Can a cruise line cancel your booked cruise because they published the incorrect pric

[iamcruisingagain]

I booked a cruise with an online company for a Holland America Cruise. I paid deposit have an invoice with online co confirm # and Holland America booking #, my cabin ,dining preference total cost arrangements for remaining Bal. Today 8 days layer I get a call from online company stating cruise line is going to cancel my booking unless I pay $6000 more.Holland posted the price incorrectly in their advertisement. What

[AmeliaAtSea]

They probably can. They can cancel any cruise, right?

 

Years ago I worked at a gas station/truck stop. Someone brought up a bottle of motor oil to the register. This was way back before scanning barcodes, at least at this location. I recognized immediately that it had the wrong price tag--it was much too low. I told the customer that it had the wrong price tag...he thought I would have to honor the price. I just told him I can't sell *this* oil, but he can go get another one. I put it on the shelf under the counter, and that was that.

[iamcruisingagain]

I think in your case there was no exchange of money or a contract. Holland America took my deposit 7 days ago. And i have a booking #

[fishywood]

This has come up on here a few times before and unfortunately there is nothing you can do.

 

Straight from the Holland America Line Cruise Contract:

 

https://www.hollandamerica.com/legalAndPrivacy/Main.action?tabName=Cruise%20Contract&legacy=true#

(section 4, para 1, emphasis mine)

4. RIGHT TO REFUSE BOOKING AND PASSAGE, CANCEL RESERVATION; CONFINE YOU TO STATEROOM OR DISEMBARK YOU.

 

Carrier reserves the right to refuse booking of passage on a Cruise, Land + Sea Journey, and/or Land Trip to any person or to cancel Your existing Cruise, Land + Sea Journey, and/or Land Trip reservation for any lawful reason. Any person(s) refused booking or passage in advance of the scheduled sailing or commencement of the Land + Sea Journey or pre-cruise Land Trip by Carrier will be given a refund of their Refund Amount.

 

 

An egregious error by one of the parties such as a $6000 price misquote is as lawful as a reason as can be for them to unilaterally void the agreement. Just basic Contract Law 101.

 

And before anyone jumps on the "false advertising" bandwagon: by law an advertisement is not an offer of sale, just a solicitation for inquiry. And the lack of a "not responsible for typographical errors" disclaimer is meaningless; the idea that a business is legally obligated to match them if no disclaimer is an Urban Legend.

 

So sorry to say there is no legal recourse. And if you think you can go after them in civil court, you waived that right in several other clauses in the cruise contract that you agreed to as soon as you clicked your mouse. Likely the same applies to the online booking site in their fine print as well.

[fishywood]

I think in your case there was no exchange of money or a contract. Holland America took my deposit 7 days ago. And i have a booking #

 

Our responses above crossed paths. But again unfortunately if you do assert that a binding contract was executed that actually hurts your claim due to all the out clauses in HAL's favor found in said contract.

[iamcruisingagain]

Thank you. I had no.idea this cruise would be 6000 more ouch. It was a special sale. Any further advice greatly appreciated. I have never heard anyone experiencing anything like this.

[taglovestocruise]

Have you gone on the HAL website to check your cabin price. Could be the TA and not HAL. For a 6000 dollar increase you must be in a owners suite.

[AmeliaAtSea]

I think in your case there was no exchange of money or a contract. Holland America took my deposit 7 days ago. And i have a booking #

The customer thought that existing laws regarding false advertisement and pricing of products (this was in Michigan, which I think still requires a certain % of price tags on products--when I go up to visit family there I can't believe the price stickers on everything. Here we just have shelf tags for most products.) would require me to sell him the item at the price marked. I knew someone, him possibly, had switched tags.

 

And before anyone jumps on the "false advertising" bandwagon: by law an advertisement is not an offer of sale, just a solicitation for inquiry. And the lack of a "not responsible for typographical errors" disclaimer is meaningless; the idea that a business is legally obligated to match them if no disclaimer is an Urban Legend.

[Lookingforfacts]

You're light with details. What is the exact cruise and cabin category did you book. What price were you quoted. What did you pay. Was the error made by the TA or HAl

6,000 pays the entire cost for many cruises. We're you quoted just port charges or a small deposit.

[iamcruisingagain]

Have you gone on the HAL website to check your cabin price. Could be the TA and not HAL. For a 6000 dollar increase you must be in a owners suite.

This wad a special holiday dale so the price woukdnt be the same. The sale ran 3 days its hard to believe it took 9 days for HAL to realize the problem. I wish I really knew what the story is.

T

[SantaFeFan]

This wad a special holiday dale so the price woukdnt be the same. The sale ran 3 days its hard to believe it took 9 days for HAL to realize the problem.

T

 

Sorry, but I have never heard of any "special holiday sales" that discount that large an amount of money. $600 perhaps, but $6,000 ?!?! :confused:

 

Please provide more details:

 

What did you book? Itinerary, time, cabin category?

How much did you agree to pay?

When was this sale?

Was the sale from the cruise line or from the TA?

 

Without more information, all we can do is guess what your situation actually is. As it now stands, what you claim appears to be unrealistic.

 

I wish I really knew what the story is.

 

That is exactly what I am thinking.

Edited June 7, 2017 by SantaFeFan

[whogo]

Even if it is legal, I think it is pretty crummy to not honor a confirmed price. There are still cabins available for less than the $6000 price increase the OP suffered. iamcruisingagain mentioned on another thread that he was considering Holland America's Prinsendam holiday cruise. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2505518#post53246813

 

I see an online agency lists these prices:

Inside $2,240

Oceanview $2,434

Balcony $3,598

Suite $3,598

$300 onboard credit per cabin for the first two categories, $500 onboard credit for the last two. Add Taxes, Fees and Port Expenses US$270 each.

 

Holland America's prices:

Interior US$2,799

Ocean-view US$2,999

Vista Suite US$4,499

Signature Suite US$5,499

Neptune Suite US$9,499

 

Some of the fine print about HAL's website prices:

"Fares are in US$, per person, for cruise or Land + Sea Journey only, based on double occupancy. Fares shown in this view may not be current. Changing the dates may change fares. Fares do not include Taxes, Fees & Port Expenses. Pricing and availability subject to change without notice."

and:

"Fares reflect best fare available for a stateroom in each category, on one date that this itinerary is available from a snapshot taken in the last 24 hours."

https://www.hollandamerica.com/find-cruise-vacations/FindCruises?destCode=C&regionCode=C&dateCode=12_2017&shipCode=PR&page=0

[zqvol]

The question here is very complex. We really don't have enough information to give an answer. Some things that I would like to know include:

 

Who ran the ad?

Who was the deposit paid to?

 

My guess is that the error lies not with HAL, but with the TA.

[iamcruisingagain]

The ta ran the ad on line for 2 days for sure I had 24hr hold. Deposit made to ta but my credit card has 2 separate entries one to HAL and 2 to ta

[LHT28]

The ta ran the ad on line for 2 days for sure I had 24hr hold. Deposit made to ta but my credit card has 2 separate entries one to HAL and 2 to ta

Payment should never go to the TA that is a red flag for me

 

Maybe count yourself lucky

 

cancel & book elsewhere

 

 

JMO

[SantaFeFan]

The ta ran the ad on line for 2 days for sure I had 24hr hold. Deposit made to ta but my credit card has 2 separate entries one to HAL and 2 to ta

 

The TA ran their ad with an incorrect fare amount, and somehow it's HAL's fault?

 

You mention two separate credit card entries, then tell us one was to HAL and two were to the TA. So, how many charges were there exactly? Two or three? Your conflicting information is confusing.

[julie3fan]

Payment should never go to the TA that is a red flag for me

 

When I book with my TA, there's a payment for the deposit amount that goes to the cruise line, and a payment directly to the TA that represents their commission. And if I get my travel insurance through the TA there's yet another payment to the insurance company.

[LHT28]

When I book with my TA, there's a payment for the deposit amount that goes to the cruise line, and a payment directly to the TA that represents their commission. And if I get my travel insurance through the TA there's yet another payment to the insurance company.

you must be paying the net rate then to cruise line

Here the TA get their commission from cruise line

guess it works differently there

[julie3fan]

you must be paying the net rate then to cruise line

Here the TA get their commission from cruise line

guess it works differently there

It all works out in the end that I pay the correct total and everybody gets their portion. I was kinda making the point that it's not necessarily a red flag to make a payment to the TA.

[PTMary]

When I book with my TA, there's a payment for the deposit amount that goes to the cruise line, and a payment directly to the TA that represents their commission. And if I get my travel insurance through the TA there's yet another payment to the insurance company.

 

You might consider finding another TA. Perhaps they are charging you a fee for their services? We have never had a TA charge show up on our account, ever. And we have used several TAs over the years. Their commissions have always come directly from the cruise line.

[RedneckBob]

One year ago same thing happened to us on Oceania.

 

TA published wrong fare on line that was 70% less than published discounted fare on Oceania. Because I was the only one that booked the cruise at the wrong price before the TA caught it, They Honored My Price !

 

I guess miracles do happen.

[Lerin]

Reason number 47 not to book with a TA.

Rather than being mad at HAL, I'd be worried you're not going to see the money already paid to the TA.

 

For them to ask for an extra 6 grand, you must have gotten a really good deal(though the details you've provided are exceptionally vague).

 

If it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

[bUU]

When I book with my TA, there's a payment for the deposit amount that goes to the cruise line, and a payment directly to the TA that represents their commission. And if I get my travel insurance through the TA there's yet another payment to the insurance company.

However since the offer was made by the travel agent it is the travel agent who is responsible for fulfilling the offer not the cruise line. Of course the travel agent is incapable of doing so since they effectively sold something for which they have no capacity to fulfill.

 

It is as if you went to a real estate buyer's agent and looked at some houses, finally deciding on one of them and signing a purchase and sale agreement and giving over a deposit to the real estate buyer's agent. However, the person selling the house doesn't accept your offer.

 

One of the things that is often not clear to consumers is who's agent is the travel agent? The answer is perhaps surprising to some: the travel agent your agent. So when the travel agent does something wrong your recourse is with the travel agent to the extent that the travel agent can be held responsible for making a mistake.

 

 

 

This message may have been entered using voice recognition. Please excuse any typos.

[Aquahound]

When I book with my TA, there's a payment for the deposit amount that goes to the cruise line, and a payment directly to the TA that represents their commission. And if I get my travel insurance through the TA there's yet another payment to the insurance company.

 

I have to agree with the others. It's very odd you're making a payment to the TA. The cruise lines pay them their commission after final payment, so it sounds like your TA is taking you for some extra $$.

[navybankerteacher]

It is frustrating to not get a great deal which had been anticipated - but regardless of who was responsible for the misinformation in the ad, does OP really believe he is entitled to profit from someone's error.

 

What if he listed his $250,000 house for sale and, somehow some of the documentation indicated a sale price of $25,000 --- would he live with it -- or would he make any argument that worked to get out of it?