Is Celebrity’s last-minute price switch legitimate?

Kathi McGaffigan and Bruce Nordqusit’s upcoming Italy cruise on the Celebrity Constellation came with an unpleasant surprise just a few days before they set sail. The company discovered a pricing error and reset their rate from $999 per person to $1,549, and although it apologized for the mistake, it insisted on charging the couple the difference.

These pricing errors — often called “fat finger” fares — are not uncommon in travel. I’ve written about them several times, and I generally believe a company has the right to fix a legitimate price mistake.

But this didn’t fit the traditional definition of a “fat finger” rate, and Celebrity had no business changing their price at the last minute.

McGaffigan explains,

The original cost for the cruise was $1,549 a person. However, I talked to customer service, asking to be upgraded to a concierge room and wondering if there were any discounts available on the cruise.

We were moved to a concierge room. She said we were listed as age 46 to 54 and wondered if one of us was age 55 or older. I replied we were both 55 years old or older. She said we could get the “Senior Special 55 Years or Older” rate of $999 per person. We agreed to that rate and she sent me written confirmation of the revised rate and that we had a $853 credit on our account. We have been planning to use the $853 for our excursions and on-board expenditures.

I looked at my on-line account yesterday and noticed the rate has been changed from $999 a person back to $1,549 a person! I called today and requested the rate be changed back to $999 explaining I have written confirmation of that price and we’ve been planning for that price. This is a huge financial impact less than 10 days from sailing.

The Resolution Department supervisor, Crystal, says it was their mistake in sending the email to me confirming the $999 rate but they will never honor the $999 a person rate.

I suggested McGaffigan contact Celebrity in writing, explain the situation and show them the confirmation with the $999 rate. She did.

Several hours after I emailed several of the Celebrity Cruise key contacts, the CEO’s assistant called me at work. She said Mr Hanrahan had read my email and requested that she check into the problem. She was calling to let me know she would contact me on Friday with more information and apologized for the situation. She called Friday and said it was their error and they would honor the price of $999 a person and the $853 would be credited to our on-board account to be used for excursions.

Celebrity shouldn’t have balked at honoring the discount. After all, the couple was already paying the full fare, and it was just throwing in $853 of shipboard credit as a price adjustment.

Having a $999 confirmed rate in writing really helped the couple in this case. If Celebrity had just made a verbal offer of the cabin upgrade and credit, I think it would have turned out very differently.

(Photo: T. Kelly/Flickr Creative Commons)

  • Chris in NC

    “She said we were listed as age 46 to 54 and wondered if one of us was age 55 or older. I replied we were both 55 years old or older.”

    I’m a little confused here. Was one (or both) of the couple really over 55 years old? If so, then why were they listed as ages 46 and 54?

    If neither couple truly were over 55 years old, then they weren’t entitled to the over 55 discount to begin with. If they both were over 55 years old as the OP claims, then why were the ages listed incorrectly?

    Cruise lines offer a variety of crazy and illogical discounts (ie, discounts for living in a specific zip code, etc.) Apparently its easy to get a rate quoted with the discount code, but you still have to “prove” that you qualify for the discount. If you can’t (ie your documents don’t match) then the rate resets.

    So, because the facts are incomplete, I’m somewhat mixed on this case. If the OP indeed were over age 55, then its a no brainer, Celebrity erred. If the OP were not over age 55, then Celebrity customer service should NOT have offered them the over 55 discount, as the customer was not entitled to use such discounts. Nevertheless, Celebrity shouldn’t have waited till 10 days before the sailing to “correct” the rate.

  • http://www.icruise.com Uf

    Dan Hanrahan is one of the most decent guys in the cruise industry and Celebrity Cruises, for travel agents, is one the best to do business with. Trust me, I doubt this would’ve been that easy to fix with other cruise lines. Glad it got worked out.

  • Shruti Desai

    @Chris in NC: My reading is that they were categorized in the 46 to 54 age bracket, based on a previous trip on Celebrity and the CSR was asking for an updated age bracket, eg 55+.

    I am extrapolating they were on a Celebrity cruise before (hence the credit on their account) and had done it while in the 46 to 54 age bracket, which has since changed.

    I could be totally wrong, but that is my guess.

  • http://www.elegantcruisesbyjean.com Jean

    Chris,

    Good for her and having the confirmation. I am a travel agent and sell many cruises and go through similar things like this quite often. If the customer would have used a good agent they should be glad to take care of this for her and she would have far less frustration and not have to write to the Dan Hanrahan whick I have had to do on multiple occasions, but not for something like this, and amazingly enough everything get straigtened out.

  • Joe Farrell

    if there are 2 persons cruising at $1549 – the total is $3098 – if the fare drops to $999 then the total for 2 is $1998 which means a discount of $1100 – not $853 – unless the discount somehow is calculated in cruise ship math. Thus their shipboard credit should have been $1100 – not $853 if the discount was given in credits-

    So, Chris – you need to explain more clearly – did they PAY $3098 and then get a credit of $1100 to their credit card – or did they already have an $853 credit or is the math wrong?

    And yes d- the issue here is does Celebrity retain the ability to change fares after purchase for any reason . . . is that in their contract?

  • LeeAnne

    @Chris in NC: I too read it to mean that they are, in fact, both over 55. If they were lying about this, that would be fraudulent…and I think that would have come out in the story. I do know of cases in which people obtained cruise discounts based on lying about their ages, state of residency, etc, and got caught, losing their discount (as they should). I do not believe that this is the case here. But…since you brought it up…@Christopher, can you confirm?

    Assuming that they are 55+, I will say that it I’m glad that the right thing happened here. This was not a case of a fatfinger rate. This was a price officially quoted to them…even if it was the agent’s error. This was a price that is well within the range of believable. If they’d been quoted $99 per person, THAT would be outside the range of believable, and this case would be entirely different. But $999 for a cruise that otherwise sells for $1549 is VERY believable. Go look at any website selling cruises – they often put their “brochure rate” up, and then the “sale rate” – it’s often half price or even less. Of course, those of us who cruise regularly are well aware that nobody pays “brochure rate”. It’s just a random high number, to make people think they are getting a good deal.

    @Jean – and here we have yet another TA telling us that if they’d used a TA, all their problems would have been resolved. And HOW much time have you spent reading this blog? There are just as many complaints about useless TAs are there are about problems with the actual provider. I rarely use TAs – only in cases where I have an extremely complex itinerary in an unfamiliar foreign location, and I need someone with expertise in the region. Otherwise, I am quite capable of handling my travel arrangements myself, thankyewverymuch. I find that I work harder than any TA to resolve my own problems. (Also, and please don’t take this personally…I wouldn’t use a TA who writes with such poor spelling/grammar, as that does not bode well for attention to detail in making travel arrangements.)

    @Joe Farrel – are you asking if Celebrity retains the ability to increase fares after purchase for any reason? I should think NOT – I’m no lawyer, but I don’t believe that would be legal!

  • Christopher Elliott

    As far as I can tell, the passengers were both telling the truth about their age, but happened to be listed in the wrong age category on the initial reservation. They were not trying to pull a fast one by saying they were over 55.

  • LeeAnne

    @Christopher – thanks for confirming. That’s what I thought.

    Great article, with a happy ending. I’m particularly pleased that the customer was able to resolve this by themselves (using your advice), without you having to actually step in. While I’m always happy when you can use your standing as an ombudsman to motivate a provider to do the right thing, it also makes me uncomfortable that they wouldn’t do it UNTIL you stepped in.

    Kudos to Ms McGaffigan for doing everything right – having the fare quote in writing, emailing key contacts, etc. This is a great lesson for the rest of us in how to resolve such problems for ourselves, should we ever need to.

  • Liz

    @Chris in NC: Com’on, you’ve never fudged your age a bit? Said you were 39 when you were really 41?

  • Chris in NC

    @ Liz
    Thats completely irrelevant to the discussion at hand.

    If you book a special rate, don’t qualify for the rate, and are asked to show identification or credentials and can’t provide then, then the rate will be revoked. End of story.

    As Chris (Elliott) has clarified, both travelers were above the age of 55, so they would have qualified for the special rate. In this situation, Celebrity should have honored the rate.

    Fudging your age at a social function is one thing. Fudging your age to obtain a discount that you’re not entitled is fraud. Doing it for a cruise fare or airline ticket is foolish at best, because its easy to match up with your identification such as a passport.

  • http://twofeet2ofus@yahoo.com John J Foote

    Help with some abbreviations please?
    What is OP? CSR?
    Thanks

  • http://www.shipcriticblog.com Anne Campbell

    They made a mistake and corrected it. I wish I heard more stories like this. However, I think they should have received the $853 on their credit card.

  • Chris in NC

    @ John

    OP = original poster
    CSR = Customer Service Rep

  • Mike Z

    OP = Original Poster
    CSR = Customer Service Representative

    I’m glad they got their discount, but the original CSR who told them that there was nothing to be done should be terminated. The cruise line made a contract with the customer and had accepted funds AND was given written confirmation. There is no reason to turn around and try and raise the rate.

    Why on earth would anyone settle for being taken like this? if I go buy a car and sign n the line, is the dealership allowed to tell me I owe another thousand dollars for profit? Is the real estate agent allowed to just raise the price on a house after both parties have signed the documents and money has exchanged hands? Then why do we let other businesses try and get away with it?

  • http://twofeet2ofus@yahoo.com John J Foote

    @chris in nc
    Thanks

  • Plat flyer

    Good that Celebrity fixed the problem, because $999 is not a fat fingered discount of $1549!

  • http://www.talestoldfromtheroad.com Dick Jordan

    This error should have been corrected immediately by the CSR. The CEO’s office should never had to become involved and if the customers had never thought to contact Chris, they would have been overcharged.

  • MeanMeosh

    @ Anne Campbell – “They made a mistake and corrected it. I wish I heard more stories like this. However, I think they should have received the $853 on their credit card.”

    I’m assuming in this case that McGaffigans were offered the shipboard credit in lieu of a refund, and they chose to accept. It makes sense if you think about it – they were planning on spending the money on shore excursions, drinks, etc. anyway, so why not make your life simpler by just having the credit available to use.

  • Joe Farrell

    I still want to have an answer to my question about the math . . . why did they get an $853 credit instead of $1100??

  • Christopher Elliott

    @Joe Farrell, I don’t know if Kathi is reading this blog, but I will try to get the answer for you.

  • laura

    @ Chris in NY

    The article actually said that the agent said the couple was listed as “age 46 TO 54″ (not 46 AND 54)- possibly they were both 54 when the cruise was first booked (most cruisers I know book at least a year in advance) and of course had since turned 55….

    BTW, travel companies often assign folks to age brackets in order to profile them , it appears that’s what someone did in this case. They probably filled out some online survey and chose that description at some point.

  • LYNN COHEN-ANDERSON

    I HAVE SOMEWHAT OF THE SAME PROBLEM AND I HAVE SCOWERED THE NET FOR DAN’S EMAIL ADDRESS TO NO AVAIL. I HAD MET HIM ON A NUMBER OF OCCATIONS WHEN I WORKED IN THE TRAVEL INDUSTRY. HE WAS ALWAYS VERY NICE AND I THOUGHT HE WOULD HELP MAKE THINGS RIGHT. CAN YOU HELP ME OUT WITH THE EMAIL?

  • Carlo

    @ Joe Farrell – it’s possible they decided to prepay tips during the price change, which might make up for the difference. Or they may have added trip insurance. I don’t know if either actually *is* the case, but those are two possible explanations for the discrepancy. I’m also wondering if the price discrepancy was discovered when the OP (OP on this board is sorta interchangeable with subject of the story) was making the final payment for the tickets, thus had not paid in-full when the price was reduced. That’s yet another explanation for the credit discrepancy you’re asking about.

    You also ask if it’s in their contract that they can raise the price of a cruise for any reason, and the answer is “no.” However, most cruise lines have written it into their contract that they can add in a fuel surcharge (around $10 per person per night, I think) at a later date if the price for a barrel of oil goes above a certain mark. It might be yet another explanation for the discrepancy. I doubt that’s the reason, though, since I feel sure it would have been mentioned in the story had that been the case (relevant or not).

    And I will echo the sentiment that $999 is not a fat-finger discount when the original price is $1549. Okay…let me rephrase that…it could be a fat-finger fare in that $999 is all too easy to type and seems a bit like a default number. However, it isn’t one that cruise lines (or any provider) should be allowed to reprice because it’s not like the OP booked the tickets in bad faith – knowing the fare wasn’t realistic. $999 is entirely realistic on a $1500 cruise.