Trying to use Open Passage - advice appreciated!

[timtam2]

I need some advice on how to approach my next attempt at booking a cruise

 

I have an Open Passage certificate that I bought onboard the Century in March. The Century cruise was booked on the Celebrity Australian website, no TA involved.

 

I made a hold reservation on a Solstice cruise for next year via the US Celebrity website (i prefer the layout and options on that website AND the cruise is $1000 less!) My open passage certificate is supposedly US$100

 

So, I stayed up the other night to call Celebrity in the US to have the Open Passage applied to my booking. Simple ?no

 

I called Captains Club as I had read on here that they can be best to deal with for this rather than the general number. I couldn't find a number for the Passages section and there is no phone number on my certificate

 

Anyway, the Captains Club operator looked at my booking then transferred me to 'exotics' without even asking for the Passages certificate number

 

The Exotics operator couldn't 'access' my Passages number. *I asked if that meant it couldn't be applied and she said it could, but another section had to do it. I was then transferred to another number, which was a voicemail.....I left a message with all the important info, requesting a respnse by email due to the time differences. I also emailed Captains. Club

 

Of course, I have had no response and my booking has expired. Before I book again, has anybody got any suggestions as to how I can avoid the call transferring and get to someone who can help me?**

 

Thanks

[Jade13]

I need some advice on how to approach my next attempt at booking a cruise

 

I have an Open Passage certificate that I bought onboard the Century in March. The Century cruise was booked on the Celebrity Australian website, no TA involved.

 

I made a hold reservation on a Solstice cruise for next year via the US Celebrity website (i prefer the layout and options on that website AND the cruise is $1000 less!) My open passage certificate is supposedly US$100

 

So, I stayed up the other night to call Celebrity in the US to have the Open Passage applied to my booking. Simple ?no

 

I called Captains Club as I had read on here that they can be best to deal with for this rather than the general number. I couldn't find a number for the Passages section and there is no phone number on my certificate

 

Anyway, the Captains Club operator looked at my booking then transferred me to 'exotics' without even asking for the Passages certificate number

 

The Exotics operator couldn't 'access' my Passages number. *I asked if that meant it couldn't be applied and she said it could, but another section had to do it. I was then transferred to another number, which was a voicemail.....I left a message with all the important info, requesting a respnse by email due to the time differences. I also emailed Captains. Club

 

Of course, I have had no response and my booking has expired. Before I book again, has anybody got any suggestions as to how I can avoid the call transferring and get to someone who can help me?**

 

Thanks

 

Is your ultimate plan to book with an Australian TA, a US TA, or direct with Celebrity?

 

Personally, if possible, I think your best bet is to book through a US travel agent especially if you want the US price and US Passage. To do this you probably have to take care of your own air, as that is when it gets complicated with all of the cruise lines if you are outside the US and trying to get US pricing.

[timtam2]

Hi thanks for responding. I should have mentioned that the Solstice cruise I want to book is a Sydney/Sydney cruise in March, so no air required

 

I don't use TAs - I always book direct

[Christine Frances]

You can't "apply" the Open Passages to your existing booking. Your OP IS your booking number. You have to call and use that number to book your cruise. If you book a cruise first, in essence you now have two reservations. So it is a good thing your reservation expired. Passages Desk # is 1-888-727-4906. Good Luck! Hope it all goes well now.

[Whippets]

Timtam2, I hope that you can straighten out your Open Passages certificate. It is so frustrating when you are passed from one person to another.

 

I am looking at the March 4, 2013 sailing. Is that the same one you want to sail on?

 

Since you are from the area, what weather can I expect that time of year in your beautiful country?

 

Thanks!

[fleckle]

.........I called Captains Club as I had read on here that they can be best to deal with for this rather than the general number. I couldn't find a number for the Passages section and there is no phone number on my certificate

Don't know if this would be of any help or not, but the number I have for the Passages Desk that I used last time is

 

888-727-4906

It is a toll free number within the USA and the number that appears on my passage certificate.

It may not work from overseas, but if it does, possibly they would accept a collect call, or you could leave a message on their voice mail for them to call you.

 

There is also an enclosure with the email address

 

passages@celebrity.com

 

Probably easier than calling because you don't need to be concerned about the time difference, but it can't hurt to try both ways.

 

 

Uh oh, down in the small print near the bottom on mine it says

 

"Offer valid to residents of the United States and Canada only."

But it could just be that they use a different form with different conditions for residents of different countries.

 

Good luck!

[ghstudio]

You will have a much easier time dealing through a travel agent.....whether or not you book in Australia or in the US. Let the TA talk to Celebrity.....

[cruisingdelt]

I book almost everything online myself, cruises are the main exception. I recently used an open passages certificate from 2008. I just gave my TA the info and in a few hours I had a cruise booked as if I booked in on the ship, upgrades and special credits included. I have been using the same TA for cruises for almost 10 years now. She is great and also throws in many room credits and bottles of wine.

[Kellie Poodle]

I just booked a cruise for 2014 with a passages certificate today. The only way I know to do it is to call Celebrity and use one of their vacation planers. You give them the reservation number from your certificate and they apply it to the new reservation.

 

I suppose that if you book on line of via a TA they can change the reservation number to the passages one, but from what I can see, you will be stuck paying the larger deposit in order to book. I'm not sure if they will pay you back the difference.

 

Your cruise will always have the reservation number on the open booking certificate. If you cancel that cruise and book another, the reservation number will not change.

 

One of the good things about the passages certificates is the fact that you only have to spend $100 to book a cruise way off into the future.

[fleckle]

I just booked a cruise for 2014 with a passages certificate today. The only way I know to do it is to call Celebrity and use one of their vacation planers. You give them the reservation number from your certificate and they apply it to the new reservation.....

That is essentially the way we did it too.

First we found the cruise we wanted online and put a hold on it.

 

Then I just picked up the phone and called the phone number on the passage certificate. The person who answered attached the passage number to the booking, completed the reservation and sent me an email confirmation.

 

(I don't remember if she was called a vacation planner or something else, but she took care of it immediately and efficiently, whatever her job title.)

 

It could not have been any smoother or easier.

 

But the OP is from Australia, so the procedure may be different there.

[timtam2]

Thanks for the advice everyone!

 

I had been trying to do exactly what fleckle stated but I think I'll try making a booking from scratch via the phone and see how I go

 

I prefer to book direct so that I retain full control at all times

 

Whippet - the weather should be great in March. Still nice and warm without the high humidity of Jan and Feb. I'm wanting to do the Queensland cruise March 28

 

Once again, thanks to all