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Sad story.

davidaperryman

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davidaperryman

davidaperryman

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Posted

This was a letter to the editor in the Houston Chronicle 10/7/04.

 

 

Cruise was a disappointment

 

 

The Chronical’s Oct 24 article which told about the increased number of cruise lines setting up cruises shipping out of Galveston, brought back the anger and disappointment my wife and I felt when we attempted to go on a cruise taking off from Galveston earlier this year.

 

I made my reservation online and paid $3,500 for the cruise. I explained I wanted to leave from Galveston on a certain tour to the Bahamas. They had two cruises leaving the same day, both going to the same place, but in reverse order – one out of Galveston and one out of Florida.

 

But instead of booking our cruise from Galveston, the travel agency booked us out of Port Canaveral, Fla.

 

Imagine our frustration when we arrived at the Galveston site eagerly anticipating our vacation. We were not allowed to go as they had no record of our reservation.

 

We were told there was nothing that could be done; we just might as well have wrapped a rubber band around that money and tossed in into Galveston Bay.

 

We have spoken to numerous people at both the travel agency and the cruise line, and each blames the other so neither will refund our money.

 

 

Jeffery ----------

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brn2crz

brn2crz

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Uummm..

 

 

 

While it is sad..It does not make sense to me.I hesitate to use the word never,but I can with some certaintly say that there has "never" been an itinerary out of Galveston,destined for the Bahamas.I may remember one re-routed because of a hurricane,that did New Orleans and the Bahamas,but as a rule of thumb,if it was a Bahamas cruise out of Galveston,it would have to be a one stop cruise,or a re-po!

 

How can you book a cruise,even on-line,and not know where your port of departure is?I mean..even when you get your documents?I have booked several trips online and while sure...I guess if you click on the wrong trip,its possible.But you would have to be pretty careless,to have this happen to you.

 

Anyway...sorry David...I did not mean to just dis your post,and thats how it seems.It is sad...

 

Ok,sorry again...But I had to re-read it.The article says they booked online,and "explained" that they wanted to leave from Galveston.That "they" put them on the wrong cruise.Was it booked online,because you would be soley responsible for what itinerary you select.Again,I stand by my statement,that there has been no "recent itineraries" from Galveston that include the Bahamas.

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davidaperryman

davidaperryman

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Hey , I didn't write the letter.

 

I was amazed just as you were. Thats why I posted it here. I agree that there are no cruises out of Galveston going to the Bahamas. Plus if the guy was smart enough to book online surely he would have asked about some sort of ticket to get on the ship. Didn't the ta send any kind of documents to him? I can't understand why he thinks he should get a refund. I thought the story was made up .....

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ashtravel

ashtravel

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My question is why you didn't check your docs for acuracy? They always have your itinerary listed on them. I would think as soon as you received them you should have noticed the error at that time. It's terrible this happened to you and I can't imagine the frustration you felt at the port.

If you decide to try cruising again, I would choose a travel agent you can trust instead of buying over the internet. I'm sorry you went through this but I think you need to take responsibility for not checking our docs before you left. You are supposed to pre-register online before you head to the port....there were many opportunities for you to check your docs. Life is a hard lesson. I'm sorry for your situation.

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Smiles

Smiles

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I'm having a hard time trying to drum up some sympathy/empathy for the writer of the letter. Gosh, if he couldn't read the documents he received, perhaps he should not have been going on a cruise (or a vaction for that matter--but perhaps this is just an example of the cruise industry catering to the lowest common denominator.)

 

Yeah, we all make mistakes; but if I was ignorant enough not to review the documents that I had received before proceeding to the pier, I SURELY would not have been foolish enough to let others know how ignorant I had been.

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marinersfan

marinersfan

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Gosh, if he couldn't read the documents he received, perhaps he should not have been going on a cruise (or a vaction for that matter--but perhaps this is just an example of the cruise industry catering to the lowest common denominator.)

 

 

The lowest common denominator? What's that supposed to mean? Actually, I think I know what it means, and if so, how RUDE!!!!

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Sasha63

Sasha63

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This will sound mean, but I don't really have any sympathy for someone who refuses to take some responsibility in this type of matter. Sure, you're using a TA to help you out, but at some point you need to pay attention and do some things yourself, such as double check the docs, etc.

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bUU

bUU

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When folks make a mistake that causes themselves great harm, human nature is to seek out an external reason or rationale. In doing so, people tend to overlook facts that point the finger of blame on themselves and fabricate facts that point the finger of blame at others. Folks in this thread have mentioned several important aspects that the complainant in the OP's story didn't address. It would be reasonable to assume, therefore, that, for example, the complainant didn't read the confirmation or cruise docs they received, assuming that the complainant wasn't outright lying about anything.

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Maria65

Maria65

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A couple of weeks ago, I was getting ready to board a flight and the woman ahead of me was informed that she was trying to board the wrong flight. Her flight to Chicago had boarded and was closed while she was sitting there. She became irate that they never announced the flight and she couldn't have possibly missed it because she had been sitting there the whole time. Well, the whole waiting area noticed her Chicago flight boarding but her, but she still blamed the airline personnel. Maybe it was this guy's mom.

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Hypo

Hypo

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A couple of years ago, we booked a cruise on the Enchantment Of The Seas. The second day after I received our cruise documents, while reading them I noticed a discrepancy. It appeared that the cruise was leaving from Miami on the wrong day, the sailing date was off by one day. Looking closer, I realized that they had booked me for the next year!! I called the travel agent, who remembered that the cruise was for the year selected, but then tried to convince me to let the booking stand and take the cruise the next year. I laughed in her face and demanded either my money back or to correct the booking. She then remembered that we really wanted to go that year, and called RCCL to see what could be done.

 

Long story short, it was RCCL's fault, the ship was nearly sold out, so they put us in a Royal Family Suite on the stern. Just about the best cabin we ever had.

 

Mark

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msts

msts

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Don't know about anyone else, but after I book a cruise I get a receipt for the payment. On the receipt it tells you the cabin #, the ship and shows the ports of call, something smells fishy with the story.

 

msts

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reggierail

reggierail

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Posted
A couple of years ago, we booked a cruise on the Enchantment Of The Seas. The second day after I received our cruise documents, while reading them I noticed a discrepancy. It appeared that the cruise was leaving from Miami on the wrong day, the sailing date was off by one day. Looking closer, I realized that they had booked me for the next year!!

 

Long story short, it was RCCL's fault, the ship was nearly sold out, so they put us in a Royal Family Suite on the stern. Just about the best cabin we ever had.

 

Mark

Great story. Just a couple of things I'm confused about. I've never seen cruise documents being sent out over a year before the sailing date and the Royal Suite on the Enchantment is at the bow of the ship not the stern.:rolleyes:

 

Reggie:D

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