Booked & Cancelled Cruise in 30 second being charged fee

[Crablegs77]

Booking a cruise on NCL Dawn for Jan 17-24.

 

Was giving NCL all the information to book cruise including Credit Card.

Agent was visiting about everything under the sun. Double checking that we would get the Ultimate Beverage package included because we were booking before Jan 3rd.

She said no because you need to book 30 days before.

I said then we will have to plan a different cruise at a different time. She ask if I wanted a 24 hr hold and I said no. The main reason we were interested in this cruise was to take advantage of the free beverage package.

Now it looks like we will be charge a cancellation fee of 75% because it's 15 days before sailing.

 

She put me on hold and I thought it was to double check about the beverage package and when she came back she informed me I was booked.

Just sick about this.

She had never even given me a confirmation number.

Any suggestion.

[mommyto2kids]

I would be calling and talking to someone - often calls in call centres are recorded so they may be able to listen to the recording

[shibby sails]

And the continued comments on bad customer service continues. maybe try calling your credit card company and tell them you didn't buy it.

[canadianeh934]

Agree start with the credit card company asap!

[Crablegs77]

They are closed for the evening. Will be a very long night.

We will call our credit card company if we do not get any results.

This is unbelievable.

[xcell]

Doubt the credit card company will do anything...

 

Better off to speak with another rep...hope they can help....

 

side note for all of us: best to give CC number at the end of the booking once everything is all said and done...

[Wavesprite]

That is horrible! If you go on the website does it show you booked???

 

 

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[anonmom]

Doubt the credit card company will do anything...

 

Better off to speak with another rep...hope they can help....

 

side note for all of us: best to give CC number at the end of the booking once everything is all said and done...

 

Not true. Your credit card company absolutely will stand up for you in this case. You do need to call NCL one more time and tell them you did not intend to make the booking once you understood that the terms did not include the UBP. Write down the date and time of both calls, and the names of who you talked to.

 

If NCL will not cancel your reservation without a fee, call your credit card company to do a charge back and explain exactly what happened. They might give you a temporary credit on the spot, but they will also send you paperwork you need to fill out and send back.

 

Once they investigate, they will make the refund permanent.

[xcell]

One time ncl charged my cc 3 times for the same cruise. I called the cc company and asked them to reverse the fee, they told me to talk to NCL and back and forth it went. The cc company will have to do an investigation but the fee won't be reversed right away (if at all)...NCL is your best bet...good luck, let us know what happens

 

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[Vacationdreamer<><]

OP I'm so sorry.

I would call the cc company. Chase Visa went to bat for me with a similar issue once. They were exceptionally helpful.

[Moby0215]

I'm confused. Usually when one provides a credit card number to a company it is at the time of purchase. I wouldn't quite say that the agent is at fault. However if there truly was a mixup either NCL will fix it or not, and if not then you can always dispute it with the credit card company.

 

 

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[EyeSeaEwe]

The credit card company will not 'stand up' for anyone other than do a proper investigation into things. They will see how the process went and find out the whole story, not just the parts we are being told here. It is my experience (and pretty much common sense) that once you give you CC info you have indeed booked and as such that is when cancellation policies kick in. If this is what the CC company finds out has happened they have no legal grounds to deny the charge.

[EyeSeaEwe]

Not true. Your credit card company absolutely will stand up for you in this case. You do need to call NCL one more time and tell them you did not intend to make the booking once you understood that the terms did not include the UBP. Write down the date and time of both calls, and the names of who you talked to.

 

If NCL will not cancel your reservation without a fee, call your credit card company to do a charge back and explain exactly what happened. They might give you a temporary credit on the spot, but they will also send you paperwork you need to fill out and send back.

 

Once they investigate, they will make the refund permanent.

 

They will make it permanent IF IF IF their investigation finds that NCL did not follow policy.

[FreestyleNovice]

Not sure but if OP also canceled in the same phone call there is kinda of an understanding, no matter good or bad, that there was an agreement/purchase right?

[sfaaa]

Who is this agent? NCL or an outside TA?

[hawkeyetlse]

I suggest always asking for a courtesy hold and getting all the booking details in writing to look over before providing any payment info.

 

Since the OP uses the terms "booked" and "cancelled" they do seem to accept that they in fact agreed to book the cruise and then asked to cancel the booking that was created. The cancellation policy comes into effect as soon as any money is applied to the booking. So even if you cancel 30 seconds later during the very same phone call, it is strictly speaking a cancellation. However this seems to me like a situation where NCL could be willing to relax the rules. Fingers crossed.

[ohyes]

Something (somewhat) similar happened to me last month. I called Celebrity to book a 7 day cruise to E Caribbean. After 30 min. on the phone, it was booked. The last thing I asked the rep was, Are you sure this is EASTERN Caribbean? We do not want to go to W Caribbean. She laughed and assured me it was. I was in the best mood!

 

Within five minutes, the confirmation email arrives with an itinerary of Cozumel, Belize...and my mouth fell open.

 

Called back, got another rep and after several holds, got the cruise cancelled. She put me on hold to get the cancellation fee waived and she put me on hold to have CC charges reversed. Turns out the credit card had not yet been charged.

 

That call took 59 minutes.

 

(I sent a frustrated sounding email to Celebrity and never heard a peep. So, I booked a cruise the next day with NCL - W Caribbean, lol). One of these days, hopefully, it will be an Eastern route.

 

I know this is not helpful advice, but I totally understand your frustration. Please keep us posted on how this turns out for you.

[phoenix1181]

It would be very nice if NCL cancels with no fees but the fact is the cruise was booked & the OP is responsible for any fees incurred. I work in a call center & it's amazing how many people blame the company & its reps for their mistakes. The last part of the process is providing credit card information. Once you've done that, all bets are off.

 

The thing most people don't understand is that once a rep completes the process, they can't change anything. Changes have to go up the line to team leaders, supervisors, managers, etc. It's not just pushing a button & making it go away!

 

I hope the OP gets this resolved to their satisfaction but if they don't, they have no one to blame but themselves!

[rose102798]

Similar thing happened to us last year with Carnival. Although we were well over a year out on the cruise we booked with them, we changed our minds (no offense but I just wasn't comfortable bringing my kids on Carnival) and booked another cruise on another line. Called next day or later that day (can't remember) to cancel and they said we would lose our $1000 deposit. Their reasoning: we held up that cabin and no one else could book it.

 

This was literally one day that it was booked and if I recall approx 385 days prior to the cruise. We understood the policy but seriously?

 

Anyway. . . This is what my husband did: he called them back and asked them to add the insurance to our booking. He added that he would show up at the port (we live close) and announce that he has diarrhea, ensuring a full refund. Hold 10 minutes. They decided to give us the $1000 towards another cruise. So we took a 3 day (sans kids) for our anniversary and the $1000 covered the cost.

[Crablegs77]

Thank you for all your responses.

Called first thing this morning and was assured I would get a full refund in 7-10 days.

I agree I should have never given my credit card number without having all my questions answered in advanced.

Good advise to have them put a hold and review everything on paper first.

You guys are great and so helpful!

Thank you again!

Edited January 3, 2016 by Crablegs77

[ColinIllinois]

Booking a cruise on NCL Dawn for Jan 17-24.

 

Was giving NCL all the information to book cruise including Credit Card.

Agent was visiting about everything under the sun. Double checking that we would get the Ultimate Beverage package included because we were booking before Jan 3rd.

She said no because you need to book 30 days before.

I said then we will have to plan a different cruise at a different time. She ask if I wanted a 24 hr hold and I said no. The main reason we were interested in this cruise was to take advantage of the free beverage package.

Now it looks like we will be charge a cancellation fee of 75% because it's 15 days before sailing.

 

 

 

She put me on hold and I thought it was to double check about the beverage package and when she came back she informed me I was booked.

Just sick about this.

She had never even given me a confirmation number.

Any suggestion.

 

 

What's the rest of the story? What was the rest of the conversation after the NCL rep told you that you had been booked? I'm finding it hard to believe that you didn't tell them they misunderstood you and you didn't want to book and they didn't cancel it at that time.

[roger001]

I' probably totally wrong...but. It sounds to me like the situation where a McDonalds' employee closes the cash register...after the sale is completed. Even if a mistake is made, they can't open it again (except for a new purchase) without a supervisor okaying it for them. Sounds like once the NCL computer accepts your cruise ok, then that "clerk" can't undo it. I would think an NCL supervisor can certainly undo it. But...... I would be very disappointing if NCL can't correct this. Sometimes systems are stupid...in order to protect against employee theft. I checked out at a Lowes recently. I had not gone two feet when I realized the clerk had charged the wrong price. I turned and told her. She said, "sorry. can't do a thing. Must go through "returns" to get it corrected". A 20 minute returns line later, done.....but stupid system.

[fshagan]

Thank you for all your responses.

Called first thing this morning and was assured I would get a full refund in 7-10 days.

I agree I should have never given my credit card number without having all my questions answered in advanced.

Good advise to have them put a hold and review everything on paper first.

You guys are great and so helpful!

Thank you again!

 

 

I'm so glad you got it reversed and they are not being jerks about it. That's good news!

 

I'm always suspicious when an agent is chatty. I don't make small talk with reservation agents, food servers (when taking my order), or other service people until AFTER the business portion is concluded. Most of the time their job is repetitive and matter of fact. When they get distracted by family stories, people you know in common, etc. they can make mistakes.

[don't-use-real-name]

With the airlines you make a mistake or what to change or cancel - if you are

in the 24 hour window of having made the reservation you can cancel out with

no dire consequences or fees.

Why can't the cruise lines operate the same way ?

When you look at a cruise on the NCL website and get to the point of finding out

what cabin you would like or the selection made for you - that cabin is held

for a short period of time while you make up your mind or go somewhere else.

But as noted if you are talking with a NCL rep and pass the credit card purchase

stage you maybe legally committed to finishing the deal or perhaps altering/amending

it for different accommodations losing OBD and other promos.

One has to tread very carefully here.

Best to work out your cruise travel with a TA who can place a 24 hour hold on

a cabin (deal) and void it out if it doesn't seem to work out for you and has a

great deal more liberty in helping you out.

 

In any event the best of luck and success getting this straighten out !

 

Another solution is to go to Elliott.org for an ombudsman with sources to help you.

[Vacationdreamer<><]

OP I'm so glad it worked out for you.

Enjoy whatever trip you decide on!