This situation is just unbelievable-PLEASE give me your opinon!!

[truecruiser]

Ummm-like I said in my post.........

 

"To answer a couple questions-if you are bored with this thread skip it :) I thought it was gone too but I'll say a little more"

 

There is NO resolution-just people's opinions. If you are bored move on....

 

 

I have to agree with you. I am always surprised when I come across a post like that.

 

you guys are taking this wrong. i don't believe that venture man was being sarcastic, and i know that i wasn't being sarcastic. this issue came up weeks ago (probably even longer than that -- i didn't bother to re-check the date of the first post), and the OP put it to bed, weeks ago.

 

Suddenly it pops up again w/ more advice being given to the OP, and we (well i can't really speak for venture that wld be inappropriate, but i'm pretty sure he's on the same page as me), thought it was over and done -with the OP deciding to go forward w/ the neighbor's booking.

 

Now i see (only b/c i looked at the new responses to venture's and my posts) that one of the new posts is by the OP herself.

 

well, OP, if you want to keep talking about this, go right ahead. it's not like venture and i were saying you can't. we simply thought people were posting to you on an issue you had long resolved and put to bed, and might not have ever come back to. that's all...

[SomeBeach]

 

As far as an update...Her husband called my husband and insisted that they pay the difference. We have made the decision not to accept that from them. It would come out of their pocket. Of course if it was someone I didn't know-I would think differently-NEVER mix business with pleasure :eek: I will say though-I think if they really felt like it was completely a mistake and felt really bad about the situation they would just do something on their own-I don't know what but not put us in that position to accept a check from them.

 

I do think that my neighbor will be a better agent because of this-unfortunately I am the one that this happened to!

 

There is something your TA can do but she may not have the experience to know about it. She could give you an OBC, be it the entire difference or at least a portion of it.

Hopefully she will be a better agent. There are so many extras where cruises are concerned now that unless a newbie knows about cruise boards, they will be in for many surprises. A good agent provides as much of this info as she possibly can.

[cruiser407]

you guys are taking this wrong. i don't believe that venture man was being sarcastic, and i know that i wasn't being sarcastic. this issue came up weeks ago (probably even longer than that -- i didn't bother to re-check the date of the first post), and the OP put it to bed, weeks ago.

 

Suddenly it pops up again w/ more advice being given to the OP, and we (well i can't really speak for venture that wld be inappropriate, but i'm pretty sure he's on the same page as me), thought it was over and done -with the OP deciding to go forward w/ the neighbor's booking.

 

Now i see (only b/c i looked at the new responses to venture's and my posts) that one of the new posts is by the OP herself.

 

well, OP, if you want to keep talking about this, go right ahead. it's not like venture and i were saying you can't. we simply thought people were posting to you on an issue you had long resolved and put to bed, and might not have ever come back to. that's all...

 

My last post-or I thought my last post on this was 2/9-NOT that I have to have the last word or anything :) but there were a few questions after that-and I came back and answered them. Yes we have decided to go ahead with the trip-but we really had no choice-it was paid for, non-refundable flight and cruise-I found this out after the original question was posted so I think there has been a lot of advice and discussion which is VERY much appreciated! I am also hoping that first time cruisers who read this will live and learn.

I'm not dwelling on the post but thanks for clarifying. I took it as "NOT THIS AGAIN!" but I totally get your point.

:eek: We should have gone to Hawaii

[cruiser407]

There is something your TA can do but she may not have the experience to know about it. She could give you an OBC, be it the entire difference or at least a portion of it.

 

Hopefully she will be a better agent. There are so many extras where cruises are concerned now that unless a newbie knows about cruise boards, they will be in for many surprises. A good agent provides as much of this info as she possibly can.

 

What is an OBC??? Well our agent has not given us ANY information. She made the call the Carnival and that was IT! So LUCKILY I am finding everything out here!

[SomeBeach]

OBC.... On Board Credit

This can be applied to any charges you make while on the ship.

This is a second attempt to post answer. I think the first went poof but it could show up. :rolleyes:

[cruiser407]

OBC.... On Board Credit

 

This can be applied to any charges you make while on the ship.

 

This is a second attempt to post answer. I think the first went poof but it could show up. :rolleyes:

 

Oh Duh! So that would be great-I think she would do that if she really wanted to make things right! I don't know we'll see how it ends up!

Thanks!!

[surfklutz]

My great friend is a "wanna be" part time TA......its a pyramid thing like Avon called GT Trends....our last cruise she put ME on the phone to plan our trip...because I can talk better and ask better questions...simply because I knew what to ask......OYYYYYYYYY....granted we got discounts all over the place....flight hotel and 7 day on the Glory balcony cruise.....Came out ok.....under 700 including airfare tax port tips and all..(saved 200 per with the comission) ..the excursions and extra tips are not included in this post nor are the suveniers....but the casino....bumped me down to a "free cruise" priceless! 35 and 4 at the wheel......AMAZING!

 

Research is priceless......Im not a TA....booked my first cruise with Caribbean Princess with a TA that so took us for a ride.....it was 1800 bux per with a balcony and a 2am flight night before, and wait at airport for 7 hours for a trip on bus to terminal at 12:00 pm, I know better now....ya gatta do a little research before hand, always! I suppose we all get a little more educated as we go!

 

Just keep going....it will get easier....AND being educated will become cheaper, simply because you will know....price quoted is always x's the number of pax. First lesson I learned! Second lesson....never fly with cruise.....Third lesson.....excursions....save 50-75% and book outside...and if you book a beach its not like "a public (gross unclean) beach" the accomodations are priceless!

 

Fourth lesson learned bring all your research to the table if you do insist on booking with TA.....let em beat it....you can show em what you got and can they beat it....and seasoned TA's get some serious kick backs....they might not be able to beat your price but in booking with the them at the end of the day you might end up with a nice ship board credit to boot.

 

To the original poster you got a good deal for the four of you....just my opinion.....

 

I wonder if GT Trends is like YTB - same type of pyramid scheme. These people know nothing about travel - but join, pay huge fees and have a website built for them to make them look professional. Everyone needs to ask what kind of training the travel agent has - it may be someone who has never left their block!

[Colts88]

I do have to say that these boards have gotten extremely negative lately. We were all new to the boards once. I think some people really need to ease up.

[jessemon]

We were looking into booking a cruise and our neighbor/travel agent (part time for fun) said she could get us a really really good deal-this is someone I totally trust.

 

She found a cruise that was $490/adult and $290/child for 7 days. She also said there was a $210 tax charge. Well... when I got my credit card statement my bill was over $2300. It was $600 more than she quoted me. So this is her response:

"The tax was not $201.88 for everyone, which was my understanding originally. It is per person. That figure, $201.88, is arrived at by adding the $636 non-commission fare and the federal taxes/fee of $171.52, then dividing by 4. I, too, have been misled by the Carnival representative. It is like a hidden tax, which I did not know about. I'm very sorry that this is happened."

I also have non-refundable plane tickets. I am just so burned by this. I feel like this is a huge bait and switch! She also did not tell us about the tipping policy-we are typically huge tippers so it's not that we don't want to tip-it's the $10/day that she did not tell us about!

I obviously did not do enough homework on this one-but I totally trusted that she knew what she was doing-my mistake but with that said- what are your thoughts on this??

Thank you for your responses!

This is very simple. This is not a Carnival problem. It is your neighbor ? TA's problem...It is also your problem because all prices quoted per person. if the agent told you the tax was $210.00...that is per person. I can't believe that you are telling everyone here that she did not give you a final price for the 4 of you.

It is also your fault/mistake not to ask the final price if she did not give it to you. Would you buy a car without the final price..??

Tell your friend/TA/Nieghbor that you are cancelling the cruise and expect that person to refund the airline fare or you will take them to small claims court for the money.

[sharecruises]

We were looking into booking a cruise and our neighbor/travel agent (part time for fun) said she could get us a really really good deal-this is someone I totally trust.

 

She found a cruise that was $490/adult and $290/child for 7 days. She also said there was a $210 tax charge. Well... when I got my credit card statement my bill was over $2300. It was $600 more than she quoted me. So this is her response:

"The tax was not $201.88 for everyone, which was my understanding originally. It is per person. That figure, $201.88, is arrived at by adding the $636 non-commission fare and the federal taxes/fee of $171.52, then dividing by 4. I, too, have been misled by the Carnival representative. It is like a hidden tax, which I did not know about. I'm very sorry that this is happened."

I also have non-refundable plane tickets. I am just so burned by this. I feel like this is a huge bait and switch! She also did not tell us about the tipping policy-we are typically huge tippers so it's not that we don't want to tip-it's the $10/day that she did not tell us about!

I obviously did not do enough homework on this one-but I totally trusted that she knew what she was doing-my mistake but with that said- what are your thoughts on this??

Thank you for your responses!

 

Here are my "realistic" thoughts that YOU may not appreciate...but YOU asked...so here goes

 

IF I was making a major purchase I doubt I would take the word of a neighbor who is a hobbyist....ie, if I was buying a car or a piece of jewelry I would do my own research, online, in the library, ask a few people, check out reports *ie cruise critic...so you started off with a mistake...yes, you did NOT do enough homework

'

I think you should just cancel since you apparently intend to take it out on the staff by removing their tips since YOUR neighbor did not tell you about them...

 

you are usually a "huge tipper"?? yeah...well if you are then you should tip at least the expected rate on the cruise...how can you take away their tips because of something your neighbor did?? How is that fair??

 

if your football team loses do you kick your puppy? That makes about as much sense as removing the tips because you are mad at your unprofessional travel agent/neighbor

[Kurbanfan]

Here are my "realistic" thoughts that YOU may not appreciate...but YOU asked...so here goes

 

IF I was making a major purchase I doubt I would take the word of a neighbor who is a hobbyist....ie, if I was buying a car or a piece of jewelry I would do my own research, online, in the library, ask a few people, check out reports *ie cruise critic...so you started off with a mistake...yes, you did NOT do enough homework

'

I think you should just cancel since you apparently intend to take it out on the staff by removing their tips since YOUR neighbor did not tell you about them...

 

you are usually a "huge tipper"?? yeah...well if you are then you should tip at least the expected rate on the cruise...how can you take away their tips because of something your neighbor did?? How is that fair??

 

if your football team loses do you kick your puppy? That makes about as much sense as removing the tips because you are mad at your unprofessional travel agent/neighbor

 

I thought this thread was done. Didn't someone say that ealier:rolleyes:

Why dig it back up?

[cruiser407]

YES-It's done-but thank you everyone for your input! I appreciate those who took the time to comment. We are now planning our excursions and our packing list and shopping :) . We also got a fabulous upgrade and we are very excited to go-but thank you for your comments-they were very much appreciated and very helpful to get us to move on!

Bon Voyage!!

[dromMOM]

I thought this thread was done. Didn't someone say that ealier:rolleyes:

Why dig it back up?

 

[cruisers5]

Get on Carnival's mailing list - we were on their "12 Days of Christmas" mailing list and have reserved Carnival's Victory, balcony cabin in November (to Western Carribean) and are paying $1093 TOTAL (all fees, taxes, port charges) for two of us in the cabin - that works out to $547 each for 7 days for a balcony.

[krazy4kruisin]

I don't think she messed up. She quoted you individual prices for the cabin fare, and then she quoted a plus tax number. I do not know that I would have assumed that number was a total when the fares where quoted individually.

 

As far as the tipping is concerned you can pull the tips off your sail and sign day one of the cruise. Then you can tip who you chose how much you want to chose.

 

 

I have never heard of pulling the tips off of sign & sail card. How do you do this?