Can you transfer your booking from a travel agent to the cruiseline

[angelwingsflys]

Hi Everyone.

 

This sounds silly but I am feed up with travel agent ,doesn't reply to emails and some other things -regarding information of our flights there and back :mad:, I have been wondering if you can transfer your booking to the cruise line ? Or do I need to cancel the booking and rebook it thru the cruise line,final payment isn't due yet .

Cheers Deb

[icat2000]

Is it before final payment date?

 

What is the agent cancellation fees?

 

How did you pay the deposit I.e did you use a FCC.

 

If its before final payment date and the agent has no cancellation fees or use used a fcc as deposit and can still at this time secure a similar cabin at same price then if it was me I would consider giving the travel agent the flick.

 

Basically, you need the ta to agree to transfer the booking to the cruiseline. Try ringing the manager of the agency explaining your concerns. They may be able to resolve it.

[goodycruising]

When you say final payment is not due, is it also outside the penalty time for the cruise line? Royal Caribbean penalise you if you cancel within 151 days (I think) for the $400 per person deposit. Then it ramps up the closer you get.

 

You can always approach them with a confident attitude that you know it should be able to be transferred, but I have heard that the TA needs to sign off the paperwork for transfer. You can only put it to them, what can they do? Give you worse service? It may be worth putting your concerns and request in writing, registered post. That can be more effective than emails.

 

Good luck with everything. Do read all your terms and conditions for cancellations and amendments. A new booking with the line may be unable to get any current specials also. They often say only for new bookings these days.

[Aus Traveller]

Check that the TA doesn't have their own penalty for cancellations. They might regard it as a cancellation if you move your booking from the agent to the cruiseline. After all, they have already done some work on your behalf and probably deserve some recompense. :)

[The_Big_M]

Cancelling is generally the simplest way, as long as you're not hit financially and can book equivalent.

[MicCanberra]

As the above posters have mentioned, check the cancellation policies for both the TA and the Cruiseline.

Personally, I would have a word with the manager before doing that though. This is mainly as I would like to make sure the manager knows they will lose more than my business if things do not improve.:D

[zoncom]

My latest cruise through agency has $100 cancellation, long cruise. If you have checked all the cancellation dates, penalties etc., still wish to change I would call up 3 or 4 Cruise only agents asking them what perks they offer for a change in agents.

[angelwingsflys]

Thank you for all your replies ,

 

Cruise final payment isn't till November, cruise is 22 Feb next year .

I reread the terms and conditions ,it states $50 per person to alter anything ,then in the fine print ,it says all mandatory fees would also be due,if cancelled :confused: as this was a package deal(Flights ,accommodation and cruise $990 deposit paid per person .(BAD MISTAKE ) A lesson to be learnt here .

 

Appears that I would have to pay all mandatory fees + $50 ,but these have not been disclosed at this stage.:confused:

I have sent another email asking what the mandatory charges would be ? but they don't answer my emails !!!!:mad:

 

I had been getting nervous about the new rules:( re travel agents that come into play at the end of the month ,so this one of the reasons that I wanted to transfer to the cruise line to ensure that the cruise still goes ahead . Really can't afford to lose the full deposit at this stage .

Cheers Deb

[MicCanberra]

Thank you for all your replies ,

 

Cruise final payment isn't till November, cruise is 22 Feb next year .

I reread the terms and conditions ,it states $50 per person to alter anything ,then in the fine print ,it says all mandatory fees would also be due,if cancelled :confused: as this was a package deal(Flights ,accommodation and cruise $990 deposit paid per person .(BAD MISTAKE ) A lesson to be learnt here .

 

Appears that I would have to pay all mandatory fees + $50 ,but these have not been disclosed at this stage.:confused:

I have sent another email asking what the mandatory charges would be ? but they don't answer my emails !!!!:mad:

 

I had been getting nervous about the new rules:( re travel agents that come into play at the end of the month ,so this one of the reasons that I wanted to transfer to the cruise line to ensure that the cruise still goes ahead . Really can't afford to lose the full deposit at this stage .

Cheers Deb

All is not lost, give them a call, speak to the manager (calmly and politely) to see if they can improve their service. If they cannot promise this then ask what the cancellation charges would amount to. Do not make a rash decision. Good luck.:D

[Aus Traveller]

Thank you for all your replies ,

 

Cruise final payment isn't till November, cruise is 22 Feb next year .

I reread the terms and conditions ,it states $50 per person to alter anything ,then in the fine print ,it says all mandatory fees would also be due,if cancelled :confused: as this was a package deal(Flights ,accommodation and cruise $990 deposit paid per person .(BAD MISTAKE ) A lesson to be learnt here .

 

Appears that I would have to pay all mandatory fees + $50 ,but these have not been disclosed at this stage.:confused:

I have sent another email asking what the mandatory charges would be ? but they don't answer my emails !!!!:mad:

 

I had been getting nervous about the new rules:( re travel agents that come into play at the end of the month ,so this one of the reasons that I wanted to transfer to the cruise line to ensure that the cruise still goes ahead . Really can't afford to lose the full deposit at this stage .

Cheers Deb

You say that you have booked a package deal of cruise/flights/accommodation. It is likely this was put together by the TA so how could you transfer this booking to the cruise line? Am I missing something?:)

[kjets]

Our son had trouble every step of the way with his honeymoon cruise through a TA last year. Last straw was when the TA told him that their cruise was canceled and gave them details of another cruise (costing heaps more)! Our son rang P&O direct and told them what his TA had told him, and was told that it was totally incorrect. P&O were able to transfer him across from the TA with no out of pocket expenses and they upgraded them for free!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

Another thought...if its a package deal ...your agent may have booked it through a wholesaler and has not got details of the hotel or flights yet.....or they may not even be booked as yet.:eek:

 

[angelwingsflys]

You say that you have booked a package deal of cruise/flights/accommodation. It is likely this was put together by the TA so how could you transfer this booking to the cruise line? Am I missing something?:)

 

It was a package deal ,but not sure they have a booking paid at the airlines ,couldn't find it with the booking no they gave me ,:mad:that is one of the things that I am concerned about , when I rang the Accommodation in Singapore to request a outside window ,they said that I didn't have a reservation there , with the booking number that the agent had given me ,even asked if it could be in the Travel agents name etc ... No ,:(

That is the main reason I wanted to transfer to the cruise booking to the cruise line. So at least I still have the cruise ...Getting a bit nervous about the whole booking at this stage .

I have been trying to ring ,but the number goes straight to an answering machine ,and all emails are being ignored,or at least they haven't replied.:rolleyes:

Cheers Deb

[Royalty X]

Ask for the manager to take over the booking.

[The_Big_M]

All is not lost, give them a call, speak to the manager (calmly and politely) to see if they can improve their service. If they cannot promise this then ask what the cancellation charges would amount to. Do not make a rash decision. Good luck.:D

 

Good advice... when you have a package it is much more complicated to switch, and also more likely costs will be different. Better to see if you can resolve the issues.

[The_Big_M]

 

It was a package deal ,but not sure they have a booking paid at the airlines ,couldn't find it with the booking no they gave me ,:mad:that is one of the things that I am concerned about , when I rang the Accommodation in Singapore to request a outside window ,they said that I didn't have a reservation there , with the booking number that the agent had given me

 

It does sound a bit odd with the hotel. But with airlines and cruises, I've been given the wrong/different reservation numbers before to what the carriers use, due to different systems that TAs use, compared to the supplier. It could be as 'simple' as that.

[Royalty X]

 

 

 

It was a package deal ,but not sure they have a booking paid at the airlines ,couldn't find it with the booking no they gave me ,:mad:that is one of the things that I am concerned about , when I rang the Accommodation in Singapore to request a outside window ,they said that I didn't have a reservation there , with the booking number that the agent had given me ,even asked if it could be in the Travel agents name etc ... No ,:(

 

That is the main reason I wanted to transfer to the cruise booking to the cruise line. So at least I still have the cruise ...Getting a bit nervous about the whole booking at this stage .

 

I have been trying to ring ,but the number goes straight to an answering machine ,and all emails are being ignored,or at least they haven't replied.:rolleyes:

 

Cheers Deb

The booking number you have might not necessarily relate to the booking with the hotel. That might be the agents booking number, or it could be the wholesalers booking number. The hotel would have a record of the reservation but it may come from the wholesalers allocation. It sounds like you're getting yourself worried about nothing. I know what you're saying, but knowing how the agent/wholesaler/supplier relationships work, I think you're stressing for no reason and it's making you think the worst. Edited June 20, 2014 by Royalty X

[icat2000]

Well if the travel agent would simply answer her emails she wouldn't be getting stressed in the first place. Ring the manager and ask them to sort it out.

 

Its very poor customer service.

[MicCanberra]

Well if the travel agent would simply answer her emails she wouldn't be getting stressed in the first place. Ring the manager and ask them to sort it out.

 

Its very poor customer service.

I have been trying to ring ,but the number goes straight to an answering machine ,and all emails are being ignored,or at least they haven't replied.

 

Part of the problem is they do not answer her phone calls or return them.

[icat2000]

Part of the problem is they do not answer her phone calls or return them.

 

Just terrible. I feel sorry for OP. And people wonder why they give or don't use TA in this country.

 

Had my fair share of problems in the past with poor agents who don't do the basics right. Now I just avoid them where possible.

[The_Big_M]

Just terrible. I feel sorry for OP. And people wonder why they give or don't use TA in this country.

 

Had my fair share of problems in the past with poor agents who don't do the basics right. Now I just avoid them where possible.

 

Similar experiences to you.

 

A lot of TAs don't realise that they should be trying to "add" value for the extra that they often want to charge. TAs here defend the right to charge extra, but aren't so forthcoming that they should justify those charges.

 

I think it's great if a TA provides the extras that they can. In which case I have no issue if they're charging extra for that service. But my experiences are that many just want to be a middleman, but at their own pace, on their own schedule, and with the right to introduce mistakes of their own... and question why we aren't happy to pay for that.

[MicCanberra]

Similar experiences to you.

 

A lot of TAs don't realise that they should be trying to "add" value for the extra that they often want to charge. TAs here defend the right to charge extra, but aren't so forthcoming that they should justify those charges.

 

I think it's great if a TA provides the extras that they can. In which case I have no issue if they're charging extra for that service. But my experiences are that many just want to be a middleman, but at their own pace, on their own schedule, and with the right to introduce mistakes of their own... and question why we aren't happy to pay for that.

 

Unfortunately we cannot name and shame the bad ones and cannot praise the good ones on this forum. Also a TA may give great service to one customer and poor service to the next. One thing is for sure, they only get my loyalty while they look after me, if they stuff me around, I move on. fortunately, I have a good US TA and a couple of good Aussie TAs and depending on the cruise and the deals they can deliver, I can then deal with any of them or I deal direct with the cruise line as needed:D

Edited June 21, 2014 by MicCanberra

[angelwingsflys]

Hi Everyone ,

Just a quick update ,still no reply from the travel agent .no emails , no phone calls :mad:... not very happy:( .

Cheers Deb

[goodycruising]

Might be worth a call to fair trading and see if they have an investigation going on the people. Have they charged your credit card? Can you dispute the charges? I don't know the Aussie laws, and maybe someone else can help. Being unable to get a reply does not sound right.

[MicCanberra]

Hi Everyone ,

Just a quick update ,still no reply from the travel agent .no emails , no phone calls :mad:... not very happy:( .

Cheers Deb

 

Doesn't sound good at all.:(