This is the most stressful pre cruise planning in my history of cruising

[Travrat]

The most incredibly stressful pre booking of any cruise in my history of 20+ years of cruising- Celebrity what are you thinking??

No online help and call in in help is clueless!

Edited October 26, 2019 by Travrat

[Oville]

Perhaps if you explained your problem people here could give you some advice.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Oville

[Travrat]

29 minutes ago, Oville said:

Perhaps if you explained your problem people here could give you some advice.

Got a sale on sail email for online booking discount on specialty dinner package. After having a major meltdown on Celebrity raising their specialty dinners more than 50% on my sailing I jumped at the opportunity to book this package. Went online and was unable to book this so called help #. They told me that only one person could book this package?? Really after 2 minutes after seeing it offered online??

Then I asked why I could not use my OBC to pay for specialty dining and they told me they had NO record of any perks associated with my booking- I signed up for all 4 perks! Contacted my TA and also have confirmation of all 4 perks in writing but Celebrity does not have in their system. This caused me to lose the discounted package as I want to pay with my OBC. Going on vacation should not be stressful! Celebrity- what do you say about that?

Edited October 26, 2019 by Travrat

[hcat]

Perhaps your TA can work through some of these issues with X...esp if you have a screen shot of the sale offer.  Once there's a TA involved I,d let them handle any  problems,..  We do our own bookings  but understand that we   have no one to turn to if things go bad!  Good luck...

[TeaBag]

14 minutes ago, Travrat said:

Contacted my TA and also have confirmation of all 4 perks in writing but Celebrity does not have in their system. This caused me to lose the discounted package as I want to pay with my OBC. Going on vacation should not be stressful! Celebrity- what do you say about that?

If your TA has confirmation of your 4 perks, I would phone them and get them to arrange a 3 way call with Celebrity to clear that up.  As for discount dining....we are just off Summit and we got tired of having to refuse offers of discounts for specialty dining.  They were waving posters in our faces several times while we were having our lunch in Oceanview.  The last few days of the cruise we were offered 2 for 1.

[Travrat]

1 minute ago, hcat said:

Perhaps your TA can work through some of these issues with X...esp if you have a screen shot of the sale offer.  Once there's a TA involved I,d let them handle any  problems,..  We do our own bookings  but understand that we   have no one to turn to if things go bad!  Good luck...

My travel agent has sent all the info to Celebrity when I booked this cruise. The fact that Celebrity has not put it into their system is a fault of Celebrity. Other than giving me a slight panic attack this morning when Celebrity told me I have no perks they hurt me by not allowing me to book a dining pa kabe that was on sale using my OBC

[Travrat]

13 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

If your TA has confirmation of your 4 perks, I would phone them and get them to arrange a 3 way call with Celebrity to clear that up.  As for discount dining....we are just off Summit and we got tired of having to refuse offers of discounts for specialty dining.  They were waving posters in our faces several times while we were having our lunch in Oceanview.  The last few days of the cruise we were offered 2 for 1.

Our TA sent another email time Celebrity today but the Perks are still not showing up online

[TommyD3]

Sounds like you should get a different TA.

When i have problems like this my TA spends HOURS on the phone with Celebrity getting them worked out !!!

[Jeremiah On a Cruise]

Seems like a valid, but minor and fixable issue.  Glad you caught it.  I'm sure that it will get resolved.  I encourage you to not fret about it too much.

[PhoenixCruiser]

2 hours ago, Travrat said:

Got a sale on sail email for online booking discount on specialty dinner package. After having a major meltdown on Celebrity raising their specialty dinners more than 50% on my sailing I jumped at the opportunity to book this package. Went online and was unable to book this so called help #. They told me that only one person could book this package?? Really after 2 minutes after seeing it offered online??

Then I asked why I could not use my OBC to pay for specialty dining and they told me they had NO record of any perks associated with my booking- I signed up for all 4 perks! Contacted my TA and also have confirmation of all 4 perks in writing but Celebrity does not have in their system. This caused me to lose the discounted package as I want to pay with my OBC. Going on vacation should not be stressful! Celebrity- what do you say about that?

 

Didn't you post that this was a generic sale email and that the dining package wasn't included on your sailing?

[kathynorth]

30 minutes ago, PhoenixCruiser said:

 

Didn't you post that this was a generic sale email and that the dining package wasn't included on your sailing?

 

We are on a different cruise, but the trio dining package seems to be available, then not available, then available again from week to week. This is likely the case with the OPs cruise, which can be a bit confusing.

Edited October 26, 2019 by kathynorth

[chemmo]

3 hours ago, Travrat said:

Got a sale on sail email for online booking discount on specialty dinner package. After having a major meltdown on Celebrity raising their specialty dinners more than 50% on my sailing I jumped at the opportunity to book this package. Went online and was unable to book this so called help #. They told me that only one person could book this package?? Really after 2 minutes after seeing it offered online??

Then I asked why I could not use my OBC to pay for specialty dining and they told me they had NO record of any perks associated with my booking- I signed up for all 4 perks! Contacted my TA and also have confirmation of all 4 perks in writing but Celebrity does not have in their system. This caused me to lose the discounted package as I want to pay with my OBC. Going on vacation should not be stressful! Celebrity- what do you say about that?

 

 

If you have a good TA then all works well but if you have one who is not efficient or hard to communicate with then it can make planning harder. Many of us prefer to book direct so we can manage our own booking. I have found in the past that TA’s often need ‘chasing’ to apply changes or add ons....They are keen and eager for your booking but less proactive once they have your deposit!

 

Most of us who reply to queries like yours are not ‘sticking up’ for Celebrity we just know how the system works or doesn’t work and offer advice/suggestions accordingly. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 26, 2019 by chemmo

[Mr&MrsBee]

Likewise worst pre cruise ever.  First X cancelled my cruise claiming I had stage 4 cancer and could not travel.  Do not have cancer.  Took 2 and a half hours to correct dealing direct with X personnel on the phone.  Yesterday could not check in.  Some how X lost our previous information and kept asking for birth certificate.  No place for passport info.  Called Captain's club and they corrected X mistakes.  Another half hour on telephone after time spent trying to check in myself.  Please loyalist quit defending X stateside (except Captain's club)  Can not wait we get on ship.  Hopefully it has not gone hill.  Time will tell.  I am not in a suite so LLP does not care.  Well after 13 X cruises this cruise and one other will be the end as we do not like all the changes.

[Fogfog]

OP

If TA has confirmation of perks--let the TA fight it out with Celebrity and make sure they are on the booking

That is what they do...

Packages-offers can have exclusions and are not applicable to all sailings so let the TA discuss that with Celebrity

 

50 minutes ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

Likewise worst pre cruise ever.  First X cancelled my cruise claiming I had stage 4 cancer and could not travel.  Do not have cancer.  Took 2 and a half hours to correct dealing direct with X personnel on the phone.  Yesterday could not check in.  Some how X lost our previous information and kept asking for birth certificate.  No place for passport info.  Called Captain's club and they corrected X mistakes.  Another half hour on telephone after time spent trying to check in myself.  Please loyalist quit defending X stateside (except Captain's club)  Can not wait we get on ship.  Hopefully it has not gone hill.  Time will tell.  I am not in a suite so LLP does not care.  Well after 13 X cruises this cruise and one other will be the end as we do not like all the changes.

HOW would any cruise line think/"know" you have an illness? 

The website clearly has space in the Manage your booking etc to put in your pre cruise information including your passport and photo.  What country are you in? What website are you using

[deliver42]

This is my first time on X coming up. I had no problem booking direct, calling to change cabin, or booking excursions, and even a salon app't. for my wife on line.  When I did call X for a cabin The call went smoothly and with no problems at all.

[Mr&MrsBee]

Did not have a TA.  Live in USA and a citizen.  Website did allow me to put in information.

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

Did not have a TA.  Live in USA and a citizen.  Website did allow me to put in information.

Wow that is a new one!  Never have I heard of them cancelling a cruise claiming any passenger had an illness in particular stage 4 cancer.  Truly bizarre!  Did they mix you up with somebody else who cancelled?

[Fogfog]

7 hours ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

Did not have a TA.  Live in USA and a citizen.  Website did allow me to put in information.

How would ANY cruise line thin/believe you have illness and are unfit to travel??

 

Website in the Manage your booking and precruise has had the enter your passport fields for years.

Were you on the wrong site?

 

@Travrat  Has your TA gotten the perks straightened out?

Packages and specials for bev/dining etc vary from ship to ship and sailing to sailing... it is possible that wasn't available for your sailing

How often do you sail Celebrity?

[Travrat]

21 minutes ago, Fogfog said:

How would ANY cruise line thin/believe you have illness and are unfit to travel??

 

Website in the Manage your booking and precruise has had the enter your passport fields for years.

Were you on the wrong site?

 

@Travrat  Has your TA gotten the perks straightened out?

Packages and specials for bev/dining etc vary from ship to ship and sailing to sailing... it is possible that wasn't available for your sailing

How often do you sail Celebrity?

Yes, my perks were added to my Celebrity account as of this AM. I have read another guest did not have their beverage package on their sea pass card and they did not find out until already on ship so they were not happy campers! This will be my 4th Celebrity cruise- last on on Celebrity was a Christmas week 2015 

[NMTraveller]

11 hours ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

Likewise worst pre cruise ever.  First X cancelled my cruise claiming I had stage 4 cancer and could not travel.  Do not have cancer.  Took 2 and a half hours to correct dealing direct with X personnel on the phone.  Yesterday could not check in.  Some how X lost our previous information and kept asking for birth certificate.  No place for passport info.  Called Captain's club and they corrected X mistakes.  Another half hour on telephone after time spent trying to check in myself.  Please loyalist quit defending X stateside (except Captain's club)  Can not wait we get on ship.  Hopefully it has not gone hill.  Time will tell.  I am not in a suite so LLP does not care.  Well after 13 X cruises this cruise and one other will be the end as we do not like all the changes.

This is tragic and the sort of thing that happens when you move your call centers overseas.  I normally use the computer when their web site works.

[phoenix_dream]

13 hours ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

Likewise worst pre cruise ever.  First X cancelled my cruise claiming I had stage 4 cancer and could not travel.  Do not have cancer.  Took 2 and a half hours to correct dealing direct with X personnel on the phone.  Yesterday could not check in.  Some how X lost our previous information and kept asking for birth certificate.  No place for passport info.  Called Captain's club and they corrected X mistakes.  Another half hour on telephone after time spent trying to check in myself.  Please loyalist quit defending X stateside (except Captain's club)  Can not wait we get on ship.  Hopefully it has not gone hill.  Time will tell.  I am not in a suite so LLP does not care.  Well after 13 X cruises this cruise and one other will be the end as we do not like all the changes.

This is truly bizarre and definitely unusual.  Call it defending if you want to, but I have sailed more than 50 times with Celebrity (8 in the last year alone) and have never experienced anything like this at all.  It sounds like perhaps your reservation got mixed up with someone else's?  Even so, the cancer thing doesn't make sense at all.  How in the world would they ever find out anyone had stage 4 cancer unless that person told them, and why in the world would anyone tell them that when booking a cruise???  Something else is going on here - not sure where or who, but this is in no way typical of Celebrity and makes no logical sense.  Not at all.  Perhaps your account got hacked somehow.  We'll give you the benefit of the doubt that this really happened as you say it did.  Presuming yes, the odds of it ever happening again in your lifetime are basically zero.

[hcat]

3 hours ago, Travrat said:

Yes, my perks were added to my Celebrity account as of this AM. I have read another guest did not have their beverage package on their sea pass card and they did not find out until already on ship so they were not happy campers! This will be my 4th Celebrity cruise- last on on Celebrity was a Christmas week 2015 

Glad it worked out for you

We had one cruise where NONE of the packages had been communicated to the ship.  We got on line early at GR,  and because we had our paperwork, it was rectified on the spot.  Others who did not have the  paperwork with them were made to wait until shoreside confirmed  the packages the following day or so...meanwhile drinks were charged to their account. Totally messed up but it did get resolved. 

 

Lots of disconnects between ship and shoreside...but  the ship experience is usually quite good.

[mahdnc]

13 hours ago, Mr&MrsBee said:

Likewise worst pre cruise ever.  First X cancelled my cruise claiming I had stage 4 cancer and could not travel.  Do not have cancer.  Took 2 and a half hours to correct dealing direct with X personnel on the phone.  Yesterday could not check in.  Some how X lost our previous information and kept asking for birth certificate.  No place for passport info.  Called Captain's club and they corrected X mistakes.  Another half hour on telephone after time spent trying to check in myself.  Please loyalist quit defending X stateside (except Captain's club)  Can not wait we get on ship.  Hopefully it has not gone hill.  Time will tell.  I am not in a suite so LLP does not care.  Well after 13 X cruises this cruise and one other will be the end as we do not like all the changes.

 

Wow. 

 

"I don't have stage 4 cancer, but you guys are killing me". 

 

Did Celebrity offer an explanation as to what happened?

[Travrat]

11 hours ago, hcat said:

Glad it worked out for you

We had one cruise where NONE of the packages had been communicated to the ship.  We got on line early at GR,  and because we had our paperwork, it was rectified on the spot.  Others who did not have the  paperwork with them were made to wait until shoreside confirmed  the packages the following day or so...meanwhile drinks were charged to their account. Totally messed up but it did get resolved. 

 

Lots of disconnects between ship and shoreside...but  the ship experience is usually quite good.

I wonder if this is a problem unique to Celebrity as I can't recall this happening on any other cruise line but seems to occur frequently with them. Not a good way to start a vacation!

[Mr&MrsBee]

I realize mistakes happen but to wait 2 1/2 hours on phone for supr is not acceptable.   A very nice lady from the eco office did return my call the next day giving us bottle wine and dinner at Murano tried to make amends.  I will not go into all the details of poor handling by X   I will just end and let the “defenders” take charge.