Celebrity's IT department

[CaroleSS]

I am in the IT business and have said all along that if my code worked like Xs website, I'd be fired!!!!

[blizzardboy]

We are relatively new to booking cruises as well.we booked a April 2017 cruise.the original invoice showed a $450 OBC but online it shows no OBC but everything else is correct. We called our rep who of course was someone different than we booked cruise with and he said on his end it shows $450 OBC. Says that as long as it shows on his end we are ok. HMMM? I don't know about you but me I'm not so comfortable. I like everything to be correct. If our rep drops off the face of the earth the next person wouldn't know anything about OBC. What would you do call the rep and make him show it correctly online?That's what I think we need to do.

As far as a TA if you are in US do you really get that many extra perks over what get booking directly with Celebrity? If it's an extra $25 or $50 OBC I'm not sure it's worth it.

There is a lot of competition among cruise lines here so promos with multiple perks are commonplace. However, I often see prices go up coincidental with new promos, adding credence to the old "no free lunch" adage.

TAs get about a 15% commission of the fare before taxes and port fees in the USA. It's not uncommon for them to give 9-10% of the fare in reduced fare, OBC, or a combination thereof, in addition to whatever the line is offering. Celebrity allows transfer of their direct bookings for 60 days after booking.

Edited June 26, 2016 by blizzardboy

[blizzardboy]

I am in the IT business and have said all along that if my code worked like Xs website, I'd be fired!!!!

 

Several years ago, I ran an national internet based business. I'm not a coder by any means, but my IT dept showed me how to correct or make changes to text or other relatively simple stuff on our site. Not correcting problems that are so easily fixed is what told me that X's IT dept is not being held accountable.

[CaroleSS]

Several years ago, I ran an national internet based business. I'm not a coder by any means, but my IT dept showed me how to correct or make changes to text or other relatively simple stuff on our site. Not correcting problems that are so easily fixed is what told me that X's IT dept is not being held accountable.

 

I will go out on a limb and say that this type of coding is common for "off-shored" code. The contract went to the lowest bidder......and you get what you pay for!

 

Every time I hear about Xs web problems, all I can think is that they are losing money! The younger folk (ok, I am in my 50s and even MY generation) expect a functioning website where you can order and pay for things without incumberances or issues. If problems are encountered, they shop elsewhere! They might even sail with a competitor line, one where booking and enhancing one's vacation is easier and more user friendly.!

 

If I want to book an excursion and Xs site gives me an issue, I do a quick web search and book with a tour operator whose website provides me with an accurate description and is (more than likely) cheaper than the one offered by X. How much lost revenue will it take for X to realize that IT is NOT a money pit, but a viable source of revenue????

 

While certainly an option, I shouldn't HAVE to rely upon my TA to deal with/fix/resolve X's failure to address an important segment of their business! Shame on you X!!!!!

 

SMH. :(

[BEAV]

Carole, I totally agree. A friend of mine who sailed Solstice with us to Aus/NZ in 2014 was so put off by all the problems he had trying (and failing) to book shore excursions on the website, that he said "never again" with regard to sailing Celebrity. He had recently retired at age 50 from a very high annual salary with unlimited future discretionary income to burn for years to come. Although he enjoyed the cruise itself immensely, he was so turned off by the fact Celebrity would, as a company, be content with a website such as theirs was then, and is still today.

[Iamthesea]

We received our email this morning informing us that payment is due in less than 7 days. Paperwork says July 19th. It doesn't matter, but gives little time for me to research our travel insurance which we typically do not purchase until final payment.

 

I also agree that it's no one's business about finances, but do want to point out that some have a limited cap of spending on their credit card. Although ours is pretty high, we sometimes have charged other large amounts in the same billing cycle. Sometimes there will be 2 cruises booked close together, airfare, hotels and excursions booked at the same time. Along with other items such as a college tuition payments (not any longer thank goodness!:D) We charge our cell phone bills, Internet purchases, and many things over a hundred or so dollars. We do this to earn points for air travel. ;)

[iancal]

I spent my career in the IT business...sales, services, outsourcing.

 

In our experience, Celebrity has the worst web site, worst web performance of the major cruise lines. Only one other cruise line that we also sail on comes even close to competing with Celebrity for bottom place.

 

We never book directly with the cruise line but we do refer to them when we are searching for cruise alternatives, looking up Tuesday specials, or checking for re-pricing/specials.

 

Cannot figure out why RCI Corp would allow this to continue for so many years with no improvement whatsoever. It is astonishing.

 

On the plus side, we find Celebrity's in cabin IT system to be very good-superior to other cruise lines and very user friendly. Must have been developed as a turnkey package by a third party.

Edited June 27, 2016 by iancal

[bEwAbG]

I'll give the OP (and anyone else) the benefit of the doubt they have their own valid reasons for not wanting to pay off their cruise two weeks before their final payment due date. It's not up to me to make any assumptions about their finances.

 

I also agree that it's no one's business about finances, but do want to point out that some have a limited cap of spending on their credit card. Although ours is pretty high, we sometimes have charged other large amounts in the same billing cycle. Sometimes there will be 2 cruises booked close together, airfare, hotels and excursions booked at the same time. Along with other items such as a college tuition payments (not any longer thank goodness!:D) We charge our cell phone bills, Internet purchases, and many things over a hundred or so dollars. We do this to earn points for air travel.

 

These sentiments are all well and good (and I charge everything on my cards for the same reasons). However, the OP didn't say that they couldn't afford to pay for the cruise 2 weeks earlier. I suggested that they should consider it as an option if they want the peace of mind. Always better safe than sorry when it comes to Celebrity's systems, in my opinion. The financial speculation is clutter.

[tabby50894]

We got one, too, over the weekend that said our payment must be received "in less than seven days" or our reservation would be canceled. Since our docs say payment is due July 16, I called the reservation desk and they said it was just a reminder. "We're canceling your reservation" doesn't sound like a reminder to me. Since our cruise is virtually sold out, I don't want to risk it so I'll pay this week. Maybe Celebrity is having cash flow issues?

[jael001]

I booked direct this time as the UK TA I've used previously was completely useless and almost impossible to get hold of when I've cruised previously with RC. I swore then that I'd just book direct next time, but it's been such a frustrating time with various pricing glitches on my account and things not updating properly.

[AlbertaCruisers]

We got one, too, over the weekend that said our payment must be received "in less than seven days" or our reservation would be canceled. Since our docs say payment is due July 16, I called the reservation desk and they said it was just a reminder. "We're canceling your reservation" doesn't sound like a reminder to me. Since our cruise is virtually sold out, I don't want to risk it so I'll pay this week. Maybe Celebrity is having cash flow issues?

 

I had a similar issue and I was told by Captain's club that for cruises booked after May 1, 2017 the final payment date has changed, it is now earlier, and the system is sending out reminders to everyone (even though some are wrong). So for your cruise, the 7 days from this weekend date would apply to anyone that booked after May 1 of this year. I was told that the date on my documents is the correct date and to go with that and ignore the email. Still a bit scary though, I may just pay early and not worry about them accidentally cancelling my cruise!

[bEwAbG]

We are relatively new to booking cruises as well.we booked a April 2017 cruise.the original invoice showed a $450 OBC but online it shows no OBC but everything else is correct. We called our rep who of course was someone different than we booked cruise with and he said on his end it shows $450 OBC. Says that as long as it shows on his end we are ok. HMMM? I don't know about you but me I'm not so comfortable. I like everything to be correct. If our rep drops off the face of the earth the next person wouldn't know anything about OBC. What would you do call the rep and make him show it correctly online?That's what I think we need to do.

As far as a TA if you are in US do you really get that many extra perks over what get booking directly with Celebrity? If it's an extra $25 or $50 OBC I'm not sure it's worth it.

 

Re: the OBC, what matters is what your booking confirmation (aka invoice) says. What the website shows doesn't mean anything. Even screenshots of what the website shows don't mean anything. Get that booking confirmation. And if you make any changes, get an updated confirmation. Take that confirmation with you on your trip in case something doesn't show up on your account.

 

The TA perks depend on the TA and what level room you book. I've received several hundred dollars back when booking a suite for doing nothing more than transferring my reservation to the TA.

[leehal]

We are relatively new to booking cruises as well.we booked a April 2017 cruise.the original invoice showed a $450 OBC but online it shows no OBC but everything else is correct. We called our rep who of course was someone different than we booked cruise with and he said on his end it shows $450 OBC. Says that as long as it shows on his end we are ok. HMMM? I don't know about you but me I'm not so comfortable. I like everything to be correct. If our rep drops off the face of the earth the next person wouldn't know anything about OBC. What would you do call the rep and make him show it correctly online?That's what I think we need to do.

As far as a TA if you are in US do you really get that many extra perks over what get booking directly with Celebrity? If it's an extra $25 or $50 OBC I'm not sure it's worth it.

 

We are on version 14 of our booking confirmation, they finally got the OBC right, I almost feel like getting it framed!

[ReneeFLL]

...... We don't have much experience with other cruise lines, but their web sites and IT people can't be as screwed up as Celebrity, can they?

 

I don't know who is worse, Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. Unbelievable they can't get a decent IT team who knows what they are doing. I think they employ elementary students for their IT work. :rolleyes: