LOCAL Afrikaans
magazine for married
couples, Intiem, is
considering legal action
against Annemie Raath,
owner of Bucket List Reise,
after the agent allegedly
failed to pay for 22 cabins
on its annual themed ‘Intiem
Cruise’ for readers, leaving
passengers stranded.
TNW received complaints
from disgruntled passengers
who said they had paid
for the cruise in full –
including flights to Durban,
transfers to the ports, drinks
packages etc. – but were
informed by Annemie the
day before the cruise that
they were not booked on the
cruise because their cabins
had not been paid for.
Liezel van der Merwe,
managing editor of Intiem,
told TNW the agent had
initially claimed that
payments were not fulfilled
due to an administrative
error on MSC’s part. The
cruise line has denied this.
“There were a total of 300
Intiem passengers who were
processed through MSC who
cruised without incident,”
MSC Cruises marketing and
sales director, Allan Foggitt
confirmed.
“MSC became aware of the
problem on the day before
the cruise departure as
some passengers contacted
us directly to advise they
had not received their
cruise tickets from Bucket
List Reise,” Allan said.
The 22 cabins, which had
been booked by Bucket List
Reise, had been cancelled
on December 4 due to nonpayment,
which was due 60
days prior to departure.
“We had originally received
a R3 000 deposit per cabin.
It appears that passengers
subsequently paid the agent
the balance of the fares,
however these were never
forwarded to MSC,” said
Allan.
On the day before the
cruise, MSC had contacted
Annemie to advise her that
the affected cabins could be
reinstated if the payments
were made, said Allan. “After
promising to make good,
she disappeared and we were
left to try accommodate
the passengers without
reservations in whatever
cabins were available at
the harbour on the day.”
The passengers had been
required to pay an additional
amount, although it had
been largely discounted,
said Allan.
The cruise line has since
suspended Bucket List
Reise’s agency code with
immediate effect.
When contacted by TNW
and asked why payment was
not made, Annemie said:
“The only thing I can tell
you is we, together with my
lawyer, are busy with our
own investigations.” She
added that some clients
had been refunded and the
agency was in the process
of completing other refunds.
“Posts on social media
claim that we ran away. This
is definitely not the case. As
things stand now, we will not
continue business.”
Intiem magazine and at
least two other affected
passengers, have since sent
formal letters to Annemie
from their lawyers explaining
their legal positions.
“We will quantify in
due course the damages
incurred resulting from the
state of affairs, whereupon
we intend to hold Annemie
liable for damage to
our name and business
reputation. We have also
incurred damages resulting
from a loss of commissions
and other entitlements
under the circumstances,
all of which will also be
claimed.”
As a gesture of goodwill,
MSC has offered affected
passengers a free cabin
on its March 14 departure.
“While MSC is not legally
liable for the bookings and
payments made by those
passengers who booked
through Bucket List Reise
for the Intiem Themed
Cruise, we nevertheless
understand and sympathise
that this unfortunate state
of affairs has caused a
great deal of distress on
the part of those affected
passengers,” said Allan.
