Please help me understand this TA

[mringenoldus]

I'm either getting very dim in my old age - or this agency is making no sense.

 

Here's the problem:

 

We booked the Coral May 18 itinerary with this agency for an AD cabin at $1372. We chose this agency because they were offering a $100 OBC.

 

The Princess site now shows $1286.

 

I wrote to ask for the price adjustment as we are before final payment. This was their response.

 

"If you want the OBC then it is $1372 if you would opt to go through Princess

directly WITHOUT a shipboard credit it is $1286.48. This promotional item

was through our AGENCY not the cruise line."

 

I readthis as, essentially, we are paying $86 for a $100 credit. Why would anyone pay for their own OBC as a promotional item? This isn't making any sense to me. Can someone help explain?

 

Thanks!

[Colo Cruiser]

I'm either getting very dim in my old age - or this agency is making no sense.

 

Here's the problem:

 

We booked the Coral May 18 itinerary with this agency for an AD cabin at $1372. We chose this agency because they were offering a $100 OBC.

 

The Princess site now shows $1286.

 

I wrote to ask for the price adjustment as we are before final payment. This was their response.

 

"If you want the OBC then it is $1372 if you would opt to go through Princess

directly WITHOUT a shipboard credit it is $1286.48. This promotional item

was through our AGENCY not the cruise line."

 

I readthis as, essentially, we are paying $86 for a $100 credit. Why would anyone pay for their own OBC as a promotional item? This isn't making any sense to me. Can someone help explain?

 

Thanks!

 

They are playing games with you by buying the rate down to the Princess price and offering onboard credit. You could do better by booking it through Princess then having an online agency such as cruise411 take over the booking and applying their discount as well. Or book it directly through cruise411 you cant go wrong either way. :)

[MaryPoppinz]

The $86 is probably an adjustment in the rebate that your TA kicked back to you (out of her commission from Princess) when the fare was $100 higher. Since your fare will now be reduced, her commission will be reduced, and she is not going to rebate as much to you as she would have been willing to do when her commission was a bit higher.

 

Then again, maybe it's something else entirely...........

[Ethel5]

Please be sure that the Princess price includes port and fees. The first pricing you see on their site doesn't.

[Casey12]

You have a situation where Princess dropped the prices below the contracted amount your agency has for their group space. Sometimes, the best prices my agency has is not through their group specials, even factoring in OBC.

 

What they should do is take Princess's amount and discount from there. If they are not willing to do that, I would ask them to transfer the booking to Princess and then you can transfer it to an agency that is willing to work with you better.

[cnmiranda]

Is this for the 4 night Coral Princess coastal cruise? Mini suite? I just did a quick check on a large online agency and pulled up $1309 total for a past Princess passenger, are your prices including tax?

[mringenoldus]

I have been dissatified with this agency from the get go. I received an offer from them on ******compete and took it as it was the best one.

 

Quickly following that, they said the new agent had made an error and upped the price $150. That should have been my first clue to cancel with this agency.

 

I have a great TA and should have used her or ******411 which I also like very much.

 

I would much prefer just paying the true cost of the itinerary. This business of paying more for the same cruise because they are calling it OBC seems ridiculous. If I want to spend $100 on the ship, I can do it when I get there. Calling it a promotional perk seems almost like fraud.

 

I would happily transfer my booking to Princess - but they will charge me $100 to do it. Crazy as it sounds - it almost seems worth it at the moment.

[calikak]

This sounds pretty shady. I would try talking to a new TA and seeing if they can help you transfer the booking. If it can't get straightened out, I'd think about cancelling and rebooking, unless the cruise is really full and you might lose your space.

[Colo Cruiser]

I have been dissatified with this agency from the get go. I received an offer from them on ******compete and took it as it was the best one.

 

Quickly following that, they said the new agent had made an error and upped the price $150. That should have been my first clue to cancel with this agency.

 

I have a great TA and should have used her or ******411 which I also like very much.

 

I would much prefer just paying the true cost of the itinerary. This business of paying more for the same cruise because they are calling it OBC seems ridiculous. If I want to spend $100 on the ship, I can do it when I get there. Calling it a promotional perk seems almost like fraud.

 

I would happily transfer my booking to Princess - but they will charge me $100 to do it. Crazy as it sounds - it almost seems worth it at the moment.

 

Do they have a cancelation fee? If not book what you want elsewhere and cancel your old one. I would not transfer the one you have just start over again if cabins are available elsewhere. :)

[mringenoldus]

They have a $100 cancellation fee. There are no AD minis available except gty at this time. We have a group of cabins together so what ever I do, I can't risk losing this one.

 

The other 3 cabins were booked with my regular TA. We added this one later and only used this darn agency because of the first low quote.

 

Does it do any good to call Princess regarding this?

[negc]

I have been dissatified with this agency from the get go. I received an offer from them on ******compete and took it as it was the best one.

 

Quickly following that, they said the new agent had made an error and upped the price $150. That should have been my first clue to cancel with this agency.

 

I have a great TA and should have used her or ******411 which I also like very much.

 

I would much prefer just paying the true cost of the itinerary. This business of paying more for the same cruise because they are calling it OBC seems ridiculous. If I want to spend $100 on the ship, I can do it when I get there. Calling it a promotional perk seems almost like fraud.

 

 

I would happily transfer my booking to Princess - but they will charge me $100 to do it. Crazy as it sounds - it almost seems worth it at the moment.

 

I am assuming that the "they"who will charge you $100 to transfer your booking is the agency you are dealing with and not Princess. In that case,

instead of transferring it to Princess, why not transfer it to your "great TA" and chalk up the $100 charge to experience. I suspect that the agency you are unhappy with also has a $100 cancellation fee or I'd suggest that you cancel and then rebook with your regular agent. Think of it this way, even if you have to pay them the $100 fee, they lose out on considerably more by losing the commission they would have received if you left the booking with them. That alone might make it worthwhile.

Just consider it as a relatively expensive life lesson that when something seems to good to be true, it usually is.

[mringenoldus]

You're absolutely correct - the crummy agency has the $100 cancellation fee. Can I transfer a booking without cancelling and possibly losing the cabin?

 

I have B431 and consider it a very good location.

 

This has definitely been a lesson for me.

[Colo Cruiser]

You're absolutely correct - the crummy agency has the $100 cancellation fee. Can I transfer a booking without cancelling and possibly losing the cabin?

 

I have B431 and consider it a very good location.

 

This has definitely been a lesson for me.

 

All you have to do is fax Princess a short letter requesting that XXX agency take over the booking immediatley and they will do that. Make sure you include your Princess booking munber in the fax.

 

FAX 661-284-4745 OR

661-753-0182 :)

[mringenoldus]

I'm assuming at that point crummy agency will charge me the $100 - correct?

 

Thanks colo cruiser and others, you've beeen very helpful!!

[critterchick]

If it's only a transfer of the booking, you haven't cancelled the cruise, so unless there's some other fine print, I don't see how the agency can legally collect $100 from you. If they do so, dispute the charge with your credit card company.

[FredS]

The way I read those is that it is a cancellation of the original agency booking. You may only be transfering it to another agency but the original agency looks at it as a cancellation, therefore they charge the cancellation fee their agency has; whatever that might be.

[cactusrose]

Transferring is not canceling. You have the right to transfer your booking, without cancellation fee, anytime you want. Check with Princess. It is against their contracts with the TA to charge a fee for transferring and if they do Princess would like to know about it. I have transferred several bookings in the past. All I did was contact the agency that I wanted to book with and they took care of it. No fees, no fuss.

[babybeluga005]

look at it this way...

you are still coming out $14 ahead.. if you transfer, you lose $114. cancellation fee plus the difference in the credit. just keep it and book with someone else next time. when they upped their price due to a mistake.. you should have gone somewhere else then. i've used ******compete and always came out ahead. had one problem and they worked it out. it gets a little crazy trying to get the best price. we all want to get the most for our money. enjoy the cruise!

[mpdahmer]

I have been dissatified with this agency from the get go. I received an offer from them on ******compete and took it as it was the best one.

 

Quickly following that, they said the new agent had made an error and upped the price $150. That should have been my first clue to cancel with this agency.

 

Do you have any original documentation showing the $150 less. I would fight for that first then transfer your booking. They should have honored their first price even if it was a mistake. If you have any documentation (emails, etc...) I would fight, fight, fight!!!

 

Don't loose that cabin either.

 

Best of luck.

[jlp20]

As I understand the charter of this board, there is to be no advertising of T/A’s or websites. In this case, you are not attempting to throw work towards the original T/A-website. In fact you would be warning readers of the board of who to stay away from due to poor, inexperienced and unprofessional service.

 

Do us all a favor and name the offending agency or website.

[mringenoldus]

Well, maybe I can put it this way....

With this agency it was no "ticket to paradise"

[Coral]

Maureen,

 

Just wanted to say good luck with this situation. In the long run, you will have a fantastic cruise and you can put this experience behind you. It definitely takes situations like these to realize how great we have it (with a good TA)and will keep us straying from the good travel agents in the future. I know I learned this lesson the hard way several years ago.

 

Hope everyone in your family is doing well!

 

Theresa

[flightiebel]

I am a TA in SYD Aus & its funny how many people actually waiver from using us for saving a few dollars but then come back to us to fix the mistakes others have made.My suggestion, once you find a great Ta stick with them cause once you do the benifits they give you in return for loyalty is far greater then saving a few $.

[mringenoldus]

I have realized that I have a mutual understanding with my TA - she always does great work for me and I remain loyal to her as a customer. Lesson learned!

 

Hope your Valentine's Day is filled with good friends and lots of chocolate!

To all you TAs who do such great work......Happy Valentines Day!!