Ok, here's a question I haven't seen on the boards before

[Jeafl]

What a mess.

 

Short backstory--we booked a cruise for 9 with an online travel agent that my parents had used before and liked. She was affiliated with the travel agency division of a large credit card company.

 

Today I received a letter in the mail telling us that she passed away on February 22. (This would explain why she hadn't been returning my emails the past couple of weeks).

 

Our final payment is due on March 19. The agent had our credit cards on file and was planning on making the final payment for us. I called Carnival and explained what happened, then asked if I could give them our credit card information to make the final payment and have the reservation switched back over to me. The woman I talked to said no, they needed to deal with the travel agent. I explained to her AGAIN that the woman was DEAD so that would be impossible. Carnival then told me that I needed to go through someone else at the agency.

 

I called the agency and they said things are still a mess on their end because the agent we had dealt with had been working primarily out of her home and they were having trouble accessing her files. They asked me to be patient with them and to call back sometime next week.

 

I am a little nervous about this. Any suggestions of something else I can try?

[janabm81]

Have the travel agency call carnival (conference call style so you can listen in) to explain the situation or have you reservation switched through the travel agency back to you so you don't have to deal with it any more and then you can make final payment and what not on your own.

 

Hope this helps...sorry to hear about your TA.

[firefly333]

The TA needs to agree to have it switched back to Carnival or you have to have a case that you can show Carnival the TA isnt competent to handle the booking so that they take the booking away from the TA.

 

Have you asked the TA if they are willing to release the booking back to Carnival... Id start there.

[suebart112]

The TA needs to agree to have it switched back to Carnival or you have to have a case that you can show Carnival the TA isnt competent to handle the booking so that they take the booking away from the TA.

 

Have you asked the TA if they are willing to release the booking back to Carnival... Id start there.

 

 

Umm, the TA died....

[Baystate]

I booked with a large online TA and was told if I hadn't called in Carnival automatically would have charged the card that I initially used.

[semichigan]

If the other people from the agency are having such a hard time getting things done now, maybe you should contact the affiliated credit card company? Maybe they can apply pressure to get your trip handled. Good luck and have a great trip!

[Sherrybaby412]

Umm, the TA died....

 

TA= Travel Agency not travel agent in this case.

[purrlinda]

Home based agents typically book through a consortia or have affiliation with a host agency.

 

Your reservation was booked with the IATA or CLIA number of the host agency. The host agency should be able to do a bit more for you; even if it's simply to release the booking back to Carnival so that you can deal with them directly. The commission amount on a typical Carnival Cruise is not so much that it would break the host agency if they release the booking.

 

I suggest that you be a bit more aggressive with the host agency and advise them that you want control of your booking and that they need to release it back to Carnival if they cannot help you expediently. Due to Carnival's commitment to Travel Agents, I don't believe they can take over the booking without it being in writing. (Just as a TA can't take over a booking made directly with a cruise line unless they either speak to the guest or have it sent over in writing.)

 

Good luck with this, I'm sorry to hear about your TA and hope that things work out for you.

[LambKnuckles]

I agree with many of the others... Maybe being a bit more assertive... But truly, it sounds like you've tried that and talked with the host agency...

 

I'd ask for names and be documenting everything. I'd call CARNIVAL and ask for names and document times, and be sure all is still active in your booking number...

 

Do you think all 9 of you are on one booking number? Could be that the final payment has to go thru as one payment, and all cards must be charged at the same time???

 

Bless you and I pray all works out... Wish I knew more... Maybe you could call another TA and ask for advice...

[Legend]

Anyone at that agency can call Carnival and make your final payment. Nothing difficult there. All they need are your booking numbers and credit card info. Even if they can't find your booking numbers, they were booked under the agency so very easy to find.

 

It seems hard to imagine that such a big agency has such a problem dealing with that.

 

All bookings don't have to paid at the same time and each cabin has their own booking number.

 

Carnival does not automatically charge the credit card unless prior arrangements have been made.

[Frankiesmom]

Wow, no experience with this issue- just wanted to offer you some hugs

and hope it all gets worked out for you!:)

[groverrh]

What a mess.

 

I called the agency and they said things are still a mess on their end because the agent we had dealt with had been working primarily out of her home and they were having trouble accessing her files. They asked me to be patient with them and to call back sometime next week.

 

I am a little nervous about this. Any suggestions of something else I can try?

 

Here is something you can try. Call the agency again and ask them if you can take care of the payment yourself. They will need to give you their CLIA number and their agency phone number (this is the number they register with the cruise line, not the one you would call to get a hold of them) and ask them for the cruise line's agent reservation phone number. Then call the cruise line and represent yourself as an agent using the CLIA number or phone number of the agency and make the payment. The agency should be willing to do this because it will keep the commission with them and they won't have to keep looking for your file. Good luck.

[Jeafl]

Thanks everyone! There are some great ideas here, and I am going to try them all until I find one that works! :)