Very annoyed with TA

[DT1304]

I booked a cruise, and then had to cancel it as could not sail on that date.

Landed up booking it again at an earlier date with another TA.

The first TA took over a week to cancel the booking after repeated emails from me.

Then she finally cancelled it, sent me the confirmation of the cancellation from Royal carib, telling me that my $2500 deposit would be refunded in 10-14 days.

Now I emailed the TA to follow up and the agent I deal with is not with the company, and the new person there tells me they book through another company that books with RCCL, and that once this company gets the refund they have to pass it on to my TA, and only then will they pay me. She says 4-6 weeks.

Does this sound right to you?

I booked things with Royal carib directly (excursions) and then when cancelling them and rebooking others, I got refunded within 2-3 days.

[phoenix1181]

Ouch! :(

Sounds like you chose the wrong TA. I hope it all works out for you in a reasonable time frame..........

[xxHadleyxx]

What a hassle. I am so sorry.

My TA always has the cruise line charge my credit card directly. I will not work with any agency which charges my credit card to themselves and then pays the cruise line from their account. You may want to ask about this in the future to avoid any other similar issues.

[Isaboo]

I'm having to cancel and re-book a cruise today through my TA and I'll let you know what happens with the re-fund. I'm using the same TA to re-book though. Like the previous poster said, RCCL bills my credit card directly so the refund will go back to me.

[knittinggirl]

I had something similar happen on Princess with a TA. It was a price drop, and they kept trying to tell me there wasn't a price drop. But started getting more reasonable after I told them I'd called Princess directly. After that, they still had to cancel the cruise, and rebook at the lower price. Took weeks to get the difference refunded. I'd also paid in full, which complicated matters. These days, I never pay anything I don't have to until a week or so before final payment.

[LovesCruising]

Red flag here - your cc should always show a charge to Royal Caribbean for the cruise - not anyone else - once the cancel is done - Royal usually takes 3-5 days to credit your cc.

[edjny]

There seem to be a lot of people complaining of having problems when they rely on a travel agent to book their cruise for them.

I guess for a 'first-timer' who has never taken a cruise and has nobody to guide them, it might be a good idea to utilize a travel agency. But, after that, why bother with the hassle? It is so easy to book on-line or buy a 'Next Cruise' booking on the ship and selecting the cruise they want to go on from the RCL web site. After they know where/when they want to go, get on the phone to RCL and book it with the Next Cruise certificate. Then if anything comes up that you need to change something, you can do it on the web site or a quick call to RCL. No more leaving messages to some travel agent hoping for a call back.

[LovesCruising]

Or just ask the TA the right questions before booking with them:)

[PH8]

There is no reason why the TA should NOT be charging RCCL directly..if done right,your refund goes back to card usually within a week...

[teajak]

[quote name='edjny']There seem to be a lot of people complaining of having problems when they rely on a travel agent to book their cruise for them.

I guess for a 'first-timer' who has never taken a cruise and has nobody to guide them, it might be a good idea to utilize a travel agency. But, after that, why bother with the hassle? It is so easy to book on-line or buy a 'Next Cruise' booking on the ship and selecting the cruise they want to go on from the RCL web site. After they know where/when they want to go, get on the phone to RCL and book it with the Next Cruise certificate. Then if anything comes up that you need to change something, you can do it on the web site or a quick call to RCL. No more leaving messages to some travel agent hoping for a call back.[/quote]Not true at all, you only hear about the bad ones and the screw ups instead of the great ones like the one I have.

[Richiebaseball]

Since cruise lines and travel agencies have different policies for different countries and you're in Australia and I'm not, it's hard to know exactly what to tell you.

[spiritkat090909]

There is one reason a TA might not (legitimately) charge to the cruise line that I'm aware of... a few online agencies are now offering a "no deposit" deal. In that case, they make the payment themselves & are basically floating you a loan until the final payment date (or whenever) & paying your deposit FOR you, so they get your money later, directly to them for that portion of the fare.

I'm trying it out for a cruise in 2014 since the agency I booked with had a huge difference in the fare amount from any others I normally use. It IS booked and I can access the reservation on the cruiseline's direct website. There is a large (IMO) fee for cancelling the cruise that the agency keeps for the privilege of the loan. In my case, it costs $100 to save $2000 on the cabin's fare, should I need to cancel.

[Arizona Cruz Chic]

It sounds to me like your TA may have booked the cruise with a bigger box TA. They will do this sometimes to get a lower rate and keep the difference while charging you the higher rate....IF that's the case, the refund would come from the bigger box TA, then to your TA finally then to you.....just sayin.

***

[DM_KidAtHeart]

[quote name='teajak']Not true at all, you only hear about the bad ones and the screw ups instead of the great ones like the one I have.[/QUOTE]

But since we're not allowed to tell each other what TAs are great or awful, we have no way of finding the great ones to use. Thus my bookings are always direct with the company.

[DT1304]

I just called them again, and again she insisted that 4-6 weeks is standard. I argued that this is not the case and she said she will call them again to follow up.

Bottom line is that my last cruise I booked through a TA and everything went well.

I used this new TA as she booked a land vacation for me a couple years ago, and she was superb. This time not so much.

When I rebooked it at an earlier date, I used the same TA that I used for my December cruise, and have had no issues at all.

It really is a pity we can not name and shame (or recommend) TA on here, because it would certainly make them all lift their game to avoid bad reviews.

[srvdmy4usn]

Contact your bank, explain the situation. They may help you speed up the process.

[OHCruisinDad]

DT1304 - Did you book through an Australian TA or a US based TA? DW's parents and family live in Melbourne and they always book through our US based TA with our coordination and have never had any problems.

Sorry to hear of your difficulty with your TA.

[DT1304]

Hi OHCruisinDad,

I booked with an Australian agency. I only used them because I had such good service from them in the past for a land vacation in Fiji.

My New Years cruise this last December I booked through an agent in South Africa who family members have used and only have good things to say about them.

I used them again when I rebooked this Alaska cruise coming up, and have had no problems again.

[nelblu]

[quote name='LovesCruising']Red flag here - your cc should always show a charge to Royal Caribbean for the cruise - not anyone else - once the cancel is done - Royal usually takes 3-5 days to credit your cc.[/quote]

Ditto with mine. The charge for the deposit said Royal Caribbean and subsequent invoice confirming the cruise had the RCL logo which surprised me.

[Jimsgirl]

Sounds as though your TA is "losing it".

I booked a cruise with a TA, yes she does write on CC, there was a couple of "oops", she had trouble answering e-mails.

When after final payment I ended up with a very poorly located cabin even though I had booked a year in advance (only 2 doors down from Laundry, right next door to service area and over the theatre,I paid full price but no OBC or "thank you"). She was not interested in my concerns or that the price had dropped twice since my original booking.

The cruise itself was acceptable, but the cabin was extremely noisy, at all hours.

I made sure she knew my displeasure and also informed her agency I would never use her or them again. This was in November 2012

Today Mch 8th 2013, imagine my suprise, to receive not just 1 e- mail but 3 e-mails reminding me I needed to pay final payment now for a June cruise this year!

To each e- mail I responded that I did not have a cruise with them and I was not a customer .

Result :- Silence.

TA are like the nursery rhyme - "when they are good they are vey good, but when they are bad they are horrid" make that a "nightmare."

[cruisnseas]

Some travel agents (regardless of country) book through large credit agencies. This affords them a number of benefits that are often passed on to customers. These travel agents will charge the customer directly, pay the credit agency and then the credit agency pays the cruise lines. When a refund is due to the customer, Royal refunds the credit agency that refunds the travel agent that refunds the customer. It is a mess.

They are few and far between. Your best way to avoid this mess is to verify that Royal will be the merchant shown on your credit card statement and always insist on invoices sent directly from Royal.

[cruisnseas]

Oh and regarding the rule of not naming TAs...imagine how easy it would be to make up lots of "positive reports" for a TA in return for benefits, etc. It happens with other industries all over the net. I am sure Cruise Critic just wants to avoid that drama.

[lady_cruiser]

[quote name='DT1304']I booked a cruise, and then had to cancel it as could not sail on that date.

Landed up booking it again at an earlier date with another TA.

The first TA took over a week to cancel the booking after repeated emails from me.

Then she finally cancelled it, sent me the confirmation of the cancellation from Royal carib, telling me that my $2500 deposit would be refunded in 10-14 days.

Now I emailed the TA to follow up and the agent I deal with is not with the company, and the new person there tells me they book through another company that books with RCCL, and that once this company gets the refund they have to pass it on to my TA, and only then will they pay me. She says 4-6 weeks.

Does this sound right to you?

I booked things with Royal carib directly (excursions) and then when cancelling them and rebooking others, I got refunded within 2-3 days.[/quote]

[quote name='Isaboo']I'm having to cancel and re-book a cruise today through my TA and I'll let you know what happens with the re-fund. I'm using the same TA to re-book though. Like the previous poster said, RCCL bills my credit card directly so the refund will go back to me.[/quote]
[COLOR=darkred][B]I might be wrong but I think the rules on booking through agencies in the USA and in Europe might have differnt rules.[/B][/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred][/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred][B]If I am wrong I am sure someone in Europe will be glad to explain the diffeneces to us.[/B][/COLOR]

[S.S.Oceanlover]

[quote name='Jimsgirl']Sounds as though your TA is "losing it".

I booked a cruise with a TA, yes she does write on CC, there was a couple of "oops", she had trouble answering e-mails.

[COLOR="Red"]When after final payment I ended up with a very poorly located cabin even though I had booked a year in advance (only 2 doors down from Laundry, right next door to service area and over the theatre,I paid full price but no OBC or "thank you"). [/COLOR] She was not interested in my concerns or that the price had dropped twice since my original booking.

The cruise itself was acceptable, but the cabin was extremely noisy, at all hours.

I made sure she knew my displeasure and also informed her agency I would never use her or them again. This was in November 2012

Today Mch 8th 2013, imagine my suprise, to receive not just 1 e- mail but 3 e-mails reminding me I needed to pay final payment now for a June cruise this year!

To each e- mail I responded that I did not have a cruise with them and I was not a customer .

Result :- Silence.

TA are like the nursery rhyme - "when they are good they are vey good, but when they are bad they are horrid" make that a "nightmare."[/QUOTE]

Didn't you look at the deck plans and pick your cabin or did you just book a guarantee?

OP I wish we could help you more but I for one don't know the rules for booking in Australia.

I hope you get your refund much faster than they are telling you.

Bill

Bill

[Richiebaseball]

[quote name='lady_cruiser'][COLOR=darkred][B]I might be wrong but I think the rules on booking through agencies in the USA and in Europe might have differnt rules.[/B][/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred][/COLOR]
[COLOR=darkred][B]If I am wrong I am sure someone in Europe will be glad to explain the diffeneces to us.[/B][/COLOR][/QUOTE]

You're not wrong. I think many people never bother to look where a poster is from or even bother to read all of a thread in order to get context or a complete picture. They offer advice, with all good intentions of course, that may not even be applicable to the situation.