I need some help to sort out the mumbo jumbo I am getting from a TA

[greatam]

Obviously will not mention the TA but here goes.

 

Booked a cruise-Dec 1 Silhouette TA-about a month ago. SPECIFICALLY told the agent there would be TWO people going but I only had one name as of now (looking for a friend who has the time to go). Was told the price FOR TWO was XXX PLUS I would currently pay for only one set of taxes and fees. When I wanted to add the other passenger (before final payment) the total cruise fare would be what was quoted PLUS $122.31 for the second person's taxes and fees.

 

NOW ready to add the second person. AND they told me instead of $122.31 additional, the booking would now be $352.31 ADDITIONAL. WHAT is the extra $230 dollars for? NO ONE can answer except to give me mumbo jumbo about "adding an extra person" at a later date.

 

I have never done a booking like this before and am quite confused and perplexed. I can go into their website, book the same cruise and see the price for two INCLUDING all the taxes and fees. Celebrity tried to tell me the extra money was for port charges-they are only three-the rest is a TA. But as I said, on the website, the price is the same after deducting the $122.31 for taxes and fees.

 

An explanation would be most appreciated. IF I move this booking to another agent, I have to loose my deposit or get them to sign a release. You KNOW they are not going to sign the release because I can book with another well known agency for the web price. And if I give up my cabin (aft balcony), I am sure to loose the cabin between cancellation and trying to rebook.

 

What gives? And what did I miss? Any help understanding this would be appreciated. Thanks

[janabm81]

Did you get this in writing ahead of time like through an email? If so then they pretty much should honor what they put in writing. (Not saying they will but they're supposed to)

[luvscruising2007]

I am confused. Is the price the TA is charging for the new passenger different than posted on Celebrity's website. Not sure if you would have

to pay the current rate for the new passenger or not. Check the fine print.

You might want to set up a 3 way call between Celebrity, you and the TA.

Good luck and I hope you can resolve this issue.

[Keith1010]

This is a bit confusing.

 

I would get more details from your TA.

 

Keith

[sail7seas]

I cannot see a reason for the increase in the price but for the TA trying to make a few extra dollars.

 

Have you worked with this TA before? Any personal recommendations for them?

 

[greatam]

I cannot see a reason for the increase in the price but for the TA trying to make a few extra dollars.

 

Have you worked with this TA before? Any personal recommendations for them?

 

 

Your thoughts are my thoughts. And I just get mumbo jumbo that CELEBRITY is charging that much extra. But in talking to someone at Celebrity who really wasn't supposed to speak to me, said she couldn't figure out what the extra $230 was for either.

 

VERY large online agency. Have booked one cruise with them back in 2006. Great service then, now a lady who really doesn't know much about cruises other than to the Caribbean or at least that was my impression because when I started resisting the additional money, she started telling me about all the GREAT bargains they had-all in the Caribbean and "maybe I should look into one of those". Never been to the Caribbean and have absolutely NO desire to go.

 

Thanks for your thoughts.

[greatam]

This is a bit confusing.

 

I would get more details from your TA.

 

Keith

 

The TA IS the problem. She can't explain the $230 difference except to lay it off on Celebrity. Just kept repeating "that is what Celebrity is charging".

[varoo]

Obviously will not mention the TA but here goes.

 

Booked a cruise-Dec 1 Silhouette TA-about a month ago. SPECIFICALLY told the agent there would be TWO people going but I only had one name as of now (looking for a friend who has the time to go). Was told the price FOR TWO was XXX PLUS I would currently pay for only one set of taxes and fees. When I wanted to add the other passenger (before final payment) the total cruise fare would be what was quoted PLUS $122.31 for the second person's taxes and fees.

 

NOW ready to add the second person. AND they told me instead of $122.31 additional, the booking would now be $352.31 ADDITIONAL. WHAT is the extra $230 dollars for? NO ONE can answer except to give me mumbo jumbo about "adding an extra person" at a later date.

 

I have never done a booking like this before and am quite confused and perplexed. I can go into their website, book the same cruise and see the price for two INCLUDING all the taxes and fees. Celebrity tried to tell me the extra money was for port charges-they are only three-the rest is a TA. But as I said, on the website, the price is the same after deducting the $122.31 for taxes and fees.

 

An explanation would be most appreciated. IF I move this booking to another agent, I have to loose my deposit or get them to sign a release. You KNOW they are not going to sign the release because I can book with another well known agency for the web price. And if I give up my cabin (aft balcony), I am sure to loose the cabin between cancellation and trying to rebook.

 

What gives? And what did I miss? Any help understanding this would be appreciated. Thanks

Whenever I have booked a cabin for two people but only had one name at the time, they asked me to put down a deposit for both and entered the name of the second person as TBA or TBD.

 

The invoice showed the total price for both people including taxes and fees, and the remaining balance due after subtracting the pre-paid deposits for both.

 

Then at a later date once I had the name of the second person, I just called to tell them over the phone.

They simply replaced the TBA with the actual name and sent me a revised invoice.

None of the payment information changed at all.

 

Sorry, I have no suggestion to offer you (other than appealing it to the resolutions department) as I have never done it the way you describe.

But thank you for posting this as a warning to others in similar circumstances to be sure to get a statement that clearly shows the total price for both people up front, including the deposit paid and remaining balance due.

[Ashland]

You booked a cruise for two with the 2nd passenger's name TBD (to be determined) sorry but something isn't adding up. :confused: Seems like you shouldn't be charged the increased going rate, but what the rate was when "you" booked.

[greatam]

I am confused. Is the price the TA is charging for the new passenger different than posted on Celebrity's website. Not sure if you would have

to pay the current rate for the new passenger or not. Check the fine print.

You might want to set up a 3 way call between Celebrity, you and the TA.

Good luck and I hope you can resolve this issue.

 

I have a booking for TWO passengers, one just un-named. Only difference I can see is I was only charged for taxes/fees for ONE person which would be normal course of business. Thoroughly expected to pay the additional $122.31 for the taxes and fees because the booking is already for two.

[greatam]

Whenever I have booked a cabin for two people but only had one name at the time, they asked me to put down a deposit for both and entered the name of the second person as TBA or TBD.

 

The invoice showed the total price for both people including taxes and fees, and the remaining balance due after subtracting the pre-paid deposits for both.

 

Then at a later date once I had the name of the second person, I just called to tell them over the phone.

They simply replaced the TBA with the actual name and sent me a revised invoice.

None of the payment information changed at all.

 

Sorry, I have no suggestion to offer you (other than appealing it to the resolutions department) as I have never done it the way you describe.

But thank you for posting this as a warning to others in similar circumstances to be sure to get a statement that clearly shows the total price for both people up front, including the deposit paid and remaining balance due.

 

The total price DOES show for two people. But just one person's taxes and fees. THAT IS the problem. Should just add on the other taxes and fees and I would be a happy camper. And the price for SV cabins have gone UP while the rest of the cruise has gone DOWN.

[greatam]

You booked a cruise for two with the 2nd passenger's name TBD (to be determined) sorry but something isn't adding up. :confused: Seems like you shouldn't be charged the increased going rate, but what the rate was when "you" booked.

 

You are exactly correct. It is almost like they are adding in the increased price (which is really only on the SV cabins and a few of the suites). And trying to get me to pay that.

 

Not happening. It is the principal of the thing. I will cancel and loose my deposit if they can't get it straightened out.

[sail7seas]

The TA IS the problem. She can't explain the $230 difference except to lay it off on Celebrity. Just kept repeating "that is what Celebrity is charging".

 

You are exactly correct. It is almost like they are adding in the increased price (which is really only on the SV cabins and a few of the suites). And trying to get me to pay that.

 

Not happening. It is the principal of the thing. I will cancel and loose my deposit if they can't get it straightened out.

 

 

I would also lose my money with them and cancel.

If she cheats you once, she'll cheat you again.

I don't deal with dishonest people when I am aware they are 'pulling a fasty'.

 

Ask her to produce Celebrity's confirmation copy for you. Let her prove to you what Celebrity is charging.

I'm guessing she won't oblige.

 

[cruiseco]

I have a booking for TWO passengers, one just un-named. Only difference I can see is I was only charged for taxes/fees for ONE person which would be normal course of business. Thoroughly expected to pay the additional $122.31 for the taxes and fees because the booking is already for two.

 

You did not have a booking for two passengers (one being a TBA) if the booking only showed one charge for taxes/fees. You had a single occupancy booking. Even if a berth is held as a TBA instead of a real name the normal taxes/fees apply immediately.

 

With a single occ booking if a passenger is added at a later date that passenger will pay the double occupancy rate applicable as of the date that person was added to the booking.

 

It's very possible that any confirmation you received from the TA might show everything being the way you thought it would be but apparently the booking as it is held at the cruise line was different.

[varoo]

The total price DOES show for two people. But just one person's taxes and fees. THAT IS the problem. Should just add on the other taxes and fees and I would be a happy camper. And the price for SV cabins have gone UP while the rest of the cruise has gone DOWN.

The taxes and fees would still be the same $122.31 per person regardless of the cabin price.

 

What description do they show for the additional $230 on the revised invoice?

If they can't explain it, they need to take it off.

 

If you have made a good faith attempt to work it out with the TA, then I still think that an appeal to Resolutions would be the way to go next.

 

If you have a justifiable reason (which it appears that you do) they can take the booking away from the TA and give it back to you.

[Starry Eyes]

I recall a somewhat similar thread some time ago. I am not a travel agent, but I gather there are components to the fare:commissionable fare, non comissionable fare (called port fees by some) and taxes. For a solo booking some cruiselines (incl Carnival and NCL, I think) charge the single supplement on both the commissionable and the noncommissionable fares then add only one tax. Other cruise lines (X and RCI, I believe) charge single supplement on commissionable fare then add one noncommissionable fare and one tax. So, if the cruiseline uses the latter method, when one adds a second passenger to the booking with a 200% single supplement, they need to add a second noncommissionale fare and a second tax.

 

anyway, it sounds as if the TA did a solo booking for you (not a double booking with second passenger TBD). Now the question is how much more for the second person. I do not know if the TA is correct or if the person at X (as you said they are not supposed to talk to you) was correct. If you believe the TA is lying to you, getting a new agent would be prudent.

[LHT28]

Why would you lose your deposit if you cancel if your cruise is in Dec??

 

Or is a TA fee ?

I have cancelled a few cruises before final payment & never lost my deposit

[Jasalth]

Does your TA charge any change fees? I book threw a large online TA that honestly has a TON of restrictions on changes and cancellations. I know if I was to book threw them the way the OP did with 1 pax and 1 TBD, I would have to pay around $125 extra to put the correct name on it. Not 100% sure since I am not looking it up, but it would be close to that. So maybe it is something like that? Hard to tell when we can't post the TA's name and attempt to look something like that up though :( I know my TA isn't for everyone, they even charge a $100 fee to submit a price drop, but our bookings don't change, have never seen a price drop (our current cruise just finally sold the last room in our category for $700 more than we paid, last cruise was $450 more) and it would take a catastrophic event for us to cancel a vacation. But this is just to point out not all TA's are equal in these things and sometime it is just the matter of find print!

 

It almost seems like something with how Starry's post is laid out. If it really was a 2 person booking, I would think the taxes and fees would have been charged right then and there for it, since if just 1 person shows up, those would be refunded in a "normal" situation.

[Ashland]

You did not have a booking for two passengers (one being a TBA) if the booking only showed one charge for taxes/fees. You had a single occupancy booking. Even if a berth is held as a TBA instead of a real name the normal taxes/fees apply immediately.

 

With a single occ booking if a passenger is added at a later date that passenger will pay the double occupancy rate applicable as of the date that person was added to the booking.

 

It's very possible that any confirmation you received from the TA might show everything being the way you thought it would be but apparently the booking as it is held at the cruise line was different.

The concern with this is the OP "specifically" told the TA they were booking for two with a TBD, and the TA should have booked it that way. The error was made on the TA's end and needs to be rectified to the OP's satisfaction regardless of how this is done.

[Starry Eyes]

The concern with this is the OP "specifically" told the TA they were booking for two with a TBD, and the TA should have booked it that way. The error was made on the TA's end and needs to be rectified to the OP's satisfaction regardless of how this is done.

 

True enough. It is a bad sign if a travel agent does not honor the client's wishes early on in the process...imagine how much worse it could be working with such an agent after final payment or if a serious problem arose.

 

Still, since one set of taxes was charged, it seems likely the OP initially got a solo booking. My guess is that the OP is now being asked to pay the second noncommissionable fare and the second taxes. Maybe it was a misunderstanding. Or maybe it was an inadvertent error by an inexperienced agent (if an agent does not know to do a TBD second passenger, that agent also may not understand in differences among cruises lines on noncommissionable fare structures).

[navybankerteacher]

Have you tried to discuss the matter with someone else at the TA? A supervisor or manager might be able to overrule the position taken by your contact, and should at least be able to explain it. The person you are dealing with wants to maximize commission for the immediate booking, while a manager might be more concerned with longer term reputation.

[greatam]

Thanks everyone for their responses.

 

STILL trying to make sense of this.

 

IF I booked the same cabin category (SV) right now on the X website, this is how it breaks down:

 

$1469pp X 2, taxes and fees-$95.35 x 2 for a TOTAL price of $3128.70

 

My billing: $2808 for 2 (the cabin web price was $1397 x 2, but I wasn't going to quibble over $14.00) plus TAXES and fees of $122.31 for ONE (glad I looked at the X website because that is another RIP) for a total of $2930.31.

 

Since Celebrity has NO discounting, I am pretty sure I can depend on their pricing as being what the TA SHOULD charge.

 

Using the above figures, the difference TOTAL is $198.39. The agency asked for an ADDITIONAL $352.31.

 

So all thoughts about non commissionables, extra fees, etc. etc. STILL don't account for the $153.92 difference between the additional I have been asked to pay and X current price just using the above figures. And what's up with $26.96pp difference in taxes and fees?

 

The more I look, the more I think this agency is either very incompetent or VERY dishonest.

 

Am I barking up the wrong tree? Any thoughts???

[sail7seas]

 

 

<snip>

 

The more I look, the more I think this agency is either very incompetent or VERY dishonest.

 

<snip>

 

 

 

 

Do they refuse to produce the Celebrity confirmation showing the price owed Celebrity?

 

[greatam]

 

 

 

 

I vote for the latter.

 

I think it is a greed thing.

Do they refuse to produce the Celebrit confirmation showing the price owed Celebrity?

 

 

I haven't asked but will on Monday. Thanks for bringing this up.

[toberman]

Greatam - did you try looking at the pricing for 1 person instead of 2? I just tried it and I find the price for 2 people is $230 more than for 1 person in the same stateroom (veranda). Add in the $122 taxes ie 230+122 = $352, which seems to be what their asking you to pay. I'm thinking your TA originally booked it for 1 person not 2.

Good Luck