Bumped from Cunard Cruise

[stan01]

1 hour ago, Winifred 22 said:

You can’t expect Cunard to move existing booked passengers or expect them to give up their booked and fully paid for cabins because a T A has  made a mistake and not paid over funds in a timely manner according to agreed T and C’s. It is for the TA to sort out whatever financially needs to be done in terms of a better cabin or refund. It’s not other Cunard’s passengers’s problem and should not be made to be however harsh that seems. 

 

Things happen behind the scenes all the time that only Cunard knows about.  They will almost certainly have ways to fix this so that everyone is happy.  If Cunard offered you a $300 on board credit to switch cabins to a different one would you take it?  You may say never, but other passengers would say sure.  The travel agency and Cunard can get creative to solve this problem rather than taking the easy way out which is to say "no, so sorry".  For OP's situation I certainly hope the travel agency and Cunard explore all available options to get OP back on the cruise they booked and paid for.  

Edited August 3 by stan01

[daisybel]

If Cunard cancelled your booking due to non payment by agent, what has happened to your deposit ? Is Cunard still holding it or has it been used as a cancellation charge as per rules of your initial reservation? ( hope not) 

Ask your Agent . Also would be wanting to escalate  this problem with Owner/manager of Agency .Is the Agency a Member of AFTA or ATAS .Maybe give them a call if nothing resolved  in the next few days . I think your Agent will be having a few sleepless nights ??

[JT1101]

My TA just processed my last payment for my December trip on QM2 and my CC transaction shows they sent it direct to Cunard. That is what a TA is supposed to do. 

[daisybel]

JT1101-you are correct TA is under obligation to process monies held for the client to the wholesaler by the due by date - just to make sure , a few days before the deadline  

[Nick&Simon]

3 hours ago, JT1101 said:

My TA just processed my last payment for my December trip on QM2 and my CC transaction shows they sent it direct to Cunard. That is what a TA is supposed to do. 

Not it it’s a net fare. We do not know if it is a net fare or not.

[stephen@stoneyard.co.uk]

I really hope this is sorted out for the poster. Hopefully a suitable cabin can be found. Even if it is resolved this is not how you are supposed to get ready for a cruise. The enjoyment they will get from the cruise has been reduced by all the stress.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for good news for the poster. 
 

Did the agent mess up or was it Cunard. That should not be the passengers concern. The one person we can say who did not mess up was the passenger. The fact the passenger had had to be involved, and even discovered the issue, is another mess up.  This should have all been discovered and dealt with between the agency and Cunard administration teams. 
 

The situation is even more difficult because the trip involves other (not formally linked) travel arrangements, they are travelling with friends,  the cruise has also been sold as separate segments, and some of those segments are sold out. None of this is supposed to be a problem but it seems it is in this case. 
 

I wonder legally who is legally responsible in these situation.  You might book with an agent but is your contract with Cunard. Did Cunard appoint the agent to represent them so the agent is acting as Cunard. Is the agent working for and responsible to you, or for Cunard. When we say my travel agent is that correct.  Is it really Cunards  travel agent.  It may be different in different countries. 
 

I discovered an agent had not paid for my cruise when the cruise line went bankrupt. The cruise lines bonding organisation refused to refund me. The travel agent eventually did after many months. It was complicated as the agent and cruise line were in a different country from me and we were leaving the EU. Luckily it was a short cheap cruise so the amount was small. I did wonder if agents did this regularly to boost their cash reserves, or if they knew something was wrong in advance. Of course delaying payment to the cruise line might have contributed to situation that happened. 

 

 

[shippmates]

An agent must submit the payment directly to the cruise line.  I always pay my agent by credit card.  If you pay my agent by check, she must send the check to her agency and they will send the check to the cruise line.  By using this method, you add days to the payment processing time.  It is much easier to use a credit card.  If you are using a TA for the first time, ask them if your payment goes directly to the cruise line.  Hope this is solved to their advantage.

 

[3rdGenCunarder]

5 hours ago, stephen@stoneyard.co.uk said:

I discovered an agent had not paid for my cruise when the cruise line went bankrupt. The cruise lines bonding organisation refused to refund me. The travel agent eventually did after many months. It was complicated as the agent and cruise line were in a different country from me and we were leaving the EU. Luckily it was a short cheap cruise so the amount was small. I did wonder if agents did this regularly to boost their cash reserves, or if they knew something was wrong in advance. Of course delaying payment to the cruise line might have contributed to situation that happened. 

 

When an agency isn't forwarding money promptly, that's a bad sign. Ten or more years ago, a very large travel agency that sold tour packages sat on customers' money for a while, trying to bolster their cash flow. Pretty soon travel insurance companies stopped covering their tours, and not long after that, the agency went out of business. 

 

 

[ElmaLee]

14 hours ago, JT1101 said:

My TA just processed my last payment for my December trip on QM2 and my CC transaction shows they sent it direct to Cunard. That is what a TA is supposed to do. 

My travel agent, in UK, asks for payment a few weeks before the final payment date set by cruise line.  Payment is to TA, who later make payment to cruise line. UK TA are regulated by ABTA (association of British TA) and all monies are secured by them in case of agent defaulting, also if flight is involved there are additional guarantees. 
 

we flew to Singapore for a cruise just before COVID.  It got cancelled the day before we were due to embark.  TA provided extra day in hotel, new flight home and refunded entire cost of holiday.  Cruise line also gave us massive FCC.

[Wonky]

ABTA doesn’t regulate TAs. In fact there is no requirement to be a member. They do have a code of conduct. Holidays are protected by the ATOL scheme (run by the CAA) but only if the holiday includes a flight. That’s how I understand it anyway!

[southcal68]

This is the reason that I never use a travel agent booking a Cunard Cruise.

[JT1101]

The glitch in this thread really sounds like the TA messed up, so the TA has to fix it. 

Travel Agents are like any other kind of agent for you - research first. I went with a smaller agency but one with a lot of recommendations and where the agents have a ton of certifications (admittedly not yet from Cunard - they are working on that one). They are also British Isles and Ireland specialists (which is where their close relationship with BA comes from). And so far they have proven themselves.

[3rdGenCunarder]

I just looked and I think three of the four weeks have availability. I hope OP's agent can grab cabins for those weeks. It's confusing because some of the overlapping 2-week cruises show as sold out, but perhaps there's a cabin here and a different cabin there for the 1-week segments. 

[SoCalTraveler]

Here in the States, I gave my credit card number to our agent (actually, she has it on file).  Billing on my statement shows "Cunard Res" in Valencia, California.  (As opposed to the other Valencia, Valencia California is not a seaport nor does it have navigable water).  If I log into my Cunard account, it shows paid in full and no balance owing.

 

I understand that my agent represents me, not Cunard. 

[*Miss G*]

34 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

I just looked and I think three of the four weeks have availability. I hope OP's agent can grab cabins for those weeks. It's confusing because some of the overlapping 2-week cruises show as sold out, but perhaps there's a cabin here and a different cabin there for the 1-week segments. 

 

Piggy-backing onto @3rdGenCunarder’s post, there is a Suite and a Balcony available for the first two segments, and an Inside available for the 3rd.  The TA should, at the very least, book those rooms and work with Cunard for the final segment.  (As has been said.)

 

 

 

@Nm hehappysailing, I am so very sorry this has happened to you.  Every day I log on, hoping to see a positive resolution.  If hopes and well wishes make a difference, you have a lot of support here.  All the very best to you.

[burnsva]

We had something similar happen, albeit 9 months out.  Only discovered our trip had been canceled when 1) our cabin showed up for sale for our sailing and 2) we couldn’t log in.  Cunard said our TA had canceled - our TA denied it, although he had called us the day of the cancellation and said he would be requesting an updated itinerary since our crossing had added a day.  Fortunately for us, we caught it the day it happened - Cunard put a hold on our selected cabin and the. Our TA sorted it out restoring all of our launch fare perks….but very stressful…

[Nm hehappysailing]

Good news - (I’m waiting for it writing ) TA rang me this morning .  She   as another member on here suggested doing, looked at the different legs of the 28 day cruise and is able to book me different cabins . I’ll have to switch a couple of times , but we’ll at least be on it !  Balcony, as paid for the first two and on the waiting list for balcony for the remaining - but we’re going Yay! So just waiting on written confirmation

 

Thank you everyone for your support , empathy and advice 😊

 

[Megabear2]

36 minutes ago, Nm hehappysailing said:

Good news - (I’m waiting for it writing ) TA rang me this morning .  She   as another member on here suggested doing, looked at the different legs of the 28 day cruise and is able to book me different cabins . I’ll have to switch a couple of times , but we’ll at least be on it !  Balcony, as paid for the first two and on the waiting list for balcony for the remaining - but we’re going Yay! So just waiting on written confirmation

 

Thank you everyone for your support , empathy and advice 😊

 

Excellent news.  I hope they are giving you at the very least substantial OBC and gifts for all the stress and upset they've caused you.

 

I'm delighted for you.

[Nm hehappysailing]

5 hours ago, *Miss G* said:

 

Piggy-backing onto @3rdGenCunarder’s post, there is a Suite and a Balcony available for the first two segments, and an Inside available for the 3rd.  The TA should, at the very least, book those rooms and work with Cunard for the final segment.  (As has been said.)

 

 

 

@Nm hehappysailing, I am so very sorry this has happened to you.  Every day I log on, hoping to see a positive resolution.  If hopes and well wishes make a difference, you have a lot of support here.  All the very best to you.

Thank you -  can you please tell me where you you can see those availabilities ?

[Victoria2]

7 hours ago, southcal68 said:

This is the reason that I never use a travel agent booking a Cunard Cruise.

Alternatively, you haven't found one of the truly excellent Cruise Agents 'out there' in various countries.

 

Ours is a true diamond. He represents his clients with the utmost dedication and is totally up the the minute with any policy changes  and basically, anything which affects his clients involving which ever the cruise line involved.

 

He will most certainly not be alone in being such a fabulous agent.

[david63]

31 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Alternatively, you haven't found one of the truly excellent Cruise Agents 'out there' in various countries.

No matter how excellent a Cruise Agent may be that is no guarantee that the agency will not go into liquidation and leave you in limbo with your booked cruise - as happened to us several years ago, and that is why I too will not use a travel agent for any form of travel.

Edited August 5 by david63

[exlondoner]

42 minutes ago, david63 said:

No matter how excellent a Cruise Agent may be that is no guarantee that the agency will not go into liquidation and leave you in limbo with your booked cruise - as happened to us several years ago, and that is why I too will not use a travel agent for any form of travel.

That is a worrying possibility. But far less likely than that I, not being an expert, would make some sort of a mess of it, if I did it myself.

[Victoria2]

48 minutes ago, david63 said:

No matter how excellent a Cruise Agent may be that is no guarantee that the agency will not go into liquidation and leave you in limbo with your booked cruise - as happened to us several years ago, and that is why I too will not use a travel agent for any form of travel.

I'm not au fait with ABTA rules but initially, I think the answer there is, choose your agent very carefully.

 

 

[Poole Boy]

1 hour ago, david63 said:

No matter how excellent a Cruise Agent may be that is no guarantee that the agency will not go into liquidation and leave you in limbo with your booked cruise - as happened to us several years ago, and that is why I too will not use a travel agent for any form of travel.

However in the UK you would have protection if you paid any portion of the cruise price with a credit card you can make a section 75 claim for the whole cost ( up to £30K), you also have ATOL protection if the cruise is part of a package

[ace2542]

2 hours ago, Victoria2 said:

I'm not au fait with ABTA rules but initially, I think the answer there is, choose your agent very carefully.

 

 

And upon what criteria would you choose? There isn't an agency in any country that doesn't have poor customer reviews and will not have been involved in this kind of situation or similar situations. And there is also probably not an agent who then hits the customer over the head with the "terms and conditions" when something goes wrong.

 

It would also be very hard to put this right as I believe the cabin is gone already and I doubt the agent has the pull with Cunard to get the OP moved to the top of the waitlist. It will just be a refund plus FCC which can only be used with them. Not full refund plus cash compensation? Which would be the better outcome?