Azamara says I owe more money after final payment 20 days ago

[Leo_On_Geo]

Background: Final payment for my cruise was applied on Feb. 5. I have the receipt showing the final payment was applied and the balance was $0. Today (Feb 25) the travel agent calls and informs me that Azamara recalculated the taxes and I still owe them $290.00 more.

 

So the Question: Has anyone else been hit with an extra amount owed after the final payment? Is this common? I understand the fuel surcharge, but has anyone had this happen before?

 

Thanks, I am just a bit confused, wasn't expecting I owed more

 

Lisa

[Andy]

Background: Final payment for my cruise was applied on Feb. 5. I have the receipt showing the final payment was applied and the balance was $0. Today (Feb 25) the travel agent calls and informs me that Azamara recalculated the taxes and I still owe them $290.00 more.

 

So the Question: Has anyone else been hit with an extra amount owed after the final payment? Is this common? I understand the fuel surcharge, but has anyone had this happen before?

 

Thanks, I am just a bit confused, wasn't expecting I owed more

 

Lisa

 

Hi Lisa,

 

That's never happened to me - at least when it was post final payment. Seems odd, as the cruise line knows what the taxes will be. Has the itinerary changed ? If so, the port fees may have gone up, but that seems unlikely after final payment. Is it possible your TA miscalculated, and is claming it's Azamara's fault ?

 

I'd ask the TA for a detailed explanation as to how/why this happened. If they blame Azamara, why not ask them for documentation which proves it's their error.

 

Good luck in resolving your issue. Please let us know the outcome.

[tgg]

We've never been billed for anything after final payment. Andy might be right. This could be a CYA move by a TA who made a mistake. I'd also be interested to know how this is resolved. I hope you'll post here when you find out.

[Jem 12]

Background: Final payment for my cruise was applied on Feb. 5. I have the receipt showing the final payment was applied and the balance was $0. Today (Feb 25) the travel agent calls and informs me that Azamara recalculated the taxes and I still owe them $290.00 more.

 

So the Question: Has anyone else been hit with an extra amount owed after the final payment? Is this common? I understand the fuel surcharge, but has anyone had this happen before?

 

Thanks, I am just a bit confused, wasn't expecting I owed more

 

Lisa

 

 

We have had the opposite experience on both of our Azamara cruises where we got a refund on our onboard account due to port taxes being recalculated ( at least that's what we told on board in both cases it was about 50 dollars)

[tgg]

We have had the opposite experience on both of our Azamara cruises where we got a refund on our onboard account due to port taxes being recalculated ( at least that's what we told on board in both cases it was about 50 dollars)

 

The same thing happened to us on the Quest last month. A credit for $49 and change showed up on each of our shipboard accounts. When I asked at the desk, I was told it was for recalculated port taxes. Not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, I simply said thank you.:D

[Leo_On_Geo]

I guess there is a lesson to be learned about questioning charges. Last night when the travel agency accounting department called and asked “how do you want to pay this outstanding balance that Azamara says you owe due to a tax increase?” I responded that I have paid in full, and had the invoice to show that. The TA was a bit taken aback, but told me she would call Azamara and question them.

 

Tonight the TA informs me that the $290 charge has been removed from my account, and it was due to ”adding choice air” and the system “double booked” some tax. I find this curious because I paid the choice airfare last November (not last week). Someone obviously screwed up somewhere. Thank goodness I chose to question the charge instead of agreeing to pay.

 

On my last cruise, I also remember passengers talking about the onboard credits they received due to refunds on tax or port charges. I am not generally suspicious, and I do love the Azamara product, but I do find this a bit curious. Is there a pattern of over charging and then requiring passengers to use the overpayments on board?

 

Thanks

[Jem 12]

I guess there is a lesson to be learned about questioning charges. Last night when the travel agency accounting department called and asked “how do you want to pay this outstanding balance that Azamara says you owe due to a tax increase?” I responded that I have paid in full, and had the invoice to show that. The TA was a bit taken aback, but told me she would call Azamara and question them.

 

Tonight the TA informs me that the $290 charge has been removed from my account, and it was due to ”adding choice air” and the system “double booked” some tax. I find this curious because I paid the choice airfare last November (not last week). Someone obviously screwed up somewhere. Thank goodness I chose to question the charge instead of agreeing to pay.

 

On my last cruise, I also remember passengers talking about the onboard credits they received due to refunds on tax or port charges. I am not generally suspicious, and I do love the Azamara product, but I do find this a bit curious. Is there a pattern of over charging and then requiring passengers to use the overpayments on board?

 

Thanks

 

 

Glad you got it sorted and just to clarify our refund was paid back to our credit card, there was no pressure to spend onboard.

[mikechass]

I hate to say it, but maybe the fault could be with your TA

We had one once swear she prepaid the tips on our cruise a few years ago, when we boarded she hadn't done that and of course we had to pay a TON for internet to pull up our credit card on line and check things.

As it turned out, she hadn't paid them, and also had QUIT the agency we were dealing with. The agency paid our tips, and then had to deal with her about the missing money! It wasn't pretty...

Just saying it isn't always the cruise.

Glad the charges were removed...

Chass

[tgg]

I think you should consider finding a new TA. A good TA would never ask you to pay extra charges after final payment without investigating the source of the charges and finding out if they are legitimate.

 

Re the credit we received while onboard (see post above): the money went back to our credit card.

[Wacktle]

Glad you got it sorted and just to clarify our refund was paid back to our credit card, there was no pressure to spend onboard.

 

The same happened to us - the refund was credited back to our card. We were very impressed by the company's honesty.