This situation is just unbelievable-PLEASE give me your opinon!!

[cruiser407]

We were looking into booking a cruise and our neighbor/travel agent (part time for fun) said she could get us a really really good deal-this is someone I totally trust.

 

She found a cruise that was $490/adult and $290/child for 7 days. She also said there was a $210 tax charge. Well... when I got my credit card statement my bill was over $2300. It was $600 more than she quoted me. So this is her response:

"The tax was not $201.88 for everyone, which was my understanding originally. It is per person. That figure, $201.88, is arrived at by adding the $636 non-commission fare and the federal taxes/fee of $171.52, then dividing by 4. I, too, have been misled by the Carnival representative. It is like a hidden tax, which I did not know about. I'm very sorry that this is happened."

I also have non-refundable plane tickets. I am just so burned by this. I feel like this is a huge bait and switch! She also did not tell us about the tipping policy-we are typically huge tippers so it's not that we don't want to tip-it's the $10/day that she did not tell us about!

I obviously did not do enough homework on this one-but I totally trusted that she knew what she was doing-my mistake but with that said- what are your thoughts on this??

Thank you for your responses!

[zaandam_2]

a reputable, professional TA would know all of this, and not try and blame it on carnival. sounds like you're screwed since you already have the air tickets purchased.

[dbrucern]

I hope this price includes a suite, we did not pay that much for the 9A wrap around balcony we had over Christmas (one of the highest priced sailing times) Homework or not I would not let this go.

[VentureMan_2000]

Another reason why I book straight with Carnival.

 

You can always cancel the cruise.

 

What cruise date and ship did you book on. I'm sure there are plenty here that can confirm what the real cost is.

 

There is no such thing as federal tax fee.

 

I have never seens taxes and fees for than $40 to $60 per person. What the TA did was quote you the commisionable fare... the fare they make their money on... but convienently left off the non-commisionable fare.

 

At the very least I would cancel the cruise with that TA and then re-book directly with Carnival. You want to take that clown out of the picture.

 

At the very least, you will get some satisfaction knowing that that TA will not be making any commission.

 

I wonder if you can contact your credit card company and tell them this is a fraudulent charge. I mean, you did not not sign your credit card receipt.

[Chigirlcruzin]

I agree with zaandam. It sounds like she screwed up and is trying to make Carnival look like the bad guy. That said, $575 (2300/4) per person is still a good rate. Can you cancel your booking with her and book directly with Carnival?

[maddea20]

We were looking into booking a cruise and our neighbor/travel agent (part time for fun) said she could get us a really really good deal-this is someone I totally trust.

 

She found a cruise that was $490/adult and $290/child for 7 days. She also said there was a $210 tax charge. Well... when I got my credit card statement my bill was over $2300. It was $600 more than she quoted me. So this is her response:

"The tax was not $201.88 for everyone, which was my understanding originally. It is per person. That figure, $201.88, is arrived at by adding the $636 non-commission fare and the federal taxes/fee of $171.52, then dividing by 4. I, too, have been misled by the Carnival representative. It is like a hidden tax, which I did not know about. I'm very sorry that this is happened."

I also have non-refundable plane tickets. I am just so burned by this. I feel like this is a huge bait and switch! She also did not tell us about the tipping policy-we are typically huge tippers so it's not that we don't want to tip-it's the $10/day that she did not tell us about!

I obviously did not do enough homework on this one-but I totally trusted that she knew what she was doing-my mistake but with that said- what are your thoughts on this??

Thank you for your responses!

 

Can't you try to cancel that booking and find a more cheaper booking but of course still being able to use the airfare you booked?

[GayleR]

I'm sure your friend meant well, but it sounds like you got hosed! :cool: I'd be very angry at the friend. Sounds like she doesn't know what she's doing.

 

Maybe you can change your non-refundable airline tickets for a different trip? May cost you a little, but not as much as the difference in the price quoted for the cruise and the actual cruise price you are being charged.

 

How long has she been a travel agent anyway? :confused:

[truecruiser]

But, Zandaam, as tasty as your popcorn may be (and it is quite good:D ), i do not agree w/ the OP's implication that it was her TA's job to tell her that tips are added at $10 per day.

 

come to think of it, i don't think i've ever had anyone (not Carnival, not TA, not Disney, not Celebrity, not NCL), ever tell me that tips were added when they were. This info initially came from me reading it. that was some time ago, of course, since after you do this way the first time it becomes second nature.

 

really, i think the OP has to share some responsibility here. i wldn't take/invest in a trip anywhere w/o at least doing a little bit of reasearch on my own.:confused:

[Carnival_Fan]

I don't think she messed up. She quoted you individual prices for the cabin fare, and then she quoted a plus tax number. I do not know that I would have assumed that number was a total when the fares where quoted individually.

 

As far as the tipping is concerned you can pull the tips off your sail and sign day one of the cruise. Then you can tip who you chose how much you want to chose.

 

It's a bad situation but I'm not sure that it just is nothing more than a miscommunication. I don't think she was trying to "bait" or "switch" you.

[eellsinoc]

It sounds like you have 2 adults and 2 children - how in the world could this be more than a suite???

 

"I hope this price includes a suite, we did not pay that much for the 9A wrap around balcony we had over Christmas"

 

I hope this price includes a suite, we did not pay that much for the 9A wrap around balcony we had over Christmas "

 

If that is the case we got royally screwed on our 7 day cruise for 2 adults and three children.

[msolberg]

We were looking into booking a cruise and our neighbor/travel agent (part time for fun) said she could get us a really really good deal-this is someone I totally trust.

 

She found a cruise that was $490/adult and $290/child for 7 days. She also said there was a $210 tax charge. Well... when I got my credit card statement my bill was over $2300. It was $600 more than she quoted me. So this is her response:

"The tax was not $201.88 for everyone, which was my understanding originally. It is per person. That figure, $201.88, is arrived at by adding the $636 non-commission fare and the federal taxes/fee of $171.52, then dividing by 4. I, too, have been misled by the Carnival representative. It is like a hidden tax, which I did not know about. I'm very sorry that this is happened."

I also have non-refundable plane tickets. I am just so burned by this. I feel like this is a huge bait and switch! She also did not tell us about the tipping policy-we are typically huge tippers so it's not that we don't want to tip-it's the $10/day that she did not tell us about!

I obviously did not do enough homework on this one-but I totally trusted that she knew what she was doing-my mistake but with that said- what are your thoughts on this??

Thank you for your responses!

 

I would ask for a three way call with Carnival and your agent - sounds like you aren't getting the whole story.

 

Diane

[Cruising89143]

I don't see where a seven day cruise on the Conquest for four people at $575.00 a person is that bad. Not sure where the misunderstanding came from other than the tax amount being per person but again not a bad price for a seven day cruise. You're cruising for $82.00 a day for each person.

[KruznKel]

She did give you a correct quote as most TA's do without the taxes and port fees.. she did give you the tax and port fee amount.. but omitted to tell you that amount is charged to each passenger. (if you do the math adding on those extra fees per person if it is 4 people you do get 2300)

 

I really don't know what the amount of those taxes and port fees should be.. but as suggested call Carnival or just try to book on their site the same cruise and cabins and see what price you get!

 

But as previously stated 575 is not a bad price per person to sail :)

 

As for tips .. I would find out if you have pre-paid them with that price or will they be on your sign and sail .. you can remove them all together (if they are not pre paid in the cruise fare) and pay cash if you please

 

Good Luck:)

[firefly333]

Actually, for 4 people that sounds about right, children dont sail free, even though the 3rd and 4th person is usually discounted.

 

Can you cancel the cruise and rebook through someone else? Iv looked at Carnival's 7 day cruises and its hard to find one that comes down to less than $500 pp even for an inside cabin.

 

I dont think I see what category you booked...but cancel the cruise and rebook if you have lower quotes rather than lose the airfare.

 

I would be upset with the neighbor for not giving me the bottom line in the first place, she was not professional. Ask her to give you her commission back person to person?

 

Im really sorry your cruise was marred by this financial upset.

[jscott918]

could the extra 600.00 be the port charges ? i know my ta had 3 diffrent numbers that totaled up for each fare

cabin

tax

port

i also noticed the port was almost as much as the cabin diffrent boat but should compare somewhat then again im a rookie cruiser and might not know what im talking about ;)

[djegators]

Did your neighbor offer to do anything for you? Even if it is not entirely her fault, she might gain a loyal customer from you, and good referrals as well, if she compensated you in some way. If it were me, I would at least offer you a portion of my commision, or something.

[LHP]

As others have suggested...if you are still outside the penalty window (70 days I believe) I would simply cancel the cruise. You don't owe your neighbor or anyone else an explanation. Then I would call Carnival directly and book it yourself. Same cruise so that you can use the same air tickets.

[firefly333]

I wonder if you can contact your credit card company and tell them this is a fraudulent charge. I mean, you did not not sign your credit card receipt.

 

I used to work for Amex in Disputes and I can state without reservation that this is NOT fraud. I got so darn tired of folks who didnt like a charge and would repeat over and over it was fraud.

 

If the card has not been out of the OPs possession or he can claim someone other than himself made this charge is does not meet the def of credit card fraud. You can dispute it as not being authorized perhaps, but sounds like its more of a mix up. The OP never said he could not cancel the cruise, only that he could not cancel the air fare.

 

If he really thinks this is too high then cancel, but claiming fraud means the person just doesnt know what credit card fraud is....its very specifically defined.

 

btw I must be overpaying, I paid a lot more than the OP pp for my obstructed ocean view on my cruise.

[StuartLittle]

The 210 per person is the port tax & fees combined. Some TA's break this out, some include it in the total. I think Carnival breaks out the taxes only and includeds the port tax in the per person quote.

 

She made a mistake, but she's not robbing you, IMO. She just didn't make the 210 PER PERSON clear to you.

[dbcruzin]

For heavens sake....price it somewhere else and compare. Then you'll know.;)

[flitter306]

We were looking into booking a cruise and our neighbor/travel agent (part time for fun) said she could get us a really really good deal-this is someone I totally trust.

 

She found a cruise that was $490/adult and $290/child for 7 days. She also said there was a $210 tax charge. Well... when I got my credit card statement my bill was over $2300. It was $600 more than she quoted me. So this is her response:

"The tax was not $201.88 for everyone, which was my understanding originally. It is per person. That figure, $201.88, is arrived at by adding the $636 non-commission fare and the federal taxes/fee of $171.52, then dividing by 4. I, too, have been misled by the Carnival representative. It is like a hidden tax, which I did not know about. I'm very sorry that this is happened."

 

I also have non-refundable plane tickets. I am just so burned by this. I feel like this is a huge bait and switch! She also did not tell us about the tipping policy-we are typically huge tippers so it's not that we don't want to tip-it's the $10/day that she did not tell us about!

I obviously did not do enough homework on this one-but I totally trusted that she knew what she was doing-my mistake but with that said- what are your thoughts on this??

Thank you for your responses!

 

That sounds like a lot of tax...I just checked our paperwork for upcoming cruises and we pay about $100 in federal taxes for the two of us for a 7 day cruise.

 

And I'm pretty sure that the $10 is more of a guideline than it is mandatory. You can request to tip in cash.

[truecruiser]

As others have suggested...if you are still outside the penalty window (70 days I believe) I would simply cancel the cruise. You don't owe your neighbor or anyone else an explanation. Then I would call Carnival directly and book it yourself. Same cruise so that you can use the same air tickets.

 

 

this is such an uncomfortable position to be in though. the neighbor is going to know she's going on the cruise when the time comes, and what will come of the relationship after that. i wldn't want to be in that position. can't see it ending well.

[dyslexic pirate]

I think this looks like a fair deal. (I'm sure it's still irritating though when you expecting a different total!)

 

The extra is for the fees that include port/taxes/transfers etc.

 

I don't think it was her responsibility to inform you of the $10 daily fee...although it would have been the right thing to do.

 

I am involved with lots of group cruises. We shop till we drop trying to put together the best deal for the money. Then we advertise the entire cost with all fees/airfare etc.

 

When people first see how much it will cost they freak out and claim they can cruise much cheaper. I tell them to go for it and see if they can find a better deal -BUT- to make sure whoever they talk to on line or in person includes ALL the fees associated with the trip - not just flight and ship. We also tell people upfront to budget for $10 per day/tips but that it is their discretion on whether to pay that as that is between them and the ship. (we encourage them to leave the tips and explain how those tips are dispersed.)

 

I am not a TA. I just help promote/host some group cruises so I am asked lots of questions by lots of potential cruisers. (I just know the basic stuff, I refer all the detailed things to the TA's)

[dyslexic pirate]

Sorry never did answer original question: Be upfront with your friend and tell her how upset you are. Then either let it go and enjoy your cruise - or - cancel the whole dang thing and hold onto a grudge forever - or - leave the kids with a sitter and stay under budget by having a couples only cruise.

 

I wish you the best of luck!

[truecruiser]

OP -- another thing you'll need to know FYI -- transfers are extra, and aren't cheap.