WORD TO THE WISE and FCC!

[Keys Kathy]

30 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

It’s called pandemic staffing issues across the service industry, celebrity is not immune from it.

Ah yes! Reading your posts, I can see that you are one of those "it is always someone else's fault" people. How many excuses have you made in the last six months? Start counting. You may surprise yourself and find the glass is always half empty..

 

 

[LGW59]

31 minutes ago, Keys Kathy said:

Ah yes! Reading your posts, I can see that you are one of those "it is always someone else's fault" people. How many excuses have you made in the last six months? Start counting. You may surprise yourself and find the glass is always half empty..

 

 

Nice way to kill some time while waiting on hold.

[LGW59]

40 minutes ago, Keys Kathy said:

Hats off to Lisa! You really have this figured out! It is simple math. 

 

Customer paid X. It is right on the reservation confirmation. Subtract taxes and port charges that are going back to the credit card. Initiate credit card credit.

 

Multiply the balance by 125% = credit due to traveler. Issue voucher to traveler. The entire process shouldn't take more that 15 minutes. 

 

Do this in a timely matter= happy customers. Can't do the math? = Unhappy customers that you will loose to another carrier, just as you have lost me and many other people.

 

95% of the transactions are that easy. For those that are more difficult due to multiple cancellations / FCC, allow those agents 30 minutes to finish it. 

 

Reward those that get the job done, fire those that can't. They are not limited to hiring in the Miami area because many people are working from home.

 

Sounds like it is time for Indeed!

 

Easy peasy, perhaps they should hire some fifth graders.

Enjoy your next line.

[terrydtx]

On 11/25/2021 at 5:48 PM, OCruisers said:

This doesn't help you ... but it's a good reminder to me why I use my long time travel agent so I don't have to deal with this sort of thing myself.

Do very much hope you'll get things worked out.  

Same here, I would never book direct with any cruise line. My TA takes care of any issues that come up. Your TA works for you, the cruise line rep, no matter what you think, works for the cruise line and has their best interests first.

[ORV]

14 hours ago, terrydtx said:

Same here, I would never book direct with any cruise line. My TA takes care of any issues that come up. Your TA works for you, the cruise line rep, no matter what you think, works for the cruise line and has their best interests first.

Did you miss the part where she said she IS a TA? So much I could say, but no need to say it. 

[sayvan]

On 11/25/2021 at 8:28 PM, Keys Kathy said:

Well, Celebrity wants to make THEIR problem my problem. They can't process the FCC on time, and their wait time is rediculous.

 

I have better things to do with 2 hours of my time than to sit on hold with a cruise line and when I asked to be compensated for my time, they offered me a WHOLE $25. OBC! I said no thanks. 

 

Every heard about cutting off your nose to spite your face? I asked for dinner. It would have cost them about $45. in real money, they said no. It will cost them thousands in the long run. We didn't get to Elite plus by not spending money. Hey, their choice. 

 

I remember a restaurant who's certificate I won. We didn't use it all. There was about $7.00 left on the certificate. They said we couldn't keep it. Think about it, had we gone back with our $7.00, we would have spent at least $20.00 to use their $7.00. Not good thinking on their part. We never went back.

 

There is always someone who wants my business. I will find them. 

Bye…. I’ll be at the Martini Bar! 

Edited November 28, 2021 by sayvan

[LGW59]

On 11/26/2021 at 12:14 PM, Pickels said:

Do they put you on hold so that you will eventually lose patience and log on to their website?  Hmmm? 

Perhaps they have the number flagged.

[RollWave]

On 11/25/2021 at 5:56 PM, Keys Kathy said:

Frankly, I am getting a bit disgusted with Celebrity. Who should I use to replace them? My Elite-Plus benefits don't mean much anymore. 

 

I am interested in options to replace Celebrity.

 

Was looking through this thread because we will have a FCC when I cancel our December Millennium cruise. We will plan to use it in December 2022 on a short trip just to use it.

 

We have a January Edge sailing that I am looking forward to because it is Edge and The Retreat but after that we will give other options a try.

 

[rodndonna]

We had a very similar experience but was hoping it would work itself out before we sail (Sept). We had a cancelled cruise paid in full and credited for $1947 in FCC (we have the invoice from the 3rd party that clearly states that)

 

We called X to book a cruise last week as we had not yet received our long overdue FCC to book with. There was some "I have to talk to someone" to get the deposit pulled from FCC that was not yet issued but said he could do it. Sounded good.

 

When we got the invoice, they paid $1348 as FCC (much more than the deposit) and there was no mention of the remainder owed of our FCC.

 

We are hoping the remainder of $619 is sill in the processing FCC pipe. Our original booking invoice (3rd party) showed

 

$1341 Celebrity (this was the base fare)

$300 non-commmisionable cruise fare (I think this was the perk pack cost add-on)

$306 cruise taxes

_________________________

for the $1947 total which it then stated as FCC to be issued

 

so we can see where the remaining FCC is cooing from.  We did have experience with a cancelled flight holiday where the refund came in  chunks for the base fare and then additional (upgrade) charges we paid so am hoping that is the case here. We have time on our side before our cruise, but if it is not resolved next summer, then I guess I will be hanging on the phone to get it resolved.

 

 

[Keys Kathy]

17 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

We had a very similar experience but was hoping it would work itself out before we sail (Sept). We had a cancelled cruise paid in full and credited for $1947 in FCC (we have the invoice from the 3rd party that clearly states that)

 

We called X to book a cruise last week as we had not yet received our long overdue FCC to book with. There was some "I have to talk to someone" to get the deposit pulled from FCC that was not yet issued but said he could do it. Sounded good.

 

When we got the invoice, they paid $1348 as FCC (much more than the deposit) and there was no mention of the remainder owed of our FCC.

 

We are hoping the remainder of $619 is sill in the processing FCC pipe. Our original booking invoice (3rd party) showed

 

$1341 Celebrity (this was the base fare)

$300 non-commmisionable cruise fare (I think this was the perk pack cost add-on)

$306 cruise taxes

_________________________

for the $1947 total which it then stated as FCC to be issued

 

so we can see where the remaining FCC is cooing from.  We did have experience with a cancelled flight holiday where the refund came in  chunks for the base fare and then additional (upgrade) charges we paid so am hoping that is the case here. We have time on our side before our cruise, but if it is not resolved next summer, then I guess I will be hanging on the phone to get it resolved.

 

 

The taxes will go back to your credit card, but watch them like a hawk for your balance! They just don't seem to care and if you don't catch it, that is a plus for them.

 

Pay attention though, "When planning your next voyage, please keep in mind that you will have until April 30, 2022, to redeem your credit toward a sailing that begins on or before December 31, 2022" 

 

If you don't have the credit by April 30th, you won't be able to use it on your booking!

[galveston gal]

On 11/26/2021 at 4:05 AM, GeriatricNurse said:

Actually, there IS an additional charge to use a travel 'agent', ('advisor, 'consultant'), because  I was charged $60 by my 'agent' to book my AC flights, (that I could have booked myself, online, from their website, in less than one minute)!!! 🥵

I called Celebrity Air and found that process much easier and the agent very helpful.  Next time do that.  They are open 24 hours a day.  I have spoken to the twice and never held more than 2 minutes.

[rodndonna]

On 11/26/2021 at 5:05 AM, GeriatricNurse said:

Actually, there IS an additional charge to use a travel 'agent', ('advisor, 'consultant'), because  I was charged $60 by my 'agent' to book my AC flights, (that I could have booked myself, online, from their website, in less than one minute)!!! 🥵

 

Since you are talking AC we have had two experiences with them. Our original booking was quite a but cheaper using AC vac...tions then booking cruise and flight any other way (TA's, seperate bookings or through Celebrity). After cancelling that cruise, we rebooked directly with Celebrity last week and with the Black Friday sale, we actually got better flight prices for AC then we could get through AC's website. 

 

I don't use TA"s very much but have a hard time imaging charging $60 to book flights - yikes!

[zitsky]

Even TAs can use TAs, right???  🤔

[zitsky]

4 hours ago, RollWave said:

I am interested in options to replace Celebrity.

 

Was looking through this thread because we will have a FCC when I cancel our December Millennium cruise. We will plan to use it in December 2022 on a short trip just to use it.

 

We have a January Edge sailing that I am looking forward to because it is Edge and The Retreat but after that we will give other options a try.

 

 

I would start browsing the other forums.  I came from Viking.  Good experience but my partner got tired of all the "old" people on their ships.  We are mid 50s! 

 

And there was that infamous cruise off Norway where they had to airlift hundreds of passengers by helicopter.  Was that a positive or negative in terms of customer service?

[terrydtx]

1 hour ago, galveston gal said:

I called Celebrity Air and found that process much easier and the agent very helpful.  Next time do that.  They are open 24 hours a day.  I have spoken to the twice and never held more than 2 minutes.

My experience too, I have NEVER been charged a fee to book airline tickets with my TA. Back in early July when Delta changed our flights for our Equinox cruise that we booked with AC, Delta had an 8 hour on hold time. I called AC and got them fixed in less than 10 minutes total.

[Ken the cruiser]

On 11/26/2021 at 2:33 PM, Keys Kathy said:

I am aware of what is supposed to be credited to your card and what should go forward as FCC. After removing the Taxes, which will go back to the credit card, I was still shorted. It had something to do with the commission, which they withheld. The didn't blah, blah, blah and they need to contact who knows who to get it corrected which could take weeks or months to correct. He finally just credited the new booking with the amount I was shorted, which was over $200.

 

I've always wondered if Celebrity has to cancel a cruise after final payment and subsequently issues a passenger an FCC, does Celebrity then get to claw back the (16% +/-) commission they sent to the TA or does Celebrity simply have to "eat" that commission they paid to the TA even though the cruise was cancelled? Any ideas since you work for a travel agency?

[Keys Kathy]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

I've always wondered if Celebrity has to cancel a cruise after final payment and subsequently issues a passenger an FCC, does Celebrity then get to claw back the (16% +/-) commission they sent to the TA or does Celebrity simply have to "eat" that commission they paid to the TA even though the cruise was cancelled? Any ideas since you work for a travel agency?

The agency does not get paid until AFTER the cruise is taken. No cruise, no commission unless something special is put in place.

[Ken the cruiser]

5 minutes ago, Keys Kathy said:

The agency does not get paid until AFTER the cruise is taken. No cruise, no commission unless something special is put in place.

Thanks! I always wondered about that.

[ajconova]

9 hours ago, rodndonna said:

We had a very similar experience but was hoping it would work itself out before we sail (Sept). We had a cancelled cruise paid in full and credited for $1947 in FCC (we have the invoice from the 3rd party that clearly states that)

 

We called X to book a cruise last week as we had not yet received our long overdue FCC to book with. There was some "I have to talk to someone" to get the deposit pulled from FCC that was not yet issued but said he could do it. Sounded good.

 

When we got the invoice, they paid $1348 as FCC (much more than the deposit) and there was no mention of the remainder owed of our FCC.

 

We are hoping the remainder of $619 is sill in the processing FCC pipe. Our original booking invoice (3rd party) showed

 

$1341 Celebrity (this was the base fare)

$300 non-commmisionable cruise fare (I think this was the perk pack cost add-on)

$306 cruise taxes

_________________________

for the $1947 total which it then stated as FCC to be issued

 

so we can see where the remaining FCC is cooing from.  We did have experience with a cancelled flight holiday where the refund came in  chunks for the base fare and then additional (upgrade) charges we paid so am hoping that is the case here. We have time on our side before our cruise, but if it is not resolved next summer, then I guess I will be hanging on the phone to get it resolved.

 

 

You should get new FCC certificate for remaining amount. We had similar situation and emailed Celebrity Engagement. Their response was "We would like to inform you that for the  balance amount of the Future Cruise Credit remaining, a new certificate number will be created and this will be be from the time of redemption 30 to 45 days after" We also telephoned X, took about 1 hour but issue was resolved in 1 week after the call.

[terrydtx]

We had our cruise on the Infinity canceled after final payment on June 22, and we were given a 125% FCC that they said would take 45 to 60 days to process.  We got the credit card refund for our Celebrity airfare over $6000 the next week, and the tax and port fees reimbursed on July 5th. On that same day, June 22, we had our TA book the Aug 27th Equinox cruise and apply the FCC for payment. It took until August 16th for Celebrity to process and issue the FCC which was then applied to our final payment for the Equinox cruise. Celebrity never threatened to cancel the new cruise since we had gone way past final payment because both my TA and Celebrity customer service worked together to make things happen. I was more than happy with my Celebrity experience and have now booked 3 more cruises all in a Sky Suite.

[zitsky]

34 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We had our cruise on the Infinity canceled after final payment on June 22, and we were given a 125% FCC that they said would take 45 to 60 days to process.  We got the credit card refund for our Celebrity airfare over $6000 the next week, and the tax and port fees reimbursed on July 5th. On that same day, June 22, we had our TA book the Aug 27th Equinox cruise and apply the FCC for payment. It took until August 16th for Celebrity to process and issue the FCC which was then applied to our final payment for the Equinox cruise. Celebrity never threatened to cancel the new cruise since we had gone way past final payment because both my TA and Celebrity customer service worked together to make things happen. I was more than happy with my Celebrity experience and have now booked 3 more cruises all in a Sky Suite.

 

@terrydtx I like to read stories like this, as a relatively new X cruiser... because you hear too many stories the other way.  "X gave me 2 bars of soap, not 3, so I'm never sailing them again!!!"

[Keys Kathy]

16 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

@terrydtx I like to read stories like this, as a relatively new X cruiser... because you hear too many stories the other way.  "X gave me 2 bars of soap, not 3, so I'm never sailing them again!!!"

Soap is one thing, money is something else! And it is not just the money, it is the total disregard of my time.

[zitsky]

8 minutes ago, Keys Kathy said:

Soap is one thing, money is something else! And it is not just the money, it is the total disregard of my time.

 

Did I get you right that you are a travel agent?  If you change companies, will you keep doing it yourself?  I'm a project manager but I still use a TA.  

[GeriatricNurse]

21 hours ago, galveston gal said:

I called Celebrity Air and found that process much easier and the agent very helpful.  Next time do that.  They are open 24 hours a day.  I have spoken to the twice and never held more than 2 minutes.

Thanks, but no thanks!  I do NOT wish to book 'Celebrity Air'!  I'm in Canada and (always) choose to book with Air Canada; with whom I've flown MANY times, with ABSOLUTELY) no 'issues' of any kind!  Celebrity Air to/from Canada would (likely be with 'Air Transat')!  No Thanks!

[terrydtx]

58 minutes ago, GeriatricNurse said:

Thanks, but no thanks!  I do NOT wish to book 'Celebrity Air'!  I'm in Canada and (always) choose to book with Air Canada; with whom I've flown MANY times, with ABSOLUTELY) no 'issues' of any kind!  Celebrity Air to/from Canada would (likely be with 'Air Transat')!  No Thanks!

Have you even looked at Celebrity Air online? You pick the airlines, the routes, the times, and the flights just like you can with any online booking tool. If you want to fly Air Canada you can choose Air Canada.  Air Canada does show up as an available airline, even in flights from the U.S. CA has saved us hundreds of $ in airfare costs. You even get your air miles with CA and once booked you can upgrade with miles on most airlines. Don't be so quick to blast something before you have looked or used it.

Edited November 29, 2021 by terrydtx