Another booking with a TA or Celebrity question...

[urkidn]

Second question: do ALL TA's provide perks or is mine not just mentioning it to me?

Perks are paid out of their commission and is totally up to the TA. The more money you spend, the higher the commission thus the probability of a better perk. Big online agencies can afford to offer the bigger perks as they sell much greater volumes than someone like your neighbour. Also note, price drops can also mean a reduction of perks depending on how much you spend so in some cases they aren't necessarily going to save you money. TA's don't usually care for price drops as they cut into their bottom line so it's a good idea to watch for those yourself and evaluate the situation with your TA.

[Richiebaseball]

This thread is so timely. I'm a little confused with the booking I made on my last cruise which had a $200 OBC attached to it. I've always booked directly with -X-, but this time gave the booking to a neighbour (TA). I did the research, etc. She didn't mention any perk with her agency, just identical pricing to the cruiseline. Now I find out my OBC can't be transferred to my TA's booking as it's considered a booking with -X-. I filled out the forms and faxed as requested, but I think to get the OBC my TA has to transfer the booking back to Celebrity. Anyone experience this scenario? I don't want to upset my neighbour (a really good reason not to work with friends) but I don't want to lose my OBC either.

 

Second question: do ALL TA's provide perks or is mine not just mentioning it to me?

 

If that OBC was for a future cruise and you did a transfer instead of cancelling and rebooking therefore keeping your original booking number then your OBC should have remained. And it should be there whether an agency has it or it's directly with Celebrity.

 

Onboard credit can come from promotions, groups, or from commission. OBC from promotions and groups are available if the agency has a promotion or a group. OBC from commission is not offered by every agency. And it appears that it's mostly US agencies that do it.

[Oceangoer2]

If that OBC was for a future cruise and you did a transfer instead of cancelling and rebooking therefore keeping your original booking number then your OBC should have remained. And it should be there whether an agency has it or it's directly with Celebrity.

 

Onboard credit can come from promotions, groups, or from commission. OBC from promotions and groups are available if the agency has a promotion or a group. OBC from commission is not offered by every agency. And it appears that it's mostly US agencies that do it.

Thanks for your quick reply. My neighbour (TA) is with a national cruise agency, but perhaps perks aren't available to friends. No biggie for sure as I value the friendship. I didn't cancel the booking, just put in the transfer form; however, the original forward passages had a booking # and the TA set me up with her agency's #. One has to be transferred to the other, which will supercede I don't know. Hope it all works out for she and me!

[inverted1]

Perks are paid out of their commission and is totally up to the TA. The more money you spend, the higher the commission thus the probability of a better perk. Big online agencies can afford to offer the bigger perks as they sell much greater volumes than someone like your neighbour. Also note, price drops can also mean a reduction of perks depending on how much you spend so in some cases they aren't necessarily going to save you money. TA's don't usually care for price drops as they cut into their bottom line so it's a good idea to watch for those yourself and evaluate the situation with your TA.

 

 

So if one does all their own research and books directly through the cruise line and wants to transfer the booking to a TA, how do you find out the best perks available?

 

I recently dealt with a large cruise-type TA who pretty much did nothing for me on my July cruise; I didn't even get a bottle of champagne after booking a very expensive suite with these people.

 

Prior to today, I again did weeks of research, and then called the cruise line directly with my date, ship, and cabin choice and put down a deposit. I'd love to transfer this to an agent and get a discount (OBC, or insurance paid) since *I* did all the legwork.

 

Is it simply a matter of calling around and asking?

[urkidn]

So if one does all their own research and books directly through the cruise line and wants to transfer the booking to a TA, how do you find out the best perks available?

 

I recently dealt with a large cruise-type TA who pretty much did nothing for me on my July cruise; I didn't even get a bottle of champagne after booking a very expensive suite with these people.

 

Prior to today, I again did weeks of research, and then called the cruise line directly with my date, ship, and cabin choice and put down a deposit. I'd love to transfer this to an agent and get a discount (OBC, or insurance paid) since *I* did all the legwork.

 

Is it simply a matter of calling around and asking?

 

 

Funny, that's exactly the question I asked to start this thread. Biker1972 had the best answer and yes, you should check around. In my case, I put the cabin on courtesy hold online until I decided which agent to go with. Once I released the cabin, they picked it up for me. I did not want to transfer the booking as I noticed a lot of online agencies advertised offers for new bookings only. Better be sure you're going as a lot of agents charge a cancellation fee if you cancel before final payment, whereas booking direct with Celebrity they don't.

[inverted1]

Funny, that's exactly the question I asked to start this thread. Biker1972 had the best answer and yes, you should check around. In my case, I put the cabin on courtesy hold online until I decided which agent to go with. Once I released the cabin, they picked it up for me. I did not want to transfer the booking as I noticed a lot of online agencies advertised offers for new bookings only. Better be sure you're going as a lot of agents charge a cancellation fee if you cancel before final payment, whereas booking direct with Celebrity they don't.

 

 

 

 

 

I've looked, but haven't found anyone who listed the 10% off cabin price (OBC) you mentioned earlier in your first post. Wow, that's quite a deal!

[Giorgi-one]

So if one does all their own research and books directly through the cruise line and wants to transfer the booking to a TA, how do you find out the best perks available?

 

I recently dealt with a large cruise-type TA who pretty much did nothing for me on my July cruise; I didn't even get a bottle of champagne after booking a very expensive suite with these people.

 

Prior to today, I again did weeks of research, and then called the cruise line directly with my date, ship, and cabin choice and put down a deposit. I'd love to transfer this to an agent and get a discount (OBC, or insurance paid) since *I* did all the legwork.

 

Is it simply a matter of calling around and asking?

 

You definitely should have gotten something when you booked the suite. One suggestion is to be careful with the prepaid insurance - a lot of what the online agencies give as perks is junk. Also, don't forget that most travel insurance providers require that you purchase the insurance when you make the deposit in order to get the waiver for pre-existing medical conditions.

[Frankie Sue]

I'm looking at booking a spring break cruise but my time off from work hasn't been approved yet. I would like to book now as the price is very good and the cabin I want is available. One major online site that offers good perks (10% of cabin price as OBC) has a $29 fee and another big one has a $50 cancellation fee. The $29 is no biggie but when I enquired if there was a charge for price adjustments or cancellations, she said "not at this moment but that policy could change at any time". In fact, by the way she was talking, I wouldn't be surprised if they soon begin charging like they have in the past. If I book direct with Celebrity and transfer the booking once we are sure we can go, would I get the same perks as if I had booked online?

 

I have one cruise booked with that Agency that charges a $29 fee, and believe me I am delighted with my agent's friendliness, courtesy and speed at answering my questions and meeting my requests. So far I have been able to get 2 lower price adjustments and one additional shipboard credit on top of the one that I had already received at the time of booking. Ah yes, and when I found out by checking my booking on the cruise line website, that they had changed my cabin, which is something that I did not want. I immediately emailed her and she had everything fixed in no time and my original cabin was reinstated. I will definitely use their services again.

[dakacz]

Why bother transferring to a TA in the end if everything is fine with booking through Celebrity

[urkidn]

I've looked, but haven't found anyone who listed the 10% off cabin price (OBC) you mentioned earlier in your first post. Wow, that's quite a deal!

 

They charge a $29 membership fee but they change their VIP offers all the time and I don't believe it is as high right now as it was last week when the 10% also included a 3rd/4th person in the room. Right now it only seems to include fares for the first two people and it is only maybe 8%. You don't see the amount of OBC until you sign up and log in.