Question about transferring booking to TA

[sbt518]

I know we can't recommend specific travel agents on this board. That is fine, I can do my own research but I am curious about the process of transferring a booking.

 

Once I've selected my TA of choice based on what they'll offer me in terms of OBC etc. Do I just call them up and say I'd like to transfer my cruise booking to you so you'll give me free money?

 

For our previous 5 cruises we've booked directly with the cruiseline but I'm reading about all this extra OBC people get by transferring and I want in on that for our next cruise. I am, of course, assuming we'll fall in love with Celebrity and want to cruise them again so we'll by a certificate while on board for a future undetermined cruise.

[hancock]

You will need to transfer the booking within 60 days of making the booking. It also has to be outside the final payment time. There is a form on Celebrity's website for transferring your booking.

[Sloop-JohnB]

Hi All,

 

I too am "pondering" this decision... having read about "the perks" that many here on the CC CELEBRITY BOARD have been able to rack up... OBCs, Paid Gratuitites, Specialty Dining Certificates (lol, I'm an easy gal... I'll switch for even a small item like a bottle of wine)

 

Although I have to say that not being able to "chat" about it here on the Boards makes learning how this all works, and finding someone reputable to deal with a bit of a challenge.

 

That said,

 

I notice some of the various websites that offer "perks" also have notations on them that say NEW BOOKINGS ONLY... so is a transfer from a Booking made with Celebrity Onboard to a land-based or e-based TA considered a NEW Booking in this circumstance or not ???

 

Any feedback much appreciated.

 

Cheers!

[sbt518]

Sloop I have seen that too.

So then I have to ask, why book with Celebrity and then switch to a TA, why not just book with the TA?

 

And without mentioning specific names, are people finding they get better deals from large online travel agencies or smaller local ones with actual offices that you go to and meet with a person?

[Gonzo70]

Sloop I have seen that too.

So then I have to ask, why book with Celebrity and then switch to a TA, why not just book with the TA?

 

And without mentioning specific names, are people finding they get better deals from large online travel agencies or smaller local ones with actual offices that you go to and meet with a person?

 

In general the large online ones give better perks as in order to give away significant perks and remain in business you need to do a high volume of business. On average the smaller brick and mortar travel agents provide more personalized service. Of course there are exceptions, but these are the general trends. One roadblock that comes up is occasionally a travel agent will offer a nice package of perks, but it is for new bookings only - so a transferred booking may not qualify.

[robtulipe]

With a direct booking you have greater control over your reservation thus you can do online requests and changes or call the cruiseline for a price adjustment that can't be done with a agency booking. You must request these through the agency.

Transferring the direct booking just before the final payment gets you the agency's deals. That's why X and RC now only allow a transfers to a TA within 60 days of booking and before final payment is made.

It's always been the large online agencies that have offered us the great deals and perks, not the local brick and mortar agency that probably have higher expenses and low sales volume.

[joetop2467]

Be advised that Royal Caribbean and Celebrity do not let you combine on board credit from the future cruise certificates with some other deals. We booked a cruise with a special airfare rate from Celebrity and were unable to use our future cruise certificate and yet they have had our one hundred dollars for two years. I would never buy another.

[SusieV]

Sloop I have seen that too.

So then I have to ask, why book with Celebrity and then switch to a TA, why not just book with the TA?

 

Because then you can get the Passages OBC from Celebrity in addition to whatever the TA is offering.

[JAT0303]

SBT518 - You asked about the process people use to get OBC, etc from their TA.

 

When I did it last year, I sent an e-mail to 7 or 8 companies, gave them the details of the cruise I had booked and then asked if they were able to offer any amenities. I got multiple responses and ended up transfering my booking to an internet company.

 

Hope this helps.

[Sloop-JohnB]

Because then you can get the Passages OBC from Celebrity in addition to whatever the TA is offering.

 

Hi SBT518,

 

SUZIEV is correct... that is "exactly" why we did it.

 

In our case we booked while onboard... so we got great benefits from Celebrity (lower refundable deposit - 2 level upgrade within a category - and an OBC of $ 100 for the stateroom). Those perks really added up... we saved $ 800 on the cost of the Cabin alone (getting a C1 for the price of a C3 so we paid $ 850 per person vs $ 1250 per person)

 

Lol, now based on all my reading and research here on CC.. I'm shopping around to see what else there is out there... generally speaking we are happy with the cabin we've booked... and the price, so truly doubtful those can be bettered (even by Celebrity in the months to come)... BUT I am all in favour of getting a perk or two from a TA... as I said, I'm easy... even a bottle of wine would make me a happy girl. :D

 

SBT518 - You asked about the process people use to get OBC, etc from their TA.

 

When I did it last year, I sent an e-mail to 7 or 8 companies, gave them the details of the cruise I had booked and then asked if they were able to offer any amenities. I got multiple responses and ended up transfering my booking to an internet company.

 

Hope this helps.

 

TO JAT0303,

 

Thanks very helpful,

 

Cheers!

[sbt518]

Thanks for all the info.

We won't be ready to book our next cruise while we are onboard since we don't know where/when we want to go. So if we can't combine the future cruise reward with other offers maybe we shouldn't get one.

 

We'll have to think about that.

 

But I think when we do our next cruise we WILL research travel agents and see who can give us the best deal.

[zelker]

IMHO, and without naming names, if you belong to the big box store that still has a travel agency presence on their web site, you will most likely find THE best perks and you can definitely ask them to make sure you are getting the best price possible. Also, they do not balk when you call and ask them to get you a new, lower price if you run across one (before final payment is due on X, of course) like I've read some online agencies are prone to do; they just charge you $25 to change the reservation, hardly a drop in the bucket when you are saving money and they are getting less commission.

 

Now, let's see if this posting sticks around. ;)

[BBsails]

On the Cruise Critic home page there's a Cruise Agencies link about half way down on the right-hand side of the page. Contact some or all of those agencies and tell them what you want to book. Each will make an offer, then you can choose the one that best fits your needs.

 

I'm assuming it's OK to post this, as the information is on the Cruise Critic site; if not, I apologize.

 

Bon voyage

[Mulege]

Hi All,

 

I too am "pondering" this decision... having read about "the perks" that many here on the CC CELEBRITY BOARD have been able to rack up... OBCs, Paid Gratuitites, Specialty Dining Certificates (lol, I'm an easy gal... I'll switch for even a small item like a bottle of wine)

 

Although I have to say that not being able to "chat" about it here on the Boards makes learning how this all works, and finding someone reputable to deal with a bit of a challenge.

 

That said,

 

I notice some of the various websites that offer "perks" also have notations on them that say NEW BOOKINGS ONLY... so is a transfer from a Booking made with Celebrity Onboard to a land-based or e-based TA considered a NEW Booking in this circumstance or not ???F

 

Any feedback much appreciated.

 

Cheers!

 

I purchased a $100 future cruise offer on my last cruise. it is good for my deposit on my cruise I just booked plus an upgrade in category. I get a $200 SBC from Celebrity and my TA is giving me $150 SBC plus PP gratuities. That equates to $350 SBC and about $144 for gratuities.

[hulamoon]

Is a passages purchase considered a booking or is it a new booking when assigned?

[Hlitner]

We have not been a big fan of booking onboard because of all the restrictions put in force by X. For example, as a RCI stockholder we are entitled to cruise credits on any RCI Inc cruise (RCI, Celebrity and Azamara) but this credit cannot be stacked with the credit offerd for booking on board. So it essentailly wipes out any reason to book onboard other then the reduced deposit. But, as others have posted, there are often some very good deals offered by TAs which include special pricing, upgrades and OBCs. But, many of these good deals are for new bookings only. In the end we find that we can do better by simply booking a cruise after shopping around for special deals (we also qualify for military discounts). On our recent Silhouette cruise we met with the onboard future cruise person and asked her to tell us what advantage we would gain by booking onboard. She had no answer and mentioned that our very issue was discussed with Dan Hanrahan at a meeting and he was somewhat annoyed by the issue. As Elite members and long time stockholders we now have no motivation to book future crusies onboard. This is not the case with CCL cruise lines where we can "stack" our stockholder credit with various other discounts.

 

Hank

[RMSeadog]

We have not been a big fan of booking onboard because of all the restrictions put in force by X. For example, as a RCI stockholder we are entitled to cruise credits on any RCI Inc cruise (RCI, Celebrity and Azamara) but this credit cannot be stacked with the credit offerd for booking on board. So it essentailly wipes out any reason to book onboard other then the reduced deposit. But, as others have posted, there are often some very good deals offered by TAs which include special pricing, upgrades and OBCs. But, many of these good deals are for new bookings only. In the end we find that we can do better by simply booking a cruise after shopping around for special deals (we also qualify for military discounts). On our recent Silhouette cruise we met with the onboard future cruise person and asked her to tell us what advantage we would gain by booking onboard. She had no answer and mentioned that our very issue was discussed with Dan Hanrahan at a meeting and he was somewhat annoyed by the issue. As Elite members and long time stockholders we now have no motivation to book future crusies onboard. This is not the case with CCL cruise lines where we can "stack" our stockholder credit with various other discounts.

 

Hank

 

You are forgetting the up grades, the extra $50 for a 14 night cruise, and if you book on board two 7 night cruises as a B2B it is counted as a 14 night cruise for OBC, this nets you an extra $100 over the Stock OBC. All these drive us to book on board. With a Passage you do not get the up grades or the B2B Perk. ~ Ric

[nbturfman]

Ok so lets se if I have this right. You can book onboard and get a 2 cat upgrade within the category - c3 for the price of c1 - and an onboard credit. That credit can not be combined with the shareholder credit. You can move the booking to a TA on shore when you get back within 60 days. The question is can you keep the onboard perks and possibly add an OBC from the TA????

[RMSeadog]

Ok so lets se if I have this right. You can book onboard and get a 2 cat upgrade within the category - c3 for the price of c1 - and an onboard credit. That credit can not be combined with the shareholder credit. You can move the booking to a TA on shore when you get back within 60 days. The question is can you keep the onboard perks and possibly add an OBC from the TA????

 

Certainly! We always use the same TA and give the booking directly to her stright away. Saves on paperwork. The OBC from the TA is completely seperate and is refundable while Booking on Board/Stock OBC is not refundable. Celebrity uses the non-refundable OBC first. Any unused refundable OBC is returned to the card you used at check in. The only time there is problem is if you change cruises. If you keep the same booking number you keep the OBC but loose the upgrade. If the booking number changes then all perks are lost. ~ Ric

 

[Sloop-JohnB]

Certainly! We always use the same TA and give the booking directly to her stright away. Saves on paperwork. The OBC from the TA is completely seperate and is refundable while Booking on Board/Stock OBC is not refundable. Celebrity uses the non-refundable OBC first. Any unused refundable OBC is returned to the card you used at check in. The only time there is problem is if you change cruises. If you keep the same booking number you keep the OBC but loose the upgrade. If the booking number changes then all perks are lost. ~ Ric

 

 

HI RMSEADOG,

 

Thanks for that.

 

Great post... very informative.

 

Ok so tell me for future reference, how does one change cruise, but keep the same booking number ?

 

Cheers!

[robtulipe]

Ok so tell me for future reference, how does one change cruise, but keep the same booking number ?

 

Cheers!

You simply have your TA or X transfer or assign your new cruise to that booking number.

[sbt518]

Can you purchase the certificate for the future cruise while on board and redeem it with a travel agent and NOT directly with Celebrity?

 

It seems like there are 2 options, book your future cruise onboard or buy a certificate which gives you OBC on your current cruise and the reduced deposit on the next one.

[robtulipe]

Can you purchase the certificate for the future cruise while on board and redeem it with a travel agent and NOT directly with Celebrity?

 

When you purchase the Open Passage you can either leave the booking with Celebrity or assign it to a travel agency.

If left with Celebrity you can transfer the booking to an agency within 60 days of applying a cruise to it.

It gets a little more complicated if booking after the final payment date with a Open Passage as you must transfer the open booking to the agency before you assign a cruise to it since you must fully pay for your cruise when booked and paid for cruises can't be transferred. This takes a few business days to do this so the pricing could change while this is being done.

I've never done this but for our upcoming Century cruise I did the assignment to our Open Passage and faxed in the transfer form two days prior to the final payment date and didn't pay for it until the transfer was done to my agent. I could do this because X gives a five day grace period after the final payment date for the full payment. Once my agent had the booking she made my final payment immediately as she had my credit card information.

[sbt518]

When you purchase the Open Passage you can either leave the booking with Celebrity or assign it to a travel agency.

If left with Celebrity you can transfer the booking to an agency within 60 days of applying a cruise to it.

 

Do you assign it to the TA on board or can you wait until you are ready to book your next cruise and have selected a TA that will give you the best deal?

 

Also, if you were hypothetically, a member of a big box store with an online travel agent that offers good deals on cruises could you transfer your Open Passage to them? Or other large online travel agencies?

 

I'm asking because we don't yet have a relationship with a particular agent from a particular agency.

 

Thanks for all the info, this is very helpful.

[robtulipe]

Do you assign it to the TA on board or can you wait until you are ready to book your next cruise and have selected a TA that will give you the best deal?

 

Also, if you were hypothetically, a member of a big box store with an online travel agent that offers good deals on cruises could you transfer your Open Passage to them? Or other large online travel agencies?

 

I'm asking because we don't yet have a relationship with a particular agent from a particular agency.

 

Thanks for all the info, this is very helpful.

Yes you can assign an Open Passage booking to a TA when it is purchased on board but then it becomes their booking so it would be almost impossible to move it elsewhere as that agency would have to agree to give it up. When you are ready to assign an actual cruise to that OP booking you would do so through that agency.

In your case, since you don't currently have a TA to work with, the OP booking could be left with X and then transferred to an agency of your choice later. Remember once you have specified to X an actual cruise you want to do with a OP booking you have direct with them, the transfer to a TA must take place within 60 days of the booking date.