Travel Agent did not pay cruise company. So no FCC

[davekathy]

11 minutes ago, drsel said:

That article is very useful and informative, especially for Australians.
So I don't think they will take it down.

The article can stay just get rid of the VTG reference. Falls under the category of "do as I say, not as I do". 😉 BTW, based only on your experience I would never consider booking with them. Thank you. 

Edited June 29, 2020 by davekathy

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, drsel said:

I also noticed that the initials of this giant agent have been mentioned by some posters in other threads.
Quite a few Cruise critic members have used them.

FWIW: At least as regards the premium/luxury cruise industry segments, there are far better "deals" to be had with a select group of TAs other than the one your mentioning. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

Yes. That's why I said I was surprised CC even published the article you attached in your post #42. Goes against their (CC) own guidelines. IMO it needs to be removed. 

 

Guidelines are for Boards, not articles.

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Guidelines are for Boards, not articles.

So we can post all articles listing TAs and recommendations for those TAs as long as it's in the "article". Interesting. Doesn't make since (speaking only for myself) , but good to know as I thought mentioning a TA was taboo no matter the format. CCs playground, CC rules. 

 

PS...drsel, I stand corrected about mentioning of a TA in the article you provide. ✌️

Edited June 30, 2020 by davekathy

[Host Jazzbeau]

46 minutes ago, davekathy said:

So we can post all articles listing TAs and recommendations for those TAs as long as it's in the "article". Interesting. Doesn't make since (speaking only for myself) , but good to know as I thought mentioning a TA was taboo no matter the format. CCs playground, CC rules. 

 

PS...drsel, I stand corrected about mentioning of a TA in the article you provide. ✌️

 

As I'm sure you knew before posting this, the only accurate part of your first paragraph is the last sentence:  CC's website, CC's rules – which you agreed to when you joined.  CC-authored articles [did I really need to spell that out?] are not subject to the Guidelines that apply to the CC Boards.  [PS – your post is actually a violation of the Guideline against questioning Board Management.  But I let it go this time in order to provide a public explanation.]

[davekathy]

Just now, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

As I'm sure you knew before posting this, the only accurate part of your first paragraph is the last sentence:  CC's website, CC's rules – which you agreed to when you joined.  CC-authored articles [did I really need to spell that out?] are not subject to the Guidelines that apply to the CC Boards.  [PS – your post is actually a violation of the Guideline against questioning Board Management.  But I let it go this time in order to provide a public explanation.]

No I didn't know. The article posted by drsel was the first time I ever saw a TA spelled out. That's why I posted what I did to drsel about not mentioning TAs. As I said before, I stand corrected. I wasn't questioning CC board management. If I was I would have stated it differently and ended my sentence with a question mark. I was making a comment/observation. 

[davekathy]

5 hours ago, davekathy said:

The article can stay just get rid of the VTG reference. Falls under the category of "do as I say, not as I do". 😉 BTW, based only on your experience I would never consider booking with them. Thank you. 

 

6 hours ago, drsel said:

That article is very useful and informative, especially for Australians.
So I don't think they will take it down.

drsel..I stand corrected. I just learned articles mentioning TAs are authorized. ✌️

[Hlitner]

What a fascinating thread 🙂  For some reason I missed the CC article but quickly read the link when it was posted by the Mod.  The agency mentioned, has long been a favorite of mine because it has one of the best online cruise search engines.  That being said, while Alan Fox might run a terrific business (not just for cruise bookings) we have never used his agency because we can always find better deals elsewhere (which is why we have often posted that cruisers should shop around among reputable agencies for the best deal).

 

But getting back to the discussion of Aussies and other folks (from around the world) booking cruises, where there is a will there is a way.  Those willing to do their homework, shop around, seek out posts and articles on the subject, etc.  will reap the benefits.  We first got an education on this International pricing issue when we befriended an Aussie (from near Cairns) who cruised hundreds of days a year (mostly on HAL).  He caught on to the pricing disparity many years ago and asked another cruising friend for permission to use that person's Canadian address for booking purposes.  From that point on he booked all of his cruises through North American agencies (he does ship around) and simply used the Canadian address.  Having an Aussie Passport was not an issue since Passports do not equate to addresses.   We have talked about this idea with numerous other cruisers who we meet on ships, and some did ultimately follow a similar strategy.  But many (primarily Europeans) told us they were hesitant to play the game because they wanted to keep their consumer protection granted by various national and European rules.

 

I will admit to having used a similar strategy in reverse.  We have booked some flights and trains at European and New Zealand web sites.  In these cases there were better deals for the nationals and we were able to snag those deals by simply using a VPN that we could program to show an IP address from various countries.  So if there was a lower price for a Kiwi we could simply book using a Kiwi IP address.  None of the sites we used required a specific street address so we did not need to seek out a friend (and address) in another country.  One outfit that really played this game (it is not a big issue anymore) was the French railroad (SNCF) which for many years would only allow Americans to book tickets through RailEurope at oft higher prices then booking direct with SNCF.  But many of us quickly found ways around this SNCF strategy and could get the lower European prices.

 

We live in a truly international society where we are no longer bound by borders.  While we cannot blame the cruise lines for trying to maximize profits by using location booking strategies, we also cannot blame consumers for finding work arounds :).  While the cruise lines certainly try to discourage cross border bookings, it is hard to envision them ever denying passage/boarding for such a practice.  They simply depend on the fact that most folks are kind of like sheep and do as they are told.

 

Hank

[drsel]

 

 

But getting back to the discussion of Aussies and other folks (from around the world) booking cruises.  Having an Aussie Passport was not an issue since Passports do not equate to addresses. 

Hank

there are a few countries in the world (very few) where the residence address is printed on the back page of the passport. And seen very clearly at the time of boarding the Cruise.

 So for these citizens, their passport does equate to their permanent residence.

 

If such a citizen has booked through a North American agent ( at the cheaper price reserved for North Americans) and he tries to board a Holland America or Princess cruise, he will be allowed boarding, but the agent will not get any commission.

 

 

 

[drsel]

in such a case the agent will have to forego his commission of between 10 to 16%.

 

So some North American agents have clearly mentioned on their websites, that if it is found that the residence is not in North America, then the booking will either be cancelled or ( more likely ) repriced to the higher price for non North Americans.

 

Some agents also charge a special booking fee of $50 to $100 per person, ONLY to non North Americans booking a Princess or Holland America Cruise

 

 

[sanger727]

13 hours ago, drsel said:

Thanks, I will call them and confirm that the final payment goes directly to P&O Cruises.
It is due end July, 90 days prior to sailing

 

Would be fine to call and ask. My 2 cents is that I wouldn’t be concerned about the deposit being in the TAs name. I’ve booked cruises with more than one TA that charged the deposit in their name. When the final payment it it was charged by the cruise line. I suspect this has to do with the TA already having cabins reserved under a group rate (so possibly they paid a deposit to do that so I was reimbursing then).

[drsel]

I too suspect that it was a group rate, because the price was really cheap

[drsel]

All this unnecessary worry and stress about a reputed giant online US travel agent who is even mentioned in a featured article on cruise critic.

And used by many members of CC.

AND RECOMMENDED TO ME BY GOOD FRIENDS I MADE ON MY PREVIOUS CRUISES

 

They booked my cabin from the block of cabins already held by them in a group rate.

No wonder it was so cheap and much less than the rate on the PO website.

Mind you, I STILL can't find any other agent who offers PO cruises AT A DISCOUNTED PRICE.

 

As it is there are very few (if any ) online travel agents who can book PO Cruises.

Both my regular discount travel agents cannot book PO Cruises

 

 

[mayleeman]

@drsel Just a note on recommendations and even published complimentary articles:

 

I long ago learned to do internet searches for comments about both products and service companies.  I try to choose only those that have many many comments, pro AND con. I then immediately filter to the lowest ratings and read those with an eye to the types of issues I care most about (customer service, reliability, accessibility for follow up, etc).

 

I have found that good companies can have both, but the best companies tend to have responses to criticisms (not just "Please call us"). I have hired highly recommended companies that screwed me because I did not actually call their references (most people don't) or I would have learned those people had later problems.

 

Incidentally, in this way I discovered a "cruise-approved" power strip on Amazon recommended by someone on CC. Almost 1,000 positive ratings, which was unusual for these things. Only 2 negatives, both of which said that "Christine" in Customer Service had solved the problem. Of the first 20 positive ratings, 16 had language praising Christine, and those were in 4 different groups of identical wording.

 

I checked the poster who recommended it here. I think that was their only post. 

 

Reported the fraudulent ratings to Amazon and saw a couple weeks later that the product was no longer there.

 

Anyway, the moral is to be leery of on-line ratings in general, and always realize that your experience can be better--or far worse--than someone else's. I wasn't a Pres Reagan fan, but I do like "Trust--but verify!"

[drsel]

I prefer to rely on personal recommendations by live people whom I have talked to personally and have gotten to know very well.

 

If a live recommendation is not available, then I would see the complaints and critical ratings on the internet first.

 

In this case, I could not find ANY agent doing PO at a discounted price, nevermind reliable agents.

Most UK agents do NOT give a discount, unlike US online travel agents.

 

Some CC members use this particular agent and have sometimes mentioned their initials.

They may not be the cheapest for all Cruises, but for PO they were

 

 

 

 

[SRF]

On 7/5/2020 at 12:57 PM, mayleeman said:

@drsel Just a note on recommendations and even published complimentary articles:

 

I long ago learned to do internet searches for comments about both products and service companies.  I try to choose only those that have many many comments, pro AND con. I then immediately filter to the lowest ratings and read those with an eye to the types of issues I care most about (customer service, reliability, accessibility for follow up, etc).

 

I have found that good companies can have both, but the best companies tend to have responses to criticisms (not just "Please call us"). I have hired highly recommended companies that screwed me because I did not actually call their references (most people don't) or I would have learned those people had later problems.

 

Incidentally, in this way I discovered a "cruise-approved" power strip on Amazon recommended by someone on CC. Almost 1,000 positive ratings, which was unusual for these things. Only 2 negatives, both of which said that "Christine" in Customer Service had solved the problem. Of the first 20 positive ratings, 16 had language praising Christine, and those were in 4 different groups of identical wording.

 

I checked the poster who recommended it here. I think that was their only post. 

 

Reported the fraudulent ratings to Amazon and saw a couple weeks later that the product was no longer there.

 

Anyway, the moral is to be leery of on-line ratings in general, and always realize that your experience can be better--or far worse--than someone else's. I wasn't a Pres Reagan fan, but I do like "Trust--but verify!"

 

I am always leery of comments that name specific people.

 

I have seen that with Trip Advisor.  A restaurant with many high ratings, praising a certain waiter (not always the same one), and typically by people with only 1 or 2 reviews.

 

I saw this at one restaurant in Romania.  I checked, and out of the latest 100 5 star reviews, more than 80 of them were by reviewers with less than 3 reviews, and most of those reviews named specific waiters.

 

And a large number of them stated that they were on holiday, but strangely did not review ANY  other restaurants or attractions.