My TA cancelled my cruise!

[5326jan]

Let me start this by asking PLEASE DO NOT give me any TA information! I try to be a good member and follow the rules.

 

I wanted to follow up with those that were helpful to me last night when I posted that my agent had changed my fare upwards. He stated clearly that "Princess had changed their policy and didn't allow discounts anymore". I immediately reverted my reservation back to Princess with a fax, but this morning I looked on "My Princess" and my cruise personalizer was gone!!! The TA had cancelled my reservation when he was notified that Princess was going to take it back. :mad: How can he do that? I was able to call Princess directly and rebook with the same cabin, because I found out so quickly, but I'm so annoyed! I'm going to write Princess sales people a letter about his unprofessional conduct, but I don't know that there's anything more I can do. (edited to say that is what Princess' booking agent told me I should do. I realize they have no control over him.)

 

Anyway, I didn't get a chance to thank you all for the good advice and wanted to let you know how it ended. I can always count of my fellow cruisers to tell me to "RUN", not walk away, and know it's the right thing to do.

[cherylandtk]

He cancelled the booking because he can. He did not have to release it back to Princess, and when you told him you wanted to transfer it he decided to cancel you instead of transferring it. He can do that. Not nice, but legal. Spiteful, really. He's not a nice person and we already know he is a rotten, uninformed cheat of a TA.

 

You can let Princess know, but try to think of this as a REALLY GOOD EXAMPLE of why not to use TA's that send up red flags. You escaped without financial costs, and will hopefully not ever encounter such a lousy TA in the future. Try to focus your anger on thanking your lucky stars this Bad TA did not do worse. You can be angry, but the only one that damages is you. It might be better to just let it go and think of it as a lesson learned.

 

I am glad you got your original cabin back, and that you have a good price.

[lljost]

Is your travel agent a member of CLIA? I would lodge a complaint with them. Obviously, they were upset that you were not going to book through them, but in good faith, they should not have tried to raise the price on you. I certainly would never use them again or refer anyone to them. This is why I book directly with Princess and never have a problem. Glad you were able to still book the cruise you wanted but never fun to have to go through something like this...

[Coral]

Glad you were able to rebook.

 

So sorry that there are bad apples out there! Glad you found out right away and was able to correct it.

[TracieABD]

I am glad that it worked out in the end and that you regained control of your cruise.

 

Shame on him...:mad:

[cdngrl]

i am glad you got your cabin, your price and your booking back.

is your ta is a member of a larger office? write to the manager, or if part of a nation-wide company, write them...or count your blessings, consider it lesson learned. whatever you decide, i hope its your best cruise ever!

[5326jan]

Yes, definitely lesson learned. I also learned that "pedigree" doesn't guarantee good service. He is independent, owns business and has ASTA awards and specializes in cruises. He was even featured in a NYT article about travel agents. Go figure. :rolleyes: Maybe he's gotten too busy and doesn't have time for people that don't cruise multiple times per year. It doesn't matter any more.. it's over.

 

Best thing of all is that nothing is going to dampen my excitement for the cruise! :)

[Coral]

Is your travel agent a member of CLIA? I would lodge a complaint with them.

 

Unfortunately, I don't think this will do any good. Lodging a complaint against their boss/corporate office would have more power.

[denmarks]

Did you get the discounted price with Princess or did the price go up as the TA indicated?

[5326jan]

Did you get the discounted price with Princess or did the price go up as the TA indicated?

 

At the end, my TA had moved the price from a discounted rate to the reduced rack rate offered by Princess. Which was about $184/pp more than he had originally quoted in writing.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

You will have a great cruise ....:):)

[denmarks]

At the end, my TA had moved the price from a discounted rate to the reduced rack rate offered by Princess. Which was about $184/pp more than he had originally quoted in writing.

 

What he should have done is told you of the problem and given you an OBC of the price increase. If that caused him to lose his commission it was his fault. He probably had no way to doctor the books to make it look like you paid more without Princess finding out.

 

It is possible that by cancelling the booking he recouped his losses. I am not sure exactly what happens when you transfer from a TA to Princess when the price was misquoted. Maybe the TA would have had to take the loss with no commission.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

It is said you can not trust a person who has the nerve to call them selves a TA . Like every thing else some are great and some should go away .Far away .:)

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

Maybe I'm missing something but if you notified Princess that you wanted them to take over the booking, why didn't Princess protect your booking? Why was the agent even in a position to cancel your booking *after* you had notified Princess that you wanted them to take it over? :confused:

[5326jan]

Maybe I'm missing something but if you notified Princess that you wanted them to take over the booking, why didn't Princess protect your booking? Why was the agent even in a position to cancel your booking *after* you had notified Princess that you wanted them to take it over? :confused:

 

I was confused about that too. I faxed Princess yesterday afternoon (before 5pm west coast time), I checked late this morning and it had been cancelled.

 

I did get a follow up note from TA this afternoon, surprisingly that said the following:

"I see you received my note (regarding change in fare) and requested that Princess remove me as your agent. I will cancel this reservation on this message so that you can book it with another agent."

 

By the time I received this it was already done. But I interpret his attitude as " if I can't have your cruise, you can't either."

 

To answer your question, I thought Princess would protect my reservation because they had the fax stating that I wanted them to control it. I guess it's on a stack on someone's desk and he cancelled before they switched it over. It just all happened so fast... I don't blame Princess.

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Looks like poor TAs can be found on both sides of the pond,

 

I assume you did not loss all monies paid and all your onboard credit,

 

like we did, but we are under UK rules

 

 

yours Shogun

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

Didn't the TA get this information (that you were moving your booking) from Princess?

[5326jan]

Didn't the TA get this information (that you were moving your booking) from Princess?

 

Yes. I don't know how it's worded. Presumably, "Customer XYZ would like to transfer their booking back to Princess.", but who knows?

[cherylandtk]

To answer your question, I thought Princess would protect my reservation because they had the fax stating that I wanted them to control it.

Princess cannot take over an agent's booking on just your say-so. The agent 'owns' the booking and must agree to officially release it back to Princess. Your agent chose to cancel the booking rather than take the 'effort' to release it to Princess. He notified you of this, which is all he is obligated to do since he 'owns' it. Many agents will allow you to release a booking if you are not happy with them, but many do not.

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

Princess cannot take over an agent's booking on just your say-so. The agent 'owns' the booking and must agree to officially release it back to Princess. Your agent chose to cancel the booking rather than take the 'effort' to release it to Princess. He notified you of this, which is all he is obligated to do since he 'owns' it. Many agents will allow you to release a booking if you are not happy with them, but many do not.

 

That's what I'm missing then.

 

How awkward to have to have your TA be willing to quit when you want to fire them!

[Coral]

Princess cannot take over an agent's booking on just your say-so. The agent 'owns' the booking and must agree to officially release it back to Princess. Your agent chose to cancel the booking rather than take the 'effort' to release it to Princess. He notified you of this, which is all he is obligated to do since he 'owns' it. Many agents will allow you to release a booking if you are not happy with them, but many do not.

 

This is accurate. It appears the TA choose to cancel as oppose to release.

[Pam in CA]

I'm so glad you were able to get your cabin back. What an unfortunate learning experience. Not all TAs are like that, thank goodness, and there are many who are outstanding. Don't let this experience turn you off from finding a good, responsible TA you're comfortable with who gives great service.

[candydane]

This is a good reminder of why I periodically check all my reservations to be sure they're as they should be. Especially anytime I know a change is being made to an existing reservation.

 

Mistakes can happen and the longer it takes to find a problem, the less chance I'll be able to fix it.

 

Airlines, hotels, cruises, whatever -- all need to be watched, at least weekly.

 

Just because reservations were good once and/or it's in writing, I'm the one who will suffer if a mistake can't be fixed. Not my TA or airline or cruise line or hotel staff!

[Pia1913]

All's well that ends well, but too bad you can't tell us who the BAD guy is. Would be good for others to know to keep away.

 

Meanwhile, since your cruise is still so far away, you have lots of time to watch the pricing yourself and transfer to another TA when you feel comfortable to do so.

[pablo222]

All's well that ends well, but too bad you can't tell us who the BAD guy is. Would be good for others to know to keep away.

 

There are two sides to every story.

 

And, even if TAs could come out of the closet here, they might decline

following up anyway -- even if they're right -- just to prevent an argument.