HUGE Problems with Travel Agency!!!

[meyerhaus]

Thanks, guys! For their sake, I hope they do do something. We are already in a minisuite, so I think the Grand Suite, which is still open on the 7/11 Golden, would be nice !

 

Seriously though, I think that a room credit or an upgrade to a suite would not be out of the question.

 

JON

 

www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus

 

Golden Princess 7/11/04

Big Red Boat-1993 (Amy)

Celebrity Zenith-1993 (Jon)

 

 

[ginza17]

Jon,

 

Pete...

[ginza17]

Jon,

Call the corporate HQ and speak to someone there in management

Princess Cruises (Corporate Headquarters)

24844 Avenue Rockefeller

Santa Clarita, CA 91355 .

 

Let them know that a TA whom they allow to book cruises for their line screwed you and want to know what is being done about it. The TA apparently cares less but I think the corporate office understands these issues better and maybe you'll see a significant shipboard credit..... Don't call the 1-800 # because those are reservation and general info people..

 

Pete...

[spongerob]

I work in a service industry, and in spite of our efforts we occasionally slip up. Regardless of the reason, we make it up to our clients if it was something within our control. At the very least, a nice bottle of champers awaiting in your cabin would be a nice way to say, "Sorry." And not the cheap stuff.

 

Completed:

Sea Princess, Royal Princess, Grand Princess (3X), Caribbean Princess, Golden Princess

 

[meyerhaus]

Normally, that would work. However, we don't drink

 

www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus

 

Golden Princess 7/11/04

Big Red Boat-1993 (Amy)

Celebrity Zenith-1993 (Jon)

 

 

[MaryPoppinz]

What am I missing here?? Our payments (initial, final) are *never* are made to the travel agent. The TA accepts the payment, but it's always charged to us by whoever the booking is with. I thought this was the way it was with all pre-paid bookings for travel, except for those TA's who are up to some shenanigans (ie: taking the money and running...) This doesn't sound like an error (after all, they didn't forward ANY of your payments to Princess, right??) It sounds more like an effort to play travel roulette with your trip by keeping your funds earning interest in their account and hoping for the best when it comes time to actually pay Princess for your trip. I think there is, at the very least, an ethical problem going on here.

 

"I'm gonna book myself on that Princess Cruise."

-- Fox Mulder, X-Files 'Three Words'

[meyerhaus]

They made the booking down-payment. The problem is not that they didn't pay the final payment on time. It is that they didn't pay ANY payment after the initial paymant and they had the money. I don't care if they hold all of it until the final payment is made. I just care that they make the final payment and do so according to Princess's rules.

 

www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus

 

Golden Princess 7/11/04

Big Red Boat-1993 (Amy)

Celebrity Zenith-1993 (Jon)

 

 

[Hulagirl]

Jon:

 

Interesting story. I've heard some negative things about this agency and this just puts the nail in it. I have a great TA and an lucky.

 

The question I have is why did Princess say your booking was canceled? You said that the initial hold payment was made and that final payment wasn't due yet, so they didn't miss that. Don't understand why you were canceled at all since no payment is due again until final.

 

We have made payments along the way at times also and never had a problem either. I agree with Chris. You did nothing wrong. We had to make a couple of payments when we did our Med cruise and the cost of the cruise was still higher than our credit limit. That was an expensive cruise for 3 with a pre-cruise in Switzerland. Sometimes you just have to make a few payments.

 

Have a wonderful trip. You have been read across the country and glad you posted this.

 

Hulagirl

 

Grand Princess Baltic Cruise

 

Star Princess Eastern Caribbean

 

Diamond Princess Northwest Cruise

 

[PeabodyNVL]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by meyerhaus:

They made the booking down-payment. The problem is not that they didn't pay the final payment on time. It is that they didn't pay ANY payment after the initial paymant and they had the money. I don't care if they hold all of it until the final payment is made. I just care that they make the final payment and do so according to Princess's rules.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>Sorry, Jon, but it should matter to you what they are doing with your money. If they are not crediting it to the cruiseline immediately, then what are they doing with it? It is just not a good business practice. It is this bad business practice that messed up your booking.

 

If you pay by installments in the future, make sure each and every payment is credited by the cruiseline at the time you make the payment.

 

You've got to own some responsibility once you know how things are handled. To say you don't care as long as Princess gets the final payment is just reckless and can lead to more heartache. This time the resolution was to your satisfaction. The next time, it may not be so.

 

Pea

 

5/9 Golden Princess  

[CruiseFever]

Peabody- good point

 

I agree that no matter who the TA is we, as the passengers, need to be sure everything is in order. A simple confirmation from Princess to the agency from time to time would have been appropriate...forwarded on to the passenger. It would have reflected any payments made and confirmed all other elements of the booking.

 

Happy Cruising

 

Chris

 

www.LifeIsCruising.com

 

Next up:

Caribbean Princess 06/26/04

Star Princess 10/24/04

Diamond Princess 12/22/04

Carnival Miracle 03/13/05

Carnival Valor 10/30/05

 

[Beryl]

Another good reason to pay by credit card! It is the cruiseline that makes the charge to your card. If you pay by check, you make the check payable to the agency who in turn writes a check payable to the cruiseline. If you pay with cash it is the agency that writes a check to the cruiseline. To avoid the step by the middle man use your card!!

 

I'm sorry meyerhaus for all the problems your agency put you through. I expect you will be searching for a new agent for your next trip. I hope you find a great one!!

 

Cruising! It's like being in the Garden of Eatin'!

[karen2cruz]

My sympathies for the pain and trouble. Had a similar thing happen to me last year. But I was a little ahead of the gane and found out before final payment was due. (Had already sent them final payment 2 weeks earlier and was just checking up on things).They said we owed about $750 (deposit money, like you). I keep records of everything, so I just copied them all and sent them overnight to prove we had paid up. The local agent apologized profusely. Got two free dinners out of him. Should been more, but at least we had it all straightened out.

 

But we all make mistakes. I am learning to check up early on everything now. Just recently my daughter's tuition payment was applied to the wrong term! A phone call fixed that one. whew

 

I am so ready for the Golden in January!

 

Sea Princess 2/02

DisneyWonder 6/03

Mariner of the Seas 4/04

Golden Princess 1/23/05

 

 

[cathi]

This all tells you what a good TA can do for you. I know - live in a small town with little choice but when you find the "right" TA everything works. A big name means little if the people working there are not up to par!

[coiran]

meyerhaus

 

NCL PRIDE OF AMERICA Oct. 2004

SUN PRINCESS 2004 Caribbean

REGAL PRINCESS 2003 Europe

GOLDEN PRINCESS 2002 Canada New England

SUN PRINCESS 2002 Panama Canal

SUN PRINCESS 2002 Mexico

DAWN PRINCESS 2001 Caribbean

DAWN PRINCESS 2001 Caribbean

SEA PRINCESS 2001 Alaska

REGAL PRINCESS 2000 Mexico

REGAL PRINCESS 1999 Panama Canal

PACIFIC PRINCESS 1999 Europe

SUN PRINCESS 1998 Caribbean

ROYAL PRINCESS 1996 Panama Canal

 

 

[coiran]

meyerhaus

It's time you get a new TA - try K---K-----s - she books a lot of Princess cruises and takes real good care of her customers!!!

 

NCL PRIDE OF AMERICA Oct. 2004

SUN PRINCESS 2004 Caribbean

REGAL PRINCESS 2003 Europe

GOLDEN PRINCESS 2002 Canada New England

SUN PRINCESS 2002 Panama Canal

SUN PRINCESS 2002 Mexico

DAWN PRINCESS 2001 Caribbean

DAWN PRINCESS 2001 Caribbean

SEA PRINCESS 2001 Alaska

REGAL PRINCESS 2000 Mexico

REGAL PRINCESS 1999 Panama Canal

PACIFIC PRINCESS 1999 Europe

SUN PRINCESS 1998 Caribbean

ROYAL PRINCESS 1996 Panama Canal

 

 

[comettgirl]

For the life of me, I keep trying to figure out what this agency's real name is. Will someone e-mail me and tell me.

[email]atlaskowsky@sbcglobal.net[/email]

Thanks.

Therese

[surfnsun]

Whoah Meyerhaus, I'm sure this will work out and you'll enjoy your cruise...but...not excuses here...but...TA's got it really rough with drastic commission cuts and revised distribution practices that reduce costs to the actual provider by challenging/eliminating the "middle man", i.e. TA's. IMO, TA's are having trouble keeping qualified and attentive personnel who will follow-up constantly, an absolute necessity in the travel business. My best advice (for what it's worth having been in the business before but now in another career, although not directly with a TA) is to work with TA's recommended by others with a good track record, or at least specialize in cruises (perhaps exclusively), or direct with the cruiseline. IMO, the cruise business is one in the industry where the commissions are still decent for TA's, but still declining. IMO, the travel business is in a state of extreme and constant changes and it's sad when the customers feel the pain. I went out on a limb here and wish you Best of Luck.

[JCH]

I have to add this to the topic. No matter what agency, a good TA is what everyone needs, just like a good and trusted car mechanic, doctor, dentist, etc. On my recent cruise deposit, when I checked Princess online, they had my name spelled incorrectly, even with the ID number. I called my TA the next day and checked back with Princess the day after. It was corrected with just my one call.

I'm very happy with my TA, can't say enough. In business it is a rule of thumb, it takes three new customers to make up for one customer that is lost.

Sky Princess - 1997 West Coastal
Sea Princess - 2001 Western Caribbean
Sea Princess - 2002 Alaska

Reposition Cruise - Transcanal
Coral Princess April 27, 2005
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=ff0000&cdt=2005;4;27;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]

[meyerhaus]

Thanks for all the help! Lessons learned and hopefully, people read this and see what NOT to do. We probably did put too much trust in Arlsoncay Agonlitway. Luckily, we did keep EXCELLENT records and all is well...financially.

HOWEVER, when we finally got a call from CWT's headquarters, they TOTALLY passed the buck to the agent.

Ginza, I think that I will call them. Hopefully, they can put the heavy on them.

JON

[url="http://www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus/"][img]http://www.picgoo.com/uploads/960426124355.gif[/img] [/url]
[url="http://www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus"]www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus[/url]

Golden Princess 7/11/04
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;7;11;18;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
Big Red Boat-1993 (Amy)
Celebrity Zenith-1993 (Jon)

[surfnsun]

Great that you've found a good TA, but I stand by my point reiterated below:

"TA's are having trouble keeping qualified and attentive personnel who will follow-up constantly, an absolute necessity in the travel business."

YOU followed up and THEY didn't - until YOU brought it to their attention...what did YOU get for THEIR additional service fee??? Sorry, I'll stop now.

[sensasianl]

Another vote of NO confidence in this TA. Used an online office out of Michigan that promised "at least 5% off listed rates." Our fare went down once and we had to contact them to get the reduction. After they got our final payment they were not very helpful, to say the least, with any questions we had. Caveat emptor.

Jon, sorry about your problems. Hope all works out well in the end.

Celebrity Galaxy 3/04

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=006400&cdt=2004;9;5;16;00;00&timezone=GMT-0800[/img]  till Sapphire Princess

[pg.]

Cometgirl, when I was younger we used to have this funny "code" language that us kids called "pig latin". You would take a word, put the first letter of that word at the end of the work and then add " ay".. so the word " pig" would be "igpay"
Did you not have a game like that when you were younger?

[comettgirl]

pg, thanks, i've got it now!!! my problem was (among other things) we don't have THAT particular agency in the midwest, so I kept trying to think of a Major Nationwide Agency and was drawing a blank!!!

P.S. Google helped. It knows what you want even when you don't!!!

Therese

[laginog]

WOW, Jon!!! That's scary!!! I'm glad everything has worked out...a little bit, anyway! If my booking disapeared, I'd probably have had a heart attack, or at least a really bad anxiety attack!!! But...I have the same TA as coiran! And I agree----she's the best!! I just feel so "safe" with her and she does seem to have some special "connection" with Princess.

Car Destiny-W Caribbean-6/1/00
Sovereign - Bahamas - 6/15/01
Star Princess-Alaska-7/16/02
Navigator-E Caribbean-8/02/03
Mariner-W Caribbean-01/25/04
Caribbean Princess - 9/25/04

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=0000ff&cdt=2004;09;25;17;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
UNTIL THE CARIBBEAN PRINCESS !!!!!!



Kathi



[img]http://home.insightbb.com/~laginog/Kathi_Whale001.gif[/img]

LOVE THE VOYAGER AND GRAND CLASS!!! BUT ANY SHIP WILL DO!!!

[meyerhaus]

Thanks, folks. Sorry to confuse you Ometgirlcay [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_wink.gif[/img]

[url="http://www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus/"][img]http://www.picgoo.com/uploads/960426124355.gif[/img] [/url]
[url="http://www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus"]www.geocities.com/pattersandmenus[/url]

Golden Princess 7/11/04
[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=191970&cdt=2004;7;11;18;00;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
Big Red Boat-1993 (Amy)
Celebrity Zenith-1993 (Jon)