Should I transfer a booking to a new TA? (Aqua more expensive than Retreat)

[zitsky]

A couple months ago I was debating changing a Millie booking from Sky Suite to Aqua.  At the time the TA said “I have a group rate and Aqua is more expensive.”  I just went back and looked.  Has anyone ever heard this?

 

I wonder if I’m getting bad advice.  How do you change TA’s on an existing booking?  I think the current one has to release it and they have no incentive to do so.  I don’t want to switch then have the new TA say the same thing.

 

Currently Aqua is 50% of a Sky Suite.  I’m not sure for this cruise that a SS is worth it with only 2-3 sea days.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I think you'd probably just need to cancel and then rebook either on your own or with a different TA.

[gold1953]

You can request Celebrity take over your booking with a valid reason

[zitsky]

3 minutes ago, gold1953 said:

You can request Celebrity take over your booking with a valid reason

@gold1953 My reason would be not being sure I’m getting the right figures to change my booking.  But I am not sure how I can be certain if the TA is giving me the right story.

 

@WrittenOnYourHeart I chose a non refundable deposit which I’ve done several times.  So I don’t think I can cancel.

 

If I can save 50% I think we would choose to do it.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

12 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I chose a non refundable deposit which I’ve done several times.  So I don’t think I can cancel.

Not sure you could change the travel agent then either.

 

IF you can, you'd have to get the current TA to release it, which if it's part of a group booking they may be unwilling to do.

[zitsky]

7 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Not sure you could change the travel agent then either.

 

IF you can, you'd have to get the current TA to release it, which if it's part of a group booking they may be unwilling to do.

That’s what I thought.  This TA has been mostly reliable but then I’ve never said before “Maybe I’d like to change my booking.”

 

It’s not the end of the world and the difference won’t break the bank.  But it’s money we could save.

 

My husband says “we don’t need a butler and Blu is good enough”.  We had a lot of sea days on our South America cruise.  That would be a good time to be in the Retreat.

[Mr. Click]

It is not unusual for some of the larger TAs to make deals with cruise lines for blocks of cabins at discount prices and then try to sell those cabins to their customers at a better price than the cruise line or other TAs so it is quite possible that at the time you asked your TA about a change his group/block deal for a Sky Suite was better than the rack rate for Aqua.  

 

As far as changing TAs in midstream, it is not easy.  You would need a really strong reason to make a change without incurring penalties/costs.  If you do want to make a change to your booking talk to your TA and see what the current options are.  We had to change our Iceland trip for this summer and had to pay a $200 fee to make the change.  I needed a different date so I paid the fee, luckily  for me the new cruise priced over $2K less......

[jelayne]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

A couple months ago I was debating changing a Millie booking from Sky Suite to Aqua.  At the time the TA said “I have a group rate and Aqua is more expensive.”  I just went back and looked.  Has anyone ever heard this?

 

I wonder if I’m getting bad advice.  How do you change TA’s on an existing booking?  I think the current one has to release it and they have no incentive to do so.  I don’t want to switch then have the new TA say the same thing.

 

Currently Aqua is 50% of a Sky Suite.  I’m not sure for this cruise that a SS is worth it with only 2-3 sea days.

Have you tried doing mock bookings on your TAs site, the Celebrity site and another large TA site to see what the pricing is.  That may tell you whether you are getting good info or not.  

[markeb]

Have you talked to them since doing your own pricing? As stated above, things may have changed in those two months. They may be able to do what you're seeing. But it wouldn't surprise me for them to have had a better group rate than the rack rates you can see on Celebrity. But if you can now see a rate that's much better that includes everything you want, AND gets you the experience you want, the first step would be to ask the TA to look at the change. But I'd also listen to them if they break any of the "not obvious" parts down to be sure you understand the entire change.

 

But before trying to change TA's on an answer you got two months ago (if I'm reading your post correctly), make sure your current TA's information hasn't changed as well. We had a saying when I was in uniform that the truth has a date-time-group...

Edited March 10 by markeb

[zitsky]

18 minutes ago, markeb said:

Have you talked to them since doing your own pricing? As stated above, things may have changed in those two months. They may be able to do what you're seeing. But it wouldn't surprise me for them to have had a better group rate than the rack rates you can see on Celebrity. But if you can now see a rate that's much better that includes everything you want, AND gets you the experience you want, the first step would be to ask the TA to look at the change. But I'd also listen to them if they break any of the "not obvious" parts down to be sure you understand the entire change.

 

But before trying to change TA's on an answer you got two months ago (if I'm reading your post correctly), make sure your current TA's information hasn't changed as well. We had a saying when I was in uniform that the truth has a date-time-group...

Yes I sent a quick short email.  I find it odd that they could have cheaper pricing for SS than for Aqua.  And that their pricing for Aqua is twice the Celebrity price.

[critterchick]

7 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Yes I sent a quick short email.  I find it odd that they could have cheaper pricing for SS than for Aqua.  And that their pricing for Aqua is twice the Celebrity price.

Are you looking at the no perks fare for your Aquaclass booking? Depending on when the group was formed, the AQ cabins may still include all four perks - classic drink package, standard Wifi, gratuity and OBC. 

If that’s the case and you don’t want the perks, the TA should still be able to change the booking for you to a no-perks fare.

[zitsky]

7 minutes ago, critterchick said:

Are you looking at the no perks fare for your Aquaclass booking? Depending on when the group was formed, the AQ cabins may still include all four perks - classic drink package, standard Wifi, gratuity and OBC. 

If that’s the case and you don’t want the perks, the TA should still be able to change the booking for you to a no-perks fare.

Sure I get it depends on what group and how it is defined.  Celebrity gives two choices now.  Cruise only and All included.  I always thought I could change before final payment.

[Arizona Wildcat]

11 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Yes I sent a quick short email.  I find it odd that they could have cheaper pricing for SS than for Aqua.  And that their pricing for Aqua is twice the Celebrity price.

Have seen Aqua cheaper than Verandas and Sky Suites cheaper than Aqua.

The problem with doing a check now is fares and promotions are all different.

Yes you can move your booking to Celebrity but if you are in a group block on your TA booking make sure nothing else changes.   Anything your TA provided you would lose.  Moving from one TA to another TA?  I tried and was told no.

Worth a mock booking with Celebrity followed by you comparing.  Then asking Celebrity.   If you are before final payment can you change cabin class?

[zitsky]

25 minutes ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Have seen Aqua cheaper than Verandas and Sky Suites cheaper than Aqua.

The problem with doing a check now is fares and promotions are all different.

Yes you can move your booking to Celebrity but if you are in a group block on your TA booking make sure nothing else changes.   Anything your TA provided you would lose.  Moving from one TA to another TA?  I tried and was told no.

Worth a mock booking with Celebrity followed by you comparing.  Then asking Celebrity.   If you are before final payment can you change cabin class?

Oh I did do a mock booking.  That’s why I wanted to check prices with the TA again.  I’ve done 5-6 cruises and I’ve never had any trouble making changes before.  But I’ve never tried to go from suite to something else.  I tried a mock booking on the TA site but I’m not getting a specific price for Aqua.  I’d have to wait for a quote.

 

Edited March 10 by zitsky

[Jeremiah1212]

Your invoice may show what rate code you're booked under. Some red flags. A TA having group space for suites is very uncommon. I also looked at the old rates group rates for Dec 2024 on ML and I'm not seeing a suite group rate was ever available from Celebrity.

 

As far as moving an existing booking with a TA to another TA just because you want a different deal, that should never be allowed. 

[Team Stag]

Is it possible your TA is confused Aqua with Aqua Suite?  That would explain the pricing difference the TA sees. 

[NMTraveller]

I would think that you could show the deal that you want to your TA and your TA could book that rate.  Why switch TAs unless you are unhappy with their service?

 

 

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

I would think that you could show the deal that you want to your TA and your TA could book that rate.  Why switch TAs unless you are unhappy with their service?

 

 

I’m not saying I’d switch TAs.  I am not saying that’s possible.  It’s a question not a statement.  I think my TA might not be giving me all my choices.  To me this should be as simple as telling the TA that I want to change and she changes the booking. 

In future I can see it would be easier and cheaper to book Aqua then make a small move up bid if we really want a SS.

[markeb]

33 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’m not saying I’d switch TAs.  I am not saying that’s possible.  It’s a question not a statement.  I think my TA might not be giving me all my choices.  To me this should be as simple as telling the TA that I want to change and she changes the booking. 

In future I can see it would be easier and cheaper to book Aqua then make a small move up bid if we really want a SS.

 

While I recognize a tendency to sarcasm and sometimes extreme sarcastic positions (takes one to know one), you're also a notorious over planner and over analyzer. You wouldn't have picked a TA without more research than the average bear. Give them a chance.

 

And no, it shouldn't be that simple. That's how you do silly things. The TA SHOULD protect you from yourself!

[zitsky]

31 minutes ago, markeb said:

 

While I recognize a tendency to sarcasm and sometimes extreme sarcastic positions (takes one to know one), you're also a notorious over planner and over analyzer. You wouldn't have picked a TA without more research than the average bear. Give them a chance.

 

And no, it shouldn't be that simple. That's how you do silly things. The TA SHOULD protect you from yourself!

I’ll see what the travel agent says.  I get slammed for not spending more or wanting to spend less.  You can’t please everyone.

 

And yes I plan things.  It’s what I get paid to do.  Now leave me be so I can decide when I’ll be eating lunch in 10 months.

[mtnlvr53]

6 hours ago, zitsky said:

@gold1953 My reason would be not being sure I’m getting the right figures to change my booking.  But I am not sure how I can be certain if the TA is giving me the right story.

 

@WrittenOnYourHeart I chose a non refundable deposit which I’ve done several times.  So I don’t think I can cancel.

 

If I can save 50% I think we would choose to do it.

My TA group bookings have a refundable deposit (part of the group perks) so that's worth checking out. Aqua class rooms have been ridiculously expensive recently particularly in view of the removal of the free (included) classic beverage package. I asked my TA why that was and she said she thought it was because Blu had become very popular and people wanted that class because of it so they don't seem to mind not having the bev package. 

So check to see if your Aqua class pricing included the beverage package. That could make a difference. 

Edited March 11 by mtnlvr53

[NMTraveller]

There is only one way to solve this conundrum.  @zitsky you need to become the TA.

[mahdnc]

10 hours ago, zitsky said:

 How do you change TA’s on an existing booking?  I think the current one has to release it and they have no incentive to do so.  I don’t want to switch then have the new TA say the same thing.

In 2017 the owner of a small travel agency with whom I did all my cruise bookings unexpectedly died and her husband (who was not familiar with the business) inherited the travel agency and ran it very poorly. 
 

So I was able to unilaterally get my 2019 Reflection booking taken away from that travel agency and got it transferred into the hands of my current travel agent. I did that by writing an email to agencychanges@rccl.com. The email detailed the reasons for the request. I received an automated acknowledgement of receipt and then a few days later my then new travel agent received the booking. 

Edited March 11 by mahdnc

[zitsky]

8 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

There is only one way to solve this conundrum.  @zitsky you need to become the TA.

Good news!  Our TA is swapping our booking for a Penthouse suite. Because it’s cheaper than Aqua.  😂

[DaKahuna]

On 3/10/2024 at 11:47 PM, NMTraveller said:

There is only one way to solve this conundrum.  @zitsky you need to become the TA.

 I wish it was that easy.