Travel agency cancelled my Celebrity booking without permission - any suggestions?

[FengShui@Sea]

I had booked a few cruises through this travel agent 'X' but found the service I was receiving was getting worse and worse (i.e. many mistakes). When I tried to address my concerns with 'X' she was unapologetic, and last week suggested I ask her manager to be assigned a different agent. I guess there is some kind of weird dynamic in that office because my request received a nasty response. And he just got ruder and more condescending as I tried to plead my case. I am certain they have a plaque on their wall that says 'The Customer is always Wrong'.

 

I had two remaining reservations with 'X' and tried to find alternative agencies to re-book with. The problem was that both Celebrity reservations came with perks because they were booked onboard. I was able to rebook one of the reservations, and lost my pre-paid gratuity perk on a 14 night cruise. I then asked 'X' to cancel that cruise.

 

Two days ago 'X' asked if I wanted the remaining cruise cancelled and I replied I would let her know if/when I was able to find a replacement. She said she was going to transfer the reservation to a different agent at her office, but there would be no other changes to it. Yesterday I received a cancellation confirmation from the new agent. :eek: That cruise had two perks from Celebrity (for booking on-board) and a $275 shipboard credit from the agency. There is little doubt in my mind that the cancellation was done on the instruction of the nasty manager, because I never had any contact with the new agent at all.

 

I called Celebrity and while she seemed shocked she said that only the agency that has the reservation can do anything about it. I have emailed the new agent to ask why it was cancelled. I also emailed 'X' to say the cancellation was not requested and that she needs to reinstate it. So far I have not received a reply from either.

 

My question is what should I do from here? Report the agency to the BBB? Are there regulatory organizations in the travel industry that I can report this to? At this point I feel exhausted from dealing with this agency, and whether the reservation gets reinstated or not is not going to change the quality of my life. But the abuse of power in cancelling a reservation without permission boggles my mind, and I think it should be reported.

 

.

Edited September 14, 2016 by FengShui@Sea

[cle-guy]

I would book immediately on the Celebrity website a cabin, so you have a place to stay. Then in discussions, let them have that number so they have all your details, etc. to modify as needed.

 

Celebrity CAN take over from a TA mistake, but it may take time to get to that pint where they will deal - it's not a typical circumstance, but I did it once and they had a form for me to fill out so they had something for their file should my former TA come back into the picture and claim the commission.

 

Another thought, Can you reinstate the reservation thru your Captain's Club account online?

Edited September 14, 2016 by cle-guy

[milesfromu]

Is it safe to assume that the cabin you had is back in the inventory? If so, I would put a temp hold (or separate reservation) on that until this is sorted out. I would then recommending getting the reservation reinstated with your TA, then work with X to take over admin of it.

 

Though its not allowed, I would ask that you notify all of us who the TA is so we can avoid them ;-) So sorry for your troubles. We had a similar experience with a firm we were loyal to. They botched moving on onboard booking to another sailing that the perks did not move to without informing us of that key fact. Needless to say, we ditched them once it was sorted out.

[C-Dragons]

Holly, so sorry to hear that you are having to deal with this problem.

I agree with Curt's suggestions.

I had a very similar problem years ago, and X is correct, the TA "owning" the reservation decides how it wishes to handle it. You can request a transfer back to X, but as I found out, you can be ignored. I ended up cancelling my reservation with that agency and rebooking with a new one.

I would let X know about your situation and how you were treated, in writing, and ask that their sales rep check into this agency, perhaps other passengers have also reported problems with them.

For the perks from booking on board that you lost, X should have the original booking number. Perhaps once you have a new reservation confirmed they can, as a courtesy, transfer them to your new booking.

Edited September 14, 2016 by C-Dragons

[jamurray49]

What do I do if I have a complaint about a Travel Agency?

 

If you have a complaint about the services you received from a travel agency, cancellation policies or procedures and can not resolve the situation with the supplier, you may wish to contact the Association of Canadian Travel Agencies. Consumer Protection BC is unable to assist with quality of service complaints.

 

Association of Canadian Travel Agencies

5760 Minoru Blvd, Suite 213

Richmond, BC V6X 2A9

Phone: 604 231-0544

Fax: 604 231-6020

Web: http://www.acta.ca

Email: membership@acta.ca

[wallie5446]

Holly please say it is not the Nov 2017 cruise!:eek:

 

It is up over $1300.00 US per person now!

EW

Edited September 14, 2016 by wallie5446

[FengShui@Sea]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

 

Unfortunately, the travel agency is located in Orlando, FL so I would need the US equivalent contact information for the Association of Travel Agencies.

 

I am going to speak to the Resolutions Dept. at Celebrity to see if anything can be done. I believe once the travel agency cancels the reservation they cannot get it reinstated, but as Curt advised Celebrity probably can.

 

The travel agency is completely ignoring my emails so there's not much I can do in dealing with them. However, you better believe I will be sharing their name with everyone I meet on the 10 cruises that we have booked over the next 18 months! ;)

Edited September 14, 2016 by FengShui@Sea

[bphman]

I have been the victim of being screwed over by TAs and swore them off for years. I now have a good one and it makes life easier. I have found BBB to be almost useless. They don't have much power and generally appeal to the good graces of the company. Legal action is expensive and often doesn't accomplish what you want. A lot of people resort to social media and that can bring results but you may get legal threats. I don't know what protections there are in Canada for writing reviews on sites such as Yelp or TripAdvisor but no protection yet in the U.S. We are close to protective legislation here but not yet. Your best bet is to hope Celebrity takes over the booking and reinstates the perks you lost. And, then move on. I hope it all works out for you.

[bEwAbG]

Here's a site that lists who you can complain to in the US:

 

https://www.usa.gov/travel-complaint

 

I believe speaking to Celebrity directly is what it's going to take. I would guess they still want your money. You may have to request a supervisor if first-line people aren't able to help you.

[DrivesLikeMario]

The Resolutions Dept. is your best bet. Explain your situation to them. They should be able to put you back on the same promo you had and in the same cabin or at least, cabin category.

 

ASAP - transfer your booking to (preferably) another competent agent or to Celebrity (second choice). There ARE good agents out there. Best way to find them is word of mouth.

[riclop]

Find a new one.

[MrsPotz]

Sorry to hear about your issue. If you still want to book I would do it now as there is a good special right now. One person pays full price the second is half price. I had booked on board and found this deal was better in the long run. Find a new TA

 

 

 

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[H2OH!]

Hello Holly!

 

I hope you and Henry are going great.

 

sorry to hear about this issue! Such terrible service. I hope Celebrity can help you out.

 

Amy (and Jim)

[docmark]

Holly ,can I ask you please what city in florida this agency is? would like to try to avoid it !!

 

thanks in advance

[docmark]

Sorry,just saw you already mentioned Orlando...

[gold1953]

Hope you can get this resolved . May I suggest that when referring to a TA that you choose a letter other than X as that it what we call Celebrity so I was quite confused

[BettyCruiser]

Hi Holly,

 

Sorry to hear of your TA woes. If the price hasn't gone up too much you can just rebook while on your next cruise in a couple days. Celebrity is currently offering two perks when booking onboard along with the usual extra onboard credit. Just don't let them assign to the offending TA;)

 

Hi to Henry too from Beth and Tommy:)

[CapeCodCruiser]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

 

Unfortunately, the travel agency is located in Orlando, FL so I would need the US equivalent contact information for the Association of Travel Agencies.

 

I am going to speak to the Resolutions Dept. at Celebrity to see if anything can be done. I believe once the travel agency cancels the reservation they cannot get it reinstated, but as Curt advised Celebrity probably can.

 

The travel agency is completely ignoring my emails so there's not much I can do in dealing with them. However, you better believe I will be sharing their name with everyone I meet on the 10 cruises that we have booked over the next 18 months! ;)

 

Have you tried calling the agency? US travel agents have errors & omissions insurance that should cover for them to re-instate your cruise even if it is more expensive now. I would request they provide you with proof that you authorized the cancellation and when they can not let them know they need to reinstate it and pay for any additional costs or you will file a claim with their E & O carrier.

[Hlitner]

WOW! Since the OP is not permitted to post the name of the agency...it does become somewhat of a guessing game. But we wonder if the OP was dealing with a real Cruise/Travel Agency Office (with staff) or more likely with a so-called Outside Agent. Some cruise/travel agencies are mere shells and most bookings are handled by outside agents who essentially work for themselves (often out of their own home's). Those agents have little incentive to transfer a booking to another agent...and are generally under very little supervision.

 

So what to do? Whether you would ever want to deal with this agency....or not...is only one issue. Personally, we would find out where this actual agency office is located, get a real phone number for that main office, give them a call, and ask to speak with the agency owner (of full time manager). At that point we would explain the situation and at least get some personal satisfaction in perhaps making the life miserable for the outside agent.

 

Hank

[notjaded]

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions.

 

Unfortunately, the travel agency is located in Orlando, FL so I would need the US equivalent contact information for the Association of Travel Agencies.

 

I am going to speak to the Resolutions Dept. at Celebrity to see if anything can be done. I believe once the travel agency cancels the reservation they cannot get it reinstated, but as Curt advised Celebrity probably can.

 

The travel agency is completely ignoring my emails so there's not much I can do in dealing with them. However, you better believe I will be sharing their name with everyone I meet on the 10 cruises that we have booked over the next 18 months! ;)

 

File a complaint:

 

http://www.myfloridalegal.com/pages.nsf/Main/E3EB45228E9229DD85257B05006E32EC

 

 

http://myfloridalegal.com/consumer

[FengShui@Sea]

Thank you all for your comments, suggestions, and links for where I can file a complaint.

 

* Yes, I agree 'X' was not the best letter to assign when referring to my travel agent, and no doubt made it confusing to read. :o

 

* It is definitely a legit agency, but I did find out that my agent's 'manager' was actually the company president, so that is who I was getting the nasty emails from. A search shows they only have the one location in Orlando, and I assume it is not a huge office, maybe 6-7 agents (?) as I know of at least 4 different agents in my dealings with them.

 

* Their website shows they are members of the ASTA, as well as the BBB, which I verified.

 

We are off on the Infinity for 19 nights this coming Sunday, so as Beth suggested I will re-book then with the same perks, and hopefully put this all behind us. The cruise is in September 2017 and the prices are the same as when we booked. ;)

 

P.S. A big 'hello' to Sherry, EW, Amy, Beth and Tom!

 

CVO

Edited September 16, 2016 by FengShui@Sea

[Katgoesonholiday]

 

We are off on the Infinity for 19 nights this coming Sunday, so as Beth suggested I will re-book then with the same perks, and hopefully put this all behind us. The cruise is in September 2017 and the prices are the same as when we booked. ;)

 

Just double check, when you book on board, that they aren't automatically assigning your reservation to the travel agent they have on file for you.

 

We booked on board in July and were quite surprised that the booking was automatically assigned to the same travel agent that had booked the cruise we were currently on. This wasn't a problem for us - but it may be for you!

[Hlitner]

Thank you all for your comments, suggestions, and links for where I can file a complaint.

 

* Yes, I agree 'X' was not the best letter to assign when referring to my travel agent, and no doubt made it confusing to read. :o

 

* It is definitely a legit agency, but I did find out that my agent's 'manager' was actually the company president, so that is who I was getting the nasty emails from. A search shows they only have the one location in Orlando, and I assume it is not a huge office, maybe 6-7 agents (?) as I know of at least 4 different agents in my dealings with them.

 

* Their website shows they are members of the ASTA, as well as the BBB, which I verified.

 

We are off on the Infinity for 19 nights this coming Sunday, so as Beth suggested I will re-book then with the same perks, and hopefully put this all behind us. The cruise is in September 2017 and the prices are the same as when we booked. ;)

 

P.S. A big 'hello' to Sherry, EW, Amy, Beth and Tom!

 

CVO

 

Ouch! In that case we would probably take the time to make that agencies life miserable. In Florida you do have quite a few options. Certainly write a letter (and file a formal complaint) with the Florida Division of Consumer Services. Write a letter to the cruise line's CEO and attach a copy of that complaint letter. Also file a formal complaint with the BBB and also attach a copy of your complaint filing (from the Consumer Services folks). And lastly, send a clear and concise business letter to the travel agency owner attaching copies of your other complaint filings.

 

And finally, send a letter to Christopher Elliot (a very good consumer advocate) including copies of all your issue related complaints/correspondence.

 

As consumers we do have a voice....and using that voice can often help ensure that others do not have to suffer from bad travel agencies.

 

Hank

[ChucktownSteve]

ouch! In that case we would probably take the time to make that agencies life miserable. In florida you do have quite a few options. Certainly write a letter (and file a formal complaint) with the florida division of consumer services. Write a letter to the cruise line's ceo and attach a copy of that complaint letter. Also file a formal complaint with the bbb and also attach a copy of your complaint filing (from the consumer services folks). And lastly, send a clear and concise business letter to the travel agency owner attaching copies of your other complaint filings.

 

And finally, send a letter to christopher elliot (a very good consumer advocate) including copies of all your issue related complaints/correspondence.

 

As consumers we do have a voice....and using that voice can often help ensure that others do not have to suffer from bad travel agencies.

 

Hank

 

like

[Cruisercl]

Ouch! In that case we would probably take the time to make that agencies life miserable. In Florida you do have quite a few options. Certainly write a letter (and file a formal complaint) with the Florida Division of Consumer Services. Write a letter to the cruise line's CEO and attach a copy of that complaint letter. Also file a formal complaint with the BBB and also attach a copy of your complaint filing (from the Consumer Services folks). And lastly, send a clear and concise business letter to the travel agency owner attaching copies of your other complaint filings.

 

And finally, send a letter to Christopher Elliot (a very good consumer advocate) including copies of all your issue related complaints/correspondence.

 

As consumers we do have a voice....and using that voice can often help ensure that others do not have to suffer from bad travel agencies.

 

Hank

 

All really good ideas; I would also include the Florida State Attorney General on the list that gets the letter. They do look after consumer information & complaints.