Amex platinum shipboard credit with out a voucher in cruise tickets

[laminar]

I just got my cruise tickets for the Maasdam Canada New england cruise.

We were told that our $150 ship board credit was in the booking but this time our tickets don't have the voucher printed like the past years.

My TA says that as long HAL has this info in the system i should no be worried about.

Any others with the same scenario??

I do not want to be fighting with the purser on board for my $150 p/p shipboard credit.

Thanks

[garydm]

We received the credit with no problem and no voucher last time. What we did not receive was a voucher or anything for the Pinnacle Grill and that was a bit of a hassle. Keep your TA's phone number handy and call on your cell phone if there is a problem once you board.

 

Gary

[grannynurse]

I wouldn't chance it. Have your TA get a faxed copy from HAL. The ship board crew will dispute the issue with you if you don't have something in writing. Been there, done that....the communication between Seattle and the ships is not very good, to say the least.

GN

[laminar]

I will ask for a fax through my TA.

I do not understand why they do not print those vouchers like in the past.

What a hassle.

Thanks for your help!

[sail7seas]

I would definitely suggest you 'firmly' request your TA handles this prior to your leaving for your cruise. You should have the voucher. Without it, you absolutely can have a problem aboard the ship when you try to get your shipboard credit.

 

Been there and done that. We arrived at a ship once without the voucher after our TA told us the same "don't worry business". We left the ship without the credit being reflected on our final bill. Ultimately, after we returned home, we got it credited to our AmEx account but it took weeks and a number of conversations.

 

Get the voucher. They can Fed Ex it to you/your TA.

 

 

[sail7seas]

I will ask for a fax through my TA.

I do not understand why they do not print those vouchers like in the past.

What a hassle.

Thanks for your help!

 

They do still print the vouchers. They simply did not print and include yours. We had the usual vouchers in our document booklet for our April Ryndam cruise.

[Cruising Illini]

We just received our documents for June 2 and there is a slip of paper (not in the printed tickets) stating that we had XXX total dollars of shipboard credit & this included our Am. Ex. Platinum. It stated that shipboard credits were no longer being included in the docs. We also had 3 other cabins and each of them was given a nice gift card indicating what shipboard credit they were going to receive. I have no worries as long as I have something like this in writing if there should happen to be a problem.

[sail7seas]

I agree.....with that 'slip of paper', I would not worry either. Doesn't much matter exactly what it is they give you as proof of the credit so long as you have something in writing to present to the desk in the event it isn't automatically applied to your accout. It very well might appear on your account without that slip of paper but it's good to have it in the event you need it.

 

Also.....I strongly recommend you make a xerox copy of it in case you have to turn it in at the office and for some reason it gets misplaced. We have always made a copy and on more than one cruise we were happy we did. We needed it and seeing as we had the copy, all was well.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

For our Amsterdam cruise in Mar/Apr, there wasn't a voucher in the documents for the AMEX shipboard credit as we have been accustomed to having in the past. So our TA got faxes from HAL concerning this which we took along with us. When we got on the ship, there was no record of us being AMEX card holders. We had to pay for the first night at the Pinnacle and then after several days, we were reimbursed once it was cleared by the Seattle office. And we had to wait several days before we got our bottle of champagne. Thankfully we had the fax to show our concierge.

 

And the same thing is happening for our cruises in June. Our documents came in last month and once again - no vouchers. Will be taking the faxes along with us.

[iceman93]

Just out of curiousity, are those of you having problems with the vouchers and on-board benefits booking through PTS? Or are you using a third-party TA who has an arrangement with AmEx for the platinum benefits? (I'm not trying to "put down" those who book elsewhere; just trying to see if there's a correlation. I book through PTS and have always had the voucher and never had a hassle getting my benefits.)

[crzn4fun]

I am interested in following this thread because I booked directly through HAL with our new platinum card. I paid the deposit on another card before I applied for the platinum amex. My amex came in a couple of days before my balance was due so I called HAL. They allowed me to cancel the payment on the non-amex card and recharge the deposit plus the balance so I could receive the platinum benefits. I will be watching for some sort of indication of the shipboard credit and Pinnacle dinner in my documents for our July cruise. If nothing is there I will call HAL and ask them to fax something to me.

 

Thanks for all the info. CC is a great place to learn little things like this that can save you time, money and the hassle of having to fix something after the fact. I will know to be prepared.

[sail7seas]

I am interested in following this thread because I booked directly through HAL with our new platinum card. I paid the deposit on another card before I applied for the platinum amex. My amex came in a couple of days before my balance was due so I called HAL. They allowed me to cancel the payment on the non-amex card and recharge the deposit plus the balance so I could receive the platinum benefits. I will be watching for some sort of indication of the shipboard credit and Pinnacle dinner in my documents for our July cruise. If nothing is there I will call HAL and ask them to fax something to me.

 

.

 

The instance I mentioned above when we did not have the AmEx Voucher was one of the last bookings we made with PTS. We used them for a very large number of trips to Europe, Caribbean, domestic and cruises. We became dissatisified with the service we were getting (or not getting is more accurate) and switched to a lcoal brick and mortar.

 

So.......the answer to your question is PTS sent our documents without the AmEx voucher and told us it wouldn't be a problem. Wrong. We had a problem.

[sail7seas]

For our Amsterdam cruise in Mar/Apr, there wasn't a voucher in the documents for the AMEX shipboard credit as we have been accustomed to having in the past. So our TA got faxes from HAL concerning this which we took along with us. When we got on the ship, there was no record of us being AMEX card holders. We had to pay for the first night at the Pinnacle and then after several days, we were reimbursed once it was cleared by the Seattle office. And we had to wait several days before we got our bottle of champagne. Thankfully we had the fax to show our concierge.

 

And the same thing is happening for our cruises in June. Our documents came in last month and once again - no vouchers. Will be taking the faxes along with us.

 

We had the voucher for our April Ryndam cruise. I'll be interested if we get it for our August Maasdam cruise.

[Krazy Kruizers]

iceman93

 

We do not use PTS - have used the same travel agent for years and never had a problem until the Amsterdam cruise. Up until that cruise the vouchers had always been included in our documents.

[ocngypz]

The OBC shows on your HAL invoice to the TA. Have your agent send you the passenger copy.

[sail7seas]

Yes, it is reflected on the original TA confirmation/invoice. But, sometimes the front office does not consider that sufficient.

 

[Krazy Kruizers]

Even though we gave our concierge one of the copies of the fax that our TA got from HAL, she still had to contact the Seattle office await their confirmation.

[sail7seas]

Concierge = Front Office :) ;)

[Krazy Kruizers]

Yes, I am aware that our concierge gave the fax to the front office who in turn contacted Seattle. But why go to the front desk when we have the use of a concierge?;) :)

[sail7seas]

Yes, of course. That is the point of having a Concierge.

 

What I was saying is that (for those who may not be as 'in the know' as you ), that the Concierge is of and from the Front Office. It is the same thing giving any papers to the concierge as it would be to give it to the Front Office. All it does is save footsteps and perhaps standing in a line.

 

[cool change]

I am glad I read this thread. We have booked 3 cruises in the past with amex platinum and we have never received anything letting us know our shipboard credits were confirmed. I book my cruises with an independent travel agent, and at time of booking she claims I will get my credits. I have inquired with her when the docs arrive and she calls Hal. The feedback she gets is that I got such a good price Hal is not honoring it. Huh? I do get good prices from this agent, but it did not occur to me to call Hal myself about this or to ask while sailing. The only reason I have the platinum card is for the travel perks and so far I have not gotten any value.

[Krazy Kruizers]

cool change

 

Sorry to hear that you haven't been able to get the shipboard credit in the past. Apparently you are getting a good price through your travel agent. We have yet to be denied by HAL the shipboard credit.

[sail7seas]

I am glad I read this thread. We have booked 3 cruises in the past with amex platinum and we have never received anything letting us know our shipboard credits were confirmed. I book my cruises with an independent travel agent, and at time of booking she claims I will get my credits. I have inquired with her when the docs arrive and she calls Hal. The feedback she gets is that I got such a good price Hal is not honoring it. Huh? I do get good prices from this agent, but it did not occur to me to call Hal myself about this or to ask while sailing. The only reason I have the platinum card is for the travel perks and so far I have not gotten any value.

 

It is impossible for any of us to know for sure what has happened but there are two possibilities I think of.

 

One is that what the TA says is true.

 

The other is that your TA does not know she has to do two things in order to get your the shipboard credit. She must pay a fee to AmEx yearly (one fee covers for all her clients who use AmExPlat ---not just you) and then she must contact them in order to get a 'tracking number' for your reservation. This tracking number is given to HAL and that is what is needed for them to issue you the voucher for the shipboard credit. You are aware the credit only applies to "S" and "PS" category cabins?

 

The fee the TA must pay that I reference above is only the last year or so and while you may use any TA you wish to book, Am Ex now demands this fee in order for them to get you the Platinum Benefits.

 

There certainly can be something entirely else going on about which I have no clue.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Call and ask her.[

BTW..... Maybe 2 or 3 times in the past, we have been denied the shipboard credit. They have said something similar to what you wrote that our price was so good...... It is a unilateral decision on their part and the small print written somewhere (who know where ? :) ) but says the usual .....some exceptions apply verbage and that is how they can do it.