Cruise Deposit or Cruise Payment?

[Sunny B]

Hi, everyone. I'm confused....in late December 07 I booked five (5) cabins for a Family Holiday Cruise in December 08; HAL, through VTG. I thought I was putting a "deposit" down for the reservations charged to my credit card, but the statement just arrived and I have been charged the total amount of the cruise (around $11,000.00). The amount is payable to my credit card company but does state Holland America Line, not VGT. Is this normal? I was planning on budgeting monthly amounts to a Money Market account to pay for the cruise by the "payment" date in September. Now I will have the credit card interest rate on my unpaid balances for 7 months! Any suggestions? Is this how it works when booking a cruise?

 

Can you tell I'm a newbie to all this:rolleyes:

 

Thanks!

[cherylandtk]

No, it is not normal to charge the entire amount this early. It is normal, and safer, to see the charge directly to the cruiseline. You should call your travel agency (which we are not supposed to name on these boards ;)) and ask if there was a miscommunication. Perhaps they thought you said to put the 'whole thing' on your card and you meant to put 'all five deposits' on your card.

[SeattleCruiselover]

Usually, any amount over $10K requires a copy of the front and back of the credit card, along with a signed credit authorization form and a copy of your state issued ID. This is not a normal transaction. If you are outside of the normal final payment window, it is far more normal to charge only the standard deposit amount.

[kitty9]

Have you called the agency to see why they did this? At any time, did they say the words "do you want to pay in full now?". If not, this is totally wrong. I've never paid for a cruise in full at time of booking unless I book after final payment is due, which of course you haven't done. I would raise all kinds of heck with your agency. Something is very wrong here either with the agent or the agency, and you deserve an explanation.

[paul929207]

I would start by calling the TA and seeing what they can do. If that fails, try another TA. Explain the problem to them and ask if the can do anything if you transfer the booking to them.

[Sunny B]

Thanks to everyone who replied.

 

No, I never heard the words "pay in full". I'll take the advice given here and contact the agency to see what happened.

 

I appreciate this help, as before I asked on this board, I searched all through the posts to see if I could find an answer without bothering folks, but couldn't find one. This is my first post ~~ but I've read so many great suggestions and solutions ~~ wonderful site!! You all deserve a huge pat on the back!!

[katier825]

I have never cruises over the holidays, but I thought I read somewhere that holiday cruises have larger deposits.

[Sunny B]

Guess I'll find out soon, as I just emailed my TA to clarify/change this credit card charge. But I don't think the "deposit" would be the full fare. Thanks for this info, though.

[Sunny B]

Just heard back from my TA, who said he will contact the cruise line and get them to refund the entire charge, minus the deposit for 5 staterooms. All's well that ends well. Thanks again for everyone's assistance! :o

[Travel Angel]

I certainly would want to know who authorized full costs charged to your c.card, if it were me. If you have incurred any interest on the card and not at your fault, you should be reimbursed in some form for that as well. Did the agency you booked with not provide you with a deposit confirmation immediately following the so called "deposits" charged to your c.card ??? That is usual and customary by most agencies. If that had been provided, you would not have had this surprise hit you head on and could have nipped it before interest accrued.

 

Hope your continued relationship improves with your TA......