Problems with the reservation process

[rainyday458]

We have never cruised celebrity before and recently booked directly with the for a cruise October 13th on the constellation out of Southampton.

We booked the airfare with them as well.

We have had one stupid problem after another, misspelled name on the tickets, not being informed that transfers aren't included to the ship and back. Not being given the correct file number to access our flights on British airways.

We have requested to speak to a supervisor twice now and for whatever reasons could not be transfered. We were promised they would call back. That was over a week ago.

I also tried sending an email which said right on the pages they would respond in 48 hours.I know it went through but after 3 days still no response.

We also booked a concierge class guarantee stateroom and it's already been assigned??? I will visit never do that again, would rather know where I'll be.

Isn't that awfully early and is there anyway to change the assigned room as they put us in 7188 which is very close to the back which I don’t really like, too noisy.

Thanks for any opinions or advise.

[boards]

Why not use a TA and let them do the work for you? We have for years and have not had those headaches to deal with. Just a suggestion, not criticism what you are doing.

[4774Papa]

We have never cruised celebrity before and recently booked directly with the for a cruise October 13th on the constellation out of Southampton.

We booked the airfare with them as well.

We have had one stupid problem after another, misspelled name on the tickets, not being informed that transfers aren't included to the ship and back. Not being given the correct file number to access our flights on British airways.

We have requested to speak to a supervisor twice now and for whatever reasons could not be transfered. We were promised they would call back. That was over a week ago.

I also tried sending an email which said right on the pages they would respond in 48 hours.I know it went through but after 3 days still no response.

We also booked a concierge class guarantee stateroom and it's already been assigned??? I will visit never do that again, would rather know where I'll be.

Isn't that awfully early and is there anyway to change the assigned room as they put us in 7188 which is very close to the back which I don’t really like, too noisy.

Thanks for any opinions or advise.

Never had any such problems with X. Do you ever check your X account and review your reservations?

[Oakton Girl]

I agree. A TA is the best advice. You may also receive an added bonus with an OBC. Shop around and see what they offer. Also, check the boards for your sailing. You may be able to join a group to and from S. Hampton, which I think is a more convenient mode of transport. Last month had a guarantee cabin assignment which was not to our liking and my TA and I called. We were able to get another assignment. Hang in there! Good luck!

[Lsimon]

I'd continue to request a supervisor or problems resolution if you feel you have major issues.

 

If you'd like you have a certain amount of time, it might be something like 30 or 60 days, to transfer your reservation to a travel agent - but act fast. But make sure the travel agent doesn't have additional fees for changes, cancellations or other issues as some do and some don't. Talk to a couple TA's and try to get recommendations - unfortunately Cruise Critic rules do not allow mention of specific Travel Agents on these boards as there are a few that advertise and sponsor Cruise Critic.

 

If you may be unhappy with a possible cabin assignment then I'd suggest you upgrade your booking to an assigned cabin. Note that some people have reported that Celebrity has changed them to another cabin in the same class as the assigned cabin on request but that others have had such requests denied. It is unclear why this works for some and not for others and might be the luck of the draw on whom you've requested it from. Also, there are occasional reports here that those with guarantees have had their cabins switched by Celebrity prior to boarding - so this is possible with a guarantee. If you're picky about your cabin, as we are, then a guarantee might not be right for you.

[Carolin]

IE flight information..... Don't be surprised that your flight might not even be booked yet. The cruise line gives your information to the airline and they book the flight or flights. They find the cheapest route to send you so don't be surprised if your flight times are tight in getting you to the port just in time.

[rainyday458]

Thanks for the feedback.

We have always booked through the lines directly before, Royal,Princess, Carnival and Crystal and have never had a problem before.

Our flights are indeed booked already as I was on the Site by using the mispelled name originally but couldn't add our info because of the spelling mistake. It wouldn't have matched our passports. It was after the correction that they gave us the wrong numbers and we couldn't get back in.

We have since booked transfers with celebrity as we have never been to Southampton before and were very nervous about how to get there from the airport.$200 each was a shock I'll tell you, they've always been included on other trips we've taken.

I'll try calling again about the room assignment this time but I hope the trip is worth all this, it's for our 30th anniversary and isn't starting out very well.

[Orator]

Thanks for the feedback.

We have always booked through the lines directly before, Royal,Princess, Carnival and Crystal and have never had a problem before.

Our flights are indeed booked already as I was on the Site by using the mispelled name originally but couldn't add our info because of the spelling mistake. It wouldn't have matched our passports. It was after the correction that they gave us the wrong numbers and we couldn't get back in.

We have since booked transfers with celebrity as we have never been to Southampton before and were very nervous about how to get there from the airport.$200 each was a shock I'll tell you, they've always been included on other trips we've taken.

I'll try calling again about the room assignment this time but I hope the trip is worth all this, it's for our 30th anniversary and isn't starting out very well.

 

You are not in final payment so you have some flexibility to make changes. You did pay for transfers before, the cost was buried in the overall cruise price. You can always cancel your transfers and see what you can do on your own. You could potentially cancel and rebook the cruise. You might want to see if the cost of doing this would save you time, money and energy. Several have suggested quite correctly that you should transfer your reservation to a TA. Not only does that free you of the work, you might also gain some extra OBC or prepaid gratuities. You have 60 days from the booking date to transfer.

[lrowe70]

I disagree about using a TA, we've only used one once, and found booking on our own to be much easier. I do agree about checking your booking online and seeing what they have listed.

Sorry you are having this problem, how frustrating. I personally haven't had issues with booking with Celebrity, or getting things when calling. What you are experiencing seems not to be the norm.

[Tiggertastic]

We've never had a problem with celebrity

 

With guarantee, they are cheaper and you get assigned very quickly, you can request to be put back in the pool but they can refuse and once assigned a second time you can't move again. It is the risk taken with the guarantee.

 

Unusual that transfers are not included but there are sometimes 2 options, some with and some without - there are some very good transfers from the airport to Southampton and lots of options - ask others on the roll call

[biker1972]

With CC there are 3 levels. On M class ships (Constellation is one) C1 cabins are in high demand and generally will not make it into the guarantee pool. The C3's are all in the aft quarter of the ship so it is a good bet that those are the CC cabins that will make into the pool. There also is a good chance that deck 9 CC cabins could make the pool because of the infamous overhang. When booking a guarantee it is often best to think of what the worst cabin in a category might be and decide if you could enjoy that cabin for an entire cruise. If the worst is doable then you will not have a problem with a guarantee. I have cruised in the aft quarter and found no unusual noises and 7 is a very quiet deck. 7188 is above Royal suites and below other CC cabins; a rather nice location. Now if there is an obnoxious drunk in 7190, you might have noise problem, but on X this is highly unlikely.

[rainyday458]

Thanks for the info, I called back again and after being transfered 3 times re-explaining the problem and having my call dropped I finally reached a nice young man who is going to try and get us a credit for the seat problem and moved our room to 9080 which is farther forward. I will never book a guarantee again,I need to know where I will be. It wasn't people noise that was my concern but being over the engines. I am a very poor sleeper and engine noise and vibration really gets to me. My friends had a room at the back once and just being in their room gave me a migraine.

Thanks again