Celebrity Open Passage Question

[jc foster]

  Today I was going thru some old papers when I found a Celebrity Open Passage which I had purchased back in 2012. I had placed it in my safe and had totally forgotten about it. If I remember correctly this has no expiration date. Is this correct? Also can I use this with a travel agent or only Celebrity. Its been a long time and I have sailed Celebrity several times since I purchased this but I totally forgot about it and I am totally in the dark. Any help would be appreciated. thanks Clark

[Luvcrusn]

It can be used with a TA, however there are serious limitations that make it almost impossible to use since it can't be combined with many promotions. We had one for 5 years and each time we tried to use it we were unable to apply it. They wouldn't even apply the cash value we paid for the Open Passage without additional benefit. After 5 years of trying my TA finally got X to refund the amount we paid to the credit card we'd used to purchase it. You can try, but I'd love to hear back about your experiences. We learned that if we want to book onboard never to book Open Passage, but instead to book a far out refundable cruise place holder cruise, or not to book onboard at all.

[varoo]

1 hour ago, jc foster said:

  Today I was going thru some old papers when I found a Celebrity Open Passage which I had purchased back in 2012. I had placed it in my safe and had totally forgotten about it. If I remember correctly this has no expiration date. Is this correct? Also can I use this with a travel agent or only Celebrity. Its been a long time and I have sailed Celebrity several times since I purchased this but I totally forgot about it and I am totally in the dark. Any help would be appreciated. thanks Clark

 

You should be able to use it either way. 

Look at the terms of your Open Passage because they offered different types with different restrictions on them.

 

The way we prefer to do it  is to book the cruise directly with Celebrity initially using the Open Passage certificate (or any other applicable certificate we may have).

We choose our cabin, perks, meal preferences, etc. and get everything lined up just the way we want it.

 

We then take advantage of the 60 day grace period to look around and compare offers from different travel agencies. 

At the end of the 60 day period, we transfer the booking to whichever agent offers us the best deal for that particular cruise.

 

It pays to compare offers each time because different travel agencies are able to offer better deals for different cruises. 

So the travel agent that gave us the best deal last time may not necessarily be the best one to use for the next cruise.

 

Here is a link to the

  Celebrity Cruises Travel Agency Transfer Form

 

I strongly suggest that you get a written statement from whichever  travel agent you choose in advance spelling out exactly what additional benefits they will give you.

                     

Edited October 23, 2019 by varoo

[jc foster]

9 hours ago, varoo said:

 

You should be able to use it either way. 

Look at the terms of your Open Passage because they offered different types with different restrictions on them.

 

The way we prefer to do it  is to book the cruise directly with Celebrity initially using the Open Passage certificate (or any other applicable certificate we may have).

We choose our cabin, perks, meal preferences, etc. and get everything lined up just the way we want it.

 

We then take advantage of the 60 day grace period to look around and compare offers from different travel agencies. 

At the end of the 60 day period, we transfer the booking to whichever agent offers us the best deal for that particular cruise.

 

It pays to compare offers each time because different travel agencies are able to offer better deals for different cruises. 

So the travel agent that gave us the best deal last time may not necessarily be the best one to use for the next cruise.

 

Here is a link to the

  Celebrity Cruises Travel Agency Transfer Form

 

I strongly suggest that you get a written statement from whichever  travel agent you choose in advance spelling out exactly what additional benefits they will give you.

                     

Thank you

[jc foster]

9 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

It can be used with a TA, however there are serious limitations that make it almost impossible to use since it can't be combined with many promotions. We had one for 5 years and each time we tried to use it we were unable to apply it. They wouldn't even apply the cash value we paid for the Open Passage without additional benefit. After 5 years of trying my TA finally got X to refund the amount we paid to the credit card we'd used to purchase it. You can try, but I'd love to hear back about your experiences. We learned that if we want to book onboard never to book Open Passage, but instead to book a far out refundable cruise place holder cruise, or not to book onboard at all.

thanks

[Deenie33]

12 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

It can be used with a TA, however there are serious limitations that make it almost impossible to use since it can't be combined with many promotions. We had one for 5 years and each time we tried to use it we were unable to apply it. They wouldn't even apply the cash value we paid for the Open Passage without additional benefit. After 5 years of trying my TA finally got X to refund the amount we paid to the credit card we'd used to purchase it. You can try, but I'd love to hear back about your experiences. We learned that if we want to book onboard never to book Open Passage, but instead to book a far out refundable cruise place holder cruise, or not to book onboard at all.

     We put $200  down for the same thing and have never been able to use it.  It negates all the other prom's that are being offered.    I was so mad we were at the Future Cruise desk when we found this out.... I think I will hunt up my certificates and try to reclaim the cash value.  Not counting on it though.  We love booking our next cruise on board the current cruise, but there are some inherent problems and you have to be tenacious in working them out once you get home....and some changes can be time limited so be ware and ask lots of questions.  The last cruise we went on we had booked on board and we ended up changing our destination.  That part went ok.  We didn't loose any of the nice promos, but we had trouble changing the travel company that we wanted to use for even more benefits.   It all worked out in the end, but was a  BIG hassle and took months to resolve.

[Luvcrusn]

30 minutes ago, Deenie33 said:

     We put $200  down for the same thing and have never been able to use it.  It negates all the other prom's that are being offered.    I was so mad we were at the Future Cruise desk when we found this out.... I think I will hunt up my certificates and try to reclaim the cash value.  Not counting on it though.  We love booking our next cruise on board the current cruise, but there are some inherent problems and you have to be tenacious in working them out once you get home....and some changes can be time limited so be ware and ask lots of questions.  The last cruise we went on we had booked on board and we ended up changing our destination.  That part went ok.  We didn't loose any of the nice promos, but we had trouble changing the travel company that we wanted to use for even more benefits.   It all worked out in the end, but was a  BIG hassle and took months to resolve.

When booking a cruise on board they will automatically assign the reservation to the TA you used to book that current cruise unless you sign a waiver telling them NOT to do it. Signing that waiver allows you 60 days to shop the reservation around before transferring it to the agent with the best offer.

I think the only reason we were able to get the refund was the TA we use is a very large online TA that does a high volume of business with X. A high up person at the TA fought for us with X. Needless to say we appreciated the help!

Edited October 23, 2019 by Luvcrusn
Addition

[Deenie33]

12 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

When booking a cruise on board they will automatically assign the reservation to the TA you used to book that current cruise unless you sign a waiver telling them NOT to do it. Signing that waiver allows you 60 days to shop the reservation around before transferring it to the agent with the best offer.

 

That is good to know!  Thank you!

[jc foster]

3 hours ago, Deenie33 said:

     We put $200  down for the same thing and have never been able to use it.  It negates all the other prom's that are being offered.    I was so mad we were at the Future Cruise desk when we found this out.... I think I will hunt up my certificates and try to reclaim the cash value.  Not counting on it though.  We love booking our next cruise on board the current cruise, but there are some inherent problems and you have to be tenacious in working them out once you get home....and some changes can be time limited so be ware and ask lots of questions.  The last cruise we went on we had booked on board and we ended up changing our destination.  That part went ok.  We didn't loose any of the nice promos, but we had trouble changing the travel company that we wanted to use for even more benefits.   It all worked out in the end, but was a  BIG hassle and took months to resolve.

Thanks, it sounds like I wasted $200. The guy that sold it onboard was a great salesman. Live and Learn.