Can I book on board on behalf of someone else?

[thebutlerdidit]

We have a cruise booked in December '15 and have relatives that want to join us. Will I be allowed to go to the Future Cruise Office while on board and book on their behalf, and will their booking be eligible for OBC and the Evergreen promo? It will be their first cruise, and they're looking to book a suite, so the CC upgrade isn't expected or needed. :confused:

[cruisestitch]

AFAIK, if you are also making a new booking for the same cruise, you can reserve a second room for your friends and relations. But if you already have the cruise booked, you cannot add them while on board.

[AlbertaCruisers]

I was able to book a cruise for our friends while on board even though I was not booking anything for myself (and they were not on the ship with us). Based on the post above, I'm not sure if that was wrong, but it worked fine for us. Yes, they received all the usual on board booking bonuses but I had to pay the deposit. You either need their credit card info or you will have to pay the deposit for them. Make sure you have all their info including legal names, birth dates, addresses, etc.

[Wine-O]

Yes, you can book for them while you are on board. They will get the amenities and pricing for the time of booking that Celebrity is offering at that particular time for that particular cruise. You just need their DOB, credit card number (unless you are going to pay for them -- you can't use OBC for the deposit), and Captain's Club number. If you have their TA information, they will even transfer the booking direct to their travel agent.

[cruisestitch]

I am happy to be corrected, but I do know that I have tried this in the past and been unable to accomplish it. Perhaps the booking-on-board people were unaware that it was allowed? In any case I will keep this in mind.

[SeagoingMom]

Very interesting! This opens up a whole new world of possibilities...

 

Can anyone give me a run-down on the general types of benefits that might come from booking while onboard? I've heard they exist, but I have no clue what they are.

[dkjretired]

I am happy to be corrected, but I do know that I have tried this in the past and been unable to accomplish it. Perhaps the booking-on-board people were unaware that it was allowed? In any case I will keep this in mind.

 

What you might want to do is book one of you and one of them in each room. We just did it last week, booked myself and adult son in one room, wife and adult daughter in another room. We received obc for both rooms on last weeks cruise.

[elena7seas]

I am happy to be corrected, but I do know that I have tried this in the past and been unable to accomplish it. Perhaps the booking-on-board people were unaware that it was allowed? In any case I will keep this in mind.

 

HI Cruisestitch:

 

I was able to book onboard for friends when I was on the Solstice in May 2014, under the same terms as mentioned above. I didn't realize that I could have brought their Visa number with me and used it, so I paid for the $200 deposit myself, but according to the FCC, I could have used their Visa number without actually having their card with me.

 

This was for a cruise on the RCI Serenade of the Seas.

[Wine-O]

Very interesting! This opens up a whole new world of possibilities...

 

Can anyone give me a run-down on the general types of benefits that might come from booking while onboard? I've heard they exist, but I have no clue what they are.

 

It varies from special to special. We were on a Bermuda cruise earlier this year, and if you booked on board for a Bermuda cruise for next year (same ship), you get bev package, OBC, and free gratuities. We had some friends who we would ask to go with us and asked if we could book them also and get the same benefits, and they said we could. Now, I don't know if we could book a Caribbean cruise for them unless, of course, we were on that cruise, and they were part of the "family & friends."

[TMLAalum]

Friends of ours booked for other friends aboard the Millennium this past June. They were not booking for themselves at that time. When their Alaska cruise came to an end, they had enjoyed themselves so much that they went to book that same cruise for themselves. In the span of 6 days the price had gone up @$225 per person! They booked anyhow and we will all be sailing together next May. They all did get 2 of the 1-2-3 options, whereas that option wasn't offered when we booked aboard in April; however, once the 1-2-3 came out pricing increased by $200 per person. Not worth it for us to pay more for one extra perk

[miched]

If you are on board you should inquire at the Future Cruise Desk. :confused:

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[AlbertaCruisers]

I should say, I'm not 100% sure that bringing their credit card information will work, I have heard people say it would, but in my case I just paid their deposit and they paid me cash when I got home.

[jelayne]

We tried to book for friends when we were on the Eclipse last month. They would not let us book for others unless we were also booking the same cruise.

[thebutlerdidit]

We tried to book for friends when we were on the Eclipse last month. They would not let us book for others unless we were also booking the same cruise.

Hmm. We're already booked on the same cruise that they're looking at. I guess all I can do is ask, and if necessary cancel/rebook the cruise? It seems silly to have to play that game, though. It's just so much more paperwork for everyone involved.

[dkjretired]

Very interesting! This opens up a whole new world of possibilities...

 

Can anyone give me a run-down on the general types of benefits that might come from booking while onboard? I've heard they exist, but I have no clue what they are.

 

Last week on Solstice we booked two cabins, four people for Bermuda in May/June. We received Classic Beverage packages for all four, paid gratuities for four and $250 in OBC which we were able to use on last weeks cruises. We basically came home with no bill.

[SeagoingMom]

So is there anyone who can confirm that what one might get when by booking on board is necessarily better than what one could get by waiting around for specials or having a good TA who offers generous OBC's and other perks (such as bev pkgs) ?

 

Of course, as miched suggested, I could ask while on board, but am not on board and figured I'd ask those who have done this before and are therefore "in the know." :)

[TMLAalum]

So is there anyone who can confirm that what one might get when by booking on board is necessarily better than what one could get by waiting around for specials or having a good TA who offers generous OBC's and other perks (such as bev pkgs) ?

 

Of course, as miched suggested, I could ask while on board, but am not on board and figured I'd ask those who have done this before and are therefore "in the know." :)

 

I don't know if anyone can say one way or another which is best.

 

For example, we booked our upcoming cruises aboard the Millennium shortly after the new itineraries were published and got to pick one perk (OBC, gratuities or drinks) + credit for booking aboard. If we waited 6 weeks when we were back on land we could have had 2 perks for our fjords cruise, but lost the onboard booking OBC and paid an extra $400 for that cruise. Friends who booked aboard after the 1-2-3 came out did get the booking OBC + the 2 perks for a Europe cruise, but they paid the higher rate.

 

So who came out ahead? I'm content with our booking and our friends came out about even despite the increased cabin cost because they have the classic beverage package + the OBC from the 1-2-3.

Edited September 10, 2014 by TMLAalum