zibnark Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 Hello, We made a booking for a 7 night May 2024 Southampton cruise back in October 2023 with TIRUN TRAVEL MARKETING in India. We booked about 15 persons in 5 rooms. On 17th October, 2023, we were sent a pdf by the agent (screenshot below) who told us the original fare was USD 4,107.36 but they were matching fare of USD 3,669.36 for us and that we can make advance payment of USD 350 per head to confirm booking. The rest would have to be paid by Jan-Feb 2024. This pdf clearly shows gratuities included in the fare. We made advance payments for all 5 rooms on 18th October, 2023 and on 19th October, 2023 we received a similar pdf from the agent confirming booking, again showing gratuities included in the price. When we asked why it was still showing USD 4,107.36 instead of USD 3669.36 that was discussed, we were told it is system generated and they cannot help that. We waited until February, 2024 and then wished to make the balance payments for all rooms. There was some issue from the agent's end as we requested payment links so we can pay online but they said that is not possible as they had matched the rate of USD 3,669.36 for us and the only way to make payment was through credit card authorization. They even sent us an email on 8th February that said the following: " Dear Sir, Please note due to our current technical limitations, we are unable to give you the payment link, with a price which is lower than the original price. The original price for Quad sharing booking is $4107.36 and for double sharing room is $3166.18 we have matched it to, for Quad sharing room is $3669.36 and for double sharing room is $2952.18. So the only options we can offer currently is a CC authorization form , should you want you can be on the TeamViewer or Any desk App and enter the CVV yourself in the Royal Caribbean reservation system. " We made payment by their chosen method almost immediately. About 15 days after the final payment was made, we were told that gratuities would need to be paid by us (now or on board) and that amounted to USD 448 for a quad room, meaning USD 112 per head (same as mentioned the booking confirmation). A lot of arguments followed and finally the agent agreed that it was their mistake. They accepted the following over recorded phone call: 1) They never mentioned to any of us that gratuities needed to be paid separately over and above the amount of USD 3669.36 before or after both payments (If they had, we would not have booked through them because in that case we were getting better deals). 2) They said the pdf of the booking confirmation showing gratuities included in the price was a system error. 3) They said the email sent to us confirming about the price match was also a confusion by the agent. Just to make things a bit more clear, if one was to add the USD 448 in gratuities to the amount of USD 3669.36, the result would be USD 4,117.36, which is USD 10 more than the original price without discount. So that doesn't make any sense either. We have now asked the agent to sort the mess their out and they have said they will connect with the cruise line and ask them to waive gratuities in this case as it was their mistake. For this, they will need 2-3 days. We have all booking confirmations, emails, whatsapp chats as well as recorded phone calls in case Royal Caribbean needs them. We fail to understand if this was simply a blunder or a way to extract money by the agent. Terrible experience. Highly unprofessional of the agent. CrimsonCruiser, DisneyParkLady and PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 I don't have any tips or suggestions but I do hope things get properly worked out for you and your group. Definitely sounds like a blunder that may have been caused by incompetence. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smokeybandit Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 Sounds like the TA screwed up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeWhoWaits Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 You seem to have a handle on the matter. Sounds like you'll want to avoid this travel agent in the future. You don't need such stress interfering with your cruise vacation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrinkm Posted February 27 Report Share Posted February 27 Did they tell you why, originally, they were giving you the discount? Was it because you had such a large group, or they had group space bookings available, or something else? I'm really sorry you are dealing with this stress instead of looking forward to your vacation! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zibnark Posted March 2 Author Report Share Posted March 2 We were comparing prices between travel agents as well as websites which is when we were offered the discounted rate by the agent. The pdf showing the gratuities included was sent to us even before we made payment. Over phone call today, the agent has confirmed once again that we would not need to pay gratuities over and above the cost for sure, but they will need another week to sort it out with Royal Caribbean and put it in writing. PPPJJ-GCVAB and tingtang 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 Bring a copy of the invoice showing gratuities are prepaid when you board the ship. If the ship charges daily service fees (gratuity) then go to guest services with your invoice showing they are pre-paid. Momof4crazytocruise, PPPJJ-GCVAB, Neesa and 2 others 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doug_Texas Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 A TA response on the Blog would be helpful here (since I may not know what I'm talking about) - I believe when a travel agency sets up a group rate which provides additional discounts, that correct group rate is reflected correctly on the RCL cruise receipt. You show a "cruise receipt" generated by RCL which is likely correct - the gratuities included but the special price promised no where to be found. The suggestion that RCL waive gratuities may be asking RCL to absorb the dishonest quote from the agency. PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jbrinkm Posted March 2 Report Share Posted March 2 37 minutes ago, Doug_Texas said: The suggestion that RCL waive gratuities may be asking RCL to absorb the dishonest quote from the agency. I was curious about that statement as well. It feels like if the agency screwed up, they should absorb the extra cost, not Royal. They seem to be trying everything to just avoid taking responsibility for their own actions. PPPJJ-GCVAB 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zibnark Posted March 18 Author Report Share Posted March 18 Today we have received a confirmation over email from the agent mentioning "Dear Sir, This has been sorted. Gratuity amount has been paid, you would not have to pay gratuity on board." CrimsonCruiser, WAAAYTOOO, Pattycruise and 3 others 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrimsonCruiser Posted March 18 Report Share Posted March 18 Fingers crossed it is truly sorted out for you @zibnark! you deserve a great vacation after that jbrinkm and michaelp1446 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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