The Trace Cruise that Wasn't....am I being unreasonable?

[MCAT48]

http://tasteofcountry.com/trace-adkins-make-good-canceled-cruise-performances/

 

Wow that stinks he fell off the wagon.

 

Good luck trying to get anything.

[SadieN]

Trace will be doing four concerts on Carnival ships in October and November as part of their concert series.

[donaldsc]

Who is this Trace? Never heard of him.

 

DON

[Dayenu]

I doubt there will be compensations to TAs out of Tracy's rehab. And not the first time!

 

http://tasteofcountry.com/trace-adkins-make-good-canceled-cruise-performances/

[Amyracecar]

I think you've come out ok. Their terms and conditions say 'WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE ALL ITINERARIES AND ENTERTAINERS WITHOUT NOTICE AND WITH NO FURTHER OBLIGATION.' I know people rarely read small print but if you don't like it, don't book.

The articles about the incident seem to imply that the tickets have been arranged by his company and the cruise jointly, so no guarantees that they're making anything out of the situation.

 

Also possible that if someone had to fill in for his shows they'd expect a higher fee in return.

 

I'd take the ticket. Sounds like you're getting to meet him anyway so it's a fair, if inconvenient swap for not meeting him on the cruise.

 

I got stuck in port once due to weather. We couldn't visit one island which had been advertised and perhaps the line didn't have to pay docking fees. Did we ask for a refund? No, because we'd read the small print and accepted it!

 

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[Sherlock43031]

Trace will be doing four concerts on Carnival ships in October and November as part of their concert series.

 

and what good would this do her?

[Sherlock43031]

Who is this Trace? Never heard of him.

 

DON

 

an over the hill singer. why else would he have sunk to doing cruise ships and drinking again.

[DirtyDawg]

Dear OP,

 

In the end it doesn't matter one iota what anyone of us thinks about the reasonableness of requesting a partial refund. That's 100% up to you.

 

Just go contact the Travel Agency, state your position and see if they will offer you something. They might want to stand behind the legalities of your contract with them but don't let that deter you. This is a Customer Service, not a legal issue. But also be realistic about both your chances of any partial refund and any possible amount. Even if, and that's a big IF, the TA gets 100% of Trace's fee back, it incurred costs originally and probable some extra costs due to the cancellation. So in the end, the TA might not be in a position to offer you much.

 

So it's up to you to determine how much time and energy you want to expend for the possibility of getting a few bucks back.

[dsrdsrdsr]

I think you've come out ok. Their terms and conditions say 'WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO CHANGE ALL ITINERARIES AND ENTERTAINERS WITHOUT NOTICE AND WITH NO FURTHER OBLIGATION.' I know people rarely read small print but if you don't like it, don't book.

That line has little or no legal validity as it stands. They still have to sell you substantially what you've ordered, or give you your money back - for example, if they sell you a Caribbean cruise but have to substitute some ports, that's fair enough. If they pootle around New York harbour for a week, that isn't. It depends to some extent how much of the feature this Trace character was in the advertising. The cruise line's position is strengthened by the fact that it clearly wasn't their fault and there's nothing they could have done - but that's not a decisive argument in itself.

[MCC retired]

OP booked this cruise because of Trace

Missed out on Trace.

Got some compensation .

 

I equate this situation the same as booking a cruise to visit 1 important port .

Port gets skipped

Get minimal compensation (port charge adjustment)

 

Same/Same

Let it go .

[sail7seas]

Maritime law is a very specialized field. I doubt we have a great many well trained, experienced Maritime lawyers posting here. :)

 

The last time I read a cruise contract ( I AM NOT A LAWYER), I found just about everything you can imagine sides with the cruise line. Pax have very few rights. :eek:

 

[gemcrusier]

If you booked this cruise because of Trace you must be a big fan and saying so only makes me wonder why you 're so worried about your compensation not Trace and his welfare . I am sorry to hear about what happened to him and hope he has a speedy recovery and once again can beat the alcohol demon.

[greatam]

Even if, and that's a big IF, the TA gets 100% of Trace's fee back, it incurred costs originally and probable some extra costs due to the cancellation. So in the end, the TA might not be in a position to offer you much.

 

 

This is the real biggie. The upfront costs for some of the "theme" cruises are unbelievable. Figure 5-6 entertainers, most staying in the top of the line suites with all their food and booze provided. Then you have all the roadies, union contractors, etc who also must be housed and fed. A dear friend has been heavily involved in concert promotion for years and some of the upfront costs just for food backstage is way beyond most people's comprehension. When he told me about a performer's requirement to have many, many bowls of M & M's but take out all the blue ones, I still get a good laugh when I think about it. All this kind of weird stuff is specifically written down line for line.

 

The agency that put together the cruise will go to Trace Adkins people and state something like "Penthouse suites for a week"-$50,000 (I know he was staying in the top suites-it was posted on Twitter direct from him), housing for all the roadies-$10,000, booze bill-$20,000, UNION labor (electricians, lighting, music, carpenters)-another $20,000 for housing and labor costs and on and on. So now the agency wants $150,000 to recoup their upfront costs. And Trace was to be paid $250,000. Throw in the errors and omissions and other insurance carriers wanting to get involved and the agency will be darn lucky to see any money for a long, long time unless Trace Adkins personally says give them their money back. Agents/promoters/accountants are NOT prone to kick back money without one heck of a fight.

 

Take your concert tickets, your backstage pass and your meet and greet and you will probably be very thankful in the end. Probably a better experience all the way around.

[OBX-Cruisers]

You don't need to be a lawyer to know that they have excluded responsibility for ALMOST everything with one big exception: We WILL take your money and not give any of it back unless WE decide unilaterally that we want to do that.

There might be those other things too about not being responsible for toilets flushing or for lack or oxygen at the bottom of the pool:confused:

 

 

The last time I read a cruise contract ( I AM NOT A LAWYER), I found just about everything you can imagine sides with the cruise line. Pax have very few rights. :eek:

 

[cherylandtk]

Well, let's look at things this way. The charter advertised Trace Adkins equally as one of four headliners, and one of 25 total performers. The cost of the cheapest inside cabin was sold at $999 for a seven day cruise. A typical cruise to the Bahamas on the NCL Pearl costs between $60-$75 per day for an inside cabin. Taking the lowest cost of $60 per day, that is a minimum of $420 spent on the cruise itself, leaving $579 for the cost of the entertainment package. Let's double the value of the four headliners, so divide the entertainment cost by 29 gives us a cost of $19.96 for each of the standard entertainers and $39.92 for each of the headliners.

 

So your pro-rated compensation for missing out on Trace would be less than $40 IF you could prevail against the standard clauses of 'entertainment subject to change'. I say take the ticket and move on.

Edited January 26, 2014 by cherylandtk

[Sherlock43031]

instead of all the passengers he screwed 'settling' for a free ticket to a concert he may or may not actually deliver. everyone should ban together and file a class action suit. I'm sure there are lawyers who would take this case for a percentage in a heartbeat. how many times do these 'stars' get in trouble and run hide behind going to rehab?

[Fydlstyx]

You say you booked this cruise for this performer. His representatives have offered a free ticket and 'meet and greet' at a concert in the future, thereby honoring the price you may have paid for seeing him. If you are telling us the truth about him being the reason for booking this cruise, you should be satisfied with the future ticket since you will be seeing him later. That you had the rest of the cruise to enjoy, you haven't lost much, if anything - the cruise wasn't cancelled, only his performance was cancelled due to his own stupidity. Asking for a refund is getting a bit greedy if you really wanted to see him perform. Your future concert ticket will give you that same opportunity, and that should be enough. Asking for a refund suggests he wasn't the real reason for booking this cruise, and now you want to cash in on what you see as an opportunity to make a few bucks.

 

 

You have made a lot of assumptions and have one hundred percent demonstrated the old adage about doing that.

[HeatherC430]

Not sure if you're aware but Trace is doing 2 Carnival cruise shows where the prices do not seem to be inflated (if seeing him matters that much to you). Oct 11th on Carnival Fascination & October 12th on Carnival Sensation.

[peety3]

I was on board the NCL Pearl during the Country Cruise. As compensation for Trace leaving the ship, his representatives have offered everyone on board a ticket to a future concert and a meet and greet opportunity. This is great. However, I believe that the travel agency will be reimbursed by Trace's camp, and that the money refunded to the agency should also be shared with the passengers who paid a great deal of money to be on the cruise.

I'm a little confused here: are you saying that one TA paid out a specific sum to have this performer on the ship? If so, are you then saying that you paid a cruise fee that covered both your cruise fare and your slice of the TA's costs(and profit) to book this performer on the ship? I guess I'm not understanding if the cruise line got money from both the cruise passengers AND the TA, or whether they got money from the TA who in turn funded their costs through "passenger fees".

[greatam]

I'm a little confused here: are you saying that one TA paid out a specific sum to have this performer on the ship? If so, are you then saying that you paid a cruise fee that covered both your cruise fare and your slice of the TA's costs(and profit) to book this performer on the ship? I guess I'm not understanding if the cruise line got money from both the cruise passengers AND the TA, or whether they got money from the TA who in turn funded their costs through "passenger fees".

 

It was a charter. The TA booked the ship, entertainment and the ancillary services that go with the entertainment. The OP paid the TA (as with most charters). The TA paid the cruise line whatever they wanted for the ship. Entertainment and other expenses ON TOP of that.

 

There could have been NO entertainers on the ship or NO passengers on the ship. It would have cost the TA the same money to charter the ship. That was strictly a deal between the TA and cruise line for the USE of their ship. Everything else was out of the TA/promoters pocket for entertainment, booze, labor and any other services NOT directly connected to the ship.

 

It is EXACTLY how all concert bookings work-you pay the auditorium/stadium/bar or whatever a set fee (analogy was the ship). Everything else comes out of your pocket and you can only hope to recoup from ticket sales (or cruise sales as the case may be).

[Sue Do-Over]

Your individual travel agent wasn't party to the contract between the performer and the venue, so I'd really be surprised if your personal TA got any money back. Why would they, unless this specific travel agency organized a group/charter, and you were the only passengers permitted access to the performer/venue/meet & greet opportunities.

 

The cruise ship contract probably says that none of the entertainment is guaranteed, and that's the contract that would be enforced in a dispute of this nature.

 

You may believe that you paid more to go on this cruise (with a variety of performers and events) than another similar length/destination cruise, but the difference in cost can't be tied back to an individual person/ event/ opportunity. This is a good one to let rest... go to the free concert and enjoy it then.

[mafig]

I would think that if someone was such a big fan of Trace Adkins, that at least one post would wish him well in rehab. Maybe I missed it?

[greatam]

I would think that if someone was such a big fan of Trace Adkins, that at least one post would wish him well in rehab. Maybe I missed it?

 

Good one!!!

 

I made the same point in post 10 on this thread.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1979178

[Roce48]

If I am right,that same Itinerary next Janurary is $629 for the cheapest inside, and approx $1000 for the cheapest balcony. This cruise was expensive. It was aprox $1,000 for an inside, and $2,000 for a balcony. The cruise is a standard 3 port, 3 sea day type. Jamaica, Cozumel, and Grand Cayman during the cold winter month of January!

 

While looking at the information about costs for this past cruise it noticed that it did not mention anything about having to come up with extra money for gratuities. Maybe they were they included in the cost?

 

 

I imagine that the difference in cost is not just because of the entertainers themselves, but all the special services that this type of cruise involves. There must be tons of equipment and props that have to be taken aboard, stored , and secured. I also imagine that the promoters had to pay extra to the cruise line for this. Extra security, ushers, etc.

 

 

This tour was listed as a Country Cruise with Trace Headlining, but it WAS listed as a tour, not as a Trace Atkins Concert. There were many great artist on schedule. I imagine that Trace would loose his money for the missed appearance. His offering of a "Rain Check" with meet and greet seems reasonable.

 

As far as the cruise being over $200 dollars more simply because him being on the ticket I question. Maybe $50, but then I am not a die-hard fan of his.

 

 

I looked up the promoter "Country Cruising", and found them to under the Flying Dutchman Travel Company. If you have a problem with a concert, it would seem that it fall into the lap of the promoters.

[Amyracecar]

A ticket and meet and greet probably has a market value in excess of whatever compensation would be split between that many passengers anyway. I'd be pretty grateful.

 

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