Why won't Celebrity allow me to cancel my cruise (before final payment)

So this is weird. I have called my "vacation planner" twice now over the last month asking for a call back. He hasn't returned any of my calls.

I decided to cancel the reservation, however, going through the cancellation button and confirmation screens online does nothing, the cruise is still booked. (cruise is 4 months from now) final payment date is 3 weeks away.

After trying twice, I decided to contact the Captain's Club as I have Elite status. They said they can't cancel a reservation but they could transfer me to someone who could. The fellow they transferred me to said he couldn't cancel the reservation that I had to speak to the vacation planner. (the guy who hasn't returned any of my calls in the last month).

What the heck?

I've never had this problem before, although this is the first time I have used their "vacation planner" as I usually do it myself online.

Any advice on how to get some action here?

Thanks,

If you do not make the final pymt on time it will auto cancel here in the US.

Not sure how it will happen up north.

Have you logged into "My Celebrity" and tried to do it?

If you do not make the final pymt on time it will auto cancel here in the US.

Not sure how it will happen up north.

 

Have you logged into "My Celebrity" and tried to do it?

I think he is trying to save his deposit which will vanish if he does it that way.(in the US)

Call the Captains Club back and be very adamant that you want to cancel the cruise to free up the cabin for someone else. Explain that you tried to do it yourself on line but that didn't work. The CC transferred you to a CVP who said he could not help as you had to talk to the CVP that booked the cruise. The problem is that CVP will not return your calls and you want the CC to cancel the cruise. They can do that.

I once had an issue with a CVP and would never use that person again. Another time I tried to get a price reduction through the CC club because my CVP was on vacation. After I explained that and that I did not want to wait for someone else to call me back they processed the price reduction.

BTW, not all the CVP act like yours. I have one I've been using for 5 years or so and she is great.

Call the Captains Club back and be very adamant that you want to cancel the cruise to free up the cabin for someone else. Explain that you tried to do it yourself on line but that didn't work. The CC transferred you to a CVP who said he could not help as you had to talk to the CVP that booked the cruise. The problem is that CVP will not return your calls and you want the CC to cancel the cruise. They can do that.

 

I once had an issue with a CVP and would never use that person again. Another time I tried to get a price reduction through the CC club because my CVP was on vacation. After I explained that and that I did not want to wait for someone else to call me back they processed the price reduction.

 

BTW, not all the CVP act like yours. I have one I've been using for 5 years or so and she is great.

okay, thanks. will try CC again. I agree, I generally have nothing but great experiences with Celebrity.

Had a problem with CVP one time. My original was great and prompt . Got promoted to a higher level job. His replacement with totally useless . Near answered her voicemail's and took over 4 days to answer emails. Filed an online complaint , followed up with a call. New CVP within 72 hours . He is great.

CHEZMARYLOU,

Please send me your contact at Celebrity.packerfanlarry1@gmail.com if you cant send it here.

May want o switch up to someone else.

Thanks

Had an issue one time. I didn't take ownership of the booking when first opening the booking.

.... not a good idea...but cancelled your credit card....and get a new one:D

CHEZMARYLOU,

Please send me your contact at Celebrity.packerfanlarry1@gmail.com if you cant send it here.

May want o switch up to someone else.

Thanks

Info sent from gmail email address.

I think he is trying to save his deposit which will vanish if he does it that way.(in the US)

That really is the quickest and easiest way to cancel a cruise reservation.

You can do it at your own convenience, at any hour of the day or night.

All you do is log into your reservation, click the Cancel button,

then another click to confirm that you really want to cancel, and it is done.

But unfortunately, Celebrity currently has their website set so that they only give us the Cancel option on reservations that we book ourselves online.

If anyone else books a cruise for us, we lose the cancel option on that reservation. Then if we later decide to cancel it, we need to go through the hassle of contacting someone else to cancel it for us, as the OP is trying to do.

I make all my cruise reservations by phone through a cruise planner If I need any servicing on the reservation or if I decide to cancel the cruise, I just call the 1-800 number and have whoever answers the phone do it for me. I don't wait to only deal with the original person I booked with. I have never had a problem. In fact most cruise planners have told me there is no need to just deal with one person

I make all my cruise reservations by phone through a cruise planner If I need any servicing on the reservation or if I decide to cancel the cruise, I just call the 1-800 number and have whoever answers the phone do it for me. I don't wait to only deal with the original person I booked with. I have never had a problem. In fact most cruise planners have told me there is no need to just deal with one person

Same here...has always worked that way for us. I had no idea they would claim the booking...they are assigned randomly when you call in..not like TA one selects for a business relationship.

I use the same X vacation planner all the time, but if he is out (whether vacation or medical), I have had no problem getting another vacation planner to modify or cancel reservations he made for me and, thus, controls. Other X employees can do this so don't take No for an answer

So this is weird. I have called my "vacation planner" twice now over the last month asking for a call back. He hasn't returned any of my calls.

 

I decided to cancel the reservation, however, going through the cancellation button and confirmation screens online does nothing, the cruise is still booked. (cruise is 4 months from now) final payment date is 3 weeks away.

 

After trying twice, I decided to contact the Captain's Club as I have Elite status. They said they can't cancel a reservation but they could transfer me to someone who could. The fellow they transferred me to said he couldn't cancel the reservation that I had to speak to the vacation planner. (the guy who hasn't returned any of my calls in the last month).

 

What the heck?

 

I've never had this problem before, although this is the first time I have used their "vacation planner" as I usually do it myself online.

 

Any advice on how to get some action here?

 

Thanks,

I had the same problem with a vacation planner they told me it was locked and I had to speak with the vacation planner to make any changes . I was within a few days of final payment and decided to not cancel. After final payment I was able to speak with anyone. Will NEVER use a vacation planner again

We are in the US and when we cancel a cruise online, the deposit is automatically refunded to the same credit card we used to pay it originally.

 

That really is the quickest and easiest way to cancel a cruise reservation.

 

You can do it at your own convenience, at any hour of the day or night.

All you do is log into your reservation, click the Cancel button,

then another click to confirm that you really want to cancel, and it is done.

 

 

But unfortunately, Celebrity currently has their website set so that they only give us the Cancel option on reservations that we book ourselves online.

 

If anyone else books a cruise for us, we lose the cancel option on that reservation. Then if we later decide to cancel it, we need to go through the hassle of contacting someone else to cancel it for us, as the OP is trying to do.

 

 

As long as you are working with Celebrity directly, you can manage your reservation with them. But, as soon as you transfer your booking to a travel agency, then Celebrity HAS to require you to work with that agency to make any changes or cancellations. If Celebrity let you work directly with them, they would be at risk of alienating the agency, and potentially breach the contract they have with that agency, which is a legal issue.

You can't expect multiple entities handling your booking. It would be confusing for both, neither knowing what the other is doing. Not good business practice at all.

When you call Celebrity, make sure that you are not logged into your reservation online. You need to fully exit the reservation and might even have to wait 20 minutes, or the agent will be "locked" out.

..............But unfortunately, Celebrity currently has their website set so that they only give us the Cancel option on reservations that we book ourselves online.

 

If anyone else books a cruise for us, we lose the cancel option on that reservation. Then if we later decide to cancel it, we need to go through the hassle of contacting someone else to cancel it for us, as the OP is trying to do.

As long as you are working with Celebrity directly, you can manage your reservation with them. But, as soon as you transfer your booking to a travel agency, then Celebrity HAS to require you to work with that agency..........

:confused: While everything you say about travel agencies is certainly true, I wonder why you quoted my previous post, which never even mentioned travel agencies. That's a whole other ball game with entirely different rules and restrictions.

I was talking about the fact that we lose the clickable Cancel option on our reservation unless we book the cruise online ourselves.

If someone else books it for us, we lose that feature regardless of whether it is booked over the phone or on a ship, by someone from future cruises, Captain's Club, reservations or any other department.

The dilemma is that we like to book cruises on board the ship to get the reduced deposit and additional OBC, but we are unable to book those online ourselves.

Instead one of the future cruise people needs to book it for us, but that way we don't get the cancel option on the reservation.

While losing the option to cancel the cruise ourselves with a simple click is not a big deal, it is a nice little feature to have.

So if anyone knows how to get the clickable Cancel option on a reservation that a Celebrity employee -- any Celebrity employee -- books for you, please tell us how to do it.

Any advice on how to get some action here?

 

Thanks,

Assuming you paid with your credit card, dispute the charges with your card company. It will definitely get their attention.

:confused: While everything you say about travel agencies is certainly true, I wonder why you quoted my previous post, which never even mentioned travel agencies. That's a whole other ball game with entirely different rules and restrictions.

Well, to quote your exact words:

"But unfortunately, Celebrity currently has their website set so that they only give us the Cancel option on reservations that we book ourselves online.

If anyone else books a cruise for us, we lose the cancel option on that reservation. Then if we later decide to cancel it, we need to go through the hassle of contacting someone else to cancel it for us, as the OP is trying to do."

Since you did not mention a Celebrity employee making the reservation for you, the words "anyone else" suggested that you were talking about a travel agent. My mistake. :)

So this is weird. I have called my "vacation planner" twice now over the last month asking for a call back. He hasn't returned any of my calls.

 

I decided to cancel the reservation, however, going through the cancellation button and confirmation screens online does nothing, the cruise is still booked. (cruise is 4 months from now) final payment date is 3 weeks away.

 

After trying twice, I decided to contact the Captain's Club as I have Elite status. They said they can't cancel a reservation but they could transfer me to someone who could. The fellow they transferred me to said he couldn't cancel the reservation that I had to speak to the vacation planner. (the guy who hasn't returned any of my calls in the last month).

 

What the heck?

 

I've never had this problem before, although this is the first time I have used their "vacation planner" as I usually do it myself online.

 

Any advice on how to get some action here?

 

Thanks,

Hi

This happened to me a few months ago. I later found out that my CVP left the company and X only re-assigned a new CVP more than a month later! Through this I learned a few things

- if your booking is assigned to a CVP, yes only CVP and 'assistants' can make changes to your reservation (not even CC can help). We have an old booking that was booked onboard (unassigned) and basically call #800 and anyone can make changes.

- when you call the tel # your CVP gave you, if no one answers you can only leave a voice mail, no live person will pick up.

- each CVP has a 'concierge' works with them, like assistant (?) and they may be easier to get hold of than your CVP. They can help you just as CVP.

- lastly, try 800.437.3111. I've used this # and a live person picks up!

It seems everyone has different experience with X . This is just mine since the first CVP left. So far we are happy with our new CVP, she's responsive like our previous one.

Find a good TA and stick with them. Solves all problems without any sweat. If dealing direct with X in Canada is anything like in the UK you are paying more and getting worse service than by using the TA route.

.

I know you are frustrated. I stopped booking directly with all cruise lines because they are not available to service your reservation. I have also had cruise lines tell me that my booking would include perks. When I sailed, I did not get those perks. Always get everything in writing...and bring a copy of your invoice with you. A good travel agent is your best choice for booking any travel. Stuff happens. Also, travel agents often can save you money or give you some perks. I have a great TA from an online big travel company. This summer I took a cruise that included $600 OBC from my agent. When I boarded, I was only credited $100 OBC. I showed guest relations the invoice that clearly showed the $600. Guest relations would not honor it. I emailed my TA who tried to correct the problem with the cruise line. He was not successful. I got an email from my agent saying he wasn sending me $500 in the mail. It was in the mail when I got home.

Find a good TA and stick with them. Solves all problems without any sweat. If dealing direct with X in Canada is anything like in the UK you are paying more and getting worse service than by using the TA route.

 

 

.

I ( from Canada) have always dealt direct with Celebrity and have made changes many times and have cancelled as well. I have always had everything dealt with instantly and politely

Hi

This happened to me a few months ago. I later found out that my CVP left the company and X only re-assigned a new CVP more than a month later! Through this I learned a few things

 

- if your booking is assigned to a CVP, yes only CVP and 'assistants' can make changes to your reservation (not even CC can help). We have an old booking that was booked onboard (unassigned) and basically call #800 and anyone can make changes.

 

- when you call the tel # your CVP gave you, if no one answers you can only leave a voice mail, no live person will pick up.

- each CVP has a 'concierge' works with them, like assistant (?) and they may be easier to get hold of than your CVP. They can help you just as CVP.

- lastly, try 800.437.3111. I've used this # and a live person picks up!

 

It seems everyone has different experience with X . This is just mine since the first CVP left. So far we are happy with our new CVP, she's responsive like our previous one.

Had no idea about this procedure.,.must be fairly or the last one we cancelled was booked on line...no idea. But not fair to be stuck with someone randomly assigned when I first call...