Azamara say cruise isn’t paid for - help please

[Jellifer]

Hi

 

My Dad is due to sail on the Journey Iceland Intensive on 28th June from Amsterdam, booked through a U.K. TA. 
 

They haven’t been able to log into their Azamara account to book excursions etc and put this down to the IT switch. 
 

They got through to someone at Azamara who said they can’t log on as their cruise has not been paid for! TA states they paid Azamara in full in April but aren’t responding when asked for proof. 
 

Parents very concerned that they will be denied boarding but I’m hoping this is another part of the ongoing IT systems issues? 
 

Does anyone have any advice on how they can escalate this to get confirmation they are paid in full and able to check in? They are spending hours phoning Azamara and their TA and getting very stressed. Not a great introduction to them for the brand. 
 

Many thanks 

[Riocca]

UK travel agent should have provided a receipt for the payment when they received it, do they have an online account system which would show that they receive the money?

If it’s one of the big UK agents funds are usually claimed from their holding account by the cruise lines and they are issued with a receipt. 
In the circumstances it’s really down to the travel agent to provide proof that they have paid Azamara, if the can’t or will not then I would be very suspicious of them.

 

[fruitmachine]

12 minutes ago, Jellifer said:

Hi

 

My Dad is due to sail on the Journey Iceland Intensive on 28th June from Amsterdam, booked through a U.K. TA. 
 

They haven’t been able to log into their Azamara account to book excursions etc and put this down to the IT switch. 
 

They got through to someone at Azamara who said they can’t log on as their cruise has not been paid for! TA states they paid Azamara in full in April but aren’t responding when asked for proof. 
 

Parents very concerned that they will be denied boarding but I’m hoping this is another part of the ongoing IT systems issues? 
 

Does anyone have any advice on how they can escalate this to get confirmation they are paid in full and able to check in? They are spending hours phoning Azamara and their TA and getting very stressed. Not a great introduction to them for the brand. 
 

Many thanks 

Are they phoning/visiting the TA (rather than email).  If not, I'd call and escalate to TA management.

 

You have to assume/hope that this is just something that has slipped between stools, but their TA not responding, when asked for something critical that demonstrates they are not to blame, is a concern.

 

I hope that everything works out.

[Jellifer]

Thanks for your thoughts. 

The U.K. agent has received the money but so far hasn’t been able or willing to provide proof that they then paid Azamara back in April. 
 

They have phoned the TA multiple times and I’ve advised them to escalate to management.

 

If they hadn’t been paid surely Azamara would have either cancelled the trip or been in contact weeks ago?

[lenoirm]

We are on the same cruise and had a similar problem with full payment.

Azamara claimed that we owed them $4000. Our TA ( in the USA ) called Azamara and got it corrected.

Our TA always pays the cruise line with a credit card and send us a final notice of full payment.. Your TA is maybe lazy . 

Do you have records of the payment by credit card or bank check? It would convince Azamara of your good faith.

Maybe call Azamara USA ?

 

Good luck

Micheline

[Riocca]

8 minutes ago, Jellifer said:

Thanks for your thoughts. 

The U.K. agent has received the money but so far hasn’t been able or willing to provide proof that they then paid Azamara back in April. 
 

They have phoned the TA multiple times and I’ve advised them to escalate to management.

 

If they hadn’t been paid surely Azamara would have either cancelled the trip or been in contact weeks ago?

Because of the current website and account problems Azamara aren’t cancelling any cruises for non payment, as they resolve the issues who knows for how much longer.

I know it’s against CC rules to name the travel agent but is it one of the big operators or a smaller independent?

[Jellifer]

11 minutes ago, Riocca said:

Because of the current website and account problems Azamara aren’t cancelling any cruises for non payment, as they resolve the issues who knows for how much longer.

I know it’s against CC rules to name the travel agent but is it one of the big operators or a smaller independent?

its a big one i think, used them several times before 

Edited June 14, 2023 by Jellifer

[Riocca]

5 minutes ago, lenoirm said:

We are on the same cruise and had a similar problem with full payment.

Azamara claimed that we owed them $4000. Our TA ( in the USA ) called Azamara and got it corrected.

Our TA always pays the cruise line with a credit card and send us a final notice of full payment.. Your TA is maybe lazy . 

Do you have records of the payment by credit card or bank check? It would convince Azamara of your good faith.

Maybe call Azamara USA ?

 

Good luck

Micheline

U.K. operation is very different from the USA travel agencies are working for the cruise lines not the customer, as such any money has to be held in their account on behalf of the cruise line.

[Jellifer]

6 minutes ago, Riocca said:

Ok you’ll possibly get your post deleted for that under CC rules. But you should be able to see proof of payment online using their booking reference, wish I could say more 🤐

Thanks, removed that reply 

[uktog]

All UK Travel Agents have access to a Business Support team based in the UK.  Call the travel agent and ask them to immediately escalate the issue to the Business Support team who will be able to give them the answer you need.

The problem may well be that the agency hasn't actually passed the money over to Azamara yet, this is part of the agency arrangements UK agents have with cruise lines.  The previous IT system could cope with that, it seems the new one cannot.

I do think though that the agent your parents spoke to at Azamara hadn't done the UK training module and could probably given your parents a more helpful and supportive response including booking their excursions

[travelberlin]

45 minutes ago, Jellifer said:

Thanks for your thoughts. 

The U.K. agent has received the money but so far hasn’t been able or willing to provide proof that they then paid Azamara back in April. 
 

They have phoned the TA multiple times and I’ve advised them to escalate to management.

 

If they hadn’t been paid surely Azamara would have either cancelled the trip or been in contact weeks ago?

Did your parents paid cash to the TA? Or do they have the credit card statement? For me the TA sounds suspicious…

Whenever I pay via my TA, I get a confirmation from Azamara and from my credit card.

Ivi

[uktog]

7 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

Did your parents paid cash to the TA? Or do they have the credit card statement? For me the TA sounds suspicious…

Whenever I pay via my TA, I get a confirmation from Azamara and from my credit card.

Ivi

Nothing suspicious see post #8 

[travelberlin]

6 minutes ago, uktog said:

Nothing suspicious see post #8 

I do not understand that post. Who works for the cruiseline? Who holds the money in which account? Why does the TA does not answer or provide a prove that there was a payment ? 

Edited June 14, 2023 by travelberlin

[uktog]

1 minute ago, travelberlin said:

I do not understand that post. Who works for the cruiseline? Who holds the money in which account? 

In the UK you are the customer of the travel agent. The travel agent is the customer (not the agent) of the cruise line. So the customer pays the travel agent, your card debit is to the agent. At a future agreed time could be right up to the night before the cruise the agency pays the cruise line. The customer is financially protected by their card company and by ABTA bonding. There’s absolutely nothing suspicious about the agency the issue is the new system isn’t recognising the late pay arrangement 

[terry&mike]

10 minutes ago, travelberlin said:

I do not understand that post. Who works for the cruiseline? Who holds the money in which account? 

In the U.S., the client gives their credit card to the TA, and the TA posts the payment directly to the cruise line through the online booking portal (unless the TA is not computer savvy, then they call the cruise line to have the payment posted). The client's card is charged by the cruise line. A confirmation is generated from the cruise line booking portal by the TA, and passed on to the client, showing the payment, and other booking details. 

 

It sounds like in the U.K. that things are different in that the client pays the TA, the funds are held by the TA, and then the TA pays the cruise line from travel agency funds. (This does happen occasionally in the US, but is a red flag that something is amiss when it happens here, as it is not standard.) Edited to add: uktog confirmed this form of payment arrangement while I was posting. 

 

I can see where there would be a problem. Are they close enough to the TA's office to stop in, or to contact the Owner/Manager of this office, to get proof that the TA paid Azamara?  Their agent should be able to access their booking on Azamara's TA portal and start working from that point - I'm guessing that the Balance Due is probably an incorrect amount, due to a system error from the data migration, and that some internal accounting corrections may be necessary to right the booking. 

Edited June 14, 2023 by terry&mike
copy add

[travelberlin]

Just now, uktog said:

In the UK you are the customer of the travel agent. The travel agent is the customer (not the agent) of the cruise line. So the customer pays the travel agent, your card debit is to the agent. At a future agreed time could be right up to the night before the cruise the agency pays the cruise line. The customer is financially protected by their card company and by ABTA bonding. There’s absolutely nothing suspicious about the agency the issue is the new system isn’t recognising the late pay arrangement 

Interesting. Thanks for the Explanation. 

[travelberlin]

Just now, terry&mike said:

In the U.S., the client gives their credit card to the TA, and the TA posts the payment directly to the cruise line through the online booking portal (unless the TA is not computer savvy, then they call the cruise line to have the payment posted). The client's card is charged by the cruise line. A confirmation is generated from the cruise line booking portal by the TA, and passed on to the client, showing the payment, and other booking details. 

 

It sounds like in the U.K. that things are different in that the client pays the TA, the funds are held by the TA, and then the TA pays the cruise line from travel agency funds. (This does happen occasionally in the US, but is a red flag that something is amiss when it happens here, as it is not standard.)

 

I can see where there would be a problem. Are they close enough to the TA's office to stop in, or to contact the Owner/Manager of this office, to get proof that the TA paid Azamara?  Their agent should be able to access their booking on Azamara's TA portal and start working from that point - I'm guessing that the Balance Due is probably an incorrect amount, due to a system error from the data migration, and that some internal accounting corrections may be necessary to right the booking. 

Thank you for this clear explanation. I have learned something new. In Germany it is similar as in the USA.

Ivi

[Grandma Cruising]

If you can’t get any proof from the TA that they have paid Azamara & if the payment was by credit card, it might be worth ringing them, asking to speak to a supervisor then telling them you will be raising a Section 75 chargeback with the credit card company unless you receive the proof within a working day.

[Scolboa]

We have booked b2b cruises with Azamara in April. Our ta has not yet given us our booking ref or invoice saying Azamara keep giving wrong info yet many cruisers have been posting saying they can get online and see the trips ashore etc. others have recently booked and are all ok with their info. Each time we try to get it they say still waiting. Where do I stand?

[norn iron]

9 minutes ago, Scolboa said:

We have booked b2b cruises with Azamara in April. Our ta has not yet given us our booking ref or invoice saying Azamara keep giving wrong info yet many cruisers have been posting saying they can get online and see the trips ashore etc. others have recently booked and are all ok with their info. Each time we try to get it they say still waiting. Where do I stand?

Scolboa, it does sound very strange. My current booking is clearly visible on Az.com and I have all the confirmation documents from my TA.

I did change TA following being messed around during Covid by my previous. So far so good.

 

Did you book with a local TA or a national chain?

[Grandma Cruising]

1 hour ago, Scolboa said:

We have booked b2b cruises with Azamara in April. Our ta has not yet given us our booking ref or invoice saying Azamara keep giving wrong info yet many cruisers have been posting saying they can get online and see the trips ashore etc. others have recently booked and are all ok with their info. Each time we try to get it they say still waiting. Where do I stand?

I’d ring Azamara myself!

[Scolboa]

Booked with a national ta. Thanks for your help. I will ring Azamara

[fruitmachine]

3 minutes ago, Scolboa said:

Booked with a national ta. Thanks for your help. I will ring Azamara

I found that Azamara were unable to look up my booking without me giving them the booking reference number.  I was very surprised, as this didn't sound credible, but if you get the same response then you'll know that it's not just you.

 

I didn't follow it up as my TA sent the booking reference the next day.