Celebrity generosity

[PTMary]

There has been a lot of grousing the past weeks regarding the changes to the Captain's Club point system. Some people are demanding that Celebrity give them additional points that are "owed' to them, and are upset because Celebrity won't cave to their demands. Some of these people are threatening to never cruise with Celebrity again (and that's OK with me!).

 

However, for those of us who take a reasonable approach to asking for extra benefits, it sometimes works out well.

 

My husband and I bought our future Passages certificate over a year ago on a Med cruise. The program has since changed. Where before two additional couples could piggy back on the certificates and gain the same reduced deposit and on board credit benefits, those certificates were NOT combinable with the 1-2-3 Go promotions currently being offered. New certificates allow some benefit combining, including the 1-2-3 GO, but do not allow the piggy backing benefit.

 

Even though the cruise we booked months ago with the old certificates is still a year away, we noticed that the current 1-2-3 Go offer included our itinerary and dates. My husband contacted our TA (at a large, well respected agency) and asked if there was any chance we could take advantage of this offer, choosing the beverage package (worth $88 per day, or $1200 for the 14 day cruise).

 

Later that day our TA contacted us to let us know that because of the conditions on the certificate when it was purchased, we were not qualified for the promotion. However, since our companions booked AFTER the new Passages program rules took affect, they qualified and she added it to their reservation. So, they were now getting the original $300 on board credit, PLUS a beverage package worth over $1,200. They were quite happy!

 

Our TA thought it unfair that we didn't qualify but our friends did, even though both reservations were linked to the same certificate. She contacted her Celebrity representative yesterday afternoon about a possible exception. This morning she received a call from the rep who told her that after speaking to Celebrity management at the head office, they agreed to make an exception. We now have also received the beverage package on top of our on board credit benefit. All because our TA went to bat for us. (Another reason why we always work with a reputable TA instead of doing it ourselves or going with an unfamiliar internet TA).

 

So, why did they make the exception and give us a benefit we did not qualify for according to the certificate rules? Perhaps it is because my husband NEVER demanded that he be given these benefits, even after learning that our friends would be getting them. He asked nicely, admitting that he realized the rules stated that we didn't qualify, and that he was fine it that was the end of it. Apparently, because we weren't making angry demands and threatening to cancel our booking and go elsewhere, Celebrity was willing to bend the rules as a goodwill gesture and treat us like we were treating them - with respect.

 

Sorry for the long post. I just wanted to let everyone know that being reasonable will result in much more opportunities for success, that angry demands create impenetrable barriers, and that Celebrity has shown us why they are still our favorite cruise line.

 

Thanks for reading.

[letsgoaway]

Nice to hear your good news.

[justcrusn]

you (and your dh) are a class act.

[Tiggertastic]

well done

 

we may try this - we have 2 vouchers that piggy back and both us and friends have the 123 and they now have a combineable offer out

[varoo]

.............So, why did they make the exception and give us a benefit we did not qualify for according to the certificate rules? ......................

Possibly your TA really was not aware that Celebrity had changed the policy and now allows the old open passages to be combined as well as the new ones,

or

possibly upon realizing that you were unaware of the change, the TA wanted to act like they were doing you a big favor and obtaining an exception just for you so that you would be grateful to them.

 

If you had not used a TA, you could have found out about it directly yourself from Celebrity's Captain's Club.

 

The change in policy had been discussed here previously.

Here is a link to a message about it posted last month by one of Cruise Critic's reputable regular contributors who is known for posting reliable information.

Just used my open passage

 

Edited January 16, 2014 by varoo

[upwarduk]

This link also:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1972898

[boogs]

Deleted. Info already posted by upwarduk.

Edited January 16, 2014 by boogs

[PTMary]

[quote name=varoo;41319873Possibly your TA really was not aware that Celebrity had changed the policy and now allows the old open passages to be combined as well as the new ones' date='

or

possibly upon realizing that you were unaware of the change, the TA wanted to act like they were doing you a big favor and obtaining an exception just for you so that you would be grateful to them.

 

If you had not used a TA, you could have found out about it directly yourself from Celebrity's Captain's Club.

 

The change in policy had been discussed here previously.

Here is a link to a message about it posted last month by one of Cruise Critic's reputable regular contributors who is known for posting reliable information.

Just used my open passage

 

What you are missing, and what my TA was sharp enough to know, is that for a Passages certificate ALREADY SUBMITTED for a booked cruise, the promotion was not combinable per the rules. If you had one that you had not yet submitted, it would be a new booking, and it could be combined. We used ours months ago, which is why the first consideration was that it was not applicable, as per the rules. Perhaps due to the confusion of allowing combinable offers for an unused older certificate as opposed to an older certificate already used for a booked cruise, Celebrity management allowed the offer to be combined. And if

 

My TA wasn't "doing me a big favor" to look good, as you accuse her of doing. It was Celebrity that did me the favor.

[Texed]

PT,

 

Congratulations, and thanks for posting. :)