Travel Agent Oversight

[diamonddsq]

When my travel agent described the cruise to me in April she said it included the Premium Drink Package...

when I paid the remainder amount in June, I received confirmation that I will be receiving the Premium Drink packages. 

Princess Cruises confirms to me that I'm receiving the lower package called "Plus". 

I contact agent she says Princess changed their drink package names and not to be worried and she would make a correction if need be. 

Today I was told by her that I'd have to pay addition fees for the Premium package...

 

What do you think I should do? 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

7 minutes ago, diamonddsq said:

When my travel agent described the cruise to me in April she said it included the Premium Drink Package...

when I paid the remainder amount in June, I received confirmation that I will be receiving the Premium Drink packages. 

Princess Cruises confirms to me that I'm receiving the lower package called "Plus". 

I contact agent she says Princess changed their drink package names and not to be worried and she would make a correction if need be. 

Today I was told by her that I'd have to pay addition fees for the Premium package...

 

What do you think I should do? 

 

If you’ve got the original TA’s invoice AND the original cruise line invoice and they both say that you have the better package, nicely remind them that your fare included it and you want what all items in your contract.

Hopefully, you used a TA who is a registered “seller of travel” in California (and/or Florida). Even if you don’t live in California, you can nicely explain to the TA that, if you don’t get your package, you will file a complaint with the CA Secretary of State (as well as with whoever in your home state monitors TAs). Add that you intend to also contact each of the major network news consumer advocates with your complaint (that alone usually gets any reasonable complaint quickly addressed by a TA.   AND, if all else fails, contact syndicated Travel Writer/ombudsman Chris Elliott (elliott.org). His crew can be extremely persuasive. 

[pris993]

Have you checked the difference between the two packages?  The reason I say this, I would guess you would be just as happy with the Princess Plus.  Why fight about something that may not make a difference to you?  Plus coverages all drinks up to $12, plus tips, special coffees, water.  I found the plus is more than adequate, doubt I would order any differently, even if I had the premium package.  

[klfrodo]

Do you have anything in writing from the TA?

If so, ask the TA to pay the difference with the written word as leverage.

If nothing is in writing, then nothing was ever said, and you need to pay the difference and learn from this.

And change TA for next travel opportunities.

[t&atravel]

17 hours ago, diamonddsq said:

When my travel agent described the cruise to me in April she said it included the Premium Drink Package...

when I paid the remainder amount in June, I received confirmation that I will be receiving the Premium Drink packages. 

Princess Cruises confirms to me that I'm receiving the lower package called "Plus". 

I contact agent she says Princess changed their drink package names and not to be worried and she would make a correction if need be. 

Today I was told by her that I'd have to pay addition fees for the Premium package...

 

What do you think I should do? 

 

The new Princess “Premium” package did not exist prior to June 25th 2022.  The “Plus” package is what you would have bought and paid for prior to that date.  Unfortunately Princess used a name for their new package that already existed for the stand alone drink package and had been using the premium name on the documents when plus was purchased.  This caused confusion for a lot of people.  It was not the fault of the TA this was a poor naming convention.  You paid for plus, you got plus.  You can upgrade to premium for a price.

 

From Princess premier package T&C FAQ #11

 

The beverage package for Princess Plus used to be called Premier Beverage Package. The drinks package included in Princess Plus is now called Plus Beverage Package. Does it include everything that was in the previous package?
Yes. The contents of the Plus Beverage Package are exactly what the previous beverage package for Princess Plus had. The only change is the name.

 

Edited September 5, 2022 by t&atravel

[klfrodo]

3 hours ago, t&atravel said:

  This caused confusion for a lot of people.  It was not the fault of the TA this was a poor naming convention.  You paid for plus, you got plus.  You can upgrade to premium for a price.

 

Isn't it the TA's job to know this or have this information when selling a product?

It's certainly not the customers fault. The TA has the opportunity to "make it right" with a small OBC, or an offer to go 50/50, or some small gesture. And, if not, the customer has the opportunity to take their business elsewhere.

[t&atravel]

2 minutes ago, klfrodo said:

Isn't it the TA's job to know this or have this information when selling a product?

It's certainly not the customers fault. The TA has the opportunity to "make it right" with a small OBC, or an offer to go 50/50, or some small gesture. And, if not, the customer has the opportunity to take their business elsewhere.

Not in this instance at least based on what the OP said in his first post.  The package was described by the TA when he booked in APRIL!  What she told the OP was correct at the time.  The new package did not exist in APRIL.  Why should the TA take any responsibility for Princess changing their their package names two months later?

[ldubs]

7 hours ago, t&atravel said:

Not in this instance at least based on what the OP said in his first post.  The package was described by the TA when he booked in APRIL!  What she told the OP was correct at the time.  The new package did not exist in APRIL.  Why should the TA take any responsibility for Princess changing their their package names two months later?

 

That is a good point about the name change.  In my mind, a good TA should have been able to explain the name change.  Even if that meant a little research and getting back to the customer.   If that had happened this would not have been an issue.  

Edited September 6, 2022 by ldubs