Price has reduced, Celebrity won't let me rebook

[metter]

I have a booking for a November 2014 sailing from Australia. I booked through an Australian TA.

The local TA price matched the best offer I could get from the internet which was good and I got the 123 offer.

 

The problem now starts that Celebrity has reduced the price by $500 for the cabin (for 2). The TA has agreed to wave over half of their cancellation fees for me to cancel and rebook. This would get me a $350 reduction on the original cost.

 

The TA has today got back to me to say that "The reservations consultant advised that Celebrity run weekly reports and do not allow 'beneficial rebooking' - even if you cancel altogether and book in a completely new cabin."

 

I have spoken to the TA and they confirm this has come from Celebrity. I will phone Celebrity myself as this is not in their conditions of sale as far as I can tell.

 

Has anyone heard of this, sounds bizarre. Should I even need to cancel to get the new price on the same offer?

[jannandjohn]

Sounds like your TA is "having a lend of you"..

We book cruises through Celebrity directly(no TA) and we cancel them often if we find something different or change our plans..everyone does.

We have done this four times in the past couple of months,( we just changed our thoughts on where we wanted to go) one just last week, an Auckland to Perth cruise, we have received ALL of the money back on our deposits within a week..and have even rebooked the same cruise in the past because of a cabin change.

If we cancel it stays on "my Celebrity." Until I delete it..With a function that says restore booking.

So I do not believe your TA.

Especially as its for Nov.

Edited January 8, 2014 by jannandjohn

[HelenfromMelbourne]

I feel your pain! We booked on the 14th of November for Jan 2015, and missed the 123Go deal by about a day. Not happy, but understand that's the way it goes sometimes. Then I get the Celebrity email informing me of the Annual Sale-with discounted prices for our Sky suite and connecting CC cabin now available. To my dismay, my travel agent tells me we aren't eligible for this "early bird" deal, and we cannot cancel and rebook. Guess who we won't be sailing with for our planned cruise to Iceland in 2016??:(

 

Also, I have realised there is absolutely no benefit in using an Australian based travel agent if you are Australian-you are better off booking directly with Celebrity. We did this for our Bermuda cruise in 2012, and it was much less hassle. Lesson learned.

Edited January 8, 2014 by HelenfromMelbourne

[jannandjohn]

my travel agent tells me we aren't eligible for this "early bird" deal, and we cannot cancel and rebook. Guess who we won't be sailing with for our planned cruise to Iceland in 2016??:(

 

Also, I have realised there is absolutely no benefit in using an Australian based travel agent if you are Australian-you are better off booking directly with Celebrity. We did this for our Bermuda cruise in 2012, and it was much less hassle. Lesson learned.

 

Ditch the agents and book it direct,then you can cancel, rebook , whatever .

.as long as its before the cut off dates....no problem.

Edited January 8, 2014 by jannandjohn

[Fletch1]

We are in the same position. We booked through an Australian TA for a cruise to Antarctica on the Infinity and final payment was a few weeks ago. Celebrity have just released a heap of cabins at an extremely cheap price and when I enquired if we could get a cabin at a higher category for the amount we paid (ie. it is now cheaper to buy a verandah cabin than what we paid for an ocean view), I was told celebrity won't allow it. I then enquired if I could cancel and rebook at the cheaper rate and the answer was the same.

 

I would not recommend booking through Aust TA's either unless the price was well worth it when the dollar rate is exchanged.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[jannandjohn]

Its not just Celebrity that agents do this with, but also NCL.

I am a hairdresser , I had a client who booked a cruise with NCL through an agent, I was on the same cruise.

He cancelled via his agent for whatever reason and lost $A 1100 ..

I cancelled also , but with NCL direct ...and lost nothing..

I am at a loss when its so easy to book direct, why do people still use agents?

[HelenfromMelbourne]

Ditch the agents and book it direct,then you can cancel, rebook , whatever .

.as long as its before the cut off dates....no problem.

 

Great advice

[PORT ROYAL]

Great advice

 

 

Or consider booking via a TA in the USA;)

[Tiggertastic]

I feel your pain too - it happened to us recently when I wanted to upgrade a cabin, took 6 emails, 3 phone calls and a letter to the chief exec and got nowhere - said that the policy changed in October 2013 and they could not do it

 

Our lesson learnt is not to book onboard or with a TA and stick to using a USA TA

[Ronin23]

There is simply no benefit booking with an Australian TA. None at all. They often have cancellation fees and ask for higher deposits. For Australian cruises just book direct with Celebrity.

[Hlitner]

We have a very good Aussie friend (from Cairns) who cruises more then 100 days a year. Several years ago he realized that using Australian TAs (or even booking direct from Australia) was not always the most beneficial in terms of price. So he now uses a friend's address in Canada as the reference for all of his bookings (with multiple cruise lines) and takes advantage of the promos and pricing available to the US and Canada.

 

Hank

[bigbenboys]

I have not tried this. But I have heard that you might be able to get round this by booking with a different credit card. Richard

[Feelin' Nauti']

There is simply no benefit booking with an Australian TA. None at all. They often have cancellation fees and ask for higher deposits. For Australian cruises just book direct with Celebrity.

You have to figure out which is best.... paying the cancellations to receive a price reduction....;)

OP could request an upgrade / perk if the cancellation is out of the question.

[little britain]

The TA has today got back to me to say that "The reservations consultant advised that Celebrity run weekly reports and do not allow 'beneficial rebooking' - even if you cancel altogether and book in a completely new cabin."

 

I find it really hard to believe that if Mr and Mrs Smith cancel a sailing and then a Mr and Mrs Smith book the same cruise the next day, that they know it is the same Mr and Mrs Smith.......I cannot believe they have the resources to run such reports, esp as those in the US are able to cancel and rebook outside of final payment date; so unless you have a really unusual surname I would do as someone has suggested and rebook using a different credit card. Edited January 8, 2014 by little britain

[upwarduk]

I feel your pain too - it happened to us recently when I wanted to upgrade a cabin, took 6 emails, 3 phone calls and a letter to the chief exec and got nowhere - said that the policy changed in October 2013 and they could not do it

 

 

 

 

But if the policy changed in Oct '13-----

 

Originally Posted by Felin ' Nauti'

 

 

OP could request an upgrade / perk if the cancellation is out of the question.

Edited January 8, 2014 by upwarduk

[slk230red]

I am a hairdresser , I am at a loss when its so easy to book direct, why do people still use agents?

 

Because my travel agent spends her commission at my friends hair salon.;)

[jannandjohn]

Because my travel agent spends her commission at my friends hair salon.;)

So you would be happy to lose 1100 bucks in TA cancellation fees even if you didn't have to???

How can they expect to keep $1100 of someones money anyway, maybe they deserve $100 for the paltry paperwork that takes 30 secs to print out and file, but $1100.??? .... Or more in some cases.

No I would not WANT that TA as a client.

 

Ps real estate agents are becoming parasites too, our friends just sold their house, it took 5 days to sell from one internet ad their agent put on the net...the cost 50,000 .and then they took her out to dinner to thank her....lol.....total madness.

I tried to talk them into doing it themselves, but no, they would rather throw away 50,000..

Edited January 8, 2014 by jannandjohn

[slk230red]

So you would be happy to lose 1100 bucks in TA cancellation fees even if you didn't have to???

How can they expect to keep $1100 of someones money anyway, maybe they deserve $100 for the paltry paperwork that takes 30 secs to print out and file, but $1100.??? .... Or more in some cases.

No I would not WANT that TA as a client.

 

Ps real estate agents are becoming parasites too, our friends just sold their house, it took 5 days to sell from one internet ad their agent put on the net...the cost 50,000 ....total madness.

I tried to talk them into doing it themselves, but no, they would rather throw away 50,000..

 

70 cruises and as many land/air vacations booked through my TA. Never paid a cancellation fee. No fees period. Her commissions come from the cruise lines, resorts, travel suppliers, etc. She even reprices my upcoming cruises while I'm traveling if there is a price drop before final payment.

 

I value your opinion, but I have to and want to use my travel agent. We travel every month and I can't be handling all of my future bookings while enjoying our trips. It costs me nothing and I don't need to OWN my reservation.

[jannandjohn]

70 cruises and as many land/air vacations booked through my TA. Never paid a cancellation fee. No fees period.

but you are not Australian...different strokes, for different folks..seems unfair.

[HelenfromMelbourne]

If you check the US website for Celebrity, you will see there is a 'best price guarantee' policy for US and Canadian residents. So those residents can always access discounts, specials, etc. and never miss out, no matter when they book. No such policy exists for Australians. While I will never use a TA again, it seems as though they are being truthful when they say it is 'Celebrity policy'.

[jagoffee]

If you check the US website for Celebrity, you will see there is a 'best price guarantee' policy for US and Canadian residents. So those residents can always access discounts, specials, etc. and never miss out, no matter when they book. No such policy exists for Australians. While I will never use a TA again, it seems as though they are being truthful when they say it is 'Celebrity policy'.

 

It is obviously not "Celebrity's policy" based on many comments here. Perhaps it is some sort of "Australian Celebrity policy"? Is there a different company structure in Australia for some reason similar to the UK one?

 

I feel bad for those affected and I would really be tempted to just cancel and then change my mind later and book again. If Celebrity would not allow me to rebook then I would consider other options. I just find it really hard to believe that there would not be a way to book again if one would cancel.

[jackdiamond]

We have a very good Aussie friend (from Cairns) who cruises more then 100 days a year. Several years ago he realized that using Australian TAs (or even booking direct from Australia) was not always the most beneficial in terms of price. So he now uses a friend's address in Canada as the reference for all of his bookings (with multiple cruise lines) and takes advantage of the promos and pricing available to the US and Canada.

 

Hank

Do I understand that your friend illegally represents himself as a resident of Canada?

[Charlie Chan]

We have just had the same experience. A few days after making our booking, we found a substantial price drop and contacted the TA we had used. After many phone calls, we were finally told we could rebook - but we would have to pay a second deposit (the first could take 6 - 8 weeks to be refunded) and that we would lose the 123 package. This made no sense as the package is current till the end of February.

 

The FAQ on the 123 package on the Australian site does state that if you booked before the 123 promotion, you cannot rebook. This seems to indicate it is Company policy, rather than TA policy.

 

After much arguing, we have been able to rebook, paying a second deposit and keeping the 123 package.

 

It has certainly made us very wary of booking future cruises with Celebrity. Both HAL and Princess have offered better (though not equal) booking conditions for Australians. We can book HAL through a U.S. agent - not sure if Celebrity still allows this.

 

So Celebrity - if you are reading this - we cruise a number of times a year and would love to try more of your ships and itineraries, but at the moment, the hassles involving changes to a booking make it unlikely. It's up to you to make the conditions more fair if you want to attract new passengers.

[benjoon]

We feel the same way as we booked really early for our next cruise. We have booked 2 cabins. This is the second time prices have been cheaper then when we booked. Unfortunately the terms and conditions of the sale means we cannot take advantage of these prices. At least we got pick a perk because we booked on board and we got the connecting cabins that we really wanted.

 

These are the terms and conditions of the sale from the email I received about the price decrease.

 

Any existing booking (Offer Status, Booked Status & Courtesy Hold) that is cancelled on or after 21 November 2013 and is rebooked for the same ship and sailing within the Sale period will not be eligible to receive the offer. Any eligible booking that is modified (ship and/or sail date, category), cancelled and then reinstated after 28 February 2014 will no longer be eligible for the offer.

[gogo65]

We have had just had similar issue,

Our cabin had a $250pp price drop, called my TA prior to final payment, unable to get the price drop. My TA went into bat for me, and they finally negotiated an upgrade to an Aqua class cabin for no charge, would prefer the money in my pocket, but it's at least a compromise.

Agree with others from now on will book with a US based travel agent, no point even booking directly with celebrity in Australia, wondering if we are able to book directly with celebrity in the US? Or will they just direct us to celebrity Australia?