Raising Our Fare (four threads combined into one)

[bankerbabe]

We received word today from our travel agent that Holland America was raising the price of our fare by $400 per person. We have already paid a deposit and the TA claims that we are already booked on the cruise. Has anyone ever experienced this, is anyone else fighting with the cruise line and/or TA, and can they really do this??

 

Needless to say we are a little stressed out about the whole situation. The TA claims that they are fighting with the cruise line to get them to honor the rate that we were booked at. I have heard of people getting refunds when the price goes down, but I have never heard of someone being charged more after having already booked. We have already booked our airfare - and you know how difficult it is to change airfare once booked.

 

Any info you all might have would be greatly appreciated, maybe I'll be able to sleep tonight after all.:confused:

[cablack]

That's a very steep increase. I have not heard of this happening, especially if you've been booked (do you have a booking number?). How far out is your cruise? You may still be able to get a good deal by booking through another venue such as cruise.com. I would also call HAL direct to find out what's going on with the pricing. Good Luck.

[hammybee]

I have a few questions:

 

1) Once booked, your price is locked in except for changes in tax, beyond the control of any cruise line. $400 is a lot of tax unless maybe you are on a world cruise. ( If I am missing something here, others will educate both of us)

 

2) When you say you are booked on this cruise, what does this mean? Did you receive a booking number? Does this same number show on HAL?

 

3) How did you make your deposit? If by credit card, who was the contra-side to the transaction, HAL or your TA?

 

4) Have you met all deadlines for payment of subsequent deposits?

 

The whole purpose of early booking is to lock in a price. HAL or any cruise line does not mess with the prices of booked cabins.

[turia]

When we reserved on Monday and payed the deposit the next day the TA did not hit my credit card till after the price had gone up and we were charged the new price but the TA phoned Hal and gave them the booking number and they honored the original price. So we set sail March 10,2007

[bankerbabe]

It isn't for a world cruise (darn it). It is for an 10 night cruise out of New York City in April. My father-in-law actually purchased the cruise for us on Tuesday, using a credit card. He made whatever the initial deposit was that was due and was told that he had until about December (I think) to make the final payment.

 

The travel agency that we use actually books us directly into the cruise line's system (we have used them before, and the credit card statements always show the cruise line as running the credit card, not the travel agent, so I do believe them).

 

I can't see the $400 being a direct expense or a tax.

[hammybee]

OK.

Do you have a HAL booking number?

 

I am going to push it and suggest that the TA might be confused. It sounds to me that perhaps the TA dropped the ball and forgot to make the booking and HAL raised the price. If this is the case, it's not your problem. The TA must make good. And they will. You just will need to escalate it and be persistent.

 

Conversely, shop around to a few other TAs. There are many significant Internet ones as well as those who sponsor these boards. If you find an equal to or better price than your original, cancel the first booking and start all over with someone else.

 

Does anyone see anything that I do not?

[turia]

The prices on the INTERNET jumped $600 on Tuesday so I don't know if he will find a cheaper price there but I would definitely follow hammybee's advice and pound on your ta and then work over his boss until you get the price you were promised and then make them throw in a bottle of champagne and an upgrade for your inconvenience.

[AAAAmerican]

OK.

Do you have a HAL booking number?

 

I am going to push it and suggest that the TA might be confused. It sounds to me that perhaps the TA dropped the ball and forgot to make the booking and HAL raised the price. If this is the case, it's not your problem. The TA must make good. And they will. You just will need to escalate it and be persistent.

 

Conversely, shop around to a few other TAs. There are many significant Internet ones as well as those who sponsor these boards. If you find an equal to or better price than your original, cancel the first booking and start all over with someone else.

 

Does anyone see anything that I do not?

 

I was speaking with the staff at HAL in WaWa, as I call it....,

 

they had massive problems in the pricing DATA base.. many glitches... one of the T/A's we use a lot too reported that.. you should have seen all the lowball pricing out there.. When you try to book and confirm though low prices sometimes they do not exist .. once you get a Confirm then you have A good WOODEN leg to stand on...:cool:

[bankerbabe]

My husband is on the phone with the TA right now. We do not know if there was a booking number issued or not, and the TA is being very vague.

 

I know for a fact that we will not get a better deal or even a deal remotely close to what we were getting, since as previously mentioned, the prices have increased quite a bit.

 

But I like the way that you all think - a free upgrade and a bottle of champagne would be nice.

[turia]

I hope it works out for you I was almost there with you I had my booking # and my ta was really nice and handled it all but as the post above said there was a problem with the computer at least that's what the ta told me after he spoke to hal.

 

Good luck fingers crossed

[bankerbabe]

I have a feeling that I am going to be out of luck and our TA will not honor the fare. Believe me, though, I will do everything in my power to spread the word about how I was treated and by whom.

 

Now I'm off to cry myself to sleep over my lost vacation . . . . .

[turia]

What about the credit card was it already charged and if the answer is yes and you can get prove of it from your cc company that you might be able to do something. If you do have that or a booking # then don't give up.

[AAAAmerican]

Maam dont cry to much in a salt sleep.

 

When you dont get a confirm number then yoiu are not able to do much .. if they did issue you it they have errors and ommissions insurance if they are a good agency ..that covers there mistakes which as we all know we all shar in sometimes...to err is human...

 

Go foward now and price at other agencies too . A good agent is worth there weight in Paladium...:eek:

[turia]

Also don't give up on this until you have spoken to others on this site. I am new to this site and don't have a lot of experience with these things but the veterans of this site might have a solution for you and some are even agents themselves and might have a couple of tricks

 

Good luck

[pog27]

Call your TA and demand your booking number. Then call HAL and find out if it was booked before or after the price change. If it was booked before, talk to a supervisor at HAL and they should be able to adjust the fare. If it was booked after, raise hell with your TA because it was his/her fault and they shouldn't charge you more than the original fare they quoted you. Either way it sounds like you have a bad TA. They should never have mislead you into believing the fare can go up after you have made your deposit. I suspect your TA screwed up and he or she knows it, thats why they are being vague and haven't given you a booking number. Good luck and don't give up.

[kryos]

We received word today from our travel agent that Holland America was raising the price of our fare by $400 per person.

Strange.

 

Did you make a deposit on the cruise and receive a booking number? If so, the price you agreed to at the time of that deposit should clearly be reflected on your invoice, with the amount of the final payment still due.

 

If you did not make an actual deposit on the booking; i.e., maybe your TA hasn't completed the paperwork with HAL yet? ... then sounds to me like you could be screwed ... and then your TA has to make good for you even if that means she picks up the extra $400 per person herself (assuming you okayed the cruise and expected her to have booked it).

 

Once HAL takes a deposit and issues a booking number, though, prices (except as someone else noted ... a raise in port charges, taxes, etc.) are locked in.

 

Blue skies ...

 

--rita

[Krazy Kruizers]

This is very strange. I have never heard of raising prices after deposit is made.

 

Something is amiss here.

 

Hope we hear the end of the story.

[bankerbabe]

After several conversations with several supervisors at the travel agency that we use and a late night conversation with my father-in-law we have managed to piece together the following chain of events:

 

A price was agreed upon between the TA and my FIL, he gave her his credit card number. He called back to confirm that we were booked on the cruise (so that we could purchase our airfare knowing that the cruise was ours) and they confirmed that we were booked, gave him a reservation number - but not a booking number - and it was supposed to be smooth sailing from there (pun intended). BUT my FIL, being the trusting soul that he is, did not insist upon receiving an emailed confirmation of said booking and thus did not receive an emailed confirmation of price or booking.

 

We booked our airfare.

 

TA did not book the cruise.

 

She claims that there was some sort of computer error and she was unable to book the cruise. Two days go by and still she did not book the cruise using the credit card that my FIL provided.

 

Prices increase.

 

Still, we have a reservation number but no booking number since the TA did not book the cruise like she said she had before we bought our airfare.

 

Prices go WAY up on said cruise.

 

TA finally emails my FIL on Thursday morning with the vague question "Have you purchased airfare".

 

Daughter-in-law (me) panics and insists DH call the travel agency immediately. DH spends many hours on phone without clear answers. DIL (again me) comes home from work and panics further. More hours on the phone ensue and here we are.

 

Me with one sleepless night, a cruise that will cost $800 more than the agreed upon purchase price (leaving us no money for the planned three night hotel stay in NYC), airfare that is non-refundable and that may be non-usable, and a whole lot of frustration.

 

I'm screwed, SOL, and will never ever ever ever ever use this travel agent again if things are not made right and made right soon, before I have a heart attack or the men with the funny white coats with the extra long sleeves come and haul me away.

[turia]

Did you phone Hal and explain the info and check to see if that # was a booking # as I had not made my deposit yet but had that # and it was fine. Also did you check to see if they did charge your fil credit card.

[bankerbabe]

I will have my DH on the phone within the hour. Good suggestion. Thank you. (It's a good thing work is very slow right now, I'm completely unable to focus.)

[turia]

Did you try going to Hal's sight and entering that # into their system for booked guests I had not made my deposit yet when the prices went up but the # worked as a booking # give it a try u never know she might have given you the # and isn't telling you because she doesn't want to pay the price.

 

Better yet just call Hal give them the reservation # as a booking # and see what they say if they have that # in their system as them for a faxed confirmation and you have your prove.

[hammybee]

I suspect HAL or any cruise line is not going to be much help as the booking was done through a TA. The TA made the mistake. The TA lied to you. This is fraud.

 

Your reservation # is your booking number. Your TA is obligated to make good on this. AAAmerican mentioned earlier that this is why TAs carry Errors and Ommissions insurance. Given the $ value, it is probably best for the TA to eat it, rather than make a claim.

 

Is the TA a one person show or an agent at a larger company ( no names please). If this is a larger company, you need to move your issue up the chain of command and fast.

 

Forget the perks. Getting your original fare is your sole objective. Be persistent. Stay the course. And calm down. This is nothing more than a problem that needs to be solved and it is indeed solvable. We do not get problems that we cannot solve. This is one of the wonders of life. Trust me on this.

[bankerbabe]

The TA that we use (and have used for the other cruises) is a large, national travel agency based in Texas. It is not one of the "big three", though. My DH has talked to supervisors at the agency, and I have sent a polite but firm email to what I was told is the president of the company's email. We'll see how far that gets us.

I'm trying very hard to stay calm (you should have heard me last night:confused: )

I'm counting to 10. My DH is the calmer half of our couple, which is why he is making the phone calls. Thank you all very much for your help - I can't even begin to say how much I appreciate all of the responses that I am getting.

[turia]

Did you put the reservation # into Hal's system? If you go to where it says booked guests and then click on immigration forms then enter the # and your last name if you come up print the receipt and you have them by the *****.

 

Keep us informed

[bankerbabe]

The latest:

 

The number that the travel agent gave us is a reservation number.

 

They STILL have not run my FIL's credit card.

 

Apparently there are 500 bookings and 780 passengers with HAL that have this problem, due to a supposed computer glitch in HAL's booking system.

 

My reservation number does pull up a booking and a cabin number, but it does not indicate a price or deposit amount.

 

I've given DH strict orders to only speak with supervisors and managers. He has given me strict orders to avoid the phone and not email anyone.

 

Trying to stay calm.