My TA Nightmare

[DMH15]

So very happy for you and your family! Great news. I am so glad you are back on track. Yea!!!


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[jaja]

So VERY happy for you....:D

[peg013]

[quote name='2boyzmom']I have wonderful news! My old TA (who I should have stuck with in the 1st place) advocated for me with NCL VIPs and took over my reservation and kept the original price! I was so happy to see the amazing customer service I received from this TA along with the ethics and integrity of NCL to stick by their customers:) Thank you NCL !!!!!!!!!!!![/QUOTE]

So glad you finally got a good resolution. Enjoy your cruise!:)

[kerrytens]

Fabulous news! I'm so happy for you.

Have a wonderful cruise:D:D:D

[rimom71]

Hooray! So glad it's all worked out. Happy Cruising!:)

[cruisecritiquer]

I have wonderful news! My old TA (who I should have stuck with in the 1st place) advocated for me with NCL VIPs and took over my reservation and kept the original price! I was so happy to see the amazing customer service I received from this TA along with the ethics and integrity of NCL to stick by their customers:) Thank you NCL !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I am so happy to hear that! It's wonderful to have an advocate and what a great TA to step in there for you! I could just see your TA on the phone going now you listen here..., You were very much on my mind about this situation because I hate to see innocent people taken advantage of (re: your old shyster of a TA ). Good job to NCL for handling the booking end and "uncancelling" your reservation.

Edited November 2, 2013 by cruisecritiquer

[rhinomike]

Woohoo. So happy for you. Now you can relax and enjoy your cruise.

[johnsak123]

Its unfortunate that this happened to you . But didnt you end up getting back the money the TA took?

I have been watching a particular cabin on ncl site for booking and the price seems to change weekly.

You really cant expect NCL to honor a price that probably wasnt a real price since you dealt with a shady TA

I hope NCL does right by you

[stormynow]

Insofar as this TA went under, can someone memtion their name. Wondering if we have used them in the past. Thanks

[RareBird]

Wow great!

[mitsugirly]

So glad this story had a good ending. I actually went back to my online account to see if this TA had ever given me a price. Thank goodness he had not and I wasn't "tempted".

 

Although I have used this site several times, I feel that I have had to "work for what I get" each time. Of course I always have that "what if something happens" in the back of my head because you really don't "know" these people. I wish I could just have a great TA that I could constantly work with all the time and not have to worry.

[Demonyte]

Insofar as this TA went under, can someone memtion their name. Wondering if we have used them in the past. Thanks

 

Naming TAs is not allowed here, but see post #48 in this thread and maybe you'll find him.

[Mustangdrew]

Name who you want. It's a free country.

[WaldosPepper]

Name who you want. It's a free country.

 

Indeed it is, which means the Administrators of this Site are free to establish rules and guidelines governing the use of their site. They are also free to issue warnings to those who violate those guidelines (which are clearly published, and to which all members agreed when they established their accounts). Additionally, they are free to suspend the privileges of those who choose to repeatedly violate said guidelines.

 

So you can feel free to post whatever you'd like, providing you're willing to accept the consequences.

 

;)

[terrydtx]

Indeed it is, which means the Administrators of this Site are free to establish rules and guidelines governing the use of their site. They are also free to issue warnings to those who violate those guidelines (which are clearly published, and to which all members agreed when they established their accounts). Additionally, they are free to suspend the privileges of those who choose to repeatedly violate said guidelines.

 

So you can feel free to post whatever you'd like, providing you're willing to accept the consequences.

 

;)

 

I would want to be the one who gets to go to the CC Naughty Room:eek::eek: for breaking the rules.

[cruisecritiquer]

Name who you want. It's a free country.

 

Which country? :p This is the country of cruisecritic and here it's an oligarchy at best. LOL.

 

I do wish there was a way to warn people about rogue TA's on here but I can understand cruisecritic not wanting to deal with the liability issues allowing this would entail.

Edited November 3, 2013 by cruisecritiquer

[newmexicoNita]

My online TA took off with half my deposit and only paid NCL 1000 for upcoming cruise. I called NCL and they said no problem, just pay them directly. I called am ex and they are doing an inquiry to get back my missing $1000. Now I checked back with NCL web page and my reservation is gone! The idiots at American express screwed up somehow and got y deposit back from NCL. OMG- now on hold with NCL for 65 minutes praying I get my cabin back and my price :( What nightmare!!!

 

I am not here to put anyone or any company down, but I am the first to say, I would never book with an on line TA. I would book with a home based one and do most of the transaction on line, but not strictly one of the On Line only companies. There are inexperienced people in every field and there are those who either make honest errors or are sloppy, but when someone is handling my money I want to have some kind of a personal relationship with that person. Many of these agents are nothing more than order takers.

[Out to sea!]

My online TA took off with half my deposit and only paid NCL 1000 for upcoming cruise. I called NCL and they said no problem, just pay them directly. I called am ex and they are doing an inquiry to get back my missing $1000. Now I checked back with NCL web page and my reservation is gone! The idiots at American express screwed up somehow and got y deposit back from NCL. OMG- now on hold with NCL for 65 minutes praying I get my cabin back and my price :( What nightmare!!!

 

One of the reasons I will never use a TA. Sorry for your troubles.

[Arzeena]

I was following this story and am happy that it had a happy ending.

Enjoy your cruise!

[Mustangdrew]

Excuse me but there is no liability to say the abc travel agency out of xyz screwed you out of your trip!!!!! So to ban the person or give them a freaking warning is stupid!!!!

[cruisecritiquer]

Excuse me but there is no liability to say the abc travel agency out of xyz screwed you out of your trip!!!!! So to ban the person or give them a freaking warning is stupid!!!!

 

Think about the environment that would create if anyone could come onto this forum and say whatever they wanted about another business. Think of any online business that posts complaints about the products of company as their regular course of business. All of those companies have been sued a dozen or more times. If someone were to come onto this forum and make up false accusations about a particular person (which CC does not have the ability to confirm or deny) they could easily be drawn into a libel suit. These accusations against this TA are most likely true but it is not CC's job to police posts to confirm or deny the allegations.

 

An example: If Bob the cruiser posts negative things about Sally the travel agent, and if Sally sees these false negative things on the website, and if these statements cause Sally to lose business, she can 1) file a suit against Bob and drag CC into the mess by sending out subpoenas for various documents, deposition notices, etc. in which case CC would almost definitely need to retain their own counsel at that point (i.e. money out the window). If Sally the TA was unable to identify Bob by the postings, she could still file a lawsuit against John Doe and subpoena CC for any identifying information they may have about Bob, amend her lawsuit to add Bob as a Defendant, and then take the steps already described above.

 

A real life example: In 2006, Todd Hollis, a Pennsylvania attorney, filed a suit against the website owner (of a particular website) as well as two alleged posters and five unidentified women for various claims posted about him which he asserted were false and defamatory. The lawsuit was initially dismissed in Pennsylvania for a lack of personal jurisdiction. The Electronic Frontier Foundation issued an amicus curiae brief in support of the site, arguing its owners were shielded from suits by the Communications Decency Act of 1996's Section 230. In 2007, Hollis filed a second lawsuit in federal court in Florida which was settled with respect to the site operators in June 2008. The terms of the settlement were not disclosed.

 

Great outcome in this case (potentially since we don't know the settlement) but imagine how much money it took for the website owner to get to that point.

 

Additionally, sites like Yelp! and Amazon give ordinary people the power to write reviews that have a major impact on other people’s reputations and livelihoods. But it also means that they can be held legally responsible if what they write is defamatory. Even if a lawsuit is filed and then throw out for failure to state a claim, personal jurisdiction, etc. that doesn't mean it doesn't cost a company to money to get to that point. There are all kinds of peripheral issues that factor into this like current case law in the various jurisdictions and whether that would be persuasive authority or primary authority for another case. It's just too much trouble. If I were CC I wouldn't want to be involved directly or indirectly in any potential libel lawsuit whatsoever.

Edited November 3, 2013 by cruisecritiquer

[mafig]

I'm not sure that didn't happen here.

 

There was a time on Cruise Critic when you could post recommendations on travel agents. As a matter of fact, for my first couple of cruises I used a travel agent that was highly recommended here and posted here ... and she was great (she has since passed away).

 

However, I do believe that several travel agents were flammed pretty severely and after that the policy of not mentioning ta's was instituted here.

 

And there are websites where people ask about recommendations for travel agencies ... it's just not allowed on Cruise Critic.

[2boyzmom]

I am not here to put anyone or any company down, but I am the first to say, I would never book with an on line TA. I would book with a home based one and do most of the transaction on line, but not strictly one of the On Line only companies. There are inexperienced people in every field and there are those who either make honest errors or are sloppy, but when someone is handling my money I want to have some kind of a personal relationship with that person. Many of these agents are nothing more than order takers.

 

The TA who advocated for me was an another large online agent so I am their forever client from now on! I have been cruising for years and never had a problem before. My TAs have always saved me not hundreds but thousands of dollars on our sailings. Did I learn my lesson about going with a newcomer? yes- I was naïve about paypal and should have thought twice. Its a personal choice but insinuating all online agencies are takers is far from the truth.

[NMLady]

I guess I confused you with all my posts. 10/8- I found out TA went under. I immediately called NCL and found out only half my deposit was applied to my trip. I asked them if I could pay my final payment of xxx$ with them when it is due 1/14. They said yes- "I will put it in my notes regarding the situation" and the final payment was mentioned and clarified 3 times! Well, yesterday, my NCL cruise is no longer on my ncl.com account. I called- they said "corporate" cancelled all cruises affiliated with this TA without notifying anyone. If I choose to rebook tack on another $3000. That's my issue.... The $1000 I lost (half deposit) is no problem thanks to American express. But not honoring our discussion and agreement is a problem to me.

 

The problem as I see it is that you talked to a rep who didn't really have the authority to promise that so it was changed by corporate.

 

However, I do think a supervisor should have phoned you about it.

[NMLady]

I have wonderful news! My old TA (who I should have stuck with in the 1st place) advocated for me with NCL VIPs and took over my reservation and kept the original price! I was so happy to see the amazing customer service I received from this TA along with the ethics and integrity of NCL to stick by their customers:) Thank you NCL !!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I am so glad that your other TA is doing that for you.