Travel Agent did not pay cruise company. So no FCC

[Topher500]

Hi All,

My cruise has been cancelled in August with NCL. I had paid my Travel Agent the full balance on the 6th May this year. As the cruise has been cancelled I wanted to take advantage of the 125% cruise credit. It turns out that although I had paid the TA in full, The TA has not paid NCL in full and I am only entitled to 125% of monies paid to NCL. The TA had only paid the deposit. Has anyone experience this? Anything I can do? Is this normal practice? I am looking to re-book again in April and the travel agent to be fair is giving me a good deal but I am still quite angry about this. 

 

Thanks all

Chris

[ontheweb]

Never, never use a TA who does not make all charged directly to the cruise company!

 

If you were in the USA, I would suggest contacting the BBB to make a complaint about the TA's business practices, but as you are in Scotland, I do not know what equivalent if any you have in the UK.

 

What a beautiful land you have. Been there both on a cruise and a land trip as DW is of Scottish descent. Her late father was one of the brave RAF pilots during WWII.

[MBP&O2/O]

Have a word with ABTA.?

[Topher500]

Thanks all. Yes I am in the UK. ABTA sounds like a good idea. So am I correct in saying that this shouldn’t happen, even in the uk ? Thanks


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[Topher500]

Also the TA is a very large and reputable one. This is why I am surprised

 

 

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[Topher500]

Never, never use a TA who does not make all charged directly to the cruise company!
 
If you were in the USA, I would suggest contacting the BBB to make a complaint about the TA's business practices, but as you are in Scotland, I do not know what equivalent if any you have in the UK.
 
What a beautiful land you have. Been there both on a cruise and a land trip as DW is of Scottish descent. Her late father was one of the brave RAF pilots during WWII.

Thank You. It is lovely here when the weather is good. I was hoping to meet some American friends who I had met on cruises in the US this July. They had booked a cruise round the UK and Ireland. Unfortunately this has been cancelled :-(.


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[LHT28]

Ask the TA  to give you the extra 25%  for your next booking  plus all of your money back

 

Apparently  not reputable enough

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

OP: Two pieces of missing info here are the deadline date of your final payment and your instructions/agreement with the TA regarding when to make it. 

 

Even in the U.S., where it would be rare (and very concerning) for a TA to charge your credit card as an intermediary (rather than passing the info on to the cruise line for it to make the charge, there can be occasions where a customer may request/authorize the TA to withhold doing the final payment until a particular date (and, perhaps, use the "card on file."

 

So OP,  when was your FP due, what was your paydate agreement (if any) with the TA and when did NCL actually cancel the cruise?

 

If NCL cancelled your cruise before the date when you and TA agreed FP to NCL was to be made, it would make sense that all you are due is the money paid prior to that date  (and/or an FCC for that amount). But, if your understanding with the TA is that your "full" balance payment was to be made by the TA to NCL before it cancelled the cruise, you are then entitled to the full amount of refund and/or FCCs) in NCL's published policies.

 

What may be most troubling here is the probable lack of communication between OP and the TA. FWIW, we always give our TAs very specific instructions regarding what day prior to the final pay deadline we will connect for my authorization to use a CC number provided at that time.

 

 

 

 

[VMax1700]

2 hours ago, Topher500 said:

Hi All,

My cruise has been cancelled in August with NCL. I had paid my Travel Agent the full balance on the 6th May this year. As the cruise has been cancelled I wanted to take advantage of the 125% cruise credit. It turns out that although I had paid the TA in full, The TA has not paid NCL in full and I am only entitled to 125% of monies paid to NCL. The TA had only paid the deposit. Has anyone experience this? Anything I can do? Is this normal practice? I am looking to re-book again in April and the travel agent to be fair is giving me a good deal but I am still quite angry about this. 

 

Thanks all

Chris

 

Most important question (to me!) is.....did the travel agent refund your money in full?  

[Topher500]

 
Most important question (to me!) is.....did the travel agent refund your money in full?  

Travel agent has offered to refund in full. However I want to rebook. They have arranged a good deal on a new cruise but I’m still miffed


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[VMax1700]

I have only used a travel agent to book a cruise once and that was a UK travel agent (one of the largest on this side of the Planet 😉) .  My credit card showed a payment directly to the travel agent (not the cruise line), which is what I expected would happen.  So it may be different here to what it is in the USA.

Perhaps ABTA would advise your next step, but I am a fiem believer in negotiating an agreement.  Talk to the travel agent, point out what you are missing, point out how you feel about them not paying the cruise line and (perhaps later) mention that you really don't want to have to take to social media to get made good.

[Topher500]

@Flatbush Flyer My payment deadline was 26th May. I had paid in full on the 6th May. NCL announced cancellations on 16th June. I am unaware that there could or should have been any other payment instructions. I made the original booking 1st Aug 2019 and paid deposit at that point. Cruise date is 23rd Aug

Thanks

Edited June 28, 2020 by Topher500

[LHT28]

38 minutes ago, VMax1700 said:

I have only used a travel agent to book a cruise once and that was a UK travel agent (one of the largest on this side of the Planet 😉) .  My credit card showed a payment directly to the travel agent (not the cruise line), which is what I expected would happen.  So it may be different here to what it is in the USA.

 

In N.A  most payments go direct to the  cruise line  not to the TA to pass on

For us to see the payment to the TA would be  a big red flag 

I have seen some posts from UK residents that they use a TA but the CC payment goes to the cruise line  so maybe seeking out  an agency  that will give the cruise  line your CC info  directly  will be the way to go in the future

 

I realize  the UK  does things differently  & it  may have worked  well  until  a Pandemic hits 😉

JMO

[Hlitner]

Apparently, the way cruises are booked in the UK is somewhat different then what is done in North America.    When we make cruise payments, even if it through a cruise/travel agent, the payment goes to the cruise line almost immediately and is actually processed by the cruise line.   So what happened to you in Scotland would generally not be an issue here in the USA.

 

Hank

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, Topher500 said:

 

Travel agent has offered to refund in full. However I want to rebook. They have arranged a good deal on a new cruise but I’m still miffed


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No way would I use that TA again. Not matter how good of a deal. Once bitten, twice shy.  Take the money and shop around for another TA or book directly with the cruise line. 

[ontheweb]

4 minutes ago, davekathy said:

No way would I use that TA again. Not matter how good of a deal. Once bitten, twice shy.  Take the money and shop around for another TA or book directly with the cruise line. 

I think the saying that applies is "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." I second get a different TA if you do not get everything that you feel should be coming to you. And even then consider getting a new TA.

[davekathy]

27 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

I think the saying that applies is "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me." I second get a different TA if you do not get everything that you feel should be coming to you. And even then consider getting a new TA.

I like mine better. No second chance. 

Edited June 28, 2020 by davekathy

[drsel]

I also used a large US online travel agent to book a PO cruise and my CC statement showed that the deposit amount of $135 was paid to the US online agent and not PO Cruises.

The US agent also said that they will directly debit my credit card with the final payment in July without me needing to phone them.
This will happen automatically.

My booking is showing on the PO website, so I don't think I should worry

[Flatbush Flyer]

23 minutes ago, drsel said:

I also used a large US online travel agent to book a PO cruise and my CC statement showed that the deposit amount of $135 was paid to the US online agent and not PO Cruises.

The US agent also said that they will directly debit my credit card with the final payment in July without me needing to phone them.
This will happen automatically.

My booking is showing on the PO website, so I don't think I should worry

BIG mistake!

[LHT28]

25 minutes ago, drsel said:

I also used a large US online travel agent to book a PO cruise and my CC statement showed that the deposit amount of $135 was paid to the US online agent and not PO Cruises.

The US agent also said that they will directly debit my credit card with the final payment in July without me needing to phone them.
This will happen automatically.

My booking is showing on the PO website, so I don't think I should worry

It may only be  a problem if  the cruise is cancelled  & you are waiting for a refund

 At $135 for deposit it must be  a good deal & maybe worth the risk to you

[drsel]

BIG mistake!

why do you say it's a big mistake? 

 

This giant US online travel agent is probably the only agent to give star ratings to each and every Cruise ship of almost all the cruise lines.

They has been recommended to me by many cruisers I met on my past Cruises.

 

There are very few online US travel agents who can book PO Cruises

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 minute ago, drsel said:

This large US online travel agent has been recommended to me by many cruisers I met on my past Cruises.
There are very few online US travel agents who can book PO Cruises

Not a problem - until it's a problem.

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, drsel said:

why do you say it's a big mistake? 

 

This giant US online travel agent is probably the only agent to give star ratings to each and every Cruise ship of almost all the cruise lines.

They has been recommended to me by many cruisers I met on my past Cruises.

 

There are very few online US travel agents who can book PO Cruises

 

 If you are happy with the deal  that is all that matters

 

Good luck with the cruise

[davekathy]

6 hours ago, drsel said:

I also used a large US online travel agent to book a PO cruise and my CC statement showed that the deposit amount of $135 was paid to the US online agent and not PO Cruises.

The US agent also said that they will directly debit my credit card with the final payment in July without me needing to phone them.
This will happen automatically.

My booking is showing on the PO website, so I don't think I should worry

Why does the TA need to hold your money?  

[drsel]

Why does the TA need to hold your money?  

I don't think they are holding the money because the booking has been done and is clearly seen on the PO website. 

It is only a deposit of 135 dollars which is given to PO, that's why the booking is done.

the final payment for the PO October Cruise is due in July and will be taken automatically from my credit card, as I mentioned earlier.

 

this old, established giant online US travel agent has a unique feature of ranking Cruises by price per night in addition to giving you star ratings of each and every ship on most of the cruise lines.

They also have a sophisticated advance search engine.

 

Unfortunately with them, direct bookings online are not possible, but you have to phone them or email them.

I am sure most of you have figured out who I am referring to