Who can cancel cruise

[CptJackSparrow]

I booked two staterooms aboard the Regal thru a travel agent. One for my family and the other for a nanny we hired to take care of the kids. She was allowed to bring a guest - she chose her sister. It turns out my wife's mother is dealing with late stage cancer so we want to be near her and cancel the cruise. We are currently in the 20% penalty phase. When trying to cancel both rooms, I'm informed by my travel agent that I can only cancel one room. She said the nanny needs to cancel the cruise in writing. I paid for the room!!! The nanny is being a $&) (@$& and stated her and her sister would still like to go!!! I'm beyond livid. I feel I have the right to cancel what I paid for. Do I have recourse? Cruise line won't listen since I booked thru a travel agent. I may just call my credit card company next. Any ideas?

[suzyed]

I booked two staterooms aboard the Regal thru a travel agent. One for my family and the other for a nanny we hired to take care of the kids. She was allowed to bring a guest - she chose her sister. It turns out my wife's mother is dealing with late stage cancer so we want to be near her and cancel the cruise. We are currently in the 20% penalty phase. When trying to cancel both rooms, I'm informed by my travel agent that I can only cancel one room. She said the nanny needs to cancel the cruise in writing. I paid for the room!!! The nanny is being a $&) (@$& and stated her and her sister would still like to go!!! I'm beyond livid. I feel I have the right to cancel what I paid for. Do I have recourse? Cruise line won't listen since I booked thru a travel agent. I may just call my credit card company next. Any ideas?

 

Yikes! I would try to call the credit card company and see what they can do. Beyond that, I have no idea, sorry!

[shredie]

I guess you need to fire the nanny. Your TA isn't much help...

[RickEk]

Your TA needs to go to bat for you. Princess will be able to see that both cabins were purchased on the same credit card. That should be sufficient. Have your TA talk to Customer Relations...

[Loonbeam]

If room 2 was booked in the nanny's name (as opposed to in your name with a different guest), then only the nanny can cancel it even if you paid.

 

It has to do with the contract of carriage that is considered signed on booking being a legal document.

 

You also might not be able to claim insurance for that cabin if purchased, depending on how it was issued.

 

Legally, paying for the passenger does not transfer their rights to you. It's technically a gift if booked in their name

 

The credit card company may be able to apply some pressure you can't, but the charge is not necessarily reversible if the above conditions apply.

 

(As an example, in October, wife and I are going in one cabin, father in law and nephew in another - even though the charge for their cabin was paid by me to get Princess card points, legally I can't change or cancel their booking because he made it)

 

Your only recourse may be legal action against the nanny, as the cruise was technically a condition of employment and part of her compensation for services that will not be rendered.

[CptJackSparrow]

My travel agent made a comment about how I should have put my name as passenger one in that stateroom with my wife passenger one in the other but that change can't be done now. I didn't know at the time I could even do that. Just frustrated right now. Thanks for the replies though. Helps to vent and get opinions.

[Pam in CA]

If room 2 was booked in the nanny's name (as opposed to in your name with a different guest), then only the nanny can cancel it even if you paid.

 

It has to do with the contract of carriage that is considered signed on booking being a legal document.

 

You also might not be able to claim insurance for that cabin if purchased, depending on how it was issued.

 

Legally, paying for the passenger does not transfer their rights to you. It's technically a gift if booked in their name.

100% correct.

 

This question/outrage pops up every now and then but the fact remains that no matter who paid for the cruise, the booking is in the Nanny's name. If you had booked one cabin and your wife the other and planned to switch room cards after boarding, then your wife could have canceled the 2nd cabin. But that wasn't done and the booking is in the Nanny's name.

 

Let's say you purchase a house and put it 100% in your wife's name. You pay the mortgage but the house still belongs to your wife. It's hers. Only legal proceedings/lawsuit can change that.

[ar1950]

If all else fails, be sure to claim it as payment to the nanny on your tax return. That way the IRS is aware that the nanny needs to claim the value of the cruise and pay appropriate income taxes on it.

[janecambridge]

If you had booked one cabin and your wife the other and planned to switch room cards after boarding, then your wife could have canceled the 2nd cabin.

 

How do you do that? The 2 cards open different cabin doors.If you don't swap cards,then The nanny can put whatever she likes on the wife's card!

[Illyria]

I would dispute the charge with the credit card - Princess will probably blacklist this credit card number forever, but at this point it may be worth the hassle. And definitely make it clear to the nanny that if she ends up going on the trip (on your dime) and doesn't plan on reimbursing you, you'll have a court subpoena waiting for her when she comes back.

 

 

If you had booked one cabin and your wife the other and planned to switch room cards after boarding, then your wife could have canceled the 2nd cabin.

 

How do you do that? The 2 cards open different cabin doors.If you don't swap cards,then The nanny can put whatever she likes on the wife's card!

People do it all the time...you go to guest services and arrange your key cards and charge accounts any way you please.

Edited August 22, 2014 by Illyria

[caribill]

If you had booked one cabin and your wife the other and planned to switch room cards after boarding, then your wife could have canceled the 2nd cabin.

 

How do you do that? The 2 cards open different cabin doors.If you don't swap cards,then The nanny can put whatever she likes on the wife's card!

 

You go to the Purser's desk and have the appropriate cruise cards made.

 

Hopefully the personalizer for the nanny and friend does not have the OP's credit card number.

 

By the way, all cruise cards for a cabin do not have to have purchases go to the same credit card. Even under the proposed booking arrangement (wife and nanny in one cabin), each cruise card should be tied to a different credit card.

[shredie]

Aren't you glad you found out about this nanny before she went on a cruise with your children?

[Mackenzie1]

Will the nanny be able to pay for the rest of the cruise? If not, she needs to understand that she won't be going on the cruise regardless of whether she does the right thing and cancels the cruise. Good luck. It sounds like you are well off enough to have a nanny help with the children, which is such a blessing to think about at times like this.

[Appygirl]

I'm sorry to hear you're going through all this added stress with Princess/nanny when you have to deal with this terminal illness in your family.

 

Call your credit card company and see if they'll chargeback Princess. That's your best bet at this time.

 

Princess is the absolute worst when it comes to getting a credit card refund so its easier all around to call your credit card company and get them to reverse the charges. Then if Princess comes back to you to pay the 20% then you can deal with them then and send in a signed authorization of that amount only - make sure the actual dollar amount is written down. Princess will email you the form but won't allow you to email it back. You have to mail or fax it. Like I said Princess is the worst.

 

A few years ago my husband booked a surprise cruise for me directly with Princess. He used his credit card at the time for payment and the same number for the cabin and any charges while on the ship. Prior to the cruise we decided to use my credit card for onboard expenses for both of us. At the Fort Lauderdale check in we asked to do this and that was no problem. The clerk took my credit card and I signed a form. You'd think that was that, wouldn't you? A day or 2 into the cruise we received a letter at our cabin saying my husband had to report to the purser station to advise how his onboard charges would be made. So we both go down, I whip out my credit card, and again I sign a form. Once again you'd think that would be it, wouldn't you. But nope. Around day 15 or 16 my husband gets the same letter asking how he'll be paying for his onboard expenses and back we go to the purser station with me providing my credit card and signing a form for the 3rd time.

 

Now everyone can probably can see where this is going. About 2 weeks after the cruise my husband checked his credit card statement online and there it is, Princess has charged him around $300 for his onboard expenses. I check my card and it appears that only my onboard charges are on there so we weren't double charged for him. Its just that Princess screwed up and put his onboard charges on his credit card instead of mine. You'd think after 3 times of me providing my credit card and signing the form that all room charges for both of us were to go on my card they'd get it right. So I'm not sure how many times one has to go through that process, but 3 times is not enough.

 

So we started off calling Princess and asking them to reverse the charges on his credit card and put them on mine, you know the credit card they were authorized 3 times to put the charges on to. Sounds simple right? Nope. This is Princess we're dealing with. After 2 weeks and several conversations my husband told them if they hadn't reversed the charges off the one card and put them onto the credit card he'd be phoning the credit card company and requesting a chargeback. Princess said if he did that then they wouldn't help him. He pointed out Princess wasn't helping him now anyway.

 

The deadline came and went and he phone the credit card company and put in a chargeback. The credit card company then contacted Princess and asked for proof of signature which we knew Princess couldn't come up because it was my credit card imprint and my signature that was provided 3 times. Princess decided to try to fake out the credit card company and instead of sending them my husband's requested signature that authorized the charges, they sent a bunch of marketing material with upcoming cruises. That gave the credit card staff a good laugh. And then they reversed the charges.

 

Eventually Princess got around to asking me if they could put my husband's charges on my credit card. You mean like I'd authorized those 3 previous times? Well I had to authorize that one more time.

 

So the moral of the story is even though you and I have different types of issues with credit cards and Princess, Princess will do nothing for you. Call your credit card company and explain the situation and see if they'll chargeback. Failing that, I think as some of the others have suggested take legal action against the nanny. And I hate to point it out, if they go ahead and take the cruise, and if you used your credit card to approve the onboard charges on that cabin, even if they provide their own credit card at check in or multiple times on the cruise, you're still going to end up getting charged for whatever they buy onboard and the daily tip. So be prepared to another round of chargeback with Princess.

 

Good luck with that! And good thoughts for everything that you and your family are going through right now.

[geocruiser]

If the nanny was hired through an agency, I would contact the agency and see what they can do.

[cb at sea]

If you don't fire the nanny, I'd certainly make sure she's scheduled to WORK on the days she's supposed to be cruising....no "time off" for her!

[cruzsnooze]

Why would you call the credit card company for a legitimate charge you made. The credit card company did absolutely nothing you didn't ask them to do. Your problem lies with the nanny, not Princess, not the credit card. Did you ask the nanny if she will pay the 80% which is still a bargain for her. Since you're loosing 20% anyway it might be an incentive for her to pay you for a discounted cruise. Are you going to fire this nanny?

[Pam in CA]

Why would you call the credit card company for a legitimate charge you made. The credit card company did absolutely nothing you didn't ask them to do. Your problem lies with the nanny, not Princess, not the credit card.

I agree. I doubt that your credit card company will do anything in the end because it was a legitimate charge. Princess is not at fault here and has done nothing wrong. There is no reason for them to refund anything for a cabin booked in someone else's name if that person refuses to cancel.

 

The point that someone made about issuing a 1099-MISC for the value of the cruise as miscellaneous income is a good one. I would let the nanny know that you will be issuing one and reporting the income to the IRS and she'll be paying taxes on it is a very legitimate notification to make. It's not a threat because if you paid more than $600 for her, that's what you are required by law to do.

[A.stew12305]

Assuming this is an average length cruse, and your mother in law isn't immediately terminal... I say go on the cruise anyway, don't cancel it. Make it miserable for the nanny, then find a reason to fire her when you get back. What a selfish, self entitled brat to try to take advantage of such a grim situation.

[Treven]

This is beginning to sound like that live-in nanny that was fired, and then refused to move out of the family's home. They finally had to go to court to have her evicted; she finally moved out.

[Northender]

I booked two staterooms aboard the Regal thru a travel agent. One for my family and the other for a nanny we hired to take care of the kids. She was allowed to bring a guest - she chose her sister. It turns out my wife's mother is dealing with late stage cancer so we want to be near her and cancel the cruise. We are currently in the 20% penalty phase. When trying to cancel both rooms, I'm informed by my travel agent that I can only cancel one room. She said the nanny needs to cancel the cruise in writing. I paid for the room!!! The nanny is being a $&) (@$& and stated her and her sister would still like to go!!! I'm beyond livid. I feel I have the right to cancel what I paid for. Do I have recourse? Cruise line won't listen since I booked thru a travel agent. I may just call my credit card company next. Any ideas?

 

How did you hire the Nanny? Perhaps you may have some leverage there.

 

If all else fails, on the Cruise Personalizer she has to enter her info including a credit card. And she has to prove at check-in that she has that credit card or give another. You also have to check that you are the owner of the credit card. At the very least, Nanny won't be able to run up you Credit Card while on board.

Nanny is saying that she and her sister still "would like" to go. Hopefully she will see how wrong this is.

Fire her immediately!!!!!!:mad: Sounds like she would not have been very helpful with the kids anyway.

[RLBlack]

There appears to be three "take a-ways" from this thread.

 

1. If you have elderly or sick relatives, you need to buy travel insurance that would allow you to cancel a cruise and get your money back due to the illness.

 

2. If you are going to pay for an "employee" to accompany you either as a nanny or personal assistant a person should have a personal services contract covering duties, shared costs, payment schedule and etc. If a personal services contract was in force- it would have covered the what would happen if the family could not travel. Then if the agreement was that if the family could not travel, the nanny would not go on the cruise, and then agrees to also cancel the cruise or repay and assume the responsibility of all costs should she decide to take the cruise- there would be no discussion and a contract to enforce, and Princess would not be involved at all.

 

3. If you pay for someone else passage, everyone needs to have a clear understanding the terms and conditions of that payment and what costs you are assuming and the other persons. In writing is the best possible way to handle it.

 

The discussion mostly centered on how the nanny was wrong in wanting to continue with the planned cruise. The initially, the statement was "we hired a nanny"- my initial impression was, this is a new employee- which brings up lots of "employment, and compensation questions - so what was the employment contract- was it in writing (which is the responsibility of the employer)- did it address the possibility of the family not going for medical reasons, change of heart or whatever- did the nanny forgo another employment opportunity to accept the offer of employment- and could go on and on. If this is a nanny that that has been with the family for a long time, there still should be a written contract. We do not know the "back story"-

[pablo222]

This is beginning to sound like that live-in nanny that was fired, and then refused to move out of the family's home. They finally had to go to court to have her evicted; she finally moved out.

 

Advise the nanny that you purchased the cruise so she could attend

to your kids.

 

Her services are no longer needed.

 

If she continues with her plans, you will sue her in small claims

court for the cost of the cruise.

 

Then, do so.

[CptJackSparrow]

Thank you toALL of you for the great advice and insight. I am happy to say she saw the errors of her ways!!! With the help of my agent we compiled a list from this thread of spectacular ideas, including the income tax one which I think is what pushed the right button, we sent a joint letter by email to her telling her to expect a subpoena at the end of her cruise and that the agent would be speaking to the judge on my behalf. I included that I would be declaring her income as the cruise cost. She sent in that cancelation letter quicker than I could say You're Fired!!!

 

I found this woman through my coworker. She worked for him and his family in the past and he was surprised by her attitude also. Won't be recommending her services anymore.

 

Thanks for the well wishes for my mother in law. Its good to be able to concentrate on family again.

[Cruisin' Chick]

This is beginning to sound like that live-in nanny that was fired, and then refused to move out of the family's home. They finally had to go to court to have her evicted; she finally moved out.

 

This was going through my mind too. In that case, the family went through Craigslist rather than through a child care employment agency. Bad idea.

 

Thank you toALL of you for the great advice and insight. I am happy to say she saw the errors of her ways!!! With the help of my agent we compiled a list from this thread of spectacular ideas, including the income tax one which I think is what pushed the right button, we sent a joint letter by email to her telling her to expect a subpoena at the end of her cruise and that the agent would be speaking to the judge on my behalf. I included that I would be declaring her income as the cruise cost. She sent in that cancelation letter quicker than I could say You're Fired!!!

 

I found this woman through my coworker. She worked for him and his family in the past and he was surprised by her attitude also. Won't be recommending her services anymore.

 

Thanks for the well wishes for my mother in law. Its good to be able to concentrate on family again.

 

So glad this worked out and so hope that your final time with your mother in law is special. We went through this with my MIL some six years ago and put many things on hold at that time.

 

And sometimes things work out when you get recommendations, but not always. My hubby wanted to change the insulation in our house so he asked a contractor, whose twin kids were in my daughter's class at the time, for a recommendation. So many things this company did that were so wrong, including stringing us along and trying to put in a different insulation from what my hubby wanted. And when we were putting in a new A/C-heating system into our house, their workers found that the insulation company didn't put some outlets back right in the attic.