Switching from Celebrity to a travel agent?

[cheffip]

I booked directly with Celebrity and received a residency discount but no other perks or OBC. How long do I have to switch the reservation to a travel agency?

Final payment is in mid-December.

[Nanatravel]

I booked directly with Celebrity and received a residency discount but no other perks or OBC. How long do I have to switch the reservation to a travel agency?

Final payment is in mid-December.

 

I believe it is 60 days but you should read the fine print, especially if you booked on board. Also, you are in Canada and agents may have different group or sale offerings. Shop around.

[ClaudiaB]

60 days. Get a few quotes from some of the big online ones, with what they'll get you. Biggest mistake we ever made was NOT switching. Half our cruises we got nothing at all. Since we switched we've been getting hundreds of dollars OBC, gratuities, etc.

Easy to do. They'll send you a form, fill it out and email it back. Done. You might have to pay final payment a few weeks earlier but what the heck, you have to pay it anyway.

And they can make changes if you need them. You still go on line and fill out your own information on the Celebrity site as always.

[fleckle]

I booked directly with Celebrity and received a residency discount but no other perks or OBC. How long do I have to switch the reservation to a travel agency?

Final payment is in mid-December.

60 days from the date you booked the cruise and before Celebrity's final payment date -- whichever comes first.

 

Here is a link to a pdf file Celebrity Booking Transfer Form

 

 

It has been our experience that most travel agents do require us to fill out and send the transfer form, but occasionally a few have been willing and able to process the transfer without it.

 

Once the transfer goes through, the travel agent will need to make any further payments and most other changes for you as all your payment and billing information will disappear from your online Celebrity account, along with most of the Edit options.

 

Edited October 22, 2015 by fleckle

[cheffip]

Thanks everyone. Good timing asking now...I have about a month to shop around! I've used major US online agencies before and had no problem with them from Canada.

Edited October 22, 2015 by cheffip

[Hflors]

I booked directly thru Celebrity. What can the TA give me? I did the "best" in their packages which gave me premium beverage, gratuities, internet and several hundred obc. What else is there?

[cheeseheads4ever]

I agree. I don't know what a TA can give you that the cruise line can't. I've only been on a half dozen cruises but I personally feel better dealing directly with cruise line. No middle person but my sister who cruises all the time goes thru a TA.

I just feel better dealing with a personal contact at the cruise line.

Can anyone please tell me once you have the cruise booked and before final payment will the cruise line reduce your fair if you see it cheaper elsewhere?

Just curious on any tips for reducing cost.

Thanks for the help.

[Lois R]

I booked directly thru Celebrity. What can the TA give me? I did the "best" in their packages which gave me premium beverage, gratuities, internet and several hundred obc. What else is there?

 

A TA can give you additional obc if they choose to......depends on the TA.

[roxievegas]

I had booked our last three cruises directly with Celebrity. When I kept reading posts that you could get more by transfering to a travel agency, I called two and one was going to give me nothing and one was going to give me $50 obc. I thought why bother. Then on our last cruise, I saw 200 - 300 people running around with a t-shirt advertising this company that others have hinted about. I called them and between the three cruises I have booked for next spring, they would give me close to $800 total. I googled the company and wasn't happy about some of the negative things being said. So I called another company that i figured would tell me no - but they said they would give me the same thing as the other company. So yesterday I transferred my reservations using the form on the celebrity website to the travel agency. I could try to give you a hint - but not sure whether I would be breaking the rules on how much info I can give - but a lot of people in U.S. shop at their store. I won't know until later if I am happy with their service. So keeping my fingers crossed.

[cheffip]

Since I've booked an inside there was no Good, Better, Best from Celebrity though they did give me a residency discount. And the jump to OV or above was too expensive for me even with the Celebrity perk.

I did some on-line checking before I booked and there were some decent obc's from US travel agencies but Celebrity gave me the best currency exchange to Cdn dollars.

In the past, I've been able to switch to a TA, complete my payment in Cdn dollars and get a US obc. One (on a RCCL booking) even threw in a meal package.

I'll just have to check to see if there is a good offer this time. I wouldn't bother for $50.

[fleckle]

I booked directly thru Celebrity. What can the TA give me? I did the "best" in their packages which gave me premium beverage, gratuities, internet and several hundred obc. What else is there?

 

I agree. I don't know what a TA can give you that the cruise line can't. I've only been on a half dozen cruises but I personally feel better dealing directly with cruise line. No middle person but my sister who cruises all the time goes thru a TA.

I just feel better dealing with a personal contact at the cruise line.

Can anyone please tell me once you have the cruise booked and before final payment will the cruise line reduce your fair if you see it cheaper elsewhere?

If you see that the cruise line is offering a price drop for which you are eligible, you contact your TA and they can get it for you.

 

However, if the price drop is a significant amount, the TA may reduce the perks they can offer you, as their commission is based on the price of the cruise.

 

A TA can give you extra perks in addition to whatever you get from the cruise line, and sometimes the TA can get you a lower price as well.

 

Often the onboard credit from the TA is more than the onboard credit from the cruise line,

plus the TA may toss in extras such as coupons for free specialty restaurant meals or spa treatments, or additionally send a gift of wine or flowers or chocolate covered strawberries to your cabin.

 

But all TAs are not created equal.

Some offer much better perks than others, and one TA may offer the best deal for one cruise, while a different TA will offer the best deal for another cruise.

That's why it pays to check around and compare offers.

 

In general, the more expensive the accommodations you book, the greater the commission the TA receives. Therefore they can offer much more to passengers who book a top suite than to those who book an inside cabin.

 

Even for the exact same category accommodations, they can offer more to those who book at the regular price than to those who book at the rock bottom closeout prices.

 

 

Depending on what category we book and what price we pay, for most cruises it is worthwhile for us to transfer the booking to a TA, but occasionally it is not.

 

Edited October 22, 2015 by fleckle

[UniPac]

60 days from the date you booked the cruise and before Celebrity's final payment date -- whichever comes first.

 

Here is a link to a pdf file Celebrity Booking Transfer Form

 

 

It has been our experience that most travel agents do require us to fill out and send the transfer form, but occasionally a few have been willing and able to process the transfer without it.

 

Once the transfer goes through, the travel agent will need to make any further payments and most other changes for you as all your payment and billing information will disappear from your online Celebrity account, along with most of the Edit options.

 

 

 

That's the "old way", Celebrity changed from PDF to online form a while ago.

You can find this info in the FAQs: http://www.celebritycruises.com/frequently-asked-questions#faq2008

 

Here is the "online" version for a transfer to a TA:

 

http://rccl.force.com/directtransfers/DTTCelebrity

[Demonyte]

I booked directly thru Celebrity. What can the TA give me? I did the "best" in their packages which gave me premium beverage, gratuities, internet and several hundred obc. What else is there?

 

 

Our TA has always given us about 10% of the cruise fare in OBC and/or as discount.

 

The agent I work with is easily reachable by email or phone (I prefer email because of the time difference) and has been eager to fight for me if there any problems with the cruiseline (changes with itineraries, price drops etc).

 

Also I'm not tied to a specific cruise line so I get the same great service no matter which cruise line I choose. AND the cruise lines won't get to pocket the commission they'd normally pay to TA as their own employees are salaried, so splitting the commission is a win-win for me and the agent.

Edited October 23, 2015 by Demonyte

[inpourquadri]

You still go on line and fill out your own information on the Celebrity site as always.

Edited October 23, 2015 by inpourquadri

[boscobeans]

I booked directly thru Celebrity. What can the TA give me? I did the "best" in their packages which gave me premium beverage, gratuities, internet and several hundred obc. What else is there?

 

We always book on board to get the perks such as lower deposit and OBC's as well as any special prices. We turn it over to our TA once we get back home.

 

1. On almost any cruise we have booked our TA got us a better price as part of a group or block booking.

 

2. Once in a while there will be an added agency perk such as beverage package.

 

3. We always get a healthy OBC credit that can be spent on the ship or refunded at the end of the cruise.

 

4. Several times we have found a pleasant gift in our stateroom from our agent.

 

5. If the price goes down all I do is send my TA a quick email and she contacts the cruise line and gets the price adjusted.

 

6. Reminders for final payment, luggage tags and a few other minor things.

 

bosco

Edited October 23, 2015 by boscobeans

[BubMunkeyBles]

We got the middle promo with 300 obc and drinks package. I booked with a TA through a big company and got an extra $175 obc (100 from the company and 75 from the TA). Was worth it to me.

[roxievegas]

I just transferred and I asked about price dropping. I was told that if the price drops, they will contact Celebrity, and work something out. She said not to expect a reduced price for what I paid already, but an upgrade or additional obc. I am fine with that, but so far I have not had a cruise that dropped in price, because I would loose perks to get the lower price.