Res Cancelled!

[Nobbi]

I'm a cruise neophyte who will be taking his first cruise at the end of the month. Therefore, I'd like to pose a question to the experts about something that just happened to me.

 

At the beginning of September I researched a cruise price by using an internet site where different agencies email you quotes on a particular cruise. I got offers from several different agencies, generally ranging from around $6.9k to $7.3k. One, however, had a quote for 5k.

 

I called the agency, spoke with a nice agent, and booked the cruise by paying the deposit. The same day, I received an urgent email from the agent saying there had been a teriible mistake and his worker had messed up on pricing. He now came back with a much higher price. I let him know that I'd gotten lower bids and he tried to match them but couldn't quite. Being the sucker I am, I still booked with him. I thought I'd be paying about $6.5 k, but the final bill was $7.5k. (Honestly, I didn't even realize this till today!)

 

Today, a month and 2 days later, I receive an email that my deposit was declined and that the cruise line had cancelled our reservation. Now we were "waitlisted" for our mini-suite. And I should call the agent.

 

Indeed, it seems that all those cabins in that category are now sold out (Sailing date beg. Sep 2007).

 

I just emailed the agent to forget it and am getting new quotes. A month later, prices have risen. A balcony which was $5.8k now is now $6k.

 

 

Whenever I have ordered travel (flights, hotels) or marchandise I have always been notified either immediately or at least within 2-3 d, that a charge had been declined. We now have lost our mini-suite. Perhaps it's a good thing. A balcony will save us money and be just fine.

 

But still. Any suggestions (other than book with someone else and enjoy!!!)??:p (Don't really know what I'm asking--just a little frustrated.)

 

Nobbi

[BaumD]

I'd contact the credit card company and see if they declined the charge.

[cherylandtk]

About all I can for certain is that this is not a common occurance. It may just be that the agency is a complete mess. But there are many other questions that come to mind:

Did you ever get a booking number?

Did you get a mailed/emailed itinerary with cabin numbers?

Did you go online to the cruise line site and see your booking?

How was this deposit paid?

Did it ever show up on your account records?(CC or bank)

Did you happen to have another reservation for the same cruise with a different agency--perhaps one of the other agents you spoke with?

Which cruise line? and is this a unique itinerary?

 

Normally a deposit for a cruise is processed within a day and you receive an itinerary, a confirmation and a booking number right away. It is also not normal to be sold out in a category a year in advance, but some specialized itineraries do.

 

You probably still have time to look for a better rate. In most cases, you can book directly with the cruise line, then transfer your booking to a discount TA with the better rate at a later date and still keep the room(s) you booked but get the better price.

[vmom]

I must be missing something but I wonder why your deposit was declined. I wonder if the Travel agency you used didn't get the deposit in on time.

 

Definately use a different TA. Since you are a newbie, I'd also recommend you look for one at an office where you can talk to a real person.

 

Is there a travel agency office in your area that does alot of cruise business? You need a TA who you can have enough of a relationship with that the TA will be able to answer questions and have your interests in mind. The internet groups just mass sell cruises and are fine for those who have been through this before.

[newmexicoNita]

I would, first make certain there is no charges on your CC, next cancel with the agent and third get a live agent. I know checkint inter net agents can often save you money and some are very reliable, but is this case you have learned not all are. It is worth a few extra dollars to contact a company that specializes in cruises. I can't give out names here, but look in the Sunday paper or your local phone book. Sometimes trying to save a few dollars (in your case more than a few) can cost you, as you are finding out. The difference between $5000 and $6500 should have been a clue something wasn't quite right.

 

NMnita

[nparmelee]

Sounds to me like a bait and switch operation and I would run, not walk, away from them. I would second the suggestion of contacting your cc company and see if they ever even received the request. I doubt it. I would then file as many bad reviews on the internet as possible about this agency to warn others. As far as this specific cruise goes, check the cruiselines web site for suggested Travel Agents and try to contact them and see if they can help you out. Many lines have wait lists and if the cruise is more days out than final payment is due, there may be openings when final payment is needed.

[Nobbi]

First, thank you for all your answers. I'll try to address the issues without quoting each post and maiking 5 different posts. (I've never mastered the cutting and pasting and bb codes. Actually I'm too lazy!)

 

Yes, I got a booking number and even signed on to the xx cruise line site to register all my passport info.

 

I got emailed a confirmation page with the conf number and all the info.

 

The deposit was paid with a visa card. It was one of 2 i have--not sure which one. But neither posted a charge. None would have declined it. But I did not call either one.

 

I have/had not made a duplicate res with another agency.

 

Should I really post the line?

 

It's "unique" in that it is a repositioning. (I checked on the cruiseline site and it is now waitlisted for the jr suites.)

 

 

I did talk to a real person but on the phone. I believed him, when he told me about the first "error". The explanation was that the worker bee forgot to change the "number of days" field in the computer, thus giving a lower rate.

 

Although I am a cruise neophyte, I'm not a travel newbie. I am on flyertalk, get lots of miles on airlines, book all of our travel online, etc.

 

About using the paper and avoiding the mass agents. I do not think that the agent I found was a total fraud--just dumb! The original error was ok. But if my cc company declined the deposit, they should have contacted me immediately, not a month later, when my cabin choice had sold out. (Yes, the $1000 to $1500 difference should have given me a clue. But then, I can get a DL biz tix from the US to europe for half the prize of most other carriers biz tix.)

 

Finally, I don't think it's permitted to bash (or even mention) agents on this site. I'd be happy to do so just to share the info. I do not think it was a trick, just incompetence x 2. In the end it may be good: we can get the balcony stateroom. I will call another agent tomorrow. We probably don't need a suite.

 

Thanks again. Feel free to post more ideas, though! :)

[Sprocket]

I tried the same bidding site a few months ago. When I called the agent minutes after receiving the quote I was told that he could not honor the price:confused:

 

I was told the rate had gone up in the 2 minutes since I got the email. I booked with another online agency, ended up with a better price and an agent that I felt comfortable with.

 

Bev

[newmexicoNita]

Sounds to me like a bait and switch operation and I would run, not walk, away from them. I would second the suggestion of contacting your cc company and see if they ever even received the request. I doubt it. I would then file as many bad reviews on the internet as possible about this agency to warn others. As far as this specific cruise goes, check the cruiselines web site for suggested Travel Agents and try to contact them and see if they can help you out. Many lines have wait lists and if the cruise is more days out than final payment is due, there may be openings when final payment is needed.

your ideas are all great and I would agree but none of the forums will allow you to post the name of your TA or the company. Well, I am not sure about TripAdvisor, but the ones most of us pay the closest attention to.

[cherylandtk]

Nobbi,

 

Its OK to post the cruiseline; that way the most experienced cruisers can tell you how things usually operate. But you are right about not posting the agent information.

 

Since you had a booking at one time, its hard to know what happened, but to me it sounds as if the credit card company is involved. I suggest you start with them and find out if the charge was ever attempted. Perhaps the TA transposed a digit or two and the deposit could not be processed (this makes sense if the charge never hit your acounts). Or perhaps they saw this as a potentially fraudulent unexpected large charge and could not reach you (is your phone number current with them?) to confirm it.

 

If that does not resove the issue I would next call the TA and ask what they mean by "the deposit was declined" By whom? is the next question. This may require a three way call between you, the TA and the cruiseline all on the phone simultaneously, but somebody will have a record of what happened and why. It is odd that it took a month for them to get back to you, especially since you accessed the booking at some time after the initial deposit. It sounds more as if the deposit was made, accepted and then later cancelled. But until you check carefully with your credit card account to determine if the charge was never received vs. charged and then credited back, you won't know.

 

You can try to speak to the cruiseline directly--since this booking no longer exists they might tell you what happened, or they might say to just talk with the TA. But it existed at one time and you need to find out why it was cancelled and who originated the cancellation; TA, credit card or cruiseline.

[Nobbi]

Sounds to me like a bait and switch operation .........

 

 

Well, guess what. I ran my request back thru the web site and lo and behold the same agency came back with the lowest price, way lower for the balcony than the others and they even have a price for the jr suite. It does not say waitlisted (as all the others do) plus it's $5500 for the suite whereas they had booked the same cat fot $7500 before. All the other quotes are around $6000 for the balcony.

 

And it is a Princess cruise, the grand on Sep2, 2007.

 

 

I haven't called them yet. But they should have made that pricing error a second time!

 

I may post this on the frequent flyer board I have been using for over 5 years. They have a small cruise sub-section.

[broberts]

Well, guess what. I ran my request back thru the web site and lo and behold the same agency came back with the lowest price, way lower for the balcony than the others and they even have a price for the jr suite. It does not say waitlisted (as all the others do) plus it's $5500 for the suite whereas they had booked the same cat fot $7500 before. All the other quotes are around $6000 for the balcony.

 

Sure is begining to sound like a bait and switch. In addition to the good suggestions made in previous responses, you might also want to check the web site you used to solicit the quotations. If they are interested in staying in business they should have a means of reporting TA who use questionable practices when bidding.

[Cruzman]

Sure is begining to sound like a bait and switch. In addition to the good suggestions made in previous responses, you might also want to check the web site you used to solicit the quotations. If they are interested in staying in business they should have a means of reporting TA who use questionable practices when bidding.

 

Those are my thoughts exactly. I understand that this "umbrella" type company has many members and they must maintain certain standards of behavior in order to sustain their membership. I'd definitely report the problems that have been discussed here! Reputable Travel Agencies carry insurance to protect them from the type of "errors" we've been talking about, or so I've been led to believe.

[cherylandtk]

Nobbie,

Book directly with Princess today, all minis are waitlisted and only the balcony BC is open for booking.

 

You can transfer the booking to a TA and get a lower price after you take the time to shop around. Best price I saw, including all taxes and fees is $5976.42 for the BC. Princess wants ~ $6500 as of today. We cannot recommend actual TA's on this board, so I cannot tell you which one I would use, but this is a reputable, high-volume agency who advertises on the CC pages.

 

I would not trust going back to the first agency. Burned once, shame on them. Burned twice, shame on you.

[Aquahound]

Nobbi, take the advise of the last post and book directly with the cruise line. It's always better to just play it safe. On your first post, I suspected it was a scam. When you came back again, I knew it was.

Listen, a couple years ago, laws were passed forbidding internet and other travel companies from advertising prices lower than the cruise lines advertised price. That's why all the internet sites are now about the same price as the cruise lines. Stay away from that place your talking about and go direct with Princess!!!

[Nobbi]

Again. Thanks everyone for all your suggestions.

 

First, some good news. I rebooked with another agents for a lower cabin category. I did not go with the lowest rate (but if I get the jr suite, it'll be cheaper than the original price I was going to pay!) I did get this res through the same competing cruise site.

 

Second, actually the card I used for the $1200 deposit was a debit card (funds are fully covered!) but it was declined today at the new agency. They told me immediately and I gave them an alternate card which worked. Called the bank: "fraud protection" & "suspicious activity" i.e. those charges. (Had a 1.6k charge from a wine company go through without probs last week--oh, that a whole years red wine subscription!!!)

 

So the original decline probably did occur, but notification should have been just a tad sooner.

 

 

Last, at the suggestion of several of you I used the live chat of the web site only to try to get an address (email or snal mail). Here's the transcript with the name of the company redacted:

You are now chatting with Natalia Chitorog (Sales)

Natalia: Welcome to Live Help! My name is Jameson, how may I be of assistance today?

Natalia: Hello, my name is Natalia. How can I assist you today?

Stefan Lampe-Strang: Could you please either give me COMPANY X's email or snail mail address. I have a serious concern about one of your many agencies and would like to report it. Thanks!

Natalia: Can I ask what was the concern about?

Stefan Lampe-Strang: First, there was what I would call a bait and switch. Second I was notified one month after making my booking that my deposit had been declined (a month earlier) and that my reservation had been cancelled. Now it's only waitlisted. (I did rebook today with one of your other agents and am very happy with that.

Natalia: who you booked first?

Stefan Lampe-Strang: should I really do this in a chat?

Natalia: All we discuss I will also forward to the managment

Stefan Lampe-Strang: it was Company Y

Natalia: ok

Natalia: so COMPAN Y did not give you the right service?

Stefan Lampe-Strang: correct

Natalia: give me one second

Natalia: stay with me

Stefan Lampe-Strang: ok

Natalia: I am trying to help I just need a supervisor to take a look

Stefan Lampe-Strang: i really just want to tell the story to ***** so they know.

Natalia: All I can do right now is to forward this to the managment

Stefan Lampe-Strang: no, I would like an address email or physical for *****. that's all

Natalia: so sorry can not give that info

Stefan Lampe-Strang: you're kiddding! why not

Natalia: just we are not allowed to give the info is our policy

Stefan Lampe-Strang: have you heard of the better business bureau?

Natalia: no

My final comment was "You will. Thanks!"

WOW!!!!

[Aquahound]

Wow! That says it all!

[Cruzman]

Wow, what an eye opener! I've used ccompete 3 times in the past but I don't think I'll be doing so again.

[Nobbi]

Wow! That says it all!

 

Unfortunately, I won't bother with the BBB. Too much non-electronic paperwork. Perhaps google will capture my flyertalk post about both involved parties and that will help if anyone googles those companies!

[Nobbi]

Wow, what an eye opener! I've used ccompete 3 times in the past but I don't think I'll be doing so again.

 

You, know.......it was a suggestion from another cc member. I used them again to get my new quote. Hope it'll all work out in the end. Being a newbie, I knew of few alternatives.

 

Booking directly through the line seemed way more expensive (unlike airlines & hotels where I'm an "expert".)

 

Actually booked a Feb 2007 Disney cruise through my time-share sharing company and got what I think is a good deal (cheaper than the disney site).

 

I just wish we could spread the word so people would know and not get screwed. But I'm sure many are quite happy using those services. Perhaps I was just unlucky in this case.