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Bait and Switch?


athe0007
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Let me give you an analogy in another type of business. You go to your Mercedes dealer and buy an expensive Mercedes. When you come to pick it up, they tell you that they were out of the model you had bought and paid for and they were giving you a used Yugo (remember them) in its place. Because the Yugo was not quite as good as the car you were expecting, they had upgraded the Yugo to the model with an AM radio.

 

It makes no difference whether you really needed the expensive Mercedes. You wanted it, paid for it, and the dealer accepted your money for it.

 

Is this purposely ridiculous analogy any different than what the OP was subjected to?

 

 

DON

 

 

The analogy works ;) and while on a different level is exactly the point.

 

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Let me give you an analogy in another type of business. You go to your Mercedes dealer and buy an expensive Mercedes. When you come to pick it up, they tell you that they were out of the model you had bought and paid for and they were giving you a used Yugo (remember them) in its place. Because the Yugo was not quite as good as the car you were expecting, they had upgraded the Yugo to the model with an AM radio.

 

It makes no difference whether you really needed the expensive Mercedes. You wanted it, paid for it, and the dealer accepted your money for it.

 

Is this purposely ridiculous analogy any different than what the OP was subjected to?

 

 

DON

I guess I'm really missing something here because I have no idea why you quoted me and gave your analogy since I was saying the same thing.:confused:

Didn't I say it made no difference if the OP needed the suite, it was what they wanted and what they paid for?

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I guess I'm really missing something here because I have no idea why you quoted me and gave your analogy since I was saying the same thing.:confused:

Didn't I say it made no difference if the OP needed the suite, it was what they wanted and what they paid for?

 

I must have attached it to the wrong response. Sorry. My analogy is apt however.

 

DON

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  • 2 weeks later...

We had a meeting with the Guest Service Manager on the ship, but he said there was nothing more he could do and we would have to talk to the corporate office after the cruise ended. I talked to them yesterday and they said they would review the issue and get back to me within three weeks.

 

So now that I've been home and have time to research and work on this, I want to ask for your opinion. Below is the original picture of what I thought we were booking and to the right is a cabin almost exactly like the one we were place in. Do you think they're the same category?

 

Opps, I can't get the picture link in. You should be able to access it at www . imgur . com/ 7P3yKFo (remove spaces)

Edited by athe0007
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We had a meeting with the Guest Service Manager on the ship, but he said there was nothing more he could do and we would have to talk to the corporate office after the cruise ended. I talked to them yesterday and they said they would review the issue and get back to me within three weeks.

 

So now that I've been home and have time to research and work on this, I want to ask for your opinion. Below is the original picture of what I thought we were booking and to the right is a cabin almost exactly like the one we were place in. Do you think they're the same category?

 

Opps, I can't get the picture link in. You should be able to access it at www . imgur . com/ 7P3yKFo (remove spaces)

 

No, it most certainly is not the same category, and I hope you get adequate compensation for the fact.

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Do you think they're the same category?

 

Absolutely not the same! :eek: I was in the exact cabin pictured on the right last month (different ship obviously) and it is the least expensive of any suite on that cruise line. If you were supposed to have a 2 bedroom and got that one, they owe you a refund. Don't get me wrong, we enjoyed the suite, but we knew what we booked. Good luck!

Edited by samiam0403
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I think they owe more than a refund of the price difference. To be honest, they owe that plus a HUGE discount on another cruise to make it right with the customer and his family. I would have been a lot, and I mean A LOT nastier about it onboard and given them the opportunity to find me what I booked and paid for, a 2BR suite, or a cash refund right then and there so I could take my business to a nice Hawaiian resort for a week. OP, I strongly suggest you contact the Conde Nast ombudsman about this. This is the type of situation they love to intervene with. ombudsman@condenasttraveler.com

 

Frankly I'm appalled that the cruise line would allow this to happen and not be bending over backwards to remedy the situation.

 

The reality is that it's fraud. It would be one thing to get to the room and find that what was illustrated as a walk in closet was a regular one, or there was no footstool. Those are not material changes. But to go from two bedrooms and two bathrooms to a single room and bathroom without advance notification in a non-emergency situation (ie a broken sewer pipe takes the room out of service) is downright consumer fraud, and there are laws that protect the consumer against this. It doesn't matter if the company is based out of another nation (which in this case I don't believe they are), if they are doing business in the US they have to obey US law. I would send them a letter via FEdEx giving them three days to respond or you will file a complaint with the FTC and your state's attorney generals office. No fine print in the cruise contract can protect them from committing fraud.

 

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

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@ athe0007

 

Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I am pre-planning a trip to Hawaii with my sister and BIL -- we would be treating them! They have not taken any "exotic" vacations and I want this one to be perfect. I was making a spread sheet of the various options (not just price, but all options) working off the cruiselines' websites as well as Hawaiian Air, etc. One person of the four adults needs a tub -- so I was looking at the two-bedroom suite you ran into problems over... Suddenly, its floorplan on the website set of bells in my head -- thanks to this thread.

 

I know that NCL's website leaves a lot to be desired, but leaving SUCH a misrepresentation on the Web, and glossing it over, is a disgrace.

 

ETA: As far as I am concerned, NCL is off the list of options for our Hawaii trip. How would I know what to believe about any cabin on the POA?

Edited by crystalspin
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Frankly I'm appalled that the cruise line would allow this to happen and not be bending over backwards to remedy the situation.

 

Autocorrect responsible for most typos...

 

Thank you for your advice and link. I will be sure to follow up. I've been researching this further and it seems that Florida has a law that you cannot sue a cruise line after 30 days. SO, I priority mailed, registered, with return receipt a request for a refund. Now here's the funny part and I'm not normally given to conspiracy theories, but do have a good sense of irony. I tracked this letter and it got to the USPS distribution center in Florida and then disappeared off the face of the earth. I went to the post office and talked to the same clerk I mailed it with and she said she'd track it down with their own system and SHE (she didn't remember me) comes back and tells me that it appears that there was insufficient postage. Unfortunately, I didn't have the receipt with me (which showed full payment), but it wouldn't have helped anyway. So this particular written request did not reach them. So I immediately went to UPS and overnighted another one to them. I'd also sent a letter to their CEO, so maybe that will help. If they are an honorable company it shouldn't matter and I'm still holding out hope.

 

BTW being the novice cruiser that I am, do you think it would have helped if I booked with a TA instead of booking directly with them? I thought that booking directly with them would reduce the risk of something going wrong. Little did I know! :(

 

Thanks everyone for your answers and support!

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BTW being the novice cruiser that I am, do you think it would have helped if I booked with a TA instead of booking directly with them? I thought that booking directly with them would reduce the risk of something going wrong. Little did I know! :(

 

Thanks everyone for your answers and support!

We've found that a good TA can be your greatest advocate when things go wrong. They have a relationship with the cruise line's rep for their area. They also do far more volume of bookings than any individual. When a cruise line pisses off a passenger, too bad, so sad. When they piss off a high booking agency... Our TA is one of the top 100 for the cruise line we most often sail. They have more pull than an individual.
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In addition to the Conde Nast ombudsman, you may want to try Christopher Elliott. He's a great consumer advocate that handles LOTS of travel disputes. He really knows how to get the attention of travel giants, and fight for the little guy. What they did was SO very wrong. Not cool. His website is elliott.org

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Sadly (for you) a TA may have known about the "issue" of wrong cabins on website and prevented you from even booking this cabin! And with the TA connections through her cruiseline rep this entire issue would have likely been resolved while you had still been on board. The TA would have fought the battle and gotten this issue handled for you.....

 

I agree with the earlier poster, Chris Elliott is the one you need to reach out to. Get all your invoices and website documentation together and get it to him....his readership is huge and the cruise line will not want to be dragged thru all the newspapers and magazines he writes for...if he takes your case there is no charge so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by immediately reaching out to Him.

Edited by nana541
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  • 2 weeks later...
Just bumping this back up to see if the OP will update what the final outcome was! He has not signed in since Jan 20 :(

 

They got back to me on Thursday. I'm still trying to figure out if their offer is useful for us as a family. On the surface it's fair (it's more than I asked for in cash), but I'm not sure if a "credit" helps us out much. Truth be told, I'd much rather they'd been honest from the beginning so our "once in a life time" vacation would have gone as I'd planned. So people reading this please let me know what you think! They gave us a $2300 credit on any NCL cruise taken within one year. We hadn't been planning on taking another cruise so soon because we overspent in Hawaii. Also, a credit doesn't cost them much unless the class of cabin we book is sold out. I mean if we'd been planning on cruising this would have been great, but it costs us a lot to fly four people to a port because we live in Minnesota. I am very happy that they were polite and have tried to accommodate us. Am I looking a gift horse in the mouth? I suppose this is very generous by industry standards. What do you think? Thanks.

 

PS: Has anyone been on an Eastern Mediterranean (Italy, Greece, and Turkey) cruise in December? It looks like the weather isn't too great.

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Some questions you might ask that would help you determine whether you can use this offer:

 

  • Is the credit good for a year from now or a year from when you originally sailed?
  • If the fare does not use the entire credit, would it be available as OBC?
  • Would it apply to port charges and taxes?
  • Can it be applied to cruise air?

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Guess I was looking at it from another angle... I believe your kids had a great time on the Hawaiian cruise inspite of the whole cabin thing, correct??

I think what happened really impacted both you and your wife, you two need some special getaway time. Leave the kids with friends or family. And book a trip for Two!!

 

The kids will get over it, the credit is enough or darn near for a Med cruise and focus on a couple cheap seats for two!!

Don't let that credit go for nothing!

Go see Rome and Florence, spend a day in Capri... Sounds like your wife really needs this.

 

Just my Two cents!

 

PS and I know your kids had a blast on the first cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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It is really a shame that they would not compensate you with cash rather than a credit. If that is truly all they will do - I agree that the 2 of you should use the credit and take a cruise alone - relax and enjoy!

 

I hope you let us know what you decide to to.

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It is really a shame that they would not compensate you with cash rather than a credit. If that is truly all they will do - I agree that the 2 of you should use the credit and take a cruise alone - relax and enjoy!

 

 

 

I hope you let us know what you decide to to.

 

 

Ditto.... Look for reasons to say yes!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

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