TA cancellation fee

[MaryZ]

Wow, due to my house being raised in spring with a starting date of April 15, 2016 I had to cancel my anthem of the seas cruise.

 

This particular cruise agency with the last letters of "con" truly is a con.

$100 for them to cancel it. It's $50 a person. Ridiculous.

It took them 5 minutes to book it because all they did was follow what I said. It takes them less than 5 minutes to cancel it.

 

I have booked quite a few cruises with them before. I will never book with them again.

[Clarea]

Sorry to hear you had a cancel fee.

 

The first question I ask a TA is if they have any fees for cancelling, changing, applying price drops, etc.

[FLACRUISER99]

Wow, due to my house being raised in spring with a starting date of April 15, 2016 I had to cancel my anthem of the seas cruise.

 

This particular cruise agency with the last letters of "con" truly is a con.

$100 for them to cancel it. It's $50 a person. Ridiculous.

It took them 5 minutes to book it because all they did was follow what I said. It takes them less than 5 minutes to cancel it.

 

I have booked quite a few cruises with them before. I will never book with them again.

Were you not informed of this policy before you booked?

[MaryZ]

Were you not informed of this policy before you booked?

 

True, it is in my contract.

I am more annoyed at myself for booking with them with it in my contract.

This is the first cruise I've had to cancel in many years.

 

I've used them many times for cruises. I just won't again.

For me, looking at a customers repeat record of booking cruises with my agency, having them explain an unusual circumstance would overcome the need for the cancellation fee to keep them as a customer.

[mollyeilis]

Assuming there's not more than one TA with that suffix, you got off easy. Googling the cancel policy tells me that it's $100/per person.

[grandgeezer]

True, it is in my contract.

I am more annoyed at myself for booking with them with it in my contract.

This is the first cruise I've had to cancel in many years.

 

I've used them many times for cruises. I just won't again.

For me, looking at a customers repeat record of booking cruises with my agency, having them explain an unusual circumstance would overcome the need for the cancellation fee to keep them as a customer.

 

You have the right to use any travel agency you want with no explanation needed, but since you did I'm a little confused. You said that you used them many times before, there must have been a reason for it. I have used them for over 20 cruises, and luckily I've never had to cancel any. I know about the cancellation policy, but after saving my thousands of dollars over the years, I would have no problem paying the $100 if I had to cancel. I didn't work for free and I wouldn't expect them to.

If you Google them, they did $116.3 million dollars in cruise sales in 20014 so they must be doing something right.

There are many travel agencies out there who don't charge the fee. Hopefully you won't have to sacrifice too much, financially, in perks and other freebies, to do it.

[setsail]

 

I have booked quite a few cruises with them before. I will never book with them again.

 

Then you know this

"at if I need to cancel?

All cancellation requests must be made in writing via fax or email to Con Cruise Outlet. Guests are responsible for any/all cancellation fees that might be imposed by the cruise line in addition to an independent $100.00 per person cancellation fee from Con® Cruise Outlet. For details of your cruise line’s cancellation penalties, please see their website."

Edited December 29, 2015 by setsail

[dacsmom]

Sometimes I use them and sometimes I book directly with the cruise line. I have used them many times in the past and the perks I have gotten far outweigh the cancellation fee if I ever needed to. Prepaid gratuities, specialty dinners, spa credits, and OBC. It is clearly spelled out in the contract there if a fee if you cancel. Why would you think the rules would not apply to you just because you have used them in the past?

[dirkpitt]

Your cruise insurance will cover the fee

[Tennessee_Cruiser]

Never use a TA that charges a booking fee or a cancelation fee. Sorry that happened to you. :(

[BekkaW]

We all have a choice of who to do business with. You have used this agency and knew they charged this fee, you can't really complain that they do exactly what they said they would do. It's unfortunate that you're no longer able to go, but it's not the agency's fault. They have invested time and the resources of their staff into your booking.

 

I think it's really rude to publicly say they conned you. That is actually a lie, given its in their contract and you knew it. Take some personal responsibility for your choices. This kind of thing can get you sued for defamation.

[maggieq]

Sometimes I use them and sometimes I book directly with the cruise line. I have used them many times in the past and the perks I have gotten far outweigh the cancellation fee if I ever needed to. Prepaid gratuities, specialty dinners, spa credits, and OBC. It is clearly spelled out in the contract there if a fee if you cancel. Why would you think the rules would not apply to you just because you have used them in the past?

 

I was in the same situation the year we did a med cruise on the liberty. We were originally booked in May and changed just the date to September of same year. We even kept the same booking #. We were charged $100 and I didn't agree with it. However, we still book with them and have done so for many years now. I do think if you are changing a cruise for another or continue to book multiple cruises with them as we do, it should be taken into consideration.

Edited December 29, 2015 by maggieq

[Russ Lomas]

Wow, due to my house being raised in spring with a starting date of April 15, 2016 I had to cancel my anthem of the seas cruise.

 

This particular cruise agency with the last letters of "con" truly is a con.

$100 for them to cancel it. It's $50 a person. Ridiculous.

It took them 5 minutes to book it because all they did was follow what I said. It takes them less than 5 minutes to cancel it.

 

I have booked quite a few cruises with them before. I will never book with them again.

Sorry to hear about your cancellation fee. We have used the same agent as you several times and had very good experiences. I stopped using them a couple years back when I thought I may need to cancel our cruise, knowing that they do charge these fees and I have a family of six I would have to pay cancellation fees for.

 

I have booked directly with the cruise line (RCCL) for the past 3 years for this exact reason (very forgiving cancellation policies). They also offer us Canadians a far better deal than the US travel agents now that our dollar is in freefall compared to the US dollar.

[Sonny]

We all have a choice of who to do business with. You have used this agency and knew they charged this fee, you can't really complain that they do exactly what they said they would do. It's unfortunate that you're no longer able to go, but it's not the agency's fault. They have invested time and the resources of their staff into your booking.

 

I think it's really rude to publicly say they conned you. That is actually a lie, given its in their contract and you knew it. Take some personal responsibility for your choices. This kind of thing can get you sued for defamation.

 

I think it's really rude to publicly scold a Cruise Critic Member and actually insinuate they are lying.

[Guest maddycat]

OP, why don't you try contacting the president of the travel agency? Ask that the cancellation free be waved. Tell him that you have booked many cruises through the agency and that this is the first one that you had to cancel.

 

If you do this please let us know what the out come is.

[AndyT3]

I was just looking at booking a cruise through that agency. I don't mind the cancellation fee, seeing that the pricing is about $500 less than the fare listed on RCs website, and I would be picking up another $150 in OBC.

 

I understand that it is a bummer, but for me personally, and from what I'm reading, many others, the benefits far outweigh the "negatives".

[cruisinfanatic]

I was just looking at booking a cruise through that agency. I don't mind the cancellation fee, seeing that the pricing is about $500 less than the fare listed on RCs website, and I would be picking up another $150 in OBC.

 

I understand that it is a bummer, but for me personally, and from what I'm reading, many others, the benefits far outweigh the "negatives".

example?

[Tennessee_Cruiser]

example?

 

It happens all the time. Travel agents have special rates which are often hundreds less than the adversited website prices.

[Wilson]

I have booked my last 11 cruises with them because their "perks" far exceed anything the cruise line offers. Customer service has been excellent and I have not experienced any problems to date.

[MaryZ]

They called me because they have to get verbal permission to charge my card the fee.

I do believe that $100 for less than 10 minutes worth of actual work is over priced. I do think that a fee of $50 would be sufficient. I understand they need to have some kind of penalty for people booking cruises, but per person seems excessive to me for the amount of work they do.

 

To their credit, they did offer me a voucher for $100 good for a year. So they did what is within their bounds to help make me a happy customer. Which was nice of them.

 

Regardless, the fee is paid, the cruise is cancelled. And someone who is on the same cruise will find a nice cabin open for them to switch to.

[jonj]

They called me because they have to get verbal permission to charge my card the fee.

I do believe that $100 for less than 10 minutes worth of actual work is over priced. I do think that a fee of $50 would be sufficient. I understand they need to have some kind of penalty for people booking cruises, but per person seems excessive to me for the amount of work they do.

 

To their credit, they did offer me a voucher for $100 good for a year. So they did what is within their bounds to help make me a happy customer. Which was nice of them.

 

Regardless, the fee is paid, the cruise is cancelled. And someone who is on the same cruise will find a nice cabin open for them to switch to.

 

How do you know they only did 10 min of work? You don't know how much work went into them securing the lower prices / perks that they are offering. Also travel agencies get paid a commission. they aren't paid until you travel if you cancel they do not get paid for the booking you cancelled. Even if they didn't do much work for you they are not getting paid by the cruise line since the reservation was cancelled

[tinkertwo]

i'm confused as to who the t.a. is, what company? is it an online company? I feel silly because everyone seems to know except me. :confused:

 

eta- I suppose your not allowed to say on the boards, is that it?

Edited December 29, 2015 by tinkertwo

[MaryZ]

How do you know they only did 10 min of work? You don't know how much work went into them securing the lower prices / perks that they are offering. Also travel agencies get paid a commission. they aren't paid until you travel if you cancel they do not get paid for the booking you cancelled. Even if they didn't do much work for you they are not getting paid by the cruise line since the reservation was cancelled

 

You're so right. The $100 fee isn't enough. Next time I'll send flowers:D

[goodycruising]

There are a lot of costs involved in running any sort of business. On the other hand I agree that if you are a regular customer then it should be taken into account. It would seem to me to be a good business practice to be a bit flexible, but then as it turns out your are now saying they gave you a certificate to use? That sounds like a goodwill gesture? Do they do that for anyone that they have charged cancellation fees?

[MaryZ]

There are a lot of costs involved in running any sort of business. On the other hand I agree that if you are a regular customer then it should be taken into account. It would seem to me to be a good business practice to be a bit flexible, but then as it turns out your are now saying they gave you a certificate to use? That sounds like a goodwill gesture? Do they do that for anyone that they have charged cancellation fees?

 

I don't know. I've never cancelled a cruise before with them. That's why I came back to let everyone know the resolution.

They did a stand up thing by offering it. They tried to make it right.

So kudos to them for doing so.

I appreciate a company that tries to keep their customers happy. I do think it's too high of a fee but that's just my feeling on it.

 

We so rarely sail on rccl anymore and the shame of it was their pricing was so good since I booked a year ago. I waited til nearly the last minute to cancel trying to figure out a way we could still go but we cannot.