Onboard Bookings - Beware

[makeaputt]

We were on the Celebrity Constellation for a Panama cruise in March of this year. While on board we decided to take advantage of the so called incentives of booking a new cruise while on board.

 

The incentives were a $300 on board credit and a two category upgrade. We were told at the time that these incentives would be valid even if we decided later to take a different cruise as long as we did not cancel. We asked for this because the late 2011 cruises had not yet been announced and we knew we would want to go toward the end of the year. We agreed to book back on the Constellation for April 23.

 

Two weeks ago we made a small change to the April 23 cruise only changing the date to the April 9 sailing. Once we made this change we were no longer eligible for the two cabin upgrade (according to Celebrity customer service) Customer service response:

 

" Thank you for your email.

 

While we understand your frustration, we cannot provide you with a two category upgrade as we do not protect verbal quotes. We apologize for your disappointment."

 

I don't know about the rest of you, but if I make a verbal quote or commitment, I honor it. Celebrity does not see it that way. We canceled the cruise and will no longer consider Celebrity for further vacations. My advice is get everything from this company in writing. Lesson learned.

[Fblack]

I learned long ago to "get it in writing". Sorry they would not honor that verbal commitment. I assume you were told about it from the cruise consultant on the ship. Right or wrong I don't blame you for canceling. Maybe you will come back again because Celebrity has a lot to offer.

[Infinatic]

When we booked ours we were told that the two category upgrade was for that booking only, any changes would be only the standard one category upgrade within categories.

Since no one else offers the $300 OBC for a two week cruise I find that insufficient reason to cut Celebrity off.

 

Get even by becoming elite and drinking the difference in Michael's

[jerseygirl3]

When we booked ours we were told that the two category upgrade was for that booking only, any changes would be only the standard one category upgrade within categories.

Since no one else offers the $300 OBC for a two week cruise I find that insufficient reason to cut Celebrity off.

 

Get even by becoming elite and drinking the difference in Michael's

 

When we did an onboard booking, we were also told upfront that the two cat upgrade would not be honored if we switched sailings.

 

Jo-Ann

[Holly2]

When we transferred our booking, we were glad that we didn't have to pay an additional deposit and could keep our OBC. Didn't expect to get another upgrade. Sorry you were misinformed.

[makeaputt]

Before we booked, I asked the on board cruise consultant if the 2 cat upgrade and OBC were transferable. She stated emphatically they would stay with the booking if I made a change but did not cancel. She knew that was the answer we needed to book at that time, as we had no idea when or where we wanted to cruise. I'm sure she gets a few $$$ for each booking whether it cancels later or not.

 

The problem I have is some of the on board folks either do not know the policy or just say what is necessary to get the booking. Celebrity needs to ensure everyone knows the policy or honor commitments made by their staff.

 

Michael's for cocktails was nice, and I will miss it. However, other cruise lines seem to have a little more integrity than Celebrity. It's interesting that RCCL and Celebrity are under the same ownership yet have very different policies. We will continue to cruise on RCCL and have already booked Australia/New Zealand October 2011. I'm a little stubborn and when I feel like I have been wronged I state my peace and move on in another direction.

 

Stan

[Texed]

Michael's for cocktails was nice, and I will miss it. However, other cruise lines seem to have a little more integrity than Celebrity. Stan

 

Sorry you were disappointed. I hope you enjoy your next cruiseline. :)

[ocngypz]

Changing the date of travel is considered a cancellation of the original booking.

 

"Changing" an existing booking would be something along the lines of category change, adding a third passenger, etc.

[cruie4ever]

Don't get confused get it all in writing & then there are no mis understandings

[fleckle]

..........Two weeks ago we made a small change to the April 23 cruise only changing the date to the April 9 sailing. Once we made this change we were no longer eligible for the two cabin upgrade (according to Celebrity customer service) Customer service response......

The cabin we wanted was not available at the time we booked a cruise on board, so we booked a different cabin and asked about the possibility of changing later if the cabin we wanted should become available.

We learned that the two category upgrade only applied to the cabin we actually booked on board and if we later switched, we would lose the upgrade.

 

At least that is what we were told. None of these details were included in the paper work we received when booking the cruise, so speaking to someone else may have resulted in a different story.

 

I suppose if they were to cover all the conceivable combinations of changes that passengers might possibly want to make, the booking contract would be a lot longer.

[makeaputt]

Changing the date of travel is considered a cancellation of the original booking.

 

"Changing" an existing booking would be something along the lines of category change, adding a third passenger, etc.

If it was a cancellation then why would they continue to honor the on board credit? The change we made did not change the booking number either, which a cancellation would do.

[sandancer]

If you had booked onboard and paid the deposit here in the UK, not only would you have lost the upgrade, you would have lost the deposit when you cancelled or if you made a change to the original booking, it would have cost you $50 each to change.

[City_Woman]

When we did an onboard booking, we were also told upfront that the two cat upgrade would not be honored if we switched sailings.

 

Jo-Ann

 

Yes. That's what we were told too. Keep the booking number to keep the onboard credit, but the category upgrade is gone.

 

It was made very clear to us.

 

Judy

[biker1972]

And where will you go that will get you 100% integrity and 100% accuracy 100% of the time. Utopia? Won't happen. You are dealing with people. Enjoy cruising the other lines and good luck!

[gimletgal]

Anytime you get into the "verbal" category, it puts you into the "he said, she said" area. A no-win situation at best.

[ellbon]

To me only things in writing count not verbal ever!!! there is no written proof...

[yayvacation!]

Like OP said, the cruise was booked based on the advice and assurances of the booking agent onboard, that being said, if Celebrity cared at all about customer service on their booking end, they would honor the commitment made by that booking agent, or at least recommend a viable alternative, other than sorry cancel and leave our line. That's what good customer service is all about.

[O2cruise_again]

We are scheduled to cruise Century this Thanksgiving and then plan to cruise Celebrity again next Thanksgiving. Our TA told us that for the best deal, we should pay the deposit onboard Century this year to receive OBC, etc. Then we can transfer the reservation over to her (it's a group cruise so we will want her assistance). Does Celebrity ask you for the exact travel date when booking a new cruise onboard? Does the new cruise have to be for the same ship you are on? On NCL, you pay your deposit for the new cruise, the OBC is used for the current cruise you're on and when you return home, you can apply the deposit to the sailing of your choice.

[phoenix_dream]

Like OP said, the cruise was booked based on the advice and assurances of the booking agent onboard, that being said, if Celebrity cared at all about customer service on their booking end, they would honor the commitment made by that booking agent, or at least recommend a viable alternative, other than sorry cancel and leave our line. That's what good customer service is all about.

 

I respectfully disagree. Let me explain. Let's assume that the original poster presented the situation exactly as it happened. Then, yes, I would expect it to be honored. But in reality, if Celebrity honored all 'verbal commitments' how in the world would they ever know which were really accurate or not? I know of few other businesses who would honor he said; she said situations when considerable money is involved. I won't say none, but few.

 

In many cases, I suspect there is an issue in understanding between the passenger and the agent. The passenger may be asking a question they think is clear, with the agent responding to what they THINK is the question, but it really isn't. In this case, it sounds like the issue was clearly presented. But I suspect often it is not. Beyond that, there is also the case of intentional 'misunderstanding'. Let's not pretend that there aren't those who will try to take advantage - they are out there and you know who you are:eek:. It happens.

 

Yes, it also happens that sometimes Celebrity has agents who do not understand how the promotions work. I am not defending that lack of knowledge. What I am defending, however, is the business philosophy of not honoring a verbal contract. There is no proof one way or the other.

[Jade13]

Before we booked, I asked the on board cruise consultant if the 2 cat upgrade and OBC were transferable. She stated emphatically they would stay with the booking if I made a change but did not cancel. She knew that was the answer we needed to book at that time, as we had no idea when or where we wanted to cruise. I'm sure she gets a few $$$ for each booking whether it cancels later or not.

 

 

 

Stan

 

Stan,

 

Send an email to Celebrity with the NAME of the FCC that gave you this information. Also, I thought all upgrades were on condition of space availability. You are aware that not all upgrades are true upgrades? We always pick the stateroom that we want.

 

What upgrade are you expecting?

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I respectfully disagree. Let me explain. Let's assume that the original poster presented the situation exactly as it happened. Then, yes, I would expect it to be honored. But in reality, if Celebrity honored all 'verbal commitments' how in the world would they ever know which were really accurate or not? I know of few other businesses who would honor he said; she said situations when considerable money is involved. I won't say none, but few.

 

In many cases, I suspect there is an issue in understanding between the passenger and the agent. The passenger may be asking a question they think is clear, with the agent responding to what they THINK is the question, but it really isn't. In this case, it sounds like the issue was clearly presented. But I suspect often it is not. Beyond that, there is also the case of intentional 'misunderstanding'. Let's not pretend that there aren't those who will try to take advantage - they are out there and you know who you are:eek:. It happens.

 

Yes, it also happens that sometimes Celebrity has agents who do not understand how the promotions work. I am not defending that lack of knowledge. What I am defending, however, is the business philosophy of not honoring a verbal contract. There is no proof one way or the other.

 

Here I was, all set to respond, and you said it completely. I work in a situation where I get customers all the time that say, "I was told by another agent that..." Yes, sometimes what they say they were told is close to what our policy is, and I can understand how they may not have completely understood what was said, or that they may have encountered a new agent who still doesn't have things down completely. Unfortunately, if the policy is spelled out somewhere and the customer had access to it, we have to go by the written word.

 

And I have had customers claim that "John, sorry, I didn't get his last name, do you have more than one John?;)" told them that they could get a 50% discount on their next order because their last order arrived one day late (9 days instead of 8). When I tell them that we can't honor that, I get a lecture on what poor customer serivce we have. I'm not saying that the OP is claiming something that he knows was not said. He certainly sounds genuine, and it's possible he was told that. But a verbal agreement is not worth the paper it's not printed on.

[reklawr]

 

I don't know about the rest of you, but if I make a verbal quote or commitment, I honor it. Celebrity does not see it that way. We canceled the cruise and will no longer consider Celebrity for further vacations. My advice is get everything from this company in writing. Lesson learned.

 

 

Can you imagine if Celebrity (or any other cruise line) had to fully comply with every verbal statement that came out of the mouths of everyone of its customer service people?:eek::eek::eek:

Get it in writing!!!

[yayvacation!]

I wasn't suggesting that Celebrity MUST honor the exact verbal offering by the onboard booking agent, however, in the interest of providing outstanding customer service at every level, they could offer something to appease the OP and make them feel satisfied enough with Celebrity to sail with them again.

 

Before going to law school I worked as a sales manger at a large national company, you better believe that if a customer came in upset because a sales associate or other manager said they could have something, whether it was the wrong information or not, there was ALWAYS something we could do to please the customer and provide excellent customer service.

[Leesie6351]

we were on the Infinity to antartica in Feb and went to book the artic/norway cruise for 7/11. It was not yet in their computer system so the onboard consultant told us the only way to get the benefits for booking onboard (2 cat upgrade; $150 obc and $100 dep.) was to book an existing cruise and then when the cruise we really wanted finally listed, to call and transfer the booking with all the perks to the new listing. We did that and like the OP found, X claimed we couldn't get the perks of having booked onboard if we changed the date. (we were sailing on the same ship-just different date and itinerary). I called our trusty TA who got on the phone with X and Captain's Club and X finally agreed to honor all the perks but only a 1 cat upgrade instead of 2. They said they were doing it this one time because our TA is a huge supplier of theirs but not to expect it again. Needless to say, I'v learned my lesson about trusting on board consultants.

 

Just to be clear--we did not misunderstand anything--we followed the specific instructions of the X onboard cruise consultant.

 

Thanks all:(

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

I completely agree it's always best to get it in writing. The problem is, in this particular circumstance, I doubt the Future Cruise Consultant would put it in writing, so there's the rub.

 

When I was on Solstice in July, I asked about the 2 category upgrade, and was told it would be moved, if I switched my booking to another date. While I'm starting to believe that may not the case, the one thing we can all agree upon, is Celebrity should try to do a better job of educating their FCC"s of the rules, so there is no confusion or bad feelings between the Customer and the Cruise Line, when these types of situations arise.

 

To the OP (Stan) - If I may offer some advice.... Instead of writing Celebrity off, which I feel would be hurting yourself in the long run... I suggest calling Captains Club, and ask to speak with a Supervisor. State your case clearly and politely. Hopefully, they will work with you, and offer a fair resolution. I wish you the very best of luck. Please let us know what happens.