What would you do? Agent is lazy.

[globalwife]

I live in Colombia and Travel agents here charge unbelievable prices. Since I am from the US and still have US credit cards I decided to book our cruise online through a well reputable US company. I am very happy with the cruise we have selected and it seems I got the best price possible for the dates we want. The online agent that I am working with has always been very short in responses to me if any response at all. The only time he wrote more than one sentense was when I started to emal him saying I didn´t want additional insurance coverage through him since we already have it. That took four emails of going back and forth before he would send me my new price without it. Then it took him a week before my credit card ever got run to reserve the cruise. I had to send a few emails reminding him and then one with a CC to his supervisor before he got it done. I got the confirmation last week on Friday and it had 6 errors on it (everything from wrong dining time, requesting a private table- which we never requested, names have errors, address has error, my nationality is wrong, etc.) Maybe that is normal, not sure since this is my first cruise. He responded on Friday saying he would make the corrections and will get back to me. Haven´t heard anything since. According to the terms and conditions of the company I am using they have 72 hours to send me the revised confirmation. I don´t want to piss him off more by emailing him again but he isn´t making me have much confidence in him or his company. Also, the cruise company charged me about $7 more than he said it would cost. I haven´t said a thing about it because afterall, it is only $7. Also, I asked him if we could select our room and he said it was already picked. Did he pick it or do some cruiselines do all the assigning? I have no idea if it is a good or bad room, I guess it looks okay on the map-- not the worse but not the best in the category. I feel his supervisor should know but also worry that it could backfire and he could do something to really mess things up for us.

 

I guess I am wondering if I should compain, keeping nagging him or just sit back and take a chill pill or maybe wait till after the cruise in January and then complain. I don´t want him to mess with our trip. I´ve tried being polite with him thus far but have a feeling he is still mad because we cancelled the insurance or maybe just lazy or maybe new. Not sure. So can he mess with our trip? Please, I could use some suggestions. Most importantly I just want my revised confirmation, how do I get it?

[sail7seas]

The poor service your are getting is unacceptable and not the norm.

Seeing as you have his boss' e-mail, I would write directly to the boss and lay out your grievances. If boss does not make it right, you could consider cancelling and rebooking.

 

If they do not have a cancellation penalty, (you must verify that) you could cancel with them (assuming you are prior to cruise line cancellation exposure) and rebook with someone else.

 

There are good TA's and some not so good and it appears yours is not among the best.

 

Good luck.

Let us know how it goes.

[yogi2929]

Even if you lose $50-$75 it might be worth it to cancel with this guy.

 

You do have the option of booking directly with the cruiseline.

 

If you do use another travel agent (or this one makes it right), make sure that your CC is credited with the name of the cruiseline NOT the agancy name.

 

I book thru a travel agent and have always been able to choose my cabin. Sounds like he booked you into a guarantee.

[globalwife]

Thanks. I have thought about cancelling but the price has gone up over $100 per person since I booked. The cruise departs from here in Colombia and it is high season since most schools here are out in January. I originally got in touch with this company because I tried to book directly with the cruiseline (Pullmantur) and they refered me to them since they are actually out of Spain. I suppose I am glad to see that this is not normal since I know I can be impatient at times. I´ll see what other posters have to say....

[Toto2Kansas]

If I booked with a travel agent like this, I would dump them in a heart beat, even if there was a small charge for doing so. There are too many great TA's out there to put up with one that won't even answer emails without contacting their superviser. :(

[Putterdude]

We used to have a travel agent like that.......

[ginag]

I had one of those! I did more of the work than he did. I fired his a$$ and moved on!

[blindrid]

A couple things:

 

1) If you booked online, you enter all of the particulars including name(s), address, dining options, etc. and not the TA. I book online all of the time and the only time there was an error, it was a typo on my part as the info entered goes directly into the cruise line's reservation system (at least the one's I've used). An example of this was on my last cruise, I booked with the online TA and then went immediately to Princess' website and my reservation was already in their system. If you went directly to the TA found online, then there is the manual entering of information.

 

2) I would call the cruiseline and ask if you could transfer your booking from the other agent to the cruise line's TA. I'm thinking that the price should hold and you could then deal directly with the line, correcting any mistakes then.

 

3) Don't worry about the $7. It's probably a handling fee or whatever and not worth the brain damage. That's one less drink you'll have on the cruise ;) .

 

All in all, I would consider getting rid of the TA as they should treating you better than what this one is. I've had great luck purchasing online without having to deal with the agent at all. Pick and click has served me well. If I do get a website that forces me to call and deal with them over the phone, I just go to another website as their pricing really doesn't differ that much.

 

When dealing online, I always verify my booking on the line's website to make sure I have not made any mistakes or to assure myself of a successful booking. I'm still a bit old school when booking all of my travel online so that gives me a bit of added security knowing that it's done and done correctly.

 

Good luck and keep us posted.

[globalwife]

 

1) If you booked online, you enter all of the particulars including name(s), address, dining options, etc. and not the TA. I book online all of the time and the only time there was an error, it was a typo on my part as the info entered goes directly into the cruise line's reservation system (at least the one's I've used). An example of this was on my last cruise, I booked with the online TA and then went immediately to Princess' website and my reservation was already in their system. If you went directly to the TA found online, then there is the manual entering of information.

 

 

Actually all the information was sent in an email. I would assume he could copy and paste the details but obviously he didn´t. As far as the dining option mess up, I have no idea how that happened unless he got me mixed up with someone else. the email was very cut and dry. He had questions and I had answers, I have reviewed them and I sent everything correctly.

[globalwife]

3) Don't worry about the $7. It's probably a handling fee or whatever and not worth the brain damage. That's one less drink you'll have on the cruise ;) .

 

 

Actually I am pretty sure I have figured out the money difference. The charge was made in Spain since the cruiseline is from there. I am assuming it was charged in Euros and since the charge is in dollars on my card there is very little chance it would have matched perfectly. I still feel that the agent should have mentioned that at some point though. All he ever did was mention one price and it was dollars. You are right though, no big deal to make a head ache out of. And in good news, drinks are included on our cruise so it might just have to be one more drink. ;)

[globalwife]

Okay so I am going to send a complaint at the end of the day today if I still havn´t heard anything from him. The site guarentees satisfaction and has a place to compain to and a 24 hour response is promised to a complaint. We will see. I think I will request to change agents internally. There aren´t many places to book a Pullmantur cruise online and it seems I can´t do it directly with the cruiseline since they refered me to these people. Here in Colombia agents are chagring $650 per person for the same cruise/dates. And I know from a Spanish forum it isn´t even being offered in Spain, yet.

 

I guess though my concern about complaining is, if they can´t or won´t change me reps can the rep screw with my resrvation without my consent. For example can he change my room without my consent? or can he ¨forget¨ to mail me needed documents. I don´t want to piss him off but once he knows I have complained at a corporate level, I´m scared he will make it worse for me if I do remain with him. What do you think?

[orianagal]

Okay so I am going to send a complaint at the end of the day today if I still havn´t heard anything from him. The site guarentees satisfaction and has a place to compain to and a 24 hour response is promised to a complaint. We will see. I think I will request to change agents internally. There aren´t many places to book a Pullmantur cruise online and it seems I can´t do it directly with the cruiseline since they refered me to these people. Here in Colombia agents are chagring $650 per person for the same cruise/dates. And I know from a Spanish forum it isn´t even being offered in Spain, yet.

 

I guess though my concern about complaining is, if they can´t or won´t change me reps can the rep screw with my resrvation without my consent. For example can he change my room without my consent? or can he ¨forget¨ to mail me needed documents. I don´t want to piss him off but once he knows I have complained at a corporate level, I´m scared he will make it worse for me if I do remain with him. What do you think?

 

this is a hard one

is the cruise for a European cruise company where is the agent located are they outside of the USA?? (sorry I forgot to read the original post)

Thats the trouble once some agents get your money and know you are reliant on them they just ignore you

Its happened to me and I dont take it.

Can you Phone them ??

 

If you feel this is just no good and its going to worry you just pull the plug

it might mean losing a deposit though

I hate being messed around by LAZY agents

I can understand your concerns

maybe things will come good maybe the agent is a trainee ??

Good luck

[sail7seas]

Be absolutely firm with this TA that any charges they make using your credit card are direct to the cruise company and not to the TA who (supposedly) will then pay the cruise line. Be certain your charge goes to cruise line only or you could be in a real mess (potentially).

 

Let us know how it goes.

Good luck.

[globalwife]

Be absolutely firm with this TA that any charges they make using your credit card are direct to the cruise company and not to the TA who (supposedly) will then pay the cruise line. Be certain your charge goes to cruise line only or you could be in a real mess (potentially).

 

 

Yeah, the charges went strait to Pullmantur (the cruiseline) in Spain so no problems there. Thanks.

[globalwife]

Okay update. After reading your tips, I atleast knew i wasn't asking to much to want better service. I was very close to emailing their headquarters to request a different rep. I also thought about cancelling but did a quick search on booking Pullmantur cruises in the US and not much came up so I figured I better be careful with burning any bridges because there is no way I am booking it from here in Colombia and paying the $650 more per person they ask for here. So this is what I did....

 

I sent another email to my agent. I CCed his supervisor once again. I stayed polite by first saying I was suprised I hadn't heard from him since Friday and hoped he was okay. I also quoted the terms and conditions about the 72 hours so he knew I was aware of that part. I told him I was losing confidence in him. He responded immiditaly saying he got my email and would look into it. Then later today he sent my new confirmation with everything corrected....well except for one thing but it seems like he can't change it and I kind of understand. Here in Colombia we don't have zip codes but he has 1234 as our zip but tells me not to worry. I guess though I have it in writing that it is wrong so it should be their fault if I don't get something. he also appologized and said he has been "swamped". i wrote him again and let him know I understan that he is "Swamped" but at the same time I expect good service and term and conditions to be honored. he also explained that since my booking is through Spain and he is in the US that things take a little longer this way, which I understand, but it is nice that he actually write that to me now. So anyhow, he knows I'm not going to accept him being lazy and our cruise is fixed for the most part. I did let him know I was greatful for his quick response this afternoon and I was just worried having 6 errors. So all is well, for now. :)

[snausman]

Okay update. After reading your tips, I atleast knew i wasn't asking to much to want better service. I was very close to emailing their headquarters to request a different rep. I also thought about cancelling but did a quick search on booking Pullmantur cruises in the US and not much came up so I figured I better be careful with burning any bridges because there is no way I am booking it from here in Colombia and paying the $650 more per person they ask for here. So this is what I did....

 

I sent another email to my agent. I CCed his supervisor once again. I stayed polite by first saying I was suprised I hadn't heard from him since Friday and hoped he was okay. I also quoted the terms and conditions about the 72 hours so he knew I was aware of that part. I told him I was losing confidence in him. He responded immiditaly saying he got my email and would look into it. Then later today he sent my new confirmation with everything corrected....well except for one thing but it seems like he can't change it and I kind of understand. Here in Colombia we don't have zip codes but he has 1234 as our zip but tells me not to worry. I guess though I have it in writing that it is wrong so it should be their fault if I don't get something. he also appologized and said he has been "swamped". i wrote him again and let him know I understan that he is "Swamped" but at the same time I expect good service and term and conditions to be honored. he also explained that since my booking is through Spain and he is in the US that things take a little longer this way, which I understand, but it is nice that he actually write that to me now. So anyhow, he knows I'm not going to accept him being lazy and our cruise is fixed for the most part. I did let him know I was greatful for his quick response this afternoon and I was just worried having 6 errors. So all is well, for now. :)

 

Did you check to see if you could pick your own stateroom?? I know I like to pick my own cabin??

[globalwife]

Did you check to see if you could pick your own stateroom?? I know I like to pick my own cabin??

 

Well, the room is already assigned but yes, I did ask him if I could change it and he said he asked his supervisor and yes, it can be changed if I want to. Truth is I'm not sure if I want to change it. I need to make a seperate post and let people analyse the location for me. ;)

[Cuizer2]

I live in Colombia and Travel agents here charge unbelievable prices. Since I am from the US and still have US credit cards I decided to book our cruise online through a well reputable US company. I am very happy with the cruise we have selected and it seems I got the best price possible for the dates we want. The online agent that I am working with has always been very short in responses to me if any response at all. The only time he wrote more than one sentense was when I started to emal him saying I didn´t want additional insurance coverage through him since we already have it. That took four emails of going back and forth before he would send me my new price without it. Then it took him a week before my credit card ever got run to reserve the cruise. I had to send a few emails reminding him and then one with a CC to his supervisor before he got it done. I got the confirmation last week on Friday and it had 6 errors on it (everything from wrong dining time, requesting a private table- which we never requested, names have errors, address has error, my nationality is wrong, etc.) Maybe that is normal, not sure since this is my first cruise. He responded on Friday saying he would make the corrections and will get back to me. Haven´t heard anything since. According to the terms and conditions of the company I am using they have 72 hours to send me the revised confirmation. I don´t want to piss him off more by emailing him again but he isn´t making me have much confidence in him or his company. Also, the cruise company charged me about $7 more than he said it would cost. I haven´t said a thing about it because afterall, it is only $7. Also, I asked him if we could select our room and he said it was already picked. Did he pick it or do some cruiselines do all the assigning? I have no idea if it is a good or bad room, I guess it looks okay on the map-- not the worse but not the best in the category. I feel his supervisor should know but also worry that it could backfire and he could do something to really mess things up for us.

 

I guess I am wondering if I should compain, keeping nagging him or just sit back and take a chill pill or maybe wait till after the cruise in January and then complain. I don´t want him to mess with our trip. I´ve tried being polite with him thus far but have a feeling he is still mad because we cancelled the insurance or maybe just lazy or maybe new. Not sure. So can he mess with our trip? Please, I could use some suggestions. Most importantly I just want my revised confirmation, how do I get it?

 

With service problems like you are having, I would cancel the cruise with this agency and rebook it with another agency.

[yogi2929]

If Pullmantur has E-docs (electronic documents) I would get those instead of paper documents.

[morecruise4me]

I had a TA that took forever to get anything done. Cancelled cruise and rebooked myself. All is well, no more anxiety when something needs done.

[momofmeg]

Actually all the information was sent in an email. I would assume he could copy and paste the details but obviously he didn´t. As far as the dining option mess up, I have no idea how that happened unless he got me mixed up with someone else. the email was very cut and dry. He had questions and I had answers, I have reviewed them and I sent everything correctly.

 

You can book online-we do that now-we used to use an online TA.She was great, but when she left the company, the TA's we had after that were not worth 2 cents. I found out their commission is only 10% so many really do not care one way or another. We then started booking on our own. That improved things 100%. Once we decided to add our daughter on-she was not originally going- and it was no problem-we called the 800# and talked to a person in the office who took care of this without a problem. If, as you know, you book through an agent-you have to go through the agent for corrections/etc.

 

I am thinking, since e-mailing is not working-you do not have the option of calling?

 

I can understand you not wanting to rebook-not only the cancellation fee-but the price has risen. That sounds as thoguh that could cost you a considerable amount more.

 

Is the wrong dinnertime/table your biggest worry? Perhaps yous should wait until you board ship and correct this then.

[cruiseco]

Important -- if you are using a US-based agency to book a cruise on a line that is not frequently booked by US residents (there are dozens of them) be sure to ask if they have any experience with booking this line previously. All bets are off as far as normal policies and procedures when booking some of these lines and what a TA assumes is the proper procedure may not be and information relayed to you may in fact be incorrect. When considering booking with one of these lesser-known cruise lines, especially if you are a first-timer yourself, it doesn't hurt to contact the cruise line directly and ask them for a recommendation of an agency in the US or wherever that they have dealt with in the past. It's easy for an agent to make critical mistakes when he/she thinks that all cruise lines' policies and procedures are the same. They're not.

 

This of course does not excuse the cruddy customer service. But I would definitely be hounding them for something from the cruise line itself confirming all arrangements, not just a confirmation from the agency.