Lift and Shift - any exceptions?

[doodlefan]

On 8/4/2020 at 4:52 PM, FloridaGirlLovesToCruise said:

Did you book direct with Celebrity? I tried to lift and switch my 10 day cruise on the Reflection from November 13, 2020 to the Millennium on November 29, 2021 and they told my TA they couldn’t do it. My TA even talked to a supervisor. We got a great deal on an OV cabin including all four perks to the S. Caribbean and the switch was the E. Caribbean so it shouldn’t matter. Yes, the new cruise is double the price, but I thought that was the purpose of lift & shift so you keep the same price and perks. The Millennium isn’t even as nice a ship as the Reflection (I’ve been on both). Not happy with Celebrity right now...I didn’t have any trouble switching my RC cruise. 

 

 

I dont see why you wouldn't get to lift and shift this particular sailing to the Millennium   You are within the right time frame, same amount of days, technically you are actually "downgrading" to an M class and they have very similar ports.  Did you try the "lift and shift" online form where you put in your booking confirmation and it gives you the cruises they will allow you to  move to?  You can use it to check what they will let you do without actually changing anything.

Here is the link.  The "lift and shift" option is down on the right, just select it and go through the info and it will tell you what you can move to.  I would also call back because to me you have met all the criteria.  Good luck

 

https://cancellation.celebritycruises.com/?brand=C

[sippican]

On 7/14/2020 at 12:39 PM, lamondys said:

@sn2792 sorry to to ask for this but, I'm trying to do a lift and shift similar to yours, and my travel agent is saying if I can help him provide proof such as a confirmation number of another guest who has gone from 11 day to 12 day with similar itinerary he could help me out with my reservation (saying celebrity is making more expectations now). If you are willing to provide a booking number I would appreciate it. I understand if not.

 

Thanks

 

 

Your travel agent should not need to provide any such "proof". He/she should be willing to go up the chain of command to advocate for you. As with all other issues, the answers you get really depend on to whom you are speaking to on the other end of the line. It seems very strange that an X rep would  even ask for proof of a similar example. I was able to shift three reservations from an 8 day to a 9 day (different itinery, same ship, same week). But it took over three hours, going up the chain; phone rep, to supervisor, to resolutions, to group project coordinator. Then I waited three days, did not receive an answer, called back (another hour) and got the go-ahead. Your TA needs to be willing to go the extra mile for you. Even then, the results may be different. Good luck! These are unprecedented times.

[lamondys]

1 minute ago, sippican said:

 

Your travel agent should not need to provide any such "proof". He/she should be willing to go up the chain of command to advocate for you. As with all other issues, the answers you get really depend on to whom you are speaking to on the other end of the line. It seems very strange that an X rep would  even ask for proof of a similar example. I was able to shift three reservations from an 8 day to a 9 day (different itinery, same ship, same week). But it took over three hours, going up the chain; phone rep, to supervisor, to resolutions, to group project coordinator. Then I waited three days, did not receive an answer, called back (another hour) and got the go-ahead. Your TA needs to be willing to go the extra mile for you. Even then, the results may be different. Good luck! These are unprecedented times.

 

Thanks for your input. I understand what my TA should do. That post is quite old now and My TA was able to resolve my issues. Was simply looking for more ammo to take to the fight.

 

[sippican]

3 minutes ago, lamondys said:

 

Thanks for your input. I understand what my TA should do. That post is quite old now and My TA was able to resolve my issues. Was simply looking for more ammo to take to the fight.

 

 

So glad you were able to get it resolved to your satisfaction!

 

[TN Spartan]

Hi Everyone!  Longtime lurker, first time poster.  

I wanted to share my experience with Lift & Shift for our Constellation 12 night Touch Canal Holiday cruise on December 23, 2020 - we have 4 Concierge staterooms booked for 8 people.  Just got off the phone with my travel agent (big box store) to see which 2021 cruises were options for lift and shift.  TA called Celebrity and there were no available options for L&S as this itinerary does not exist for a holiday cruise in 2021, and would not let us move to either the 11 night Connie (12/23/21) because the number of days is not the same 😲, or the 12 night Equinox (12/22/21) as it is Eastern Caribbean/different itinerary.  TA spoke to 2 different Celebrity reps with no success.  

It looks like our options are to cancel and get our non-refundable deposits back as FCC or wait to see if the rest of 2020 is cancelled by Celebrity before our final payment due date of Sept. 10, 2020.  We don't want to make final payment and get caught in any refund uncertainties.

We are very disappointed as we had booked this cruise last fall for a great price including drinks/grats/OBC, and wanted to stay booked with Celebrity.

[wrk2cruise]

Just for grins did you plug your reservation info into the Lift and Shift tool on the Celebrity site?   I'm surprised they won't let you do the Equinox 12 night as they haven't been too particular about itinerary.   I'd be interested if it tells you that there are no options as well.

 

https://cancellation.celebritycruises.com/?brand=C

[cruisingaussies]

We're also very disappointed with Celebrity's attitude.  We're booked on December 24  2020 Solstice out of Sydney to New Zealand.   Just can't see that happening now.

 

We requested a lift & shift to the exact same sailing, same number of nights, same itinerary, departing on November 24 2021.  It has been refused because it's two days out of the four week window, ie we could only change to a cruise departing on or four weeks after November 26.  There are no other cruises with the same number of nights that we could L & S to.

 

We feel that the Lift & Shift offer has been somewhat misrepresented.  It was promoted as part of the conditions when we booked, yet there are no sailings available to L & S to.  So beware anyone making a new booking (if anyone is at this point in time!).  If you're thinking you'll be able to L & S if you wish, check first to be sure there's a cruise that meets the criteria before you make your booking.

 

Wrk2cruise - our TA tried and I just put our reservation in on the Celebrity site, got this message:

"The reservation number entered is not eligible for the Lift & Shift program. There are no alternate sailings."

 

[Algebralovr]

21 hours ago, TN Spartan said:

Hi Everyone!  Longtime lurker, first time poster.  

I wanted to share my experience with Lift & Shift for our Constellation 12 night Touch Canal Holiday cruise on December 23, 2020 - we have 4 Concierge staterooms booked for 8 people.  Just got off the phone with my travel agent (big box store) to see which 2021 cruises were options for lift and shift.  TA called Celebrity and there were no available options for L&S as this itinerary does not exist for a holiday cruise in 2021, and would not let us move to either the 11 night Connie (12/23/21) because the number of days is not the same 😲, or the 12 night Equinox (12/22/21) as it is Eastern Caribbean/different itinerary.  TA spoke to 2 different Celebrity reps with no success.  

It looks like our options are to cancel and get our non-refundable deposits back as FCC or wait to see if the rest of 2020 is cancelled by Celebrity before our final payment due date of Sept. 10, 2020.  

we are booked on the same cruise, and have the same experience.  The “Canal Touch” is not considered Caribbean for some reason.  
 

I’d speak to your TA about delaying final payment.  The Sept 10 date is earlier than my statement from Celebrity says, as Celebrity just requires payment 90 days out.    I believe my due date is Sept 24.  It is quite possible they will cancel between September 10 and Sept 24.  There are also some instances of final payment being delayed a little further, while they evaluate the situation.  

[GottaKnowWhen]

22 hours ago, TN Spartan said:

Hi Everyone!  Longtime lurker, first time poster.  

I wanted to share my experience with Lift & Shift for our Constellation 12 night Touch Canal Holiday cruise on December 23, 2020 - we have 4 Concierge staterooms booked for 8 people.  Just got off the phone with my travel agent (big box store) to see which 2021 cruises were options for lift and shift.  TA called Celebrity and there were no available options for L&S as this itinerary does not exist for a holiday cruise in 2021, and would not let us move to either the 11 night Connie (12/23/21) because the number of days is not the same 😲, or the 12 night Equinox (12/22/21) as it is Eastern Caribbean/different itinerary.  TA spoke to 2 different Celebrity reps with no success.  

It looks like our options are to cancel and get our non-refundable deposits back as FCC or wait to see if the rest of 2020 is cancelled by Celebrity before our final payment due date of Sept. 10, 2020.  We don't want to make final payment and get caught in any refund uncertainties.

We are very disappointed as we had booked this cruise last fall for a great price including drinks/grats/OBC, and wanted to stay booked with Celebrity.

So far I have tried the lift-shift option for three cruises. Two accepted, one not accepted. The rejected one did not meet their parameters, no luck on appeal. Oh well. So I took FCC on the April 2020 cancelled cruise, applied it to a booking for October 2021.

 

TN Spartan, my suggestion for how to proceed in your case. First, make a refundable reservation for the cruise you want to take in 2021. Do that sooner than later, lock in the 4 cabins you want. Also, make your Final payment on 2020 booking. Several possibilities after that...

What if A? Your 2020 cruise does not get cancelled? Take your 2020 cruise, enjoy! Decide while onboard whether to keep your 2021 booking or to cancel for a refund.

    or

What if B1? Your 2020 cruise does get cancelled by Celebrity? Take the 125% FCC and apply it to your amount due on 2021.

    or

What if B2? Your 2020 cruise does get cancelled by Celebrity? Take the $$$ refund, put it in the bank, and use the funds next year as Final payment approaches for the 2021 cruise.

 

The choice for B1 vs. B2 would depend on how much if at all the prices for next year go up. That extra 25% might be enough to make up any difference...

 

Stan

[OKBrenda]

I have a Lift and Shift question that I haven't seen addressed here yet. Has anyone been able to Lift and Shift a back-to-back cruise for a single, equivalent night cruise the following year? I have a five-night and seven-night booked for February, and the only options for 2022 are from different ports (Miami & Ft. Lauderdale). There is an excellent twelve-night Equinox cruise that I would possibly like to shift to, in order to keep from changing rooms and transferring ships. Pricing is comparable to total pricing for the two cruises. Anyone have experience with this particular situation? Thanks for any input!

[Rustyman]

27 minutes ago, OKBrenda said:

I have a Lift and Shift question that I haven't seen addressed here yet. Has anyone been able to Lift and Shift a back-to-back cruise for a single, equivalent night cruise the following year? I have a five-night and seven-night booked for February, and the only options for 2022 are from different ports (Miami & Ft. Lauderdale). There is an excellent twelve-night Equinox cruise that I would possibly like to shift to, in order to keep from changing rooms and transferring ships. Pricing is comparable to total pricing for the two cruises. Anyone have experience with this particular situation? Thanks for any input!

Can you not just cancel your B2B’s then use the FCC to book the new 12 night cruise? 

[Fouremco]

37 minutes ago, OKBrenda said:

Anyone have experience with this particular situation?

I've not read any posts previously about anyone having tried this, successfully or otherwise. If your b2b is a single booking with a single booking number, it would seem to be a reasonable request. Give Celebrity or your TA a call and see what you can work out.

[ipeeinthepool]

14 hours ago, Rustyman said:

Can you not just cancel your B2B’s then use the FCC to book the new 12 night cruise? 

 

I don't think the approach is for her to cancel, but you're close.  If the current price on the longer cruise is close to the booking price for the two cruises, she should just book the longer cruise now and wait for Celebrity to cancel the B2B cruises.  That way she can get the 125% FCC that she could apply to the longer cruise and then have some FCC left over for another cruise.  If she doesn't want to give Celebrity any more money, then you're suggestion makes sense.

[OKBrenda]

Thank you all for your responses. I have two separate reservations linked by Celebrity as B2B for February 2021, same ship and stateroom type, and they have not (yet) been canceled so 125% FCC is not available. Plus, the current price for the same number of nights the following year is more than double what I've booked, thus my reason for considering a Lift & Shift while that option is still available. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll be sailing yet in February, so I don't really want to make final payment only to have my money held up for a year. If I decide to pursue this with Celebrity, I'll post the outcome so that if this issue comes up again for someone else, they will know if it's a possibility. Thanks again! 😀

[wrk2cruise]

I think you should try.   You are going to have to get through to the resolutions department as they will be the only ones who could make this happen.  State your case in a logical way especially with regards to the comparable pricing of your proposed selection to the available selections for each individual cruise.  If you get a denial from resolutions then your last hope would be an email to CelebrityOneTouch@celebrity.com which should be seen by an executive support team.  If this is something you want to pursue I wouldn't wait until the last minute.

[greenlakesteve]

On 6/27/2020 at 8:00 PM, Maebers said:

Hi Msteg,

I'm on the same cruise, Hawaii to Australia 2020.  After two called made to Celebrity saying No, I contacted the Ceo of celebrity and it got done, now I'm on the 2021 sailing.

 

im having the same difficulty. Did you contact the ceo by email or by phone?

can you share any other details please?

 

steven dot eckstein at gmail dot com
 

[Maebers]

I sent email to the CEO but it got passed to Tanji and she did it all up for me. 

 ConciergeTanji@celebrity.com

[greenlakesteve]

On 9/5/2020 at 4:08 PM, Maebers said:

I sent email to the CEO but it got passed to Tanji and she did it all up for me. 

 ConciergeTanji@celebrity.com

It WORKED.......YEA!

I have always had a philosophy regarding the airlines and now I have the same philosophy about he cruise lines.  That is if you get an answer you don’t like or can’t live with......call back again and again and again until you finally get to someone willing to go the extra mile for you.

 

Thanks for your advice!

[Maebers]

I'm glad it got done,  see you on board next year. (I hope 😊)

[BOLOCRUISE]

Here is our dilemma...We have had 3 cruises cancelled this year.  We have two booked next year.  The first is an Asia Cruise out of Hong Kong in January.  We have a SCREAMING DEAL with all perks and huge OBC, plus some awesome ports in January.   

 

Here is the problem. We have until September 30 to Lift&Shift.  BUT, RCL and Celebrity still have not announced any of the new protocols they will put in place once cruising begins. The lift & shift cruises in 2022 don't have the same ports we are looking so forward to.  We want to go January 2021, but with not knowing the protocols and not knowing if sailing will even happen in January (although I believe it will),  and having to make a decision by 9/30 with knowledge of the protocols, we (and all guests) are in a bad spot.  We can easily lift and shift, but we would be extremely disappointed missing out in our ports and having to wait another year, if cruising is somewhat normal in January.  On the other hand, we do not want to be the test guests for the new protocols and we do not want to have MSC style restrictions on excursions and onboard.

 

Lift & Shift or take the gamble...

[Fouremco]

I doubt that Celebrity's protocols in January would be much different than MSC's, should they be cruising at all. If you find those too restrictive, you'd best L&S to 2022.

[wrk2cruise]

I believe most of the Celebrity sailings in Asia are longer itineraries.   My opinion is that Celebrity will not be sailing itineraries longer than 7 days in that timeframe.   If you are like me and wish to hold on to that screaming deal I'd certainly agree that L&S would be my suggestion.   LIke others I expect that they will be making some further announcements in the next week or 2.  Hopefully that will extend the "Cruise with Confidence" including L&S beyond 9/30.  I can't make any final payment without seeing at least a preliminary plan for restarting.   I did L&S on my killer deal for Constellation in January just last week.

[PIXEYLOU]

On 6/9/2020 at 10:50 AM, sippican said:

 

What are you trying to lift and shift to? 

Why you upser

[sippican]

15 hours ago, PIXEYLOU said:

Why you upser

 

?????