On-Line TA Makes Unauthorized Princess Reservation...

[ccrain]

...with two of my hard earned FCCs.

 

My mistake was to give him my Captain's Circle number to check for "special deals". After pricing the cruise, he then, without authorization, accessed my account and used an FCC for my wife and myself to reserve the cruise for us.

 

I only found out by accessing My Princess on Sunday.

 

Princess says they cannot do anything. Even though my account was accessed without authorization, I have to work through my TA...my TA?!?

 

He has not ever, nor ever will be my TA that's for sure.

 

I contacted the agency's customer service and we will see where this goes from here.

 

Anyone had this problem before? Did you find a way for Princess to fix this or did you have to wait for the agency?

 

I won't name the agency - yet. But it is a major advertiser and sponsor of Cruise Critic and we will see how fast they can fix this issue.

 

Needless to say, I'm not too happy with this situation...

[bhopal21]

This scenario is reported regularly on CC eaxctly as you have reported.

 

In the past folks have reported that that it was cancelled in a couple of days and the FCC restored. It seems that the TAs are a little over zealous.

 

 

Mike

:)

[dforeigner]

I believe some TAs do this in order to block the room for a few days. Maybe some of the TAs here will care to comment.

[ccrain]

I was under the impression that you could transfer FCCs as many times as you want, but you could only cancel them once - the next time they are refunded to you.

 

I'm not sure where I read that...

 

Its a shame that this one TA has now ruined any potential future cruise business of mine for his company - and I plan on cruising a lot in the future. I don't take lightly to having my accounts accessed or used without my permission.

 

The lesson here, I guess, is don't give out your CC # to anyone...

[bhopal21]

The lesson here, I guess, is don't give out your CC # to anyone...

 

I agree. Any TA that used my CC number without my authorization would be automatically disqualified as well.

 

Mike:)

[Trvlingal]

Hi there,

I'm a TA with a regular (not online) agency. The reason MOST TA's ask for the Captain Circle number is to access any specials that you would be offered on a particular sailing. So if you didn't give an agent your CC number they wouldn't be able to give you the best deal they could find whether it was a group discount, a regional discount or a past passenger discount. That said, once they gave you the best fare available, they should not hold a cabin for you without asking your permission, because if a future cruise credit is attached to your Captain's circle number it AUTOMATICALLY goes on your next booking. So if you give the agent permission to hold something for you the credit would go on the booking. Now any reputable agent would immediately cancel the booking for you if asked, but before doing so would ask that the FCC be put back into your account. I encourage all my clients to do the fcc booking while on board and have had to cancel bookings we have made for one reason or another and always been successful in getting the fcc back on the clients profile. However, the person who said that it can only be CANCELED once is correct. So bottom line is, to get the best deal you MUST give you cc number. Just ask that they not hold anything until you give them permission. (Truthfully if only one really good cabin price is available when an agent checks they will want the client to get that and would hold it for them without obligation and would then cancel if the client didn't want the deal.) Hope this helps understand the way Princess works - and I book them a lot.

[CruiseLiz]

I wonder why you have to give your # in order to see past passenger specials on Princess.

 

We booked a Holland America cruise as past passengers and the only question at the time of booking was "Are you past passengers?"

 

It makes me curious as to the reason why one line would ask and another line wouldn't. Obviously there must be benefits for both courses of action.

[Pam in CA]

I wonder why you have to give your # in order to see past passenger specials on Princess.

 

We booked a Holland America cruise as past passengers and the only question at the time of booking was "Are you past passengers?"

 

It makes me curious as to the reason why one line would ask and another line wouldn't. Obviously there must be benefits for both courses of action.

HAL doesn't have the same type of Future Cruise Credit (FCC) system as Princess. If you had booked a FCC on HAL, which you can do but unlike Princess, it's non-refundable unless you apply it immediately to a specific cruise, chances are that your FCC would be applied in the same way. In other words, it's not the past-passenger # that is the issue. It's the FCC attached to the #. If there is a FCC attached to a past-passenger # and a TA holds a cabin, the FCC is automatically applied. This is the problem the OP is running into, not getting special pricing for being a past passenger.

[Colo Cruiser]

[quote name=ccrain;12620134

 

Princess says they cannot do anything. Even though my account was accessed without authorization' date=' I have to work through my TA...my TA?!?[/quote]

 

 

Another bogus CSR answer.

 

You can insist that Princess cancel the res or take it over to cancel.

 

Send them a fax demanding this. It will work. ;)

[Mindy97]

I had the exact same thing happen this past week by an advertiser here. I made a booking with someone else, and when I went to My Princess, I had *two* bookings. When I called Princess to complain, they told me "my agent" at (unnamed agency) had made the booking for me. I told them I never authorized this. IMHO Princess should have cancelled it at that point, but they insist that *I* cancel the booking.

 

I emailed the agency involved. They are closed on the weekends. I got an email from somebody there telling me that it was a "courtesy hold" and would be removed. It was still there today.

 

:::SHEESH::: I can't comprehend why Princess won't remove it if I say I didn't authorize it. The agency involved usually has good prices, but I'll be hesitant to use them again.

[wrecks]

We have had this happen while we were price shopping :eek: Yup, you caught me! But now we don't request the cabin we want, only the catagory. The courtesty hold does go away, just a hassle until that happens. Really not a problem. :)

[chasetf]

:::SHEESH::: I can't comprehend why Princess won't remove it if I say I didn't authorize it. The agency involved usually has good prices, but I'll be hesitant to use them again.

SHEESH... probably because I could call them up and say I am Mindy and cancel your reservation if I wanted to spite you.

[geoherb]

I had the same thing happen to me when comparison shopping with a website that allows TAs to provide quotes. It freaked me out to see a booking after I signed into the Princess website. But I did not have any problems booking our cruise with our regular TA. For awhile, both bookings showed up on the Princess website. The other one dropped off eventually. I guess it was a 72-hour hold.

[willysgrandma]

Hi there,

I'm a TA with a regular (not online) agency. The reason MOST TA's ask for the Captain Circle number is to access any specials that you would be offered on a particular sailing. So if you didn't give an agent your CC number they wouldn't be able to give you the best deal they could find whether it was a group discount, a regional discount or a past passenger discount. That said, once they gave you the best fare available, they should not hold a cabin for you without asking your permission, because if a future cruise credit is attached to your Captain's circle number it AUTOMATICALLY goes on your next booking. So if you give the agent permission to hold something for you the credit would go on the booking. Now any reputable agent would immediately cancel the booking for you if asked, but before doing so would ask that the FCC be put back into your account. I encourage all my clients to do the fcc booking while on board and have had to cancel bookings we have made for one reason or another and always been successful in getting the fcc back on the clients profile. However, the person who said that it can only be CANCELED once is correct. So bottom line is, to get the best deal you MUST give you cc number. Just ask that they not hold anything until you give them permission. (Truthfully if only one really good cabin price is available when an agent checks they will want the client to get that and would hold it for them without obligation and would then cancel if the client didn't want the deal.) Hope this helps understand the way Princess works - and I book them a lot.

 

 

As a TA, I agree. But an agent should NEVER hold a cabin without asking your permission first. You need to make sure you express your displeasure to the agent that did this.

[jb008]

I never asked how this was done, but my TA made a "Courtesy reservation" on a cruise that I was planning on taking with my DW, but she was never able to get the time off. I have no idea how these work (was this money out of my TA's pocket to do this -maybe), but it might be worth asking your TA to do a courtesy reservation rather than using your FCC's if it's far out from the payment deadline.

[bthorn1108]

I never asked how this was done, but my TA made a "Courtesy reservation" on a cruise that I was planning on taking with my DW, but she was never able to get the time off. I have no idea how these work (was this money out of my TA's pocket to do this -maybe), but it might be worth asking your TA to do a courtesy reservation rather than using your FCC's if it's far out from the payment deadline.

 

The money does not come out of your TA's pocket. Most cruise lines will allow you do put a "Courtesy Hold" on a cabin for 2-7 days (depending on the cruise line).

 

The problem is not the "Courtesy Hold". On many occasions, I have placed a "Hold" on a cabin, especially if it's special pricing and availability is limited, until I can contact the client and review the information. Because I know which of my clients are holding FCC, I am careful not to put those in jeopardy.

 

The problem develops when you put in a client's Captain Circle #, to check for the best pricing. Once the number has been entered, if there are any Future Cruise Credits linked to that #, they will automatically be applied to any cabin that is held.

 

Unfortunately, a CC # is needed to get the best pricing. I have seen discounts for the same cruise and category of cabin vary, based on the CC #.

[cherylandtk]

Beverly,

So what is the best way for a passenger to handle this when price shopping? Should we tell the TA "Here is my CC # but it has an FCC attached, so don't put a hold using this number." But then how does a TA hold a cabin at the 'special' CC rate?

[Mapu]

The money does not come out of your TA's pocket. Most cruise lines will allow you do put a "Courtesy Hold" on a cabin for 2-7 days (depending on the cruise line).

 

The problem is not the "Courtesy Hold". On many occasions, I have placed a "Hold" on a cabin, especially if it's special pricing and availability is limited, until I can contact the client and review the information. Because I know which of my clients are holding FCC, I am careful not to put those in jeopardy.

 

The problem develops when you put in a client's Captain Circle #, to check for the best pricing. Once the number has been entered, if there are any Future Cruise Credits linked to that #, they will automatically be applied to any cabin that is held.

 

Unfortunately, a CC # is needed to get the best pricing. I have seen discounts for the same cruise and category of cabin vary, based on the CC #.

It is my understanding that you can do FCC one of two ways; the first would be doing it so your original booking agent/agency is notified that you have done so (essentially saying that you will have that agency book your future cruise). The second way is to book your FCC so that it is on your account and you can book as you want with any agent/agency or Princess; the choice is yours and the original agency is not notified. Your FCC is attached to your CC # and I would bet if you asked to speak to Customer Service as opposed to a Princess operator you would get satisfaction. Unfortunately you have to get connected to Customer Service through a Princess operator. Gail

[ccrain]

...the bottom line is that the reservation has been cancelled. There is an issue with the FCC - (it got applied to the 11/29 Ruby so now there are three FCCs for two of us on the cruise - maybe the TA is coming along!), but I will work it through the system.

 

I now understand the point of using a CC #, making a courtesy hold and then having an FCC automatically applied. I was not aware of that.

 

My local business TA routinely holds cabins for me when she is pricing various options, but an FCC is never used. So there is a way to get CC# pricing AND hold a cabin, but not use an FCC. Apparently my local TA knows how to do this and I was dealing with someone who was not so experienced.

 

However, while it explains it, it doesn't excuse it.

 

Now I have to keep track of that particular FCC and use it to book a definite cruise...and BUY MORE IN FEBRUARY!!!

 

And go back to my regular cruise TA and quit trying to nickel and dime cruise costs...

[ljtinney]

The problem develops when you put in a client's Captain Circle #, to check for the best pricing. Once the number has been entered, if there are any Future Cruise Credits linked to that #, they will automatically be applied to any cabin that is held.

 

I now understand the point of using a CC #, making a courtesy hold and then having an FCC automatically applied. I was not aware of that.

 

So there is a way to get CC# pricing AND hold a cabin, but not use an FCC. Apparently my local TA knows how to do this and I was dealing with someone who was not so experienced.

 

Unless something has changed in the last 24 hours, which it hasn't...as far as FCC's are concerned....... They are not automatically applied to any cabin that is held with a Captain Circle number. I have many clients with FCC's and do courtesy holds with their CC numbers to get the proper pricing or just to be sure that the booking is linked to their CC number from the start. The FCC's are only applied with verbal confirmation over the phone with Princess. Most holds that I do are via the internet(Polar) and the odd one over the phone. In fact I just finished applying some FCC's and confirmed this.

[bhopal21]

...the bottom line is that the reservation has been cancelled. There is an issue with the FCC - (it got applied to the 11/29 Ruby so now there are three FCCs for two of us on the cruise - maybe the TA is coming along!), but I will work it through the system.

 

I now understand the point of using a CC #, making a courtesy hold and then having an FCC automatically applied. I was not aware of that.

 

My local business TA routinely holds cabins for me when she is pricing various options, but an FCC is never used. So there is a way to get CC# pricing AND hold a cabin, but not use an FCC. Apparently my local TA knows how to do this and I was dealing with someone who was not so experienced.

 

However, while it explains it, it doesn't excuse it.

 

Now I have to keep track of that particular FCC and use it to book a definite cruise...and BUY MORE IN FEBRUARY!!!

 

And go back to my regular cruise TA and quit trying to nickel and dime cruise costs...

 

Exactly, and I have learned from this thread also. A good TA would never use my/your FCC to hold a cabin without our express permission and to do so would disqualify them from any future business from me.:(

 

Mike:)

[vacation fool]

This situation happenned to me a while back, although did not involve an FCC. It was a TA that was a regular poster at the time on CC. I asked for a quote and before i knew it she had picked out a cabin for me in the category i had expressed an interest in. I found out when it showed up online! I immediately called Celebrity and was told the same thing-that only the TA could cancel it, but when i pressed them they told me if no deposit was made in 7 days it would be dropped. I sent an angry email to TA demanding she cancel my cabin and she did. Sometimes the saving a few dollars just is not worth it ya know? Know who you are dealing with-priceless:D

[Mindy97]

But you'd need the confirmation number, wouldn't you? I had it, but I don't see how you would have, sir.

 

M.

 

SHEESH... probably because I could call them up and say I am Mindy and cancel your reservation if I wanted to spite you.

[ccrain]

The "other" online TA protested my protestations saying it was only a "courtesy hold", however two of my FCCs were assigned to the cruise and you can only cancel an FCC once.

 

So someone in this online TA office then transferred the two FCCs to my December 2008 cruises using three FCCs per cruise and really screwing up my paperwork.

 

I basically appealed to my present online TA to help straighten this mess out, and oh by the way, go ahead and book the Dawn in April using those two errant FCCs.

 

Suffice to say that I've learned my lesson, and new or inexperienced TAs should also by taking note of my cruise history and booked cruises - I will not ever even talk to that "other" online TA organization again.

 

My business will go to the the TA that provides me the best VALUE - yes, low prices are important, but so is service and if a good TA costs a little more, then so be it.

[kcb]

Another bogus CSR answer.

 

NOT true...

 

You can insist that Princess cancel the res or take it over to cancel.

 

Send them a fax demanding this. It will work.

 

They absolutely WILL NOT do either without agent/agency intervention!!!

 

Princess cannot, and will not, take over a booking from an agent without agent permission first. The agent needs to release their involvement in the booking first, before Princess can "become your agency." I would venture to guess that most agents would be a little unwilling to do so, as they would be giving up their commission!