Has anybody had their travel agent charge you a fee when Celebrity cancelled your cruise?

[CruisinNole]

I don't know if Celebrity is different regarding requesting a refund but when Royal Caribbean canceled our April 2020 cruise that we'd booked through a TA, we requested the refund directly from Royal. I sent an email to our TA to inform her but she did not assist us at all with the refund.

Edited January 18, 2021 by CruisinNole

[Eloise4Ever]

54 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

But let's expect the worst and complain on Cruise Critic before we even know what they plan to actually do.  Geez.  I think I would wait to see what happened first.

 

I guess you must be somebody who doesn’t like to plan ahead for a particular eventuality, based on the information available at the time. I, on the other hand, like to get my ducks in a row by trying to gather information that may be useful. One way I do that is by asking questions of others who may have had the same experience. Disappointing to see that asking a question on these boards is now classed as “complaining”.

[davekathy]

55 minutes ago, CruisinNole said:

I don't know if Celebrity is different regarding requesting a refund but when Royal Caribbean canceled our April 2020 cruise that we'd booked through a TA, we requested the refund directly from Royal. I sent an email to our TA to inform her but she did not assist us at all with the refund.

Thanks. Celebrity cancelled three of our 2020 cruises that I transferred to a TA when we first booked the cruises so I went thru the TA to request the cash refunds. Didn't go as smoothly as I thought it would, that's another story 🙄 but we eventually got 100% of our money back. Glad I didn't transfer our September 2021 cruise we booked with Celebrity to the same TA.  We've got a March 2022 RC B2B Caribbean cruise booked and unfortunately it's booked with the same TA. That TA goofed up the B2B L&S from March 2021 to March 2022. Finally got that resolved! I made it very clear I won't be doing any more business with her. Hopefully by 2022 we are back to smooth sailings. 🤞

Edited January 18, 2021 by davekathy

[barbiedoll68]

1 hour ago, phoenix_dream said:

But let's expect the worst and complain on Cruise Critic before we even know what they plan to actually do.  Geez.  I think I would wait to see what happened first.

 

Perhaps they are saying that they need to check the circumstance of every cancelled cruise to see where it stands.  Case in point - there are a considerable number of people who cancelled cruises before Celebrity did due to Corona Virus concerns (not the OP apparently, but many), and then are coming on Cruise Critic whining and moaning that they are not getting the same benefits as those who waited for Celebrity to cancel.  Difficult situation I admit, but in those situations they made that choice and therefore were subject to the terms and conditions.  Perhaps the TA wants to charge those people cancellation fees, which is well within their rights to do so, and IMHO ethically appropriate.  

 

ps.  I am not a TA, nor do I know any personally, and honestly have not been overly thrilled with my service this past year, but fair is fair.

Why should she be charged a cancellation fee at all? It seems she is perfectly willing to go on the cruise but is unable to do so because the cruise line has cancelled it. TWICE, if I’m understanding correctly as it was a lift and shift. It’s totally out of her control. So why should she pay $200 and have received nothing but 2 cancellations? How exactly is that ethically appropriate?  How is that fair? 

[barbiedoll68]

1 hour ago, 1025cruise said:

Getting charged a cancellation fee for a cruise cancelled by the cruise line? Would be the very last time I used that TA.

This would be my thinking as well. 

[davekathy]

25 minutes ago, barbiedoll68 said:

Why should she be charged a cancellation fee at all? It seems she is perfectly willing to go on the cruise but is unable to do so because the cruise line has cancelled it. TWICE, if I’m understanding correctly as it was a lift and shift. It’s totally out of her control. So why should she pay $200 and have received nothing but 2 cancellations? How exactly is that ethically appropriate?  How is that fair? 

Currently the OP hasn't been charged a cancelation fee, yet. Agree the OP shouldn't have to pay the cancellation fee because Celebrity canceled the cruise. But the TA is currently holding the trump card. The cancelation fee is published in the T&Cs of their contract the OP agreed to. IMO any TA having that statement in their T&Cs  should do the right thing and make exception of no cancellation fees for all cruises that have been cancelled by the cruise lines and not cancelled by the paying customer. It's out of all of our control. The TAs still get their commissions on cruises that have been canceled by the cruise lines due to the pandemic. 

Edited January 18, 2021 by davekathy

[jelayne]

 

1 hour ago, Eloise4Ever said:

 

That's what I was wondering. Maybe they will refuse to process my refund until I pay the fee? Unfortunately because this reservation was a lift and shift Celebrity have told me that the refund has to be handled by the TA.

All of our booking are with a TA but we have never had a refund come through the TA.  All refunds have been processed by Celebrity direct to our credit card not by the TA.

Are you by chance outside the  US, as I know that  booking are handled differently in other countries?

[wrk2cruise]

If OP got a letter from Celebrity regarding the cancellation there should be a link in there to request a refund.  You don't have to go thru the TA to request a refund vs a FCC if Celebrity cancels.

[LGW59]

4 hours ago, Eloise4Ever said:

 

My travel agent is making noises about charging a fee because we want a refund for a cruise that has been cancelled by Celebrity. They maintain that the following statement on their invoice allows them to do this:

 

 

I could understand this fee being charged if the client cancels the cruise however I am shocked that it could be charged when the cruise line has cancelled. I understand that this is an exceedingly difficult time for travel agencies but this is a very underhand way of making money. I am wondering if anybody else has come up against this?

Have you called Celebrity to inquire?

 

[Eloise4Ever]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

 

All of our booking are with a TA but we have never had a refund come through the TA.  All refunds have been processed by Celebrity direct to our credit card not by the TA.

Are you by chance outside the  US, as I know that  booking are handled differently in other countries?

 

The booking is with a US agent. Our payments are processed by Celebrity. I am wondering if the agent will refuse to progress the refund with X unless I agree to pay a fee.

[Eloise4Ever]

37 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

If OP got a letter from Celebrity regarding the cancellation there should be a link in there to request a refund.  You don't have to go thru the TA to request a refund vs a FCC if Celebrity cancels.

 

Apparently I do have to request the refund via my TA because the reservation is the result of a lift and shift.  When I try to request a refund via that link I get the message below:

[Eloise4Ever]

15 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Have you called Celebrity to inquire?

 

 

I called X to enquire about submitting the refund request myself.  They said no and told me to talk to the TA.

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

Agreed, you need to get a new TA.  You may have to pay this fee this one time, but you will never have to deal with this run-around again. 

Edited January 18, 2021 by WesternBroncoCruiser

[Mr. Click]

58 minutes ago, Eloise4Ever said:

 

Apparently I do have to request the refund via my TA because the reservation is the result of a lift and shift.  When I try to request a refund via that link I get the message below:

I had a similar situation with our October 2021 Med cruise that was canceled by Celebrity last week.  I contacted my big online TA to inquire about it since I had not gotten the email yet.  They sent me the link to request a refund of my deposit, a whopping $50, and when I used the link I got the same screen. Emailed the TA about it and she called and requested the refund for me, said nothing about any cancelation fee but did say to allow 60 days for the refund.  I am still waiting for the "official" email from Celebrity so I can get a refund on the travel insurance....

 

Now look back at 2020. We had 3 cruises booked, one was canceled by Celebrity, one was canceled at final payment by me because I knew it would never sail--Alaska in July--and one was Lifted and Shifted to the one that just got canceled.  Total fees from my TA? Zero.  I expected a fee for the Alaska trip because I canceled but they said no, you booked it onboard and transfered it to us so no fee.  

 

All of that said, if any TA wants to charge me a fee for a refund on a trip canceled by a cruise line or an airline or a hotel they won't be my TA anymore.  Shame on the OP's TA.

[Eloise4Ever]

I wanted to update here how things turned out with my TA today. I formally asked that they request the refund from Celebrity. The cancellation fee was not mentioned today but the reply from the TA was to the effect that they called X and X said because my deposit was non-refundable I was not entitled to a refund, only an FCC of 125%. Furthermore, the FCC could only be spent on a future booking with this TA! I pushed back to say that X were legally obliged to refund the fare as they had cancelled the cruise, not me. Supposedly the TA called X again and escalated it to supervisor who agreed to process the refund. However the TA stated that X were not legally obliged to provide a refund as they had not chosen to cancel the cruise, rather that it was cancelled due to the authorities decision to stop sailings longer than 7 days from the US. They say Force Majeure (i.e. unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract) applies and X are not responsible. It all sounds very fishy to me but thankfully my refund is underway. So I would encourage anybody who comes up against something like this not to accept any offer they are unhappy with and keep pushing back. Thank you to those who gave constructive feedback to my question.

[ScubesDad]

Wow; quite the ordeal to get your money back. Glad it appears to be resolved  to your satisfaction.

As others have suggested it is time for you to search for a new TA.

I am very surprised that someone played the Force Majeure card, (I suspect the TA) as that would be a significant change in policy by -X- ( and I have no doubt it is somewhere in the cruise contract; however, I have never read the contract as  I already know they have all the rights and I have none) and a significant loss of goodwill by -X-.

[Billdref]

The TA who changed a fee to handle the cancellation would no longer be my TA!

I had two very $$ cruises cancelled - including Celebrity air - and my TA handled it all.

My refunds came within two weeks - credited to my CC - so I contacted the cards involved

and have received a check for the amounts.

Using a reliable TA just makes sense.

[hcat]

On 1/18/2021 at 12:15 PM, 1025cruise said:

Getting charged a cancellation fee for a cruise cancelled by the cruise line? Would be the very last time I used that TA.

Absolutely...I would dump them pronto, complain to X about their practices and  lodge a credit card dispute for any unwarranted fee charged.  Even if no fee is charged in the end.. it leaves a bad taste just for TA  bringing it up

[hcat]

On 1/19/2021 at 1:24 PM, Eloise4Ever said:

I wanted to update here how things turned out with my TA today. I formally asked that they request the refund from Celebrity. The cancellation fee was not mentioned today but the reply from the TA was to the effect that they called X and X said because my deposit was non-refundable I was not entitled to a refund, only an FCC of 125%. Furthermore, the FCC could only be spent on a future booking with this TA! I pushed back to say that X were legally obliged to refund the fare as they had cancelled the cruise, not me. Supposedly the TA called X again and escalated it to supervisor who agreed to process the refund. However the TA stated that X were not legally obliged to provide a refund as they had not chosen to cancel the cruise, rather that it was cancelled due to the authorities decision to stop sailings longer than 7 days from the US. They say Force Majeure (i.e. unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract) applies and X are not responsible. It all sounds very fishy to me but thankfully my refund is underway. So I would encourage anybody who comes up against something like this not to accept any offer they are unhappy with and keep pushing back. Thank you to those who gave constructive feedback to my question.

  Glad it is working out.....All very fishy...

The contract clause was vague..it did not say anything about a fee for a cruise cancelled by the cruise line,  and we never heard of X refusing a refund on a cruise they cancelled,  I believe if they cancel, they have a set time to process it. 

 

Once  you get your refund on your card,,I,d insist they disclose who at X may have told them that load of bulloney...and/ or  send that alleged statement in to X...

[miched]

I stopped using 2 different very large TAs because they both charged $50 for any change.   I seen a cabin available that I wanted,  charged $50,   Upgraded to a different category, $50.  Asked for the reduced price of $100 and was going to be charged $50.   

Don’t  know why people keep using them

 

Another large TA added $50 booking fee to book a cruise with them.  Sorry  good by, you are not getting my business.    There are too many other TAs that give good service and don’t charge extra.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅
 

 

Edited January 29, 2021 by miched

[macmax]

On 1/19/2021 at 1:24 PM, Eloise4Ever said:

I wanted to update here how things turned out with my TA today. I formally asked that they request the refund from Celebrity. The cancellation fee was not mentioned today but the reply from the TA was to the effect that they called X and X said because my deposit was non-refundable I was not entitled to a refund, only an FCC of 125%. Furthermore, the FCC could only be spent on a future booking with this TA! I pushed back to say that X were legally obliged to refund the fare as they had cancelled the cruise, not me. Supposedly the TA called X again and escalated it to supervisor who agreed to process the refund. However the TA stated that X were not legally obliged to provide a refund as they had not chosen to cancel the cruise, rather that it was cancelled due to the authorities decision to stop sailings longer than 7 days from the US. They say Force Majeure (i.e. unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract) applies and X are not responsible. It all sounds very fishy to me but thankfully my refund is underway. So I would encourage anybody who comes up against something like this not to accept any offer they are unhappy with and keep pushing back. Thank you to those who gave constructive feedback to my question.

 

That clause on their invoice has been there for years and states that they reserve the right to charge a cancellation fee not that they would automatically do so. If the agent charged you a fee for a cruise cancelled by a cruise line, you should speak with their franchise owner. &/or dispute that charge with your cc company. Also, your agent was incorrect or had been misinformed by X as their current policy on the Global Suspensions clearly states that non-refundable deposit fares are fully refundable.

Q. #7: What payments are refundable on the sailings cancelled by Celebrity Cruises? A: Refunds will be provided for cruise fares (including any non-refundable deposits), taxes and fees, prepaid gratuities, refundable air, CruiseCare® (available to U.S. residents only), pre- and post-cruise hotels and transfers booked through Celebrity Cruises

 

If you chose to receive a full refund, it would be credited to the original form of payment by Celebrity it does not go through the TA and any FCC's are held in your Celebrity account and do not have to be used with any particular travel agency.  The TA would probably not even receive a copy of the FCC #'s.  

[WesternBroncoCruiser]

Wow, it has been a while since I have been on Cruise Critic,, but I wanted to comment about how things are going.  I had a booking on a May 29th cruise and I really feel that it is super important to have the right kind of TA.  My TA is a local gal but she is part of a larger travel agency that is supposedly a big player  nationally but specializes in personalized customer service.   Well at least my gal does.  Anyway, we had our cruise that was supposed to go in May and we approached the final payment date.  She actually worked with Celebrity to get our final payment date pushed out two weeks because she was expecting cancellation at any time and wanted to offer us the most options for moving to 2022. This was actually the 3rd time our cruise had been cancelled.   She did not charge us any fee at all and as a matter of fact got us all three options for 2022 - We choose the lift and shift and price actually went down because we chose a 7 night cruise. We could have chosen a full refund or the 125% FCC.   I asked her if she was doing OK and why she doesn't charge any thing.  She said she was hanging in there and looking forward to lots to travelers booking in 2022, and she never charges a fee because she wants folks to come back to her for the next cruise.   She says that she wants my business long term.