"No-Risk Deposit" is a lie

[ipeeinthepool]

13 minutes ago, KiwiCouple34 said:

Call it what you like. Inconsistency, misleading advertising or a website error. I call it corporate dishonesty when they refuse to investigate my experience.

 

I won't book with them again, but I'm sharing as a warning that the statement of "No risk deposit" at the purchase stage is not necessarily true. 

 

Bye

[KiwiCouple34]

1 minute ago, txjim09 said:

You responded just to rant?  Feel better now?

Nope. Just contributing my experience so others can ask the right questions when booking with Celebrity. I did plenty of reading on this website to choose a cruise, so only fair I add to the data for others to learn. The whole point of this website, right? 

[hcat]

If it says no "risk"deposit on OP paperwork and he attempted to get his refund  in the time frame ( before Apr 10 th)and was denied...perhaps filing a credit card dispute might help.  Our card has been helpful 

[Orator]

Welcome to Cruise Critic. Hint: When you use a strong word like "lie" in a post the word itself promotes negative reactions. I'm not familiar with the offer, but the wording of your ad seems to indicate that you could cancel for any reason. They should honor the ad even if it was a mistake. I don't know the specific rules that govern bookings in NZ, but I would continue to persue the matter calmly if you believe you  we entitled to a refund.

[Georgia_Peaches]

38 minutes ago, KiwiCouple34 said:

Call it what you like. Inconsistency, misleading advertising or a website error. I call it corporate dishonesty when they refuse to investigate my experience.

 

I won't book with them again, but I'm sharing as a warning that the statement of "No risk deposit" at the purchase stage is not necessarily true. 

Based on the further information you provided, I'm inclined to agree that Celebrity is mistaken.  I hate to ask because I've only just started doing this myself because of things I've learned on CC, but by any chance did you take a snip of the promo that was being shown on the website at the time of booking?  It's a long shot...I know.  But I have started doing just that for instances just like these...and not just with cruise bookings...literally everything I do on a computer these days ends in a snip (picture) that I save to a file.  I hope you get it worked out.

[KiwiCouple34]

15 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

... but by any chance did you take a snip of the promo that was being shown on the website at the time of booking? 

Unfortunately not, but it's a great idea to get screen shots. I will from now on if I book another one, although I'll probably just use my Corporate Travel Agent from the outset.

 

Incidentally, I initiated a similar booking just to see what's changed, and nothing has. The presentation is identical to when I booked in October 2019. See attached screen shots.

 

Edited April 9, 2020 by KiwiCouple34
PDFs replaced with PNG

[Denny01]

This is what’s nice about using a professional TA. I hand over issues such as this and they handle it and keep me informed. Doing all the calls and waiting on line and whatever, especially with all the cancellations going on. The TA also can explain up front any issues on what the reservation specifics entail.

 

OP - it appears you used a US TA, are they available to run some of this to ground for you? 

 

Den

 

Den

Edited April 9, 2020 by Denny01

[KiwiCouple34]

35 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

OP - it appears you used a US TA, are they available to run some of this to ground for you? 

 

Yes, my Corporate TA is helping and I should have started with them before paying anything. They are the ones saying to sit on our hands and wait for Celebrity to cancel the cruise, which is quite likely.

 

Consumer protections in New Zealand are strong. I can always lodge a free complaint to escalate it above the call centre.

[jelayne]

if your Corporate TA is recommending waiting for Celebrity to cancel maybe mistakenly (yours or X’s error) ended up with a Non Refundable deposit.

If the Cruise  is cancelled your all set.  

[KiwiCouple34]

1 minute ago, jelayne said:

if your Corporate TA is recommending waiting for Celebrity to cancel maybe mistakenly (yours or X’s error) ended up with a Non Refundable deposit.

If the Cruise  is cancelled your all set.  

I paid attention to make sure it was refundable before paying, but the call centre disagrees. Others have said their paperwork shows clearly if it's refundable or not. Mine says nothing about that. Maybe the consumer laws in NZ means a different presentation of the deposit, which just says it's been paid. Pretty good chance they'll cancel the cruise anyway, which the TA is thinking is the line of least resistance compared to a complaint to the government watchdog.

[mayleeman]

Can you post your receipt so people trying to help you can see what you were operating from?

[KiwiCouple34]

19 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

Can you post your receipt so people trying to help you can see what you were operating from?

Yes. I'll put mine at the top and the other two postings from other members below.

[az_tchr]

3 hours ago, KiwiCouple34 said:

Call it what you like. Inconsistency, misleading advertising or a website error. I call it corporate dishonesty when they refuse to investigate my experience.

 

I won't book with them again, but I'm sharing as a warning that the statement of "No risk deposit" at the purchase stage is not necessarily true. 

Kiwi - none of us knows what you are talking about.  You have ranted about a plan offered in NZ.  Your confused dates and lack of details about your booking are certainly confused.  It sounds like this was made very recently - a time of total chaos for the cruise industry - you might have not understood what you were booking, a good reason to always use a TA, or you might have gotten incorrect phone info.  People make mistakes.  Your initial post though is not appropriate for Cruise Critic.

[KiwiCouple34]

3 minutes ago, az_tchr said:

Kiwi - none of us knows what you are talking about.  You have ranted about a plan offered in NZ.  Your confused dates and lack of details about your booking are certainly confused.  It sounds like this was made very recently - a time of total chaos for the cruise industry - you might have not understood what you were booking, a good reason to always use a TA, or you might have gotten incorrect phone info.  People make mistakes.  Your initial post though is not appropriate for Cruise Critic.

 

In hindsight, I would have put all the ensuing details for clarity and corrected the mistyped years, but the forum is super-basic with no enduring editing or deletion tools. 

 

As far as appropriate, it would have been highly useful reading someone else's experience of this glitch (or whatever you care to call it) and the refusal of the call centre to respond with other than a scripted answer. Sure people make mistakes, but theirs has cost me unfairly.

[mayleeman]

Thx for that. It looks, though, like a travel agency receipt showing only the amount paid and when the balance is due. Did you not receive anything showing the cruise dates, the ship, your cabin, and any type of breakdown of the total into fare per passenger, port fees, and taxes? 

[NantahalaCruiser]

2 hours ago, KiwiCouple34 said:

Yes. I'll put mine at the top and the other two postings from other members below.

Assuming that this is your own receipt (not sure what you meant by "other members" then a  couple of comments:

 

Given the Deposit due date, I assume that you must have received this receipt in early October - with the comment in the red box stating that the reservation is Non-Refundable. If this is truly a mistake, is is a shame that you did not address the discrepancy then rather than now.

 

Your original post mentioned an expiration date for a refundable deposit of April 9.  However, a standard refundable reservation would remain refundable right up until your final payment date of August 4.  Where did you get the April 9 date?

 

Sincerely hope that if this is truly a mistake that it is soon corrected.

 

Best wishes.

Edited April 10, 2020 by NantahalaCruiser

[KiwiCouple34]

1 minute ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

Assuming that this is your own receipt (not sure what you meant by "other members" then a  couple of comments:

 

Given the Deposit due date, I assume that you must have received this receipt in early October - with the comment in the red box stating that the reservation is Non-Refundable. If this is truly a mistake, is is a shame that you did not address the discrepancy then rather than now.

 

Your original post mentioned an expiration date for a refundable deposit of April 9.  However, a standard refundable reservation would remain refundable right up until your final payment date of June 28.  Where did you get the April 9 date?

 

Sincerely hope that if this is truly a mistake that it is soon corrected.

 

Best wishes.

The top one is mine. The two below are from other members for comparison to show how the NZ contract differs. Possibly why the call centre says it's not refundable because they don't know any better.

 

02 October was the date I booked and paid the deposit. The No-Risk deposit expiration date 09Apr was shown on the website as I booked and it's also when the first cancellation penalty kicks-in on the schedule of penalties. I posted an example earlier of what it looks like on the website doing a phantom booking. Unfortunately I didn't screen-capture my live one. 

 

Anyway, I'm done with it. If the cruise doesn't cancel, I'll either write a complaint to the government watchdog or just kiss it goodbye.

[omeinv]

The top one (Yours) looks like a travel agent's invoice, while the other two look like Celebrity invoices.  Since you have a travel agent, they should be the ones handling this from the get go.  In fact I'm surprised a Celebrity phone rep talked with you about the reservation since you have an agent. 

 

The document you should get - from you agent - is the actual Celebrity confirmation (invoice).  This will show what type of deposit is on the reservation.  However, the real best route is to go through your travel agent. 

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[upwarduk]

It would certainly be helpful to the O.P if a Cruise Critic member from N.Z could comment, as their T&C will be different.

For instance, our T&C in the UK have always meant that Deposits are non- refundable.

After years of complaints from UK cruisers, Celebrity have at last introduced these NRD to their US clients, but they do still have the option to book RD as well.

Different countries, different conditions, for instance, I have read that all Australian bookings now include gratuities, as it’s not in their culture to tip. This was also an option if booking a cruise from Southampton last Autumn.

Edited April 10, 2020 by upwarduk

[yorky]

2 hours ago, KiwiCouple34 said:

The top one is mine. The two below are from other members for comparison to show how the NZ contract differs. Possibly why the call centre says it's not refundable because they don't know any better.

 

02 October was the date I booked and paid the deposit. The No-Risk deposit expiration date 09Apr was shown on the website as I booked and it's also when the first cancellation penalty kicks-in on the schedule of penalties. I posted an example earlier of what it looks like on the website doing a phantom booking. Unfortunately I didn't screen-capture my live one. 

 

Anyway, I'm done with it. If the cruise doesn't cancel, I'll either write a complaint to the government watchdog or just kiss it goodbye.

 

[yorky]

Looking at your’s there appears to be nothing showing the deposit is refundable, is that correct ? Obviously without anything in writing you really have no evidence you can use to argue your point. While I certainly feel your pain and don’t agree with one or two of the posts in this thread I’m not sure there is anything you can do. To be fair to Celebrity if there is nothing on their system showing it’s refundable I would not say they are being dishonest in any way. We booked directly with them this time and had a couple of issues regarding perks and how that was costed into the final amount and they dealt with it well. I do however always take screen shots of every part of the booking right from the first screen showing the costs and perks before I even confirm my booking. When I receive my confirmation I then immediately get in touch if that does not match what I think I have booked. 

[hcat]

Does your trvl agent say it is non refundable?

 

Do they have more paperwork?

 

Without proof, hard to challenge..so wait and hope X cancels and returns all to you

[mayleeman]

@KiwiCouple34 You never answered me. It looks like your receipt is taken from a bigger document. 

 

Did you not receive anything showing the cruise dates, the ship, your cabin, and any type of breakdown of the total into fare per passenger, port fees, and taxes? 

[Pinboy]

On 4/9/2020 at 6:50 PM, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Bye

Why the sarcastic " Bye " ?? 

They appear to be new to CC and frustrated at what they seem to believe regarding RD and NRD .

A simple suggestion to review the wording on the invoice and take it up with whomever they booked with for explanation might have been more appropriate. 

 

[ipeeinthepool]

33 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Why the sarcastic " Bye " ?? 

They appear to be new to CC and frustrated at what they seem to believe regarding RD and NRD .

A simple suggestion to review the wording on the invoice and take it up with whomever they booked with for explanation might have been more appropriate. 

 

 

I don't think it's sarcastic.  I'm not sure I understand what they believe but I would hope I don't have to tell someone to review the terms and conditions of an expensive contract before they agree to the contract.  The OP stated that they won't book with Celebrity again, so I took the opportunity to say goodbye.