Shouldn't companies have to honor their advertised prices???

[Diana68]

I'm not happy with Princess! :mad:

On Saturday morning I found a great deal for next January on the Diamond Princess. Sailing the 17th from Singapore, 10 nights, $136pp +$115pp tx + $39pp insurance = $580 total for 2 people. I booked this on their website. I have my original Travel Summary sent from Princess on Saturday showing the $136pp pricing. Monday night they sent a duplicate booking confirmation that asks me to confirm that all of my details are correct, and it showed a $1360pp pricing. Travel insurance went up too, so the cabin for two went from $580 to $3167.60.

I called Princess Tuesday morning at 9 am. After asking politely why I received a second booking confirmation at an increased price, the agent informed me that there was a notation on the account that there had been a price adjustment. I told her that was not the price that I agreed to and that was on their site at booking. After being on hold for about 5 minutes, she came back and said that someone from upper management would contact me later that day, but no call came.

I called back about the price again at 9 am this morning(Wednesday). After explaining my reason for calling, I was put on hold for 15 minutes. When he returned, he explained that it was only 6 am in California where the upper management work, so they weren't in the office yet, and would call me later today. At about 5 pm, I received the call. They refuse to honor the original price, and are only offering a choice of a free upgrade to Balcony, or $200 shipboard credit, at 5 1/2 times the original price. This is crazy.

[moki'smommy]

It likely depends on either the laws of your state or the laws where the corporation is located. I do know that in my state, a business has the right to "correct" a mis-print in a printed or digital ad. And yes, I've had it happen. In a bricks and mortar business, they will typically post a sign on the door identifying the error and stating that they won't be honoring the "deal." I'm not a lawyer, and can't address other than the location that I am familiar with.

 

Should they honor it...it would probably be good PR, and for a multi million dollar company this is a drop in the bucket. IF you are the only person who booked at that rate, it wouldn't be a big deal to them. But I suspect that they are not obligated to honor an "error."

 

I also suspect that you likely knew about the error and might be the same person who tried to make three bookings at this price (posted a few days ago), but only got one of them to go thru before Princess identified and corrected the error. If you are not this person, I apologize.

Edited June 1, 2016 by moki'smommy

[eandj]

Why is it "crazy"? It was obvious that there was a misprint in the rate. You knew it was an error that you wanted to take advantage of.

 

This has happened before with other companies, hotels, airlines etc. Some companies will honor the error, some won't. Since it was so obviously an error, (missing the zero) and not just off by a hundred or two, I wouldn't be so angry with Princess. :rolleyes:

 

They did offer you something and if you really wanted to cruise that itinerary, it would have been a nice "apology" for the obvious mistake... that you REALLY couldn't have taken as serious.

Don't like it...get out your checkbook and hire an attorney. People that play "gottcha" on someone else's mistake don't get my sympathy. Sorry.

Edited June 1, 2016 by eandj

[Diana68]

It likely depends on either the laws of your state or the laws where the corporation is located. I do know that in my state' date=' a business has the right to "correct" a mis-print in a printed or digital ad. And yes, I've had it happen. In a bricks and mortar business, they will typically post a sign on the door identifying the error and stating that they won't be honoring the "deal." I'm not a lawyer, and can't address other than the location that I am familiar with.

 

Should they honor it...it would probably be good PR, and for a multi million dollar company this is a drop in the bucket. IF you are the only person who booked at that rate, it wouldn't be a big deal to them. But I suspect that they are not obligated to honor an "error."

 

I also suspect that you likely knew about the error and might be the same person who tried to make three bookings at this price (posted a few days ago), but only got one of them to go thru before Princess identified and corrected the error.[/quote']

 

I did not try to make three bookings, and didn't post about the deal before. I received an email from Cruise Critic advertising the price, and then went to the Princess website to book.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[OzKiwiJJ]

Interestingly Carnival Australia made a similar mistake last year, offering the solo price for one category of balcony cabin for this year's Melbourne Cup cruise at a "dropped digit" price. Quite a few CC members took advantage of that "deal". I believe Carnival Australia honoured the price. :)

[Diana68]

Interestingly Carnival Australia made a similar mistake last year, offering the solo price for one category of balcony cabin for this year's Melbourne Cup cruise at a "dropped digit" price. Quite a few CC members took advantage of that "deal". I believe Carnival Australia honoured the price. :)

I did get a deal about 8 years ago on NCL that was probably a dropped digit price too...$149pp for an 18 day sailing from Santiago to Boston, six months before sailing. I knew of others who also had that pricing, but NCL honored the booking price. I have a 13 day Transatlantic booked on Royal Caribbean this fall, booked last October at $399, so the pricing on this cruise was not an obvious error. I've sailed Princess before for $1200pp for 29 days in the South Pacific.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[fishywood]

"Shouldn't companies have to honor their advertised prices???"

 

Under US law an advertisement is in no way an agreement to conduct a transaction at any terms it may contain, merely a solicitation for you to inquire of that business. And there is no legal requirement for any "not responsible for typos" disclaimer, since there is no actual obligation to include any terms of the advertisement (including price quotes) if a transaction is eventually executed.

 

And arguing that a binding contract was formed once Princess accepted your payment and generated a booking confirmation with that price on it will actually hurt your cause as any contract containing such an egregious error as dropping a zero off the sales price showing it as only 10% of the intended amount can be unilaterally voided by the injured party.

 

Its up to you to accept Princess' offer and rebook at the proper terms. Otherwise legally it will be as if your booking never existed. It certainly was worth the shot at trying to get away with something so obviously too good to be true, so you shouldn't let it cloud your judgement of Princess because you couldn't.

Edited June 1, 2016 by fishywood

[icat2000]

Interestingly Carnival Australia made a similar mistake last year, offering the solo price for one category of balcony cabin for this year's Melbourne Cup cruise at a "dropped digit" price. Quite a few CC members took advantage of that "deal". I believe Carnival Australia honoured the price. :)

 

Celebrity Cruises also made a similar pricing error for some cruises in Europe. Ridiculously cheap balcony cabins with drinks package and some other perk included. Lots of Australians jump on that. I think the key was they had paid a deposit. Celebrity honoured that too.

 

The way I look at it. Until you slap some money down. Its simply a quote which is fluid and pricing can change quickly. Seems like a clear mistake by Princess. Those cruises are never that cheap.

Edited June 1, 2016 by icat2000

[TracieABD]

I have made more than a few mistakes in my life. Some large. Some small. Fortunately, I have been graciously forgiven for those mistakes. Princess, in resubmitting the invoice, was indirectly admiting they made a mistake. It is up to you whether or not to forgive them. However, I highly doubt they are going to go with the original pricing.

 

What other cruiselines have done has little to do with Princess' policy.

[Diana68]

Celebrity Cruises also made a similar pricing error for some cruises in Europe. Ridiculously cheap balcony cabins with drinks package and some other perk included. Lots of Australians jump on that. I think the key was they had paid a deposit. Celebrity honoured that too.

 

The way I look at it. Until you slap some money down. Its simply a quote which is fluid and pricing can change quickly.

My deposit was paid on Saturday morning, and I received my confirmation. It was visible on my booked guests page at the original pricing until Monday night when it changed to the higher price.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[skynight]

I'm not happy with Princess! :mad:........

This is crazy.

As one that has cruised many times, according to your signature, you should realize that a base fare of $13.60/pp/day is probably a mistake. Princess' correction of that mistake is just correcting a business error. You gave it a shot, but it didn't work out. I would not be unhappy with Princess and don't think Princess is acting crazy.

[icat2000]

My deposit was paid on Saturday morning, and I received my confirmation. It was visible on my booked guests page at the original pricing until Monday night when it changed to the higher price.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

Ok. I guess you have to seek legal advice as Princess have responded back to you and provided you options. You have a couple of choices. Accept Princess offer, get a refund of your deposit, or seek legal advice.

Edited June 1, 2016 by icat2000

[jennybenny]

It's unfortunate.

 

I have seen a price drop that appeared too good to be true and I was happy when I found out it was real.

 

Given your situation, I would cancel because of the price error.

I wouldn't want to pay that many times the price I was expecting. Sadly, it was too good to be true.

 

Hopefully Princess will honor a refund because some bookings have an non-refundable deposit.

 

Or keep the booking if a trip you want to do.

Good luck. Sorry you are dealing with lots of wasted time on hold.

[cherylandtk]

Diana68,

No, they are not obligated to honor your original booked price, regardless of the reason for the error. Section 4 of the Passage Contract for departures from Singapore states

Carrier reserves the right to refuse booking of passage on a Cruise to any person or to cancel Your existing Cruise reservation for any reason and regardless of a passenger's Captain Circle loyalty level or existing benefits. Any person(s) refused booking or passage in advance of the scheduled sailing by Carrier will be given a refund of their Cruise Fare

 

I bolded the relevant part. They can cancel your unbelievable (or not) low price deal without any other recourse to you other than refunding your money. Consider yourself ahead since they offered you more than that.

[Pam in CA]

$580 for two people for a 10-day cruise, including insurance, sounds too good to be true. That's $290/pp for the cruise or $29/day/pp. Practically unheard of.

 

If I'd received a quote like that, I would have asked for written confirmation that the pricing is correct.

 

Good luck trying to get Princess to honor the quote.

 

I once booked a cruise on another line a year in advance, had a quote, confirmation, final invoice and paid in full only to receive an emergency notification two weeks after final payment that I owed another $900+ and if not paid within 48 hours, my booking would be canceled. I had no choice but to pay up as I had international flights and hotel booked.

[masterty]

No!

Edited June 1, 2016 by masterty

[Diana68]

It's unfortunate.

 

I have seen a price drop that appeared too good to be true and I was happy when I found out it was real.

 

Given your situation, I would cancel because of the price error.

I wouldn't want to pay that many times the price I was expecting. Sadly, it was too good to be true.

 

Hopefully Princess will honor a refund because some bookings have an non-refundable deposit.

 

Or keep the booking if a trip you want to do.

Good luck. Sorry you are dealing with lots of wasted time on hold.

Thanks Jenny,

I won't pay the full price, because I think it is very high for the ports on the sailing, and I've been to most of them. Yes. I knew that it was a crazy good deal, that's why I jumped on the booking right away. I never thought that they could change the contract after it had been confirmed.

Not only am I out the time on hold with Princess, but I spent all day Saturday and Sunday planning out land trips and flights from our cruise that ends in Cape Town the beginning of January, to this sailing, and then on to Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Luckily I couldn't book the land tours because of the holiday Monday, otherwise I would have nonrefundable flights to deal with.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[RDC1]

In the US they do not. If they make an error they can offer you the new terms and you can either accept them or not. If not all they need do is to refund your money.

 

For that matter the cruise line can cancel your booking, even at the correct price and not owe you anything. That happens quite often in cases where they charter a ship.

 

Bottom line they made a mistake. They informed you of the difference. All they need do is to refund your deposit, if any. They went above and beyond what they had to do if they offered you anything.

[mum and son]

I completely understand that mistakes are made, and can/should be corrected, but if someone contracts with you at the mistaken price then you have to wear the loss. It's not like you were ringing up after the fact trying to book a deal that you had seen advertised (in error), you actually proceeded with the purchase, in accordance with Princess' terms and conditions, and they effectively countersigned the contract by confirming your reservation. They were in the wrong so they should wear the cost. You were lucky, and smart to move fast. You weren't trying to skirt around the rules or rip anyone off. You simply saw a deal and jumped on it.

 

And as for Princess just "correcting" the fare and sending you a new confirmation, well that's just not on. At the very least they should have contacted you directly to explain their mistake and that they intended to breach their contract with you. What you do from there would be completely up to you.

[VibeGuy]

I think the position of someone who had paid in full would be somewhat stronger than someone who made a deposit.

 

But as others have pointed out above, and as I posted in the thread where someone tried to book three cabins and was only able to pay in full for the first, the Passage Contract is extremely clear that the sole remedy the line is obligated to provide is the full refund of any monies paid.

 

The first rule of error fares is the same as the first rule of Fight Club, except that you PIF, then don't talk about it.

[Diana68]

I completely understand that mistakes are made, and can/should be corrected, but if someone contracts with you at the mistaken price then you have to wear the loss. It's not like you were ringing up after the fact trying to book a deal that you had seen advertised (in error), you actually proceeded with the purchase, in accordance with Princess' terms and conditions, and they effectively countersigned the contract by confirming your reservation. They were in the wrong so they should wear the cost. You were lucky, and smart to move fast. You weren't trying to skirt around the rules or rip anyone off. You simply saw a deal and jumped on it.

 

And as for Princess just "correcting" the fare and sending you a new confirmation, well that's just not on. At the very least they should have contacted you directly to explain their mistake and that they intended to breach their contract with you. What you do from there would be completely up to you.

Thank you! I know that there's probably nothing I can do about it, but I'm very disappointed. I didn't realize that they could change the fare after booking. If nothing else, hopefully this thread will inform others that this is a possibility. I know that at least one person on the roll call had booked her nonrefundable flights, so I really feel for her.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

[mum and son]

Thank you! I know that there's probably nothing I can do about it, but I'm very disappointed. I didn't realize that they could change the fare after booking. If nothing else, hopefully this thread will inform others that this is a possibility. I know that at least one person on the roll call had booked her nonrefundable flights, so I really feel for her.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

I would feel exactly like you, and pity them if I had booked flights etc! The small cost that Princess would have to wear in relation to the potential damage is negligible. It wasn't a mass error across all cruises in their system... and I'll bet the number of people who were actually able to secure it was relatively small.

 

The worst bit is that prior to sailing they will sell any remaining cabins through interline sites (to industry staff) at a crazily reduced price, likely equivalent to the deal you got. In the interest of goodwill why not just honour the deal for those who purchased it, those who are your bread and butter customers, those who regularly pay full price for cruises with you?? Instead of selling them cheap later anyway...

 

It just doesn't make much business sense to me :(.

[joetop2467]

We too booked at this rate. As I just explained to Customer Service, it didn't occur to me that it was a mistake. I wondered why no one wanted to go on this cruise. Were they afraid of terrorism? I booked and still wondered what was wrong with this cruise itinerary. We certainly won't be taking this cruise at the price they are now quoting. I would think having me as a customer would mean more to Princess or their parent company, Carnival, than a couple thousand of dollars. We are Carnival shareholders and frequent cruisers. We will not be booking with Princess again. Seems like some lawyers and bean counters made a bonehead decision and looked at short term gain versus long time loss.

[Diana68]

I would feel exactly like you, and pity them if I had booked flights etc! The small cost that Princess would have to wear in relation to the potential damage is negligible. It wasn't a mass error across all cruises in their system... and I'll bet the number of people who were actually able to secure it was relatively small.

 

The worst bit is that prior to sailing they will sell any remaining cabins through interline sites (to industry staff) at a crazily reduced price, likely equivalent to the deal you got. In the interest of goodwill why not just honour the deal for those who purchased it, those who are your bread and butter customers, those who regularly pay full price for cruises with you?? Instead of selling them cheap later anyway...

 

It just doesn't make much business sense to me :(.

Thank you! I came on here wanting to vent and inform, and feel that a lot of posters were negative to me...some who have edited their posts since then.

 

We too booked at this rate. As I just explained to Customer Service, it didn't occur to me that it was a mistake. I wondered why no one wanted to go on this cruise. Were they afraid of terrorism? I booked and still wondered what was wrong with this cruise itinerary. We certainly won't be taking this cruise at the price they are now quoting. I would think having me as a customer would mean more to Princess or their parent company, Carnival, than a couple thousand of dollars. We are Carnival shareholders and frequent cruisers. We will not be booking with Princess again. Seems like some lawyers and bean counters made a bonehead decision and looked at short term gain versus long time loss.

I too wondered why the price was so low, but since there are only a few ports, and they aren't great ones, thought it would be a nice break between land tours.

We are also Carnival shareholders, but unless our HAL cruise this summer impresses me, I may choose to sell those stocks.

[Elitein85days]

Thanks Jenny,

I won't pay the full price, because I think it is very high for the ports on the sailing, and I've been to most of them. Yes. I knew that it was a crazy good deal, that's why I jumped on the booking right away. I never thought that they could change the contract after it had been confirmed.

Not only am I out the time on hold with Princess, but I spent all day Saturday and Sunday planning out land trips and flights from our cruise that ends in Cape Town the beginning of January, to this sailing, and then on to Cambodia, Thailand, and Vietnam. Luckily I couldn't book the land tours because of the holiday Monday, otherwise I would have nonrefundable flights to deal with.

 

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk

 

They didn't change the contract. They upheld the terms of the contract.

 

Princess doesn't want to screw itself with a super low fare that's a mistake just like you don't want to pay too much.