| cavergirl |
Oct 5th, 2014 10:53 AM |
We were referred to Pavlus Travel Agency (specifically Annette) by someone we met on a Regent cruise who suggested we use them/her for future cruise bookings. We contacted her regarding a Caribbean cruise on Seabourn. Annette booked us on the cruise and was quick to email us an invoice. Within a few days we received a packet in the mail with a stack of Annette’s business cards and our name on the back because a referral would give us a $150 credit. Clearly her business is booming because of this but she is incapable of servicing her clients. During the booking call, we asked her for input on properties for our pre-post cruise stays and she said she would research that and get back to us. We did not hear from her and ended up sending multiple e-mails and leaving voice mail messages in the course of a few weeks asking for that information along with other questions we needed answered. After some time, we finally called and spoke to the owner (Craig) who told us she was his top agent and very overworked. He was addressing the problem and assured us our questions would be answered. It took over 3 weeks to finally get the answers we needed. The whole experience honestly soured us on even going on the cruise. Fast forward several months, and we recently received an e-mail from Annette telling us that our cruise was cancelled and gave us 3 options we had regarding the cancellation (new booking, refund, etc.). We called her to discuss the situation and were told someone chartered the entire ship. I told her we would cancel the cruise but I was worried about my airline tickets (non-refundable). I told her I was glad I bought travel insurance (through Travel Guard – recommended by Annette) to include the airline tickets. No comment from her. I called Travel Guard and was told that a cruise cancellation was a policy exclusion and our first class tickets were not covered. I called Annette back and got voice mail. Knowing how she responded in the past, I called back and spoke directly with her assistant, Marcia. She was shocked and said she would follow up directly with Travel Guard. A few hours later she called me back and said she spoke with both Travel Guard and Seabourn and the cancellation of the cruise was an exclusion and nothing could be done. She added that she would refer the issue to their owner because there might be something he could do. After a sleepless night, I called Seabourn to vent, if nothing else. I spoke with a supervisor who told me our “out-of-pocket” expenses would be covered and to send copies of our airline tickets and insurance. I have no idea why Marcia did not find that out from Seabourn (did she ever even call them?). I also find it hard to imagine that Annette and/or Marcia would not know that the cruise line would refund such expenses given that they advertise they are “cruise specialists”. I never received any follow up call from the owner, Craig Pavlus. I am posting this so the public can be aware of the poor customer service at this travel agency.
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