On Board Booking Next cruise//Major Hassle

[salted]

Here's the story: While on a recent Oasis cruise because we enjoyed it so much I decided to take advantage of Onboard Book Your Next Cruise. At the service desk there are 3 agents and an appointment sign up list a mile long. However,no problem, one of agents gets us in and quickly fills out the form which was provided for us in our cabin and we are on our way in 5 minutes probably because we were not reserving a specific cruise or time.

Now comes the hassle. I locate the Allure cruise I want but find that I can do better than my original travel agent. It turns out that the Next Cruise coupon is "tied" to our original agent. A call to RCI should take care of this. WRONG. I have to contact the original agent that I no longer want to use and have them mail documents on official letterheads to the new agent. I am now waiting for this whole process to resolve itself and have informed that it will take about one week.

The take home lesson: Do not specify any agent on the next cruise form.

[cruisenfever]

Here's the story: While on a recent Oasis cruise because we enjoyed it so much I decided to take advantage of Onboard Book Your Next Cruise. At the service desk there are 3 agents and an appointment sign up list a mile long. However,no problem, one of agents gets us in and quickly fills out the form which was provided for us in our cabin and we are on our way in 5 minutes probably because we were not reserving a specific cruise or time.

Now comes the hassle. I locate the Allure cruise I want but find that I can do better than my original travel agent. It turns out that the Next Cruise coupon is "tied" to our original agent. A call to RCI should take care of this. WRONG. I have to contact the original agent that I no longer want to use and have them mail documents on official letterheads to the new agent. I am now waiting for this whole process to resolve itself and have informed that it will take about one week.

The take home lesson: Do not specify any agent on the next cruise form.

It may have been that they automatically assigned the newly created NC booking to the TA that was on file.....the one you used to book your Oasis cruise with.

 

It really is up to you to let them know at the time of creating any type of booking while on board, that you want to keep it with RCI. Though the rep on board should have asked you if you wanted it transferred to your TA.

[funNsun4me]

Even though I have used a certain travel agent numerous times, when I do on-board bookings I make sure that the reservation or next cruise certificate is in my name only with no travel agent assigned, since you have 30 days to re-assign, and wait until I get home and can wrap my head around what I want to do, i.e. if I want control of my reservation or if I can get additional perks.

[rednancy1]

The same thing happened to me a few years ago. When booking a Next Cruise certificate you must specify that you own the reservation and not your TA of record. :( I learned the hard way.

[cruisenfever]

Even though I have used a certain travel agent numerous times, when I do on-board bookings I make sure that the reservation or next cruise certificate is in my name only with no travel agent assigned, since you have 30 days to re-assign, and wait until I get home and can wrap my head around what I want to do, i.e. if I want control of my reservation or if I can get additional perks.

You have 60 days to transfer a newly created "specific" booking to a TA. With a NC Booking you have 60 days to transfer once the booking has been converted.

 

From the RCI website....."Bookings may only be transferred to a Travel Agent up until 60 days from creation if the request is made outside of Final Payment period and the booking is not paid in full. If a booking has a ChoiceAir ticket and the transfer request involves a change in currency we cannot accommodate a transfer. If you would like to transfer your reservation to a Travel Agent, please complete this form and return to us via fax".

[salted]

The same thing happened to me a few years ago. When booking a Next Cruise certificate you must specify that you own the reservation and not your TA of record. :( I learned the hard way.

 

rednancy1: How long did it take to resolve your situation and how did it turn out for you?