How to Handle Undisclosed Cancellation Fee?

[Vemnox]

About a month ago I booked a November 2016 Carnival cruise through my travel agent. Unfortunately, we need to cancel it due to something that came up that week, so I called the agent to cancel. She explains to me that there is a $50 per person fee as well as the rest of the deposit is put away to a future cruise. I don't normally pull the ignorance card, but this was never disclosed to me. Not verbally nor in the confirmation e-mail I received. In fact, the one reference in the e-mail to Carnival cancellations simply links me to their generic policy saying as long as you cancel more than 76-ish days out it's refunded in full unless you are on Early Saver in which case it's non-refundable.

 

I called Carnival and they sent me a copy of a Guest Confirmation that - quote - "she was supposed to send you" which does indeed state:

 

"Cancellation prior to final payment due date will receive a future cruise credit in the amount of the deposit less a $50 pp service fee."

 

I looked and searched through the entire invoice correspondence sent to me by the travel agent when I originally booked and this was never disclosed to me. Apparently she booked me on some special group rate which comes with this stipulation. (It is not an Early Saver Rate which I know is completely non-refundable.)

 

Any suggestions on how to handle this? Am I just dumb for not asking before I booked if I was on some special rate? What's funny is I specifically said "Do not book me on Early Saver since it's non-refundable." Carnival, obviously, won't do anything and I also don't think they're obliged to since they sent the confirmation to her. What if the travel agent doesn't budge? Am I just "out to sea?"

 

TIA!!

 

Edit: Sidebar note, that Carnival Guest Confirmation says: "Cancellations made after 9/13/16 will be assessed appropriate cancellation penalties." I guess this is overriden by the Guest Notes at the bottom?

Edited June 7, 2016 by Vemnox

[Shmoo here]

About a month ago I booked a November 2016 Carnival cruise through my travel agent. Unfortunately, we need to cancel it due to something that came up that week, so I called the agent to cancel. She explains to me that there is a $50 per person fee as well as the rest of the deposit is put away to a future cruise. I don't normally pull the ignorance card, but this was never disclosed to me. Not verbally nor in the confirmation e-mail I received. In fact, the one reference in the e-mail to Carnival cancellations simply links me to their generic policy saying as long as you cancel more than 76-ish days out it's refunded in full unless you are on Early Saver in which case it's non-refundable.

 

I called Carnival and they sent me a copy of a Guest Confirmation that - quote - "she was supposed to send you" which does indeed state:

 

"Cancellation prior to final payment due date will receive a future cruise credit in the amount of the deposit less a $50 pp service fee."

 

I looked and searched through the entire invoice correspondence sent to me by the travel agent when I originally booked and this was never disclosed to me. Apparently she booked me on some special group rate which comes with this stipulation. (It is not an Early Saver Rate which I know is completely non-refundable.)

 

Any suggestions on how to handle this? Am I just dumb for not asking before I booked if I was on some special rate? What's funny is I specifically said "Do not book me on Early Saver since it's non-refundable." Carnival, obviously, won't do anything and I also don't think they're obliged to since they sent the confirmation to her. What if the travel agent doesn't budge? Am I just "out to sea?"

 

TIA!!

 

Edit: Sidebar note, that Carnival Guest Confirmation says: "Cancellations made after 9/13/16 will be assessed appropriate cancellation penalties." I guess this is overriden by the Guest Notes at the bottom?

Well, it sounds like you have an issue with your TA, not Carnival.

 

Have you asked your TA how they want to handle the problem?

[BlueRiband]

From the way you described things it sounds like it's your travel agent who has the $50pp cancellation fee. Your argument is with her, not Carnival.

[klfrodo]

She explains to me that there is a $50 per person fee as well as the rest of the deposit is put away to a future cruise.

 

This statement is exactly what Early Saver is.

Sounds like your TA has some "splainin" to do.

[SuiteTraveler]

Well, this is but one example of why I never, ever use a travel agent. But here is Carnival's website's explanation of fare and what is and is not refundable:

 

"The following promotions have a non-refundable deposit and/or fare at time of booking and will be penalized as such. Within our standard cancellation penalty period, regular penalties will apply.

 

Early Saver and Early Saver Last Call: The deposit is non-refundable at any time after the booking is made. All cancellations that occur prior to the final payment due date will receive a non-refundable and non-transferable future cruise credit in US dollars in the amount of the deposit less a $50 USD per person service fee. The future cruise credit must be used on a cruise within 24 months from the date of cancellation and can only be applied to your cruise fare. Any unused portion will be forfeited.

Super Saver: The deposit is non-refundable at any time after the booking is made.

Pack & Go: 100% of Total Fare is non-refundable any time after the booking is made."

 

https://help.carnival.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/3401/kw/super%20saver%20fare

 

Hope that helps you to understand what your travel agent may have done.

[Essiesmom]

Your travel agent booked you the lowest fare showing. She may not have understood the restrictions of Early Saver. I find it hard to believe that you have been sailing Carnival since 1997, twice in 2015, and didn't know the fare structure of Carnival. You haven't lost anything but $50pp, the rest is in trust for your next cruise. but you can't use it for the deposit. EM

[gerif]

Your travel agent booked you the lowest fare showing. She may not have understood the restrictions of Early Saver. I find it hard to believe that you have been sailing Carnival since 1997, twice in 2015, and didn't know the fare structure of Carnival. You haven't lost anything but $50pp, the rest is in trust for your next cruise. but you can't use it for the deposit. EM

 

If the travel agent didn't understand the restrictions of Early Saver, she is not doing a very good job, especially when OP stated they did not want that rate. I feel it is the agent's problem and she should make good. I would insist on proof that she did, in fact, communicate these terms to OP - if not, deposit should be refunded in full.

[Dayenu]

Did you use a credit card to pay the deposit? Try to dispute the charges with them.

[luddite]

 

 

Any suggestions on how to handle this?

QUOTE]

 

Yes.

Move on and quit worrying about it.

[Bonnie J.]

Carnival does not allow any TA to charge less than their fees so a TA can give you some of their commission or OBC to lower their price but you must pay Carnival's price for the cruise. The $50 is going to your TA's agency. Take this up with the manager of the TA's agency. Explain you were never told of this fee if you cancel and you will not use them again!

We haven't used a TA in years. We book directly with Carnival, usually on line.

[sail7seas]

, You have very few choicc es acording gto what is related here. Discuss with your TA and perhaps look for a new one.

[Carnival_Brides]

It sounds like your TA booked you under Early Saver, in which case there is a $50pp cancellation fee and the rest of the deposit is held by Carnival for a future cruise. As mentioned above it cannot be used toward the deposit, only the balance.

 

This is a restrictive fare that Carnival offers as an incentive to get passengers to book early and allows you to price match up until two days before your sailing. Your TA should have mentioned the restrictions when you were in the process of booking, but these fees are charged by CCL, not the TA. There is not much you can do at this point, but perhaps these are questions you may want to ask when booking in the future.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Carnival_Brides

[Vemnox]

Thanks for all the replies! I'll try to address the major points:

 

From the way you described things it sounds like it's your travel agent who has the $50pp cancellation fee. Your argument is with her, not Carnival.

 

Totally agree. I do not hold Carnival responsible in the least.

 

She explains to me that there is a $50 per person fee as well as the rest of the deposit is put away to a future cruise.

 

This statement is exactly what Early Saver is.

Sounds like your TA has some "splainin" to do.

 

It's actually NOT early saver. It's a group booking through a VFIP club rate. Carnival and TA both said, and I quote, "It's not early saver, but it's like early saver." Weird, right?

 

Early Saver and Early Saver Last Call: The deposit is non-refundable at any time after the booking is made. All cancellations that occur prior to the final payment due date will receive a non-refundable and non-transferable future cruise credit in US dollars in the amount of the deposit less a $50 USD per person service fee. The future cruise credit must be used on a cruise within 24 months from the date of cancellation and can only be applied to your cruise fare. Any unused portion will be forfeited.

 

Hope that helps you to understand what your travel agent may have done.

 

I'm not booked on either of those rate types.

 

Your travel agent booked you the lowest fare showing. She may not have understood the restrictions of Early Saver. I find it hard to believe that you have been sailing Carnival since 1997, twice in 2015, and didn't know the fare structure of Carnival. You haven't lost anything but $50pp, the rest is in trust for your next cruise. but you can't use it for the deposit. EM

 

It's not Early Saver. It's some sort of hybrid VFIP and Group Rate booking.

 

I'm not sure how you feel I am to know the fare structure of Carnival, though? I call the agent, I tell them I want to go and when, she tells me the price. Each time I always insist to not book me on a nonrefundable rate. Never had to cancel before, though, so it hasn't been an issue before now.

 

And $50 per person when I'm booked for 5 people is $250. This isn't pocket change. The deposit was $700.

 

If the travel agent didn't understand the restrictions of Early Saver, she is not doing a very good job, especially when OP stated they did not want that rate. I feel it is the agent's problem and she should make good. I would insist on proof that she did, in fact, communicate these terms to OP - if not, deposit should be refunded in full.

 

That's what I'm working on. She doesn't have proof, she's already admitted that to me.

 

Did you use a credit card to pay the deposit? Try to dispute the charges with them.

 

If it comes to that, I can try, but the charge went to Carnival and Carnival is only upholding the rules that the TA failed to pass onto me, so I really think I have no case against Carnival.

 

Move on and quit worrying about it.

 

$680 is not something I "move on" from, sorry.

 

Carnival does not allow any TA to charge less than their fees so a TA can give you some of their commission or OBC to lower their price but you must pay Carnival's price for the cruise. The $50 is going to your TA's agency. Take this up with the manager of the TA's agency. Explain you were never told of this fee if you cancel and you will not use them again!

We haven't used a TA in years. We book directly with Carnival, usually on line.

 

This is what's going on. It's something to do with the OBC. I've already left a message for the TA owner who I've booked with for 20 years, so I'm waiting to hear back. I imagine he won't be happy.

 

It sounds like your TA booked you under Early Saver, in which case there is a $50pp cancellation fee and the rest of the deposit is held by Carnival for a future cruise. As mentioned above it cannot be used toward the deposit, only the balance.

 

This is a restrictive fare that Carnival offers as an incentive to get passengers to book early and allows you to price match up until two days before your sailing. Your TA should have mentioned the restrictions when you were in the process of booking, but these fees are charged by CCL, not the TA. There is not much you can do at this point, but perhaps these are questions you may want to ask when booking in the future.

 

Not Early Saver. Also, no restrictions were ever disclosed to me either verbally or in writing. I wouldn't have booked it otherwise. I specifically said "no early saver" which, in the TA's defense, she did not book me on. But she did book me on a different type of rate with the same or very similar restrictions and failed to inform me.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Vemnox

[NLH Arizona]

The Travel Agent should have given you all the paperwork, if they didn't and there is a cost associated with canceling that you were not told about, take the Travel Agent to small claims court.

 

If you dispute the charges to Carnival, they will have all the backup paperwork, so that won't work. You need to get the money from your Travel Agent.

[Hlitner]

What happened to the OP is a bummer. However, consider it a lesson learned. So lets deal with a few of the posts. When it comes to cancellation fees, many cruise and travel agencies do impose some kind of fee. When dealing with any agency (and we routinely use 5) one should always ask (before doing business) about their cancellation and repricing (in the case of price drops) policy!

 

As to the person who posted they never use a travel/cruise agency...we can only offer the following first hand advice. We have booked over 100 cruises over many years, and have only once ever booked directly with a cruise line (a last minute very special deal with Celebrity). On all of our bookings we save money by using agencies....and on some of our longer more expensive cruises our savings have been in the thousands of dollars (for a single cruise). I think our record savings (versus booking direct with a cruise line) was about $3600 on a $21000 booking. As a general rule, one should be able to save 7-10% of the cruise fare by shopping around for the right agency. In our case, we cruise on many different lines (14 to date) and have found that certain agencies seem to have the best deals with specific cruise lines. For example, when we book RCI owned lines (RCI, Celebrity and Azamara) we tend to use one particular agency who always seems to have great deals. But when we book with HAL or Princess...we find much better deals elsewhere. The "shopping around" usually takes me about 30 minutes (mostly online with sometimes a quick phone call). i tease DW that its the best money we ever made....in that we have saved thousands of dollars for thirty minutes work.

 

So my advice is very simply. Do not be so stubbborn that you will pay hundreds or thousands more...just to prove a point :). Take a few minutes and shop around, among reputable agencies, and compare their overall offerings with what you can get directly from a cruise line.

Hank

[Vemnox]

What happened to the OP is a bummer. However, consider it a lesson learned. So lets deal with a few of the posts. When it comes to cancellation fees, many cruise and travel agencies do impose some kind of fee. When dealing with any agency (and we routinely use 5) one should always ask (before doing business) about their cancellation and repricing (in the case of price drops) policy!

 

As to the person who posted they never use a travel/cruise agency...we can only offer the following first hand advice. We have booked over 100 cruises over many years, and have only once ever booked directly with a cruise line (a last minute very special deal with Celebrity). On all of our bookings we save money by using agencies....and on some of our longer more expensive cruises our savings have been in the thousands of dollars (for a single cruise). I think our record savings (versus booking direct with a cruise line) was about $3600 on a $21000 booking. As a general rule, one should be able to save 7-10% of the cruise fare by shopping around for the right agency. In our case, we cruise on many different lines (14 to date) and have found that certain agencies seem to have the best deals with specific cruise lines. For example, when we book RCI owned lines (RCI, Celebrity and Azamara) we tend to use one particular agency who always seems to have great deals. But when we book with HAL or Princess...we find much better deals elsewhere. The "shopping around" usually takes me about 30 minutes (mostly online with sometimes a quick phone call). i tease DW that its the best money we ever made....in that we have saved thousands of dollars for thirty minutes work.

 

So my advice is very simply. Do not be so stubbborn that you will pay hundreds or thousands more...just to prove a point :). Take a few minutes and shop around, among reputable agencies, and compare their overall offerings with what you can get directly from a cruise line.

Hank

 

Loved your post, Hank! Definitely lesson learned. I mean, worst case here is I'm forced to go on this cruise. Life could be worse. But I definitely will be "shopping around" in the future. Guess I got too cozy being with the same company for 2 decades.

Edited June 8, 2016 by Vemnox

[Flatbush Flyer]

What happened to the OP is a bummer. However, consider it a lesson learned. So lets deal with a few of the posts. When it comes to cancellation fees, many cruise and travel agencies do impose some kind of fee. When dealing with any agency (and we routinely use 5) one should always ask (before doing business) about their cancellation and repricing (in the case of price drops) policy!

 

As to the person who posted they never use a travel/cruise agency...we can only offer the following first hand advice. We have booked over 100 cruises over many years, and have only once ever booked directly with a cruise line (a last minute very special deal with Celebrity). On all of our bookings we save money by using agencies....and on some of our longer more expensive cruises our savings have been in the thousands of dollars (for a single cruise). I think our record savings (versus booking direct with a cruise line) was about $3600 on a $21000 booking. As a general rule, one should be able to save 7-10% of the cruise fare by shopping around for the right agency. In our case, we cruise on many different lines (14 to date) and have found that certain agencies seem to have the best deals with specific cruise lines. For example, when we book RCI owned lines (RCI, Celebrity and Azamara) we tend to use one particular agency who always seems to have great deals. But when we book with HAL or Princess...we find much better deals elsewhere. The "shopping around" usually takes me about 30 minutes (mostly online with sometimes a quick phone call). i tease DW that its the best money we ever made....in that we have saved thousands of dollars for thirty minutes work.

 

So my advice is very simply. Do not be so stubbborn that you will pay hundreds or thousands more...just to prove a point :). Take a few minutes and shop around, among reputable agencies, and compare their overall offerings with what you can get directly from a cruise line.

Hank

 

 

Plus 1.

The only issue, however (as evidenced by so many ultra-repetitive CC posts), is that many folks are unwilling to do the research. And, somewhat ironically (as you suggest above), the value of the savings from doing simple research (on TAs, insurance, credit card perks, pretty much everything else travel related) often easily surpasses what most of those CC posters might earn as an hourly-equivalent wage - in effect, "the easiest money they've ever made."

[MCC retired]

Sounds like OP was familiar with CCL Early Saver non refundable rules.

Pretty simple here. OP told TA not to book Early Saver fare but TA book ES anyway.

Resolution is with that TA as to why he/she didn't follow instruction and how can he/she make up for it?

[SadieN]

Throwing this into the mix....

Haven't seen any rate other than Early Saver with this restriction.

 

I've worked closely with a TA for 10 group cruises. Once a group is established, a passenger can change to another fare that is valid for group rates (not all fares are, Early Saver is). It is entirely possible that the TA didn't read thru the info and is now doing a CYA.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[cherylandtk]

Well...I believe what the OP said, this is Not an agency cancelation fee. This is a Cruiseline fee. This is not an ES rate, but has restrictions very much like an ES booking. That was mistake #1 by the agent. Mistake #2 was not disclosing the restrictions on this booking to the client as soon as the Carnival confirmation was received. And it may have been an accidental failure to disclose or it may have been intentional, knowing the client did not want a non-refundable fare.

 

Vemnox, I think you have a couple of options, but it depends on exact circumstances.

- The first is whether the cancelation is just you or all five people? How much total deposit and potential losses are you talking about? $700 X 5? Or just you?

- The next is to decide if you (and the other people?) will be using the remainder of the deposit on a future cruise. (Is that $700 deposit per person? So you each would have $650 of cruise credit??). If you do expect to use the credit within the allowable timeframe, then you have a little more negotiating room with the agency.

 

Explain to the agency owner or manager that the Carnival paperwork and limitation was not sent to you and was in direct opposition to your stated booking objectives. This is an error on the part of the agent, and agencies have Errors and Omissions insurance to cover this exact thing. They may not want to claim, but if this is a total $3500 error, then they might need to. It was the responsibility of the agency to disclose the booking limitations to you and they have have admitted they did not. Their error. Period.

 

If you cannot use the credit within the allowed timeframe, then you will need to press the above point and ask for full compensation. The agency can decide whether they will pay it out of pocket or use their insurance. If it is just you and not all five people, they can likely pay it out of pocket.

 

If you (and any others canceling) CAN use the credit, point out to the agency that if they will refund the undisclosed $50 penalty to each of you, you will use them to book the replacement cruise(s). If not, then you will take your business elsewhere. They don't want to lose a 20 year client over $50.

 

It is up to you to determine how you wish to proceed, but if you do continue to use this agency, I would also insist that any future bookings for you include the cruiseline confirmation copy. Not just the agency confirmation page. But as Hank noted, there are many other agents out there, and it might be time to pick a new one that can serve you better in both quality and price.

 

Good luck and keep us posted on the outcome.

[Hlitner]

Loved your post, Hank! Definitely lesson learned. I mean, worst case here is I'm forced to go on this cruise. Life could be worse. But I definitely will be "shopping around" in the future. Guess I got too cozy being with the same company for 2 decades.

 

Once upon a time we had a similar situation where a long time agency (with whom we had done over $50,000 of business) charged us $25 to reprice a booking (there was a significant price drop). They had just put a new policy in effect (of which I was not aware) and I paid the price. So I got the agencies owner on the phone, said I had no problem paying their fee, but they would never get another booking from me. Since that time we have booked dozens of cruises totaling well into 6 figures...but not a penny to that agency. So for the sake of $25....they probably lost in excess of $10,000 in future commissions.

 

My philosophy is simple.....we vote with our money :).

 

Hank

[Vemnox]

Great news, all!

 

Owner of T.A. was SUPER nice. So here's the deal: It absolutely was not Early Saver. Apparently Carnival releases these unique rates to various VFIP profiles and Carnival decides to apply their own arbitrary cancellation rules to them which are not part of their normal cancellation policy but instead, at their discretion, are "like" Early Saver. The T.A. could have asked what the policy was but, since no one asked, Carnival didn't say (until it was done and booked and we went to cancel it).

 

Bottom line: Carnival is refunding me in full for my deposit!

 

Thanks for your help!

[ontheweb]

Great news, all!

 

Owner of T.A. was SUPER nice. So here's the deal: It absolutely was not Early Saver. Apparently Carnival releases these unique rates to various VFIP profiles and Carnival decides to apply their own arbitrary cancellation rules to them which are not part of their normal cancellation policy but instead, at their discretion, are "like" Early Saver. The T.A. could have asked what the policy was but, since no one asked, Carnival didn't say (until it was done and booked and we went to cancel it).

 

Bottom line: Carnival is refunding me in full for my deposit!

 

Thanks for your help!

 

Great news!

 

And score one for having a TA to fight for you instead of you "having control of your booking".

 

Does anyone actually think that the OP could have got this result without a TA fighting for him?

[Guest maddycat]

Great news!

 

And score one for having a TA to fight for you instead of you "having control of your booking".

 

Does anyone actually think that the OP could have got this result without a TA fighting for him?

 

The OP wouldn't have been in this position if it weren't for the TA. The TA booked the OP into this special booking and then failed to pass on the restrictions that went along with the booking.

[ontheweb]

The OP wouldn't have been in this position if it weren't for the TA. The TA booked the OP into this special booking and then failed to pass on the restrictions that went along with the booking.

 

No, he would have been in the same situation but without a TA to advocate for him. If Carnival did not disclose this arbitrary rule to the TA, what makes you think that they would have disclosed it to the OP if he had booked directly with them? Read his post again of how it was finally solved; he says Carnival did NOT let the TA know of the restriction.