I don't know why I called it a horror story.
Considering how my luck runs it shouldn't surprise me anymore.

In April 2009 a cruise on the Queen Mary II was "donated" by CruiseShipHolidays Inc. to an online auction operated by Bidding for Good. It was to help support a LOCAL Non-profit.

In the teeny print, Air, port, taxes and government fees not included was stated. Therefore prior to any bidding, I tried in vain to contact CruiseShipHolidays regarding anything additional. As the auction was about to close, I finally contacted Cunard to find out what to expect. Cunard said Government fees and taxes were $54.50 per person. I specifically asked Cunard about any port fees, and they were clear that they are included in the price of the ticket. I figured what I had to spend, and bid $1,400.00. It came back as not having met the reserve price so I gave up. 2 weeks later, I got a call from the VCVB to tell me that CruiseShipHolidays Inc. had magnanamously decided to give it to me anyway. I paid the Charity with my MasterCard and they in turn paid the owners, Robert and Linda Belanger. On the original invoice Air, Taxes and Government fees were indeed shown as extra with no mention of port fees.

On May 22 2009 I received an invoice for $930 in "fees" The port fees had been added to the 2nd invoice. There was also a heretofore unmentioned $100 trip planning fee as well as a laundry list of other paid services such as $40/ticket to book flights and an additional $40 to confirm them. I travel enough not to need any extra planning assistance. Therefore I felt the substantial port fees were a hidden cost and the planning fee merely revenue enhancement. I refused these extra fees and requested a refund. They said it was non refundable, but I could get an equivalent cruise for the amount I had already paid. I contacted Len Tillem ( Lawyer on KGO radio) who got me in touch with the consumer advocate Michael Finney, who conferenced me in with his personal travel lawyer. He told me it was indeed unethical, but due to the distance to go to court, it would be difficult to litigate and advised to negotiate for a different trip with an amount matching what they were already holding.

Over that next year I had about 20 emails, and many, many telephone conversations with Linda Belanger in an attempt to get this done. There was always some problem with dates, or ports served, or cost. I finally found one myself with Norwegian Cruise Lines who they represented that was close to the amount of my money that they had. I emailed them on April 1 2010 with all the details.

April 19 of 2010 I received an email from Linda Belanger that they had booked us on NCL's Norwegian Jewel sailing June 5th in an OCEANVIEW stateroom. She said it was easy to downgrade back down to an inside cabin, but it would only be an additional $251.52. I accepted, but was uneasy giving my Credit Card as well as PIN she requested.
I complied and by checking with VISA, I found this part was indeed funded directly to NCL by Cruise Ship Holidays. (just before I cancelled that CC) The balance to NCL was to be paid with a check from Cruise ship Holidays.

My primary contact had been by way of Linda's cell phone, but at this point I got suspicious and began researching the company further. I found that their 812 Proctor office was now just used as a mail drop. the website was offline, and the business numbers disconnected. A call to a nearby business alerted me that they had been arrested for fraud just weeks before, although they were still negotiating with me for more money. Apparently their arrest was no deterrent.

At this point I contacted Ogdensburg Detective Harry Mc Carthy who had had originally arrested them crossing the Canadian border. He told me about his year long investigation of the MANY charities across the United States they had defrauded such as the Alzheimer's Association, American Cancer Society, Humane society, and Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals just to name a few. He said to send him the details to add to the 8" thick file. The case had gotten sticky as they are Canadian citizens whose attorney felt they had committed no crime in their own country. HOWEVER the FBI didn't see it that way and was proceeding with mail fraud charges as well as violations of International trade laws. He went on to say it could be worse. Several people were told to just go to the "will-call" on the dock. Imagine flying 3,000 miles to find there were NO BOARDING PASSES? Another guy ended up paying over $10,000 for his family to actually get to go. Sadly, they had a Balcony Suite paid for, but when they had to re-buy in, he could only get a couple of inside cabins.

April 29 2010 I contacted NCL again, now citing the fraud charges and requested a supervisor. She did not believe me until I showed her how to find the film of the arrest on the internet. As she watched the newsclip she exclaimed "I've talked to the Belangers before. Robert called a few days ago to confirm some bookings and add some more. I am in shock reading this! I am NOT supposed to give out any confidential information sir, but I WILL tell you to stop worrying. The trip was just been fully funded yesterday with a check from the Belangers. YOU ARE GOOD TO GO!" I requested confirmation, however was told I could only get documentation through the travel agent. I reiterated the difficulty reaching them and the fraud charges, so I was given the inside number for this supervisor to check back for any news.

On May 3 2010, I noticed a change on the booking status and called NCL. Sylvia, the supervisor informed that she was very sorry, but the check from the Belangers had insufficient funds!
Now our trip was back in a partially funded holding pattern. She went on to say she was now finding more anomalies with CruiseShip Holidays but that Robert Belanger was still contacting them about booking and confirmation numbers for other cruises.

I kept sending emails and leaving phone calls that were rarely returned. Linda kept insisting the charges were an isolated incident that was not affecting me. I brought up the fact that if they continued to defraud people after being arrested it could cause a much harsher sentence when they went to trial. She reiterated that it was NOT about us and our cruise was fine. She apologized for the bad check, and said she could work it out with Norwegian even though the time was very short. She said as it was so close that they wouldn't accept a check anymore. I told her to give a friend or relative cash and put it on THEIR card. Apparently they had no friends that trusted them enough.

I had given up and resigned myself to visiting only New York for 2 weeks. The weekend before we supposed to be boarding was Memorial day. While I was packing for a New York visit only, I got an email stating that she had Fed-Exed a Money order. I was skeptical as it was a holiday, and I couldn't check the tracking number. I did change my packing just in case though. I flew to JFK Wed. morning with Fed-ex showing a valid number in the system, but not what or where it was. Thursday they showed a package enroute from Ottowa to Miami. That evening our status changed, and Sylvia called to let us know that we could board in a mere 36 hrs.

We're glad we got to go and we had a great time, but the stress nearly killed me. Sadly, we lost all the fun and anticipation of planning, while we spent a year of feeling we were being screwed. I will NEVER go through an independent agent again.

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This Web page was last modified on June 16, 2010.
By Me!