"Agency issue"....???

[fann1sh]

Goldryder, I also come from a country where government regulation is common, and often regarded as a good thing. However, my U.S. cousins (my family is split by the border) feel differently. They regard it as government interference in a free market.

 

Another cultural difference between "peace, order and good government" versus "llife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".

[Goldryder]

Goldryder, I also come from a country where government regulation is common, and often regarded as a good thing. However, my U.S. cousins (my family is split by the border) feel differently. They regard it as government interference in a free market.

 

Another cultural difference between "peace, order and good government" versus "llife, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness".

 

True...there are those here in the UK who wish things weren't so regulated...until something fails and they actually need to use those regulatory bodies to get them out of a tight spot.

 

Last year XL went down the tubes...airline, tour operator gone overnight, thousands left in the lurch in foreign countries as a result, thousands more with paid for holidays that had lost their holiday and their money.

 

ABTA and ATOL stepped in and with the assistance of other operators and their own funding, everyone got home safely and those who lost holidays either received refunds with help from the regulatory bodies via insurance or other operators stepped in and offered alternatives at no extra cost.

 

It's like insurance, in the UK it is mandatory to have travel insurance...you might travel for years and years and never need to claim, but one day...well...you just never know. Personally I would rather have the safety nets in place on a just incase basis, than be left high and dry (especially high and dry in a foreign country).

[2bout2c]

I posted this in a new thread but I wanted to be sure you all saw it here because it was so VERY wonderful and because you have been my lifeline over the past week.

 

Today I had a thrill......I took a ferry from the peninsula where I live into Seattle for the day. It was a gorgeous day and my friend and I walked all along the waterfront and lots of other places. The Amsterdam was docked in Seattle and I saw her many times today. We cought the 4:30 ferry home and as we were pulling out on the ferry the Amsterdam also pulled out of her berth. What a thrill.....we sailed in Elliott bay together before she went north and we went west!! Beautiful ending to a stressfull week.......and my heart was soaring with excitement! Only 2 months and I will be pulling out of Elliott bay again.....and NOT on a ferry!!

This is the start of the thrills to come. Seeing YOUR ship,packing everything in that guest room,seeing and doing all on the cruise. I predict the next thrill will be seeing an upgrade on your cabin. Holland America will try to make up to you for all you've been thru.You deserve all those good things.

[Cruisin' Chick]

I agree with Heather and the others.

 

I just wouldn't go by what BBB says or a certain other site that talks about hotels, etc. Sometimes, the company will have shills putting in good reviews to help counter any bad ones.

 

It's just unfortunate that there isn't a sticky about how to protect yourself while booking your cruise and taking your cruise. It would be very helpful.

 

The other side of the coin, I did work at a specialty store some years ago, and whenever a customer disputed a credit card claim, we would have to send proof that we had sent the shipment (and that it was received). If the customer received the items in the store or received services (tutoring, repairwork, etc.), we would have to prove that too. So I imagine if you keep checking your credit card statements after booking a vacation, you can watch for any strange postings and immediately ask for clarification.

[Cruisin' Chick]

If you go on the agency site, you can still find cruises listed for Holland. None for Princess.

[Kween Karen]

HAL told me they were not doing business with the agency any longer. Maybe a time warp on their site.

[hammybee]

 

It's like insurance, in the UK it is mandatory to have travel insurance...you might travel for years and years and never need to claim, but one day...well...you just never know. Personally I would rather have the safety nets in place on a just incase basis, than be left high and dry (especially high and dry in a foreign country).

 

I believe that in the UK, you:

 

Have to acknowledge you received and read the cruise or tour contract before you are allowed to purchase it, and

 

You lose your deposit if you cancel before final payment date. Not sure if it's transferable or not. As onerous as this seems, it probably prevents people from making impulsive decisions and then doing the never-mind, afterwards.

 

Impulse purchases have had a tendency to drive the economy, here.

[Goldryder]

I believe that in the UK, you:

 

Have to acknowledge you received and read the cruise or tour contract before you are allowed to purchase it, and

 

You lose your deposit if you cancel before final payment date. Not sure if it's transferable or not. As onerous as this seems, it probably prevents people from making impulsive decisions and then doing the never-mind, afterwards.

 

Impulse purchases have had a tendency to drive the economy, here.

 

A deposit was transferable until last year when CCL/Complete Cruise Solutions changed the rule on that - I believe it was worldwide, not just in the UK though - so now, yes, you do lose it if you change your plan.

 

When booking a cruise you pay the deposit, then get a PDF file with the itinerary sent through, then as flights are released (if bought as a packages as I do) an updated PDF is sent through (via TA as in my case). The updated PDF comes through upto 50 weeks out from departure with flights in place.

 

I have never physically acknowledged receipt of the PDF, although I imagine my TA will have done. I keep a copy on the computer, my TA sends me a hard copy and he keeps a hard copy incase of alterations or questions, mistakes etc.

[mrskmirolla]

I am cruising!!

 

My cruise is paid in FULL!!

 

 

The very nice HAL lady called me and was beside herself with the good news. The money wire came through.....and my cruise is paid in full. She was very surprised......she didn't expect it to come through today. She said this could have taken weeks and had fully expected that. She was so happy for me....made me feel really good.

 

I will give more details later.....just wanted to pass this news to you all who have given me so much support during this ordeal.

 

I am cruising on my DREAM trip September 26th WOOHOO!!

 

Oh Karen I am crying and thanking God at the same time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Have a super time.

Kathy

[Kween Karen]

I am waiting for a call back from HAL. Had a message that they have some final information for me. We are experiencing a heat wave here in my corner of Washington......so am thinking Tracy may have taken a day or 2 off to find a place to beat the heat.

I will post the "final information" when I have it.

[arlenez]

I am waiting for a call back from HAL. Had a message that they have some final information for me. We are experiencing a heat wave here in my corner of Washington......so am thinking Tracy may have taken a day or 2 off to find a place to beat the heat.

I will post the "final information" when I have it.

 

Maybe they have upgraded you to a full suite or the penthouse.

 

Regards,

Arlene

[Kween Karen]

Maybe they have upgraded you to a full suite or the penthouse.

/quote]

 

LOL

Wouldn't THAT be nice......from the very bottom to the very top!!

Well.....this IS my DREAM trip!

[woody73]

 

. . . Never got the overcharges and fuel refunded back. But I am going to try again with some of the great advise and suggestions about this whole mess.

Sherrie, I hope you are successful in getting your money refunded.

 

Woody

[MISSYLOU]

Firelt5: Good luck and keep us updated on the results.

[FIRELT5]

Firelt5: Good luck and keep us updated on the results.

 

Yep, this was the same T/A. The unauthorized charge was just posted on 7/17, so we are not responsible according to Barclays. We also notified Cunard and removed this T/A from our reservation and we are now in charge of it.

[Kween Karen]

Oh my....the nightmare continues!!

[elliecat]

Thanks for the link - another complaint is now on its way to the authorities, can't believe this has gone on for so long......when will someone do something to stop him!!

 

Can you send a link to where you found the judgements, the more information we have on this person the better.

[FIRELT5]

Thanks for the link - another complaint is now on its way to the authorities, can't believe this has gone on for so long......when will someone do something to stop him!!

 

Can you send a link to where you found the judgements, the more information we have on this person the better.

 

That was from Nora that works at the Consumers Office.

[Kween Karen]

Tracy and I are playing phone tag.....I am sure we will catch each other soon.....maybe when the Seattle HOT streak cools down and I can stay out of the lake long enough to answer the phone!!!

[lvtotrvl1]

A little history here..I was an independent contractor that worked for one of the largest agencies in the country. I did sign up for leads from the same website (where multiple agencies will compete for your business) you all are speaking of, to see if I could get more business....as another poster mentioned way back in this thread...it was free if you gave quotes to 200 people in 3 months. I could see on my end of the website what the cruise was actually bought for. With my commission, which was the highest level, due to my affiliation with my host agency, I could not touch , even get close to what was being offered by others. believe it or not, it takes alot of time and some energy to quote that amount and work your normal business .....I finally asked the owner of the website, if I could get out of my contract...there was really no way the majority of agents could survive with the rates you would have to give...he was gracious and let me out. Being at the highest commission levels of the cruiselines I still would have lost money .

 

13 years ago I began my career in the travel industry, because i loved it. It upsets me to no end when I read here on cc , or anywhere else about someones vacation has gone bad due to anything, much less an unscrupulous agent.

 

I am very sorry for what has happened and I hope you all report to the appropriate places your grievences. Please believe, there are still good agents left that want to help you. We are not in this for money (we are not getting rich) and we are not her for free trips( they are a thing of the past). The good agents love helping people plan their vacations( which most people save for a year or more to be able to take).

 

I trylu hope everything works out for those having these problems...don't stop fighting.

[jcrandle]

WOW, talk about fortuitous timing, I just finished a marathon read of this thread. I had a previous cruise booked with this agency, the Amazon Explorer in December 2008. I had double billings which I disputed with my CC company and it took forever for me to print my boarding pass because apparently payment to HAL was late. I had done an on-board booking of our next cruise to take advantage of the low deposit, and had just decided on a different cruise than the one originally booked. Of course HAL assigns the booking to the same agency, so I had emailed the agent to ask that the booking be changed to a different HAL cruise.

 

I told the agent that I wanted all payments to go to HAL, because of the double billing previously. I was told that because they had group space, they would process the CC and forward the payment for the entire group to HAL at final payment time. They also offered a 5% discount if I paid immediately rather than at final payment time. I declined, because I knew that I would be beyond the date I could dispute the charge under the Fair Credit Billing Act (60 days from the date the statement was mailed (read that as printed) that contained the fraudulent charge) so I would have no recourse.

 

Anyway, after reading this, and identifying my agency as the #$^&% one, I called HAL, gave them my booking number and asked if the agency was in good standing. After a short pause, the HAL agent told me that my booking was now with HAL. I thanked her and hung up. So it does appear that HAL has terminated their relationship with this agency (and hopefully in all of its other names, phone numbers and websites.)

 

I am now emailing another agency that I have had good service from in the past, only to be lured away by low price, to have them pick up the booking and quote the new cruise.

 

I've often heard that "the bitterness of poor service lingers long after the sweetness of low price has disappeared", but I'm here to tell you that it is true. Thanks again to everyone who helped in the "20 questions" game to narrow down the culprit.

[Jewel99]

Tracy and I are playing phone tag.....I am sure we will catch each other soon.....maybe when the Seattle HOT streak cools down and I can stay out of the lake long enough to answer the phone!!!

 

Any updates? Just curious if you ever heard back from HAL.

[Kween Karen]

Any updates? Just curious if you ever heard back from HAL.

 

Not yet. I am sure we will catch up with each other this next week. I think everyone in this area was just trying to keep cool this week! Made it hard to touch base when I was leaving the house by noon each day to float in the lake!! I think I sill stay home a little more this next week........maybe start packing!!

[Soundsgreat6]

Not yet. I am sure we will catch up with each other this next week. I think everyone in this area was just trying to keep cool this week! Made it hard to touch base when I was leaving the house by noon each day to float in the lake!! I think I sill stay home a little more this next week........maybe start packing!!

Yeah K sure been a hot one here on the West coast, think I was around 14 years old the last time it was this hot. MMMMM wish i could do what I did then all summer. Spent most of the time in the local river cooling off. Now I have to sit in my non airconditioned office. Upstairs in my home. lol. Yeah time to pack, and may I say what great looking Grand Kids u have, loved the picts on your blog. In my humble opinion your pict on CC doesn't do you credit. The ones on your blog are much better. Cheers! from BC

[Paul123]

I believe that in the UK, you:

 

Have to acknowledge you received and read the cruise or tour contract before you are allowed to purchase it, and

 

You lose your deposit if you cancel before final payment date. Not sure if it's transferable or not. As onerous as this seems, it probably prevents people from making impulsive decisions and then doing the never-mind, afterwards.

 

Impulse purchases have had a tendency to drive the economy, here.

 

You're correct if you book with a UK TA and then cancel you do lose your deposit. As for reading the contract before being allowed to book, I've never heard of that or experienced it.