Many people opt to book their cruise vacations through a travel agent because the travel professional will handle all the planning and organizing on their behalf.
Especially for first-time cruisers who are nervous about the process, having an expert to guide them as they plan their vacation can be the path of least resistance.
But what happens if you lose access to your travel agent before you set sail? One Carnival cruise guest is finding out the hard way after their travel agent actually died.
“All was fine, confirmed booking confirmation through carnival, email receipts, etc. But as I made my final lump sum payment through her provided payment link 7/3 I received a receipt of payment via email. But no charge to my card,” the future guest explained on Reddit.
“With the holiday upcoming I assumed it was that, about a week went by and still no charge on my account for the balance. So I reach out to the travel agent via email and phone and unlike before I received no response,” they continued.
Unfortunately, the guest didn’t realize that there was an issue until they reached their final payment, although it’s not clear when the deadline was.
If the final payment deadline is missed, Carnival Cruise Line may cancel the person’s cruise and retain the deposit, which can happen automatically and without warning.
The reason behind the agent’s mysterious disappearance, after she had previously been appropriately communicative, was unfortunately a tragic one.
“A few days later I received a text from the travel agents phone number saying she had passed from terminal cancer,” the cruiser said.
The Redditor, who had booked the sailing to celebrate their cousin’s 30th birthday, seemed to not be aware that their agent was sick in the first place.
Their cousin actually used the same agent and had recommended her in the first place, but is now likely in a similar bind.
Whoever sent the message did not advise on next steps and didn’t give an alternate point of contact, leaving the guest scratching their head on what to do next.
Options Moving Forward
When passengers retain a travel agent, they become the point of contact between their guests and the cruise line.
So, while guests with travel agents can still call the cruise line for help, the customer service representatives will often direct them back to their private travel professionals.
Even so, this cruiser’s initial instinct to call the cruise line directly for help was correct. And although it came with some extra hassle, it does appear Carnival was able to help.
Perhaps more importantly, the cruise line is now aware of the circumstances, which may give the future passenger more time to ensure their final payment is made.
“I was on hold for about an hour and half and they still couldn’t fix it totally during the call,” the guest shared.
“They made notes and are going to have everything swapped from her over to me so I can have control over my booking through the website and hub app.”
In order to access cruise bookings through the Hub App or online, guests need to be able to provide their booking number, their last name, their birthday, the ship name, and the sail date.
Read Also: How to Book a Cruise on Cruise Hive and Why You Should
The confused cruiser could also check to see if his travel agent had been part of a bigger travel company, who could potentially transfer the booking to a new agent or help transfer everything to the client.
Although the guest identified the professional as a “small time travel agent,” it’s very possible that she was still working under a larger parent company.
It’s also sometimes possible to transfer bookings to a new agent at a different company entirely, but many cruise lines do not allow these transfers after the final payment due date has passed.
Personally, I have always felt most comfortable booking sailings directly through the cruise lines or through larger travel agencies so that I stay in control of my reservation or know that someone will always be there to assist.
