Bumped from Cunard Cruise

[Nick&Simon]

It seems pretty obvious that the TA failed to remit the payment to Cunard on time or in an appropriate manner and therefore Cunard cancelled the booking. The TA has said as much in stating a new software glitch and not pointing the finger of blame at Cunard.

The TA has a number of weeks to work on getting a stateroom. Which experience tells most of us I think is highly possible, especially if the TA works proactively with Cunard. I think encouraging that is the approach @Nm hehappysailing should be pushing their TA to take rather that seeking to allocate blame or threatening legal action is the way to go. Escalate through the TA, ask them what they are actually doing? Who are they speaking to at Cunard to get you bumped up that waitlist? Where are you on the waitlist? How often are the TA checking availability? Have they asked Cunard for multijurisdictional inventory? What classes of cabins have they waitlisted you for? 

I would take solace in the fact the TA has not refunded the payment and the booking remains open in their system. Signs they are working on a resolution.

As a cautionary tale, even if a card charge shows as "Cunard" I would not assume your voyage has been paid unless you get a written confirmation of final payment from Cunard. I have had an occasion where a TA allocated the payment to the wrong booking. Luckily I always check on TA bookings before the payment deadline. I go onto the Cunard site, go to Pay My Balance and enter the booking details. If it says "Fully Paid" all is good, it is says "Contract your Travel Agent" it isn't fully paid.

[Nick&Simon]

As an aside, the question to ask your TA is "is this a net rate booking?" that meaning you are paying the fare to the TA and not direct to the cruise line. 

[daisybel]

I agree with Nick  and Simon. Your TA could have made a genuine error in not paying on time or finishing and authorising the payment process  . Your TA should therefore still have your money so would work with them  and your TA should be also working closely with Cunard. You say big Agency, they should have a preferred relationship with Cunard  and make this problem a priority. Good Luck. I am sure it will eventually be sorted 

[Se1lad]

If not done so already, I’d raise a formal complaint with the TAs customer service team.  
 

I had an issue with my TA last year - they’re quite a large company with multiple agents working for them, and for the first time I had a poor experience.  It was quickly resolved when I escalated it.

[Windsurfboy]

I would also let them know,  if it would be acceptable to you , you would compromise  at last resort with a change of cabin between sectors, better than no cruise.  However this would be a significant negative  and expect compensation either money,  or a very significant upgrade.

[Nm hehappysailing]

4 hours ago, Nick&Simon said:

It seems pretty obvious that the TA failed to remit the payment to Cunard on time or in an appropriate manner and therefore Cunard cancelled the booking. The TA has said as much in stating a new software glitch and not pointing the finger of blame at Cunard.

The TA has a number of weeks to work on getting a stateroom. Which experience tells most of us I think is highly possible, especially if the TA works proactively with Cunard. I think encouraging that is the approach @Nm hehappysailing should be pushing their TA to take rather that seeking to allocate blame or threatening legal action is the way to go. Escalate through the TA, ask them what they are actually doing? Who are they speaking to at Cunard to get you bumped up that waitlist? Where are you on the waitlist? How often are the TA checking availability? Have they asked Cunard for multijurisdictional inventory? What classes of cabins have they waitlisted you for? 

I would take solace in the fact the TA has not refunded the payment and the booking remains open in their system. Signs they are working on a resolution.

As a cautionary tale, even if a card charge shows as "Cunard" I would not assume your voyage has been paid unless you get a written confirmation of final payment from Cunard. I have had an occasion where a TA allocated the payment to the wrong booking. Luckily I always check on TA bookings before the payment deadline. I go onto the Cunard site, go to Pay My Balance and enter the booking details. If it says "Fully Paid" all is good, it is says "Contract your Travel Agent" it isn't fully paid.

Yep - thank you . I was way overly trusting & wrongly assumed that the money I paid the TA would quickly if not immediately go to Cunard .  Didn’t know to check Cubards ‘pay my balance ‘ & just thought from the TAs email that read it was fully paid , on time and confirmed , here’s your cabin & Cunard booking number -please log in & personalise your cruise - which I did 6 weeks ago, selected Open dining , notes on the onshore tours etc etc .  When were they going to tell me I didn’t have a cabin - when I had flown to Italy and standing on the dock ?  Sorry / I’m just so upset .  I’m taking the TAs word for it, that they’re actively working on resolving it BUT I am wondering if there are officers in Cunard i can email as well as the TA to beg I’m placed at the top of the waiting list, for a cabin I booked last November 

[Nick&Simon]

Obviously the TA will have much more influence with Cunard. A couple of questions to try and help:

 

1. When did you connect the TA about the issue?

 

2. My assumption is that this was part of a package including something other than the cruise (air; hotel; transfers; tours)?

 

 

[david63]

25 minutes ago, Nm hehappysailing said:

 I’m taking the TAs word for it, that they’re actively working on resolving it

As has been said before you need to be talking with somebody high up the chain in the travel agency - not a front line operative.

[3rdGenCunarder]

21 minutes ago, Nm hehappysailing said:

Yep - thank you . I was way overly trusting & wrongly assumed that the money I paid the TA would quickly if not immediately go to Cunard .  Didn’t know to check Cubards ‘pay my balance ‘ & just thought from the TAs email that read it was fully paid , on time and confirmed , here’s your cabin & Cunard booking number -please log in & personalise your cruise - which I did 6 weeks ago, selected Open dining , notes on the onshore tours etc etc .  When were they going to tell me I didn’t have a cabin - when I had flown to Italy and standing on the dock ?  Sorry / I’m just so upset .  I’m taking the TAs word for it, that they’re actively working on resolving it BUT I am wondering if there are officers in Cunard i can email as well as the TA to beg I’m placed at the top of the waiting list, for a cabin I booked last November 

 

You said it's a large agency. So have you spoken to anyone other than the original agent? A supervisor? Customer service? Ask what, specifically, they're doing. Don't accept "we're working on it." Ask "HOW?" Are they holding cabins on the available segments to at least get a start on solving this? What conversations have they had with Cunard? 

 

 

[Nm hehappysailing]

31 minutes ago, Nick&Simon said:

Obviously the TA will have much more influence with Cunard. A couple of questions to try and help:

 

1. When did you connect the TA about the issue?

 

2. My assumption is that this was part of a package including something other than the cruise (air; hotel; transfers; tours)?

 

 

1. I couldn’t log into My Cunard Wednesday night so called Cunard Thursday morning 9am who could see my name on the system but referred me to my TA. I rang TA at 9.10am who then looked up my name & replied I can’t discuss your Trip, your consultant has to. She returned my call at 2.30pm , starting with ,”im so sorry to tell you this .,. “.   6 weeks after my cabin was fully paid for.!

2. I only paid for the cruise with the TA.  We booked the return flights, hotels , Airbnb etc in Italy & Paris  ourselves   to extend the four week holiday to six weeks , with the 28day cruise being the key destination 

[Nm hehappysailing]

28 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

You said it's a large agency. So have you spoken to anyone other than the original agent? A supervisor? Customer service? Ask what, specifically, they're doing. Don't accept "we're working on it." Ask "HOW?" Are they holding cabins on the available segments to at least get a start on solving this? What conversations have they had with Cunard? 

 

 

Thanks I’ve stayed polite so far , but I do wonder who I can contact within that travel agency .  I hope linkdn might give me some insight to both the TA and Cunard to beg to be number 1 on the list .

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 minutes ago, Nm hehappysailing said:

I rang TA at 9.10am who then looked up my name & replied I can’t discuss your Trip, your consultant has to. She returned my call at 2.30pm , starting with ,”im so sorry to tell you this .,. “.   6 weeks after my cabin was fully paid for.!

 

Right then, I'd be asking to speak to a supervisor. No, knowing me, in that situation I would have been demanding, not asking. If your agent wasn't available when you called, then there should have been someone you could have spoken to. You had a serious concern and should not have had to wait more than 5 hours to speak to someone about it.

 

Keep calling them to ask for updates. And if they continue to blame the software glitch point out that THEIR software should not be YOUR problem.

 

I wish I could give you a contact at Cunard, but I don't know any. I know it's frustrating, but probably not much will happen over the weekend. I would try calling Cunard anyway. Ask to speak to a supervisor because a regular agent will just say they can't talk to you since you have a TA. But a good supervisor might be able to tell you what kind of options there are in a situation like yours. 

[Nm hehappysailing]

So far conversations with Cunard Australia have sounded like they’ve diverted to the typical OS call centre with no authority at all

[LadyL1]

I am afraid with any travel agency booking in any country, Cunard will always refer you to those you have booked with. As said, you might have to persevere to get to a supervisor.

If the travel agency has a Facebook page, it might be worth contacting them through iMessaging. If you can post on their site, say you will be posting this sorry saga, as anything is worth a try.

I am sure in Australia all these companies must have employers liability insurance, so if they have to put you in the grills, it will not be a hardship to them if they want to claim.

Maybe threaten a sob story for the local press, if they continue to drag their feet!

I really hope for a great outcome on this for you.

[stan01]

34 minutes ago, Nm hehappysailing said:

So far conversations with Cunard Australia have sounded like they’ve diverted to the typical OS call centre with no authority at all

 

Now that you know the problem is that the travel agency did not pay Cunard there really isn't anything a Cunard Australia phone rep will be able to do for you.  The travel agency, which you said is large, has a lot of work ahead of them to coordinate a resolution with Cunard around the world.  They may need to move other passengers for example.  The answer you got back from the travel agency that said "many of us here are working on it" is the right one for a few more days.  The travel agency can't fix it without a lot of help from Cunard, which they should be able to leverage because they are a large agency.  I'd be clear on your expectation:  you are on for the full 28 days with your friends and matching what you already have air and lodging arrangements for.  Make sure they understand that's what you expect.  Keep in touch, but it could take days (not counting weekends when key people are not in the office) if not over a week to fix it.

Edited August 3 by stan01

[Winifred 22]

On 8/1/2024 at 5:14 PM, King Amo said:

Indeed, and we've discussed this before too. I paid my TA for our latest trip, and the bank statement shows them rather than Cunard. Nothing is cut and dried here. 

Did they ever pay Cunard or just paid them late ? Have you if checked the TA has a presence on X( Twitter ) Do you have the equivalent of Companies House Register in Australia. In UK you can get Director’s Names and addresses freely available on the web. If so look up Director and send letter recorded delivery. Do they have names on letterheads that could help go down LinkedIn route. 

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, stan01 said:

 

Now that you know the problem is that the travel agency did not pay Cunard there really isn't anything a Cunard Australia phone rep will be able to do for you.  The travel agency, which you said is large, has a lot of work ahead of them to coordinate a resolution with Cunard around the world.  They may need to move other passengers for example.  The answer you got back from the travel agency that said "many of us here are working on it" is the right one for a few more days.  The travel agency can't fix it without a lot of help from Cunard, which they should be able to leverage because they are a large agency.  I'd be clear on your expectation:  you are on for the full 28 days with your friends and matching what you already have air and lodging arrangements for.  Make sure they understand that's what you expect.  Keep in touch, but it could take days (not counting weekends when key people are not in the office) if not over a week to fix it.

IF the monies weren't paid on time it is purely the agent's problem and on a full ship, I wouldn't expect any existing passengers to be moved as it wouldn't be Cunard or their existing paid up passengers' fault.

 

Personally, I would now be by passing agents and demanding access to the CEO/boss with the threat of legal proceedings if no one is prepared to have a detailed conversation  on what happened and what the company intends to do about it.

If no cabins ae forthcoming on the booked cruise, I would be expecting all monies paid out for the whole trip, to be paid and icing on the cake would be compensation but that might be an ask too far.

 

Either way, it does re-enforce the idea of a whole packaged trip rather than self and agent bookings.

 

 

[Winifred 22]

1 hour ago, stan01 said:

 

Now that you know the problem is that the travel agency did not pay Cunard there really isn't anything a Cunard Australia phone rep will be able to do for you.  The travel agency, which you said is large, has a lot of work ahead of them to coordinate a resolution with Cunard around the world.  They may need to move other passengers for example.  The answer you got back from the travel agency that said "many of us here are working on it" is the right one for a few more days.  The travel agency can't fix it without a lot of help from Cunard, which they should be able to leverage because they are a large agency.  I'd be clear on your expectation:  you are on for the full 28 days with your friends and matching what you already have air and lodging arrangements for.  Make sure they understand that's what you expect.  Keep in touch, but it could take days (not counting weekends when key people are not in the office) if not over a week to fix it.

You can’t expect Cunard to move existing booked passengers or expect them to give up their booked and fully paid for cabins because a T A has  made a mistake and not paid over funds in a timely manner according to agreed T and C’s. It is for the TA to sort out whatever financially needs to be done in terms of a better cabin or refund. It’s not other Cunard’s passengers’s problem and should not be made to be however harsh that seems. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

8 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

IF the monies weren't paid on time it is purely the agent's problem and on a full ship, I wouldn't expect any existing passengers to be moved as it wouldn't be Cunard or their existing paid up passengers' fault.

 

Personally, I would now be by passing agents and demanding access to the CEO/boss with the threat of legal proceedings if no one is prepared to have a detailed conversation  on what happened and what the company intends to do about it.

If no cabins ae forthcoming on the booked cruise, I would be expecting all monies paid out for the whole trip, to be paid and icing on the cake would be compensation but that might be an ask too far.

 

Either way, it does re-enforce the idea of a whole packaged trip rather than self and agent bookings.

 

 

 

OP has six weeks planned, and the cruise is only four 4 weeks. There's a limit to how much Cunard or a TA will book for you. I doubt they'll do rental cars or Air B&B.

 

I always make up my own package, which is why I always insure independently, not through the cruise line. 

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 minute ago, Winifred 22 said:

You can’t expect Cunard to move existing booked passengers or expect them to give up their booked and fully paid for cabins because a T A has  made a mistake and not paid over funds in a timely manner according to agreed T and C’s. It is for the TA to sort out whatever financially needs to be done in terms of a better cabin or refund. It’s not other Cunard’s passengers’s problem and should not be made to be however harsh that seems. 

 

It isn't Cunard's responsibility to fix this, although I hope they do try to help the TA make things right. The only way that moving an existing booking to a different cabin would be justifiable would be if it that booking was only one segment (and a comparable/better cabin was available), and it would give OP the whole cruise in the same cabin. But even that is unlikely to happen. People can shift cabins between segments and from what I've read here, it works smoothly. 

 

Right now, about all Cunard can do is hold cabins for the segments that are not sold out and put OP at the top of whatever waitlist there is for the remaining segments. 

[Megabear2]

2 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

OP has six weeks planned, and the cruise is only four 4 weeks. There's a limit to how much Cunard or a TA will book for you. I doubt they'll do rental cars or Air B&B.

 

I always make up my own package, which is why I always insure independently, not through the cruise line. 

 

I agree.  With the best will in the world the agent can only do so much.  I did a three month trip round US attending music concerts which took in lots of cars, trains and planes before sailing home on QM2.  Turned up in Tampa to check into my hotel which was a Hard Rock and discovered the company who provide the rooms to the agent had booked my room in Hollywood, Florida rather than the Tampa Fairgrounds.  Due to the concert no rooms available in a 20 mile radius so I slept in the car!  I'd add my voucher etc showed quite clearly the Tampa hotel and had been issued to my agent as such.

 

Now I book those elements myself as even the best travel agent is relying on a third party provider.  

[Victoria2]

9 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

OP has six weeks planned, and the cruise is only four 4 weeks. There's a limit to how much Cunard or a TA will book for you. I doubt they'll do rental cars or Air B&B.

 

I always make up my own package, which is why I always insure independently, not through the cruise line. 

 

I too doubt a package would include car rentals or Air B&B but flights hotels and cruise could be packaged by an agent, or at least it can be in the UK.

 

[Victoria2]

25 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

I agree.  With the best will in the world the agent can only do so much.  I did a three month trip round US attending music concerts which took in lots of cars, trains and planes before sailing home on QM2.  Turned up in Tampa to check into my hotel which was a Hard Rock and discovered the company who provide the rooms to the agent had booked my room in Hollywood, Florida rather than the Tampa Fairgrounds.  Due to the concert no rooms available in a 20 mile radius so I slept in the car!  I'd add my voucher etc showed quite clearly the Tampa hotel and had been issued to my agent as such.

 

Now I book those elements myself as even the best travel agent is relying on a third party provider.  

Your three month roving the US is slightly different from a six week holiday land and sea.

 

After our one and only agent booked hotel decades ago when we were booked 'run of house' which translated into a broom cupboard of a room, we learnt our lesson and took cheapest hotels on offer, then booked our own direct.

Costs the binned hotel room but we get something to our own spec.

[stan01]

50 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

IF the monies weren't paid on time it is purely the agent's problem and on a full ship, I wouldn't expect any existing passengers to be moved as it wouldn't be Cunard or their existing paid up passengers' fault.

 

 

The travel agency should be working with Cunard on SOLUTIONS and what is possible.  Would some passengers switch rooms if offered a $300 on board credit?  Absolutely some people would.  You might not, but many would.  That's one way the agency and Cunard could get the original room back.  While hopefully not common, I'm sure it happens often enough that Cunard knows what's possible.  We don't know what happens behind the scenes, but people do get complementary upgrades.  Is that because they are lucky or is it because Cunard is trying to fix a problem?

 

OP doesn't need to solve the problem for the agency and Cunard.  They will figure it out, and since the cruise is still weeks away there will almost certainly be things that can be done that none of us have visibility into.  People are assuming the cruise is fully booked; maybe so but that doesn't mean Cunard doesn't have rooms "on hold" for many different reasons.

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 minute ago, Victoria2 said:

Your three month roving the US is slightly different from a six week holiday land and sea.

 

After our one and only agent booked hotel decades ago when we were booked 'run of house' which translated into a broom cupboard of a room, we learnt our lesson and took cheapest hotels on offer, then booked our own direct.

Costs the binned hotel room but we get something to our own spec.

 

WAY back, before internet or cell phones, I would call (early AM my time for lower rates) to make bookings for hotels and theater tickets. ONE time, I thought, oh let the TA book our first night in a hotel. She had booked the WB TA and our air, so I wanted the first night settled. Back then, we would just show up at the "i" and make a B&B booking that way.

 

Well, the TA forgot that our flight was overnight. She booked the hotel for our day of departure, not the day of arrival. DH got us to Portsmouth and managed to park the car in the postage-stamp lot behind the inn. "Oh!" they said, "You were a no-show last night." Unfortunately, they were full, but they very kindly found us somewhere else (Holiday Inn, not as charming, but it was somewhere to stay).

 

And I've booked my own hotel stays ever since.