If you know me, grab some coffee it's long/We almost lost our cruise

[catmand]

don't know how many of you read other boards but I did post this (not THIS but the situation two days ago) on the Celebrity boards. I think it wouldn't hurt to have it here on my other favorite board and cruiseline. IF this is a violation or a posting no-no, sorry.

 

We booked two cruises with an on line agency. First one was uneventful. The service was prompt, polite and they even got us an upgrade after final payment. These cruises were booked in Aug. 2004. All of the paperwork we had for this next cruise (March 26th) had our final payment date as 1/24/06. I never gave it a second thought.

 

People on the roll call said their date was 1/15/06 and mine must be wrong. I sent an e-mail out three days ago and was confirmed for 1/24/2006. Finally I called Celebrity, they said 1/15, at that point I sent another e-mail to the agency, "Why are you telling me the 24th and Celebrity the 15th?" This was on the 11th and about 20 minutes later I got an e-mail back: "Sorry for the error in the date. Our computer automatically puts the date in at first deposit, obviously it was wrong, Your final payment is due 1/15/2006 have a good evening."

 

Can you imagine what would have happened if this was our first cruise? I would have been trying to find anyone and anyplace I could scream at. I bet I would have found Cruise Critic and I can just imagine the thread, oh man!

 

The moral of the story from me is, be an advocate for yourself, be proactive and take some responsibility for not only success' but some failures and problems too.

 

Oh, and a side note. When you post-up about a problem you have and others do not agree with you, please be accurate if you are going to quote them in later posts. Also taking a look at the Princess web site I see thirteen ships with a capacity of 26,990 people. Maybe what is a great big problem to you, ain't so big.

[14A04]

Solution: Use a trusted travel agent.

[niborHS]

We have been on 12 other cruises, and the final payment was always due 60 days before. This year, it was 70 days before, which would make sense with the dates you entered. However, I will say one thing, there is a reason why people use a regular travel agent. They would not make that kind of slip up, and I am sure that you would get the same rate.

[joeandmaria]

The biggest problem I find, is that I usually know more than the travel agent. I usually obsess over reading these boards, and searching the internet. When I do use a full service TA, I seem to know more than them regarding the cruise.:rolleyes:

 

Do other people seem to have the same trouble? I wish I could just be my own TA, get the commission, and call the cruise lines direct.:D

[suzyluvs2cruise]

The biggest problem I find, is that I usually know more than the travel agent. I usually obsess over reading these boards, and searching the internet. When I do use a full service TA, I seem to know more than them regarding the cruise.:rolleyes:

 

Do other people seem to have the same trouble? I wish I could just be my own TA, get the commission, and call the cruise lines direct.:D

 

Me too!!

[laurieb]

I have to chime in. our first cruise, we used a "regular" travel agent. Unfortunately, she was new, and really didn't seem to know much about what she was doing( she was with a trusted agency here in town). If we didn't ead this board and know what we should be expecting,we would have lost out on upgrading, since prices dropped alot, and we also would not have gotten our final payment in on time. I had to call her to doubel check the date and got an Oh yeah, I guess it is due. The lesson I learned was that no matter what type of agency I use, I need to stay on top of it!!

[momthecruisedirector]

I feel the same way, knowing more of what's going on then the 'expert'. It's so frustrating. I realize they have to know about a lot of different cruises and ports, etc. and I have made MY trip my life's work while deciding which cruises to take but it makes me lose confidence in the TA when I have to give them information.

[scootepie66]

I have to agree that I wish I could be a TA. The cruise we are about to go on we tried using a local brick and mortar TA, we like to keep our business local as much as possible. Told her what we wanted gave her the dates and she called me back about 1/2 hour later and gave me a price that was double what I could get with an online TA that I've used many times in the past. When I told her what I could get it for she wanted every minute detail so that she could see what she could do but did not hold out much hope. Then she asked about my flight details and I gave them to her and she said I must have made a mistake on the departing airport that there was no way I could get that price...again wanted to know all the info and see if she could find it herself because it would be most helpful to her agency. I proceeded to thank her for her time and book with the reputable online TA. Before you think oh this must be a new agent/agency they have been in business for years and many in our town use this TA, we have tried numourous times to see how they could be of service to us but to no avail. Over the years we have tried using different local brick and mortar TA looking for the wonderful service that we have heard from so many. My DH and I do not look for just price when it comes to our purchases we feel that good customer service is worth the money and don't mind paying for it...but not when I do all the leg work and they literally want twice as much. Thats a whole other cruise! :)

[catmand]

Solution: Use a trusted travel agent.

 

Ah, a Michigander, so I was born, raised, and went to High School in Detroit.

As has been said, real live TA's make mistakes too. We are our own best agents no matter which way we go. We have been on five cruises in the past 28 months, I should have questioned the date sooner but didn't. This on-line agency was EIGHT HUNDRED AND TWENTY DOLLARS less for the Alaska and Hawaii cruises. I would have liked to stay with the TA we used prior but THAT is a piece of change.

All of the prior service was fine, questions were answered usually within thirty minutes and they even got us bumped up from an ocean view to a balcony for Alaska, after final payment was made. This was a computer SNAFU and I take full responsibility for not getting on it sooner.

I should also mention we have booked with a real live TA both prior to and after these two. Decisions at times unfortunetly are made around cost.

[Coral]

It is possible that the cruise line would not have cancelled your booking if you were a week late in your payment. Many times, if there is money on the booking (deposit), they will often give a week lee-way in making final payment or they will contact the TA with a reminder about paying. This is not always the case though.

[cusyl]

My travel agency says they don't like to wait until the last minute (I think they just want the use of my money longer) Anyway, they always want payment 120 days before the cruise. Anyway, my final payment for June is due next month.

[Coral]

My travel agency says they don't like to wait until the last minute (I think they just want the use of my money longer) Anyway, they always want payment 120 days before the cruise. Anyway, my final payment for June is due next month.

 

I wouldn't want to pay 120 days when the cruise lines only require 70 or 75. I can understand 5-10 days early but 40 days early is excessive. I think you are right - they just want your money early.

[mii]

Good post, Chuck. Even though I have a great TA who by the way is known on this board, I feel that that it is ultimately the passenger's responsibility to keep track of his/her cruise, when the final payment is due, etc. I agree with Catmand in that you have to be your own advocate in every step of the way on your cruise. A few days before my final payment is due I e-mail my TA to let them know that they have my permission to release the funds for the final payment.

 

Sure glad it worked out for you, Chuck;)

 

Marilyn

[flamomo]

A story like yours makes me glad I book directly with Princess. I may pay a bit more than you, but I really like to be the one in control, not a "middle person" (TA)). I know I will follow up if I think there might be a problem.

[pamwinn]

Thanks for the posting and I am happy you discovered the error in time. I just doubled checked my FP day to verify that it was correct.

[Wor Lad]

Original post quote :...be an advocate for yourself, be proactive and take some responsibility for not only success' but some failures and problems too.

 

I think this sums it all up. Well said.

[mii]

Original post quote :...be an advocate for yourself, be proactive and take some responsibility for not only success' but some failures and problems too.

 

I think this sums it all up. Well said.

 

Bingo. This is exactly how I feel too. Thanks

 

Marilyn

[CruisinChris]

You know, different cruise lines have different policies, sometimes even for different cruises. It pays to read the fine print in the brochure our your contract where payment details are explained. It wasn't so long ago, pre 9/11, that Princess had a 120 day policy that was revised to 90 days and everybody thought that was great. I believe today it's 75 days for non-holiday cruises and 90 days for holiday.

[MaryPoppinz]

I wouldn't want to pay 120 days when the cruise lines only require 70 or 75. I can understand 5-10 days early but 40 days early is excessive. I think you are right - they just want your money early.

 

Why is your travel agent getting your money at all? Your payment should be made to the cruiseline, and your agent should be getting the commission from the cruiseline. There's no reason for the TA to be involved in wanting or having your money early...or ever.

[MaryPoppinz]

I believe today it's 75 days for non-holiday cruises and 90 days for holiday.

 

Yep. That's right -- for Princess.

[californiagirl]

On our first cruise in November 1998 we were novice travelers. We used a national and I thought "trusted" agent. She made all the arrangements for us. We were leaving from San Juan, PR. Coming from CA we flew in the night before. We arrived in San Juan at 11:30 pm. We collected our luggage and got a taxi and gave him the name of the hotel. He looked at us oddly and said. "That hotel is not open it was damaged by the hurricane a month ago." :eek: There we were, tired, strangers in a foreign country with no place to lay our heads!! Needless to say we were not happy. We were at the mercy of the situation. We finally found a hotel and paid a fortune just to sleep there. (And by the time we finally got to our room it wasn't even a full night's sleep!:mad:

 

That was a defining moment for me. I now take total and complete responsibitity for our trips. We travel at least 4 weeks a year plus weekend get-aways and I rarely use a travel agent. I usually only use the agent for booking a cruise since many times they have better deals than booking with the cruiseline directly. But even when I use the agent, I know more about specific ships and which rooms are better etc. (In large part thanks to this board.;)) I have become an expert at using the internet to research all aspects of our trips. This has become a hobby for me and I have to say I enjoy the planning nearly as much as the trip. I have branched out and now help my friends to find the best places to stay, ships to book and tours to take etc.:p I have seriously considered turning "pro" and doing all that is required to be an agent, but I'm afraid it would take the fun out of it if this were a business venture. So, for now I'm content to be my own travel specialist.

 

Lisa

[Coral]

Why is your travel agent getting your money at all? Your payment should be made to the cruiseline, and your agent should be getting the commission from the cruiseline. There's no reason for the TA to be involved in wanting or having your money early...or ever.

 

I should clarify - I give my TA the credit card number and she calls it into Princess.

 

The only reason I can see a TA wanting to have the money early is that if someone is paying via check.

[Coral]

It wasn't so long ago' date=' pre 9/11, that Princess had a 120 day policy that was revised to 90 days and everybody thought that was great. I believe today it's 75 days for non-holiday cruises and 90 days for holiday.[/quote']

 

Before 9-11, it was 60 days for Princess. At least on my cruises it was.

 

I know holiday cruises are different.

[cactusrose]

Yep. That's right -- for Princess.

 

Unless it's very long cruise (20+ days sailing), then it's due 90 before departure regardless if it's a holiday sailing or not.

 

I agree with OP. My final payment was due yesterday and if I hadn't taken control of an issue, it wouldn't have been resolved in time. I don't leave anything to chance. I check and double check. I'm just one of those people who needs to know 'cause no one cares about my plans like I do.