Might be done with Celebrity/ beware the upgrade

[LGW59]

4 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

I was hoping for more of an explanation than "somebody logs into a website".  Thanks.

My TA told me he has direct access to my celebrity bookings as he does a great deal of business with them, i.e. directTA log in account.

[edgee]

13 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

I was hoping for more of an explanation than "somebody logs into a website".  Thanks.

In my initial comment on this subject I was offering up the fact that these days many TAs are linked in to the cruise lines' systems such that they can perform many of the same functions in the same way as salaried cruise line employees do when you call them on the phone. Sorry if I can not satisfactorily respond to your questions about the hoops they may or may not have to jump through to be linked into those cruise lines' systems.

[HMR74]

On 12/9/2021 at 8:46 AM, Pizzasteve said:

It might save some time to share a link to this thread, which clearly describes the issue.  We loved our recent cruise on Celeb,  after a horrible set of experiences with the call center on a number of issues.  The crew of the ship were flawless, and made up for the horrible sales team.  I hope you have a great experience as well. We were returning customers after 20 years of no cruising, but now retired in our 50s with tons of money to spend. We expected to be a high value customer they would value (booked FV at fairly good rate), and the ship crew sure expressed it, but the sales team didnt. 

 

I suspect that the US based sales and customer service organizations are poorly run or are in a shambles due to covid disruptions or cost cutting (used to advise large companies in that space for the top advisory firms), while the international operations team understand how critical we are to their livelihood and show it.  The US job market has lots of better options for high performing staff right now than the cruise industry.  Just a fact, so likely they have lost good employees to other industries.  The office of the CEO is likely dealing with this and a lot of other challenges, so have some sympathy for them as well.  Also, lots of cost and revenue challenges, stock in the trash bin lately.   Good luck.

I am viewing Celebrity as two companies:

The first I will call the front office, where, especially since COVID started  has been very difficult to deal with. Few people know what is going on and I can call 4 internal reps and get 5 different answers for just about any question. I have also learned that if you have a problem, do not call on the night shift and expect it to be resolved. eg, I just transfered 2 cruises to cruises a year later--I was told 3 times I could not transfer my NonRef deposits but then during the transfer I used a large agent who said absolutely I could and voila the happened quickly.

 

This is a long list of issues, and a lot of it is wasted time till someone answers.

 

Now, the second Celebrity company IMHO is the excellent experience when one boards the ship. Which is a total 180 from the pre cruise experience. A different world. A few inconsequential issues but nothing to really remember.

 

Now, I give "X" some slack due to the  COVID disruptions and distractions, but if they fix this part they Ace the exams. But if I had the choice as which part is to be excellent I prefer the cruise being excellent, duh.

 

 

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by HMR74

[HMR74]

On 12/10/2021 at 8:45 AM, lovrccl said:

Celebrity is a mess!  We have been trying to get my husband's Capt club account fixed since October to no avail. We were just on Equinox and talked to the Capt Club person on the ship and they finally got it worked on. They had deleted all my husband cruises and his account#.  It's still not fixed but hoping within the next week or so. We were told there is a glitch in their system, we are not the only ones. It's crazy 😧

On the cruises I recently transferred last week, back in September, 4 of my 7 shore excurisons were cancelled. For me, not for my spouse. The website and their system via the staff  showed different data as did the app.

Then, one SE was gone from the website so I asked if we were still on that one or had it been canceled? Celebrity engagement sent 2 e mails-one said yes, the other said they were sorry but that was cancelled.

 

The last thing I want is to get to the actual check in and there are problems.

 

 

I was told , after more than a few calls when I finally reached someone who knew what was happening , that X was migrating to a new system for pre cruise purchases.

The fix? The fudged the system, so I was back on shore excursions and my remaining OBC was corrected.

 

The solutuon??

 

Trust but Verify.

And verify that day with another call and check your booking on website.

 

Edited December 13, 2021 by HMR74

[Ken the cruiser]

10 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

I just transfered 2 cruises to cruises a year later--I was told 3 times I could not transfer my NonRef deposits but then during the transfer I used a large agent who said absolutely I could and voila the happened quickly.

If I might ask, did the booking numbers of the 2 original bookings carry over to the new bookings or did the new bookings have their own new numbers?

[HMR74]

On 12/11/2021 at 12:13 PM, canderson said:

TAs come in a lot of flavors, and in an extraordinary range of experience and quality.  The new trend to "online" and "big box" TAs without the true personal touch contact hasn't helped.  

 

Sorry your experiences haven't been good.  Mine remains excellent, very responsive and pro-active.  She contacts ME about pricing changes, application of FCC & etc before I can even call to inquire.  She knows X's policies as well or better than the people at X that she works with since she's been doing this much longer than most of them.  She's the one that waits on the phone to 'batch' her X issues for her clients into a single call, saving us a ton of hold time.  A TA that good would, I think, change your mind.

The big box TA workks for me vs the small firms which give more in cost reductions.

That middle ground is nice because I believeyou have to consider service levels. When Covid started the TA I had been using, which gave great packages, could not handle calls for several days even when theye were working from home. It was penny wise and dollar foolish for me.

 

 

Here is a heads up where the internal person helped--the refundable fare was more than 1,300 less (S1) than the non refundable fare.

You have to keep checking your fares for a lot of reasons. Their systems are less than perfect.

The cruise I just transferred from, S style ship had a temporary price for Aqua 300 for 2 people more than a Verandah for 14 day cruise.

Edited December 13, 2021 by HMR74

[HMR74]

25 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

If I might ask, did the booking numbers of the 2 original bookings carry over to the new bookings or did the new bookings have their own new numbers?

booking numbers transferred.

At issue was an extra  goodwill OBC that was given that did not transfer. I still have to arbitrate that. I have time.

 

This occurred a day before X extended the  cruise with confidence. The trick is to get the right people, who understand the system and can make some good recs. My TA usually has me on the line when they speak with X (or RCCL which is even stranger than X).

 

 

 

 

[HMR74]

Oh, one more point. If you want to get anywhere, you need to play nice with the Agent , whether X or external.

 

Common sense that we sometimes forget.

[LGW59]

21 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

booking numbers transferred.

At issue was an extra  goodwill OBC that was given that did not transfer. I still have to arbitrate that. I have time.

 

This occurred a day before X extended the  cruise with confidence. The trick is to get the right people, who understand the system and can make some good recs. My TA usually has me on the line when they speak with X (or RCCL which is even stranger than X).

 

 

 

 

Why do you even bother to use a TA if you have to be on their multiple calls on your behalf to Celebrity?  Seems to defeat the purpose of using a TA, IMHO.

[Ipeeinthepools]

4 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Why do you even bother to use a TA if you have to be on their multiple calls on your behalf to Celebrity?  Seems to defeat the purpose of using a TA, IMHO.

 

Probably to get incentives that are offered by many TAs.

[HMR74]

50 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Why do you even bother to use a TA if you have to be on their multiple calls on your behalf to Celebrity?  Seems to defeat the purpose of using a TA, IMHO.

Duh, I can settle questions because I am right there to make a decision. Faster and better, and I can hear the pros and cons right from the horses mouth so to speak as the X agent and TA are discussing options.

 

But then again, I am a control freak.

 

And get the perks from the TA.

 

ON things like prices changes just drop it in the TA's lap.

 

I have seen the TA's commission structure-it was sent to me by accident. So I know whats a resonable deal for me.

 

[HMR74]

52 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Probably to get incentives that are offered by many TAs.

one decision that need be made is if the deal is too good from a TA, it might be a result of their being unalble to service their accounts. Thats usually ok except if a problem like covid pops up. Itsnice to have an agent with clout when you have a problem.

[zitsky]

9 hours ago, edgee said:

In my initial comment on this subject I was offering up the fact that these days many TAs are linked in to the cruise lines' systems such that they can perform many of the same functions in the same way as salaried cruise line employees do when you call them on the phone. Sorry if I can not satisfactorily respond to your questions about the hoops they may or may not have to jump through to be linked into those cruise lines' systems.

 

My question was, for a TA who doesn't have this access now, where would they start to get access?  And you may not know that.  I suppose a TA would know how to reach their IT department.

[chucknmarilyn]

45 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

My question was, for a TA who doesn't have this access now, where would they start to get access?  And you may not know that.  I suppose a TA would know how to reach their IT department.

Any legitimate TA should know how this works. TAs can only access bookings belonging to their agency of record. Some things do require a phone call.

[Ipeeinthepools]

51 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

My question was, for a TA who doesn't have this access now, where would they start to get access?  And you may not know that.  I suppose a TA would know how to reach their IT department.

 

I think you're making this a lot more difficult than it is.  Celebrity is trying to minimize the amount of interactions the TA's need to have with their agents and offer a lot of training.  If the TA is having trouble adapting. perhaps it's time for a new TA.

[zitsky]

3 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I think you're making this a lot more difficult than it is.  Celebrity is trying to minimize the amount of interactions the TA's need to have with their agents and offer a lot of training.  If the TA is having trouble adapting. perhaps it's time for a new TA.

 

Interesting.  Not sure how you make the leap from asking about this to changing to a new TA?  Don't answer.  It's a rhetorical question.

[wrk2cruise]

A new TA would receive this information from their host agency who is registered with Celebrity.  I believe their web portal is call CruisingPower and covers the RCG brands.   I'm pretty sure there are still many things that can't be done that way and require a phone call.   I'm not positive but I think even booking using the Captains Club 1 category upgrade requires a call.   We all know how behind the times the customer facing website is.  Not much reason to think the TA portal is any more "modern".

 

My very experienced TA is very frustrated with the amount of time he's been spending on hold with Celebrity and on multiple occasions has been given the wrong answer with Celebrity rep unwilling to budge when asked for a second opinion.  I've had to use my alternate contacts at Celebrity to get a couple issues resolved recently.

Edited December 13, 2021 by wrk2cruise

[Ken the cruiser]

8 hours ago, HMR74 said:

Duh, I can settle questions because I am right there to make a decision. Faster and better, and I can hear the pros and cons right from the horses mouth so to speak as the X agent and TA are discussing options.

 

But then again, I am a control freak.

 

And get the perks from the TA.

 

ON things like prices changes just drop it in the TA's lap.

 

I have seen the TA's commission structure-it was sent to me by accident. So I know whats a resonable deal for me.

 

I’m sorry and we may be in the minority, but we bypass our TA and book our Celebrity cruises using our Celebrity Vacation Planner. Yes, we lose a little OBC, but it’s definitely a lot less stressful when we need to book a cruise, manage our FCCs over these past months, have price reductions applied to booked cruises, get a variety of discounts we would otherwise not get if we booked through a TA, or get questions answered in a reasonable time straight from a source on the “inside”. 😎

Edited December 13, 2021 by Ken the cruiser

[zitsky]

43 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I’m sorry and we may be in the minority, but we bypass our TA and book our Celebrity cruises using our Celebrity Vacation Planner. Yes, we lose a little OBC, but it’s definitely a lot less stressful when we need to book a cruise, manage our FCCs over these past months, have price reductions applied to booked cruises, get a variety of discounts we would otherwise not get if we booked through a TA, or get questions answered in a reasonable time straight from a source on the “inside”. 😎

 

I see your point.   How often does an issue NOT get resolved in the planner, and you have to call in?

[zitsky]

49 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

A new TA would receive this information from their host agency who is registered with Celebrity.  I believe their web portal is call CruisingPower and covers the RCG brands.   I'm pretty sure there are still many things that can't be done that way and require a phone call.   I'm not positive but I think even booking using the Captains Club 1 category upgrade requires a call.   We all know how behind the times the customer facing website is.  Not much reason to think the TA portal is any more "modern".

 

My very experienced TA is very frustrated with the amount of time he's been spending on hold with Celebrity and on multiple occasions has been given the wrong answer with Celebrity rep unwilling to budge when asked for a second opinion.  I've had to use my alternate contacts at Celebrity to get a couple issues resolved recently.

 

Thanks.  Very helpful. I may ask my TA about it.

[cruiser61262]

UPDATE:

 

Spoke to rep from CEO.  Basically admitted that booking agent erred on many levels but since there are no SV cabins available they will refund me my money if I do not want an obstructed view IV cabin on the 6th deck.  I felt like they really just want me to go away and they will get their wish.  30+ years with Celebrity and now it’s time to explore other opportunities….

Best wishes to all who still think this is a quality cruise line….

[jelayne]

I’m sorry it didn’t work out.  

[cdn_tbird]

30 minutes ago, cruiser61262 said:

UPDATE:

 

Spoke to rep from CEO.  Basically admitted that booking agent erred on many levels but since there are no SV cabins available they will refund me my money if I do not want an obstructed view IV cabin on the 6th deck.  I felt like they really just want me to go away and they will get their wish.  30+ years with Celebrity and now it’s time to explore other opportunities….

Best wishes to all who still think this is a quality cruise line….

Sorry to hear the news. Sincerely wish you the best as you  explore new opportunities.

Edited December 13, 2021 by cdn_tbird

[mahdnc]

31 minutes ago, cruiser61262 said:

UPDATE:

 

Spoke to rep from CEO.  Basically admitted that booking agent erred on many levels but since there are no SV cabins available they will refund me my money if I do not want an obstructed view IV cabin on the 6th deck.  I felt like they really just want me to go away and they will get their wish.  30+ years with Celebrity and now it’s time to explore other opportunities….

Best wishes to all who still think this is a quality cruise line….

 

That is very disappointing to hear.  I am actually surprised that they couldn't fix this or make you whole in some other way.

[Oceangoer2]

28 minutes ago, cruiser61262 said:

UPDATE:

 

Spoke to rep from CEO.  Basically admitted that booking agent erred on many levels but since there are no SV cabins available they will refund me my money if I do not want an obstructed view IV cabin on the 6th deck.  I felt like they really just want me to go away and they will get their wish.  30+ years with Celebrity and now it’s time to explore other opportunities….

Best wishes to all who still think this is a quality cruise line….

We had a similar problem with a cabin which was 'available';   I booked it, then it became 'unavailable'.  No C1's left at that point.  Their CVP who called me, said "what am I supposed to do...cancel the people out of the cabin?".  Apparently it was their cabin but the CVP was cancelling then rebooking so they would get a promo perk.  I happened to book during the interim when she was completing the transaction. MY CVP argued the case and turned out I was given the cabin and the other folks argued then were content to take an Aqua.  SV's are limited so the best thing they could do for you is put you on a waitlist and fingers crossed someone (or a TA holding these cabins) would cancel.  Sorry a solution wasn't provided.  You must have enjoyed cruising Celebrity.