Error in our taxes and port fees - please read before making your final payment

[dansu]

We made our final payment last Sunday, which is for me normally a very happy moment...it means my vacation is almost here. Soon it will be time to drag out the suitcases...sort out what I think I want to take...and reduce it by half.

 

However, happy was not the feeling we exhibited after calling Celebrity to give them our final payment. Imagine our surprise when a very rude agent told us to ignore the balance that we saw on our Celebrity account screen...he wanted $300+ more...and he wouldn't listen when I told him he was mistaken. He insisted that I was looking at the wrong balance. In my world, when I see a screen that says "pay this amount" and I have already paid upfront for our deposit, my premium alcohol upgrade and our choice airfare...one would assume this was the amount we owed. The only change we made from our original reservation, which was made last February, was a category upgrade of $20 each for my husband and myself.

 

The agent then sent us an email that included his new amount...he asked me repeatedly 'did I look at it'...and insisted that this was the amount I was to pay him. After receiving his invoice I again explained that there was an error...to which he persisted to inform me that his screen was the correct one, and to ignore the screen that we were looking at...AND PAY HIM what he said we owed.

 

We had him on speakerphone, as both my husband and I were listening in utter shock to this rude agent asking how we planned to pay him. My husband said we would call him back, as we needed to discuss it further; where upon the rude agent responded "I will wait"...and again asked how we would like to pay. I promptly informed him that we would call back...and again he said no... he would wait. I hung up!!!

 

My husband was already online checking out other cruises for the same weeks when I said that I was calling Celebrity back and asking for a supervisor. This time I got a very nice agent who listened, and when I asked if I could send him a printscreen of my reservation screen he promptly gave me his personal email. He then saw what we saw, which did not match what he saw...and got resolution involved. I would have sent him my original invoice at the same time as the only difference would be the cabin upgrade ($40 total), except that it was saved on my old Blackberry, and when I got my new one last March, the saved email didn't transfer...murphy's law at it finest!!!

 

While we were on hold I started to check all of our computers, laptops, tablets...and finally in my notebook I found our original invoice, which I promptly emailed the agent.

 

As it turns out it was an issue with Celebrity...somewhere between our original booking and final payment Celebrity's computer system DOUBLED OUR TAXES AND PORT FEES, which multiplied by 2 passengers on an 11 night cruise is $300+.

 

After almost 2 hours on the phone, our invoice was adjusted to remove the error, we made our final payment...and I could return to my blissful thoughts of what to pack...

 

As an apology we received an onboard cabin credit and dinner or two in the specialty restaurant of our choice, which I had them send me an email to confirm...as I was concerned that their computers could have another glitch and I would be stuck paying $100 or our steak dinner!!!

 

We would have probably never noticed and paid the wrong balance had our balance not now exceeded $4300....and we knew that we had booked at less than $2K each for our 1A, paid our deposit, airfare and my alcohol upfront...we knew our final payment started with a 3!!!

[DebbieMacG]

That's terrible, I hope that person is spoken to and "retrained" :eek:

 

I'm glad they resolved it for you, enjoy your cruise :D

[dansu]

That's terrible, I hope that person is spoken to and "retrained" :eek:

 

I'm glad they resolved it for you, enjoy your cruise :D

 

I was told that they were checking their phone logs as they have the time noted that we called...and hopefully the call was on record.

 

As for enjoying my cruise...I am already envisioning myself in the molecular bar picking out my first exotic drink of many to come:D

[blindrid]

Geez, welcome to X. You must have had the same agent I had (but she was a she). I think they train their staff in rudeness and condescending.

 

Thank God, I'm having fun regardless.

[wwcruisers]

Thanks for the heads-up. In this "cyber-everything" world, I now feel vindicated for insisting that every change to our reservation (we do our own -- no TA) be printed out. And, I carry those print-outs onboard with me, in case there should be any problem. Like they say in the military:"If something isn't in writing, it doesn't exist" :eek:

[gimletgal]

I was told that they were checking their phone logs as they have the time noted that we called...and hopefully the call was on record.

 

As for enjoying my cruise...I am already envisioning myself in the molecular bar picking out my first exotic drink of many to come:D

 

How wonderful that you have kept your great attitude about your upcoming cruise, in spite of the one agent's shortcomings! So glad to hear that X made it right for you. You deserve to have a terrific cruise. :D

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks for the heads-up. In this "cyber-everything" world, I now feel vindicated for insisting that every change to our reservation (we do our own -- no TA) be printed out. And, I carry those print-outs onboard with me, in case there should be any problem. Like they say in the military:"If something isn't in writing, it doesn't exist" :eek:

 

When I transferred my latest Celebrity reservation to my TA, I said "and I hope you will throw me some OBC." Her reply: "I always do." Why book on your own and leave money on the table???

[black forest]

Thanks for sharing this unpleasant experience. Glad it came to a good end - enjoy your cruise!

[CatlinSTJ]

Thanks for the heads-up. In this "cyber-everything" world, I now feel vindicated for insisting that every change to our reservation (we do our own -- no TA) be printed out. And, I carry those print-outs onboard with me, in case there should be any problem. Like they say in the military:"If something isn't in writing, it doesn't exist" :eek:

 

 

Exactly! I printed out every confirmation and receipt when we travel and take them with me in a plastic folder to protect them in my personal bag. Having all of the documentation has saved us more than once when our flight information has been "lost" by the airline, reservations were missing, etc. I also move every confirmation e-mail into an e-mail folder that is backed up and accessible from multiple points.

 

Paranoid? Yep, but with good reason!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[dansu]

I was just happy that they acknowledged the error..albiet, it took almost 2 hours...and corrected it!

[tgg]

Travel agents get paid to handle problems for you. I would never book direct. The perks I get are only part of the benefit of using a travel agent.

[Tara Jane]

Similar thing happened to me, in fact my cruise on 1 December is still showing a balance of $584. I have emailed with no reply - surprise surprise.

Have also phoned numerous times to question why it is showing up and have been told each time that I have a NIL balance.

Have had them email copies of the invoice showing 0 owing so hopefully all will be ok when we turn up to board.

I also make copies of everything and take in a folder.

[Us Two]

Dansu, loved the way you handled this. You did not cave in to the first agent , and then after talking with DH , decided to call Celeb. So all 's well that ends well!!!

So glad you were looked after for your trouble by Celeb , and so glad you didn't cancel your cruise. Keep up the amazing attitude you have , and enjoy the time on board......Joan.

[helen haywood]

It seems to be the case these days that you should keep copies of every email and invoice you receive until way after you are home from your cruise!

[bob278]

So it appears you chase OBC. I choose not to and personally have never had a bad experience. Some have, thus my comment. When some use online TA's they have no way of knowing.

 

When things go awry, one should control their booking.

It's all in how you choose to say it. I prefer to think of it as saving money. On an upcoming b2b on Azamara, our TA is giving us a total of $2,000 in OBC. Why in the world would I not want that? She typically gives us something in the range of 5-6% of the cruise fare. And she will take care of problems that come up such as invoice errors. Recently, a change to a cruise resulted in her having to get an invoice re-issued 5 times before it was correct. I did nothing for all that except make the initial request and thank her at the end.

 

Frankly, you sound a little condescending to those who "chases OBC". I feel somewhat sorry for those who, in effect, overpay by not taking advantage of any savings they can get. Certainly it would not be worth it for $25-50 or dealing with a TA who charges change/cancellation fees or makes errors themselves, but it isn't hard to find a good one and stick with them.

 

I don't give up much control over my bookings as I get an updated invoice for each change and can review everything. What I do give up is having to deal with the cruise line and reservation agents who know less than I do. I have seen posts that someone could not get to their TA in time to catch a sale they found that went away within hours. It's possible but has never happened to me and it would take a massive loss to come close to the benefits I've received from her over the years (in the last 5-6 years, I would guess she has given us close to $12,000). That's a couple of free cruises. :cool:

[bobsfamily]

Thanks for the post and I will be checking late Dec. when I make the final payment!

[Host Jazzbeau]

I have seen posts that someone could not get to their TA in time to catch a sale they found that went away within hours.

 

That's not an issue: you put a courtesy hold to grab the sale, then contact your TA to take it over. If you can't reach your TA in 24 hours, you pay the deposit to the cruise line and then transfer the booking to your TA to get the extra benefits. I always start the booking, so that I can grab the exact cabin I want. But there's no reason to leave it with the cruise line.

[bob278]

That's not an issue: you put a courtesy hold to grab the sale, then contact your TA to take it over. If you can't reach your TA in 24 hours, you pay the deposit to the cruise line and then transfer the booking to your TA to get the extra benefits. I always start the booking, so that I can grab the exact cabin I want. But there's no reason to leave it with the cruise line.

 

I didn't want to go into a lot of detail, but that's basically how I do it.

[dansu]

We've always made our bookings directly with the cruise line... as I don't like surprises when it comes to planning our annual vacation...

 

I guess Celebrity blew that theory all to hell!

 

We never knew we had the problem until we called to make our final payment; what we saw online was not what the agent saw...and the onus was on us to prove it.

 

Like most, we print and put everything in a folder to take with us...we just do not do this until just before we leave for the cruise. It was a real cluster until I found our original booking email...the reason we never noticed the error was because the only thing we looked for was the $20.00 per person cabin increase from the 1b to the 1a...we never looked at the new balance on the email... we saw our balance online, which showed the correct rate for the tax.

 

The purpose of my post was not to trash Celebrity because mistakes can happen no matter who you book with, and it was unfortunate for us that the first agent was so unpleasant do deal with...

 

...it was only to raise the awareness of how important it is to look very closely at your balance before making your final payment....because like most I can always find good use for $300+. We focus on our cabin rate...and take the tax portion for granted as being correct.

 

1749 hours and 41 minutes until we set sail...I won't let this one bad experience ruin the excitement on 11 nights at sea !

[blindrid]

I didn't want to go into a lot of detail, but that's basically how I do it.

 

I hear ya. Glad it works for you.

[K.T.B.]

This is why, if possible, I like to do everything by email and then follow up with a phone call. I have folders set up for any and all vacation plans and the emails are never deleted until well after I return. It's a habit I got into doing because of my job. Unless I have it in email, I won't agree to anything on the phone.

 

Heck, I didn't book my cruise until I had a response from the TA I was working with at Celebrity. If anything goes wrong, or something gets changed/moved/deleted, I have the email exchange we had for about 2 weeks prior to the booking. I hear/read of too many "horror stories".

 

You can always prove it by email, but not by the spoken word on the phone. :)

 

 

To the OP: I'm glad everything worked out for you! So now you can relax and think about enjoying your cruise!

[Codidy]

Similar thing happened to me, in fact my cruise on 1 December is still showing a balance of $584. I have emailed with no reply - surprise surprise.

Have also phoned numerous times to question why it is showing up and have been told each time that I have a NIL balance.

Have had them email copies of the invoice showing 0 owing so hopefully all will be ok when we turn up to board.

I also make copies of everything and take in a folder.

 

We too are having this problem, with no confidence there won't be a hiccup when we arrive to board. My Sister & Mum are joining us for Solstice Christmas departure 21st December. All final monies were due and paid in September. This week they received a "overdue balance" for the same amount as gratuities, previously settled on final payment. Worrying is the statement that if not paid within 7 days, cruise will be cancelled with cancellation fee withheld. They have spoken to Celebrity (shame no Australian contact to assist Australian cruisers, departing Australian waters).

 

Have a copy of Nil balance account, however, we are concerned when we arrive to check in, the department responsible for sending the overdue balance will have cancelled the fully paid booking.

 

This isn't our first issue with website, payments, restaurant bookings for this cruise, however, the most upsetting. Perhaps Celebrity may read this post and respond?

 

Of note, my DH and I convinced family Celebrity Solstice is a beautiful ship with great crew and these issues have left Celebrity in poor light to my family who are seasoned HAL (over 200 nights) fans... Won't be able to completely relax now till we are all on board .

 

Come on Celebrity, please sort these departments/website out.