switching t/a

[bones774]

Hi,

I just made reservations for an NCL cruise in August with one of the larger online agencies. I put down minimum deposit. I'm really not happy with their service and would like to switch the reservations to NCL.

Can I do this?

Is it easy?

will i lose any special promos the online agency granted me?

what do i have to do?

Thnaks

[Shmoo here]

Hi,

I just made reservations for an NCL cruise in August with one of the larger online agencies. I put down minimum deposit. I'm really not happy with their service and would like to switch the reservations to NCL.

Can I do this?

Is it easy?

will i lose any special promos the online agency granted me?

what do i have to do?

Thnaks

If you use a TA to book, that TA must first release the reservation for you to either have it handed directly by the cruise line, or another TA.

 

Be aware, some TAs charge a cancellation fee if you transfer your reservation. And, while rude, some TAs won't release a booking.

 

If you transfer away from a TA that is giving you perks, yes you will lose whatever perks that TA was giving you. If you are getting perks from the cruise line for the reservation, you may or may not lose those.

[bones774]

I think they gave me some additional perks, it looks like i'm stuck with them.

I booked two GTY cabins and was immediately assigned a cabin for one booking and none as yet for the other. Found it quite odd that they rushed to assign one cabin but not both, not particularly happy with the cabin, it is fifth deck at the very,very front of ship, first cabin.I felt like they Kinda wanted to get rid of it out of their inventory.This will be my young daughters and who knows where i will end up? thanks

[taglovestocruise]

Exactly what a GTY is all about. You get the left overs, even though you have one cabin assignment that cabin can be replaced by another all the way until you board. Only book a GTY if you will be happy with the worst cabin in that category. You could always upgrade with you current TA. happy cruising

[nomadguy]

I think they gave me some additional perks, it looks like i'm stuck with them.

I booked two GTY cabins and was immediately assigned a cabin for one booking and none as yet for the other. Found it quite odd that they rushed to assign one cabin but not both, not particularly happy with the cabin, it is fifth deck at the very,very front of ship, first cabin.I felt like they Kinda wanted to get rid of it out of their inventory.This will be my young daughters and who knows where i will end up? thanks

 

the cabin selection is not the TA's fault so if that's the only reason you wanted to walk, then I'd reconsider. It's the cruise line that makes the decision when and where and timing of releasing a GTY cabin. Sorry but that's the chance you take when you accept a GTY!

[bones774]

I've done many cruises and always GTY and i've always been happy. I've always had my cabin assignments made much closer to departure date and i've always asked them to be linked and while not always ending up next to each other, they end up being close to each other.

If they were able to assign one cabin why didn't they assign other cabin as well? and if it's the ship "leftovers" so to speak, how is it they can assign this one so early?

It just seems to early to me to be assigning a GTY cabin.Thanks

[taglovestocruise]

Let me add. You can probably change the cabin you have been assigned to another in the same cat with no more than a call to your TA. Just know what cabin number you would like to change to.

[bones774]

Let me add. You can probably change the cabin you have been assigned to another in the same cat with no more than a call to your TA. Just know what cabin number you would like to change to.

 

I'm not too certain of that, as previous posters have said GTY is at discretion of Cruise line. What would be the purpose if everyone called back and said they wanted different cabin.

 

and BTW, friends of mine booked two cabins on same cruise virtually at same time with same agency and both their cabins are still TBD!

[cherylandtk]

What would be the purpose if everyone called back and said they wanted different cabin.Because not everyone knows they can do this...and when the rooms are assigned later in the process, there often is little to none left to switch into.

 

and BTW, friends of mine booked two cabins on same cruise virtually at same time with same agency and both their cabins are still TBD!

What happens to any one GTY booking has no bearing on any other GTY booking. It is entirely up to the cruiseline and their Yield Management. But this is definitely a cruiseline decision and has nothing to do with your TA.

[bones774]

What happens to any one GTY booking has no bearing on any other GTY booking. It is entirely up to the cruiseline and their Yield Management. But this is definitely a cruiseline decision and has nothing to do with your TA.

 

hi, so you're saying call now and ask for switch? 5 months out? can i ask To be considered for a lower class cabin also, which would expand my cabin options? I'll talk with my t/a and see what he says. Not around today, which is another discouraging point.

[taglovestocruise]

I'm not too certain of that, as previous posters have said GTY is at discretion of Cruise line. What would be the purpose if everyone called back and said they wanted different cabin.

 

and BTW, friends of mine booked two cabins on same cruise virtually at same time with same agency and both their cabins are still TBD!

 

My point exactly. Cruise lines wait until the last minute to assign GTY cabins. By the time a GTY is assigned there are no cabins to exchange with . Your one cabin has been assigned early so there are plenty in the same cat to change too. Ncl might say no but a cabin change in the same cat is a pretty common thing.

[bones774]

"Cruise lines wait until the last minute to assign GTY"

Your point exactly? and what is your point? That they wait until last minute? So why do i have an assignment?

[bakersdozen12]

hi, so you're saying call now and ask for switch? 5 months out? can i ask To be considered for a lower class cabin also, which would expand my cabin options? I'll talk with my t/a and see what he says. Not around today, which is another discouraging point.

 

 

You can't ask to be switched to a different room under a Guaranty rate. That would be choosing your room, and you would have to pay a higher rate that allows you to choose your room.

 

Since you are so unhappy with the assigned room, I would suggest doing just that: switch to a different rate and pick your two rooms. I have a feeling you will be much happier that way.

 

Good luck, and enjoy your cruise!

 

 

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[sanger727]

GTY cabins are the roll of the dice. Especially 2; they could be close together or not, they could be assigned early or late, they could be anywhere on the ship. You got a discounted rate in exchange for the cruise line having total discretion of your cabin. Your TA has NOTHING to do w the assignments. Your TA simply deals with your price, cabin category, and perks. The cabin assignments are done by NCL based on a computer program that looks at what's selling, what's not, what's booking up, what's not, etc. it is sure no one will choose to book that cabin so it assigned it out early.

 

I'm curious what you are unhappy about w your TA. If it's just the cabin assignments, switching booking to NCL won't help. In fact your better off w the TA. Once the second cabin gets assigned you can go in and request a cabin change (can do it now, but why would u); and a TA that holds many bookings has more sway w NCL than one individual cruiser.

 

As far as the logistics of switching; your TA would have to agree, Which is unlikely. And they would likely charge you a fee for this.

 

It's hard to tell if you got special promos from the TA without knowing what promos you got. The free at sea perks (UBP, gratuities, SDP) are from NCL. But on board credit would be from the TA.

 

 

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[bones774]

GTY cabins are the roll of the dice. Especially 2; they could be close together or not, they could be assigned early or late, they could be anywhere on the ship. You got a discounted rate in exchange for the cruise line having total discretion of your cabin. Your TA has NOTHING to do w the assignments. Your TA simply deals with your price, cabin category, and perks. The cabin assignments are done by NCL based on a computer program that looks at what's selling, what's not, what's booking up, what's not, etc. it is sure no one will choose to book that cabin so it assigned it out early.

 

I'm curious what you are unhappy about w your TA. If it's just the cabin assignments, switching booking to NCL won't help. In fact your better off w the TA. Once the second cabin gets assigned you can go in and request a cabin change (can do it now, but why would u); and a TA that holds many bookings has more sway w NCL than one individual cruiser.

 

As far as the logistics of switching; your TA would have to agree, Which is unlikely. And they would likely charge you a fee for this.

 

It's hard to tell if you got special promos from the TA without knowing what promos you got. The free at sea perks (UBP, gratuities, SDP) are from NCL. But on board credit would be from the TA.

 

What i am most unhappy about is their advertising. This is one of the largest online agents, i've dealt with them often. Becoming more frequent that i call them on listed deals and they say "oh no, no that cabin type" using all sorts of excuses, blaming the "pricing dept", the "cruise line" some other 3rd party inputting the prices. "They can't be responsible for the thousands of listings in the ads".

Well, yeah, they are responsible for the listings in their ads! Called truth in advertising, you can't say we have best prices and when called to sell the listings "oh no, not our fault".

This was NCL cruise so i got one of the 4 freebies they offer and $50 obc, which according to you may be from the agent..

I had some big kerfuffle with them to get the deal and now wondering if they are pushing back. Never been assigned cabin this early on GTY. Also they usually use consideration and keep families together, near each other. It's to their benefit also, rather than have a room full of unsupervised girls decks away from their parents.

[sanger727]

Also they usually use consideration and keep families together, near each other. It's to their benefit also, rather than have a room full of unsupervised girls decks away from their parents.

 

 

While that would be nice, it's more to their benefit to not; to force you to pay more for an assigned cabin... generally guarantees aren't recommended for families putting the kids in a separate room

 

 

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[bones774]

While that would be nice, it's more to their benefit to not; to force you to pay more for an assigned cabin... generally guarantees aren't recommended for families putting the kids in a separate room

 

 

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I fully understand what you are saying but i always get GTY. In fact one cruise three years ago neither of my daughters were 21 yet they were booked GTY as I was, the loophole was that as long as parents were next cabin over they waived the 21 age requirement, one was over 18. and we did get adjoining cabins.

[cherylandtk]

Yes, but there are drawbacks to booking GTY, and it appears you may now be experiencing some of them.

 

The first is that you are not guaranteed the cabins will be nearby, much less adjacent. It's not a loophole if you book two cabins, you just got lucky. Yes, the cruiseline will often try to get such cabins nearby....but if they can't and you have underage kids, then you may have to split up in order to have an adult with the kids. It happens. So don't count on it just because you've had it before...it is not part of the deal. And saying "but I always book GTY and they always did it before" is going to get you nothing more than a polite "It doesn't work that way" and perhaps an invitation to read your contract. Parts 3(b) and 4© particularly.

 

Secondly, GTY cabins on NCL are often excluded from the promotions, which is likely what happened to you in this recent 'go-round' with your TA. The Summer Splash Sale with up to 5 free offers and OBC does not apply GTY Cabins; it is in the fine print at the bottom of the offer, 'excluded on IX, OX, BX and MX'

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-deals/choice

[AdGuyMG]

Secondly, GTY cabins on NCL are often excluded from the promotions, which is likely what happened to you in this recent 'go-round' with your TA. The Summer Splash Sale with up to 5 free offers and OBC does not apply GTY Cabins; it is in the fine print at the bottom of the offer, 'excluded on IX, OX, BX and MX'

https://www.ncl.com/cruise-deals/choice

 

Your answer about Guarantees is 100% correct.

 

Except Summer Splash Sale is the current RCCL promo.

 

The OPs "5 Free Offers" comes from NCL's Free At Sea and their $50 OBC is probably from the NCL Dash Sale.

 

Splash Sale / Dash Sale / Flash Sale... Lions and Tigers and Bears ..... Oh my!!

[cherylandtk]

Interesting...I took the name Summer Splash Sale directly from the NCL webpage (link in my post above). 😳

 

But you're right that the names do get all mish mashed up.

[cherylandtk]

Say Bones (OP), are you still following this thread? Something has been nibbling at the back of my brain on this one. What are the amenities you have been given, and what is the category that you asked to book? What category does your confirmation show?

[bones774]

Say Bones (OP), are you still following this thread? Something has been nibbling at the back of my brain on this one. What are the amenities you have been given, and what is the category that you asked to book? What category does your confirmation show?

 

I have choice of one of the 4 freebies that NCL offers and a $50.00.OBC. I asked for inside and got IF i believe, supposed to be one step above the bottom IX but looking at the cabin choices i would rather have IX. Let me know what's been nibbling.

[cherylandtk]

I have choice of one of the 4 freebies that NCL offers and a $50.00.OBC. I asked for inside and got IF i believe, supposed to be one step above the bottom IX but looking at the cabin choices i would rather have IX. Let me know what's been nibbling.

 

I am thinking that instead of a straight GTY booking that the agent offered you an assigned inside IF booking at the same price. The only way to get one of the freebies and the OBC during this sale is to book assigned, NOT guarantee. Which explains your assigned cabin, too.

 

Depending on the sailing, the cost of the GTY booking is probably only $50 pp less than the assigned booking. The value of the perk and the OBC more than offsets that amount, and a discount agency will sell those rooms at $50-$60 pp less than what NCL does. Given that you had the kerfuffle with the ad, I would bet that is what happened. The agent offered you an upgraded room at the same price, allowing a straight inside booking and thus getting you the advertised perks. Sound possible?

[bones774]

I am thinking that instead of a straight GTY booking that the agent offered you an assigned inside IF booking at the same price. The only way to get one of the freebies and the OBC during this sale is to book assigned, NOT guarantee. Which explains your assigned cabin, too.

 

Depending on the sailing, the cost of the GTY booking is probably only $50 pp less than the assigned booking. The value of the perk and the OBC more than offsets that amount, and a discount agency will sell those rooms at $50-$60 pp less than what NCL does. Given that you had the kerfuffle with the ad, I would bet that is what happened. The agent offered you an upgraded room at the same price, allowing a straight inside booking and thus getting you the advertised perks. Sound possible?

 

Somewhat possible. The agent did upgrade me but also charged me a few bucks more, supposedly "their" price.As to the GTY, questionable, family friends who are also going, booked same day, same agency,same kerfuffle, same deal, different agent, two cabins also and both to be determined! Was gonna go to another thread but while mentioned, if you ask me those upgraded IF cabins look alot worse placed than the bottom grade IX. Could i ask to be lowered a cat?

[cherylandtk]

Well, here's the thing. NCL is not giving the promo (one perk and OBC) on an IX booking. So I am pretty sure you don't want to move down to that category. Don't know ship and sail date, so cannot tell you if it is worth it to move to a different room.

 

As for friends, they probably are booked as an I(something) GTY, just not an IX. If they have a promo, they are not booked IX GTY.