reservation transfer

[seaworthy1]

I am trying to transfer a cruise to a "big box" TA.  Filled in requested info on Celebrity's web site transfer form and receive following message.  " The agency associated with this reservation is not a direct agency thus this booking can not be transfered. Please try again."   Does anyone know what this means?  IThanks in advance

 

[1025cruise]

How did you book in the first place?

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, seaworthy1 said:

I am trying to transfer a cruise to a "big box" TA.  Filled in requested info on Celebrity's web site transfer form and receive following message.  " The agency associated with this reservation is not a direct agency thus this booking can not be transfered. Please try again."   Does anyone know what this means?  IThanks in advance

 

Call the TA you are working with and have them do the transfer. 

Edited June 13, 2020 by davekathy

[1025cruise]

If you booked with a TA, you need them to release the booking. You can only transfer to a TA if you booked direct.

[kokopelli-az]

16 hours ago, seaworthy1 said:

I am trying to transfer a cruise to a "big box" TA.  Filled in requested info on Celebrity's web site transfer form and receive following message.  " The agency associated with this reservation is not a direct agency thus this booking can not be transfered. Please try again."   Does anyone know what this means?  Thanks in advance

 

 

Just transferred a cruise (made on Celebrity's website) over to the big box TA this week.   I called the TA and they sent a request to Celebrity and within a few days it was transferred over to big box.   

 

Received this email from Celebrity:

 

Please be advised that your request to transfer reservation #1031xxx to be serviced by xxxxx, WA, 98027 was received. Please allow up to 5-7 business days for processing.

We look forward to welcoming you onboard!

[seaworthy1]

25 minutes ago, 1025cruise said:

If you booked with a TA, you need them to release the booking. You can only transfer to a TA if you booked direct.

I booked directly with Celebrity, if anyone has used Celebrity's transfer form you know the first page only asks name, ship, sail date, and res #.  How they would know which "agency" I was using is a mystery to me.  Is this just a typical Celebrity web site issue?

[jelayne]

As others have said call the TA and they should handle this.  Transferred 20 cruises to various TA and they have always handled the transfer. 

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, seaworthy1 said:

I booked directly with Celebrity, if anyone has used Celebrity's transfer form you know the first page only asks name, ship, sail date, and res #.  How they would know which "agency" I was using is a mystery to me.  Is this just a typical Celebrity web site issue?

Again, this is why you need to let the TA you are wanting the booking to be transferred to handle the transfer. 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

3 hours ago, seaworthy1 said:

I booked directly with Celebrity, if anyone has used Celebrity's transfer form you know the first page only asks name, ship, sail date, and res #.  How they would know which "agency" I was using is a mystery to me.  Is this just a typical Celebrity web site issue?

 

Why would you do the work when the TA can handle it efficiently?

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I have never ever had to fill out any Celebrity form when transferring a cruise I booked with Celebrity to an agent.  The agent handled everything.  Both cruises I booked on board and cruises I booked online.

Edited June 14, 2020 by Happy Cruiser 6143

[springssparrow]

When I transferred mine to the big box store, I called them first and they told me what phone number to put on the celebrity transfer form. I had to fill out the form and wait for an email from celebrity saying it had been transferred, then call the TA again so they could "grab" the reservation. They said they couldn't take it from celebrity until after it had been released by them, hence the two step process. This was last December.

[gerelmx]

On 6/12/2020 at 5:31 PM, seaworthy1 said:

I am trying to transfer a cruise to a "big box" TA.  Filled in requested info on Celebrity's web site transfer form and receive following message.  " The agency associated with this reservation is not a direct agency thus this booking can not be transfered. Please try again."   Does anyone know what this means?  IThanks in advance

 

 

I write a letter to Celebrity autorizing to transfer the booking #XXXXX ship name WWWWWW sail date mm/dd/yy to my travel agent BIG BOX,  attn your name, Sign and date, scan the letter and send to your TA he/she will reach Celebrity to do the transfer.

 

 

[kokopelli-az]

12 hours ago, springssparrow said:

When I transferred mine to the big box store, I called them first and they told me what phone number to put on the celebrity transfer form. I had to fill out the form and wait for an email from celebrity saying it had been transferred, then call the TA again so they could "grab" the reservation. They said they couldn't take it from celebrity until after it had been released by them, hence the two step process. This was last December.

I've never had this happen with transferring a cruise to the Big Box store.   The Big Box TA just told me ok and they sent a request to Celebrity and Celebrity magically transferred the cruise.    This is the same way it happened with other cruise lines, too, not just Celebrity - the Big Box TA handled it all.  

 

Maybe it depends on who you're talking to at the TA.   Some agents do not seem to know too much.   One didn't even know what an accessible stateroom was.   When this has happened with Big Box agents (which is not the usual case) I just end the call, call back and talk with another (hopefully, knowledgeable) agent.

[kokopelli-az]

14 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I have never ever had to fill out any Celebrity form when transferring a cruise I booked with Celebrity to an agent.  The agent handled everything.  Both cruises I booked on board and cruises I booked online.

 That's been our experience, too.   And we also like to book while on board and transfer it over to a TA when we get home.   

 

Which reminds me of another thing.   If you book on board or on the cruise line's website and then have it transferred over to a TA, triple-check to be sure that all the perks you originally received are on the confirmation from your TA.   

On several occasions the bonus OBC that we received from booking on board did not show up on the TA's confirmation until I called to have them add it.   Also be sure to take all your reservation documentation with you on the ship.   We've also had perks missing (especially OBC) that we originally had that were missing when we got on board and had to go to Guest Services to have them fix it.   

[davekathy]

7 minutes ago, kokopelli-az said:

 That's been our experience, too.   And we also like to book while on board and transfer it over to a TA when we get home.   

 

Which reminds me of another thing.   If you book on board or on the cruise line's website and then have it transferred over to a TA, triple-check to be sure that all the perks you originally received are on the confirmation from your TA.   

On several occasions the bonus OBC that we received from booking on board did not show up on the TA's confirmation until I called to have them add it.   Also be sure to take all your reservation documentation with you on the ship.   We've also had perks missing (especially OBC) that we originally had that were missing when we got on board and had to go to Guest Services to have them fix it.   

Agree you have to do all the homework and do your own QC when booking directly with Celebrity (or any cruise line) and a TA.

When we book onboard for a future cruise I always tell the FCC on the ship not to directly transfer the booking to the TA of record. Once I get home I make a couple of calls to see what additional perks the TA will give us to get our booking(s). Then I let the TA know exactly what we are getting from Celebrity and request at that time the TA handle the transfer. Then when that is all taken care of I request a detailed invoice from the TA showing everything from Celebrity (perks, dining preference, stateroom category and number, etc.) and TA (perks, reduced fare, etc.).