Deb in Markham Posted February 21, 2011 #1 Share Posted February 21, 2011 We're about to book our Hawaii cruise so I went through the online process to check everything out. They are offering an OBC of $50 and a bottle of wine per stateroom--nice. However, when I went all the way through the booking process, I see on the summary of charges a $25 charge per stateroom for the OBC!! Is that "normal?" This is through a very reputable, discount warehouse that offers travel services as part of their package of services to members. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Morgsmom Posted February 21, 2011 #2 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Sounds weird.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul929207 Posted February 21, 2011 #3 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Never heard of something like that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CA Posted February 21, 2011 #4 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Sounds weird to me, too. Some TAs charge a booking fee and this could be it. Many good TAs don't. Double-check all of the correspondence and online information to see if they have disclosed a fee. If not, I'd dispute it because legally, they cannot charge you a fee without disclosure. If they give you a hard time, I'd find another TA; one who doesn't charge you a fee, discounts the price of the cruise and gives you perks. They're out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denny01 Posted February 21, 2011 #5 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Sounds like a sneaky way of looking like they are providing a nice OBC and a wine when instead you are getting a $25 OBC or ordering a $25 bottle of wine they pick for you. Never heard of that. Den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YWW Posted February 21, 2011 #6 Share Posted February 21, 2011 We're about to book our Hawaii cruise so I went through the online process to check everything out. They are offering an OBC of $50 and a bottle of wine per stateroom--nice. However, when I went all the way through the booking process, I see on the summary of charges a $25 charge per stateroom for the OBC!! Is that "normal?" This is through a very reputable, discount warehouse that offers travel services as part of their package of services to members. Sounds very fishy. Suggest you go to another TA for assistance. We just did a last minute booking a few days ago for 3/2 sailing to Hawaii thru American Airline. No OBC or gift but we do get the purchase price in AA miles as well as a special promo now of an added bonus 17,500 miles for booking a cabin with balcony or above. UA has something similar but not as attractive as far as the bonus miles are concerned. Of course if you are not a frequent flyer with AA or UA, this really doesn't matter to you. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruis247g Posted February 21, 2011 #7 Share Posted February 21, 2011 I'm so sorry that this happened to you. We had a similar incident happen to us some time ago. We purchased a cruise (2 balconies) through a large on-line discount agency. When we saw our bill, we discovered a mysterious $50 fee. After calling them (again), we discovered that they had a $25/cabin charge for booking, even if done on-line. It may have been my fault for not reading everything thoroughly. Honestly, I'm not positive, but I "re-learned" a lesson. Although the price for the cabins was still acceptable, they were no longer the least expensive and more importantly, it left us feeling quite uncomfortable and left me appreciating good TAs more than ever! Hope you figure it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in Markham Posted February 21, 2011 Author #8 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Here's how they itemized it--no hiding it really, quite up front about it, but definitely charging us for the OBC they advertised! Passenger 1 Passenger 2 Total Cruise Rate $2,743.73 $2,743.73 $5,487.45 Trip Protection $125.00 $125.00 $250.00 On Board Credit $25.00 $25.00 $50.00 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shepp Posted February 21, 2011 #9 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Looks to me that they were simply listing the OBC included, not charging you for it. Have you taken the obvious step and asked them? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toberman Posted February 21, 2011 #10 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Here's how they itemized it--no hiding it really, quite up front about it, but definitely charging us for the OBC they advertised! Passenger 1 Passenger 2 Total Cruise Rate $2,743.73 $2,743.73 $5,487.45 Trip Protection $125.00 $125.00 $250.00 On Board Credit $25.00 $25.00 $50.00 Really hard to tell from this.. what was the final payment due amount?? It also looks to me as if it may just be showing you the OBC amount. Curious - was this agency Canadian or American?? Different rules do apply!! Also - the trip protection looks too low to cover medical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Katie333 Posted February 21, 2011 #11 Share Posted February 21, 2011 This 'looks like' they are quoting the OBC not adding it to your final total. However, you should be able to figure out based on the pricing you see before you get to itemization (i.e. is that the same you see on the summary screen). Since it's not called a booking fee either, it looks like they are giving you the credit, not charging for it. Still, I'd call them and clarify. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willysgrandma Posted February 21, 2011 #12 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Are you sure they are charging you or are they just showing you the OBC? I have invoices right now for clients with OBC's and it shows the OBC but the client certainly isn't being charged for it. It reads just as yours is reading. I think perhaps you are reading the invoice incorrectly. How much is the breakdown of the fare and the taxes? Here is how our clients invoice looks (just double this): Fare: 1199.00 Tax 111.01 Total Fare: $1310.02 OBC - $50 As you can see, the OBC is not added to the amount the client is paying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Morgsmom Posted February 21, 2011 #13 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Am I the only one to think that $25 OBC for $5K worth of cruising is miniscule? There are TA's who would either offer a greater discount or bump up the OBCs.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytime53 Posted February 21, 2011 #14 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Am I the only one to think that $25 OBC for $5K worth of cruising is miniscule? There are TA's who would either offer a greater discount or bump up the OBCs.... Maybe I missed it, but I don't think we know what the original fare of the discount is, do we? I've found I get a bigger discount from TA's that don't regularly offer OBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CA Posted February 22, 2011 #15 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Am I the only one to think that $25 OBC for $5K worth of cruising is miniscule? There are TA's who would either offer a greater discount or bump up the OBCs....Pittance. There are quite a few TAs who will give at least a 10% discount (sometimes more) plus a perk, including an OBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cactusrose Posted February 22, 2011 #16 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Pittance. There are quite a few TAs who will give at least a 10% discount (sometimes more) plus a perk, including an OBC. You don't know that this pricing isn't at least 10% discount. I didn't read anywhere that indicated the ship, date or cabin category so how can you determine that this price is out of line or not discounted? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytime53 Posted February 22, 2011 #17 Share Posted February 22, 2011 Am I the only one to think that $25 OBC for $5K worth of cruising is miniscule? There are TA's who would either offer a greater discount or bump up the OBCs.... It's not $25, it's $50 (see below), still not much, but we don't know the facts. Cruise Rate $2,743.73 $2,743.73 $5,487.45On Board Credit $25.00 $25.00 $50.00 You don't know that this pricing isn't at least 10% discount. I didn't read anywhere that indicated the ship, date or cabin category so how can you determine that this price is out of line or not discounted? Exactly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam in CA Posted February 22, 2011 #18 Share Posted February 22, 2011 You don't know that this pricing isn't at least 10% discount. I didn't read anywhere that indicated the ship, date or cabin category so how can you determine that this price is out of line or not discounted?True. I was referring to the $50 OBC and from the OPs post that was without a discount. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travel Bear Posted February 22, 2011 #19 Share Posted February 22, 2011 I believe it is 25 per person with a total of 50.00 If you add it all up you will see it is a credit. If it is a service charge or a booking fee it must be listed as such and would not be listed by the credit. When you total your invoice you will NOT see the obc come off the price as it goes towards purchases on board. So add the cruise price and the port taxes if listed seperately and the taxes. That should equal the price you are expecting. If it doesn't DON'T book it. All charges should be clearly outlined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deb in Markham Posted February 22, 2011 Author #20 Share Posted February 22, 2011 OK, finally got clarification. It will be subtracted out of the total, it's just listed to show it. I never saw it included in a tally of charges before that's all. It really threw me. Thanks for your input. As always, it's appreicated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.