My TA messed up my booking

[fun and breezes 2]

My TA improperly booked us and we lost out on our OBC that we should have had from FCC. Is there anything I can request to compensate? Princess doesn't want to help, so I am looking for an option a TA has to offer.

[Toto2Kansas]

Could you please explain how you lost your SBC from your FCC? Not enough information to make a suggestion.

[LARGIN]

Agree with Toto.. Also when did you book and when do you sail?

[fun and breezes 2]

She said it was because when we called in to make final payment, she called Princess to get the final amount from them, and also added an "early booking discount". She said she didn't know it then but it dropped off the onboard credits from the FCC used when we originally booked. The early booking discount saved about $15, but we lost out on $200 of onboard credits. In her explaination to us she said "lesson learned not to take additional discounts when using FCC". I am not trying to play hardball, and I know she was trying to help us by getting the price lowered. Problem is I am feeling unsettled about it and wondered if TAs have anything to offer that I could ask for. I think it is a big company, but does not specialize in cruises so it's probably not a big volume agency with Princess. Additionally, she hasn't returned any phone calls which has me feeling more unsettled, because we have 3 other cruises thru the same agent upcoming.

[fun and breezes 2]

We booked last year first week of July and we sailed this month, so we booked about 9 months ahead of sailing.

[Toto2Kansas]

We booked last year first week of July and we sailed this month, so we booked about 9 months ahead of sailing.

 

We have booked using a lot of FCC's and I have never heard of them dropping the shipboard credit because of an early booking discount. Perhaps some of the TA's that post here might be able to give you a better answer.

We have always gotten an early booking discount when booking that far ahead of time and it has never effected our shipboard credit when using an FCC for the deposit.

I would be very leary of all of this, as it just doesn't sound right to me at all. I don't mean to worry you, please don't misunderstand, but something is very fishy in Denmark on this one. :o

If this TA will not return your phone calls, I think I would be shopping around for a new TA that I could transfer my currect bookings over to. If you can't get them to call you back now, what happens if there is a real problem you need to contact them about?

I have seen and used TA's in the past, usually only once, that seem to be so happy to take your booking, but after the deposit, and especially after final payment, it is almost impossible to get ahold of them. That is when I transfer the booking away from them. Sad but true. :(

[LoveSanibel]

I just booked 3 weeks ago for March 09 using a FCC and kept my OBC. It did not show up on the Princess web site account info, but I called and they confirmed it is on there.

[rdsqrl]

I seldom post on these "my travel agent made a mistake" threads because we never know enough of the story to actually offer any substantive help, but this time I'm chiming in to second Toto's response: there definitely seems something not-quite-right in Denmark. What it sounds like to me is that your FCC wasn't even used for this booking -- and that's something you should certainly be able to find out from Princess with a phone call. Even if they won't talk to you about this specific booking, they can surely tell you whether or not you still have an FCC in your name. Meanwhile, don't stand for a TA who won't respond to messages: doesn't s/he have a supervisor -- call them. Not returning phone calls is totally unacceptable; I'd seriously be taking my business elsewhere.

[sonomaphil]

She said it was because when we called in to make final payment, she called Princess to get the final amount from them, and also added an "early booking discount". She said she didn't know it then but it dropped off the onboard credits from the FCC used when we originally booked. The early booking discount saved about $15, but we lost out on $200 of onboard credits. In her explaination to us she said "lesson learned not to take additional discounts when using FCC". I am not trying to play hardball, and I know she was trying to help us by getting the price lowered. Problem is I am feeling unsettled about it and wondered if TAs have anything to offer that I could ask for. I think it is a big company, but does not specialize in cruises so it's probably not a big volume agency with Princess. Additionally, she hasn't returned any phone calls which has me feeling more unsettled, because we have 3 other cruises thru the same agent upcoming.

 

Call and request to cancel your next bookings, that will get her attention. She somehow screwed up. Never heard of an FCC being denied no matter what the price of the cruise....that leads me to believe the TA is at fault. Price lowing never has anything to do with FCC's. You're TA is covering their *** I think. This is why TA's get a bad rep on this board.

[fun and breezes 2]

We have booked using a lot of FCC's and I have never heard of them dropping the shipboard credit because of an early booking discount. Perhaps some of the TA's that post here might be able to give you a better answer.

We have always gotten an early booking discount when booking that far ahead of time and it has never effected our shipboard credit when using an FCC for the deposit.

I would be very leary of all of this, as it just doesn't sound right to me at all. I don't mean to worry you, please don't misunderstand, but something is very fishy in Denmark on this one. :o

 

Thanks toto. As I said I think she messed up somehow, but now what can I do? I don't want to be demanding or take her commision, and I still have bookings for future cruises. We have used her for 4 years and 3 prior cruises with no previous problems. I think in this case she didn't have the pull needed with Princess to correct after the fact. So for my peace of mind I'm looking for options and I'm turning to CC for suggestions.

[Toto2Kansas]

First of all, I would go to 'My Princess' on princess.com and see if your FCC was actually applied to your booking. Go to your circle savings account and if it was, it will have your booking number showing next to it. That will give you the first hint IF your TA actually applied your FCC. If it has been applied, and you see your booking number next to it, click on the tab that says 'credits' and see if it is showing any shipboard credit that is linked to that booking.

FYI, if you have an SO, check both accounts on myprincess, as sometimes it won't show up on one as a credit, but will show up on the other.

 

After you check, then maybe a suggestion will come to me.

[rdsqrl]

Thanks toto. As I said I think she messed up somehow, but now what can I do? I don't want to be demanding or take her commision, and I still have bookings for future cruises. We have used her for 4 years and 3 prior cruises with no previous problems. I think in this case she didn't have the pull needed with Princess to correct after the fact. So for my peace of mind I'm looking for options and I'm turning to CC for suggestions.

The fix really depends on what happened and not on her "pull" with Princess: if she actually did use your FCC, there's no reason why you shouldn't have gotten your onboard credit -- that's totally inexplicable but Princess's decision not hers, and you should request a three-way conference call with her and Princess so they can explain to you exactly what happened and why you're not getting the OBC that the FCC entitles you to. If she didn't use your FCC, you still have the FCC, so no harm, no foul -- excpet for the harm that you don't have the onboard credit you were expecting. So she did screw up and I think you're entitled to demand that she throw a goodwill OBC in your direction -- again, escalate to her manager if necessary. But really, until you know exactly what went wrong, how can you ask for a remedy.

[fun and breezes 2]

I seldom post on these "my travel agent made a mistake" threads because we never know enough of the story to actually offer any substantive help, but this time I'm chiming in to second Toto's response: there definitely seems something not-quite-right in Denmark. What it sounds like to me is that your FCC wasn't even used for this booking -- and that's something you should certainly be able to find out from Princess with a phone call. Even if they won't talk to you about this specific booking, they can surely tell you whether or not you still have an FCC in your name. Meanwhile, don't stand for a TA who won't respond to messages: doesn't s/he have a supervisor -- call them. Not returning phone calls is totally unacceptable; I'd seriously be taking my business elsewhere.

 

She is the supervisor and the one in the agency that handles problems.

 

She said the FCC were originally used, and my booking deposit was with one FCC and $100 for the second person in the cabin. Also my passage contract shows the $200 OB Credit.

[sonomaphil]

The fix really depends on what happened and not on her "pull" with Princess: if she actually did use your FCC, there's no reason why you shouldn't have gotten your onboard credit -- that's totally inexplicable but Princess's decision not hers, and you should request a three-way conference call with her and Princess so they can explain to you exactly what happened and why you're not getting the OBC that the FCC entitles you to. If she didn't use your FCC, you still have the FCC, so no harm, no foul -- excpet for the harm that you don't have the onboard credit you were expecting. So she did screw up and I think you're entitled to demand that she throw a goodwill OBC in your direction -- again, escalate to her manager if necessary. But really, until you know exactly what went wrong, how can you ask for a remedy.

 

But, if she didn't use an FCC the booking would have been canceled within days because no deposit was ever put down.

 

fun and breezes 2, did your credit card get charged a standard deposit amount when you booked with her?

[fun and breezes 2]

We have booked using a lot of FCC's and I have never heard of them dropping the shipboard credit because of an early booking discount. Perhaps some of the TA's that post here might be able to give you a better answer.

We have always gotten an early booking discount when booking that far ahead of time and it has never effected our shipboard credit when using an FCC for the deposit.

I would be very leary of all of this, as it just doesn't sound right to me at all. I don't mean to worry you, please don't misunderstand, but something is very fishy in Denmark on this one. :o

If this TA will not return your phone calls, I think I would be shopping around for a new TA that I could transfer my currect bookings over to. If you can't get them to call you back now, what happens if there is a real problem you need to contact them about?

I have seen and used TA's in the past, usually only once, that seem to be so happy to take your booking, but after the deposit, and especially after final payment, it is almost impossible to get ahold of them. That is when I transfer the booking away from them. Sad but true. :(

 

So how do you find a new TA with good customer relations and enough volume with princess to handle problems. Seems to me a new TA picked from the phone book may be no better than who I am using now, and I don't want to jump from bad to worse. I have heard many TAs with the volume can also give perks or discounts, but just don't know what to look up or how to find them.

[Toto2Kansas]

Let me see if I am understanding this correctly. You sail in 7 days, you have your booking invoice that shows you applied one FCC and charged the second $100 to a credit card for the deposit? Your invoice shows you were entitled to $200 shipboard credit for booking with an FCC?

Now 7 days before you sail your TA is telling you that she did something to your booking and Princess will not honor the shipboard credit for booking with an FCC and one $100 deposit payment?

 

Have I got that correct so far?

[cruiserjanet]

I might be way off base here but it is my understanding that even if you put down $100 per person FCD, if the cruise is less than 7 days, you only get $50 per person of OBC.

[rdsqrl]

She is the supervisor and the one in the agency that handles problems.

 

She said the FCC were originally used, and my booking deposit was with one FCC and $100 for the second person in the cabin. Also my passage contract shows the $200 OB Credit.

Solves problems?? Sounds like she's the one in the agency creating the problems. (Sorry, couldn't resist!) Well, if indeed your FCCs were used, then I think you need to get Princess involved here to explain to you in words of one syllable exactly what happened because I'm stumped as to why they'd take that OBC away, no matter what kind of post-deposit discount you might have gotten. Sorry I can't offer any more concrete advice, but best of luck to you. Come back and let us know the final outcome. I know it's no consolation right now, but the Dawn is a wonderful ship and I'm sure you'll really enjoy sailing on her, whatever happens.

[Toto2Kansas]

I might be way off base here but it is my understanding that even if you put down $100 per person FCD, if the cruise is less than 7 days, you only get $50 per person of OBC.

 

I just looked up this cruise, hadn't done that before. It is a two day sailing. Now, that may have something to do with this as cruiserjanet says. I had thought it was a 10 day sailing since the OP was quoting a $100 per person SBC. There are no $100 per person SBC's for a two day cruise that I have ever seen before when using FCC's to book.

There is always more to the story, and I think this two day sailing is the answer to the problem.

[sonomaphil]

So how do you find a new TA with good customer relations and enough volume with princess to handle problems. Seems to me a new TA picked from the phone book may be no better than who I am using now, and I don't want to jump from bad to worse. I have heard many TAs with the volume can also give perks or discounts, but just don't know what to look up or how to find them.

 

How much hand holding do you need? Not asking that in a bad way some require more than others with question, comments etc. You might want to Google something with "cruise" and then "compete" in the search field. You might find a fine TA there...or at least a better price!

[fun and breezes 2]

First of all, I would go to 'My Princess' on princess.com and see if your FCC was actually applied to your booking. Go to your circle savings account and if it was, it will have your booking number showing next to it. That will give you the first hint IF your TA actually applied your FCC. If it has been applied, and you see your booking number next to it, click on the tab that says 'credits' and see if it is showing any shipboard credit that is linked to that booking.

FYI, if you have an SO, check both accounts on myprincess, as sometimes it won't show up on one as a credit, but will show up on the other.

 

After you check, then maybe a suggestion will come to me.

 

Ok I will look, but first I have to ask, if the FCC was put back in my account how would I see if it was used with the original booking. Also I have the passage contract dated my original booking date in front of me and it shows the OB credit, so I do believe it was used then dropped.

[sonomaphil]

I just looked up this cruise, hadn't done that before. It is a two day sailing. Now, that may have something to do with this as cruiserjanet says. I had thought it was a 10 day sailing since the OP was quoting a $100 per person SBC.

There is always more to the story, and I think this two day sailing is the answer to the problem.

 

Excellent detective work Toto... less than 7 day sailing don't qualify for OBC credit with FCC's. The TA still didn't understand the requirements, but I retract anything I said before this in this thread! :D

[Toto2Kansas]

Ok I will look, but first I have to ask, if the FCC was put back in my account how would I see if it was used with the original booking. Also I have the passage contract dated my original booking date in front of me and it shows the OB credit, so I do believe it was used then dropped.

 

See my previous post. If this is a two day sailing (since after cruiserjanet mentioned it, I looked it up). Booking with an FCC would not give you a shipboard credit of $100 per person. I think this was an error on your TA's part and she somehow messed up how much of a credit you should have recevied for booking a two day with an FCC. In other words, just an error in your booking invoice would be my guess.

[Toto2Kansas]

Excellent detective work Toto... less than 7 day sailing don't qualify for OBC credit with FCC's. The TA still didn't understand the requirements, but I retract anything I said before this in this thread! :D

Actaully, it's thanks to cruiserjanet for suggesting this was a short cruise. It was what clued me in to look it up on the princess website.

 

I will quote from the FCC in front of me for the OP.

Shipboard credits when booking with FCC.

 

7-9 days........$25 pp inside...........$50 pp outside

10-15 days.....$75 pp inside...........$100 pp outside

16+ days........$125 pp inside.........$150 pp ouside

 

This is straight from the FCC paperwork. No SBC given for less than a 7 day cruise.

 

Mystery solved, it must have been a paperwork error by your TA. But evenso, I would be shopping for a new TA ASAP.

[fun and breezes 2]

I just looked up this cruise, hadn't done that before. It is a two day sailing. Now, that may have something to do with this as cruiserjanet says. I had thought it was a 10 day sailing since the OP was quoting a $100 per person SBC. There are no $100 per person SBC's for a two day cruise that I have ever seen before when using FCC's to book.

There is always more to the story, and I think this two day sailing is the answer to the problem.

 

The OBC were $100 each for a 14 day cruise on the Crown. A balcony is $100 p/p. We sailed already and it was while on the ship that we found out the cruise credits were not on our account. I called the TA and talked to her about it during the cruise a couple times. She assured me it would be corrected, but it never was. Since I have been back I have tried calling and leaving messages but have not gotten a call back.

 

My next cruise is on the Dawn and has nothing to do with it.