TA transfer worth it for $350?

[güerejo]

Hi All,

 

Is it worth transferring to a TA for $350 OBC? We already have $350 from booking onboard and keep our beverage package either way. Wondering if the ability to deal directly with Celebrity for price drops/upgrades will outweigh the extra OBC... Last time we lucked out and when Celebrity ran a suite guarantee for a few days, we were able to upgrade and keep our perks. Not sure if that would have happened if I'd had to go through the TA. Thoughts? :confused:

[CathyCruises]

I think it's totally worth it, and the TA will be able to do anything for you that you could do directly with X.

 

The ONLY downside I can think of is if there were to be a weekend only price drop, which is a slim possibility, and you couldn't reach your TA in time. What I have done in that case is to put a 24 hour hold on a cabin and contact my TA first thing Monday AM to make the switch.

[RickT]

As long as the TA is good!

 

If they charge cancellation/change fees or are known to be a pain to deal with then no, I wouldn't switch. Otherwise, $350 in your pocket is a good thing!

[Karynanne]

As long as the TA is good!

 

If they charge cancellation/change fees or are known to be a pain to deal with then no, I wouldn't switch. Otherwise, $350 in your pocket is a good thing!

 

Your are so right. Working with a good TA is key. We used the same agency for years, and there is never a cancellation or change fee, and they are always extremely professional and friendly. Just this morning I received a call from them, and was told that our next cruise (Oct.) had a reduction in price, and that it would be applied to our booking. Great service!

[rjrpar]

A TA can do anything you can. We always transfer, you can always use $350 and it will be refunded to you if not spent. A no-brainer

[bphman]

I would definitely transfer the reservation. Although I do remember a thread with someone notifying Celebrity about what a TA was offering and Celebrity matched it. I question whether it actually happened but that was the discussion on the thread. We received $300 from Celebrity for booking ob board with the beverage package. When I returned, our TA offered us another $374 and a $100 excursion credit however they have no excursions matching our itinerary. I love my TA. She has been awesome.

[Duanerice1]

$350 is $350. That is how much OBC switched for.

[dmk]

The $350 OBC is a terrific reason to transfer to a TA. However, I would do this only if the TA offered excellent service and did not charge a fee for cancellation before final payment.

[mandream]

Agree with others. I wouldn't do it if there were change or cancelation fees. Next you have to consider whether you think the agency is good or not, since you will need to go through them.

 

We have one we've used for the past couple cruises. I like my agent, but have had to deal with others when he is out. Recently I tried to make a change to a reservation that included adding 123 to it. The person I spoke with emphatically told me that was for new bookings only. I had to insist that he at least contact Celebrity and try. Of course, it was added.

 

I really don't like giving up the ability to deal with Celebrity directly, but will do so when I feel the offer is worthwhile.

 

Mike

[ptrpanpens]

Agree with others. I wouldn't do it if there were change or cancelation fees. Next you have to consider whether you think the agency is good or not, since you will need to go through them.

 

We have one we've used for the past couple cruises. I like my agent, but have had to deal with others when he is out. Recently I tried to make a change to a reservation that included adding 123 to it. The person I spoke with emphatically told me that was for new bookings only. I had to insist that he at least contact Celebrity and try. Of course, it was added.

 

I really don't like giving up the ability to deal with Celebrity directly, but will do so when I feel the offer is worthwhile.

 

Mike

 

I have had luck with certain people in Captains Club even when I have a travel agent. I have often called celebrity to ask questions about what can and cannot be done and then call my Travel agent and she does it. This usually has to do with cabin changing and whether perks will be lost.

 

But some celebrity agents will not talk to you if you go through a travel agent so I just hang up and call back. Depends on who you get, really.

 

I do not think it is worth it to transfer to a travel agent unless the OBC or perks are substantial if you are one of those people (like me) who make alot of changes in your reservation. Especially not to agents who are not open on weekends, as it can be very frustrating and even worse, might lose you a good deal on a cabin. $100 OBC is not worth it to transfer, IMO, but $350 might be.:D

[cle-guy]

To me the celebrity website is so clunky and unreliable, that using it as a bonus isn't;' really a bonus.

 

I've chosen to let my TA deal. I have her personal email and cellphone, and she's a small company and gives me fair OBC's with personal serve, and no fees.

 

Sometimes I tell her she needs to deal NOW, sometimes we agree to wait to monday, and I have also chosen to book or make a 24 hour hold then call her to take it over.

 

You'll get any operas Celebrity is going to give wether booking direct or thru a TA, but a TA can give even more perks, so why not take the extra. Generally TA's don't have any special deals on fares you don't see at X website, unless they are a large site that may have booked blocks of cabins. So i do research then have her book.

 

And as far as transferring it, should be as simple as emailing your TA your X confirmation number, then they can call X and take control of the reservation. I've never done this part yet, and have found a form to use via fax as well.

Edited February 14, 2014 by cle-guy

[varoo]

......I really don't like giving up the ability to deal with Celebrity directly, but will do so when I feel the offer is worthwhile.

The same here. When it is a simple, straightforward booking there should be no problem with transferring it to a TA. It should be worthwhile for the $350 onboard credit.

 

However it can get messy if you have complicating factors involved.

For example, we ran into some problems when using 123 go together with reusing an open passage from a past cruise that had been canceled and additionally applying a future cruise credit to the same reservation.

 

When there are complications, we find it best to get it all worked out directly with the cruise line and have everything in place lined up just the way you want it before giving the booking to a TA.

 

That eliminates the hassles and frustrations of needing to go through a third party to get problems resolved because the cruise line will no longer talk to you directly once you have a TA involved.

 

Furthermore, you can no longer make payments yourself but must rely on the TA to make them for you.

 

All payment and billing information disappears from your online account once you transfer the booking to a TA.

So when looking at your own Celebrity account you can no longer see what has or has not been paid or what changes have been applied or even the cancellation dates and penalties.

 

That is why it is important to make sure the TA sends you an updated copy of Celebrity's Booking Confirmation, not just the TAs own confirmation, every time they make a change or payment for you so that you can see for yourself whether or not it was processed correctly.

 

Just because you receive the TA's confirmation, it does not necessarily mean that the cruise line has actually received the payment or change, or even if they received it, that it was properly applied to the correct account.

 

[riclop]

Hi All,

 

Is it worth transferring to a TA for $350 OBC? We already have $350 from booking onboard and keep our beverage package either way. Wondering if the ability to deal directly with Celebrity for price drops/upgrades will outweigh the extra OBC... Last time we lucked out and when Celebrity ran a suite guarantee for a few days, we were able to upgrade and keep our perks. Not sure if that would have happened if I'd had to go through the TA. Thoughts? :confused:

For $350 is a no brainer.YES YES YES.

[cruzemaven]

Can I still make my own reservations at the alternative restaurants, if I hand my cruise booking over to a travel agent?

[Happy2cruise]

Can I still make my own reservations at the alternative restaurants, if I hand my cruise booking over to a travel agent?

You can if done online....at least that has been the case for us.

[helen haywood]

Given the wait times people are talking about when trying to call Celebrity, I'd go with a TA. Let them spend their life on hold! I recently just changed my cabin and my TA was on hold for 30 minutes with X.

[Happy2cruise]

Given the wait times people are talking about when trying to call Celebrity, I'd go with a TA. Let them spend their life on hold! I recently just changed my cabin and my TA was on hold for 30 minutes with X.

Totally agree;)

[north29]

Come from the TAs office/company or X, you do know that if X it might not be combinable.

[grandgeezer]

The same here. When it is a simple, straightforward booking there should be no problem with transferring it to a TA. It should be worthwhile for the $350 onboard credit.

 

However it can get messy if you have complicating factors involved.

For example, we ran into some problems when using 123 go together with reusing an open passage from a past cruise that had been canceled and additionally applying a future cruise credit to the same reservation.

 

When there are complications, we find it best to get it all worked out directly with the cruise line and have everything in place lined up just the way you want it before giving the booking to a TA.

 

That eliminates the hassles and frustrations of needing to go through a third party to get problems resolved because the cruise line will no longer talk to you directly once you have a TA involved.

 

Furthermore, you can no longer make payments yourself but must rely on the TA to make them for you.

 

All payment and billing information disappears from your online account once you transfer the booking to a TA.

So when looking at your own Celebrity account you can no longer see what has or has not been paid or what changes have been applied or even the cancellation dates and penalties.

 

That is why it is important to make sure the TA sends you an updated copy of Celebrity's Booking Confirmation, not just the TAs own confirmation, every time they make a change or payment for you so that you can see for yourself whether or not it was processed correctly.

 

Just because you receive the TA's confirmation, it does not necessarily mean that the cruise line has actually received the payment or change, or even if they received it, that it was properly applied to the correct account.

 

 

If you pay by credit card go to the card web site and check on the payment. It tells you who the money went to, when, and how much. In my case. it's always been the right amount and it's to the cruise line. I do my homework before I book a cruise so the only time I contact my online agent, is for price reductions and cabin changes, and that is via e-mail. Yes, my agent charges $50 to cancel a cruise, but I've never cancelled any of my 29 bookings. If I had to cancel one in the future, the $50 would be a drop in the bucket compared to the thousands of dollars I saved over booking directly through the cruise lines.

That's just me though, do whatever helps you sllep at night.