WARNING!!!! ONLINE CRUISE SPECIALTY COMPANY HAS GONE BUST!!

[IBCRUZIN']

I received a voicemail from Carnival Cruiseline this afternoon. They informed me that the TA (cruise specialist) that I used to book my 05/09 cruise has gone out of business. Luckily, since this is a Carnival cruise, all I have to do is contact Carnival tomorrow morning so that they can send me some sort of form to sign and they will take over my reservation.

Be forewarned. In this economical climate some of these cruise specialist companies are having a really hard time. This particular cruise agency is one of the major players in the Internet cruise specialty field and they are no more. I don't know if I am allowed to disclose the name but if you want to know, send me a pm and I will tell you which company has gone bust.

If you have a cruise booked through a travel agency (especially if it is a group cruise), it may be a good time to find out from the cruiseline how they would handle something like this. My reservation is for a single cabin. I am not sure how the other cruiselines will handle something like this if this was a group booking. Also, I had only made a down payment thus far, so it is to Carnival's benefit to take care of this situation.

Again, CHECK YOUR TRAVEL AGENCY RESERVATIONS.

[tbowman]

This just reinforces me to book directly!

[momofmeg]

I read where a person had made their final payment back in Septmeber and the company had not transfered the funds. Fortunately they paid with Amercian Express and was able to "dispute charges"- AMX refunded them. They then paid carnival the rufunded amount oorm AMX so they still get their cruise and no loss of money.
so for anyone who finds that this company kept their money and they paid with a credit card-they can dispute the charges and get that money refunded.

[DayvidB]

If Carnival are announcing to their potential clients that this company has gone bust, then its public domain knowledge. BUT, that is if they have really gone bust and not that for some reason Carnival has stopped taking bookings from them,,,,that’s different.......question is are they still trading tonight?

[Manuel]

My TA has been very good for us, and since we pay with American Express. we are quite safe with our transactions.

TM

[DayvidB]

And your point was in this credit crunch with businesses small and large dying everyday including TA's around us that have taken our money?

I can to some extent see what you mean, but if Amex went belly up in this financial climate. Where is your protection? Government bailout for yet another?

Did you book with the TA the poster is talking about and through having payed by AMEX are okay?

[Aidan]

Originally Posted by DayvidB

if Amex went belly up in this financial climate. Where is your protection? Government bailout for yet another?

AmEx has already been hurt so badly by the ongoing crisis that it
converted itself into a bank holding company so it could qualify for
welfare. It also recently said it will give its deadbeat cardholders $300 if
they pay up their accounts by April.

Cheers, Aidan

[Mike M]

Originally Posted by Aidan

AmEx has already been hurt so badly by the ongoing crisis that it
converted itself into a bank holding company so it could qualify for
welfare. It also recently said it will give its deadbeat cardholders $300 if
they pay up their accounts by April.

Cheers, Aidan

Aidan:

Actually a "deadbeat" for the credit card companies is someone who pays their bill, in full, every month. (True)

Addressing the subject of paying by the generic word "credit card".

There are some Amex cards that are "credit cards" in which you do not have to pay the full amount each month but are charged interest. (Amex Blue, Optima) The traditional American Express cards (Green, Gold, Platinum) are "purchase cards" where you pay the total balance, in full, each month.

If you have already paid for your cruise and it was charged to the cruise line it makes no difference if the CC company or travel agency goes belly up. The CC company has already paid the cruise line so your cruise is safe.

Credit cards are a way of life and regardless of how you feel about them or the bailouts they will always be with us. Perhaps they will become more "purchase cards" rather than "credit cards" but eliminating plastic is not going to happen.

Take care,
Mike

[Aidan]

Originally Posted by Mike M

Actually a "deadbeat" for the credit card companies is someone who pays their bill, in full, every month. (True)

Not really. I used deadbeat tongue-in-cheek, but AmEx IS making the
$300 offer to their worst customers -- those whose accounts are in
arrears.

Charge-card customers pay an annual fee, and credit card
customers at least generate fees when the cards are used. Their
closest-to-deadbeat customers are those with credit cards who never use
the card.

Originally Posted by Mike M

Addressing the subject of paying by the generic word "credit card".

I said "cardholders", encompassing charge and credit.

Originally Posted by Mike M

If you have already paid for your cruise and it was charged to the cruise line it makes no difference if the CC company or travel agency goes belly up. The CC company has already paid the cruise line so your cruise is safe.

What if 1) Your CC company goes belly up. 2) Your travel agency goes
belly up. And 3) Your cruise line goes belly up.

Would it make a difference then?

Or is this where Ralph Wiggum says, "That's unpossible!"

Cheers, Aidan

[jmaul99]

Buy trip protection insurance from an insurance company that is not associated with the travel agent, CC company, or cruise line and hope they don't go belly up too.

[Aidan]

Originally Posted by jmaul99

Buy trip protection insurance from an insurance company that is not associated with the travel agent, CC company, or cruise line and hope they don't go belly up too.

"Cover your cruise with travel insurance through AIG Travel Guard. AIG Travel Guard insurance plans include insurance for cruises of all shapes and sizes. Plans may include valuable emergency medical coverage, trip cancellation and interruption, emergency travel assistance services and more."
-- Advertisement from a popular cruise insurance company


"Forced to auction dozens of units to repay part of a $150 billion government bailout, AIG may shelve the Alico sale or issue shares to the public if it doesn’t find a buyer at the right price, one of the people said. AIG is selling subsidiaries amid a global stock-market rout that pushed the Standard & Poor’s 500 Life & Health Insurance Index down 73 percent in the past year. "
-- Bloomberg Business News

[thasic]

Oh my heart bleeds for Amex and all the other credit cards and the credit industry in general! They have made tons of money by sticking it to consumers for years. They dupe the naive and cheat thier customers and wonder why they have a bad name. I have two credit cards. I rarley use them and pay them in full each month if i do use them. The thought of paying interest on a meal I ate or shoes I bought years ago is beyond my ability. I do use a check card which just draws on money I already have in the bank. Pay as you go, baby.

[colorcrazie]

The only problem I ever had with AmEx happened years ago. I made my payment, but somehow mine got posted to someone else's account and their payment got posted to mine. And theirs was about 10 times as much as mine. I called AmEx and they said to wait and see if it got straightened out. Then, they started sending me letters asking me to please correct the credit balance on my card. I tried over and over to get it resolved and all I got were increasingly strongly worded requests to solve it myself. So, I finally went on a spending spree. They were happy and I felt no guilt since I had tried hard to fix their problem for them. But, I was looking good on my next cruise!
Marty