Please think twice about doing a chargeback

[Fouremco]

42 minutes ago, jc719 said:

If a big box TA still receives their commission for a paid-in-full booking if the cruise line cancels the cruise, and the booking included a big box store gift card after the cruise (vs an OBC), should the pax still receive that after the cruise line cancels & the pax receives a full refund for the cruise?  The TA was supplying the GC out of their commission that they still received.  Any difference for a FCC instead of a cash refund?  Just asking for a friend....

The big box gift card is only issued upon completion of the cruise. If it's cancelled, no matter who does the cancelling, the gift card isn't issued.

[vkb2751]

51 minutes ago, hcat said:

Did you try your cred card company?

 

We did and chase gave us refunds pretty fast but now celebrity has given us partial credits for the disputed charges for 3 of the 4 cruises. Chase wants to send check  for full credit chase issued and also partial refund celebrity issued as they can’t identify the celebrity credits against the charges (and their refunds) Now we are stuck, don’t want check for more than we are due. Major fiasco!!!!!!

[tallnthensome]

1 hour ago, Argo. said:

If we ever get back to "normal" times, I will predict that many of us will be dumping our travel agents.  I also use that NH agency and they have been absolutely no help in getting my refunds.  During the initial panic in mid-March they could not be reached by telephone and since then their emails will get you a response days later... unless you want to book a new cruise.  Not that I'm bitter, but I am wiser.

Exactly, big or small ....travel agents are going to suffer. Some good ones will be overshadowed by the bad ones that have been zero help for so many during these times. It's hard enough to get what you need if you're dealing with the lines direct on your own let alone a third party that won't return your calls that you have to hope and rely on to put in the time for you in your dealings. 

[hcat]

1 hour ago, vkb2751 said:

 

We did and chase gave us refunds pretty fast but now celebrity has given us partial credits for the disputed charges for 3 of the 4 cruises. Chase wants to send check  for full credit chase issued and also partial refund celebrity issued as they can’t identify the celebrity credits against the charges (and their refunds) Now we are stuck, don’t want check for more than we are due. Major fiasco!!!!!!

Good Lord!

We have a similar issue...we are waiting for it to eventually sort itself out..

[Oville]

5 hours ago, sippican said:

 

That "famous agency" from NH may have a good reputation for getting the lowest price, but does indeed not have a very good reputation for much else. They are one of the few who charge customers for booking changes and cancellations. Many report difficulty receiving personalized service and timely communication. (FWIW, most agencies can match the deals they offer.)

How interesting.  We have received 2 refunds/deposits back where they were instrumental and it took less than 2 weeks for one and just over 2+ weeks about a week ago on the other.

Edited May 17, 2020 by Oville

[Oville]

3 hours ago, hcat said:

I clicked on that..what sexist sterotyped  terminology....as well as for some of the other ones listed.  Glad I am not " hip " or in sync with mean modern culture!

Totally agree,  Why would anyone go down that road.  Our two TAs, from different companies, one is Hispanic and the other a male and both have gone done an excellent job of getting our money back and both working from home.

[vkb2751]

1 hour ago, Oville said:

How interesting.  We have received 2 refunds/deposits back where they were instrumental and it took less than 2 weeks for one and just over 2+ weeks about a week ago on the other.

 

From reading all the refund related posts on cc it appears the last/latest cancellations are being refunded before the earlier ones. We are still waiting for refunds from 3/13 and 3/24 cancellations! Celebrity won’t talk to us and want us to talk to TA who has twice send response that it will take 30 days and next one said will be 60 days. TA is not even reading the emails just sending blanket response a week or so after emailmis send.

[ScubesDad]

The OP's comments are laughable and extremely unprofessional.  There are many people in the world who are paid on a commission basis; if the deal doesn't close you don't get paid.  Many, many people who have placed charges on their credit cards now need their money back so they can pay their bills, and feed their family.

 

During the last five years of my career I switched from a salary plus bonus role, to a commission plus bonus role; with a well documented charge back process.  The time frame was 6 months - if the business was not retained on the company's books at the six month anniversary of closing of the deal the commission was reversed.  Thankfully I only experiences a negative paycheck once in the five year period; however, I had several deals reversed.  I knew the nature of the business going in, and that is what I agreed to.

 

A TA is an "agent" of the cruise line(s) and is compensated accordingly; it is not the client who pays directly for the services.

 

If the cruise lines lived up to their commitments there would not be the need to dispute the charge.

 

I think we have found a new type of entitlement.

 

Edited May 18, 2020 by ScubesDad

[Oville]

16 minutes ago, vkb2751 said:

 

From reading all the refund related posts on cc it appears the last/latest cancellations are being refunded before the earlier ones. We are still waiting for refunds from 3/13 and 3/24 cancellations! Celebrity won’t talk to us and want us to talk to TA who has twice send response that it will take 30 days and next one said will be 60 days. TA is not even reading the emails just sending blanket response a week or so after emailmis send.

We canceled early on.

[sanger727]

17 hours ago, mafig said:

 

Do you know the OP or her travel agency.????????????

Just asking because you[re from Cincinnati also. 

nope; I have zero connection to the OP, any  TA or any cruise company. Just trying to face this whole new reality with some compassion for others. I have no idea if what the OP said is true,  but if it is and if I did have a cruise booked I was trying to get a refund from, I would want to know if the chargeback caused my TA to lose money

[Purplsmurf]

13 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

I have been following this since it started and of course there are lots of opinions, all valid.  This morning my email contained a note from Celebrity with the "FINAL INVOICE" for the pre-purchases for our cruise that was supposed to leave Dublin tomorrow.....I almost laughed.  That they find time to send out but my $5000 refund for the trip they canceled is still in the MIA file.  I got up and went outside again and triple checked. There are no signs over my door saying "Mr. Click's Bank and Loan", not even "Mr. Click's Loan and Pawn" so I know that I still have not entered the banking and loan business.  When Celebrity canceled my cruise they said 45 days for a refund. I was not happy with it but I am being patient and on day 46 I will file the dispute with my CC company.  This week I filed disputes on 6 Princess Ledges bookings that I a made last January and canceled in March. When I canceled they said 7 to10 days and then they moved that to 60 days.  

 

Can I pay my bills without that refund? Yep.  But I am not in the business for loaning money and I feel I am being very nice and waiting for the 60 or 45 days they are saying.  Airlines have made their refunds in a week with no problem. They are dealing with huge cancelations as well and they too have cut staff and have staff working from home.  Please do not tell me that "But Celebrity is dealing with 3000 cancelations per cruise and the airlines are not"  I am sure the airlines are dealing with more that 3000 per day.  Oh, if a cruise ship holds 3000 passengers it is likely only 1500 reservations.  

 

So, to the OP, you are wrong.  People we need to stand up for our rights here.  I am not asking my TA, that big one in NH, to do it for me, I am just asking to be treated fairly by the cruise lines.  

Unfortunately you will likely be calling your cc company. Our cruise was one of the first Celebrity cancelled. We were due to sail March 14 and they cancelled the evening of March 13. We requested our refund immediately. After 6 weeks we finally received some of our refund and now 3+ more weeks later we still haven’t seen the rest. To top it off they are saying that we are due $200 less than what it should be! I have copies of all of my payments so we shall see!

[Gracie115]

12 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

Exactly, big or small ....travel agents are going to suffer. Some good ones will be overshadowed by the bad ones that have been zero help for so many during these times. It's hard enough to get what you need if you're dealing with the lines direct on your own let alone a third party that won't return your calls that you have to hope and rely on to put in the time for you in your dealings. 

 

Agree!  We will go back to booking direct, the fewer layers to have to go through with something like this the better.  We have a great CVP who has helped us so much with our Celebrity bookings over the years, would rather deal with him.  Our error was booking our Princess cruise through the big box agency and now can get no help at all with refunds due.  Lesson learned.

 

 

[drakes2]

17 hours ago, sippican said:

FWIW, most agencies can match the deals they offer.)

The cruiseline can also match the offer. In past years I have booked with a large TA in Texas but because they charge in USD I prefer to go directly in Canadian currency it usually works out to a couple hundred less with the FX rates. Celebrity has always given me extra OBC. 

[sanger727]

11 hours ago, ScubesDad said:

The OP's comments are laughable and extremely unprofessional.  There are many people in the world who are paid on a commission basis; if the deal doesn't close you don't get paid.  Many, many people who have placed charges on their credit cards now need their money back so they can pay their bills, and feed their family.

 

During the last five years of my career I switched from a salary plus bonus role, to a commission plus bonus role; with a well documented charge back process.  The time frame was 6 months - if the business was not retained on the company's books at the six month anniversary of closing of the deal the commission was reversed.  Thankfully I only experiences a negative paycheck once in the five year period; however, I had several deals reversed.  I knew the nature of the business going in, and that is what I agreed to.

 

A TA is an "agent" of the cruise line(s) and is compensated accordingly; it is not the client who pays directly for the services.

 

If the cruise lines lived up to their commitments there would not be the need to dispute the charge.

 

I think we have found a new type of entitlement.

 

 

You were lucky enough to have one negative paycheck in five years. If you business went through what the travel industry is going though and you had $0 or negative paychecks for months but weren't laid off so couldn't collect unemployment, you might feel differently. I think people are being very cold to this situation. It costs nothing to have empathy for people who are going through a really hard time. Calling the comments laughable is cruel. 

 

If you need the money back now to feed your family, then obviously you'll do what you need to do. But I suspect that most people are not in that situation. They are just feeling burned and impatient. 

 

I'm certainly not suggesting that anybody reach into their pocket to pay a  commission directly to a TA for a cruise that they didn't take. Although I do know people who have continued to pay cleaning people, daycares, hair stylists, etc for services that they were unable to use as a gesture of good will. But it was a nice gesture of cruise lines to continue paying agent commissions on cruises they canceled. If you don't need the money and getting back $5,000 in one month or 3 months isn't going to make a big deal to your budget, what is wrong with requesting people be patient so that the agent can put food on her table?

Edited May 18, 2020 by sanger727

[yorky]

I received a better offer from Celebrity direct than I did from a TA we have used in the past. On top of that when the Miami office made a mistake re pricing when adding the perks one email to my Celebrity rep, who sent me his direct email when I booked over the phone and it was sorted very quickly. We are more than happy these days to cut out the middle man even if we don’t get some extra OBC. Used a pretty well known American big box TA the one time and saved some money, they made a mess of the booking three times and I spent ages on the phone to less than helpful staff and the manager was very rude, never again.

[yorky]

1 minute ago, sanger727 said:

 

You were lucky enough to have one negative paycheck in five years. If you business went through what the travel industry is going though and you had $0 or negative paychecks for months but weren't laid off so couldn't collect unemployment, you might feel differently. I think people are being very cold to this situation. It costs nothing to have empathy for people who are going through a really hard time. Calling the comments laughable is cruel. 

 

If you need the money back now to feed your family, then obviously you'll do what you need to do. But I suspect that most people are not in that situation. They are just feeling burned and impatient. 

I think across the board just now regardless of whether it’s a cruise line, hotel, flight, one thing that’s been shown is regardless of what’s going on people on the whole are certainly not patient.

[Pinboy]

40 minutes ago, yorky said:

American big box TA the one time and saved some money,

In the past 8 years we have been very lucky ( no problems ) with the same Agency's Canadian division---

Service available in English and French  ( less waiting time to reach an Agent ) 

We also like the gift card ( ?? 8% of cruise price ) , rather than an a few extra OBC .

And, we don't have to feel " guilty " if we cancel. 

[Pinboy]

12 hours ago, ScubesDad said:

Many, many people who have placed charges on their credit cards now need their money back so they can pay their bills, and feed their family.

If they " really " need their money back that fast, why are they spending it on cruising ?

We are all frustrated over receiving refunds and using all kinds of excuses with the Cruise Company to speed up OUR refund . LOL-- It doesn't work !!!

[Bo1953]

20 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

If they " really " need their money back that fast, why are they spending it on cruising ?

We are all frustrated over receiving refunds and using all kinds of excuses with the Cruise Company to speed up OUR refund . LOL-- It doesn't work !!!

ahemmm...

 

Now now now p - there are a variety of possible reasons people need their funds back quickly... through no fault of their own e.g. job loss or family illness to name a few.

 

Were we not living through a pandemic currently, it could be a 'once in a life time dream' for a few passengers.

 

Yet, that does not negate the need for patience, in general, regardless.. buuuut, if one has lost their job and need to feed family that is quite an urgent matter, nevertheless...

 

bon voyage

[sippican]

25 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

If they " really " need their money back that fast, why are they spending it on cruising ?

 

Many people that book cruises are not in a position financially to weather two or three months without income, and an uncertain financial future. 

Consider yourself fortunate if you are one of those who are financially all set. I remember well the days when we'd scrap and save for that one special vacation, even when we were living paycheck to paycheck.

[TeeRick]

Good job OP oceanlovinmama.  You threw out some fish bait and caused a feeding frenzy here while you sped off to do the same elsewhere on other boards.

[Pinboy]

4 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

ahemmm...

 

Now now now p - there are a variety of possible reasons people need their funds back quickly... through no fault of their own e.g. job loss or family illness to name a few.

 

Were we not living through a pandemic currently, it could be a 'once in a life time dream' for a few passengers.

 

Yet, that does not negate the need for patience, in general, regardless.. buuuut, if one has lost their job and need to feed family that is quite an urgent matter, nevertheless...

 

bon voyage

You are correct . I cannot find anything to dispute in your reply.

I was thinking too much regarding an excuse to try and speed up things.

[Oceangoer2]

2 hours ago, drakes2 said:

The cruiseline can also match the offer. In past years I have booked with a large TA in Texas but because they charge in USD I prefer to go directly in Canadian currency it usually works out to a couple hundred less with the FX rates. Celebrity has always given me extra OBC. 

Can you share your secret for 'MORE OBC FROM X'?  Never have I been offered anything beyond what is posted for that sailing....so you tell them you're booking with a TA , even if you're not, and they are offering an OBC, and then X matches it??

[Bo1953]

8 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

You are correct . I cannot find anything to dispute in your reply.

I was thinking too much regarding an excuse to try and speed up things.

In a few cases, you are quite correct in that view point and a few people share it as well so you are not alone.

 

bon voyage

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, Pinboy said:

And, we don't have to feel " guilty " if we cancel. 

Curious why would you feel guilty if you cancel a cruise?