Final Payment approaching-TA out of the country

[LisaH]

Hey all. I had emailed my TA yesterday to ask about final payment. He emailed me back this morning and said he was in China and would get back to me. We are cruising 2/9/08 and I believe we have to make final payment 75 days out??

 

Anyway, he is in China and depending on when he gets back we could be close. I know cruise lines will not change anything unless the TA calls but could I call RC to make final payment if I think he may not be back.

 

Any advice from the experts? I know what some of the obvious advice will be. :)

 

Or am I worrying for nothing? THANKS!

[shorbr]

I would just call and handle my own final payment.

[Cruising89143]

Is he a one man show or are there other people in the office that could take the payment? If not email him back and ask him what you should do.

[cruise_lover]

Is your TA the only agent in his office or is there anyone else there to accept your payment in his behalf? If he is the only person I would just do like he says and wait. I am sure he knows what he is doing. Two years ago we made a final payment to our TA by credit card and for some reason that only Norwegian Cruise Lines know they never got it. It was 70 days to our sailing date. We made our payment, went on the cruise and everyone was happy.

[LisaH]

He is a one man operation. I think I will call RC to be safe.

 

THANKS

[OHCruisin]

I had an issue with my TA being closed the day final payment was due. RCCL wouldn't take the payment. But they did tell me they hold the reservation for at least a week after final due date and they reach out to the TA.

[LisaH]

I am a little relieved. I probably should have called RCCL first. They told me 12/1 is our due date and I imagine my TA will be back by then. They said anyone at his agency can do the payment - but he is a one man show. So RCCL said they don't normally do it but in our situation if he is out of the country they would have no choice. They would hook me up with a supervisor and would allow me to make the payment.

 

I just wish he would have said something before he left and I would have paid early to alleviate my concern. grrrrr

[FL_Cruiser64]

I am a little relieved. I probably should have called RCCL first. They told me 12/1 is our due date and I imagine my TA will be back by then. They said anyone at his agency can do the payment - but he is a one man show. So RCCL said they don't normally do it but in our situation if he is out of the country they would have no choice. They would hook me up with a supervisor and would allow me to make the payment.

 

I just wish he would have said something before he left and I would have paid early to alleviate my concern. grrrrr

 

 

Too be honest. I would grab my TA if I would be you. Even as a one-man show there is no reason to leave you in doubt like that. My business in the early stages was a one-man business but I did my everything to keep up with customer services.

[joanna0627]

same thing happened to me. final payment was due on 10/24, TA out of sight and finally got in touch with her on 11/3 and payment was made. When I called on 11/7 to ask for written confirmation, I realized that the second room, for my kids, final payment was never paid...:( after much anxiety I received confirmation later in the day. But to be honest I really don't trust my TA anymore.

[willysgrandma]

If I am going to be away near a time when a clients final payment is due, I will let them know and tell them not to panic, because I will take care of it when I get back, or will ask a colleague to handle it for me.

[LisaH]

Thanks for all the advice and comments. Hopefully my TA reads this board as well.

[leoandhugh]

Well, if he does not read this board, suggest that you lead him to it and let him think about the reaction of you and others. One man operations do not have the luxury of being of less service and help than a large company. He should have checked what was pending and likely to come up before taking a trip like that - or at least told you he was going to be away and did you have any questions before he left. Not a very good operation from the way it sounds; hope that he becomes more service oriented which is what any good TA should be.

[LisaH]

Well, if he does not read this board, suggest that you lead him to it and let him think about the reaction of you and others. One man operations do not have the luxury of being of less service and help than a large company. He should have checked what was pending and likely to come up before taking a trip like that - or at least told you he was going to be away and did you have any questions before he left. Not a very good operation from the way it sounds; hope that he becomes more service oriented which is what any good TA should be.

 

 

Most definitely!

[TBR]

If your final payment is due 12/1,why are you worring about it 3 weeks prior to it being due? Your TA is in China,I'm sure he will be back soon and handle your payment. :rolleyes:

[lvtotrvl1]

If your final payment is due 12/1,why are you worring about it 3 weeks prior to it being due? Your TA is in China,I'm sure he will be back soon and handle your payment. :rolleyes:

 

I agree that the TA might have let her know. But I also agree with you. The payment is not due for 3 weeks..I think we are jumping to conclusions saying he is a bad TA.

[LisaH]

I agree that the TA might have let her know. But I also agree with you. The payment is not due for 3 weeks..I think we are jumping to conclusions saying he is a bad TA.

 

I don't think anyone ever said he was a bad TA! Did they?

[LisaH]

If your final payment is due 12/1,why are you worring about it 3 weeks prior to it being due? Your TA is in China,I'm sure he will be back soon and handle your payment. :rolleyes:

 

I was worried about it because I do not know when he will be back. He went to China - people don't typically go all that way for a week. For all I know, he left two days ago and is on a 3 week trip.

[FL_Cruiser64]

If your final payment is due 12/1,why are you worring about it 3 weeks prior to it being due? Your TA is in China,I'm sure he will be back soon and handle your payment. :rolleyes:

 

 

And if she waits til 12/1 everybody will be on the OPs back for waiting that long. I think the OP stated a very valid question to a problem which may or may not occur. Getting input from us 3 weeks ahead is excellent since the Op is then well prepared. He/she may not need the advice (in case the TA shows up), but he/she may need it.

[financialgrl]

Okay, question - - my first cruise is coming up in July 08. My TA (one man show, works out of his house out of state) is recommended thru a few of my friends that have used him and love him. When I booked and paid my deposit and insurance he told me I had the option of just using the same credit card on (gave me the exact date) and make it automatic. When my confirmation came (not sure but will go dig them up later) I think it has a comment in the remarks to just go ahead and bill that same CC for my final payment on such and such a day. I figured that comment was for RCCL. I only ask because he did say if anything were to happen (such as my CC becoming compromised and I had to either change to another number or it was flagged due to it being compromised) that I would need to let him know to make other arrangements. Is it not possible to do that or am I just imagining it??

 

I would check as it got closer but just wondering.

[LisaH]

Okay, question - - my first cruise is coming up in July 08. My TA (one man show, works out of his house out of state) is recommended thru a few of my friends that have used him and love him. When I booked and paid my deposit and insurance he told me I had the option of just using the same credit card on (gave me the exact date) and make it automatic. When my confirmation came (not sure but will go dig them up later) I think it has a comment in the remarks to just go ahead and bill that same CC for my final payment on such and such a day. I figured that comment was for RCCL. I only ask because he did say if anything were to happen (such as my CC becoming compromised and I had to either change to another number or it was flagged due to it being compromised) that I would need to let him know to make other arrangements. Is it not possible to do that or am I just imagining it??

 

I would check as it got closer but just wondering.

 

hmmm, mine works out of state and out of his house as well. I am the OP, wonder if we have the same guy - I imagine though there are a lot of TAs that do this now days.

[financialgrl]

hmmm, mine works out of state and out of his house as well. I am the OP, wonder if we have the same guy - I imagine though there are a lot of TAs that do this now days.

 

My friend has cruised for years now and had always used the local brick and mortar TA/agency. She began to have problems with apathy from her local travel office and TA. She was given this out of state/work from home TA's name and began using him and said she wouldn't go back to the local agency in town.

 

Maybe the fact that he works out of his home he feels he has to go above and beyond to get clients and keep them and said he has never let her down. His packages to her were very organized and nothing was missing and notes on everything making it easily understandable.

 

When my stuff started arriving I googled the company name and it states that it has agents across the US that use TAs working from their home so I think it probably isn't unusual anymore.

[lvtotrvl1]

I don't think anyone ever said he was a bad TA! Did they?

 

heres one example

 

Well, if he does not read this board, suggest that you lead him to it and let him think about the reaction of you and others. One man operations do not have the luxury of being of less service and help than a large company. He should have checked what was pending and likely to come up before taking a trip like that - or at least told you he was going to be away and did you have any questions before he left. Not a very good operation from the way it sounds; hope that he becomes more service oriented which is what any good TA should be.

[willysgrandma]

At this point, except for not letting you know he was going away, he has done nothing wrong.

 

Since your payment isn't even due yet there really is nothing to chastise him for. He SHOULD have told you WHEN he'll be back instead of just leaving you saying he'll get back to you.

 

If you have looked into his business enough to know he works for a host agency, what you can do when it gets closer to final payment date if he still isn't around is contact the host and let them know what is going on. They may have a way they can act on your behalf with the cruise line to get your final payment in - they may be able to fax you a form to fill out and fax directlyt to the cruiseline to make your payment.

[LisaH]

At this point, except for not letting you know he was going away, he has done nothing wrong.

 

Since your payment isn't even due yet there really is nothing to chastise him for. He SHOULD have told you WHEN he'll be back instead of just leaving you saying he'll get back to you.

 

If you have looked into his business enough to know he works for a host agency, what you can do when it gets closer to final payment date if he still isn't around is contact the host and let them know what is going on. They may have a way they can act on your behalf with the cruise line to get your final payment in - they may be able to fax you a form to fill out and fax directlyt to the cruiseline to make your payment.

 

 

I agree that he has done nothing wrong other than not let me know he was going to be gone, given it was so close to final payment. And if I had any questions about anything - I would be stuck. I was definitely not planning to chastise him other than asking that he give me an alternate contact in case of an emergency.

 

And he is a one man operation. So that's it for me. Thanks all for your responses and advice. As always, I appreciate it.

[katiel53]

I guess I don't understand why he should notify you when he's on a trip unless he won't be back to accept your final payment which to me is doubtful.

 

Now, having said that, I have been upset when my TA, also a home agent is gone and something comes up and I have no way to contact her. I have been frustrated so many times by that I will no longer use her. There have been times when the price has gone down, coupons become available and cabins have opened up that we wanted. Nothing can be done until she returns.

 

Most times a TA's going on vacation is transparent to us, but at times it isn't and that's when we get concerned. I believe every agent should have some backup and not an email saying I am out of the office etc.

 

Good luck.