Contacting Oceania---Need Someone High Up

[itsjb1]

I have been advised by our travel agent that Oceania cancelled our reservation for our upcoming cruise. They say that they never got the final payment from our travel agent, which , the agent says they sent, but it was not cashed.. Oceania claims that they left a voicemail for our agent, advising that they did not get payment, but never actually spoke to anyone. Our agent advises that there is no way that a message could have been left, as their system was down that day.

 

Of course, the cruise is sold out.

 

I can not believe the terrible business practice of Oceania cancelling a cruise that was booked over 1 year in advance without actually speaking to a live person.

 

Anybody know anyone at an upper level of Oceania that I can contact?

[jjeffjb]

Did you make final payment using a credit card? If you did, the payment would be phoned in to Oceania not sent in by mail. I'd ask both your agency and Oceania if there is anything in writing, such as an email, that was sent warning of the cancellation. It doesn't seem as if its possible to determine who is at fault, your agency or the cruise line. Also, has your agency put you on the wait list. There are always cancellations just prior to final payment.

[itsjb1]

Did you make final payment using a credit card? If you did, the payment would be phoned in to Oceania not sent in by mail. I'd ask both your agency and Oceania if there is anything in writing, such as an email, that was sent warning of the cancellation. It doesn't seem as if its possible to determine who is at fault, your agency or the cruise line. Also, has your agency put you on the wait list. There are always cancellations just prior to final payment.

 

 

We are in Canada and I have a US $ account, so I wrote a $US cheque to the agency. They then issued a cheque to Oceania. They have put us on the waitlist, but the final payment date is past. The cruise is July 23 .

[itsjb1]

Oceania had our pax info form, with all of our contact information. If they did not get paid by the agent, one would have thought that they would have the courtesy of sending an email to me. They sure know how to find me 3-5 times a week with email offers for upcoming cruises. As we got the $2000 savings, they probably did not put too much effort, when they likely were able to sell our room for much more. Am I being too cynical?

[jjeffjb]

We always make final payment a week or so early by credit card. As a Canadian you should also have no problems using a credit card. We can then go on line to our credit card account and see if the charge has been put through. We had the same problem recently. The agency was at fault for never phoning in our credit card to the cruise line. We called O and they made an exception and took our credit card info directly from us as final payment was due that day. I hope you make the cruise. We're on the July 23 cruise!

Jeff

[Bruin Steve]

Sounds terrible...

About 16 or 18 years ago, I had a similar experience on a RCCL cruise...except my payment was to have been by credit card...Nonetheless, the cruise booking was canceled...and the cruise sold out...We were able to get back on due to some late cancelations...

 

BUT, leading up to that, I first hammered on my Travel Agent to fix it...and SHE called the cruise line...and over several days, they went back and forth pointing fingers at each other as to who screwed up, but also working on possible alternative fixes--getting me on another date (not possible as far as I was concerned...I had other commitments and had cleared these dates with work, etc.), putting me on another cruise line, etc. I'm guessing a lot of the debate was going on WHO was going to pay for any cost difference...or concessions...

 

And, as I said, in the end they were able to accommodate me...and RCCL threw in another $300 in onboard credit and some other "gifts" to make up for the stress and anxiety...much appreciated...

 

But, as far as I was concerned, it is the TRAVEL AGENT'S job to FIX IT for you, some way or another...ESPECIALLY if it is clear that YOU did everything YOU were supposed to have done...If the miscommunication was somewhere between the TA and the Cruise Line, you may never be able to determine who screwed up: "We sent it", "We never received it"...BUT, in the end, the TA is supposed to make certain he/she received the payment from you...and then make certain it is received by the cruise line...That is his/her job...

 

Now, for future reference, as a precaution, always better to use a credit card...and then go immediately back within a day or two to your credit card website or 800 number and confirm the payment has actually been posted to your account...I always pay a couple of days early just to be able to do this verification...

 

If you really must pay by check (and I would make the check out directly to the cruise line, not the TA--for other reasons), then I would pay several days early...and go back and confirm with my bank that it has been cashed...

 

For me, it's actually pretty much unnecessary as my TA always sends me a confirmation from the cruise line showing the cruise fare has now been paid in full...

 

Never wait a long time before getting verification that your funds have been received...Especially if the cruise is sold out...

 

So, does your TA admit receiving your check? THAT is where you yell and scream and tell her you expect her to fix it immediately (even if it sounds hopeless)...The cruise line likely will have a cabin open up...and there may be other folks "waiting"...You want your TA making the noise to get you in...

 

PS. That was the last I worked with that TA...She should have confirmed everything on my behalf...made sure payments went through, etc. No matter who "dropped the ball", it was supposed to be HER job to follow it.

 

The cruise line has thousands of bookings...they really aren't able to follow up personally with everyone who doesn't submit a final payment...lots of folks reserve cruises, then cancel when the final becomes due...they don't follow up personally wioth every one to ask why...Your TA, OTOH, is the one who is supposed to be giving you individual attention, watching for your interests...

[LHT28]

We are in Canada and I have a US $ account, so I wrote a $US cheque to the agency.

 

I would never write a cheque to the agency.:eek:

They do have USD VISA cards you may want to check them out for future purchases.

 

If there is a paper trail then you may get lucky & get reinstated .

If you deal with a TA then the cruise lines will not contact you.

 

Weekly emails from the cruise lines are set up automatically.

[wripro]

I agree that this is just another reason to ALWAYS pay by credit card. Besides, why give up the miles?

[itsjb1]

I agree that this is just another reason to ALWAYS pay by credit card. Besides, why give up the miles?

 

 

Live and learn I guess. When we booked the cruise the Canadian dollar was about par with the US. Date of final payment, the exchange rate on credit card was about 28-30%. I had $$ in a US account, so figured that I might as well save the 30%, even at teh expense of points.

[cruzmaven]

This is absolutely the TA's responsibility. The two main things they do for you is make the reservation and forward your payment (check or cc) to the cruise line. Shouldn't the TA have seen the payment wasn't cashed at the time final payment was due and made an inquiry on your behalf, why wait on O to call? The TA should have been more proactive.

 

I'm assuming you made your payment to the TA in more than enough time for them to cut a check to O and get it there on time. How long was the TA sitting on your money before they sent the payment to O?

 

This is the main reason why I always make my bookings myself. I can deal directly with the cruise line, they can deal directly with me, no middleman.

 

Nothing is more frustrating (to me) than to call a cruise line, regarding my reservation that I'm paying for, and being told they can't talk to me because I have a TA.

 

Booking from Canada, does O require that you use a TA or can you book directly on the phone or website?

 

I hope things work out for you and you somehow get on your cruise!

[LHT28]

Live and learn I guess. When we booked the cruise the Canadian dollar was about par with the US. Date of final payment, the exchange rate on credit card was about 28-30%. I had $$ in a US account, so figured that I might as well save the 30%, even at teh expense of points.

If the $$ was at par how can the exchange rate be 28-30%??

Do you mean the finance rate... that it what it sounds like.

 

You could probably send the USD cheque directly to Oceania or at least make it payable to the cruise line & have your TA forward it.

 

Ask the TA to show you the copy of the cheque/paperwork they sent to Oceania. Then you can see when it was sent & if it had your booking number on it or not.

 

 

Big lesson learned!

 

Lyn

[Jancruz]

Do you know what happened to the money??

Does the TA have it? I speak from a lot of experience when I say many agencies never accept anything but credit cards

 

Jancruz1

[loum140]

As others have commented, I can't understand why you made the final payment by check payable to the TA and not to Oceania. Why involve a third party who then must issue their own payment on your behalf? We always use a credit card and authorize final payment a few days early. Confirming e-mails acknowledging receipt of our final payment have always come promptly from O to our TA which she forwards on to us. I'm sorry for your disappointment, but I agree that you should ask for documentation from your TA and then ask that you be put on wait list for cancellations.

[itsjb1]

Re the rate:

 

We booked the cruise in July 2008, when the US and Canadian dollar was roughly at par. By the time final payment was due, in April 2009, the exchange rate had moved.

 

The TA cashed the cheque and says that they issued a cheque to Oceania, that Oceania never got. There is no question about getting a refund of the final payment from the TA.

 

I don't think that it is a question of the TA keeping the money. I asked if I should send the cheque directly to Oceania and she told me that Oceania would only accept a TA cheque. I guess if there is a problem, Oceania would go back to the TA rather than try to chase customer.

 

 

Payment was made in more than enough time.

[LHT28]

I asked if I should send the cheque directly to Oceania and she told me that Oceania would only accept a TA cheque. I guess if there is a problem, Oceania would go back to the TA rather than try to chase customer.

 

 

Payment was made in more than enough time.

According to the info on O website it states Personal cheques are accepted .

 

American Express, MasterCard, Visa, travel agency checks and personal checks are accepted for deposits and full payments.

http://www.oceaniacruises.com/corporate/legal/termsconditions.aspx

 

I hope you can get the matter resolved and get on the cruise.

 

Lyn

[itsjb1]

To be fair to Oceania, they seem to be going out of their way to try to find us something else that fits. It looks more and more that the TA has messed up. Unfortunately , we are the ones that end up losing out.

 

My lesson is that in the future I will only book directly with the cruise line, so I am in control of the process.

[LHT28]

Glad to hear Oceania is helping you get something.

Hope all works out for you.

 

You just need to find the right TA ;)

 

 

Lyn

[Jana]

My lesson is that in the future I will only book directly with the cruise line, so I am in control of the process.

 

Don't completely give up on travel agents. A good one is worth his or her weight in gold. (Nope, I am not a travel agent, LOL)

 

Things happen. Your agent messed up. But the fact that you felt that YOU had to aggitate on your own behalf says a lot about the agent you used. No matter who was at fault in this instance, your agent should have been moving mountains for you instead of giving you sob stories.

 

Is it your agent who is working with Oceania behind the scenes? If not, you're lucky that you are booked with Oceania. As we've witnessed here fairly often, real people live behind the corporate name. Almost every other cruise line in the world would have said "Sorry, go through your agent," and would not have lifted a finger to help you individually.

 

If if is your agent that's working with Oceania, stay on her. I'm sure you're both furious and heartsick, but the only thing you can do now is be in constant contact with your agent to try to get this resolved. With Oceania working on it you'll probably come out fine.

 

A good agent not only would not have allowed this to happen but if anything unusual did occur, would be fighting tooth and nail for his or her client -- that's you! So when this is settled, find another agency. Ask around. There are good, professional agents who remove all the stress and worry from your shoulders.

 

Jana

[meow!]

A number of points:

 

1. Use a major credit card to protect yourself, and charges to a credit card (by whom and for what) will be recorded as your evidence. You also get "points" and other goodies. (In your type of case, if your credit card showed that Oceania charged you the full amount, they would be offering others voluntariy cancellations to give you your cabin!)

 

2. People make mistakes, don't trust anything. After you paid the TA, call Oceania to check that the TA paid the cruise line. If not, keep calling to confirm, until it is settled, then tell the cruise line to send you an e-mail statement confirming everything is in order. Or if they insist on dealing only with the TA (Oceania, with the former Renaissance's "TA burnt" scars, is more TA sensitive than most other cruise lines), then tell them to send the confirmation to the TA, and tell the TA to forward the confirmation to you!

 

3. If you are familiar with the booking process and don't need to pay for a full service agent, you can find a discount agent with maximum discount and use him/her only as ticketing agent. If that is the case, you need to supervise the process and do the leg work yourself even more carefully to make sure that it is done right. Then of course, you save money, usually enough for the usual tips and then some!

[Sharicruz]

You should always receive an updated invoice, anytime a payment is applied to the booking.

 

Shari

 

ShariCruz6

[itsjb1]

All great advice. However, when you deal with a TA who deals almost exclusively in cruises, you expect things to get done. Unfortunately, whether it is the TA's fault, Oceania's fault or a combination of the 2, we are the ones who end up suffering. As it was considered a cancellation, the penalty appliesand the deposit is lost. As a good will gesture Oceania is offering a future cruise credit, but I am not sure that we will be able to use it . Hopefully our TA will reimburse us for the lost deposit, but who knows.

[Jana]

You sound so defeated.

 

I'm not an agent and have no authority to make these comments but good grief, it's your agent's fault! No matter how it happened, even if Oceania didn't deposit her check, she was the one who should have been keeping track.

 

Please don't accept that you won't get your funds back or your cruise. Go up the agency chain of command if you need to, but start making some demands. Obviously your agent is going to do everything she can to cover her a$$ so go over her head.

 

You did nothing wrong. You had an agent you trusted and you paid using a method that is totally acceptable. I agree that a credit card is safer, but you had no way of knowing that your trusted agent would breach her responsibility this way.

 

Please don't give up. Please. Keep after her, or her management, to get this resolved one way or another.

 

Jana

[lovecruisingtoo]

All great advice. However, when you deal with a TA who deals almost exclusively in cruises, you expect things to get done. Unfortunately, whether it is the TA's fault, Oceania's fault or a combination of the 2, we are the ones who end up suffering. As it was considered a cancellation, the penalty applies and the deposit is lost. As a good will gesture Oceania is offering a future cruise credit, but I am not sure that we will be able to use it . Hopefully our TA will reimburse us for the lost deposit, but who knows.

 

The search function is your friend.

 

I did a search in the Oceania forum and found where Frank Del Rio had put his fax number in a thread. The thread is from Oct. 30, 2007 but the number may still be accurate. It is (305) 514-2297. There is also a thread from December 15, 2008 stating that his email address is frankdelrio@oceaniacruises.com . Again, don't know if it is accurate.

 

In your letter, make sure you are concise in the history and issues. Also state what your expectations are.

 

If these don't work, maybe you can post your e-mail address so that if someone has a better e-mail or fax number they can send it to you privately.

 

Good luck.

[meow!]

There might be another possibility under your circumstances. If you want your cruise bad enough, you can tell Oceania (directly or through your TA) that you are willing to pay $xxx extra for your cabin, and ask the cruise line to offer that amount as incentive for others to volunatrily withdraw and take an alternative date/voyage. If the offer is sweet enough, there may be takers. (Some retired couples travelling only by themselves and have no time constraints may be quite happy to exchange dates for $xxx). Perhaps your TA should chip in a fraction of that offer, since this may well be their mistake in the first place.

[Jana]

There might be another possibility under your circumstances. If you want your cruise bad enough, you can tell Oceania (directly or through your TA) that you are willing to pay $xxx extra for your cabin, and ask the cruise line to offer that amount as incentive for others to volunatrily withdraw and take an alternative date/voyage. If the offer is sweet enough, there may be takers. (Some retired couples travelling only by themselves and have no time constraints may be quite happy to exchange dates for $xxx). Perhaps your TA should chip in a fraction of that offer, since this may well be their mistake in the first place.

 

She shouldn't have to do that, but it's a great suggestion to offer to the agency. They should be responsible to make sure that she is "made whole," it was their error.

 

Jana