If Celebrity website screws up on a reservation...

[Bruin Steve]

...Do they have to make good on it?

 

Here's the situation:

I have a reservation for an April 2021 cruise on Millennium, 14 nights, Japan, OV cabin...cost, just under $6,000, includes drinks and gratuities...

I just went on the Celebrity website to check prices...OVs, Insides, everything else at pretty high prices...But I found a Balcony cabin, no perks...but, including fees and taxes, for two...total of $2364!!!

Okay, I wasn't going to wait until my TA got back into her office tomorrow morning and took my call...she's very busy and slow at responding due to all that's going on...and I sort of doubted that fare is completely for real...could be just a mistake...AND the site wouldn't even let me put a "Courtesy Hold" on it.  So, I just clicked on the button and booked it...

I got a confirmation for it in my email...

 

So, what happens now?  Can I just cancel my other reservation and keep this one?  Or does Celebrity pull something strange and say it's invalid?  Anyone ever have this happen before?

[Denny01]

Not sure what your title has with the issue. You’ll need to work all of this through your TA. You have a reservation through them on that cruise and you’ve put a hold on another which is OK since customers can book multiple SRs. But you’ll have to have your TA work this all out, and it should work out OK. Done the same thing. 

 

If your TA is as on line booking agent I can see why you think they take time getting back to you, I use a local TA who has a full business and building and she responds even in the evenings with at least a ‘got it and will check it tomorrow’....all the time. Hope your TA is quick too and responds tomorrow. Send an email with the on hold info Now so they can work it ASAP tomorrow.

 

Den

[Wine-O]

The cheapest balcony on the 11 April sailing is over $11K.  If you are talking about the follow on TP, you can get a Suite 16 balcony stateroom for $1905, Senior rate.    Call your TA in the morning to see if Celebrity will honor the cruise you booked, and give her the Reservation #.   Then you can transfer it to the TA, and cancel the $6K O/V.  🍷

[Bruin Steve]

14 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

The cheapest balcony on the 11 April sailing is over $11K.  If you are talking about the follow on TP, you can get a Suite 16 balcony stateroom for $1905, 🍷

 

It’s why I was a bit shocked...The balconies had been sold out for awhile, but apparently there have been a few cancellations...It was showing me THAT rate...or a rate with two perks for around $6,000 per person...

I’m also booked on the TP...but in an OV for an incredibly cheap $2005 for two which includes the drink package and $100 in OBC...

 

...and, to Denny...the problem now, for my TA and many others, is that, with cruises being cancelled and other issues with the Covid19 thing, they are just swamped...and mine is working from home with none of her ordinary systems or support people.  These are just different times.  I sort of feel sorry for TAs right now...Cancellations cause them extra work...and no commissions...

[jelayne]

6 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

 

It’s why I was a bit shocked...The balconies had been sold out for awhile, but apparently there have been a few cancellations...It was showing me THAT rate...or a rate with two perks for around $6,000 per person...

I’m also booked on the TP...but in an OV for an incredibly cheap $2005 for two which includes the drink package and $100 in OBC...

 

...and, to Denny...the problem now, for my TA and many others, is that, with cruises being cancelled and other issues with the Covid19 thing, they are just swamped...and mine is working from home with none of her ordinary systems or support people.  These are just different times.  I sort of feel sorry for TAs right now...Cancellations cause them extra work...and no commissions...

Is the balcony a non-refundable rate.  They are frequently considerably cheaper than the refundable rate!   

[jelayne]

I just did a mock booking on that cruise a veranda on deck 6 (only 1 avail) with 0 perks is $11 662.  With refundable deposit.

Edited April 1, 2020 by jelayne

[Bruin Steve]

6 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Is the balcony a non-refundable rate.  They are frequently considerably cheaper than the refundable rate!   

 

2 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I just did a mock booking on that cruise a veranda on deck 6 (only 1 avail) with 0 perks is $11 662.

It’s refundable!

perhaps they’ve already found the glitch and fixed it?  But I WAS able to make a booking, put down a deposit and get a confirmation...

[jelayne]

I think I would just sit quiet for awhile. If you can have 2 deposits out.  You have 60 day’s to transfer it to your TA.  So after 4/5 weeks when things will have hopefully calmed down reach out to your TA and see what she says.  

[Bruin Steve]

Well, the end result is that it all worked out very well...We were able to speak with our TA yesterday...

 

I guess it wasn't a mistake...Celebrity just really dropped the price on those very few remaining balcony cabins.

 

Funny that the site showed two rates for the same cabin type--$1050 pp without perks and over $6200 pp with two perks (I wonder how many people got to that screen and thought "I really want those perks, I guess I'll book the second one").

 

We were able to transfer it all to our TA...We actually cancelled the new booking and the TA snatched up the cabin on the existing booking at an even better rate (some technicality where we had to do it that way)

Our price went from $5942--including drinks and gratuities and $200 OBC from our TA--for an OV cabin on deck 2 to $2319--with no drink package or gratuities but with $125 in OBC from the TA--for a 2A Veranda with a double-sized balcony on Deck 7...

 

Figuring the gratuities are valued at $434, then the net cash savings were $3114...and we lost our classic drink package (not that big a deal as this cruise is very port intensive...and, as Elite Plus Captains Club members, we get free drinks from 5:00-7:00 pm every night anyway...So, for the rest of the night after that, if we haven't had our fill of drinks yet, we can just buy them by the drink...and we can buy a lot of drinks for $3114!!!  Oh and we moved up to a much better cabin...

 

Moral of the story:  It really pays to keep checking those cruise fares...

[Fouremco]

Great deal! Now to just hope that you get to sail. 🤞

[Bruin Steve]

5 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Great deal! Now to just hope that you get to sail. 🤞

It's over a year away...If things aren't back to okay by then, we are all in a lot more trouble than this...

[Prost Seattle]

It’s nice hearing the little guy catching a break once in a while. 

[Droop]

That is AWESOME!

[az_tchr]

On 3/31/2020 at 8:48 PM, Bruin Steve said:

 

It’s why I was a bit shocked...The balconies had been sold out for awhile, but apparently there have been a few cancellations...It was showing me THAT rate...or a rate with two perks for around $6,000 per person...

I’m also booked on the TP...but in an OV for an incredibly cheap $2005 for two which includes the drink package and $100 in OBC...

 

...and, to Denny...the problem now, for my TA and many others, is that, with cruises being cancelled and other issues with the Covid19 thing, they are just swamped...and mine is working from home with none of her ordinary systems or support people.  These are just different times.  I sort of feel sorry for TAs right now...Cancellations cause them extra work...and no commissions...

FYI the TAs are being paid for cruises when Celebrity cancells.  Am glad.  Celebrity will make good on an online fare but only if you have proof such as a booking confirmation or screen shot.  Otherwise you are SOL.

[Bruin Steve]

24 minutes ago, az_tchr said:

FYI the TAs are being paid for cruises when Celebrity cancells.  Am glad.  Celebrity will make good on an online fare but only if you have proof such as a booking confirmation or screen shot.  Otherwise you are SOL.

 

I am happy to hear that about the TAs...I know that mine is going slightly crazy...Combination of cancellations and confused questions...

 

 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Bruin Steve