My TA isn't picking up the phone, can I cancel direct with princess?

[Prolificc]

I'm within the "deposit" phase of my cruise and next week we go to the 50% cancellation penalty. I don't wan't 50% as FCC, so I am under the assumption I need to cancel before that date. I booked through my credit card portal TA, and they totally disabled the ability to talk to their cruise team that I originally booked with, the phone hangs up when selecting the cruise option. Before I even think about calling Princess direct, can someone tell me if they would even be able to do anything if it was technically booked through a TA?

[Colo Cruiser]

Just now, Prolificc said:

I'm within the "deposit" phase of my cruise and next week we go to the 50% cancellation penalty. I don't wan't 50% as FCC, so I am under the assumption I need to cancel before that date. I booked through my credit card portal TA, and they totally disabled the ability to talk to their cruise team that I originally booked with, the phone hangs up when selecting the cruise option. Before I even think about calling Princess direct, can someone tell me if they would even be able to do anything if it was technically booked through a TA?

No. It is under the TA's control.

[chamima]

Try calling Princess and explaining your dilemma.

They definitely want you to go through your TA but if that TA is totally unavailable they should be able to help.

[CineGraphic]

Email your TA, or contact your credit card company and see if they can help....not sure if by having the credit card company reversing any charges would in fact, cancel the cruise.

[geocruiser]

Can you transfer your booking from the TA to Princess?  If so, then do that then cancel.

[Prolificc]

6 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

Email your TA, or contact your credit card company and see if they can help....not sure if by having the credit card company reversing any charges would in fact, cancel the cruise.

I booked with points, I can't "charge back".

 

6 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

Can you transfer your booking from the TA to Princess?  If so, then do that then cancel.

IDK how to do that?

[CineGraphic]

2 minutes ago, Prolificc said:

9 minutes ago, geocruiser said:

Can you transfer your booking from the TA to Princess?  If so, then do that then cancel.

IDK how to do that?

 

Download the attached form and follow the instructions.

 

You can also get the form at this link: https://www.militarycruisedeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Reservation-Transfer-Request-Form-1.pdf

 

Reservation-Transfer-Request-Form-1.pdf

[dog]

Call Princess and explain your situation. You may be waiting, but you need to deal with it now. Can anyone else at TA s office help you? Princess has helped me once when I could not get my TA to help 

[Prolificc]

1 minute ago, dog said:

Call Princess and explain your situation. You may be waiting, but you need to deal with it now. Can anyone else at TA s office help you? Princess has helped me once when I could not get my TA to help 

I called Princess, they gave me a different phone number they had on file, but it just goes direct to TA voicemail. I'm not too confident. My TA is not an individual person, it's a company that works with my credit card company, every time I call it is through a 1800#, and I never talk to the same person. That 1800# now says "sorry we can't complete your call" and disconnects me.

[dog]

1 minute ago, Prolificc said:

I called Princess, they gave me a different phone number they had on file, but it just goes direct to TA voicemail. I'm not too confident. My TA is not an individual person, it's a company that works with my credit card company, every time I call it is through a 1800#, and I never talk to the same person. That 1800# now says "sorry we can't complete your call" and disconnects me.

Sorry you are going through this. Frustrating 

[Steelers36]

 

45 minutes ago, Prolificc said:

I booked with points, I can't "charge back".

 

IDK how to do that?

You aren't going to be able to tfr a booking made with credit card points from your credit card company travel dept back to Princess.  Go with calling Princess and explain you have a deadline and need to cancel and provide them with the full travel business name, website address, phone number you are calling, etc.  Lay it all out to Princess.  Even contact Customer Relations.  I would have it logged - and even in writing - with Princess that you want to cancel on such-and-such a date and your TA is being non-responsive.  Finally, does the agency have an email address?  I am just saying to get something on record with Princess even if they make you wait until the agency responds. 

 

I did once use points from my US credit card (a Visa) and they handle the travel through an agency they have on contract.  It went fine, but there was no worldwide contagion going on.  I believe you mentioned calling in and selecting cruise.  Did you try selecting another option at this agency just to get someone on the phone and then ask them for their customer relations or whatever as you have a cruise to be cancelled or you are going to lose half your money in penalty and the real line is blocked.  I'd be getting creative in order to get someone on this case.

 

 

Edited March 14, 2020 by Steelers36

[caribill]

45 minutes ago, Prolificc said:

I booked with points, I can't "charge back".

 

 

41 minutes ago, CineGraphic said:

 

Download the attached form and follow the instructions.

 

You can also get the form at this link: https://www.militarycruisedeals.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/Reservation-Transfer-Request-Form-1.pdf

 

Reservation-Transfer-Request-Form-1.pdf 261.92 kB · 1 download

 

I doubt that you can transfer a booking booked with points and not $$$ to Princess.

[Paula_MacFan]

I am having a similar problem -- need to cancel and TA is unreachable.  I got a sympathetic rep at Princess who said she couldn't cancel it without getting in trouble, and sent me the form to transfer back to Princess.  However, you only have 60 days from original booking to transfer back,  The rep told me Princess would review the request and it was possible they would go ahead and do it.  BUT it could take a week to approve, and this was about 2 weeks ago before everything with the virus blew up.   I didn't even bother with the form knowing it would probably be denied and with all the other things they have to worry about, my request would probably be a very low priority.  

 

I sent another email to my TA requesting a cancellation a week ago and haven't heard a reply.  Contacted their corporate office and was told they could do nothing except contact original TA because only that person could change the booking.  I have never had this trouble with TA before but I will NEVER use them again.  

 

Good luck!

[Steelers36]

8 minutes ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Contacted their corporate office and was told they could do nothing except contact original TA because only that person could change the booking.  I have never had this trouble with TA before but I will NEVER use them again. 

Oh, ugh!!  My agency has a wonderful back-office person who can handle these sort of booking maintenance things - in fact certain changes are recommended to go that route and not with the TA.  They are probably spinning you a line of BS.  Try Princess Customer Relations?  Hopefully your agency HQ put a bug in the TA's ear to get cracking on your file.

Edited March 14, 2020 by Steelers36

[ace2542]

2 hours ago, Prolificc said:

I'm within the "deposit" phase of my cruise and next week we go to the 50% cancellation penalty. I don't wan't 50% as FCC, so I am under the assumption I need to cancel before that date. I booked through my credit card portal TA, and they totally disabled the ability to talk to their cruise team that I originally booked with, the phone hangs up when selecting the cruise option. Before I even think about calling Princess direct, can someone tell me if they would even be able to do anything if it was technically booked through a TA?

The TA is probably ducking your call because they are on the verge of going out of business. A lot of them will I think. If you agency violates the terms of the booking tell princess and they will likely drop them as a partner.

Edited March 14, 2020 by ace2542

[Paula_MacFan]

11 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

Oh, ugh!!  My agency has a wonderful back-office person who can handle these sort of booking maintenance things - in fact certain changes are recommended to go that route and not with the TA.  They are probably spinning you a line of BS.  Try Princess Customer Relations?  Hopefully your agency HQ put a bug in the TA's ear to get cracking on your file.

This TA is a big box place I've never used before, and my prior TA also had great support staff which I am now missing!  Live and learn. 

[satxdiver]

I would imagine right now that there are a lot of TA in hiding from a telephone that will not stop ringing or mountains of email.   I suspect that a lot of these "bargain" TA are now the worst for aiding their clients.  I feel for everyone who is having problems with the TA due to the ongoing endemic and scare.   When this is over I would not be surprised if there were a lot less TA in business. 

[Steelers36]

3 minutes ago, satxdiver said:

I would imagine right now that there are a lot of TA in hiding from a telephone that will not stop ringing or mountains of email.   I suspect that a lot of these "bargain" TA are now the worst for aiding their clients.  I feel for everyone who is having problems with the TA due to the ongoing endemic and scare.   When this is over I would not be surprised if there were a lot less TA in business. 

Hopefully the good TA's will weather the storm as folks obviously still want to travel if the sentiments on the Princess board mean anything.  I do feel bad for a discount agency like mine where the expectation is minimal hand-holding (my modus operandi and thinking at least) in exchange for great pricing.  IDK that every product they sell is discounted.

 

[voljeep]

1 hour ago, Prolificc said:

I called Princess, they gave me a different phone number they had on file, but it just goes direct to TA voicemail. I'm not too confident. My TA is not an individual person, it's a company that works with my credit card company, every time I call it is through a 1800#, and I never talk to the same person. That 1800# now says "sorry we can't complete your call" and disconnects me.

Not to get into a debate about the whole TA v Non-TA thingy … but ...

 

( multiple lines deleted ) ...

[Gracie115]

My TA is a "big box" one and I'm still waiting on my refund to hit my bank account after 6 days.....they have till Monday and then I plan to sit on the phone as long as it takes to find out when exactly they will be refunding my money...  

Edited March 14, 2020 by Gracie115

[npcl]

38 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

My TA is a "big box" one and I'm still waiting on my refund to hit my bank account after 6 days.....they have till Monday and then I plan to sit on the phone as long as it takes to find out when exactly they will be refunding my money...  

In many cases with the big box TA the payment goes directly to Princess, and the refund comes directly from Princess. So most likely the answer is that it might take Princess up to 10 business days to process the refund.  Especially these days.

[Gracie115]

3 hours ago, npcl said:

In many cases with the big box TA the payment goes directly to Princess, and the refund comes directly from Princess. So most likely the answer is that it might take Princess up to 10 business days to process the refund.  Especially these days.

Hope you're right

[Aus Traveller]

My TA said that Princess is handling some passengers' requests direct because the TA's are overwhelmed. We are in Australia and I don't know if the position is different in USA.

[Caribbean Allan]

I would certainly email all parties involved, such as the travel agent, the travel agent's headquarters, and even the cruise line.  Explain that you have been, and are still trying to cancel via phone but there is no answer.  It is important that you document this as much as possible.  Email seems to work for documentation on so many things these days.  So I would certainly do that for sure.  But in the meantime, I would also send a written notice of wanting to cancel via overnight mail, and make sure you check the box to require a signature for delivery.   Even if the mail gets back to you un-opened because they refused to sign the envelope, you have your documentation.  If the envelope comes back to you un-delivered, then keep that UNOPENED envelope as proof if you need it in small claims court.  You can open the envelope in the judge's presence.  

[nho9504]

8 hours ago, Prolificc said:

I booked with points, I can't "charge back".

 

IDK how to do that?

 

You cannot transfer booking as this is not a normal TA set up that most here deal with.

 

You also cannot charge back because the $ is not paid with your card, but the loyalty travel dept's corporate card.  Then the $ is converted to the points at a conversion ratio your card's benefit determined.  Pts are taken out from your reward account.

 

Most people on this forum would have no idea how this thing work, and their TA experiences do not apply. 

 

Did you book with Chase Ultimate Reward points?  Mine is too, but our cruise was Apr 11, therefore falls into the current policy and last night a Princess rep said I can submit the Refund Option myself, just need to coordinate with the Travel Agency (Connexions Loyalty Travel handles Chase Ultimate Reward booking, not Expedia Corporate Travel which handles everything else) on whatever arrangement between us and Travel Agency.

 

The Travel Agency in the case of yours and mine, is totally different from what the usual TA being talked about here.

 

If yours is booked thru UR,  then look at the confirmation you received from them on the booking - the email address is Houseagent@cxloyalty.com.   Try to send them an email, attention the agent's name.  Put URGENT in the subject title.  

There is also the direct telephone number shown on your Princess booking online, Travel Agent name and the direct phone number.   It is a 918 area code, Tulsa office of Connexions. 

 

The agent told me that ANYONE at the dept can handle the booking - ours previously had a deviation request as we could not longer disembark at St. Petersburg,  it happened when my call was connected, it was the same agent who picked up the call.   She handled the request but she told me anyone could help. 

Thanks to that deviation request, now I also has her own email address at cxtravel.com it is like many organization, it is first name initial followed by last name, @cxloyalty.com.

 

If it is other point currency such as Citi ThankYou, or US Bank or whoever, then I dont know about the mechanism.  If it is UR, you can try the above.

 

 

Edited March 15, 2020 by nho9504
Added more info