Travel agent seems to have disappeared

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Hi there -

 

Myself and a few friends booked a few cabins on Celebrity Equinox via a travel agent. The reservation is legitimate, recognized by Celebrity. Paid deposit. Final payment is due in a month and the agent is not answering the phone. Voicemail box is full. Not responding to email. When we booked we noticed he didn't respond to emails much, so we did everything over the phone and that was fine.

 

Called Celebrity and they're not able to accept payment on the reservation because it's "group block of rooms". I don't know if that means he paid for them already and we're paying him or what?

 

Regardless, he's not responsive at all for several days and we're really concerned. Anyone have any suggestions?

[LHT28]

You do not have your Country of residence in your profile so hard to advise too much

 

 

When your deposit was paid was it on a Credit card & who was listed as the receiver ? Celebrity or the TA?

Is this a TA that works for a larger company? (no names )

If so I would contact the manager at head office & find out what is up

Google reviews for the TA or the company they work for

 

 

 

JMO

[Velvetwater]

Could he be ill/on holiday/sorting an urgent family matter?

 

It might also be worth notifying Celebrity as they may try to contact him and have more luck.

[CruiserBruce]

Agree...contact the manager. Even your TA could be on a vacation, or sick, or a family emergency, or...

[GiveMeTheMusic]

All good thoughts. I'm in the US. On hold with Celebrity right now to speak with someone in their TA liaison department.

 

This appears to be a one-man shop, so there's no manager to contact. We weren't able to reach him in July or August, but after trying over the last couple weeks we're getting nervous. Gonna check the credit card statement to see if the deposit was marked as going to Celebrity or elsewhere. Celebrity confirmed they had received the deposits, but I didn't ask for further details.

[LHT28]

I would ask if you or Celebrity cannot reach the agent if they can take over the booking

You may lose any perks the agent promised but you will still have a cruise

 

If you can cancel before final payment that is another option if you do not get a response from the TA

 

 

Good luck

[Toofarfromthesea]

Hi there -

 

Myself and a few friends booked a few cabins on Celebrity Equinox via a travel agent. The reservation is legitimate, recognized by Celebrity. Paid deposit. Final payment is due in a month and the agent is not answering the phone. Voicemail box is full. Not responding to email. When we booked we noticed he didn't respond to emails much, so we did everything over the phone and that was fine.

 

Called Celebrity and they're not able to accept payment on the reservation because it's "group block of rooms". I don't know if that means he paid for them already and we're paying him or what?

 

Regardless, he's not responsive at all for several days and we're really concerned. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

 

Greg?

[Hlitner]

We can say it until we are blue in the face, but when you book cruises shop around among several reputable high volume cruise agencies for the best deal. Dealing with a 1 person shop is not a good strategy on several levels. If you have a favorite agent with a larger cruise agency then you always should have the option of dealing with the agency instead of just your TA. In fact, nearly all the decent agencies operate a Customer Service Desk for just such issues.

 

Hank

[GiveMeTheMusic]

Greg?

 

Yup.

 

Celebrity finally was able to figure out that the reservations had been transferred to a different agency. No idea why, and we received no notice. Hope everything is okay.

 

They gave me contact info for the new agency, which is not a one-person shop, so we'll be fine moving forward. Thanks for all the advice and info everyone!

[Hlitner]

Yup.

 

Celebrity finally was able to figure out that the reservations had been transferred to a different agency. No idea why, and we received no notice. Hope everything is okay.

 

They gave me contact info for the new agency, which is not a one-person shop, so we'll be fine moving forward. Thanks for all the advice and info everyone!

 

WOW! Your reservation got transferred to a different agency without your permission or even be notified? This is just not right.

 

Hank

[LHT28]

hope it all works out OK

I would keep a close eye on your booking though

JMO

[Philob]

WOW! Your reservation got transferred to a different agency without your permission or even be notified? This is just not right.

 

Hank

 

Could be the TA had a "sudden retirement" and transferred his bookings to the other agency.

 

This happened with my insurance agent. Did my annual checkup over the phone with my original agent and two months later calls were redirected to another agency.

[CruiseGal999]

Greg?

 

 

Does his last name begin with a P?

[lisiamc]

WOW! Your reservation got transferred to a different agency without your permission or even be notified? This is just not right.

 

Hank

 

If I remember from other threads, this agent was suddenly taken very ill and won’t be able to continue with the bookings he has. The bookings are all being transferred to a sort of parent company for that agency, and the customers can work from there. In most cases, the customers were trying to contact the agent because final payment was due/overdue, and there wasn’t time to give them much choice. They can transfer to another agency, and at least there is someone on the other end of the phone now. So I think the cruiseline has done exactly the right thing in these cases.

[puppycanducruise]

Good luck.

Hope everything works out.

[Krazy Kruizers]

Glad Celebrity was able to give you the name of the company where your reservation has been changed to.

Hope all works out for you.

Once you talk to this new agency, let us know if everything is okay.

[CruiseGal999]

If I remember from other threads, this agent was suddenly taken very ill and won’t be able to continue with the bookings he has. The bookings are all being transferred to a sort of parent company for that agency, and the customers can work from there. In most cases, the customers were trying to contact the agent because final payment was due/overdue, and there wasn’t time to give them much choice. They can transfer to another agency, and at least there is someone on the other end of the phone now. So I think the cruiseline has done exactly the right thing in these cases.

 

There was a thread(s) about a TA that had passed away. It made me think of this guy. I wonder if ....

[ger_77]

You had me holding my breath for a while, wondering what happened. I am surprised that the agency who received the transfer didn't get in touch with you. I wonder how many others are in the same position as you, without notification of the change?

 

Smooth Sailing! [emoji3] [emoji3] [emoji3]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[GiveMeTheMusic]

The new agency apparently received a lot of these reservations from Celebrity but had incomplete information. They didn't know how much had already been paid and they didn't have contact info, which seems insane. Luckily everything is ironed out now and has been vetted with Celebrity, so crisis averted!

[jagsfan]

The new agency apparently received a lot of these reservations from Celebrity but had incomplete information. They didn't know how much had already been paid and they didn't have contact info, which seems insane. Luckily everything is ironed out now and has been vetted with Celebrity, so crisis averted!

 

 

 

Just be sure they forward the passenger confirmation to you after final payment. The cruiseline sends agency and passenger confirmations to the agency after payments or changes.

You can see your zero balance and check that everything is as you understood it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[sft429]

There was a thread(s) about a TA that had passed away. It made me think of this guy. I wonder if ....

 

I saw that, too. Can't find it now. Does the search function not quite work like it's supposed to here?

Captain's Club gave me contact info for someone who has taken over his clients but Celebrity wouldn't take my reservation back for a cruise in Feb of 2020.

[Toofarfromthesea]

I saw that, too. Can't find it now. Does the search function not quite work like it's supposed to here?

Captain's Club gave me contact info for someone who has taken over his clients but Celebrity wouldn't take my reservation back for a cruise in Feb of 2020.

 

I'm in a similar situation for a 2/2020 Celebrity cruise and I am contemplating just cancelling and rebooking. I am completely refundable at this point, and while the deal was decent, it just wasn't so great that it is worth the hassle.

 

Does anyone know if I can cancel directly with Celebrity, or do I have to do it through this successor agency?

[jagsfan]

I'm in a similar situation for a 2/2020 Celebrity cruise and I am contemplating just cancelling and rebooking. I am completely refundable at this point, and while the deal was decent, it just wasn't so great that it is worth the hassle.

 

 

 

Does anyone know if I can cancel directly with Celebrity, or do I have to do it through this successor agency?

 

 

 

Normally a cruise won’t talk to a passenger if a travel agency has tge booking.

If your booking is already with the new agency, they won’t give you any problems.

Just tell them you need to rethink what you want to do and want to cancel. The new agency might be a good fit, thoug. I would talk to them first and see what they have to say.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[MicCanberra]

Yup.

 

Celebrity finally was able to figure out that the reservations had been transferred to a different agency. No idea why, and we received no notice. Hope everything is okay.

 

They gave me contact info for the new agency, which is not a one-person shop, so we'll be fine moving forward. Thanks for all the advice and info everyone!

Great result, and some lessons to be learnt.