FCC: book thru TA or Celebrity 1st?

[KKB]

To maximize benefits…

Can I book thru TA & once it hits Celebrity’s system, I get my OBC (hmmm what about the deposit?)

Or do I book thru Celebrity & transfer to TA after?

What if TA price is better?

[leaveitallbehind]

Are you referring to a future cruise credit, such as that issued by the cruise line during the pandemic cancelations, or other reason?  If so, IMO I would book through a TA and let them handle it on your behalf.  If there are better fares available not published directly through the cruise line to the general public they will be able to provide them for you.  You may also get additional benefits not issued by the cruise line from the TA if they are in a position to offer them.  All they need is the FCC number and they can do the rest.

 

If you are referring to a future cruise booking that you made on board that also can be booked through a TA with the same on board booking benefits secured when you booked it.

Edited June 6 by leaveitallbehind

[wrk2cruise]

If your talking about the Book Later certificate it may depend on when you purchased it.  Around the first of the year they turned them to non refundable so they can only be applied to a non-refundable rate.   If your TA is offering a group rate which are typically refundable I don't believe these can be applied.  There was a thread about this last week.

 

I guess we probably need more specifics.

 

FCC  Future Cruise Credit generally given as a good will gesture for a cancellation or some issue onboard.

 

Book Now  Onboard booking with reduced deposit on non-suite reservations plus bonus OBC for all bookings.  You select the Ship and Sail Date while onboard.  Can be Refundable or Non-Refundable deposit

 

Book Later  If purchased in 2024 reduced deposit and must select a ship/sail date within 6 months to receive the bonus OBC.  If not used within 12 months they are void and deposit is forfeited.  When selecting ship/sail date can only used on a NRD rate type.

 

 

 

[Cap_D]

Question:  I have a book later certificate secured on April 2.   I may book a cruise for August and would like to get the benefit of the book later certificate (credit for the amount paid, and OBC) and go through a TA or assign it to a TA.  (I don't presently have one in mind, but also don't need extra help).  Is this possible?  I would normally skip the TA and book direct, but besides using the TA for other aspects of the trip, they "might" reward us with a bonus, etc. and that is more than Celebrity is offering.  If we take this trip, we may not have any other reason to use the certificate or finalize a trip within the 10 months.  

Edited June 6 by Cap_D

[wrk2cruise]

The  rule is you only have 30 days to transfer a reservation to a TA so technically the window has closed.  The Book Later certificate has a booking number so it's considered a reservation even before you assign a ship/sail date.

 

It's been reported here that some TA's successfully transfer outside of the 30 days.  In either case a reservation can't be transferred after final payment date which I believe August sailings would be past.

[Cap_D]

2 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

The  rule is you only have 30 days to transfer a reservation to a TA so technically the window has closed.  The Book Later certificate has a booking number so it's considered a reservation even before you assign a ship/sail date.

 

It's been reported here that some TA's successfully transfer outside of the 30 days.  In either case a reservation can't be transferred after final payment date which I believe August sailings would be past.

Thanks.  I was afraid that was the analysis.  In this case, these rules and a close in booking become a disincentive to travel on Celebrity.  Also, looking at Explora or land options. 

[wrk2cruise]

With the close in booking I think I'd just go with booking via Celebrity.   If you have no use for the Book Later certificate before it expires the only possibility would be to gift it to someone else as all names on the certificate can be changed until the ship/sail date is assigned.

[KKB]

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

 

Book Later  If purchased in 2024 reduced deposit and must select a ship/sail date within 6 months to receive the bonus OBC.  If not used within 12 months they are void and deposit is forfeited.  When selecting ship/sail date can only used on a NRD rate type.

 

 

 

OK this was a "Book Later" booked in 2023.

I was under the impression if we did not book with it, they would refund our $200.

Edited June 7 by KKB

[Milhouse]

 

6 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

The  rule is you only have 30 days to transfer a reservation to a TA so technically the window has closed.  The Book Later certificate has a booking number so it's considered a reservation even before you assign a ship/sail date.

 

It's been reported here that some TA's successfully transfer outside of the 30 days.  In either case a reservation can't be transferred after final payment date which I believe August sailings would be past.

 

Point of possible(??) clarification (but I don't know if they have changed policy recently).

We had put down a deposit for a Book Later future cruise during a sailing in November, selected the itinerary around February, and had the booking (eventually) assiged to a TA.  

During calls, our TA and multiple X reps seemed to pull up internal documentation that indicated that for Book Later deposits/confirmations (is it accurate to call them a booking at that point??), you have 30 days from when you select an itinerary to assign/transfer the booking to a TA.  (Which still obviously does not help Cap_D's situation being within final payment.)

 

We initally went to X, selected the itinerary, and then transfered to the TA which took a month because of various problems, following up, etc.  If I had to do it again, I'd try going through the TA first and have them jump through the hoops.

[wallyj]

1 hour ago, Milhouse said:

 

 

Point of possible(??) clarification (but I don't know if they have changed policy recently).

We had put down a deposit for a Book Later future cruise during a sailing in November, selected the itinerary around February, and had the booking (eventually) assiged to a TA.  

During calls, our TA and multiple X reps seemed to pull up internal documentation that indicated that for Book Later deposits/confirmations (is it accurate to call them a booking at that point??), you have 30 days from when you select an itinerary to assign/transfer the booking to a TA.  (Which still obviously does not help Cap_D's situation being within final payment.)

 

We initally went to X, selected the itinerary, and then transfered to the TA which took a month because of various problems, following up, etc.  If I had to do it again, I'd try going through the TA first and have them jump through the hoops.

It sounds like in 2024,  the Book later deposit terms and conditions have changed that if not used within 12 months you lose it.
 

I acquired 2 book later deposits last November. I had the choice of them defaulting to the agency I used to book my current sailing or to assign them with Celebrity. I choose to leave with Celebrity because I agency shop when I am booking a cruise.

 

At first, this past May,  I tried having my TA try to book with book later number, but they are not able to, since the booking belongs to Celebrity. Had to have Celebrity make the booking then request transfer to my TA. When I submitted the transfer request, I got an immediate denial email saying transfer request needs to be done within 30 days of book later deposit date. I thought how can I transfer if I do not have a booking/sailing selected yet and have not decided which TA I want to use.

 

After calling Celebrity, I was told I had 30 days from selecting a sailing to transfer to my TA and of course you still need to be before final payment.  So this sounds similar to what you went thru. So if you had to do it again, you would have to do the same, as your TA will not be able to jump thru the hoops.

 

Celebrity did transfer the booking to my TA who offers additional discounts. 
 

I am disappointed to hear the book later deposits are now lost if not used within 12 months. At least you can gift them if you know you will not be able to use or sell them to try and recoup some $? Since you lose the bonus OBC if not used within 6 months, the value is diminished months 7-12, but should still qualify as a reduced deposit?

[billc23]

6 hours ago, Milhouse said:

During calls, our TA and multiple X reps seemed to pull up internal documentation that indicated that for Book Later deposits/confirmations (is it accurate to call them a booking at that point??), you have 30 days from when you select an itinerary to assign/transfer the booking to a TA.

The rules are constantly changing. I had a few Book Later certificates (fall of 2022) where the 30 day window of being able to transfer to a TA started at the time the cruise was selected - rather than from when the certificate was purchased. That was not normal but was honored by Celebrity. Other terms, such as the time to book to receive the OBC, refund ability, etc., also differ depending upon when the certificate was purchased. 

 

It is important to read the fine print on the certificate you are purchasing on board because the person you are speaking to in the future cruise booking area may be telling you what was true yesterday and not correct for the certificate you are purchasing today. Not done intentionally but just difficult for them to keep abreast of the frequent changes.

 

To answer the OP's question, for any specific cruise obtain a price from a TA and compare it to booking direct with Celebrity - disregarding TA benefits such as additional OBC. If the same price, then it really doesn't matter cost wise. It is more a matter if you like to book yourself or not. Just be sure to transfer to a TA in the required time frame to gain any additional TA benefits (OBC). 

[Jeremiah1212]

6 hours ago, wallyj said:

I got an immediate denial email saying transfer request needs to be done within 30 days of book later deposit date. I thought how can I transfer if I do not have a booking/sailing selected yet and have not decided which TA I want to use.

 

 

You can transfer Book Later reservation to a travel agent. It's just a booking number with no cruise attached to it (with a placeholder 2039 sail date). 

 

1 hour ago, billc23 said:

The rules are constantly changing. I had a few Book Later certificates (fall of 2022) where the 30 day window of being able to transfer to a TA started at the time the cruise was selected - rather than from when the certificate was purchased. That was not normal but was honored by Celebrity. Other terms, such as the time to book to receive the OBC, refund ability, etc., also differ depending upon when the certificate was purchased. 

 

It's always been 30 days (it was 60 days up until a few years ago) to transfer to an agency. Whether they apply it consistently is a different issue. When you book a Book Later certificate you get a Reservation ID which and a booked date (which is the date you purchased the certificate). That Reservation ID and created date never changes. Going back at least a decade the document to transfer say it must be done within XX days of creation, i.e. the reservation creation date. It's a little concerning some TA's don't know how to figure this out but that's also another topic. 

 

You get an email from Celebrity when you purchase the certificate. It has a PDF file attached with the terms and conditions.

 

From: DONOTREPLY

Subject: Onboard Bkg: Guest Booking Offer for Reservation ID: XXXXXX

 

The last two pages of that PDF contain all of the timelines and refundability terms attached to the certificate. If they try to tell you something else, you need to refer back to this document. 

[billc23]

42 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

It's always been 30 days (it was 60 days up until a few years ago) to transfer to an agency. Whether they apply it consistently is a different issue.

I agree. However, there was a short period of time (fall of 2022) where they allowed transfer to a TA up to 30 days from deciding on a sailing - not from when the Book Later Certificate was issued. I had a few of these and gave one to a family member who booked a cruise and transferred to a TA well after the 30 days from creation but within the 30 days from booking the sailing. Maybe they made a special exception for me??? 

[Jeremiah1212]

9 minutes ago, billc23 said:

I agree. However, there was a short period of time (fall of 2022) where they allowed transfer to a TA up to 30 days from deciding on a sailing - not from when the Book Later Certificate was issued. I had a few of these and gave one to a family member who booked a cruise and transferred to a TA well after the 30 days from creation but within the 30 days from booking the sailing. Maybe they made a special exception for me??? 

 

They either made an exception (which is rare) or somehow pushed it through incorrectly. The timeframe to transfer to a TA is completely unrelated to the fact that the reservation was an onboard booking. 

[wrk2cruise]

14 hours ago, KKB said:

OK this was a "Book Later" booked in 2023.

I was under the impression if we did not book with it, they would refund our $200.

 

I believe those were the terms in 2023.   They changed this year.  Yours should be refunded and I suspect able to be applied to a refundable deposit fare.

[billc23]

35 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

They either made an exception (which is rare) or somehow pushed it through incorrectly. The timeframe to transfer to a TA is completely unrelated to the fact that the reservation was an onboard booking. 

I think they made an exception. I moved sailings where they waived the $100 pp admin fee as an exception. 

[Milhouse]

8 hours ago, wallyj said:

After calling Celebrity, I was told I had 30 days from selecting a sailing to transfer to my TA and of course you still need to be before final payment.  So this sounds similar to what you went thru.

Yup, our situation and experiences sound very similar.  Thanks for your suggestions too.

 

3 hours ago, billc23 said:

It is important to read the fine print on the certificate you are purchasing on board because the person you are speaking to in the future cruise booking area may be telling you what was true yesterday and not correct for the certificate you are purchasing today.

I just pulled out our cert and there does not seem have any key info on it.  (I don't know if we lost another letter that went along with it (?)).  But agree that having a doc (or link) that outlines usage parameters should be default.