I booked a price mistake

[TxMark]

Or at least I think I did. 5 days ago I found a super deal on a month-long cruise (95% off) so I called my

travel agent and he said there was no way they would honor that price and don't waste your time trying to book it.

So I went to a 3rd party travel site,  booked the cruise and travel insurance and paid in full with my credit card. I have a confirmation from

the booking site and a booking number with the cruise line where I have logged into my account and booked specialty

restaurants and excursions.  As of today, my credit card is still pending for the cruise line but the insurance and specialty dining has been charged

to my card.  Now I need to start looking at booking international flights but I can see where this could turn into a big mess if they decide not

to honor the cruise after I make all my travel arrangements.  To make things worse I am already booked on another 30-day cruise with another

line during the same time period that would have to be canceled so if they don't honor the cheap fare I loose on both cruises. 

Any suggestions?

[fishywood]

I certainly would not be booking air fare until you are 100% certain the price will be honored. The fact that the credit card charge is still pending is a huge red flag.

 

There are been several threads like this one in the past, and all have ended badly. If the price is an obvious typo (ie fare should have been $4990.00 but appeared as $499.00) the cruise line has every right to ask you to pay the correct fare else you will be unilaterally cancelled. Trying to argue that a binding contract for that price was executed is actually in the cruise line's favor as a contract containing such an egregious error as a price figure being only 5% or 10% of the correct amount can be cancelled without any consideration in return by the aggrieved party. That's Contract Law 101---as is the fact that online advertising is not considered an offer to sell at the listed terms, only a solicitation of inquiries. And there is no legal statute requiring honoring of such terms even without a "not responsible for typographical errors" disclaimer. 

 

You will probably also find language in the T&C of the third party website you used stating that they can cancel any transaction entirely at their whim simply by refunding any deposit paid. So just chalk this up to "it was a fun idea while it lasted" cuz it ain't gonna last.

Edited December 22, 2018 by fishywood

[fishywood]

Just now, fishywood said:

 

Sorry--duplicate post

Edited December 22, 2018 by fishywood

[leaveitallbehind]

Sounds like you are prepared to learn that the price may have been a mistake and not be honored as valid.  If that is the case - and to protect your other booking - you could contact the cruise line directly and have them confirm the pricing.  If it is valid then you can proceed with canceling your other booking and looking at airfare.  If it is not honored then you can cancel the second booking along with your excursions and restaurants, get your refund, and move on with your original booking.  Either way you have nothing to lose and will at least confirm which plans to keep.  (Cancellation penalties for either notwithstanding).

Edited December 22, 2018 by leaveitallbehind

[GeezerCouple]

There have in the past been some "mistake" air fares, some for ridiculously small amounts.  I don't remember exactly, but at least one was something like $5 for a flight (this is NOT meant to be exact).

 

On at least one occasion, the fare was quickly changed, but it was *honored* for those who had already purchased.  Not so for at least one other similar situation.  (The airline got a LOT of free and positive publicity for honoring those tickets!)

 

The question is,  if they do not honor it.... *when* would you find out.

 

I would have waited a bit longer to purchase the associated bits, such as air and insurance (our insurance gives us 20 days from first payment to still get the same terms).

 

But this has now been FIVE days?  That's a lot not to  be noticed!

Do you see a "regular price" now?

 

Keeping fingers crossed for you!

 

GC

[Krazy Kruizers]

Do you have refundable deposits on the other cruise?

 

Will you be charged fees no matter which cruise you cancel?

[TxMark]

Thanks for the replies. I agree with Fishywood this is probably not going to happen,  I have read a few other cases where the cruise line did honor the price that was booked so I'm going to hold on a little longer and see how this plays out.   I'm still not 100% sure it was a price mistake and not a clearance sale on that cabin category, It lasted for a couple hours after it popped up then price went back up. I checked all the big cruise booking sites and they all had it for the price that I paid.  We booked a 25-night European cruise last year for $1000 when they had a big price drop so we were hoping this was just them filling up the ship.

Krazy , the other cruise is with Princess and we used future cruise deposits when we booked it, I'm not sure if we would lose them or we would be able to transfer to another sailing. Full payment is due the end of January on the other cruise so we might just sit tight for a while and see what happens. 

[TxMark]

JUst an update,  Credit card charge for 100% of the cruise posted today,  Not sure if the price I paid was approved

or computer generated.

[cb at sea]

There's no benefit to booking air too far in advance....wait until you're SURE the cruise is legit!

[Sea Hag]

Interesting thread. I'm glad you went for it. I hope you'll let us all know how it all turns out.

[ldubs]

You are obviously concerned that the booking will be re-charged or cancelled.  Why not simply inquire of the cruise line and get it over with one way or the other.  Who knows, they may say you are good to go.  Worse thing that will happen is what you already kind of expect.  

[sloopsailor]

3 hours ago, ldubs said:

You are obviously concerned that the booking will be re-charged or cancelled.  Why not simply inquire of the cruise line and get it over with one way or the other.  Who knows, they may say you are good to go.  Worse thing that will happen is what you already kind of expect.  

 

Agree. It makes no sense to just wait, do nothing and hope for the best. Being proactive and contacting the cruise line will end either in disappoint or on a happy note. Why torture yourself with a "wait-and-see" approach that leaves you uncertain? Call and find out. 

Edited December 24, 2018 by sloopsailor

[sfaaa]

He booked through a third party site. Cruise line  will not talk to him.

Edited December 24, 2018 by sfaaa

[MCC retired]

33 minutes ago, sfaaa said:

He booked through a third party site. Cruise line  will not talk to him.

Oh ! That adds a bit of uncertainty . I’d wait a bit longer before buying air .

 

[SRF]

What does the third party site terms and conditions say?????

[leaveitallbehind]

14 hours ago, sfaaa said:

He booked through a third party site. Cruise line  will not talk to him.

That's not necessarily accurate.  The cruise line won't have any input regarding managing the booking but I don't see why they wouldn't confirm the validity of the pricing. We book all of our cruises through a TA but the cruise line still talks with us regarding any question we have regarding the cruise, dining reservations, etc.  I would still call.  You can also do a mock booking directly to see what the current pricing would be.

Edited December 25, 2018 by leaveitallbehind

[ldubs]

21 hours ago, sfaaa said:

He booked through a third party site. Cruise line  will not talk to him.

 

Then confirm it through the travel agent.  Point is do something now instead of waiting until things might be more severe.  

[jagsfan]

Your RA received a passenger confirmation along with the agent confirmation from the cruise line. Ask the TA for a copy. 

If it shows the cabin and category with the price you booked it under, the cruise line has accepted the price you paid. 

Do not wait to see what happens. You’re tying up not only your money, but a cabin they want to sell. 

Please come back and tell us how it worked out. 

[canuckgardener]

I seem to remember an airline posting .10 cent fares and they granted them years ago.

 

[Frhowse04]

@TxMark think I booked myself on that same cruise, also wondering when I should assume it is safe to proceed with buying airline tickets?  I dont know if a credit card company insurance would cover such a thing if they decided to cancel my trip.  Feeling very conflicted here

 

[6rugrats]

Don’t know of any insurance policy that would cover this.  Why don’t you just call the cruise line and ask them?

[ldubs]

17 hours ago, canuckgardener said:

I seem to remember an airline posting .10 cent fares and they granted them years ago.

 

 

My memory is a little rusty, but another instance went something like this.   A mainstream airline mistakenly advertised $300 first class fares to Beijing.  They sold out fast.  Airline said it was a mistake and refunded the fares.   Passengers said fares had to be honored cause it was a contract.   Airline said tough cookies & last I heard did not honor the tickets.  

[leaveitallbehind]

Again as I and others have suggested, just call the cruise line and ask if it is a valid price.  They will certainly know and should be able to confirm, whether you booked through them or a TA.  And if booked through a TA they should certainly be able to confirm themselves or through cruise line for you.  Don't understand why this is such a mystery to solve.  And I would certainly not book airfare until I knew for sure.

Edited December 26, 2018 by leaveitallbehind

[SRF]

I would NOT ask about the price.

 

You should have a booking/reservation number.  Call and insure that it is valid and in their system.

 

 

[TxMark]

Contacted the 3rd party site and they went over my reservation and said everything looked fine.

Everything was paid in full and suggested I log into the cruise line and fill out all the documents, passport info etc. Done.  Two day's later I received an email from the cruise line welcoming us aboard and promoting shore excursions and the countdown until we sail.  So I guess we're good to go. Has anyone had a situation where they have gotten this far and something else came up?  I tried to call the cruise line and said they see my reservation with my booking number but they refuse to answer any questions and keep referring me back to the

3rd party booking company. Again the 3rd party booking company says everything looks fine. It seems like at some point I have a contract that they would have to honor.

 The other cruise that I have booked during the same time period is due for full payment soon.

Option 1, buy cancel for any reason insurance on both cruises and know I'm going to lose 25% on one cruise plus the insurance. 

Option 2  Just cancel the 2nd cruise and hope the ( super deal) cruise does not fall thru where I lose both.

Then I wonder if I buy air and the cruise decides they need an extra $6000 and I back out will the travel insurance refund my canceled air. If this wasn't such an amazing deal I wouldn't be spending this much time on it.