's confirmation and take it with you to the pier. One way to tell if they don't really have it is if you get no e-mail from HAL telling you to fill out your immigration questionnaire online and print your boarding pass. If you get that notice, you're in!

[2Labs2Many]

WOW! Maybe this is the true "UPGRADE FAIRY"!

 

How long ago did you make this payment? And when is your cruise?

 

Unfortunately the booking system that HAL uses is POLAR and it just shows that payment is made and does not show approval of the credit card and last 4 numbers of the card like NCL and RCL does. I would ask the TA if they processed the payment directly thru POLAR or did they use another booking engine to process the payments? If they did use a different engine rather than POLAR it is possible they can at least tell you the last 4 of the Credit Card number that they show as charged and you can at least verify if it is yours.

 

If this was done recently it is possible that with the holiday that HAL may show it paid but it is still in limbo and has not reached your credit card company although the hold should be there :confused:

 

My guess is the agency typed in some one elses credit card number when they processed the payment and that soon this will all come out. Sounds like a bit of a mess for the agency :eek: but it can be resolved and everything will be fine :)

 

There wouldn't be a hold since this isn't actually a CC company but our bank account. The branch manager looked everywhere and there is absolutely no outstanding pending charge on that account. And I'm sure that it isn't credited to the wrong account since the fee for the travel insurance and then the $400 credit for the reduction in the cruise rate are both there. So they charged me for the insurance and then they "refunded" money on a cruise I didn't pay for.

 

Stuff that gets "charged" to our VISA debit card shows up in almost real time out of our account. It has been a few weeks.

 

You know - at this point I should probably keep my mouth shut, eh? LOL. But I am NOT risking losing this trip. I think final payment is due by Nov 1 so I figure I'm good at least until then to see if it shakes out on it's own or I can shake it out.

 

Shoot, if I had know it would go this way, I would have booked the Penthouse suite.

[timothy998]

As others have said, make copies of all the documents that show "paid in full," and your communications with the Travel Agent & HAL.

 

 

After that, you've done your best to provide a just resolution that is fair to both HAL and your TA. Maybe when you travel, beforehand, you work with your credit card company so they know there may be an extra charge day of travel...or at least carry their number with you, just in case.

 

And, the worst case is that you get the "ultimate" upgrade!

[pms4104]

There wouldn't be a hold since this isn't actually a CC company but our bank account. The branch manager looked everywhere and there is absolutely no outstanding pending charge on that account. And I'm sure that it isn't credited to the wrong account since the fee for the travel insurance and then the $400 credit for the reduction in the cruise rate are both there. So they charged me for the insurance and then they "refunded" money on a cruise I didn't pay for.

 

Stuff that gets "charged" to our VISA debit card shows up in almost real time out of our account. It has been a few weeks.

 

You know - at this point I should probably keep my mouth shut, eh? LOL. But I am NOT risking losing this trip. I think final payment is due by Nov 1 so I figure I'm good at least until then to see if it shakes out on it's own or I can shake it out.

 

Shoot, if I had know it would go this way, I would have booked the Penthouse suite.

Somebody somewhere likely has been charged that $7000 and is madly trying to figure how this happened to them, and how they were charged for something they didn't authorize. Who knows, they could be ignorant at this point and merrily writting rubber checks for all sorts of things like utilities, mortgage payments, etc.:eek:

 

I don't think it is enough to take "paid in full" paperwork to the pier as some here have suggested ... when you know you haven't paid. Personally, I couldn't sleep at night or enjoy any bit of that cruise.

 

I think the honorable thing to do would be to write to HAL and document what has transpired. If you tell them that you are shown paid in full but your bank account has yet to be debited from a supposed charge of a couple of weeks ago ... that should get the ball rolling at HAL and at the agency. In the end, HAL will want their money ... but, in the meantime, somebody else's financial life is crumbling into itty bitty pieces.:eek:

 

If you didn't care a whit, you wouldn't be asking about this ... so I'm confident you'll do whatever you can to sort it out. Good luck.:)

[2Labs2Many]

You give me too much credit. I could sleep just fine! (Okay, not really - I'd be a nervous wreck the entire time that they would figure it out and just chuck me into the ocean.)

 

Like I said, I care more about getting the veranda room on THAT cruise than I do about keeping my money to be honest. It's like the stars all aligned with the exact timing of the cruise and many important dates (good and bad) that we want to both celebrate and also get away from the world on.

[Charliesmom]

Write the letter to HAL and to your travel agent. Don't take the cruise for free. Karma has a way of finding its way to you. If you do good, good comes back to you. If you do bad, bad comes back to you.

 

Besides which, if you don't resolve this, you will worry that your cruise will be ruined.

 

Let us know the outcome.

 

Roberta