Pre-paid Grats booked/paid but not showing on reservation?

[wencam]

We're NEW NEW NEW (!) to cruising and I first want to say THANK YOU to everyone at Cruise Critic for their expertise, suggestions and amazing reviews!

 

We're booked on Celebrity Summit for November, in AQ cabin. Original booking was done through TA and we chose Classic drink package (pick your perk) and paid for upgrade to Premium Bev package (also through TA).

 

We also booked and paid for Pre-paid Grats, through TA .

 

After booking through TA, I went to Celebrity website and signed up to the "My Celebrity" page and subsequently purhcased a couple of shore excursions online.

 

Here is my question. I look at our booking on "my celebrity" page and I see:

- our reservation (date, ship, cabin, etc., etc.)

- classic bev package free, and our paid upgrade to premium bev package

- shore excursions booked and paid for

 

BUT I do not see:

- Pre-paid gratuities (that we booked and paid for already)

- AND it's showing 6pm for our dinner seating, when we're supposed to be in Select Dining with AQ

 

I mentioned to our TA that our reservation shows 6pm dinner seating and she said "oh doesn't matter, you're in AQ so you're on select dining and can go anytime you like"

 

Should I assume that our pre-paid grats have been booked and dinner will be select, and it will show online at "my celebrity" eventually?

 

I'm a bit of a stickler for details, but as I mentioned I'm NEW to this so I'm not sure if this is a concern, especially with more than 6mos to go before we cruise!? :o

 

I'm also NEW to forums and posting etc., etc., so I hope that I have done this correctly?!

 

I have one more question... it's a silly one but I have to ask! What is "DH" when someone is referring to whom I believe to be their partner or significant other....? :o:o:o

 

Thank you!:)

[gimletgal]

We're NEW NEW NEW (!) to cruising and I first want to say THANK YOU to everyone at Cruise Critic for their expertise, suggestions and amazing reviews!

 

We're booked on Celebrity Summit for November, in AQ cabin. Original booking was done through TA and we chose Classic drink package (pick your perk) and paid for upgrade to Premium Bev package (also through TA).

 

We also booked and paid for Pre-paid Grats, through TA .

 

After booking through TA, I went to Celebrity website and signed up to the "My Celebrity" page and subsequently purhcased a couple of shore excursions online.

 

Here is my question. I look at our booking on "my celebrity" page and I see:

- our reservation (date, ship, cabin, etc., etc.)

- classic bev package free, and our paid upgrade to premium bev package

- shore excursions booked and paid for

 

BUT I do not see:

- Pre-paid gratuities (that we booked and paid for already)

- AND it's showing 6pm for our dinner seating, when we're supposed to be in Select Dining with AQ

 

I mentioned to our TA that our reservation shows 6pm dinner seating and she said "oh doesn't matter, you're in AQ so you're on select dining and can go anytime you like"

 

Should I assume that our pre-paid grats have been booked and dinner will be select, and it will show online at "my celebrity" eventually?

 

I'm a bit of a stickler for details, but as I mentioned I'm NEW to this so I'm not sure if this is a concern, especially with more than 6mos to go before we cruise!? :o

 

I'm also NEW to forums and posting etc., etc., so I hope that I have done this correctly?!

 

I have one more question... it's a silly one but I have to ask! What is "DH" when someone is referring to whom I believe to be their partner or significant other....? :o:o:o

 

Thank you!:)

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I would not be concerned. Since you are in AQ you are automatically assigned to Blu - the restaurant for AQ only - where you can chose to dine any time of your choosing. Often when you book through a TA, not everything is shown on the My Celebrity. If you have prepaid gratuities, that should definitely show up on the Celebrity Booking Confirmation - Guest Copy - which you should have received from your TA. If you did not have this emailed to you I would strongly recommend you call the TA and ask for it.

 

The "DH" you frequently see refers to "Dear Husband". :)

[wencam]

Hi gimletgal,

 

Thank you! Yes, I have confirmation from our TA that our pre-paid grats have been booked and paid for so I won't worry about it.:)

 

Ohh...."dear husband"! Thank you!! :D

[1cruiselvr]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I would not be concerned. Since you are in AQ you are automatically assigned to Blu - the restaurant for AQ only - where you can chose to dine any time of your choosing. Often when you book through a TA, not everything is shown on the My Celebrity. If you have prepaid gratuities, that should definitely show up on the Celebrity Booking Confirmation - Guest Copy - which you should have received from your TA. If you did not have this emailed to you I would strongly recommend you call the TA and ask for it.

 

The "DH" you frequently see refers to "Dear Husband". :)

 

Oh that's funny, I always thought it meant Darling Husband. :D

[bob278]

:eek:

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

I would not be concerned. Since you are in AQ you are automatically assigned to Blu - the restaurant for AQ only - where you can chose to dine any time of your choosing. Often when you book through a TA, not everything is shown on the My Celebrity. If you have prepaid gratuities, that should definitely show up on the Celebrity Booking Confirmation - Guest Copy - which you should have received from your TA. If you did not have this emailed to you I would strongly recommend you call the TA and ask for it.

 

The "DH" you frequently see refers to "Dear Husband". :)

 

Hi gimletgal,

 

Thank you! Yes, I have confirmation from our TA that our pre-paid grats have been booked and paid for so I won't worry about it.:)

 

Ohh...."dear husband"! Thank you!! :D

There are actually two invoices involved when you use a TA. The TA sends you one but there is another one from Celebrity (the Confirmation that Beth mentioned). You can ask your TA to send you a copy of that (it's a pdf file). That invoice should indicate your perk as well as all amounts paid to date. After final payment, your balance should be zero.

 

I'm not saying this is the case with your TA, but sometimes, TAs collect your money and don't send it to the cruise line until the last possible minute. Since your reservation shows up online, they have at least paid your deposit but the only way to see if the gratuity money you paid has been forwarded to Celebrity is to get the Celebrity invoice.

 

Your TA's invoice is confirmation that they have received it but not proof that it has been forwarded to Celebrity. The same thing would be true if you had on board credit from Celebrity (which you probably don't have). A note in the TA's invoice is nice, but I always like to have the Celebrity invoice showing it just in case there is a problem on board (there never has been but I like to be prepared just in case).

 

Sometimes when I have been a bad boy, my wife lets me know in no uncertain terms that DH stands for D**K Head. :eek:

Edited April 9, 2014 by bob278

[blambition]

Ask your TA to send you a copy of the "Guest copy" of the Celebrity invoice and that will show you everything in detail! You will not have to worry about what has been ordered and paid for and your mind will be at rest. Yes in AQ cabins you will be assigned to Blu, and that is why you need to prepay your gratuities.

Hope this helps.

Vicki

[ghstudio]

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

 

The "DH" you frequently see refers to "Dear Husband". :)

 

DH really covers all the bases....

 

Dearest

Delightful

Darling

 

Dumb

Damn

Dreadful

[gimletgal]

DH really covers all the bases....

 

Dearest

Delightful

Darling

 

Dumb

Damn

Dreadful

 

I liked bob278's answer too! :D:D

[Chazteach1]

Oh that's funny, I always thought it meant Darling Husband. :D

 

And I thought it was Designated Husband and Designated Wife... like in Designated Driver! :) LOL

[wencam]

Heheheeh I love all the "DH" answers thank you!

And , I'm still laughing at Bob278's reply:D that was a good one!

 

I will definitely ask our TA to send me the Celebrity Booking Confirmation, "guest copy"

 

Thank you, you're all so kind and helpful I really do appreciate i!!

[Cruzin with BQ & CQ]

Have you actually paid for your cruise in full, or will you be making final payment in the future. If you haven't made final payment, while gratuities are on the booking, you have not as yet really "paid" them. I have the same situation with my November booking, but have not as yet made final payment

[wencam]

Hi Cruzin with BQ & CQ :)

 

Yes, actually we have paid for cruise in full. Payments to TA were as follows:

- reservation/deposit

- Pre-paid grats

- Paid for upgrade to Prem Bev Package (after free Classic PYP)

- and then full and final payment has been made

 

So, we have paid TA and balance is zero therefore, I was hoping to see full and final booking of everything on the website. I'm wondering if the TA hasn't actually forwarded payment to X, as was suggested by Bob278:confused:

 

In any event, on advice from previous posters, I have now emailed our TA and asked that she please forward me the Celebrity Booking Confirmation - Guest Copy.

 

I know that November is a long long time from now, but we're getting excited and having Cruise Critic for advice and planning has been amazing!!!:D

[Cruzin with BQ & CQ]

Given what you've said, you are taking the right steps. Hope it gets resolved for you! Like you November can't get here soon enough!:D Hope you have a wonderful cruise!!

[dkjretired]

When you book AQ, your designated Dining room is Blu which is anytime dining. You will receive a letter in the stateroom the first night asking you to arrive at a designated time, this is just a formality for the first night and you do not have to follow it if you have other plans.. Assigning you to a time is only a computer thing, this has been going on since AQ debuted several years ago and Celebrity can't get their IT department to correct it for some reason. Probably the most asked question about Blu and most misunderstood question by TAs and even Celebrity CR. Your TA got it right.

 

By the way I am definitely in the Dumb Husband category but then if you are a male married to a female you very frequently are....

Edited April 10, 2014 by dkjretired

[ORV]

Hi Cruzin with BQ & CQ :)

 

Yes, actually we have paid for cruise in full. Payments to TA were as follows:

- reservation/deposit

- Pre-paid grats

- Paid for upgrade to Prem Bev Package (after free Classic PYP)

- and then full and final payment has been made

 

So, we have paid TA and balance is zero therefore, I was hoping to see full and final booking of everything on the website. I'm wondering if the TA hasn't actually forwarded payment to X, as was suggested by Bob278:confused:

 

In any event, on advice from previous posters, I have now emailed our TA and asked that she please forward me the Celebrity Booking Confirmation - Guest Copy.

 

I know that November is a long long time from now, but we're getting excited and having Cruise Critic for advice and planning has been amazing!!!:D

 

Who was your credit card charged to? Celebrity or your travel agent? Or who did you make a check out to if you didn't use a credit card?

 

It seems a little early for final payment for a Nov cruise. Why have you made final payment already? I have one in Oct that I haven't made final payment for yet.

[wencam]

Hi ORV,

Our deposit and final payments were to the TA by credit card so I guess they'll get around to paying Celebrity at some point.

Final wasn't due until August, however we paid it all now, because money "in hand" is not good (for me) so when I have the money, I pay! :D

Now I can shop (yup, the dreaded retail therapy) cause the majority of trip is paid - LOL

 

And Hi to dkjretired.....no, no, let's use the nice "d" words for our "dear" husbands instead because we want to remain "dear" wives:)

 

As a side note, I'm not overly impressed with our TA to be honest....now that I have had a few days and lots and lots of reading and learning from you good folks at Cruise Critic, I realize I should have booked directly with Celebrity. But live and learn and I know better for next time.....learning every day ;)

[wpgcycler]

Hi, I was in a similar situation in March. The gratuities were pre-paid by TA but never showed up on any Celebrity document either online or on paper. All I had was the TA contract which stated the grats were included. It did not show up on the TV screen on the ship either. Before the end of the cruise I went to guest relations to inquire. They assured me that the gratuities had in fact been prepaid.

[wencam]

After asking my TA for the "Celebrity Booking Confirmation/Invoice - Guest Copy" her reply was...

Actually we never send those out at all because of the invoice that you receive from us and also everything is online when you go into your reservation.:confused:

 

I said, but everything is not online....her response:

It will actually show when you receive the e ticket cruise documents, so not to worry, it is there.

 

I'm sure this is fine, but I suspect it's a case of the TA not yet paying Celebrity - guess they're holding my money and will pay when they have to (we have already paid in full for November cruise)

 

I'm not going to make an issue of this and will let it ride this time but, needless to say, I'm not overly happy with the service from this TA to be honest. I didn't feel that she was too eager to be helpful. I guess it's a good lesson for next time - I'll be looking after the future bookings and reservations myself, directly with Celebrity;)

 

Thanks again to everyone on CC for their help and suggestions :)

[Christine Frances]

After asking my TA for the "Celebrity Booking Confirmation/Invoice - Guest Copy" her reply was...

Actually we never send those out at all because of the invoice that you receive from us and also everything is online when you go into your reservation.:confused:

 

I said, but everything is not online....her response:

It will actually show when you receive the e ticket cruise documents, so not to worry, it is there.

 

I'm sure this is fine, but I suspect it's a case of the TA not yet paying Celebrity - guess they're holding my money and will pay when they have to (we have already paid in full for November cruise)

 

I'm not going to make an issue of this and will let it ride this time but, needless to say, I'm not overly happy with the service from this TA to be honest. I didn't feel that she was too eager to be helpful. I guess it's a good lesson for next time - I'll be looking after the future bookings and reservations myself, directly with Celebrity;)

 

Thanks again to everyone on CC for their help and suggestions :)

 

Could you just clarify something please? On your credit card statement who does it show received your payment? Celebrity or the travel agent?

[gdpups]

I'm not sure who your TA is, but I book my cruises with a large online cruise TA and things are done a bit different. I currently have one cruise booked in Aqua and and have done others through my TA with select dining, both of which require gratuities to be paid with final payment.

 

Since I have to prepay the gratuities with final payment, the TA gives me the equivalent amount in onboard credit, which usually appears within a day or so of the cruise. This never shows up on my online "my celebrity" account, but I always take a copy of my contract with the TA when I board, but have never had a problem.

 

You might want to ask your TA how it's handled when the customer has to prepay gratuities, do they reimburse you or give you OBC.

[A Sixth?]

Hi, I was in a similar situation in March. The gratuities were pre-paid by TA but never showed up on any Celebrity document either online or on paper. All I had was the TA contract which stated the grats were included. It did not show up on the TV screen on the ship either. Before the end of the cruise I went to guest relations to inquire. They assured me that the gratuities had in fact been prepaid.

 

On our January Summit B2B I was worried that I was being con'd when my promised pre-paid grats didn't show as a credit. A few emails with the online TA determined that when I made final payment, they charged me my final payment LESS the grats. :p

 

I apologized to the TA. :o

Edited May 27, 2014 by A Sixth?

[wencam]

Could you just clarify something please? On your credit card statement who does it show received your payment? Celebrity or the travel agent?

 

 

Hi Christine,

Cr Card statment shows payment received by TA's head office - so to TA and not to Celebrity.

Is that why I cannot get a Celebrity Booking Confirmation Guest Copy from the TA?

 

:)

[megr1125]

Insist from the TA that s/he send you the guest invoice copy from Celebrity...and they SHOULD have paid Celebrity, the charge should read Celebrity Cruises and not BLAHBLAH Travel Agency.

 

Your tips will NOT show up on line, most of that stuff doesn't. If the TA is covering the grats, then they may well NOT show up until you're on the ship.

 

It's annoying, but things that TAs 'buy' for clients from SOME cruise lines (and it's the same if say, your friend is cruising and you buy them a gift) will not process the order until the week or so before sailing.

 

It's annoying but Royal and Celeb do the same thing (same company). I've sent my cousin a bunch of stuff, called to check, was told they didn't have a record, and wound up getting charged TWICE... it's a mess, but really, it happens.

 

Now if you're using a reputable TA you shouldn't have an issue. If you've used a big huge on line agency (order taker) it may be a bit of a pain.

 

But you have the right to see the GUEST COPY of the invoice FROM the cruise line. Insist on it, or go over the agent's head....

 

If they STILL refuse, you can try to call Celebrity and tell them that your TA refuses to provide you with the invoice that you're entitled to see....they SHOULD help you ....(they may refuse initially since you're booked with an agent, but if you push, they should send it. I've done it....so, you may need to be gently persistent...)

[megr1125]

Hi Christine,

Cr Card statment shows payment received by TA's head office - so to TA and not to Celebrity.

Is that why I cannot get a Celebrity Booking Confirmation Guest Copy from the TA?

 

:)

 

 

That's not good.thing

 

Call Celebrity and plead your case. Tell them that your TA is NOT helping you..

 

(That said, you're in Canada, so sometimes things are done differently...) BUT payment SHOULD have been to the cruise line

 

 

ETA: hang on, the TA is not paying your tips, YOU paid them along with your cruise fare yes?? Those SHOULD have been added to the total balance due. Say your cruise was $1000, grats were $200....your total balance would be $1200 - using random numbers here )

 

 

ETA again: BTW your cruise is in November? Unless you wanted to pay it off ahead, final payment is not due until 70-75 days ahead generally.....so the agency has your money a couple months before it was due.....

Edited May 27, 2014 by megr1125

[wencam]

Insist from the TA that s/he send you the guest invoice copy from Celebrity...and they SHOULD have paid Celebrity, the charge should read Celebrity Cruises and not BLAHBLAH Travel Agency.

 

Your tips will NOT show up on line, most of that stuff doesn't. If the TA is covering the grats, then they may well NOT show up until you're on the ship.

 

It's annoying, but things that TAs 'buy' for clients from SOME cruise lines (and it's the same if say, your friend is cruising and you buy them a gift) will not process the order until the week or so before sailing.

 

It's annoying but Royal and Celeb do the same thing (same company). I've sent my cousin a bunch of stuff, called to check, was told they didn't have a record, and wound up getting charged TWICE... it's a mess, but really, it happens.

 

Now if you're using a reputable TA you shouldn't have an issue. If you've used a big huge on line agency (order taker) it may be a bit of a pain.

 

But you have the right to see the GUEST COPY of the invoice FROM the cruise line. Insist on it, or go over the agent's head....

 

If they STILL refuse, you can try to call Celebrity and tell them that your TA refuses to provide you with the invoice that you're entitled to see....they SHOULD help you ....(they may refuse initially since you're booked with an agent, but if you push, they should send it. I've done it....so, you may need to be gently persistent...)

 

Ok, just went online and printed Cr Card stmt and it shows:

Cruise Payment Vancouver BC - so I'm assuing that's their head office (booked with Cruise Ship Centres, directly with TA - not online booking)

Yes we paid our own Pre-paid grats and yes we paid in full before final due date (which would be August sometime)

 

Oh boy, this sure does get confusing! LOL

I'll have to investigate further!