transferring booking to travel agent

[Momma Rene]

Has anyone transferred their listing to an online travel agency? Frankly with the onboard expense allowance they are giving me, it is tempting

[neverbeenhere]

Yes. No problem unless it is an internet only agency as you may find them hard to talk with as some have very very very few humans working in the offices.

[DinaS]

Yes. No problem unless it is an internet only agency as you may find them hard to talk with as some have very very very few humans working in the offices.

 

My TA is an "internet only" agency, and I have no problem getting to speak with him. I send off an email to him, and I get a very timely response - whether via email or phone - depending on the issue.

[texkan]

Yes, like the OBC from TA

[grandgeezer]

Yes. No problem unless it is an internet only agency as you may find them hard to talk with as some have very very very few humans working in the offices.

 

I have booked with several internet only TAs, before settling in on one, I always talked to a human and never had any problems communicating with them.

[world traveler 3]

I got a better deal from a TA (recommended by a friend who cruises often) than I did from booking directly with Celebrity, bigger discount and she doubled our cabin credit. Also she answers the phone when I call. Try calling the number on Celebrity's website to ask a question and you will wait on hold and then get a travel agent who doesn't want to talk to you if you've already booked your cruise. I'll never book directly with Celebrity again.

[cublet]

Hello,

 

I think you have to transfer your booking to a TA within 60 days of the original booking with X.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

[texkan]

Hello,

 

I think you have to transfer your booking to a TA within 60 days of the original booking with X.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

 

Cublet you are correct about Celebrity. From Celebrity website:

 

Bookings may only be transferred to a Travel Agent up until 60 days from creation if the request is made outside of Final Payment period and the booking is not paid in full.

[laslomas]

Hello,

 

I think you have to transfer your booking to a TA within 60 days of the original booking with X.

 

Regards,

 

Cublet

 

This was not the case when I made a booking direct with Celebrity (UK) and tried to move it to my regular TA five days later. I tried to hold a cabin on a courtesy hold until I could contact my TA. The website was not allowing me to make the hold, so I phoned Celebrity and ended up making the booking with them direct. I decided I still wanted it with my TA so requested this and was denied, and this was quoted to me from the FAQ on the website:

 

"If you have made a booking directly with one of our personal cruise specialists you may transfer your reservation within 48 hours of paying the deposit, any booking paid in full cannot be transferred. Please read the Terms and Conditions on this form before completing Travel Agent Transfer Form PDF and send it back to us by one of the options outlined on the form."

 

After much discussion they did finally concede and pass it to the agent.

Possibly you would get 60 days to transfer an onboard booking as naturally you are not at home to deal with it.

 

Possibly this is another UK anomaly.

Edited January 18, 2015 by laslomas

[gotcha3]

How exactly does one transfer the booking? I was told by my TA (a reputable warehouse store) that it could be done online. I can't seem to find the link on Celebrity's website (shock). Thanks

[texkan]

How exactly does one transfer the booking? I was told by my TA (a reputable warehouse store) that it could be done online. I can't seem to find the link on Celebrity's website (shock). Thanks

 

There is a Transfer Form on Celebrity Site. I have always have TA send transfer to me to fill out and sign. I fax the form back to TA.

 

http://rccl.force.com/directtransfers/DTTCelebrity

 

Your TA should help you with Transfer. Good Luck.

 

Once you transfer Booking, you have to go thru TA to make changes to your booking etc.

Edited January 19, 2015 by texkan

[kathynorth]

After sending the transfer form you should expect an email confirmation from Celebrity indicating they received the requested transfer and the request was being processed. Also be on the lookout for a confirmation from the company you transfer to. If you don't receive both confirmations I suggest you call. We recently transferred an onboard booking and received the first, but not the second confirmation. When we called to check we discovered someone on Celebrity's end didn't finalize the transfer. It was past the 60 days but Celebrity took care of it since the error was on their end.

[ozark74]

Instead of filling out the form and faxing or mailing it to the agency you can just give it to the agency while you are booking onboard. Just have the name and address of the agency. When you get home just call the agent with the Celebrity conformation number. That is how I give mine to the club store travel agency.

[kathynorth]

I just remembered, when you book onboard your reservation is automatically forwarded to the TA who booked your current cruise unless you specifically request that Celebrity hold onto the reservation. The benefit to having Celebrity hold the reservation is that it gives you the opportunity to shop around TA's for perks, although this does result in the need to complete the transfer documentation within 60 days.

[texkan]

see you are sailing Infinity 2016 :-:

Edited January 19, 2015 by texkan

[patty1955]

After sending the transfer form you should expect an email confirmation from Celebrity indicating they received the requested transfer and the request was being processed.

I just transferred my second booking to a big box, membership store and I didn't get an email from either. Both times, I faxed the form and my invoice to Celebrity. After about a week, I called the TA and they added it to my account. I've never used an TA before, but I love the OBC. We'll have $775 on next years Hawaiian cruise between the 123inclusice and TA OBC,

[kathynorth]

I just transferred my second booking to a big box, membership store and I didn't get an email from either. Both times, I faxed the form and my invoice to Celebrity. After about a week, I called the TA and they added it to my account. I've never used an TA before, but I love the OBC. We'll have $775 on next years Hawaiian cruise between the 123inclusice and TA OBC,

 

As I mentioned in my prior post, we discovered a problem when we called our big-box TA to find out why we didn't receive a confirmation. It turned out the transfer wasn't properly processed by Celebrity. Initially we were told we were past the 60 day date and could no longer transfer. However, we were able to prove the transfer was initiated prior to the 60 day mark because we had the Celebrity email. We've executed transfers several times and we always receive an emailed invoice with booking # from the receiving TA that includes the cruise rate, a description of perks and when final payment is due. Have fun spending all that OBC!

[ozark74]

see you are sailing Infinity 2016 :-:

 

Ok, I think it will be a fun cruise. Like all the ports and an overnight. A nice twist.

A roll call has been started for the cruise.

 

Steve

[fleckle]

I just remembered, when you book onboard your reservation is automatically forwarded to the TA who booked your current cruise unless you specifically request that Celebrity hold onto the reservation. The benefit to having Celebrity hold the reservation is that it gives you the opportunity to shop around TA's for perks, although this does result in the need to complete the transfer documentation within 60 days.

Good that you mentioned this as it is a very important point to know.

 

Some people who were not aware that this would happen found a TA they wanted to use for their next cruise, only to discover that the cruise had already been assigned to the previous TA without their knowledge, making for a very awkward and unpleasant situation.

 

Different TAs can be better to use for different cruises.

It only takes a few minutes to complete and send the transfer form, well worth it to gain that 60 day window so you can take your time to compare offers instead of needing to make an instant decision.

 

We find it easiest just to email the transfer form directly to whichever TA we decide on, and let the TA take care of processing it, instead of faxing it to Celebrity.

 

We have never yet encountered a TA who failed to get the transfer completed quickly when we do it this way.

They are the ones who have the greatest incentive to stay on top of it and make sure the transfer goes through, since their commission depends on it.

 

Edited January 19, 2015 by fleckle

[Erinchita]

Good grief. Was dealing with a TA over the past 2 days to book a cruise in July. The TA was adamant that my booking didn't qualify for the $25 123GO deposit special. When I tried to book online it was giving me the $25 deposit option every time I tried, but they wouldn't listen. Then I called Celebrity who also said I was eligible for the $25 deposit. Called the TA back, he said he was on the other line with Celebrity who was saying I don't qualify.

 

Woke up early this morning to check the Celebrity website, and was not only able to book three rooms for $75 total deposit, but veranda guarantees were suddenly available (they hadn't been, yesterday). Yay!

 

Now I'm considering transferring the reservation back to the TA, which gives me pause because I don't know if they deserve it with all the obstruction they gave me over the deposit. Though transferring it might get me free gratuities and a $75 OBC. :rolleyes: Thoughts?

[texkan]

Good grief. Was dealing with a TA over the past 2 days to book a cruise in July. The TA was adamant that my booking didn't qualify for the $25 123GO deposit special. When I tried to book online it was giving me the $25 deposit option every time I tried, but they wouldn't listen. Then I called Celebrity who also said I was eligible for the $25 deposit. Called the TA back, he said he was on the other line with Celebrity who was saying I don't qualify.

 

Woke up early this morning to check the Celebrity website, and was not only able to book three rooms for $75 total deposit, but veranda guarantees were suddenly available (they hadn't been, yesterday). Yay!

 

Now I'm considering transferring the reservation back to the TA, which gives me pause because I don't know if they deserve it with all the obstruction they gave me over the deposit. Though transferring it might get me free gratuities and a $75 OBC. :rolleyes: Thoughts?

 

I also was told by TA that I did not eligible for the 123Go offer on a new booking. When I talked to Celebrity I was eligible for the offer and was told by Celebrity that the $25 deposit per person was offered on select cruises (my booking was one of the cruises ). Did receive email from Celebrity this week stating that this was last week for offers.

 

I booked with Celebrity and will probably transfer booking to TA for OBC.

Edited February 28, 2015 by texkan

[kathynorth]

Good grief. Was dealing with a TA over the past 2 days to book a cruise in July. The TA was adamant that my booking didn't qualify for the $25 123GO deposit special. When I tried to book online it was giving me the $25 deposit option every time I tried, but they wouldn't listen. Then I called Celebrity who also said I was eligible for the $25 deposit. Called the TA back, he said he was on the other line with Celebrity who was saying I don't qualify.

 

Woke up early this morning to check the Celebrity website, and was not only able to book three rooms for $75 total deposit, but veranda guarantees were suddenly available (they hadn't been, yesterday). Yay!

 

Now I'm considering transferring the reservation back to the TA, which gives me pause because I don't know if they deserve it with all the obstruction they gave me over the deposit. Though transferring it might get me free gratuities and a $75 OBC. :rolleyes: Thoughts?

 

The same thing happened to me once. The TA reported to be on the phone with Celebrity who was saying no. I asked the TA to make it a 3-way call so I could speak directly to Celebrity. With all 3 of us in the discussion the Celebrity agent initially said no, but I described what I was looking at on my computer screen so they could follow along with me and suddenly it become okay. I then realized it wasn't the TA, it was the Celebrity agent. I came to realize that I now know more, thanks to these boards, about perks eligibility/applicability than some of the Celebrity or TA booking agents. It pays to be informed!

[Erinchita]

Sheesh. It really pays to fight for what you know! I think I'll look into becoming a travel agent.

 

I guess it's worth it for the grats and the OBC :p

[texkan]

Check the Celebrity site - $25 deposit good until Sunday.

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/123go

Edited February 28, 2015 by texkan