Who was that masked person?

[DeanoNorthPerth]

10 hours ago, petcoke said:

Deano do you think there is any chance of Regatta cruise in Dec 21 round oz Thanks 

I have no inside information but my guess is no. Australia has been very conservative in it’s approach right through this pandemic.

[DeanoNorthPerth]

8 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Do TA's in OZ  require you to pay them directly  & not the payment going to the cruise line or tour company directly?

I know in the UK that is common practice   unlike here in Canada where that would throw up many red flags

 

I don’t know about all TAs but certainly many take the payments then pass it on to the cruise line or tour company.

[DeanoNorthPerth]

7 hours ago, mauibabes said:

Deano,

So if this Travel Agency follows this very early payment practice, do you have other agencies that operate more closely with normal Oceania payment dates?  I know from our friends from OZ that there are major differences from pricing to payments in OZ.  We are fortunate in the US to be able to set up payments or final payments on auto pay to preclude such practices. We have never paid anyone but Oceania and only via a credit card.

If I did not like my agency/agents service and charges, I would not do business with them. Since I normally book upwards of two years in advance, pre-Covid, I will not even travel with or sail with a company who is holding all my money for the entire length of time from booking to sailing

Thanks for your posts, it reminds me I need to check in on our friends from Adelaide.

My TA operates using normal Oceania dates. She contacts me a week before payment is due with a reminder.

[1985rz1]

37 minutes ago, DeanoNorthPerth said:

My TA operates using normal Oceania dates. She contacts me a week before payment is due with a reminder.

Does your credit card company show that Oceania processed the payment?

[DeanoNorthPerth]

No. The travel agent.

[Beagle5]

My Australian TA has changed their process. They used to be the intermediary for the payment but are now charging the cruise line direct (ie the cruise line now appears on my CC statement). My TA said he suffered ‘death by 10,000 refunds’ last year, so I imagine they want to stay clear of the refund process in the future.

 

[petcoke]

7 hours ago, DeanoNorthPerth said:

I have no inside information but my guess is no. Australia has been very conservative in it’s approach right through this pandemic.

Thanks my guess is no as well, I wish they would cancel so we can make other plans 

[Paulchili]

12 hours ago, Beagle5 said:

My TA said he suffered ‘death by 10,000 refunds’ last year, so I imagine they want to stay clear of the refund process in the future.

It may sound harsh but IMO they asked for it. TA has no business holding on to my money for several months. What if they go out of business in the mean time or just close their doors and leave with my money (it has happened before).

My money should go straight to Oceania. 

[CintiPam]

On 5/28/2021 at 10:18 AM, palakika said:

Lyn, yes it was on US Tv among other funny Holiday Inn Express commercials.  You gave me a real chuckle!

 

Francie

I clearly am leading a much too sheltered life here in flyover country! 😉

[basor]

6 hours ago, Paulchili said:

It may sound harsh but IMO they asked for it. TA has no business holding on to my money for several months. What if they go out of business in the mean time or just close their doors and leave with my money (it has happened before).

My money should go straight to Oceania. 

I know TA's in the US (at least ) give the credit card to Oceania and the charge shows up on our credit card statement from Oceania.   The BIG problem with refunds for US TAs was that it took Oceania so long to process the refunds last Spring and early Summer that clients were giving their TAs a real hard time.  Unfortunately there was nothing the TAs could do to speed up the problem but let the clients rant at them...

[Flatbush Flyer]

1 hour ago, basor said:

I know TA's in the US (at least ) give the credit card to Oceania and the charge shows up on our credit card statement from Oceania.   The BIG problem with refunds for US TAs was that it took Oceania so long to process the refunds last Spring and early Summer that clients were giving their TAs a real hard time.  Unfortunately there was nothing the TAs could do to speed up the problem but let the clients rant at them...

FWIW, one partial $ refund plus bonus FCC (February 2022) cruise and one O cancelled total refund plus bonus FCC (May 2022) were completed in under two weeks each. 

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, basor said:

I know TA's in the US (at least ) give the credit card to Oceania and the charge shows up on our credit card statement from Oceania.   The BIG problem with refunds for US TAs was that it took Oceania so long to process the refunds last Spring and early Summer that clients were giving their TAs a real hard time.  Unfortunately there was nothing the TAs could do to speed up the problem but let the clients rant at them...

Last spring & summer  were  a whole different World   as the cruise lines/airlines etc  were scrambling to  cancel & try to refund people  while trying  to get funds to do so

I do not think they just stockpile all the deposits & final payment  in a vault in the basement

 

Read some of the stories from UK  where their TA got the refund from the cruise lines & held the cash for many months up to over a year before giving the money back to the client

 

[Paulchili]

13 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Read some of the stories from UK  where their TA got the refund from the cruise lines & held the cash for many months up to over a year before giving the money back to the client

This.....

But I am talking about TAs (mostly UK & OZ) that collect final payment early and hold on to it until final payment is actually due by Oceania.

Last year’s refunds were a new & unique problem for everyone.

Edited May 30, 2021 by Paulchili

[LHT28]

21 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

This.....

But I am talking about TAs (mostly UK & OZ) that collect final payment early and hold on to it until final payment is actually due by Oceania.

Last year’s refunds were a new & unique problem for everyone.

It seems to be  the way they do business 

seems to be the norm in those Countries

Maybe they have better protections  if the agency goes  belly up or they run off with  the money

 

I would never pay the travel agency directly &  not well in advance

 

 My TA sends a reminder a week before  payment is due

[ByTheOcean]

On 5/28/2021 at 7:40 AM, DeanoNorthPerth said:

The TAs I’m referring to here get people to pay months before due date, bank it and pay Oceania on the due date directly. As I said, very unethical.

 

(I have a booking Oct 2022 on Regatta as I am unsure travel outside of Australia will be possible much before that)

Then don’t book with them if you don’t like it. Assuming they are upfront with their payment collection dates at the time of booking and/or it is clearly stated in their terms and conditions on their website/in their brochures then anyone who books with them can hardly complain about it after the fact. 
 

I am not saying whether I agree with the practice or not. Just that consumers should ensure they enter into purchases with their eyes wide open at all times. 

[Paulchili]

34 minutes ago, ByTheOcean said:

I am not saying whether I agree with the practice or not. Just that consumers should ensure they enter into purchases with their eyes wide open at all times.

Some years ago we met a very nice British couple who paid $60,000 as their final payment on a Silversea cruise.

The TA disappeared with their money (and I imagine with lots of money from others).

I wouldn't want to be the one who has to chase that money down

[DeanoNorthPerth]

15 hours ago, ByTheOcean said:

Then don’t book with them if you don’t like it. Assuming they are upfront with their payment collection dates at the time of booking and/or it is clearly stated in their terms and conditions on their website/in their brochures then anyone who books with them can hardly complain about it after the fact. 
 

I am not saying whether I agree with the practice or not. Just that consumers should ensure they enter into purchases with their eyes wide open at all times. 

I don't. If you read my previous posts in this thread you will see that my TA does not behave in this way. But some people aren't as experienced as those of us who have travelled extensively and are quite naive on these matters. They just use a TA who is local or advertises a lot and never interacts with Oceania until they get on the ship.