Substitute Passenger?

I have just booked a cruise for my wife and her sister aboard the Summit to Bermuda this May. The problem is that her sister isn’t in the best of health and refuses to buy travel insurance.

I have called Celebrity a few times in the last couple of days and been put on a queue which I hung up on after waiting 45 minutes. When I pretended to book a cruise, immediate answer.

So if her sister can’t go on the cruise, can I go in her place? If I can, are there any restrictions or costs associated with the substitution?

Yes, you can. There are time limits and costs, which I believe can be found at X's website.

Also, I would venture to say that it depends on which country you have booked from, as that will have bearing on the situation as well.

I trust your SIL is well enough to travel and remains healthy as possible.

bon voyage

From other post https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1069647

From Celebrity Cruises FAQ:

"Can I make changes to a guest listed on my reservation?

Name changes can be made to all but one original guest on a reservation except when:

1. The reservation has been paid in full
   
2. Air arrangements have been confirmed
   
3. Departure date is less than thirty-five (35) days away."
   

I have just booked a cruise for my wife and her sister aboard the Summit to Bermuda this May. The problem is that her sister isn’t in the best of health and refuses to buy travel insurance.

I have called Celebrity a few times in the last couple of days and been put on a queue which I hung up on after waiting 45 minutes. When I pretended to book a cruise, immediate answer.

 

So if her sister can’t go on the cruise, can I go in her place? If I can, are there any restrictions or costs associated with the substitution?

Could you just buy the insurance for her through the cruise line or that other online site ? Or perhaps book yourself as the 3rd person in cabin ?

A friend of mine booked a cruise as a surprise for her and her husband. When he found out, he refused to go so my friend had a neighbor of hers go in his place. It's allowable if one person on the booking remains in the cabin. I believe the charge was $50 to make the change. I am sorry I can't remember exactly how long ahead of time she made the revision on her booking but think it was about a month ahead of time. This was a few years ago so the charge may have gone up. However, I think they will still allow you to change one person on the booking as I had gotten a smokin' deal on a 14 night cruise and my DH didn't want to go for so long so asked Celebrity if changing one passenger on the booking was still allowed and they said yes. Well, funny thing is, they chartered that ship out and canceled our cruise so it was a moot point.

A friend of mine booked a cruise as a surprise for her and her husband. When he found out, he refused to go so my friend had a neighbor of hers go in his place. It's allowable if one person on the booking remains in the cabin. I believe the charge was $50 to make the change. I am sorry I can't remember exactly how long ahead of time she made the revision on her booking but think it was about a month ahead of time. This was a few years ago so the charge may have gone up. However, I think they will still allow you to change one person on the booking as I had gotten a smokin' deal on a 14 night cruise and my DH didn't want to go for so long so asked Celebrity if changing one passenger on the booking was still allowed and they said yes. Well, funny thing is, they chartered that ship out and canceled our cruise so it was a moot point.

Must have been Super Bowl weekend. There are priorities! :evilsmile:

Must have been Super Bowl weekend. There are priorities! :evilsmile:

They show the Super Bowl in the theatre, so no excuse.:)

(Unless you are a Pittsburgh Steelers fan and need to stay at home and pout.)

I waited in the phone queue for 1.5 hours listening to ads before a Celebrity customer services representative answered.

He said that as long as you let them know before the final manifest is sent out, about 3 days before departure, a substitution can be made as long as 1 original passenger remains. And there is no charge for the service.

Fly, Eagles, Fly!

I have just booked a cruise for my wife and her sister aboard the Summit to Bermuda this May. The problem is that her sister isn’t in the best of health and refuses to buy travel insurance.

 

I have called Celebrity a few times in the last couple of days and been put on a queue which I hung up on after waiting 45 minutes. When I pretended to book a cruise, immediate answer.

 

 

 

So if her sister can’t go on the cruise, can I go in her place? If I can, are there any restrictions or costs associated with the substitution?

Just pay for the sisters insurance yourself (or have your wife pay for it). You already said you booked the cruise, so are handling the paperwork. Get an independent policy and make sure it will protect the solo passenger rate for your wife (cruise line policy’s do not, at least if it’s the “ protection portion” prior to the cruise departing).

It would be foolish not to have a policy in place to protect your wife’s investment in the vacation.

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I waited in the phone queue for 1.5 hours listening to ads before a Celebrity customer services representative answered.

 

He said that as long as you let them know before the final manifest is sent out, about 3 days before departure, a substitution can be made as long as 1 original passenger remains. And there is no charge for the service.

 

 

 

 

 

Doesn’t sound right without insurance, especially inside final payment. Otherwise a lot of people wouldn’t bother getting insurance.

If you choose not to insure, please get this in writing on email from Celebrity. Make sure they confirm that the rate paid is protected also.

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Deleted

Here is the question and the answer that I got from Celebrity regarding the subject.

As I read it, substitution is allowed.

Question:

CelebrityOneTouch@celebrity.com

Dear Celebrity Cruises, I would like to know your rules and rates regarding passenger substitution.My situation is that I have booked a Bermuda cruise in May on the Summit for my wife and her sister. I have purchased travel insurance for my wife but her sister doesn’t believe in travel insurance. I know that my wife’s insurance will cover my wife in case her sister can’t cruise for documented medical reasons. The important word is documented because her sister doesn’t like to share private information. My wife and I have agreed that if for any reason her sister backs out of the cruise, I should take her sister’s place as my wife’s travelling companion. After all I have never been to Bermuda. I spoke on the phone to a member of your customer service team. He said that as long as you let Celebrity/Agent know before the final manifest is sent out, about 3 days before departure, a substitution can be made as long as 1 original passenger remains. And there is no charge for the service. What is Celebrity’s official policy on passenger substitution? Thank you,XXX

Answer:

Dear Mr. XXX:

Thank you for contacting Celebrity Cruises. I am pleased to have this opportunity to respond to your inquiry.

Due to agency confidentiality, Celebrity Cruises cannot amend any information on a reservation with anyone other than the travel agent of record. Please contact your travel agent if you want to change a guest name on a booking. We do not charge a fee to change a name. If you cannot reach your travel agency, feel free to reach out to me at 844-418-6824, and I will be happy to attempt to contact the travel agent on your behalf.

Sincerely,

XXXXXX

Celebrity Cruises

Here is the question and the answer that I got from Celebrity regarding the subject.

 

As I read it, substitution is allowed.

 

 

 

Question:

 

CelebrityOneTouch@celebrity.com

 

Dear Celebrity Cruises, I would like to know your rules and rates regarding passenger substitution.My situation is that I have booked a Bermuda cruise in May on the Summit for my wife and her sister. I have purchased travel insurance for my wife but her sister doesn’t believe in travel insurance. I know that my wife’s insurance will cover my wife in case her sister can’t cruise for documented medical reasons. The important word is documented because her sister doesn’t like to share private information. My wife and I have agreed that if for any reason her sister backs out of the cruise, I should take her sister’s place as my wife’s travelling companion. After all I have never been to Bermuda. I spoke on the phone to a member of your customer service team. He said that as long as you let Celebrity/Agent know before the final manifest is sent out, about 3 days before departure, a substitution can be made as long as 1 original passenger remains. And there is no charge for the service. What is Celebrity’s official policy on passenger substitution? Thank you,XXX

 

 

 

Answer:

 

Dear Mr. XXX:

 

 

 

Thank you for contacting Celebrity Cruises. I am pleased to have this opportunity to respond to your inquiry.

 

 

 

Due to agency confidentiality, Celebrity Cruises cannot amend any information on a reservation with anyone other than the travel agent of record. Please contact your travel agent if you want to change a guest name on a booking. We do not charge a fee to change a name. If you cannot reach your travel agency, feel free to reach out to me at 844-418-6824, and I will be happy to attempt to contact the travel agent on your behalf.

 

 

 

Sincerely,

 

XXXXXX

 

Celebrity Cruises

 

That is great that they will do it. I guess in most situations both passengers are canceling together.

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Celebrity is telling you to contact your travel agent, which is what I would do and have them double-check on the terms. They say there is no cost associated with it (which I believe) but they don't address the time issue. Your travel agent will be able to confirm that info with their contacts.

I waited in the phone queue for 1.5 hours listening to ads before a Celebrity customer services representative answered.

He said that as long as you let them know before the final manifest is sent out, about 3 days before departure, a substitution can be made as long as 1 original passenger remains. And there is no charge for the service.

What you describe was exactly our experience when we substituted a passenger name on a Celebrity reservation a couple of years ago.

There was no charge for making the name change to the reservation, and it was quick and easy.

I called Celebrity. The agent who answered the phone immediately made the name change on the reservation and emailed me an updated invoice with the corrected names before I even got off the phone.

When I logged into my Celebrity account, the revision to the reservation was correctly displayed there too.

But some changes to Celebrity's final payment dates occurred last year.

I don't recall whether Celebrity was the cruise line that implemented a new fee for making name changes on reservations around that time, or if I am thinking of another cruise line.

Either way, the amount involved was not that much.

However, if you book your cruise with a travel agent, or if you transfer it to a travel agent, then that is an entirely different matter because the terms of that particular travel agency will apply and you need to contact them to make changes for you.

Celebrity won't do it in under those circumstances because the booking officially "belongs" to the travel agency.

Some travel agencies charge a fee for processing a name change or a cancellation, while others don't.

But in any case, I hope you will rest easy with peace of mind knowing that you can substitute your own name for the sister's if she can't go, regardless of whether or not she chooses to buy insurance, and regardless of whether or not there will be a charge for you to do so.