Bumped from Cunard Cruise

[King Amo]

Just now, *Miss G* said:

 

Here it is:

 

 

Perfect😀

[johnnyswitzerland]

OP indicates final payment was due 10 June and TA was paid 7 June.  There would also likely be a grace period of a day or two before booking was dropped.  I believe the TA did not submit final payment on time.

[MCC retired]

I don't believe that you were bumped but the TA failed to pay your Final Payment to Cunard.

Credit Card payment should have been passed thru to Cunard directly by TA .

Totally your TA's screwup.

[david63]

There are a couple of things here that don't seem to ring true.

 

Why could you not access MyCunard until you had paid your balance? Why did you have to pay your balance 15 weeks pre cruise when the norm is 12/13 weeks?

7 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

did your agent send you the Client Copy of your reservation confirmation when final payment was received by them from you?

That was the question I was asking earlier and could be crucial in all of this.

 

With my "doom and gloom" hat on I am coming to the conclusion that the TA has screwed this up big style.

Edited August 1 by david63

[Nm hehappysailing]

17 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Distressing.  I put in four plus decades in the "travel business" and never heard of anyone getting "bumped" from a confirmed, paid for cabin or even guarantee... either in the days of berthing books or computers.  

 

What is odd is that you could access the booking after final payment, too... had that not been paid in for whatever reason, the booking would have been cancelled the and presumably not show in "My Cunard"

 

Personally, I would reach out directly to Cunard on this... I appreciate there will be "you have to speak to your agent" reflex action... but ask to speak to the supervisor. He or she can at least offer some explanation as how this happened and what THEY intend to do about it. In the end, Cunard has your money (we presume) and the ultimate provider of what you paid for. It sounds like the payment may not have been posted by Cunard properly. 

That’s what I thought -I went through my browser history earlier this evening and still showed my access to Mycunard and all the onshore excursion links 🔗 clicked on . I’ll ring Cunard again in the morning & keep ringing 

[Victoria2]

1 minute ago, david63 said:

There are a couple of things here that don't seem to ring true.

 

Why could you not access MuCunard until you had paid your balance? Why did you have to pay your balance 15 weeks pre cruise when the norm is 12/13 weeks?

That was the question I was asking earlier and could be crucial in all of this.

 

With my "doom and gloom" hat on I am coming to the conclusion that the TA has screwed this up big style.

When you pay via an agent, in my case the pay by period is generally earlier than final Cunard pay date.

The difference for us though is although the agent takes all the cc details when final payment is due [and of course on initial booking, the payment goes direct to Cunard and not into our agent's banking system.

The reverse was true when we got a part payment back from Cunard. It was from the company and not our agent.

 

Some agents might bank the money and then pay out of their account which could account for any delay.

 

Choose your agent very carefully.

 

 

[Nm hehappysailing]

13 minutes ago, King Amo said:

Wasn't there an incident of this a month or so ago, for someone's honeymoon getting bumped? I'm pretty sure it ended up being resolved (although not necessarily with an appropriate level of goodwill gesture), but can't remember what tactics were used to get there. I'll see if I can find it, but I'm sure someone else will be quicker in doing so. 

Yes in may -it’s how I found this forum . For him. , it was a downgrade in cabin , For me , an entire booking 

[Victoria2]

1 minute ago, Nm hehappysailing said:

That’s what I thought -I went through my browser history earlier this evening and still showed my access to Mycunard and all the onshore excursion links 🔗 clicked on . I’ll ring Cunard again in the morning & keep ringing 

Keep on at your agent too, on the hour every waking hour. Something has gone wrong here.

 

When you paid the deposit, or the June final amount, did your statement show Cunard or the agent as the payee?

[Nm hehappysailing]

11 minutes ago, david63 said:

There are a couple of things here that don't seem to ring true.

 

Why could you not access MyCunard until you had paid your balance? Why did you have to pay your balance 15 weeks pre cruise when the norm is 12/13 weeks?

That was the question I was asking earlier and could be crucial in all of this.

 

With my "doom and gloom" hat on I am coming to the conclusion that the TA has screwed this up big style.

 

2 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Keep on at your agent too, on the hour every waking hour. Something has gone wrong here.

 

When you paid the deposit, or the June final amount, did your statement show Cunard or the agent as the payee?

Showed TA as the recipient . I didn’t anything could be wrong  as I was accessing MyCunard a few days later as were my friends . System is extra bad too , that if the payment had been missed, that no one reached out to us say “hey, do you still want this voyage ?” 

[3rdGenCunarder]

7 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

When you pay via an agent, in my case the pay by period is generally earlier than final Cunard pay date.

The difference for us though is although the agent takes all the cc details when final payment is due [and of course on initial booking, the payment goes direct to Cunard and not into our agent's banking system.

The reverse was true when we got a part payment back from Cunard. It was from the company and not our agent.

 

Some agents might bank the money and then pay out of their account which could account for any delay.

 

Choose your agent very carefully.

 

 

 

This is exactly my experience with my TA as well. I get final payment reminders at least a week before Cunard's final date. 

 

All transactions show as Cunard. If you looked at my credit card statement, you wouldn't know who my TA is, or if I used one. 

 

I just checked my account last night, and saw $176 from Cunard. WHAT? My final bill was only around $7. And then I saw the minus sign. Right, a tour was cancelled and Cunard refunded to the card on which the tour had been booked.

 

So this raises another question for @Nm hehappysailing, have you received refunds for any tours or extras that you booked?

 

[Nm hehappysailing]

I really appreciate everyone’s help - if only I had found these forums earlier , I could have made far better choices when booking 

[Victoria2]

4 minutes ago, Nm hehappysailing said:

 

Showed TA as the recipient . I didn’t anything could be wrong  as I was accessing MyCunard a few days later as were my friends . System is extra bad too , that if the payment had been missed, that no one reached out to us say “hey, do you still want this voyage ?” 

Right.

 

Ask to see date proof of passing on the payment to Cunard, just to make sure it was passed on in time.

Edited August 1 by Victoria2
k

[david63]

13 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Some agents might bank the money and then pay out of their account which could account for any delay.

And if they do then that should be in a ring-fenced account and not in their general account.

[Victoria2]

2 minutes ago, Nm hehappysailing said:

 

Showed TA as the recipient . I didn’t anything could be wrong  as I was accessing MyCunard a few days later as were my friends . System is extra bad too , that if the payment had been missed, that no one reached out to us say “hey, do you still want this voyage ?” 

You really have to have a discussion with your agent.

All payment reminders come from him, well in advance of date required and if we ever got very near, another reminder would be sent.

Thats what agents are for. They are the go-between and do all the leg work for you...or should do.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 minutes ago, Nm hehappysailing said:

I really appreciate everyone’s help - if only I had found these forums earlier , I could have made far better choices when booking 

 

Well, now you have found us, and I hope that WHEN (trying to be positive here!) your booking issues are solved, you'll explore more of the site. There are posters on the port of call threads with a lot of information to share. It will help you plan your time in port.

[Victoria2]

Just now, david63 said:

And if they do then that should be in a ring-fenced account and not in their general account.

but it still involves third party paying which isn't as instantaneous as directly paying Cunard.

[WantedOnVoyage]

All very curious... the credit card statement would never show "ABC Travel"... ever. It would always shows the vendor i.e. Cunard or British Airways. A travel agent is just that... an agent for steamship lines, airlines, hotels.... not the provider of the service or the vendor.

 

I would go straight to Cunard on this one.  They should be able to tell you in 23 secs. what was received by them (which is all that matters) and when.  

 

Do be aware that if you use an agent, all the nagging "we want your money" e-mails will still go to the agent. Not you. And neither would "your booking has been cancelled" as we did not get final payment in time. It's the responsibility of the agent to forward this to you.

 

 

[Host Hattie]

1 minute ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

All very curious... the credit card statement would never show "ABC Travel"... ever. It would always shows the vendor i.e. Cunard or British Airways

That may be the case where you book but it's not always the case for UK bookings. And as the poster is in Australia you can't be certain what it would show for them.

[King Amo]

5 minutes ago, Host Hattie said:

That may be the case where you book but it's not always the case for UK bookings. And as the poster is in Australia you can't be certain what it would show for them.

Indeed, and we've discussed this before too. I paid my TA for our latest trip, and the bank statement shows them rather than Cunard. Nothing is cut and dried here. 

[WantedOnVoyage]

Really?  How bizarre.  I have used my credit card to purchase travel via British agencies and it always shows the actual supplier.  

[Victoria2]

4 minutes ago, WantedOnVoyage said:

Really?  How bizarre.  I have used my credit card to purchase travel via British agencies and it always shows the actual supplier.  

Specifically cruise bookings?

 

It seems not all cruise agents/agencies process bookings in the same way.

 

 

[Windsurfboy]

If as is said there is a cabin available,  even if PG , then read riot act to TA or Cunard  whoever responsible for glitch.  Say you'll have that at no extra charge thank you. 

[Megabear2]

The last time I used a travel agent my money was shown as to them not Cunard.  My booking remained after final payment no problem but when it came to check in/labels nothing worked.  Chasing my agent and Cunard the latter told me the agent hadn't sent my funds although they knew they were coming and had been received.  When I queried this I was told that particular agent made bulk payments for many cruises and as they were something called a preferred agent Cunard knew they were coming.  My actual booking opened up only 4 days before my flight to Hong Kong as that was when the money processed through Cunard.  

 

Could the OP's agent have such an arrangement and missed them off?

[Pushpit]

4 minutes ago, Megabear2 said:

 

Could the OP's agent have such an arrangement and missed them off?

It would certainly explain the blame on the new accountancy software mentioned by the OP, and also the my.cunard withdrawal. If you book direct to Cunard and don't pay the deposit on time then my.cunard just doesn't allow a further login.

[GeorgianGal100]

12 minutes ago, Windsurfboy said:

If as is said there is a cabin available,  even if PG , then read riot act to TA or Cunard  whoever responsible for glitch.  Say you'll have that at no extra charge thank you. 

I was going to suggest the same.  If it's a glitch then that's not your fault and the responsibility to sort it out is with whoever was using the software when the glitch was made (if that's true).  I can't believe anyone would think saying it was due to a glitch would absolve them of any further responsibility.  This topic is quite rightly getting a lot of interest so if it's Cunard's fault they won't like the bad PR. If it's the TA's fault you would deserve that PG for their incompetence.

I really hope you get this sorted soon, please let us know the outcome and I am so sorry this has happened to you, I'm routing for you.