"Juliana L Holm" wrote in message
news:drdoqd$djru$1@osf1.gmu.edu...
> Cathy Kearns wrote:
> > "George Leppla" wrote in message
> > news:NLCdndxYya2fgkfeRVn-jw@comcast.com...
> >> I once had a customer threaten to sue me because it rained 3 of the 4
days
> >> of her cruise and she bought a "tropical cruise" and didn't get it....
> >> spending all her cruise in a tiny cabin on the Big Red Boat with three
> >> whining children. Her vacation was probably damaged more than the
people
> > on
> >> the QM2.... should I have given her a 100% refund?
> > Seriously? If this customer came in looking for a relaxing vacation,
and
> > you steered her toward a cruise in a room that would obviously feel tiny
if
> > all the people (and kids) were stuck in there during a season where it
was
> > likely to rain, I'd say yes, you should give her a refund. On the other
> > hand, if she came in looking for a cruise on that itinerary(at least
> > implying she had done enough research to know about possible rain) with
a
> > limited budget and she knew the cabin was small, well then, I'd say she
> > knowingly gambled and lost.
>
> What if the cruise is during a time when it would not normally rain, but
throug
> a freak of nature it does?
So a non-tropical cruise? If she was an experienced cruiser, and understood
the limitations of the small room, and the limitations of cruising, in that
if you don't like your small room you can't just up and leave and head for
another hotel or even cut your loses and head to some place else entirely,
I'd say it's her fault. I think often on cruise people don't understand the
limitations of cruises: 1) they may or may not stick to their itinerary
(which, in the case of the QM2 meant they may turn a cruise into a crossing)
2) there are very limited options if you don't like your room, on full ships
you can't trade up if you booked a too small room 3)it is not easy to just
up and leave. If the ship has sailed with a norivirus going around, if
there is a huge group not to your liking that you don't want to spend the
week with, if the weather is depressing, you can't check out and head to
sunnier pastures. Normal land vacations have pretty much unlimited options.
Even land tours or all inclusives will allow you to just leave if you find
it's not for you. You may have to pay for a logding you didn't use, but you
aren't forced to stay. I think here is where travel agents are invaluable,
explaining to novice cruisers the downsides (and obviously the upsides), so
they know what to expect and not make those stupid "My spouse and two kids
ended up in a broom closet sized room under the anchor storage on a ship
with horrendous food with a group of 300 very evangelical accordian players
during a hurricane" mistakes newbies make while booking over the internet.
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