country of residence - change adjusts terms and conditions

[arealcheapskate]

Thought this might be good to know for some of you - if you have made complimentary or discounted bookings in other countries etc. 

 

We just discovered today that whatever country of residence you set on check-in overrides the default booking currency terms. 

 

For example we had a USD casino fare that would ordinarily auto-charge gratuities daily, but it turns out that if you choose Australia - this automatically tells the system not to add them. Regardless of whether you purchased the cruise fare with gratuities inclusive. 

 

Nice way of not having to go to the customer service people and remove them. We are resident in Australia and the law basically says the fare has to be inclusive of that.

 

Additionally the liability for luggage delay, loss and damage is not excluded on the Australian terms as it is in the US terms. Basically the US gets shafted. 

 

“Primary Country of Residence” means the country where you primarily reside at the time of booking the cruise. This should be indicated by you, your agent, or other representative at the time of booking the cruise or at online check-in.

 

Australian Terms here: 

Cruise prices include the following where applicable: full onboard accommodation, onboard main meals, entertainment onboard ship, gym, some fitness classes, service charges to stateroom attendants; port charges and taxes. 

 

US Terms here: 

For Guest’s convenience, a discretionary service gratuity (“Gratuities”) will be automatically added daily to the onboard account of each Guest, except as otherwise provided below. Gratuities are subject to adjustment, at Guest’s discretion, onboard the Vessel until the morning of disembarkation. Gratuities will not be automatically added to the Guest’s onboard account if they are included in the Cruise Fare, as reflected in the Guest’s booking confirmation, if the Guest pre-pays them, or if the laws of the Guest’s primary country of residence do not permit them to be added automatically.

[Pushka]

Australian consumer protection rules for any Australian booking online regardless of which country the cruise is in. And gratuities are included as is any applicable tax. 

[arealcheapskate]

Just now, Pushka said:

Australian consumer protection rules for any Australian booking online regardless of which country the cruise is in. And gratuities are included as is any applicable tax. 

 

I'm not talking about the country it's in. I'm talking about a USD booking - issued through the Miami office with no gratuities included on the confirmation. 

 

When you check-in and provide your country of residence those terms take precedence. 

 

For example, with our Casino booking only the Miami office was able to book it. 

 

Ordinarily you need to provide your address / country at the time of booking. This matters because promotions can be different, and pricing as well.