Cabin swap question...

[Enetric]

Hi all,

 

Sailing on Millennium with friends we made on our last cruise. This is our first time with Celebrity. At the time of booking there was a regional discount available for our state but not for our friends. The travel agent suggested booking the men with the men and the women with the women cabin wise so that we could get them the same discount.

 

He said that they do it all the time...not a big deal and we wanted to be to make sure they got the discount as well.

 

The one issue I really wasn't clear on from his explanation was the room key issue.

 

I assume that our photo ID/credit card for on ship expenses as well as getting on and off in port is also our room key, right?

 

So clearly each individual would want to hold onto the card they were issued.

 

What can we do about the room key? Can we get them to re-code two of the cards so that the swap is official and we have access to the cabin we are staying in?

 

Do we leave the cards alone...but we are able to get a second "room key only" card?

 

Or, do we just swap cabins as intended but only have one key per couple as well as a key to each other's cabin?

 

And...if we can do something about this situation...where do we do it? At the port, on ship, or can I even do something in advance by phone or on their website?

 

Thanks for any insight you can provide!

[dkjretired]

I would be very careful about doing this. You can't swap keys since the key is your card for making purchases on the ship and reentry on the ship after going ashore. Your photo will be associated with the card upon boarding and leaving the ship.

 

Also, be advised that once at the pier, they may require you to pay the difference in price or refuse boarding. Has been done in the past. Only passing this on as a warning.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I'm a bit interested in this, as well. We're contemplating taking DW's parents on a cruise, and I figured we could possibly qualify for the 55+ discount for both cabins, should it be available, by booking the guys in one room, the gals in the other. It would also give everybody the same Captain's Club benefits, since they've never cruised before. I posed the question, and one response was that a couple did this with their teenage children, since technically one adult must be in the cabin. They simply requested extra SeaPass cards for room access once they boarded. X was apparently okay with the two teens actually occupying a cabin together, as long as they were well-behaved. I could find nothing stating that a person has to actually sleep in the cabin to which they were assigned.

 

However, the more I thought about this, the more I became convinced that this would be giving us a discount for one of the rooms that we were not entitled to. In the case of the teens, there is no difference in the cruise price, so financially would make no difference to X, save for potential insurance or liability issues. To keep things simple, we planned on keeping things conventional, and just taking advantage of a senior discount for the one room if it should come up.

 

If others respond that playing Musical Cabins is actually an accepted practice, we will reconsider our strategy. You could, I suppose, do this on the up and up by actually having the guys stay in one cabin, gals in the other, but that's no fun.

[Gonzo70]

I personally would be hesitant to do this; it may work out, but you may end up paying dearly for it if they "bust" you for trying to pull a fast one and make you pay whatever last minute going rate they determine you must pay.

[sarahc78]

Our TA suggested this very same scenario for us w/ my parents who would be considered Elite on Celebrity. We would be given Elite status fo the cruise. She said when we checked in that they would split up the rooms accordingly and each person would be in the proper room w/ their key. Said it is common practice.

 

We personally didnt want to deal w/ the extra hassle during registration/check in. Last year we waited in line for roughly an hour and this year w/ the kids we really dont want to wait any longer than we have too. Also the Elite privledges didnt seem worth the extra hassle, the only thing we would have been interested in using would be the free cocktail hour, but seeing as we all have the drink package it just didnt seem worth the extra trouble.

[C-Dragons]

I would be extremely cautious with this scheme. Proof of residency is required (per the X website). If they catch you at the pier, your friends will be required to pay the difference in fares. Are your friends OK with taking a chance on this?

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I would be extremely cautious with this scheme. Proof of residency is required (per the X website). If they catch you at the pier, your friends will be required to pay the difference in fares. Are your friends OK with taking a chance on this?

 

I think this is different from claiming you live in a particular state or are over 55 if you aren't or don't have proof. They do have proof of residency, presumably. Really, there is nothing to prevent them from actually having one person from each qualifying state actually stay in each cabin. If they then informally decide to switch cabins, that's up to them. There's no prohibition from two singles meeting up on a cruise and deciding to spend the night together in the same cabin, is there? Could be two swinging couples, as well. The point is, there's no requirement that two married couples each must book cabins together, nor is there a requirement, AFAIK, that they actually sleep in the cabin they're booked in.

 

Splitting the booking to make everybody Elite is one thing, but to get a lower cruise fare is another. Or is it? Elite status for two extra people costs X something, and as sarahc78 reports, it seems to be accepted or even encouraged. Maybe they actually do extend this attitude all the way to fare discounts.

[dkjretired]

Our TA suggested this very same scenario for us w/ my parents who would be considered Elite on Celebrity. We would be given Elite status fo the cruise. She said when we checked in that they would split up the rooms accordingly and each person would be in the proper room w/ their key. Said it is common practice.

 

We personally didnt want to deal w/ the extra hassle during registration/check in. Last year we waited in line for roughly an hour and this year w/ the kids we really dont want to wait any longer than we have too. Also the Elite privledges didnt seem worth the extra hassle, the only thing we would have been interested in using would be the free cocktail hour, but seeing as we all have the drink package it just didnt seem worth the extra trouble.

 

Big difference in trying to get the elite benefits and not paying the fare you are really supposed to pay....

[wvufan]

I don't care what all the TA's in the world say or how common it might be, getting something for which you are not entitled is still cheating. That applies to reduced fares, use of the Elite benefits, sharing drink packages, etc etc.

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[C-Dragons]

I think this is different from claiming you live in a particular state or are over 55 if you aren't or don't have proof. They do have proof of residency, presumably.

 

Sorry, you missed my point. :)

In answer to the OP's question with regards to asking for key cards to be issued to the actual persons staying in their respective cabins, if he wanted to do this at check in, and he explained why (to get a lower price for his friends who did not qualify) X most probably would charge them the difference.

[Gonzo70]

, it seems to be accepted or even encouraged. Maybe they actually do extend this attitude all the way to fare discounts.

 

Accepted and encouraged by who? Certainly not by Celebrity! There seems to be some TA's that are encouraging people to do this, but I'd bet the farm that Celebrity would not encourage this practice.

[Denny01]

I agree w my West-by-God- Virgi buddy on this. Love those discounts but not fudging it this much.

Just for general info, you can get cards for other SRs. Done it for our daughters so they could get into our Balcony and we could help w the Granddaughter.

 

Den

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Sorry, you missed my point. :)

In answer to the OP's question with regards to asking for key cards to be issued to the actual persons staying in their respective cabins, if he wanted to do this at check in, and he explained why (to get a lower price for his friends who did not qualify) X most probably would charge them the difference.

 

Ah, I see. But would they have to explain why? Could they not honestly say it's so they can get into each other's cabins more easily?

 

I'm not defending the practice-- as I said, I considered it and rejected it as an unfair attempt to circumvent the booking rules, but if it's allowed for the purposes of making everyone in the party Elite, I'm not sure it should be disallowed out of hand. It's somewhat similar to my feelings against drink package sharing, even if it's just one drink, or one sip. If it's wrong, it's wrong at all levels. (Please, no drink package sharing debates. I bring this up just to illustrate the point.) But it's acceptable at some level, and apparently it is, where then do you draw the line?

 

Anyone with actual experience one way or another, please post!

[cb at sea]

Once you check in to the ship, you can get the correct keys for the correct people.It's done all the time. No worries. They do NOT care who sleeps where....but you will need to tell them at customer service that you will be switching roommates and need the proper keys. No big deal.

[fernem]

Interesting discussion. I have booked four cabins for a family trip to Alaska with a certified vacation planner at Celebrity. I have since called back and spoken to different CVPs and checked it out with each of them. Celebrity apparently has no problem with my putting my 23 year old daughter in one cabin with my husband ... who is elite and can qualify for a cabin category upgrade ... a savings of forty dollars ... and I will be with our other daughter in the connecting cabin, also elite and getting the small discount. I was told when we boarded to just go to guest relations and get our keys redone. The credit card, etc. follows the person on the card and we switch the cabin assignments. Celebrity says it is done all the time and is no problem. If I had put our two daughters together, their cabin would cost eighty dollars more than it now costs. We figure it is worth the hassle to save eighty bucks.

 

Since we are a family, and are paying for the kids as well, maybe it is a different scenario. But not by much. Celebrity is still willing to lose eighty dollars to accommodate our family. This I have been told by numerous people.

 

Fern

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Accepted and encouraged by who? Certainly not by Celebrity! There seems to be some TA's that are encouraging people to do this, but I'd bet the farm that Celebrity would not encourage this practice.

 

So maybe encouraged is too strong a word here. Plus, I said it seemed like it was accepted and even encouraged.

 

My source there was sarahc78's TA. I assume not all TAs are lying weasels and some may actually have some accurate inside knowledge. Another was from travelingmom37, who had responded to my question on an earlier thread on the same topic-- she reported that they swapped rooms all the time, and only had to ask for extra cards from Guest Services. This was to get around the prohibition of two teens traveling together, though. I know I've seen many posts in the past about making sure when booking with travel companions who aren't Elite to split up the reservation so all can enjoy Elite status. Those posts were in the same vein as those saying to make sure you bring your own soda or water aboard, if you desire. Maybe not strictly encouraged by X, but certainly acceptable. With their apparent willingness to provide extra cards, I take that as evidence that it's at least allowable.

[Denny01]

Here's an idea....after you get onboard, go to the front desk and tell them you'd all thought it would be fun to swap partners for the cruise but after spending a little time with your friend's husband on the flt, you've discovered he's a jerk and you want to swap back. Also tell them that you might want to do some more swapping if you meet a nice couple on the cruise so you might be back.

 

That way they don't think you were just cheating to get a cheaper fare and it will give then something to talk about!

 

Den

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Here's an idea....after you get onboard, go to the front desk and tell them you'd all thought it would be fun to swap partners for the cruise but after spending a little time with your friend's husband on the flt, you've discovered he's a jerk and you want to swap back. Also tell them that you might want to do some more swapping if you meet a nice couple on the cruise so you might be back.

 

That way they don't think you were just cheating to get a cheaper fare and it will give then something to talk about!

 

Den

 

Would this be considered cheating for the sake of cheating? Or would it be the other way around?:D

[C-Dragons]

That way they don't think you were just cheating to get a cheaper fare and it will give then something to talk about!

 

Den

 

Lol, Den, we can always count on your quite comical sense of logic. :D ;) :D

[maxsales]

Accepted and encouraged by who? Certainly not by Celebrity! There seems to be some TA's that are encouraging people to do this, but I'd bet the farm that Celebrity would not encourage this practice.

 

I would think that if Celebrity really did have a problem with this then they would state that all persons in the cabin had to meet the qualification. Rather they encourage this preactice by actually stating that only one passenger in the cabin must meet the qualification:)

[barjolov]

Your honesty and intrigity is worth more than what you would get from the fudging.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I would think that if Celebrity really did have a problem with this then they would state that all persons in the cabin had to meet the qualification. Rather they encourage this preactice by actually stating that only one passenger in the cabin must meet the qualification:)

 

Well, while most couples will be from the same state, many couples comprise just one person who's over 55, and most where only one is a member of the military, fire, or police. It would be very difficult to qualify for those discounts if both parties had to meet the requirements. I don't take that to mean that they are actually encouraging people to split their bookings, except indirectly, by saying only one person needs to meet the requirements.

[Denny01]

Lol, Den, we can always count on your quite comical sense of logic. :D ;) :D

 

This thread was just tooooo easy to set up for this, and I just can't control myself with the lowhanging fruit! Yes, I know, this forum is for Serious discussions on smuggling booze, what we wear to dinner and how terrible our vacation was because some waiter didn't smooze all over us after 'knowing' us for 30sec.

 

I'll have to straighten up and quit thinking this is all about having fun on vacation and get back to the serious stuff.

 

Den

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Your honesty and intrigity is worth more than what you would get from the fudging.

 

I just wouldn't want to book the cruise the "honest" way, only to have it come up in conversation with the future bookings rep, and have them say, "Why didn't you book one person from one state in one cabin, and the other in the other? You could have saved a lot of money that way, and you could have always just asked for extra cards."

 

Everyone's under the impression that Celebrity would automatically see this as an attempt at fraud, but maybe they would see it as encouraging more business.

 

A little example-- I work customer service for a catalog center. Occasionally, we run a promotion to take $20 off an order of $100 or more. There's nothing that prevents someone from placing five separate $100 orders and getting $20 off each order. Most will place one $500 order and pay $480. Some are savvy enough to pay $80 five times. We don't encourage it-- we don't come right out and say, "Place multiple orders to save even more," but we certainly allow it. I'm not about to go out of my way to tell someone, "You know, if you place five separate orders, you can save another $80," but if they ask if they can do that, I tell them it's perfectly acceptable, and congratulate them on their strategy. Some might call this fudging-- they're really looking to get $500 worth of merchandise at once, which would generally be considered "AN order", singular, but the company affected doesn't consider it fraudulent and is happy to do it. Call it an additional reward for being a smart shopper. And I know some people that were so happy we let them do this that they vowed to always order from us, and that they would tell their friends to shop with us.

 

So-- are we sure Celebrity would have a problem with this? If they do, it's understandable, and frankly, if I were in their position, I wouldn't allow it. But it never hurts to ask. Well, except sometimes, maybe, around here.:rolleyes:

[Enetric]

Wow. I feel bad I started a moral debate on whether or not I should have listened to the TA. But I did...so at this point trying to figure out what I should do.

 

Perhaps I should simplify my question to....

 

What can we or anyone do about their room key if two people want to swap their cabins to stay with someone else?

 

1- Can we get them to re-code two of the cards so that the swap is official and we have access to the cabin we are staying in?

 

2- Do we leave the cards alone...but we are able to get a second "room key only" card?

 

 

And...if we can do something about this situation...where do we do it?

 

A- At the terminal

B- On ship only

C- Or can I even do something in advance by phone or on their website?

 

 

 

Thanks so much for your help! :)