Lift and Shift is a Joke

[OceanCruise]

I am Elite on Celebrity and presently have a suite booked on an 11 night Equinox cruise in September. I can access my reservation but not my cruise planner so I think that is a sign this cruise may not be happening. Because I am also concerned the first few cruises will not be a standard cruise experience, I called Celebrity to do a lift and shift. There are NO 11 night Equinox cruises offered next year so I said, fine, switch me to another 11 night cruise on a different ship, I don't care what the itinerary or date is, just give me the same home port. I spent an hour on the phone with them and the lowdown is they refused to do this because it "must" be the same ship, even though there is no 11 night itinerary at all for this ship. The only thing they offered was a FCC that I could apply to a 12 night Equinox cruise or an 11 night Reflection cruise which would be 2-3 times the price of my original cruise. NO THANKS! Celebrity, I am very disappointed.

[PTC DAWG]

The Wife and I also have a 10 day booked on Equinox this September ...they have changed the 10 day to a 9 next fall (2021), and the 11 day to a 12..I was thinking of seeing if they would lift and ***** my 10 day ABC Cruise to 2021..I may be calling soon to find out.  I'll let you know if I hear the same BS.  Honestly, I'd rather go cruising this fall if I don't have to wear a mask.  

 

I will say that the new 12 day cruise sounds great, with at least 3 ports that I have not been too.  We were on the 11 day last Sept 2020...was a great cruise.

 

I hope you get some resolution. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by PTC DAWG

[Fouremco]

To the best of my knowledge, the rules of the lift and shift are the same for everyone, no matter what their loyalty status or cabin selection might be. Nevertheless, if you read the thread on this subject, you'll see that the information that you were provided is erroneous. I'd suggest calling again.

[Quo Vadis?]

We are presently booked on a B2B Summit Panama cruise in Oct/Nov.  Final payment will be due before Celebrity resumes cruising and provides a plan to reflect the new health risks of being on a ship.  We asked to be moved to 2021 when Millennium has the Panama itinerary, same length of 15 days each.  No problem I was told.  However there is a long wait time for our TA to get through for this switch but I will report back if it happens.

[jelayne]

Lift and shift allows for moving between M & S class ship,  similar itinerary.etc

You May want to read the FAQs and terms & conditions and then call back armed with the correct  info.so you can  point the rep where they can find the info you believe applies to your transaction.

[yorky]

Typical Celebrity where one rep says one thing and one another, it’s clearly worded on their own website

[wrk2cruise]

Has to be "like" itinerary as well.   If the 11 night Reflection is offered +/- 4 weeks next year then that could be a legal option but I thought the 11 nighters next year were Edge which they won't allow.

 

We did L&S from the 10 night Equinox this Sept to 9 nighter next Sept.   Didn't mind the loss of 1 night as I caught a great senior rate a couple of months ago, a CC cabin at $96 pp/pd.  So even at 9 nights it's about $105 and got a better cabin in the same category as well.

[PTC DAWG]

1 minute ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

 

We did L&S from the 10 night Equinox this Sept to 9 nighter next Sept.   Didn't mind the loss of 1 night as I caught a great senior rate a couple of months ago, a CC cabin at $96 pp/pd.  So even at 9 nights it's about $105 and got a better cabin in the same category as well.

Exactly what I may try and do.  Glad to hear you succeeded. 

[wrk2cruise]

2 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Exactly what I may try and do.  Glad to hear you succeeded. 

 

Another couple we are traveling with had some problems but on the second attempt they were successful.   I'm not sure what got them the success the second time as I had given them my reservation number as ammo if they needed it.

 

I was very happy as I would have hated to cancel that great rate.

[Bruin Steve]

My back-to-back July cruises just got officially cancelled today...

 

I am preparing for the worst.

I booked back on May 1, 2019--two cruises, two deposits...So, Celebrity has been holding that money for over a year.

I paid in full on both cruises around April 1...

So, IF I could do a "lift and shift", Celebrity will have had $1,000 of my money for 28 months and $7,000 plus for 15 months...

I also booked air through Celebrity and a shore excursion in almost every port and pre-booked a specialty restaurant for our anniversary...

 

They should bend over backwards in thanks for my sticking with them, right?

 

I called my TA as soon as I got word...and she told me NOT to contact Celebrity on my own--to wait for her...then also told me that Celebrity will NOT negotiate the lift and shift rules...

 

BUT, here's the rub:

We chose our cruises specifically to visit two ports--Zadar and Rijeka.  We are veterans of 56 cruises and have done the Med so many times, that we try to look for ports we haven't visited--hence this particular booking.  I took a look at next summer's schedule and the ONLY way to get Zadar and Rijeka in some combination is with a 9 night and an 11 night cruise on Constellation, then switching to Infinity...but, of course, that's 20 nights, not 14, so I'm sure Celebrity will say no.

 

If not that, all of the 7 nighters on Infinity don't hit those ports...and would also result in three duplicate ports in any back to back (The original back-to-backs we chose repeated NO ports-though, later they changed the itinerary to drop Dubrovnik and cause a duplicate stop in Kotor--but we were willing to live with the one duplication).  BUT, we don't do back-to-backs to visit most of the ports twice.

 

The other ships in the Mediterranean are doing 9 nighters, 10 nighters, 11 nighters and 12 nighters...except fo APEX...Apex does 7 nighters that only repeat one port with back-to-back cruises.  We would actually take that...

 

AND, the notification we received from Celebrity only says "You also have the option of keeping your cruise vacation plans to the same destination and rescheduling for next year on a date within four weeks of your originally scheduled departure."  It soes not say "same ship" or "same class of ship".  "Same destination" cannot mean the exact same itinerary since it doesn't exist.  In my mind "same destination" can't be much closer than "also to the Med" even though ports may differ...

 

So, will Celebrity allow us to shift our 14 nights--two back-to-back 7s-on Infinity to 14 nights, two back-to-back 7s on Apex?  Same dates (within a day), same general part of the world?  Can we get our same category of cabin (Concierge 2) and all of our previous amenities--Classic Drink package, included gratuities, $1300 in OBC between the two?

 

I am guessing, I guess you could call it a touch pessimistic, that, despite their wording it appearing to be possible, that they will say NO...

 

So, I cannot get the same itinerary--it doesn't exist...I cannot get this--the only other combination of 14 nights--it's a different class ship...I cannot get  a different combination on the same class ship--the itineraries are longer...

So, basically, the lift and shift is completely illusory...

 

Same ports, same ship, same time of year, etc. doesn't exist.  OF course, Celebrity would gladly DOWNGRADE their offer--fewer nights, lesser itinerary, lesser ship...

 

But, G-D forbid, after LENDING them money for 15-28 months and sticking with them...in an era when many people are saying they won't even cruise again and when most on my sailings pulled out and cancelled before final payment...they can't possibly bend just a ittle bit to keep their loyal customers happy...and, though I know it doesn't matter in the figuring, I am an Elite Plus cruiser--independently Diamond on RCCL...and have 29 more nights of cruising booked and upcoming on Celebrity before this one would even happen...

[wrk2cruise]

I have heard a few cases of them bending on a couple extra nights when the same ship next year is doing 12 nights instead of 10 in the same timeframe with the customer paying a pro-rated rate for the 2 extra nights.

 

I've heard ZERO cases of them bending on the "same class of ship" rule with the exception of S & M class.   (really means NO shifting from M or S to E class period).   I'd state your case,  you will probably need to get to someone in the resolutions department as they are probably the only ones who can make the exception.   E+ won't get you anywhere as there are thousands of them.   I think it's the B2B that would give you your only chance.    You want to make it clear that you want to do this vs having them refund $7k.

 

Now I don't know what would happen with air in this case.  I'd be interested to know if 1) you had refundable or non-refundable tickets  2) If refundable will they refund.  3) If non-refundable I guess you get a voucher and hope you can use them next year if they let you shift.

 

I've heard other things pre-purchased on Cruise Planner are refunded and you have to buy them again on the new cruise.   Some people were complaining as they had taken advantage of some CP sales.

[jelayne]

Lift & shift doesn’t work for everyone, just like a FCC works for some not others and then there is always a refund, which may be your best choice

L&S doesn’t work for a cruise we had that is cancelled.  The itinerary works, length of the cruise & ship all work  but we can’t go in the timeframe because we have another cruise that conflicts.  
 

We also are E+ and independently  Diamond and have just over 100 nights booked in 2020/21, but in my mind none of that entitles me any exceptions. 

[goofysmom99]

Depends on who answers the phone.  I think there are more exceptions than there are rules.  I had three cruises moved, one of which was S-class 13 night to M-class 10 night, 18 months apart on different continents (both technically repos).  Another was 11 nights but switched from S-class to M-class.  My TA handled them on separate days. Kept original booking numbers so retained onboard booking OBCs.  I didn't expect any joy and was genuinely surprised when the new invoices showed up in my inbox.  Keep calling and, frustration aside, ask pretty.

[jelayne]

Were those moves all price protected?  We have moved a cruise this week from M class to E and a different itinerary.   We kept our booking #, and on-board booking OBC but it wasn’t a L & S we are paying the current rate (which is less ) and The perks were the same.  

[Georgia_Peaches]

3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

To the best of my knowledge, the rules of the lift and shift are the same for everyone, no matter what their loyalty status or cabin selection might be. Nevertheless, if you read the thread on this subject, you'll see that the information that you were provided is erroneous. I'd suggest calling again.

Can you please expand on that.  Which part is erroneous?  I am trying to lift and shift to a different ship/itinerary but same room category and number of nights...

[jelayne]

21 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Can you please expand on that.  Which part is erroneous?  I am trying to lift and shift to a different ship/itinerary but same room category and number of nights...

I think Fouremco was responding to the OP who had been told by a X rep that lift & ship must be on the “same” ship, which is incorrect.  You can move between M & S Class ( but not E) as long as the other Factors meet the requirements. 

Edited May 20, 2020 by jelayne
Typo

[Fouremco]

26 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Can you please expand on that.  Which part is erroneous?  I am trying to lift and shift to a different ship/itinerary but same room category and number of nights...

For starters, the policy is that the L&S has to be to a ship from the same series, not the same ship as the OP was apparently told. Huge difference. Additionally, there have been many exceptions posted on the CWC Enhanced thread, where  the poster was able to switch to a different ship series. Post #13 provides a good example. Cruise itineraries are also meant to be of the same length, but in practise posters have indicated that they have successfully switched to both shorter and longer cruises.

 

My best advice is to read the CWC Enhanced thread and the Celebrity FAQ to get a sound idea of the policy and how it is actually being applied.

 

Best of luck!

Edited May 20, 2020 by Fouremco

[Bruin Steve]

My airfare is not an issue--as it was booked on Celebrity Choice Air as a "refundable" rate.  The only unfortunate part there is that I likely won't find a cheap an airfare on a nonstop LAX to Rome as I had this year...but I can live with that...

 

And I wouldn't have a problem with the number of nights--except that the only other M-Class and any S-Class ship in the Med July of next year (and you can throw in the Edge as well) is NOT doing 7-night cruises...Even the Infinity, that we were on, is only doing some 7-nighters--with an 8-nighter in the middle of July...and goes to longer cruises when we get into August.  The only other Celebrity ship in the Med doing 7-night cruises is the APEX...and it is the only one where the itineraries vary substantially on alternating weeks--repeating only one port--La Spezia.  Back-to-backs on Infinity repeat three ports.

 

So, moving a back-to-back booking from this July to next is only practical on Apex.  But that would be moving my booking from M-Class to Apex--which they say is against the rules--although the email they sent to notify me does not exactly say that.

 

Right now, I am waiting...and hoping they will see my point.

Edited May 21, 2020 by Bruin Steve

[osborne66]

We were booked on the Millennium transpacific cruise this Sep and did the Lift & Shift to the Solstice doing virtually the same itinerary next Sep 2021. Keep the same booking, perks, no increase in fare and even got a one cabin upgrade from C2 to C1 and my TA had it all moved this past Monday in just under 30 minutes. Having heard the horror stories of people taking hours and days to get their reservations moved, I was amazed it went smoothly. 

 

Scouser 

[RSLeesburg]

I called yesterday to move our South America Christmas cruise from this year to next - same ship, same itinerary, same suite, same price.  I was expecting a long wait time on the phone, but the call was answered in 5 minutes, and it took maybe 15 minutes to transfer everything.  Very easy and quick.  Was very surprised and quite satisfied.  In fact, I was so impressed I went and checked out Norway cruise on Anthem for next summer.  I saw a huge price drop, so called Royal.  Thirty minutes later I had that cruise repriced with savings of $10K.  ~woo hoo~  I was so excited I went out and bought three more board games to play while we are stuck inside...  

 

[coybamo]

We have a med cruise package booked from Rome on 28th August. This was arranged by my ta to include flights and transfers. Want to shift for same time next year and was told ok - but !

The three return flights from UK are not included because they were "free" from celebrity.

This was the first indication of so called free flights.Nothing on any paperwork from ta or celeb. TA and celebrity not moving on this at all. It's a take it or leave it situation.

So we can lift and shift with same perks etc but will cost another £1000.00 plus for flights !

 

[sheels]

I have had nothing but disappointment and frustration with Celebrity's lift and shift attempting to shift my February 2021 cruise to February 2022.  The first day I spent 4 hours on the phone working with 8 different Celebrity agents trying to get our cruise shifted.  Those call included several disconnects/calls dropped and unsuccessful transfers and awful connections.  Once we were finally able to get the lift and shift request processed the confirmation email revealed the agent had the wrong sail date for our travel companions.  After several additional calls I'm told nothing can be done to rectify the error until the 72 hours have passed confirming the change.  After 100 hours have passed and still no confirmation email from Celebrity and yet another two calls to Celebrity I am told,  'its 72 'business' hours', then when the agent comes back on the line she tells me they are 'just back logged and to wait a few more days'.  Never in in my life have I experienced such awful customer service.  What I have learned is the folks we are traveling with from Canada engaged a travel agent and their lift and shift was seamless with no wait time and only one phone call from the travel agent to Celebrity.  Willl never book directly with Celebrity again.

[wrk2cruise]

My TA made the request a week ago Friday and I've still not heard back.  It is a B2B so that probably complicates it a bit.  I called Captains Club on Thursday and was told resolutions is backed up and it's taking over a week.   I suspect what's happening is people who get an agent that will stay on the line until it's resolved are bumping the requests that were submitted via the online tool.   I can't fault my TA for using the tool as the last one he did for me a few weeks ago he spent almost 10 hrs on the phone with them.   He's not making enough commission on these sailings to be devoting that much time to a simple change which should take less than 15 minutes.  So I'll just wait.   It's not like there is a big hurry.

[yorky]

6 minutes ago, sheels said:

I have had nothing but disappointment and frustration with Celebrity's lift and shift attempting to shift my February 2021 cruise to February 2022.  The first day I spent 4 hours on the phone working with 8 different Celebrity agents trying to get our cruise shifted.  Those call included several disconnects/calls dropped and unsuccessful transfers and awful connections.  Once we were finally able to get the lift and shift request processed the confirmation email revealed the agent had the wrong sail date for our travel companions.  After several additional calls I'm told nothing can be done to rectify the error until the 72 hours have passed confirming the change.  After 100 hours have passed and still no confirmation email from Celebrity and yet another two calls to Celebrity I am told,  'its 72 'business' hours', then when the agent comes back on the line she tells me they are 'just back logged and to wait a few more days'.  Never in in my life have I experienced such awful customer service.  What I have learned is the folks we are traveling with from Canada engaged a travel agent and their lift and shift was seamless with no wait time and only one phone call from the travel agent to Celebrity.  Willl never book directly with Celebrity again.

We booked directly with Celebrity and the agent at the time responded with his Celebrity email to confirm the booking and said get back to him with any problems. When logging on to our booking I noticed the amount still to pay had changed so contacted him by email and he got back to me and had it sorted quickly. Our booking is for Feb 2021 and I’m moving it to 2022, I contacted him and he has stated no problem just let him know and he will change it as we are eligible for the move.