Deposit on cruise - sailing next month.

[vermonter16]

So, we just put a deposit on a cruise for Alaska in May of 2020.  We sail next month on the Reflection.  The cruise is currently refundable.  If we find a better deal on the cruise, can we cancel and rebook?  And if we can...if we buy Celebrity Choice Air, will it cancel that out too?  Maybe it is something we should be asking Celebrity - but if we do on the phone, I don't necessarily trust them, lol.  We've received different answers on things before.

 

[TeaBag]

We were told you can't cancel a cruise on board!  It could just have been a lazy vacation planner.  Since you have refundable deposit on the original cruise, I would rebook while you're on the cruise to get the perks, then when you return home, cancel the other one.

[mickey89]

This may help, current onboard deal - http://thecelebritycommitment.com/FutureCruiseVacations.html

[MarLieb]

In fall 2018, I booked a December 2020 Summit cruise with a refundable deposit.  We then sailed on the Summit in December 2019.  I re-shopped the 2020 cruise onboard and got a better deal so I booked it onboard and, when I got home, called Celebrity and cancelled the original reservation and got that first deposit back.  I don't know the answer on Celebrity air.  Personally, I wouldn't purchase the air along with a stateroom you think you are going to cancel if you re-book the cruise onboard.  I would probably just wait until you settle on which reservation (the one you have now or a re-shopped onboard one) you are going to keep before purchasing air.  

[twincheryl]

2 hours ago, MarLieb said:

In fall 2018, I booked a December 2020 Summit cruise with a refundable deposit.  We then sailed on the Summit in December 2019.  I re-shopped the 2020 cruise onboard and got a better deal so I booked it onboard and, when I got home, called Celebrity and cancelled the original reservation and got that first deposit back.  

So they allowed you to book another cabin in your name on the same ship?  We have SV cabins and would not want to lose them... I suppose there is no way to do that?

[vermonter16]

That's what I'm wondering?  Are they able to move us out of the cabin we want and then regrab that cabin to make the 'new booking'?  

[varoo]

10 hours ago, TeaBag said:

We were told you can't cancel a cruise on board!  It could just have been a lazy vacation planner.  Since you have refundable deposit on the original cruise, I would rebook while you're on the cruise to get the perks, then when you return home, cancel the other one.

 

Were you told this recently?  Maybe it is a recent change.

In the past, it was very easy to cancel a cruise on board with no problem whatsoever.

       

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

34 minutes ago, varoo said:

 

Were you told this recently?  Maybe it is a recent change.

In the past, it was very easy to cancel a cruise on board with no problem whatsoever.

       

I wonder if those told no booked through a TA. If so, they would not be able to cancel it on board as it would have to go through the TA for the cancellation.

[vermonter16]

That's a good point about the TA.  I mean, if the cruise is refundable - why wouldn't they be able to cancel it for a different cruise or even the same one?  Of course I've never tried to do this before.  But, I was just playing around yesterday and found a great cruise for us - my boss at work said to go for it....  at the same time - within a month we will be on a cruise and I know that they always offer that bit of extra incentive.

Edited December 14, 2019 by vermonter16

[varoo]

12 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

I wonder if those told no booked through a TA. If so, they would not be able to cancel it on board as it would have to go through the TA for the cancellation.

 

Good point!  But even so, they should be able to phone, text or email the TA to request the cancellation, so there would still be no need to wait until returning home.

 

In similar situations, when needing to involve a third party in a booking or change or cancellation, or to resolve a problem, we have found the people in Guest Relations as well as the ship's concierge to be very helpful and they will even make long distance calls for you when warranted at no charge.

 

[vermonter16]

3 minutes ago, varoo said:

 

Good point!  But even so, they should be able to phone, text or email the TA to request the cancellation, so there would still be no need to wait until returning home.

 

In similar situations, when needing to involve a third party in a booking or change or cancellation, or to resolve a problem, we have found the people in Guest Relations as well as the ship's concierge to be very helpful and they will even make long distance calls for you when warranted at no charge.

 

Have you cancelled a booking onboard for the same cruise?  Were you able to retain your same cabing?

[varoo]

26 minutes ago, vermonter16 said:

Have you cancelled a booking onboard for the same cruise?  Were you able to retain your same cabing?

 

Yes.  It is fastest and easiest if it is a booking you made yourself without needing to involve a third party.

 

The future cruise person and I both go online at the same time (using 2 different devices).

I log into my account, cancel my reservation, and the agent immediately picks up the cabin the moment that the system releases it.

 

If using a travel agent,  it would be possible to do the equivalent by coordinating for the TA  and the future cruise person go online at the same time, taking into account any possible time zone differences, of course. 

 

(In that case,  the TA would expect to be the recipient of the new booking, so it would really be awkward if you did not intend to give it to him or her.)

 

If you plan in advance to do that, it is easiest if you eliminate the red tape by not involving any  TA initially but just booking directly with the cruise line.

Then once you have the new onboard booking set up exactly the way you want it,  you still have another 60 days to transfer it to a TA for the extra perks.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2019 by varoo

[vermonter16]

That's excellent to know.  We did book this ourselves so this should work rather seamlessly if it winds up a better deal onboard.

 

[TeaBag]

We do use a TA, but I don't remember which cruise it was. All I remember was the guy saying, "we never cancel cruises on board"  I thought that was strange which is why I used the word "lazy".

[vermonter16]

3 minutes ago, TeaBag said:

We do use a TA, but I don't remember which cruise it was. All I remember was the guy saying, "we never cancel cruises on board"  I thought that was strange which is why I used the word "lazy".

But, they may allow us to cancel it.  I am thinking like at work - I work in tourism and if a customer comes to me with an issue - I can generally get it worked out for them even within my limitations but if they go to a couple of fellow coworkers - it just won't get settled.

[varoo]

12 minutes ago, vermonter16 said:

That's excellent to know.  We did book this ourselves so this should work rather seamlessly if it winds up a better deal onboard.

 

 

Then you are in the best possible situation with all your options open and have absolutely nothing to lose.

 

If you find a better deal onboard, you will get the bonus for booking onboard and will also gain an additional 60 days to transfer the booking to a TA for additional perks, should you choose to do so.

 

If prices should go up to the point where it would be unfavorable  to re-book onboard,  you still have your original booking and will still be within the 60 days limit for transferring the booking to a TA.

 

But even if the prices for booking onboard are not favorable at the beginning of your cruise, do set bookmarks and keep on checking for any and all discount price categories for which you may qualify as often price drops will suddenly appear for a particular category one day and be gone a day or two later.

 

Good luck!