Can a travel Agency change a cruise price

What country do you live in? Was this an online agency or did you go into the agency?

I don't know. It might depend on some details you haven't provided.

If the listed price was $5000 and you paid $5000, I don't see how they can come back and say, No, the listed price was incorrect, it should have been $5500.

On the other hand, if the listed price was $5000 and you agreed to that, but due to a glitch or a bookkeeping error they only billed you $4500, then you are probably responsible for the full price.

You say you have confirmations and everything. By everything, do you mean you have the all the materials you need to show the cruise line when you board the vessel? If so, i don't know how the travel agency can prevent you from proceeding. But maybe they can put a hold on your reservation with Princess? I don't know.

We live in Washington State, USA. It was with Worldmark Travel which is part of the Wyndham group.

Have you asked them to explain the 'mistake' and justify the additional charge ?

Using your above example, the listed price was $5000, and they sent us a confirmation and it shows a 0 balance due - we paid for all of it. Then just a couple of days ago, no explanation, but different figures, and now showing a $562 balance due. I immediately contacted them and asked what did the balance due mean and they said a mistake was made, but now it is $392 still due. I am ready to tear my hair out!

If your description is accurate and complete, and you can back it up with documentation, you may want to consider contacting the Washington Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division (email address provided at the linked website).

I'm not an attorney, but the behavior you're describing could be a violation of state law (Revised Code of Washington 19.86.020), which makes it unlawful to engage in "deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of any trade or commerce" in the State of Washington.

Your vendor may be telling the truth that there was an error. However, businesses make errors all the time and have to write off the cost of correcting the error and (one would hope) learn how to avoid making the error in the future. Implying that you have to pay for their error is, well, a bit audacious. The amount involved, while significant to an individual, is a rounding error for a company the size of Wyndham, which reported gross profits of $2.7 billion USD and net income of $819 million USD in 2017.

Hi, we made reservations for a Princess cruise to Europe in March,
2018. Now, a month before the cruise is to leave, we are told that a "mistake" was made and we owe anther $500. I cannot believe that they
can do this. We have confirmations and everything, and needless to
say, would have to give up some excursions and change things to make
up the difference. We saved for a year for this trip - it just does
not seem fair that they can do this.

As opposed to any of us, only you can determine if the travel agency has the right to change the terms of the price by reading the contract you signed. Instead of wondering what is fair or being shocked that a travel agency can make such a change, read the contract in its entirety. If the contract stipulates that the price is in fact a final price no matter what, then you will KNOW that this agency cannot change the price and thus you can show them the verbiage when you refuse to pay the upcharge no matter the excuse given including a mistake.

Then just a couple of days ago, no explanation, but different figures,
and now showing a $562 balance due. I immediately contacted them and
asked what did the balance due mean and they said a mistake was made,
but now it is $392 still due. I am ready to tear my hair out!

Before you harm a hair follicle, read the contract. If the contract leaves open the possibility that the final price could be altered due to any type of error or any other reason and you did not see that ahead of your signing the contract, you are stuck.

What was the advantage of going through a third party to book a cruise as opposed to doing so through the cruise line directly?

This sounds like these are charges for excursions, upscale dining, spa, etc. This could even be the gratuities, which are paid separately. Luxury cabin gratuities for two would be in the 500 range, while other cabins would be in the 300. Without reading your bill, we don't have enough info.

Agree with all the previous posters. Hard for us to know without seeing your paperwork.

But, call the agency, ask specifically what caused the error...what was overlooked, etc. Also call Princess Lines directly and find out if there are any specials that would allow you to book a similar cabin/suite at the same (or better price). If so, put one on hold (but refundable...just on hold) an call the agency and tell them not only did they give you one price that turned out to be different, but you could book the same thing at a better price today( if that is the case). Ask to be elevated to the next level up, and if that does not work, as for the managing director......... I would guess they would match the today price.

Now if you cannot get a better deal booking directly today, then read your paperwork to understand your rights. If it was a price that was quoted to by email or for which you had any written back-up other than the zero balance due (which MIGHT be taken to mean nothing due on that date, but usually it is the amount that ultimately be due at a future time).

Is it a travel agency thru which you have booked before? For cruises, I typically book directly, but I know others have benefited by booking thru agents.
Hope it all works out fairly for you.

One last thought: If the agency cannot dismiss the balance due, perhaps they could comp an upgrade or shore excursions, etc

When I am making any kind of reservation like that, if something goes haywire and is not handled quickly, I will typically cancel, because that oftenwill indicate there could be future problems once on the trip. Years ago I had that sinking feeling on something, overlooked it, and thank God for travel insurance....but it was an entirely different circumstance than what you are experiencing.

Good luck with it all.

Maggie,

I have never been on a cruise, but if I were to have a "sinking feeling" about a particular one, I probably would skip it and go for a walk in the park instead.

Some potential scenarios:

One is the additional money is related to either semi-mandatory gratuities or entertainment/dining options you chose that cost extra. In that case, it's sort of bad they didn't add the bill up correctly but they aren't being underhanded. Typically the "suggested" gratuities are added to your bill each day and you pay at the end of the cruise. You can adjust them if you want; I've been tempted a couple times but never actually did.

Another similar scenario is port taxes. Often your first billing will say "estimated port taxes". I received a refund for a cruise out of Florida in March because the cost included port taxes that were higher than what I had to actually pay. I took a French lady with me and there may have been confusion over charging both of us the same taxes, when the rates were different for US vs. EU citizens (not sure who pays less?).

They may have just booked the room for you but didn't bill you the correct amount. The mistake is theirs but they'll do everything to try not to eat it themselves. If you really press the issue you might work out something other than paying all of it. I'm more of a pay it, never use them again and tell everyone you know type of consumer.

Make sure you understand what is included in the cost of the cruise and what costs extra. It's easy to rack up hundreds and even thousands extra during the cruise if you're not careful. It's fine to pay extra for things when you know the cost and choose to purchase it. Too many, however, don't realize your room key is like a credit card and run up your tab without knowing it.

The first question should be --- "How much have your paid to-date???" "What was the total bill?" Simple question. I had a situation once where a payment was credited to a different account. It took a while to sort it out but I had all of the credit card documentation showing each payment and the amount. It is a pretty black and white question.

....businesses make errors all the time and have to write off the cost of correcting the error ..... Not true. They may write it off for public relation purposes but the law allows for corrections of obvious errors. So ---- is it an error or not.

Bob, yep, lesson learned. Gosh...I didn't even think about the punny use of "sinking feeling" LOL. And, since that was my only travel mistake (so far) in all these decades, I have been lucky.
But, the lesson I learned is to stick to only tried-and-true highly-regarded brands. What we booked (Canadian maritimes cruise) had a deep discount on a small, relatively (in the scheme of things) unknown small ship. Turns out, according to the captain, the ship was not built for oceans....gale force winds caused the cruise to come to an abrupt ending. Communication on board was spotty and the cruise was cut short. Our travel insurance kept us from having to take a 10-hour bus ride to Portland, meals/overnight, and flight changes would have been all on our own (according to the cruise line), and we were reimbursed (by travel insurance) for the portion of the cruise that petered out, along with handling our new flights and cost differences and meals. Thank you TravelGuard!!! Turned out not many days after that disaster, the cruise line declared bankruptcy. I had a feeling things were headed south, so I made sure I gave staff gratuities directly (in their hands) to the kind staff vs. thru the on-line accounting system.

But, to the OP, it is highly, highly unlikely you would have an issue with Princess along those lines.

Brad has probably nailed the issue with port fees...those are sometimes tacked on an extra.

I suggest you pop over to the Princess boards on Cruise Critic and ask them. The folks on Cruise Critic are cruise obsessed with cruising and will likely be able to help. I do recall a similar incident being discussed on the Royal Caribbean boards and in that case it turned out to be an error that was fixed (after a bit of advocating by the traveler).

Do you know whose “error” it is, the cruise line’s or the travel agency’s? That would likely determine where you should be directing your ire and communications. I wonder if it related to the agency’s commission for the booking?

They are blaming it on the cruise line, saying they credited an amount for too much and are now rectifying the error. Thanks for all the wonderful advice. I will definitely contact Princess and see what they have to say.

Again, a simple question -- How much have you paid??? I think you saw a zero balance due and thought you were off the hook. They have caught the error and expect you to pay the correct balance. Either you paid it or you did not.

I'm confused. According to the OP the cruise was in March, 2018. It is now August, 2018. March comes before August. How can this be an issue if the cruise happened 5 months ago? Maybe I'm reading this post wrong.

Also, my husband and I had the opposite thing happen. We booked a cruise to Europe for the summer of 2006, and even after*final payment our cruise travel agent was able to get our cruise fare reduced by $250 - $300 each!! Now that is a great cruise agent!

Joy, the poster is saying she booked the cruise in March of 2018.....now a month before the cruise is due to sail.......................

So the cruise is in September, i.e. next month? This is very unclear.

Oh, thanks for the clarification. I was reading it as the "cruise to Europe in March, 2018".

Sorry for the confusion. In March 2017, we reserved the cruise with a large deposit. The cruise is on October 6 - Oct 18, 2018. We paid for the rest of the cruise in March 2018 and received a confirmation showing a Zero balance and it was correct - all figures added up. Now, August 27, we received another confirmation, with no explanation, showing a balance of $561. When I emailed and asked about that, I was informed that "It appears that a mistake was made on their part, the cabin price had gone d however, it was accidently inputted (sic)as going down $561.14." They mean the part of the cruise line, not the travel agency, which we have used before without any problems. And now the amount still due is $392.24 It doesn't make sense to me and the figures keep changing with every person who writes back.

I am sorry but your explanation is not making any sense either. Lets use complete words also so we understand. I assume "d" means down.

......the cabin price had gone d however, it was accidently inputted (sic)as going down $561.14." They mean the part of the cruise line, not the travel agency, which we have used before without any problems.......

Are you saying that your received a discount of 561.14 that was incorrectly credited to your account when the discount should have been 168.90 so you now owe a balance of 392.24? Those are odd number unless you are working with percentages.

Did the cabin price go down between the time of the deposit and the final payment?

Call Princess and have them pull your record and reservation and discuss with them. Or better yet got to prrincess.com and look up your booking. Something is not making sense and most cruise lines final payments are due in full between 75 and 90 days before sailing, it seems a little late for any type of adjustment.

I would lean on the travel agency to lean on Princess and get some sort of perk for you in return for paying the additional $$ - maybe a credit to use for shore excursions, premium dining, whatever. Be "wronged but classy" and see what you can get.

One thing to note is that if a person books through an agency, the cruise line will deal only with the agent. All inquiries are supposed to come from the agent, not the passenger.

About this time I would stop emailing and get on the phone with someone at the agency, don't let them go until you are satisfied with their response. If you are not satisfied ask to speak to their supervisor or someone in authority and don't give up until you are satisfied with the result. The previous poster is correct that you probably won't get anywhere trying to work with Princess directly and you will need to deal with the travel agency.

Hope you get this straightened out before the cruise so you aren't starting out unhappy or unsatisfied with the results.

My understanding is that, once you have paid an invoice it cannot be changed retrospectively, even if the seller made an error.

What's to stop them sending a third demand, and a fourth?

Something to ask Princess: Could the difference be currency exchange rate fluctuations? Both the € and £ were low to the $ in 2017 and has not gone that far down since.
Unless the travel agent is a very close friend, I no longer trust any of them.

...... My understanding is that, once you have paid an invoice it cannot be changed retrospectively, even if the seller made an error........ That is urban legend. Within case law, if it is an obvious error, it can be corrected. You can argue what is obvious but the fact remains it can be changed. Maybe $10 isn't obvious but a hundred dollars could be. And second there is a question of reasonable time. You could not come back a year later and claim an error since you should have, or ought to have discovered the error in a reasonable amount of time. And often times these contracts include provisions for additional charges related to fuel surcharges, taxes, etc. So, until someone knows exactly what the "error" or the "change" is, the recommendations are simply shooting in the dark.

And Bets is correct. Your contact is the agency. That is where you start. They are acting as the agent of the cruise line. This is a contract issue so have a copy of the contract -- read it two or three times and have proof of payment. Then go forward. Too many people in these situation want to make this personal --- "This just isn't fair." Fair has nothing to do with it. What have you agreed to and what have they agreed to - in writing - is all that counts.