Close call.Almost lost my room on cruise!

[CruisinCoyote]

I had the same thing happen to me last week. Forturnately I was diligent about checking my charge account online and noticed the final payment had never been paid. My reservation was automatically cancelled. I noticed it in time and the travel agent had to reserve the cabin again-fortunately it was still available.

[Putterdude]

I very happy that it worked out for the OP but I would sure be on the street looking for a new TA.

[Bob++]

I'm curious - it looks, from these posts, as if these TA's are one man (or woman) bands. Is that the case?

 

Over here in the UK I don't belive that such a person would get much business - we prefer to deal with a larger and fully registered company that (hopefully) won't go bust with our money in their bank.

[compozer]

My TA is super but I have received e-mails from her saying she is going on an odd cruise or something and will not be able to get to her e-mails for several days. I'm not going to change TA 's because of that. I've taken many trips and have not been able to get online.

 

Glad everything worked out for you.

[Pia1913]

I'm curious - it looks, from these posts, as if these TA's are one man (or woman) bands. Is that the case?

 

Over here in the UK I don't belive that such a person would get much business - we prefer to deal with a larger and fully registered company that (hopefully) won't go bust with our money in their bank.

 

We don't worry about things like that since we never pay the agency. Anyone who still does that should not. Perhaps you have no choice, but our charges go right on to our credit card and it's a Princess charge and not an agency charge.

[nancy315]

You really should call your credit card company to find out why they declined the card the first time. It may have been for a possible fraud alert because the transaction is out of the ordinary from your normal activity.

 

If that is indeed the case, you can avoid it going forward by calling the c.c. company before a charge goes through and letting them know you are approving it. Then you should never have to worry about making final payments. And if you make payment a few days before it is due, there is plenty of time to check before final is due and you are in danger of the res. being canceled for not being paid by the due date.

[compozer]

My TA is super but I have received e-mails from her saying she is going on an odd cruise or something and will not be able to get to her e-mails for several days. I'm not going to change TA 's because of that. I've taken many trips and have not been able to get online.

 

Glad everything worked out for you.

[willysgrandma]

When my husband travels, the first thing he does is buy an internet package on a cruise ship so he can check his e-mail in case an issue comes up with a client while he is traveling. He always has a laptop with him and between all that and a Blackberry - it is rare that a client can't contact him if need be.

 

TA's often do travel not only on their own vacations but to see properties and resorts and now a days it is fairly easy to keep in touch with clients in an emergency.

 

My TA is super but I have received e-mails from her saying she is going on an odd cruise or something and will not be able to get to her e-mails for several days. I'm not going to change TA 's because of that. I've taken many trips and have not been able to get online.

 

Glad everything worked out for you.

[Coolmama_1]

It's great it all worked out in the end (thank goodness), but that would still worry me if she was not checking emails while gone and didn't have anyone else checking them either. I always find a TA that not only has someone taking care of business while away, but that also checks HER OWN emails while gone. Heck, I have received emails while she is onboard a cruise within 30 minutes of sending them. But she is very dedicated and keeps in touch with all her clients even when she is away, so I never need to worry.

 

I am amazed at how quickly a good TA (thanks:)) will answer emails. I have had responses at 10:00 on Sat night.

[AZaTaz]

Why is it every time there is a post like this someone comes and says booking directly with the cruise line. We have saved thousands of

$$ dealing with several different TA. We also believe that make sure our cruise is paid for on time is our responsibility. We do not use the TA for service although some of them do provide good service we use them to save MONEY.

To the OP glad it worked out for you and yes you did the right thing by checking.

[NoGvmnt]

:eek:

Had booked room c752 on Emerald a year ago.Made final payment a week ago and noticed it had not come off credit card!and Princess website didn't show my booking!My credit card showed a credit and had not been used in awhile.

Called TA and she was on vacation for a week.They looked into it and credit card stopped payment and had left a message with TA about payment and she did not get it because she is off.(they never contacted me either)so Princess cancelled my booking.I lost my room but was able to get c753,same but other side of ship.

You always have to double check everything!!:eek::D:)

 

I think some time during your cruise you should knock on the door of cabin C 752 and see if your TA answers the knock.:eek:

 

Jim

[5326jan]

We used the auto club TA once. No discount, no OBC, not even a bottle of wine. :rolleyes: Since we started reading these boards we use a TA that saves us $$$$, gives us OBC and keeps track (along with us being responsible for our own status) of our reservations. After the travel club experience, I was convinced I would book directly with Princess. Sometimes I do book with Princess, get the cabin we want, then transfer the res to the TA.

[Wishing on a star]

I am assuming that some of the bigger online TAs, as listed here on TA, might be a good way to save some $$$ over booking with Princess directly?

I really wouldn't know anywhere else to look?

 

Any dollar saved would be a huge deal for us!

 

PS: the situation as described by the original poster has me scratching my head...

Neither anybody at the TA, nor the credit card company, bothered to contact here when a charge/payment of this magnitude was denied????

Makes NO sense...

There must be more to the story.

[BoPippy]

You really should call your credit card company to find out why they declined the card the first time. It may have been for a possible fraud alert because the transaction is out of the ordinary from your normal activity.

 

If that is indeed the case, you can avoid it going forward by calling the c.c. company before a charge goes through and letting them know you are approving it. Then you should never have to worry about making final payments. And if you make payment a few days before it is due, there is plenty of time to check before final is due and you are in danger of the res. being canceled for not being paid by the due date.

 

that is exactly why this happened!I had a credit of 500. and then a charge for $3000.and the credit card company is really the ones that didn't follow up properly.

[cherylandtk]

This story is yet another example as to why it makes sense to make the final payment at least a week or two before the deadline.....if that had happened OP would still have her original cabin and plenty of time to correct any mistakes on the part of the bank, TA or cruiseline.

 

I am glad OP has an equivalent cabin, especially after booking a year+ in advance. With that much advance planning, it should be a simple matter for most people to make final payment a couple of weeks early.

[knbcruisers]

We have twice used a TA that offers online and toll-free service live. It was recommended by my brother who is RCL platinum and has used them for years. I like calling/emailing my TA directly, but its is reassuring to have a backup option when she is gone: when you press "0" you are going to get to talk to somebody ! Also, our TA agency sets their final payment date about 10 or so days before Princess's, so there is time to resolve any issues. Just my $.02

[wallypbear]

:eek:

Had booked room c752 on Emerald a year ago.Made final payment a week ago and noticed it had not come off credit card!and Princess website didn't show my booking!My credit card showed a credit and had not been used in awhile.

Called TA and she was on vacation for a week.They looked into it and credit card stopped payment and had left a message with TA about payment and she did not get it because she is off.(they never contacted me either)so Princess cancelled my booking.I lost my room but was able to get c753,same but other side of ship.

You always have to double check everything!!:eek::D:)

I canceled C753 last week. I am very happy that you were able to get it. Bon Voyage.

[michigan tim]

Fortunately the sailing was not sold out!

[willysgrandma]

What is surprising is that your credit card company didn't call you to find out if it was a legit charge when they declined it. Many make a courtesy call to the customer and then will process the charge once they speak to the client. I'd be pretty angry with the c.c. for not calling me to notify me.

 

This is why one should never wait until the last day to make final payment. We see more credit card companies deny a charge when there is more than enough credit available because it is an unusual transaction.

 

 

 

that is exactly why this happened!I had a credit of 500. and then a charge for $3000.and the credit card company is really the ones that didn't follow up properly.

[Artrina]

It surprised me that the TA went away for a week and didn't check to see that they had any clients with final payments due for any trips. Our TA not only saves us $$, but, has sent us reminders about payment due dates 10 days in advance of the date if we haven't already paid it.

I too question the credit card company declining a charge without checking to see if it was valid. I know we've had 2 different credit card companies call to check when we charged large for us amounts of money. We also make the point of calling the credit card company for the cards we take with us on vacation to let them know we might be using the cards in odd for us places for the specific time frame we'll be gone.

[Mary Ellen]

Glad it worked out in the end.

[Liza j]

Oh my goodness I know how you felt. That happened to us years ago when I called Princess about something and they told me my trip had been cancelled for nonpayment and our room was gone. I called my TA and she was gone for the weekend. I called her boss at home late on Sunday night and was extremely upset. She got ahold of her and to this day I am not sure what really happened but she spent alot of time with Princess and luckily got our room back. Somewhere along the line I think she just never got around to sending them our payment. Never got anything from her but I'm sorry it happened. Needless to say I do not use her anymore. Liz :(

[Desert Cruizers]

A friend of ours almost lost theirs, when the TA they had been using for years, decided instead of calling into the cruise lines as she always had done to authorize a payment, used that mont back to her business and never sent the money to the cuise lines. They learned about the problem when they went to print out their set sail pass and couldn't. They ran to their TA and told her she better correct the problem ASAP or she was seeing a lawyer. The cruise lines held the room until the TA sent the money in since it was her error. Our friends have since found a new TA.

 

Our TA if gone, all messages/emails, are seen & handled by her associates.

[ChrisB123]

I thought cruise price was regulated. :confused: How does a TA save you money if the price is the same anywhere?

[Toto2Kansas]

I thought cruise price was regulated. :confused: How does a TA save you money if the price is the same anywhere?

Some discount TA's will cut their commission made on the booking, therefore returning a portion of it in the form of a discount to their clients. Also some have group space on sailings which can mean a nice onboard credit included in the discounted price. This in turn can usually save you at least 10% over the price Princess is charging for the same cruise, and often adds shipboard credit on top of that great price. ;)