msc flights

[clud1970]

hi there

16 of us are booked on the msc opera in july ,12 of us booked with one ta and the other family booked with another ta (tc) they have now informed them that they have not booked them on the flight from Edinburgh to Southampton and gave them there £200 back saying the flight is full :on the flybe site they have two spaces left but when you call them they have 9 spaces but they cost £239 each return:mad:

not checked with my ta yet as i assume they have done there job .

 

who is at fault tc is blaming msc and msc are blaming tc and they are now stuck with a long drive to Southampton :mad:

 

this was all booked last aug and paid in full at xmas

 

thanks for any advice :D

[AmoMondo]

It is hard to say who is at fault, with ought sight of the documentation. Have they got a confirmation issued by MSC stating that the Flybe flights were included? At the end of the day, they booked with a TA and they are responsible for ensuring the arrangements are in place. They should be trying to come up with alternatives for them. What about a flight to Gatwick or HRW with train or coach transfer from there? What about train?

 

It was the TA who took their money for a fly/cruise, so it is them who should be ensuring that is what they are getting.

 

As an aside, MSC (and no doubt other cruise companies) get block bookings of seats on various flights at a certain proce, which is why they can often provide a flight add on at a cheep are price than you can buy yourself. I suspect what may have happened is that they had more people booking than their allocation. Alternatively the otherbTA may not have checked the paperwork from MSC at the time to ensure flights had been booked.

[moomoocow]

hi there

16 of us are booked on the msc opera in july ,12 of us booked with one ta and the other family booked with another ta (tc) they have now informed them that they have not booked them on the flight from Edinburgh to Southampton and gave them there £200 back saying the flight is full :on the flybe site they have two spaces left but when you call them they have 9 spaces but they cost £239 each return:mad:

not checked with my ta yet as i assume they have done there job .

 

who is at fault tc is blaming msc and msc are blaming tc and they are now stuck with a long drive to Southampton :mad:

 

this was all booked last aug and paid in full at xmas

 

thanks for any advice :D

 

Two reasons why I don't think it's MSC....

 

1) MSC most often use British Airways for their flights - they have a partnership with them and as Amo says they block book seats.

 

2) MSC are currently selling return flights to Europe with their cruises for £99 on the website. So they might have availability.

 

Phone MSC direct armed with your booking number and as to speak to their flight department to see what they can offer direct bookers. Once you have that info I would be amazed if MSC could book you on the flight directly as you've gone through the TA. However you can use the into to go back to the TA and ask them to add the flights MSC have advised to the booking for the price you've been quoted. Basically do some detective work and then force your TA to make good.

 

Let us know how you get on.

[clud1970]

It is hard to say who is at fault, with ought sight of the documentation. Have they got a confirmation issued by MSC stating that the Flybe flights were included? At the end of the day, they booked with a TA and they are responsible for ensuring the arrangements are in place. They should be trying to come up with alternatives for them. What about a flight to Gatwick or HRW with train or coach transfer from there? What about train?

 

It was the TA who took their money for a fly/cruise, so it is them who should be ensuring that is what they are getting.

 

As an aside, MSC (and no doubt other cruise companies) get block bookings of seats on various flights at a certain proce, which is why they can often provide a flight add on at a cheep are price than you can buy yourself. I suspect what may have happened is that they had more people booking than their allocation. Alternatively the otherbTA may not have checked the paperwork from MSC at the time to ensure flights had been booked.

 

flights were booked with the cruise in aug with ta (tc) and someone either tc or msc never booked them on the flight :rolleyes:

 

they both are now passing the buck with the customer in the middle :eek:

[AmoMondo]

flights were booked with the cruise in aug with ta (tc) and someone either tc or msc never booked them on the flight :rolleyes:

 

they both are now passing the buck with the customer in the middle :eek:

 

If they have documentation from MSC proving they had booked the flight with the cruise (on the actual invoice), then yes it would be MSC's fault if they haven't been booked and they should call MSC's flight department and see if they can sort anything out for them. Of however they only have documentation from the TA and nothing from MSC saying they had booked a cruise and flights, then they will have to push the TA to sort something out for them.

[clud1970]

wee update they have now offered him flights from manchester :mad:

but they are looking to fly him the night before

[papcx]

Am I missing something here? Your friends paid a TA for a fly cruise - the TA has a contractual agreement to provide your friends with flights, from the original airport to Southampton.

 

Flybe is full, not your problem, it's the TAs problem. The TA should Book another airline at their cost!

[clud1970]

Am I missing something here? Your friends paid a TA for a fly cruise - the TA has a contractual agreement to provide your friends with flights, from the original airport to Southampton.

 

Flybe is full, not your problem, it's the TAs problem. The TA should Book another airline at their cost!

 

thats right but txxxxx cook are blaming msc and the flight now is 5 times the price with limited spaces now and both are passing the buck :mad:

 

not heard from him today so hopefully he has a resolution

[papcx]

thats right but txxxxx cook are blaming msc and the flight now is 5 times the price with limited spaces now and both are passing the buck :mad:

 

 

 

not heard from him today so hopefully he has a resolution

 

 

CC rules say we can't name TAs, but in this case the TA needs to get your friends to Southampton. Good luck.

[clud1970]

ta has backed down and found 4 seats :) not even checked with my ta yet about our flights should be ok :D

 

thanks for the help guys

[papcx]

ta has backed down and found 4 seats :) not even checked with my ta yet about our flights should be ok :D

 

 

 

thanks for the help guys

 

 

All's well that ends well.

[MotownVoice]

Book my own flights, and I've never had a single problem ... ever.

 

Well, once ... with Air France. A website glitch.

 

But in 30 or so years of self booked travel not a bad record for never having darkended the door step of a single travel agent.

 

Just a regular consumer. Nothing more than basic knowledge of the internet and a cursory understanding about reservations.

 

And this website is festooned with complaints about travel agencies.

 

Hm.

[AmoMondo]

Book my own flights, and I've never had a single problem ... ever.

 

Well, once ... with Air France. A website glitch.

 

But in 30 or so years of self booked travel not a bad record for never having darkended the door step of a single travel agent.

 

Just a regular consumer. Nothing more than basic knowledge of the internet and a cursory understanding about reservations.

 

And this website is festooned with complaints about travel agencies.

 

Hm.

 

I went in to a TA's shop for the first time in 30 years last month. I'd tried countless airlines sites to get the routing I wanted for a holiday in Hong Kong, Fiji and multiple stops in Australia. 10 minutes in the specialists shop and it was all taken care of via Cathay Pacific(and using One Orld Alliance partners). I simply could not do this directly myself.

 

However, for everything else like you, I avoid TAs. I have 5-6 trips per year and organise all myself. As you say, too often on here you here people complaining about mixes ups or the TA not explaining what has been sold. The way I look at it! I know best what I want and what interests me and am prepared to sit with my IPad and find out what I need to know and do it myself. There are no doubt very good TAs out there, but I really think they only add value now, when they are specialist ones, organising complicated things to areas they all have extensive experience in. We have to use one for corporate bookings at work and they aren't great either and often don't even get the best price.