Creative cancellation

[RubySohoPDX]

Thanks again for all the responses.

I think we may have it figured out and will be having either a friend or my brother in law join us. It's been surprisingly hard to find someone to join us, but here's how it's working out-

 

We're doing a simply name change for my uncle's cabin and keeping one of the original names on up to sailing and brining in one guest. My husband called celebrity about this and they said

"yeah, that's possible, but if the original party doesn't show up, it's a nonrefundable no-show...but it's already nonrefundable so that would work."

 

Now it's just a matter of getting someone in our circle to commit. One thing is for sure, I feel like we're going to stand out like sore thumbs now as just a group of three crazy young twenties on a fancy ship.

 

Again, thanks for all the responses and thoughts. Now that things are starting to pan out, I'm beginning to look forward to next week!

[maxsales]

Hi everyone, I've been lurking around for a while in preparation for my upcoming cruise (less than 2 weeks) on Solstice to Alaska. It was originally going to be a family vacation but now things have changed and I'm looking for some insight from seasoned travelers as this is my first cruise. Please, I beg of you, no snark around my situation. And-my explanation of everything is rather lengthy. Sorry in advance.

 

My husband booked two cabins in April. One for me (M) and him (H) and one for my uncle (X) and his husband (Y). Well things have been going swimmingly with plans until yesterday. I found out that my uncle's employer has essentially pulled his vacation time. He's executive level and someone on his team dropped the ball, so they're holding X responsible as well. They essentially said "feel free to go on vacation, but know what message you're sending about your commitment to your position and the company. And be ready to face whatever consequences arise from your absence. Oh, and here's a presentation you need to be give on this date" Which is a day we're supposed to be on the cruise. And of course, Y doesn't want to go on a cruise without his hubby and doesn't want to be a third wheel or anything. We explained that wouldn't be the case, but really, X was much more excited about the trip anyway. Y was just going along.

 

 

X is fine losing the full cost of the trip. What we're all concerned with is snagging the $500 OBC from that cabin. Especially since husband and I have had some very unexpected expenses and are broke as joke going in to this trip.

 

Going on vacation poor with family I love. Alright. Going on vacation poor and without two of my favorite people? Honestly I kind of don't want to go anymore. The $500 OBC would really help us out.

 

Now, I called and of course learned that one of the original people on the booking must stay on the reservation. My question is-

 

What would happened if H or I swapped names with X or Y on their reservation then X & Y just don't show?

So-cabin A would be H & X and cabin B would be M & Y listed on departure date instead of HM n XY.

 

Would Celebrity really kick me out of a cabin because the second person was a no-show on departure day? Would there be an additional fee if I was the only one in the cabin (even though 2 people have paid for it)?

 

Thoughts, comments, suggestions, or any other creative solutions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

Don't see you having a problem doing this as one name can always be changed on a reservation. However bear in mind that when you make the change whoever moves from cabin one to cabin two will then receive the perk selected for cabin two.

 

So if you move to two you will gain the $500 obc but you will lose your beverage package as that perk is attached to cabin one.

[elena7seas]

My understanding from Celebrity and my TA is that the OBC is non refundable and non transferable. This applies to OBC from the 1,2,3 promotion and other promos. It comes from Celebrity, unless there's an additional OBC provided by the TA or if it's from a rate reduction. For example, on my RCI cruise in December, I am getting $200 OBC from RCI but our travel agency is giving us an additional $75 for being part of a group booking.

In this case, is the OBC from Celebrity and part of the promotion? If so, then I don't understand how it has anything to do with the TA, commission or how it would be possible to get it back.

If the uncle can get his port fees back by cancelling, then that's to his benefit. It sounds like OP's uncle is financially better off than OP and willing to forfeit the cruise cost (which at this close to sail date is a given). OP states that she and her hubby can really use the $500 so are trying to figure out a way to finagle it for themselves... we don't know if uncle knows about their plan or that he can get anything back at all by cancelling.

 

Really, OP, the first step is to contact your TA and/or call Celebrity and ask what happens if people no show, what cancellation policies are as far as port fees, and if people can be switched between cabins and if there's a cost associated. You are NOT obligated to give Celebrity your name or phone number and can gave a fake one if you like. This was a tip given to me by my TA as once I called to ask a couple of questions (which were answered to my satisfaction) but then I kept getting multiple daily phone calls (that I didn't answer) and multiple daily emails to get me to book on a cruise which I had already stated I was booking with my own TA.

 

Good luck and please let us know what you find out.

 

The OBC that comes as a perk from Celebrity is non-refundable. Use it or lose it. This is the kind of OBC you get with 123GO, or Pick Your Perk.

 

The OBC that comes from the TA as a perk for booking with the TA is refundable. That money was part of the TA's commission, it comes from the TA's funds, and would never go back to Celebrity.

 

The ship's accounting system will use the non-refundable OBC first, then once you've used it up, they begin to use your refundable OBC. If you don't use it all, the ship will credit it back the remaining refundable OBC to your credit card that you registered to set up your onboard account. If you set up a cash account, you will receive the refund in cash.

 

If your TA is giving you $75 for being part of a group, that is money that the TA receives from Celebrity, but it becomes money that the TA can use at their discretion. The TA can give you cash, or buy you a bottle of wine or do several other things with the money. If it is given to you from the TA as OBC, it is refundable OBC, and if unspent, would be given back to you, as in the paragraph above. It would never go back to Celebrity.

 

The TA may also give you money that they take from their own resources, that has nothing to do with perks obtained for being in a group. You may receive OBC from your TA whether you are in a group or not. Any money that is given to you from the TA is refundable, and if unspent, will be given to you as in the paragraph above. It would not go back to Celebrity.

 

If you are dealing with a TA, it is not always clear where the OBC is coming from. In this case the OP knows how much is coming from Celebrity (non-refundable) and how much is coming from the TA (refundable, under normal circumstances). What I do not know for sure is what happens to TA OBC when both clients in a cabin are no-shows. I would think it would be refunded to the passengers who were registered in the cabin, but I don't know for sure.

 

The reason I made my last post was because the OP may not have realized the extent to which her decisions would affect the amount of money that her uncle could recoup.

[RubySohoPDX]

Just to chime in about the refundable/nonrefundable OBC from a TA stuff (and, even I'm lost with many of the posts now and it was my original thread lol)

 

I didn't book through a TA, didn't know they were still a thing tbh. I just checked prices on Celebrity's site, then checked Costco travel and compared those two options. And surprisingly (to me at least) Costco has been the lesser understanding of the companies in this situation.

 

Added update-one of my friends has taken me up on joining me for the cruise, so things did officially sort themselves out.

 

 

Thanks again everyone!!! Now I can start planning for the actual trip which is officially less than one week away!