Help!! My final payment is due and my TA is MIA!!!

[Smithkids5521]

Hi everyone...I am in the process of having a mini nervous breakdown here. My final payment for my August 2010 cruise is fast approaching- June 1st. I have been trying to contact my TA for almost a month now. He has not responded to my emails nor has he returned any of my messages. He goes on alot of back to back cruises, so this may be one of those cases. I am getting slightly worried and more than only slightly irritated.:mad:. Which leads me to my questions-

 

If I am booked through a TA, can I call Carnival directly and make my final payment or does it have to go through TA?

What happens if your TA does not get back to you in time and final payment deadline passes?

 

I understand there is some grace period allowed by CCL so if payment is not received exactly by June 1st I won't be cancelled...but what if he doesn't get back to me for a couple more weeks?

(I have all of the documentation that I have tried to contact TA to make payment- copies of emails and dates that I left messages...although I am not sure how much weight this would carry with CCL:().

 

Anyone ever had this happen to them?

TIA!

[gtalum]

Is there a phone number for yoru travel agency? maybe you can talk to another agent at the agency.

 

Alternatively, call Carnival and explain your situation.

[lcmc]

Hi everyone...I am in the process of having a mini nervous breakdown here. My final payment for my August 2010 cruise is fast approaching- June 1st. I have been trying to contact my TA for almost a month now. He has not responded to my emails nor has he returned any of my messages. He goes on alot of back to back cruises, so this may be one of those cases. I am getting slightly worried and more than only slightly irritated.:mad:. Which leads me to my questions-

 

If I am booked through a TA, can I call Carnival directly and make my final payment or does it have to go through TA?

What happens if your TA does not get back to you in time and final payment deadline passes?

 

I understand there is some grace period allowed by CCL so if payment is not received exactly by June 1st I won't be cancelled...but what if he doesn't get back to me for a couple more weeks?

(I have all of the documentation that I have tried to contact TA to make payment- copies of emails and dates that I left messages...although I am not sure how much weight this would carry with CCL:().

 

Anyone ever had this happen to them?

TIA!

 

The only way to know for sure is to call Carnival and ask. Probably took you as much time to post this as it will to just call and find out.

[Meyer2]

Is there a phone number for yoru travel agency? maybe you can talk to another agent at the agency.

 

Alternatively, call Carnival and explain your situation.

 

This would be my suggestion too. Hope it all works out for you. Keep us updated.

[madelinerose]

Call the company and speak with a manager.

[klfrodo]

Your contractual obligation to pay is with your TA NOT with Carnival.

Carnival can/may offer all the leeway they want on final payment, however, the TA is who you must pay. If you miss final payment with the TA, the TA could cancel the cruise for you.

 

Carnival MAY work with, but their not obligagted to.

 

As others have posted, just because TA Bob is on vaction or whatever, doesn't mean the entire business is shut down. Work with another agent.

[ticka1]

Get another Agent at that office pronto.

[OhioJeff]

If your TA gave you a rate lower than Carnival due to rebating part of the commission, there is no way for Carnival to know your exact final payment amount. It would be a good idea to just call your TA and ask to speak with a manager.

If you cant contact anyone at the agency, just be sure to keep Carnival in the loop and they can make a notation in your booking.

[blindrid]

Your contractual obligation to pay is with your TA NOT with Carnival.

Carnival can/may offer all the leeway they want on final payment, however, the TA is who you must pay. If you miss final payment with the TA, the TA could cancel the cruise for you.

 

Carnival MAY work with, but their not obligagted to.

 

As others have posted, just because TA Bob is on vaction or whatever, doesn't mean the entire business is shut down. Work with another agent.

 

You are assuming that the agent is not one of those quasi-TA's that hand out their business cards portraying themselves as real TA's but instead a "home-based" travel agent. There are way too many of those around here that are "cruise specialists". I avoid them like the plague.

[Smithkids5521]

The only way to know for sure is to call Carnival and ask. Probably took you as much time to post this as it will to just call and find out.

 

Sarcastic much? :cool:

Just asking advise from the experienced cruisers since this is my first cruise. I know for a fact that Carnival will not do anything administratively for a passenger when they are booked through TA...so my questions was twofold- what happens if payment deadline passes and the TA does not respond in time?

 

For the other kind posters who have left their suggestions...if there was another agent I could speak to I would have by now. Unfortunately he runs a small biz with just himself and I believe his daughter. Both are not responding. Being a small locally owned biz was one of the reasons I chose him- trying to keep the small local businesses open by using them rather than the large garden Gnome...now I see my error.

 

I will give Carnival a call this evening and hopefully they will accept the payment.

 

I never thought it would be such hard work to give people my money!!!:rolleyes:

[pokergirl34]

Ok, I would definitely call Carnival directly and ask for a supervisor to explain your situation.

 

Here's a little hope for you though: from your counter, you are sailing 1 day after we are and our final payment is due 6/7. Sometimes TAs set the final payment a week before they are due so they can get it in on time. If this is the case with your cruise, Carnival shouldn't cancel you immediately if 6/1 passes and your final payment is not made. There could be another reason your final payment is due before mine is, so I wouldn't push the envelope, but maybe this information will help you sleep at night :). At the very least, I think Carnival should tell you when your final payment is due to them.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

Good Luck Smithkids. I'm sure it will all work out.

 

Your TA must be doing the TA gig as a hobby. How can you be the sole agent and go away for a month at a time leaving clients in the lurch.

 

Let us know how it turns out.:)

 

Bill

[Sweet_Tea]

Your cruise won't be canceled if you don't make the June 1st deadline, but don't wait too long. Our deadline was May 18th for our August 1st cruise and there was a miscommunication with Carnival, as we had booked directly through them.

 

The credit card that we had on file with Carnival had been compromised in April. I noticed some charges for the World of Warcraft game, which we don't play, on our statement so I had the credit card canceled immediately. I contacted Carnival and let them know of the credit card change and told them to charge our balance when it became due. Well, May 18th came and went and I didn't see any charges on our card. I called Carnival on the 22nd and asked what was the delay. They told me that I had removed my credit card information, which I didn't, it was just changed.

 

To make a long story short, everything worked out fine and we're paid in full and counting the seconds until we leave.

 

If I were you, I would just call Carnival and let them know your situation. Saying nothing at all could be disastrous.

[CruiseSpecialist03]

If not met on time a balance due letter would be sent to that specific agency requesting for the payment in a very timely manner. If not responded in a certain time, Carnival will cancel your reservation and you will most likely forfeit your payments(deposit).

 

I think it would be safe to say, that you would have anywhere between 7-10 days after your payment was due.

[Yo Eleven]

I have been trying to contact my TA for almost a month now. He has not responded to my emails nor has he returned any of my messages.

What a loser of a TA you got yourself involved with.

Call Carnival and see what they can do for you and go from there.

Your TA is worthless at this point if they haven't responded to you in almost a month.

 

When you get your answer from Carnival check back in here. Good luck.

[triplee]

Hi Smithkids5521,

 

How have you been paying for this cruise?

 

If you used a credit card, call the credit card issuing company and tell them the story. Perhaps you can recover your money and then book with Carnival directly?

 

Good luck,

 

Lee

[Ken076]

If not met on time a balance due letter would be sent to that specific agency requesting for the payment in a very timely manner. If not responded in a certain time, Carnival will cancel your reservation and you will most likely forfeit your payments(deposit).

 

I think it would be safe to say, that you would have anywhere between 7-10 days after your payment was due.

 

The BAD news here is that all the Carnival communications will be to the MIA TA and as long as the TA is MIA the customer will never know. I would personally never become involved with a one-man, part-time agent who presumably has no "back-up". ken

[Yo Eleven]

Hi Smithkids5521,

 

How have you been paying for this cruise?

 

If you used a credit card, call the credit card issuing company and tell them the story. Perhaps you can recover your money and then book with Carnival directly?

 

Good luck,

 

Lee

Sounds good, but the OP may lose any perks, bonuses, OBC, etc they got and may have to pay full fare booking with Carnival. Only speculating here.

[AdrenalineRush]

I would be more worried, if the TA had transferred any monies over to Carnival. Being MIA for a month, without any backup contact information and telling you he goes on lots of cruises, seems pretty odd.

 

Hopefully it will all work out, but check with Carnival to make sure they have gotten any money from the TA on your behalf.

[tulsacubfan]

If you can't get anywhere with Carnival, does the TA have an office in Baltimore you can go to? See if they are still there.....? Or is it something run out of their home? I think I would be heading to wherever their brick and mortar address is.....

[Smithkids5521]

Thank you everyone. I will call Carnival directly this evening and explain the situation. I know when my depost was made the charge on my cc was made directly by Carnival (at least that is what it said on my statement). Hopefully they can just use that same CC# and charge my balance. I'll post tomorrow and let you all know what they said... :-)

[jimbo5544]

You are assuming that the agent is not one of those quasi-TA's that hand out their business cards portraying themselves as real TA's but instead a "home-based" travel agent. There are way too many of those around here that are "cruise specialists". I avoid them like the plague.

Yeah I have noticed that also....NOT

[astropilot]

Hi everyone...I am in the process of having a mini nervous breakdown here. My final payment for my August 2010 cruise is fast approaching- June 1st. I have been trying to contact my TA for almost a month now. He has not responded to my emails nor has he returned any of my messages. He goes on alot of back to back cruises, so this may be one of those cases. I am getting slightly worried and more than only slightly irritated.:mad:. Which leads me to my questions-

 

If I am booked through a TA, can I call Carnival directly and make my final payment or does it have to go through TA?

What happens if your TA does not get back to you in time and final payment deadline passes?

 

I understand there is some grace period allowed by CCL so if payment is not received exactly by June 1st I won't be cancelled...but what if he doesn't get back to me for a couple more weeks?

(I have all of the documentation that I have tried to contact TA to make payment- copies of emails and dates that I left messages...although I am not sure how much weight this would carry with CCL:().

 

Anyone ever had this happen to them?

TIA!

 

 

Not to sound cold-herted, but... This is the very reason I never use anyone but me to book my travel arrangments. If I do the bookings then there is a nearly zero chance that it will be hosed up by some fly-by-the-night bozo.

 

If it gets messed up all I have to do is look in the mirror to find the culprit :rolleyes:

 

I hope everything works out for you.

[travelntreats]

OP... call the cruiseline as others have suggested and explain your situation, I would also ask them to verify that your TA has made the initial payments you provided to them. I can only hope that you used a c.card for the initial payment(s) and that the TA called in your c.card info direct to the cruiseline and did not apply payment to their agencies account and then forwarded payment to the cruiseline.

 

Let us know how this works out and I wish you the best.

[S.S.Oceanlover]

OP... call the cruiseline as others have suggested and explain your situation, I would also ask them to verify that your TA has made the initial payments you provided to them. I can only hope that you used a c.card for the initial payment(s) and that the TA called in your c.card info direct to the cruiseline and did not apply payment to their agencies account and then forwarded payment to the cruiseline.

 

Let us know how this works out and I wish you the best.

 

Hey Travelntreats how's it going?

 

A couple post above you OP responded that her deposit said Carnival on her credit card statement so at least that part should be OK.

 

TA's like OP's make all TA's look bad unfortunately which they are not.

 

Bill