ComplaintsforPrestige Travel, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  08/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Purchased a cruise to *********** for Nov 2024 which included *free* airfare from *********** or $1300 airfare credit per passenger if flying from another airport. We booked our flights from *********** but are now being told that the *free* airfare from *** also had a $1300 credit limit. Don't advertise *free* airfare if it's not free. Also, at the time I booked with their flight department I was looking at the official Delta website pricing out the flights the agent was looking at...which were around $900, well within the $1300 credit. But now I am being told that the booked price PER ticket was $2,046.82. I just went on to Delta's website and I can book these same tickets today for $1,324 per ticket in the same fare class. So PLEASE help me understand why the company advertising *free* airfare from LAX somehow booked a fare over $700 above this and now we are left to pay over $2,200 more than we thought. I spoke to multiple people at Prestige and was told nothing could be done and that no supervisor was available to talk to. They offered to transfer me to a supervisor's voice mail but said that the supervisor would just tell me the exact same thing. First and most definitely LAST time we will ever travel with this company.

  Business response

  08/16/2024

  Prestige Cruises takes complaints seriously. I researched everything that ****** put in the complaint. After researching I was able to find free flights from *** as advertised. The promotion only promised free air fare from ***. The air fare that was considered free was not a schedule ****** liked. There were other flight schedules at a higher price she liked and booked instead. I was able to reduce the cost of her booked flights. Issuing a refund of over $1,100 total for her booking. I understand she was upset with the flight prices. As she is seeing prices lower directly with the airlines. The price she paid is a contracted negotiated rate between the cruise lines and the major airlines. The cruise line has late arrival protection if you book airfare with them. So if something happens to her flights she could call En Route and they will help get her to the cruise. I hope ****** will book with us in the future after the price reduction I was able to get on her air fare and the time I took to make it right. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a timeshare and requested it refunded in the correct amount of time. No refund was issued. I then contacted them and threatened legal action and they sent more paperwork to sign for a refund in February. I have not seen a refund yet. It states 45 days to return it.

  Business response

  06/13/2024

  Hello, We are a travel agency. We specialize in cruises. We dont sell timeshares. I searched this person by name, phone number and email and I dont have any information with him. I would a cruise booking number to research any issues booked through us. Thank you

• Initial Complaint

  06/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Prestige cruises practices misleading advertising practices. They had a promotion that was advertised via Travelzoo. The ad stated that the price of the Mediterranean cruise on Sun Princess included the following- Drinks (Wine, ********************** ($537 per person value) Guest 1 & 2 Free Air ($900 Value) - Guest 1 & 2 Taxes and Fees Included ($95 value)Tips/Gratuities ($112 per person value) Guest 1 & 2 Wi-Fi ($105 per person value) Guest 1 & 2 New 2 Casual Dining Meals Guest 1 & 2 New OceanNow Delivery Guest 1 & 2 **************** Delivery Guest 1 & 2 Onboard Spending Credit per cabin:Inside = $150 Oceanview = $150 Balcony = $250 Suite = $250 Exclusive Pricing Reduced Deposit However, upon booking the cruise, I was told that in order to get tips, WiFi, drinks, 2 casual dining meals, and on board delivery, it was an additional $60 per person per day. This is misleading advertising as it clearly states these perks are included in the promotion. Additionally, I ended up paying more for the cruise than if I had booked directly with the cruise line. I have attempted to Contact the business several times to upgrade my cabin. The cost difference between what I paid and the price on the cruise line web site to upgrade is $140. I spoke with one person who said the cabin I would like to upgrade to is not available. However, after speaking with the cruise line, I was told that it is available. Prestige lies to their customers and using misleading advertising tactics to get customers in the door.

  Business response

  06/20/2024

  I have corresponded with ****** multiple times in the last week by phone and email. I researched all of her complaints. Princess ****** Lines has 2 ways to book a cruise. You can book the standard rate or you can book the rate with the perks package included in the pricing. Prestige has a contracted promotion with Princess where Prestige can book either the standard rate or the plus perks rate. Both rates will come with a $900 air credit per person and a $250 on board credit for booking a balcony. The price Prestige advertised via Travel Zoo is the starting priced categories with the Plus package rate already included. If ****** would have booked the categories we advertised on Travel Zoo the price would have matched exactly. The category she booked is little bit of an upgrade to get more mid ship. When ****** booked over the phone with a cruise specialist she was offered the standard rate or the Plus perks rate which is $60 per person per day. ****** stated she can get a lower price directly with Princess so I researched this extensively and with all the perks included she is still getting the best package overall through Prestige. All the information Prestige ever gave ****** was directly coming from Princess. Due to our contract with Princess, sometimes a specific category or a specific room number is not available. ****** fares are always subject to change until you book and the promotions change all the time. Most of the time new promotions are for new bookings not valid an existing bookings. 

  Business response

  06/24/2024

  I have corresponded with ****** multiple times in the last week by phone and email. I researched all of her complaints. Princess ****** Lines has 2 ways to book a cruise. You can book the standard rate or you can book the rate with the perks package included in the pricing. Prestige has a contracted promotion with Princess where Prestige can book either the standard rate or the plus perks rate. Both rates will come with a $900 air credit per person and a $250 on board credit for booking a balcony. The price Prestige advertised via Travel Zoo is the starting priced categories with the Plus package rate already included. If ****** would have booked the categories we advertised on Travel Zoo the price would have matched exactly. The category she booked is little bit of an upgrade to get more mid ship thats why the price is slightly higher than advertised on Travel Zoo. When ****** booked over the phone with a cruise specialist she was offered the standard rate or the Plus perks rate which is $60 per person per day. ****** stated she can get a lower price directly with Princess so I researched this extensively and with all the perks included she is still getting the best package overall through Prestige. All the information Prestige ever gave ****** was directly coming from Princess. Due to our contract with Princess, sometimes a specific category or a specific room number is not available. ****** fares are always subject to change until you book and the promotions change all the time. Most of the time new promotions are for new bookings not valid an existing bookings. After reviewing all calls and emails ****** was aware and agreed to all pricing and perks at time of booking.

• Initial Complaint

  05/13/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On April 30 I made a Holland America cruise reservation through Prestige Cruises following a great offer from Travelzoo. The offer claim $1000 dollars discount on air portion and $200 hundred dollars reservation deposit each traveler. I always had the option to make reservation directly with the cruise line but choose this agency because the deal. After more than an hour on the phone doing a reserve, the air portion of the reservation were not as we thought, after reviewing the reservation, it didn't include seats and checked bag as we understood it has, we called the person who made our reservation and one week later we haven't received any answer about it, it seems like the inconsistencies need to be handled for different departments so nobody is responding for the terms of the reservation. In the other hand it was supposed we were be charged only the $200 x 2 but they charge insurance for more than $800 that we were not aware they were charging until July when completing the reservation payment. Now after all this bad customer service we are not filling good making this trip and nobody respond for cancellation, cancelations needs to be asked by filling a form and their policy says no refunds on deposits, No way, this is not the same wonderful treatment we received when taking our money! I'm complaining with my credit card since I want all my money back. Next time I will do business directly with the cruise line, the policy with the cruise line is 100% money back 90 days before the cruise, my ****** since my ****** is for October I claim all my money back. This is $#*!! Stay away of this company that don't have customer service for other thing than sell not even show an address. they work as they know they are scammers.

  Business response

  05/23/2024

  Prestige is still working through this complaint. We will have an update within the next 14 days or sooner.

  Business response

  05/27/2024

  Prestige Cruises has researched all correspondence between the company and **************. The Allianz Travel Insurance policy was canceled. The policy charge of $850.50 was refunded. Prestige Cruises will waive the $50 admin fee per reservation if he would still like to cancel his bookings as a goodwill gesture. Prestige Cruises is unable to refund the deposit of $400 for each cruise booking. That deposit was paid directly to Holland America Cruise Line as the $400 charge shows on his account statement. ************** was verbally told on a recorded call that if he cancels the $400 deposit will not be refunded. Prestige Cruises sent him in writing a confirmation for both cabins. I attached the confirmation for his Allianz Travel Insurance policy that was canceled. I attached a copy of the confirmations he was emailed on April 30, May 02 and May 4th. The confirmation states it is a non refundable and non transferable deposit. Prestige Cruises has not canceled his cruise bookings. We need him to respond in writing that he would like to proceed with canceling his cruise bookings. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We booked a Holland America cruise for our family through Prestige's website and paid the $198 per cabin deposit as required (we paid for two cabins). When we spoke to an agent on the phone to inquire about our flights, we were told that in order to sit together on the flight we had to pay the full flight cost up front. We were told by multiple agents that the money was fully refundable (minus the deposit). However, after we paid and tried to pick seats together, we spoke to the airlines directly and we were not able to get seats together on the flight as we were told. When we called to get a refund, we were told that since we paid for the flights up front we had to pay additional penalties in order to get a refund. The price they were going to refund us was less than half of our flight price after "fees". The fees were not stated anywhere in their policies and goes against everything we were told by multiple agents. We would never have even paid for the flights up front if their agent didn't (incorrectly) tell us that it was the only way to ensure our family sat together. We understand that the deposit is nonrefundable. We also understand that there was an additional $50 per cabin fee. We do not dispute that. However, the flight payments we were charged were based on inaccurate information given to us, and we were told that it would be 100% refundable, only to find that we were lied to about that as well. We would like to receive the refund we were promised when we spent thousands of dollars on this company. Hours on the phone with multiple agents has led us nowhere.

  Business response

  03/29/2024

  Good Day,   After reviewing the call the agent did advise if we issue ticket they are non - transferable and non-refundable.  There was no mention of fees for changes. In booking the air the guest main concern was to have seats together. Our air agent did book flights and did advise in our recap the following to the guest.   "Please note seat assignments are controlled by the airline but may be requested for most flights based on the availability in the airlines reservation system at the time of booking.?? Seat assignments are not guaranteed, and the airline may change seat assignments.? Some airlines charge for seat assignments.? And fees related to seat assignments are collected by the airline directly once your tickets are issued.? Some low-cost fares do not allow pre-assigned seats; guests without seat assignments prior to flight date will have seats assigned by the airline at check-in on the date of travel."   

  We have no control weather the airline will allow pre assigned seats, it is completly at their discretion.   The guest did agree to the early ticketing and payment inorder to get their seats on the flights. Again we have no control over the airlines rules on seats.

  Guest did call in and spoke with ************* Manger and was advised that previouse call into our company that  was advise our agent incorreclty provided the penalty amount for cancelling his booking.  She did explain to the guest this error and provided the correct information.  The Manger did a conference call with the Cruise line and guest to verify what was advise by the Manger was correct. ***************************** advised to keep his booking as is and persue his reservation he has with us and will make it work.

   

   

   

   

   

  Customer response

  04/05/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************************

• Initial Complaint

  09/26/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  My experience is very frustrating in that I reserved a cabin through Prestige Travel in their Princess ****** Lines Promotion on the ******************* ship to the Mediterranean on August 3, ****. I made a non-refundable deposit of $250 per person on Thursday, September 14 *****. I was told by Prestige and it was advertised on their website this promotion ends September 15, 2023. We booked a total of 6 cabins with each cabin costing $4898 or $2449 per person. In total cost it will be $29,388.After the promotion, on September 16 I informed Prestige I would need one more cabin and if the promotion is available again let me know. I was told Tuesday, September 19 the promotion will be open soon. Much to my surprise on September 21 I received a quote for $4496 or $2228 per person.I reached out to Prestige to try and get an adjustment or see what my options are as we have 6 cabins and the difference in price per cabin in $442 in less than one week. This is a total of $2652 we are over paying for a cruise one year out. Most retail purchases will offer price adjustments between **** days after purchase. I would think the company would work with me considering the total cost of all cabins.We were told the only way to move to the new promotion is the lose our deposit and rebook which will end up costing more money. Princess ******s' ****** is the deposit is fully refundable until closer to departure date. In this case Prestige is not following Princess ****** because our sail date is well outside of the cancellation window. Most important we are not canceling and just trying to move our reservation to the cheaper promotion. I understand we booked as a promotion but to change the price so quickly leaves us hostage as Princess cannot work with us if we used a travel agent (Prestige).We are not asking for a refund but some compromise to make this fair. I have been told management will reach out to our party but so far I have no received any calls.

  Business response

  10/12/2023

  Princess ****** lines was able to as a one time gesture of goodwill, move deposits on five bookings over to a lower price point. *******, Customer Resolution Supervisor at **********************, has been in contact with the client *****, and Princess ****** lines, to come to a satisfactory resolution. Client is pleased with outcome. 

  Customer response

  10/18/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  08/09/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My husband booked and I are currently traveling with Princess ***** booked through Prestige. *************************** gave us misinformation which has cost us $500.In April of 2023 we asked if we could leave the ship 1 day early while docked in ****** so we would not need to go to *********** then return to ****** on our own the next day. We contacted ****** several times without response. He finally told us in July that he spoke with Princess ****** Lines and leaving the ship early was not an option. He told us he would purchase railway tickets for us return to ****** after the cruise was over. After the first few days of our cruise, staff on the ship gave us a form to complete, Its a check box requesting to know when and where we would like to leave the ship and ****** is one of the options!! We then confirmed with guest services who stated this is a common occurrence, and that no one within the princes cruise line staff would say that a guest would not be able to leave prior to the end of the cruise. We contacted ****** this past Friday 8/4 we were not able to speak with him, but we left a voicemail. We also called again on August 7 from the guest services phone. We were able to discuss this matter with ****** while with Princess ****** staff. He stated that he would speak with his manager and return our call. ***** services gave their number and three different extensions he could use to call as well as our State room number which is D6 10. It has been 36 hours and we have not heard back from ****** or anyone from Prestige. We are very frustrated with his lack of communication, his customer service, and the way that he has been dismissive to our concerns of increasing travel days, paying an extra $500. ****** was very defensive over the phone and provided no resolution for this incident. We have arranged to leave the ship in ********, ****** on the 11th and we would like to be refunded $575 for rail tickets for the 12th that we do not need.

  Customer response

  08/15/2023

  8/11 an email from *************************** stating Prestige Cruises will not take responsibility for their error citing multiple falsehoods.

  We spent $126 on train tickets on 8/11 plus an Uber charge.  Our days in ***** were disjointed, leaving us with much fewer options for tickets and sightseeing than was our first plan.

  Business response

  09/19/2023

  The guest did inquire about disembarking their booked cruise early.  Our agent reached out to Princess to request an early disembarkation and was advised this request was denied.   This information was passed along to the ******* party.  Our agent then spoke with the guest on July 27 and went over flights vs rail options with the ******* part to get them from Southhampton to *****.  They chose the Train and tickets were booked.  The guest asked onboard the ship if they could disembark early and were told yes they could.  They did contact us at that time to ask us to change the rail tickets, which we could not do as the rail tickets were nonrefundable. 

  We will be sending a request to the cruise line to request a refund to the guest for the rail tickets that were issued from Southhampton to ***** as their agent provided the incorrect information about being able to disembark the ship early.

  We will follow up with the guest once we have an answer from Princess ****** Lines.

   

  ****

   

• Initial Complaint

  07/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Trip Confirmation number: XG6Q3J; 14 Night ***************** Cruise departing from *********, *************** Trip date: June 16, 2023, through July 1, 2023.Trip cost for two persons, including taxes and fees excluding airfares: $7,938 My complaint is that the 14-Night ***************** Cruise trip is advertised incorrectly by ********************************* This so-called 14-Night cruise trip consists of two 14-Night back-to-back cruises. Therefore, two days were sea travel days to and from ********* instead of visiting other ****** ports. The second issue is that a few days before our air travel to *********, Holland America Cruise **************** decided to change the 6/28/2023 port from ***** to ******** we had been to on the first week. As a result of this change, we stopped at ******** twice, and it was not a port that we could do more than we did for the visit.Both ******************************** and Holland America Cruise line deceived us in 2 ways: 1) they did not tell us that this 14-Night cruise trip consists of two 7-Night back-to-back cruises with the same shows and activities, and 2) the change of ****** scheduled port on 6/28/2023, to the port that we saw on 6/19/2023. We have lost respect and trust in the advertising truthfulness.During our trip, I raised these issues to ************************** *****************************. She said she would discuss these issues with her management and get back to me. To my disappointment, she never got back to me directly. I am requesting a $900 refund for our hardship.

  Business response

  07/24/2023

  Thank you for reaching out to Prestige Cruises.  We reviewed the complaint and the cruise line has the authority to change ports of call before and even during the cruise as per their passenger contract.  We did notify the client of the itinerary change on 6/13 when we were notified.  Unfortunately we are not able to compensate this client.  We will pass along to Holland America that they ignored your complaint onboard and appreciate the feedback.

  Customer response

  07/25/2023

   
  Complaint: 20309418
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The Prestige Travel & Cruises response addresses issue # 2 (the change of ******** scheduled port on 6/28/2023, to the port that we saw on 6/19/2023). They have not addressed issue # 1 (they did not tell us that this 14-Night cruise trip consists of two 7-Night back-to-back cruises with the same shows and activities).

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

  Business response

  08/31/2023

  In response to #1 of the complaint from the client, we will reach out to Holland America Guest Relations on his behalf to see if anything additional can be considered due to his dissatisfaction. Holland America schedules their shows and activities based on the ship sailing and contracts made prior to sailing with contracted entertainment.  This sailing is not considered a back to back and indeed offered different ports of call throughout the 14 day sailing.Holland America changed the one port at thier discretion and written into their signed passenger contract. We will follow up with the client once word is received from Holland America Guest Relations on any resolution. 

• Initial Complaint

  07/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On June 29, 2023 I booked a 13 day cruise from *********** to ********* through Prestige ******s, on Princess ****** Line. A few days later while on Princess ******s *** site, I discovered that Princess ******s has a COVID 19 vaccine requirement for all cruises to *********. I was never told this at the time of booking. The princess *** site indicates that any passenger failing to provide proof of vaccination will be denied boarding. I have contacted prestige ******s and have been told that they will charge a $50 administration fee and I will lose my $500 deposit with Princess. When this cruise was booked I was told that if the cruise was cancelled before Nov . 20, the $500 deposit could be used towards another cruise. Princess ******s ***site indicates that any cruise cancelled more than 90 days before departure is fully refundable with no fees. I have now been told that this was a special that is non refundable.

  Business response

  07/24/2023

  **** has spoken to ******* in our customer service department and been advised that if the vaccine mandate is not lifted prior to final payment date we will refund his deposit back to him and waive ********** cancellation fee.  We will be in contact with **** prior to 11/23/23, Cruise lines are lifting requirements all the time as well as countries and hopefully everything will be back to normal like before covid.

  Customer response

  07/25/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  This is the first time that I have been advised that I would be refunded my deposit and not charged a cancellation fee if the vaccine mandate is not lifted. If Prestige Cruises follows through with that commitment, I am satisfied with this agreement/resolution. I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************

• Initial Complaint

  07/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I purchased a trip on June 5 for a cruise and flight. ************************* booked my trip. Everything was fine until I had to change the name on one of the flight tickets. The flight tickets were non-changeable and non-refundable. I had to cancel and purchase another ticket for my husband because of a change to his name. This was on my end. The problem occurred when I was told the price to purchase the new ticket would be a total of $378.36 and an additional $100 for the cancellation fee of the one airline ticket. This was charged to my husbands card on July 3rd. When I get the pricing summary on that same day. My pricing summary went from $5238.00 to $8,785.45. When I got this pricing summary, I immediately called to find out why there was such a huge increase when I was told exactly what the increase was. No one could give me an explanation as to why the price was increased so high. I was told someone would call me by July 7th to give me answers about this issue. I called on Thursday July 6th and was told someone would call me the next day about this issue. I did not receive a call.

  Business response

  07/24/2023

  We reviewed the complaint and corresponded with the client and was able to get theie $1300 airfare credit reapplied to their booking.  The $378 was the change fee to reissue the ticket due to a name correction,  ****** is aware of the name correction for her husbands name and she's all set..thank you.

  Customer response

  08/07/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****************************

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