What do you think would be fair?

[andy2032]

Leaving for the Gem on February 24. I called my agent to upgrade from inside to balcony, she did some figuring with NCL and they came up with a price of $375.18 for the upgrade, I agreed to the price. I then checked my account on NCL and the upgrade showed I was now in a balcony room. Thirty minutes later I get a call from my agent saying NCL called her back and said they made a mistake I owe another $400.00 more for the upgrade and I have not been moved to the balcony yet. I told her I checked my account with NCL and it is stating I am in a balcony. I asked to speak to a supervisor and she said they were to busy to speak to me, that she was reverting me back to inside cabin and she could no longer talk to me. Six hours later I receive a email stating supervisor is reviewing taped conversation with NCL and she will contact me in 48 hours. My question is do you think I should get the balcony for the price they originally quoted me and I agreed to?

[kerryincork]

I think you should get the cabin for the amount you agreed too. But cruise lines are a law unto themselves, so couldn't possibly guess how it will turn out.

 

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[DarkJedi]

I think the fact that your TA refused to speak to you means that they know they screwed up and don't want to get caught lying to you.

[roger001]

It's always nice for the customer when a company will "eat" their mistakes and favor the customer. But...a significant mistake in pricing will frequently not be given you...by most companies. Only an ooops....and sorry about that. Hope you get it though. And balcony is nice.

[SuperMommy]

I think this far out that price difference was too good to be true (but not implausible). Are you a single in the cabin? Perhaps the agent misunderstood the price per person. People do make mistakes and with an agent plus NCL there’s even more communication going on. I once had an NCL agent tell me I would have two insides across the hall from each other before I politely pointed out they backed up to each other and we’d have to walk around like 30 rooms to get to each other. Hold your breath, wait for the review, prepare to disappointed and know that you can always try their bidding system later.

 

 

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[andy2032]

No, I'm not a single in this cabin, There are 2 of us. I have used this TA many times and can't believe she wouldn't talk to me about it. Sadly to say after 62 cruises I will be looking for a new agent.

[fredflint]

I would assume they meant PP not per cabin if I had to guess the issue?

[deliver42]

I agree with Fred Flint. Just like when you bid for an upgrade, it's per person. Evidently, your TA missed that part.

[April42749]

I would assume they meant PP not per cabin if I had to guess the issue?

 

I agree.....

 

Did they charge your credit card?

 

 

If so...I'd argue because that means the TA did some kind of processing and maybe the website misquoted. If not...it was just a verbal agreement, nothing in writing.

[DMH15]

Maybe you could split the difference?

 

 

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[NYcruzzer]

Did you get an extra perk going from inside to Balcony ? Some perks entail service charges i.e UBP and SDP. That could be the difference in the cost to upgrade

[April42749]

In thinking this over, and looking at the NCL site:

 

1. If they overcharged you originally.....and then realized the mistake....would you argue that they should keep you at the original price quoted? I doubt it........

 

2. Right now the IX vs BX is about $400/pp more. There are no secret deals. Your agent may give you a price better by a couple of dollars, but not half the price.

 

Someone made a mistake...and someone could get in trouble with the employer for this mistake. I think you should take the high road and pay what you should have been charged. If you wouldn't have been happy with that price for the upgrade, you didn't have to upgrade. But, why take advantage of someone's error?

 

Or...just bid $200/pp for the upgrade and see what happens. That would be a win/win.

[Buford T Justiice]

Maybe you could split the difference?

 

 

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I agree. Also, based on your volume of work with the TA this would be a no brainer for your TA to accept. TA can take a haircut on this cruise or receive zero going forward.

[Moby0215]

Mistakes happen and I️ don’t think anyone should or will take the $400 hit. It sucks but that’s the reality.

 

 

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[Two Wheels Only]

"Fair" is you not being charged (or refunded if you were charged $375.18) and you are in the stateroom that you originally booked. Whatever NCL says is the cost of the upgrade, that is the amount that you can choose to pay or you can refuse the offer.

 

If the TA gave you an incorrect quote, that is on the TA, not NCL.

 

Either find a new TA or deal with NCL directly.

[Zeno]

It was your TA's fault - therefore they should pay the penalty. If this does not happen I would immediately get another TA.

[CruisinHarvey]

This is pretty easy. Change TAs. Whoever you have is terrible to treat you like that. When problems occur they are supposed to be your advocate. For this cruise, I'd just go back to the inside. Never book with that TA again.

[LMaxwell]

Push the issue with your TA, they earn a commission being your advocate. You asked for something, they gave you a price, you agreed, and got a new invoice showing your new room. Then they call back and yank it?

 

I had a cruise line directly do something similar with me, they offered me a pay for upgrade while booking, quoted a price and I accepted and made a booking. Later they decide it wasn’t an appropriate room for 3 people and wanted nearly $2000 more to move rooms. No dice. I insisted they review the calls with their agent and what they sold me. They listened and sided with me so I say push the issue. It’s your money.

[Peachypooh]

I am no expert so this is just personal opinion. If they quoted you a price and it has already appeared on your credit card I think they should honor it. If it is just back and forth talk with your TA then I think that you will have a hard time keeping them to the price.

[sanger727]

I’m your feet I would vehemently request that they honor the original price and reference your loyalty. But worst case scenario, them returning you to your original room, if it’s available, would be fair.

 

 

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[stjohnbeachlover]

Leaving for the Gem on February 24. I called my agent to upgrade from inside to balcony, she did some figuring with NCL and they came up with a price of $375.18 for the upgrade, I agreed to the price. I then checked my account on NCL and the upgrade showed I was now in a balcony room. Thirty minutes later I get a call from my agent saying NCL called her back and said they made a mistake I owe another $400.00 more for the upgrade and I have not been moved to the balcony yet. I told her I checked my account with NCL and it is stating I am in a balcony. I asked to speak to a supervisor and she said they were to busy to speak to me, that she was reverting me back to inside cabin and she could no longer talk to me. Six hours later I receive a email stating supervisor is reviewing taped conversation with NCL and she will contact me in 48 hours. My question is do you think I should get the balcony for the price they originally quoted me and I agreed to?

 

This same thing happened to me a couple months ago for an upcoming cruise on the Jewel. I saw the difference for a balcony had dropped quite a bit. It was a 16 day cruise. Looking on the website it looked like it was going to cost around $650 to upgrade but when I asked for a quote, they said $450. I was going to get a balcony guarantee for that price. The next day they discovered the error and agreed to not only honor the cheaper price but to go ahead and move me up two categories to BB and assign me a cabin that same day. I was also dealing with a travel agency and that may be why they stuck with quoted price. It took a while and I was on hold for over an hour while they reviewed the taped phone calls. But I was quite happy with outcome.:D

[andy2032]

I heard from the supervisor at this agency late last night. She informed me they are still working on it. That it was a mistake by NCL and she and a supervisor there are working to resolve this. She also stated that she feels NCL should honor the misquoted price that I agreed to. NCL will make a decision by Tuesday the lastest.

Edited December 24, 2017 by andy2032
Spelling error

[pokerpro5]

It depends upon whose mistake it is.

 

If the travel agent made the mistake, they should do SOMETHING for you (especially if you'e booked a ton of cruises with them), but I'm not sure if the full $400 difference would be warranted here. A travel agent is an AGENT, but not the one setting prices. Clearly they owe you something (at the very least, all of their commission) for the hassle, but you weren't really "harmed" much by this, as they caught the mistake quickly, and you incurred no other expenses due to the mistake.

 

However, if the mistake occurred on NCL's end, then NCL should 100% honor it. I once had this issue with the cable company. A representative promised me $70/month bundled service (a great deal), but when I got my bill, it was about $150. Turned out that $70/month deal did not exist, and the rep was just an idiot. However, because the rep was an employee of theirs and made this offer to me (and because it wasn't IMPOSSIBLY cheap, like $7/month), they were legally responsible for this. Upon reviewing the tapes, they confirmed I was offered that, and honored it. (It took a conversation with corporate, but it got done.)

 

Back to NCL.

 

If their rep made the mistake, they need to eat the $400 and honor it.

 

The basic rule of thumb is that a company must honor any "reasonable looking" offer made by one of their representatives, but do not have to make good on offers which were misstated by third party agents. Additionally, the third party agent is not legally responsible to honor the price difference, provided it is caught quickly and brought to your attention (which it was).

 

However, as it appears this might be NCL's mistake, you have a decent shot at getting this honored. If NCL admits this was a failure on their end, you should press very hard for them to honor it.

 

FYI, this will cost NCL very little, as they are likely to be dumping the balcony rooms for even cheaper fairly soon. These February Gem itineraries are not selling very well.

[newmexicoNita]

I agree with Peachypooh: if your cc has been charged they should honor the quote regardless who is to blame. But if it has not, this is similar only more costly to when a grocery store runs a sale on say, steak but the price in the paper was a misprint. The store will inform you of the misprint but will not honor the incorrect price. I know it is frustrating but mistakes are made. We all make them. Should you change travel agents, that is up to you. My feeling is, if you have had the same one for years and have been happy I would remember, again, mistakes happen. If you have reasons for being unhappy in recent transactions, not just this one, search for someone else.

[garycarla]

Some rough folks here. Glad none of them ever made a mistake.

 

Amazing how fast people would drip their current TA.

 

Ouch.