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Upgrade after final payment

cheffip

By cheffip,
in Celebrity Cruises

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cheffip

cheffip

Posted
Posted

Sorry, I know there are lots of threads on this but I haven't sailed on X for a few years and want to make sure I have this right.

 

I am about to book a Millennium cruise with a decent OV guarantee price and it includes a residency discount.

So, if after final payment, I see a higher category (eg AQ guarantee) at a lower price than it is now, but more than I paid for my OV guarantee, I can call Celebrity (or my travel agent if I used one) and ask for the upgrade and pay the difference?

Is my understanding correct?

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az_tchr

az_tchr

Posted
Posted

Yes except you are subject to losing the resident discount if it is no longer offered. The difference is as Dakkar stated (usually).

 

One suggestion is to book your cruise with X and then call some TAs and one of them is likely to give you additional OBC. Almost 100% of the time in the USA with any of the big box TAs. Presume similar in Canada. You have 60 days after you make a reservation with X to transfer it to a TA.

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stevea36

stevea36

Posted
Posted
Do you have a TA you can recommend? We have only used Dreams Unlimited before but they only do Disney. I just booked this week and would transfer to a TA if they offered shipboard credit. Thanks!

 

Caroline

 

Sorry, but it is against CC rules to mention specific travel agents.

 

Steve

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swigso

swigso

Posted
Posted (edited)
Do you have a TA you can recommend? We have only used Dreams Unlimited before but they only do Disney. I just booked this week and would transfer to a TA if they offered shipboard credit. Thanks!

 

Caroline

 

Hi we are not allowed to mention as has been said.

But if you google best TA to offer discount I'm sure you

will find one.

We booked our next cruise on board got all 3 promos plus $250 obc

On our present cruise and when transferred our agent

added an additional $400

Edited by swigso
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varoo

varoo

Posted
Posted (edited)
I have always booked directly with Celebrity (10 times) but I am reading about TA's getting more OBC or other discounts. What does it mean about "transferring" an agent to get more? What does Transferring an agent mean?

 

It means that when you book a cruise directly with Celebrity, you have the option of transferring the reservation to a travel agent in order to receive whatever additional perks the TA will give you for doing so.

 

Celebrity gives us 60 days after booking a cruise with them to transfer the reservation to a TA of our choice.

 

So that gives us the 60 days to compare offers and terms from different travel agencies before deciding if we want to do it, and if so, which TA will give us the best deal.

 

There is a Celebrity transfer form to fill out and return to verify that you are transferring your booking to the TA, but many of us find it easiest just to email or fax the completed form directly to the TA and let the TA take care of processing the transfer with the cruise line.

 

It is in their own best interest to stay on top of it and make sure the transfer goes through because the TA receives a commission from the cruise line and then rebates part of that commission to the customer in the way of additional perks.

 

Some of the high volume TAs receive bigger commissions than other TAs, and therefore can offer the customer better perks. Different TAs can be better for different cruises.

 

Once the booking is transferred, the result is just the same as if you had originally booked the cruise through the TA in the first place.

 

From that point on, you must contact the TA to make payments or major changes for you because the cruise line will no longer deal with you directly for most things.

Your billing and payment information will disappear from your Celebrity account and you can no longer even see them when you look at your account online; not even the payment due dates.

 

So is it worthwhile to transfer your booking to a TA?

 

The answer is -- it depends.

Some people say yes and some say no.

We are in the group that says maybe - often yes but sometimes no.

 

In general, the higher (more expensive) the cabin or suite you book, the more worthwhile it becomes to give the booking to a TA.

They receive the biggest commissions on the more expensive bookings and therefore are able to offer very generous perks for them.

 

It is usually worthwhile if you are booking multiple cabins as well.

 

Also, the large high volume TAs will generally offer better perks than the small mom and pop TAs.

 

As long as you are within the 60 day transfer period, I would say to check around and compare offers from different TAs. Examine their terms, and then decide for yourself whether or not you think transferring the booking to a TA is worthwhile.

 

Edited by varoo
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ClaudiaB

ClaudiaB

Posted
Posted
I have always booked directly with Celebrity (10 times) but I am reading about TA's getting more OBC or other discounts. What does it mean about "transferring" an agent to get more? What does Transferring an agent mean?

 

Pick a TA and they will send you a form via email that you have to fill out that is something like "Transfer Booking to ________" They do the rest. You end up paying them directly, sometimes a few weeks earlier, than you do to Celebrity.

If Celebrity is giving out $300 on board credit and drink packages, then the TA may give you $500 more OBC and pay the gratuities. We always get more OBC from the TA than Celebrity gives us.

You still can make your own shore excursions and get on your My Celebrity on line, but you have to go through the TA to make changes or take advantage of price drops before the final payment.

 

It took us about 5 cruises to get with the program. We always book directly with the TA now. We pick our cruise and just have them book it, getting what Celebrity would give us and then their own perks. We have $1225 OBC on our next cruise with free gratuities, beverage package. Even after upgrading our bev. package we're going to have over $900 left! What a problem!

 

We have one lady we use now at the online agency we use. It has the same initials as here. (can I say that??) There are others. She gives us an extra $25 OBC every time we use her. Kicking ourselves for not using a TA before - I was like you, I kept hearing about how people were getting perks. I was skeptical. Now I'm not.

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grandgeezer

grandgeezer

Posted
Posted
Pick a TA and they will send you a form via email that you have to fill out that is something like "Transfer Booking to ________" They do the rest. You end up paying them directly, sometimes a few weeks earlier, than you do to Celebrity.

If Celebrity is giving out $300 on board credit and drink packages, then the TA may give you $500 more OBC and pay the gratuities. We always get more OBC from the TA than Celebrity gives us.

You still can make your own shore excursions and get on your My Celebrity on line, but you have to go through the TA to make changes or take advantage of price drops before the final payment.

 

It took us about 5 cruises to get with the program. We always book directly with the TA now. We pick our cruise and just have them book it, getting what Celebrity would give us and then their own perks. We have $1225 OBC on our next cruise with free gratuities, beverage package. Even after upgrading our bev. package we're going to have over $900 left! What a problem!

 

We have one lady we use now at the online agency we use. It has the same initials as here. (can I say that??) There are others. She gives us an extra $25 OBC every time we use her. Kicking ourselves for not using a TA before - I was like you, I kept hearing about how people were getting perks. I was skeptical. Now I'm not.

 

If you are getting the obc from the travel agent, you can take that money home with you. They'll credit the amount back to the credit card you used to book the cruise. Since we also get prepaid gratuities and obc from our agent, we've gotten money back on our last seven cruises. The amounts have been anywhere from $200 to $600. We never book anything but balconys and nothing less than 14 days so we qualify for more money back.

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cgags47

cgags47

Posted
Posted
We have $1225 OBC on our next cruise with free gratuities, beverage package. Even after upgrading our bev. package we're going to have over $900 left! What a problem!

 

 

$1225 OBC?!?! If you don't mind me asking, what type of cabin do you book? That is a ton of OBC for the TA to be giving you, and still making some money on the deal.

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RocketMan275

RocketMan275

Posted
Posted (edited)
$1225 OBC?!?! If you don't mind me asking, what type of cabin do you book? That is a ton of OBC for the TA to be giving you, and still making some money on the deal.

 

I can't answer for them but this information should help. As a general rule of thumb, expect the total discount, OBC, and other perks offered by the TA to total anywhere from 8 to 15%. The amount will vary from TA to TA depending upon how much commission they are willing to give up. This is in addition to anything the cruise line may offer. However, some TA will not discount or offer additional perks. You just have to shop around until you find one that will. Some TA charge change fees, etc., in addition to what the cruise lines may charge too.

 

One of the big factors in whether you want to use a discounting TA is the amount of the fare. It may not be worth it on a four day inside. It may be very nice on a 14 day suite.

Edited by RocketMan275
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cgags47

cgags47

Posted
Posted
I can't answer for them but this information should help. As a general rule of thumb, expect the total discount, OBC, and other perks offered by the TA to total anywhere from 8 to 15%. The amount will vary from TA to TA depending upon how much commission they are willing to give up. This is in addition to anything the cruise line may offer. However, some TA will not discount or offer additional perks. You just have to shop around until you find one that will. Some TA charge change fees, etc., in addition to what the cruise lines may charge too.

 

That agency must be making a great percentage from Celebrity then. Even if Celebrity was giving $300 OBC, that means the TA had to come up with $925 out of commission. Like you said though, if they booked a long sailing, or a suite type room, that commission could be over $1K.

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boscobeans

boscobeans

Posted
Posted

We book our future cruise(s)while on board for whatever OBC and other loyalty perks offered. When we get back home we contact our TA and check out what she can do. Most times we get a better price to start as the agency usually has access to a group or block booking for that category cabin (almost always Concierge). The agent includes an additional perk here and there as well as a pretty decent OBC. On our upcoming cruise we got a block discount as well as our gratuities in addition to what Celebrity offered.

 

bosco

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RocketMan275

RocketMan275

Posted
Posted
That agency must be making a great percentage from Celebrity then. Even if Celebrity was giving $300 OBC, that means the TA had to come up with $925 out of commission. Like you said though, if they booked a long sailing, or a suite type room, that commission could be over $1K.

 

A fourteen day sailing for two in a celebrity suite could be $18K. The commission could be $2K. Then the TA could have access to a discount for blocks of rooms.

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cgags47

cgags47

Posted
Posted
A fourteen day sailing for two in a celebrity suite could be $18K. The commission could be $2K. Then the TA could have access to a discount for blocks of rooms.

 

 

Very true. Some agencies have all the fun! :D

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Gig103

Gig103

Posted
Posted
I can't answer for them but this information should help. As a general rule of thumb, expect the total discount, OBC, and other perks offered by the TA to total anywhere from 8 to 15%. The amount will vary from TA to TA depending upon how much commission they are willing to give up. This is in addition to anything the cruise line may offer. However, some TA will not discount or offer additional perks. You just have to shop around until you find one that will. Some TA charge change fees, etc., in addition to what the cruise lines may charge too.

 

One of the big factors in whether you want to use a discounting TA is the amount of the fare. It may not be worth it on a four day inside. It may be very nice on a 14 day suite.

 

Wow I get about 5-6% on top of X's offers and I'm happy with that!

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