Just got call from Vantage

HydroKitty- Glad this worked out for you, I know you don't need headaches so close to cruising. Enjoy your trip.

 

Vantage's overhaul of the cabin classes almost bit us. My wife and I signed up over a year early for the Bucharest to Budapest sailing. After booking, we upgraded from C2 cabin to a C1 (cabin 325). A week ago they updated my portfolio to reflect that they now only have one C class, and I was now in cabin 331, second to last cabin on the middle deck. So much for booking early.

 

I called Vantage, at first the agent hemmed and hawed about how there were no other C class cabins. I reminded him that we had booked 18 mths early, paid for the upgrade, and to date have had our trip direction changed once and dates changed twice (now we are Budapest to Bucharest, two week earlier departure from original booking, and $500 credit/person for our troubles).

 

He relented and now we are in cabin 315, B class. Hope this stays the same.

 

We will now have to take an extra vacation day as the trip doesn't overlap w/ Columbus day. So to this point a bit rough, but it has worked out.

The perils of "Lock in 2015 pricing for 2016 sailings", things do change.

 

Hydo- have a wonderful trip, tailwinds on your flights, and ice for your red wine! :)

You should be ok. They assured me that once I decline to be moved AND have paid in full for my trip, they will not move me unless I consent.

interesting story. have not heard of cabins being potentially changed like that.

for each of our 8 river cruises our cabin numbers were always confirmed in writing at time of booking and never changed.

 

perhaps this is a new trend.

For each of cruises our cabin numbers were the same and like you were always confirmed in writing at the time of booking and never changed. EXCEPT: for our Russian cruise we were upgraded in exchange for our cabin and this time when I would not accept a downgrade. I don't think it's a frequent thing because I've been on enough Vantage trips that I would have heard rumblings if it was S.O.P.

It is not unusual for ocean cruise lines to offer people downgrades a few days before sailing. I received a telephone call from my travel agent offering a downgrade from an oceanview to an inside on a Princess New Zealand cruise when I was in a Los Angeles hotel waiting to board my plane to New Zealand the next morning.

 

However, they offered me a substantial refund if I would take the downgrade. I accepted, and used the refund to book another cruise. There was no pressure. If I hadn't accepted it, they would have offered it to someone else. If no one accepted it, they would have upped the offer until someone did.

 

The Vantage offer was not acceptable to you, and you didn't take it. No problem. If they need the cabin, they would have continued making offers until they found one that was accepted. I don't think the telephone call offering the downgrade was a problem, but it appears the attitude of the person calling was.

Granted the person who called me was less than persuasive to say the least! OTOH, I would want more than a refund of the difference between the cabin I booked and the downgraded cabin + $500! I would not under any circumstances have accepted the offer Princess made to you,not because I'm a "room snob" but because I'm claustrophobic and just the thought of not being able to see outside would drive me NUTS!!!! That's why I wouldn't take the downgrade with Vantage....I'm not hard to get along with, but on this particular boat the A cabins have french balcony while the B cabins do not. Had I been on one of the new ships where both A and B cabins have french balconies, I probably would have accepted their offer. But you are 100% right, when you want someone to do something that is to your benefit and not necessarily theirs, you better put your best salesperson on the job, not your worst!!

A friend asked me about Vantage a few weeks ago (since some other friends took one of their European river cruises several years back). I "googled" Vantage, and saw some less than flattering information on the Consumer Affairs website.

In the last several months, several customers had Vantage call them "within 3 days of their cruise", to tell the customers that they were being cancelled due to "overbooking". Needless to say, all these customers were not being adequately compensated for this nightmare.

Wonder if any other river cruise line has pulled this type of trick?

I was on the phone with a very nice representative, yesterday. One of my concerns was that we are now a month away from our cruise and we still only have a category, not a cabin number. I was assured that we booked A-1 and will be assigned that or higher. Navigator is a small ship, so I will still be concerned until we hear what we've been assigned, as she said, a week before sailing! :eek:

Usually when a company wants you to give up something for them, they offer you something worth more than what you already have, no? :confused:

Yes! I have had some UNBELIEVABLE offers from Oceania when they needed my cabin. A cruise that was twice as long and with an upgrade is just one of the offers we received about a month before sailing when they really wanted my Oceanview cabin.

You did the right thing IMO.

I was on the phone with a very nice representative, yesterday. One of my concerns was that we are now a month away from our cruise and we still only have a category, not a cabin number. I was assured that we booked A-1 and will be assigned that or higher. Navigator is a small ship, so I will still be concerned until we hear what we've been assigned, as she said, a week before sailing! :eek:

I would keep calling... can't see why they can't give you a cabin number if your cruise is only a month out. We've always had our cabin numbers well in advance of the sailing date and our cabin has only been changed once (an upgrade on our recent Vantage Ganges cruise.)

Many years ago just before we were to leave for our first ever cruise, RCL offered us a full refund and a 50% future cruise credit if we gave up our inside cabin and cruised two weeks later. This was before verandas and we did have a prime location even if it was inside. We refused as it wasn't possible for us to change our plans. The following day, we received another call and this time it was a full refund and a free cruise! Hated to say no but could not arrange to go later. Unfortunately, an offer like this has never been made since and of course now we do have the flexibility to change dates!

Hydrokitty - sounds like to me they just realized that they oversold your cabin category and are trying to get someone to move - not that somebody is trying to book the cruise now. My guess is that, as someone else suggested, Vantage will keep sweetening the offer until someone bites.

I agree that this type of thing is not uncommon on ocean cruises at all. Downsells, upsells... But the difference here is it sounds like the agent tried to persuade you to change, whereas there is no obligation for you whatsoever to do so. So you got a rude person, that's too bad. If they had really wanted the cabin, they would have sweetened the deal for you. But perhaps someone else in your cabin class took the deal.

Hydrokitty, had an interesting conversation with a very irate lady on my Vantage cruise (the one before the one you're on now). She said she booked the cruise a year in advance, and paid for an upgrade from the 300 level to the 400 level. Two days before the cruise, Vantage called her and said oops, they had overbooked the 400 level and she would have to go back to the 300 level. Vantage gave her $500 credit/pp. The way she told it, she did not have an option to decline! She is convinced Vantage sold her room to one of those 3 groups who are getting the reserved-table treatment we've been discussing on the FuelScience thread.

Hope your trip is going well.

We are SO much like, Jville!! I just got off the phone with Vantage and they have absolutely guaranteed that I will NOT be changed from the cabin I booked a year ago. In fact, it was noted on my file that "passenger declined to change cabins" and she said they would not and could not mess with that because nobody would stand for it. In all my trips, I have never had anything like that happen before. On Costa Rica trip they called about 2 weeks ahead of time and asked if we would be able to go the following week because cruise was over-booked and I pointed out we were traveling with 2 other people and rep. said OK, forget I called. But this is 2 days to departure. and who books a trip 2 days before departure and then demand an upgraded cabin level???

 

Well, I'm done venting now.....thanks for listening! :D

Phone calls are worthless as they lead to he said, she said arguments. GET IT IN WRITING and from a manager.

DON

Phone calls are worthless as they lead to he said, she said arguments. GET IT IN WRITING and from a manager.

 

 

 

DON

I believe that Hydrokitty is actually now on her trip and all is well onboard her Vantage cruise.

We got a call months before our Vantage China trip in 2012 offering us $500 each discount if we changed our tour date by three weeks. Since we had booked the airfare with Vantage, we accepted. They admitted they had overbooked.

Our documents arrived today, but a blank space is still there where cabin# would be.

Our documents arrived today, but a blank space is still there where cabin# would be.

Simple answer is that they are still trying to persuade someone to move up or down a grade, or off the cruise entirely.

Doesn't necessarily mean bad news for you as you could end up in a higher grade than you have paid for, but I can certainly understand the nervousness as I know we'd find it disconcerting as well.

A friend asked me about Vantage a few weeks ago (since some other friends took one of their European river cruises several years back). I "googled" Vantage, and saw some less than flattering information on the Consumer Affairs website.

 

In the last several months, several customers had Vantage call them "within 3 days of their cruise", to tell the customers that they were being cancelled due to "overbooking". Needless to say, all these customers were not being adequately compensated for this nightmare.

 

Wonder if any other river cruise line has pulled this type of trick?

I might have considered a Vantage river cruise until I read the stories from those customers who were bumped out because of overbooking. I have not read of any other river cruise line doing this.

know ocean cruise ships do that sort thing but have never heard of it from river cruise companies.

surprising really because river ships are not large and when booking we have always seen and selected our cabin. would not like to take pot luck or be changed unless it was at a very good price and suited us.

vantage only markets to us so would not be an issue for many?

know ocean cruise ships do that sort thing but have never heard of it from river cruise companies.

I am not familiar with all ocean cruise companies, but I am familiar with Princess - both from personal experience and from following the forum on Cruise Critic. I have never heard of them bumping someone involuntarily for an overbooking. I have heard of several cases, including one case for me, where they overbooked and made offers to get people to change. If you turn down the offer, no problem - they make the same offer to someone else. If no one takes the offer, then they make a better offer. However, I don't believe they normally go back to the same person with a better offer - I believe they go to someone else. I don't think Princess is much different than the other ocean cruise lines in this behavior - it's just the only one I'm personally familiar with.

I really think cancelling people involuntarily within a few weeks of a cruise is horrible customer service. With the large cancellation penalties they have, they should be able to plan a lot better than that.

I am not familiar with all ocean cruise companies, but I am familiar with Princess - both from personal experience and from following the forum on Cruise Critic. I have never heard of them bumping someone involuntarily for an overbooking. I have heard of several cases, including one case for me, where they overbooked and made offers to get people to change. If you turn down the offer, no problem - they make the same offer to someone else. If no one takes the offer, then they make a better offer. However, I don't believe they normally go back to the same person with a better offer - I believe they go to someone else. I don't think Princess is much different than the other ocean cruise lines in this behavior - it's just the only one I'm personally familiar with.

 

I really think cancelling people involuntarily within a few weeks of a cruise is horrible customer service. With the large cancellation penalties they have, they should be able to plan a lot better than that.

I have been a member here since 2001, and I have never heard of people being bumped from an "ocean" cruise, except in the case of a ship charter, which usually happens a year out.

I have been irritated since booking this cruise with the giant Vantage thing when you enter the river cruising forum.... now I am beginning to file them into the Viking category.... that I wouldn't cruise except at an exceptional discount.

jc

JMHO and YMMV

Hi guys: I am writing this from the Navigator in Bernkastel. I am in my booked room without any problems.

Here's the problem with Vantage as I see it: corporate in Boston should all be fired!!! THEY are the problem!! From the time you get off the plane everything is top of the line excellence ....cabin staff is impeccable; dining room staff and food are great...and it pains me to admit it but single tour manager and concierge is working very well...they even have us in self-imposed medium, fast and slow walking groups with much more free time to explore, shop or just watch the world go by. So here's my advice: book your trip and ignore corporate....it's the trip we're paying for and it's all good!!! :D

book your trip and ignore corporate....it's the trip we're paying for and it's all good!!! :D

That applies to more than just Vantage :)

Glad you enjoying everything now you are there.

Hi guys: I am writing this from the Navigator in Bernkastel. I am in my booked room without any problems.

Here's the problem with Vantage as I see it: corporate in Boston should all be fired!!! THEY are the problem!! From the time you get off the plane everything is top of the line excellence ....cabin staff is impeccable; dining room staff and food are great...and it pains me to admit it but single tour manager and concierge is working very well...they even have us in self-imposed medium, fast and slow walking groups with much more free time to explore, shop or just watch the world go by. So here's my advice: book your trip and ignore corporate....it's the trip we're paying for and it's all good!!! :D

Glad you are having a great time! Enjoy and don't sweat the small stuff!

Hi guys: I am writing this from the Navigator in Bernkastel. I am in my booked room without any problems.

Here's the problem with Vantage as I see it: corporate in Boston should all be fired!!! THEY are the problem!! From the time you get off the plane everything is top of the line excellence ....cabin staff is impeccable; dining room staff and food are great...and it pains me to admit it but single tour manager and concierge is working very well...they even have us in self-imposed medium, fast and slow walking groups with much more free time to explore, shop or just watch the world go by. So here's my advice: book your trip and ignore corporate....it's the trip we're paying for and it's all good!!! :D

That's encouraging! All of it . . . except Boston.

How wonderful to hear such great news.