Grandparents trying to flake out of booking with only them two, advice on substituting?

[numnums]

Hi, read title above.

 

I'm trying to salvage the cost by replacing them, but is it only possible to replace one of them? 

If both of them can't go, I'm not able to change it to two different guests?

 

I wanted to book them together, but I made a grave oversight with how much my grandma is making a fuss about going...on my birthday no less.

It's a lot of my own money that's really hard to just throw away, does anyone have experience with trying to change the guests? The sailing literally happens in around 4 weeks.

[jelayne]

It not clear to me, are there 4 people currently booked.

If so are they  in 1 cabin or 2 cabins.  ( 2/2 or 3 in 1 and 1 n another)? Are any of the 4 children.   

Edited November 21, 2023 by jelayne
Typo

[WestLakeGirl]

If they were in their own room by themselves you cant just put two new people in that room.  One of the original passengers must remain, and teen you can make a substitution for the other one.  So if they were in their own room and both wan’t to cancel, you are out of luck. Sorry

 

 

[numnums]

57 minutes ago, jelayne said:

It not clear to me, are there 4 people currently booked.

If so are they  in 1 cabin or 2 cabins.  ( 2/2 or 3 in 1 and 1 n another)? Are any of the 4 children.   

there is 2 cabins. no children

 

9 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

If they were in their own room by themselves you cant just put two new people in that room.  One of the original passengers must remain, and teen you can make a substitution for the other one.  So if they were in their own room and both wan’t to cancel, you are out of luck. Sorry

 

 

 I see! 😕 Guess it wouldn't hurt to ask on the phone anyways, maybe someone will be benevolent to me. 

[numnums]

11 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

If they were in their own room by themselves you cant just put two new people in that room.  One of the original passengers must remain, and teen you can make a substitution for the other one.  So if they were in their own room and both wan’t to cancel, you are out of luck. Sorry

 

 

Is there also a rule about letting people in different cabins into your room to sleep in? If i do the sub, I'd like my mom to be with my grandpa and me with my friend, even though it's written for my friend to be in the room with my grandpa in the system.

[WestLakeGirl]

It would be no problem to get keys to each other’s rooms and change out who sleeps where

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

3 hours ago, WestLakeGirl said:

It would be no problem to get keys to each other’s rooms and change out who sleeps where

You'll need to go to the muster station for the cabin you're officially assigned to though - something to be aware of if they are in different muster stations.

[hcat]

suggest you call today to sort this out!

[Mark_K]

4 hours ago, numnums said:

Is there also a rule about letting people in different cabins into your room to sleep in?

For a lot of people that’s the point of going on a cruise. 😉

[Homosassa]

1 hour ago, Mark_K said:

For a lot of people that’s the point of going on a cruise. 😉

Do you enjoy pineapple (especially in an upside down cake)?

[Pinboy]

2 hours ago, Mark_K said:

For a lot of people that’s the point of going on a cruise. 😉

LOL-- Not anymore since Celebrity cut back the " Pineapple treats " OBC to $10 and changed the rules---- You now have to stay the whole night to qualify.

It does not include the visit to the Medical Center to repair your broken nose ----if you get caught.

And, who's going to believe you spent the whole night writing poems in the OVC ?

I know, I know, it's not nice, but have you noticed the demographics of the passengers on Celebrity ships??

 

 

 

 

 

[MarKay525]

9 hours ago, numnums said:

Is there also a rule about letting people in different cabins into your room to sleep in? If i do the sub, I'd like my mom to be with my grandpa and me with my friend, even though it's written for my friend to be in the room with my grandpa in the system.

If I am reading this correctly, 5 people are booked for this cruise in 2 staterooms - you, your friend, your mom and your grandparents. And your grandparents do not want to go on the cruise.

 

If one person in each stateroom is still going on the cruise, then 2 new guests can be substituted for your grandparents.

 

If your grandparents were booked into the same cabin, and the remaining guests who are going on the cruise are in a stateroom together, could you call Celebrity and ask if the cabin assignments of one of your grandparents and one person definitely going on the cruise can be officially switched before the ship sails. I don't know if this is possible, but if yes, then you could substitute one new guest in each stateroom. 

 

Did you use a travel agent? If yes, they should be able to sort this out.

 

Do you have cruise insurance? If your grandparents don't want to go because they aren't healthy enough to travel, then travel insurance could come into play with documentation from a doctor.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by MarKay525

[numnums]

1 hour ago, MarKay525 said:

If I am reading this correctly, 5 people are booked for this cruise in 2 staterooms - you, your friend, your mom and your grandparents. And your grandparents do not want to go on the cruise.

 

If one person in each stateroom is still going on the cruise, then 2 new guests can be substituted for your grandparents.

 

If your grandparents were booked into the same cabin, and the remaining guests who are going on the cruise are in a stateroom together, could you call Celebrity and ask if the cabin assignments of one of your grandparents and one person definitely going on the cruise can be officially switched before the ship sails. I don't know if this is possible, but if yes, then you could substitute one new guest in each stateroom. 

 

Did you use a travel agent? If yes, they should be able to sort this out.

 

Do you have cruise insurance? If your grandparents don't want to go because they aren't healthy enough to travel, then travel insurance could come into play with documentation from a doctor.

 

Good luck.

 

 

Sorry! I was writing this last night in a panic and no sleep scrambling to salvage this.

 

Only 4 people are booked for this cruise, my mom and I, and my grandparents. I put my grandparents in their own cabin since they wanted to be together- (which later in the road is now the problem)

 

I am using a TA and asking them about it, but I'll keep my hopes to a minimum. 

For now the rules officially state I can at least change one guest, and the substitute would be my friend. So they might be in a cabin of their own then since both of my grandparents will be a no show.

 

I have no cruise insurance, and my grandparents just don't want to go in general... So there wouldn't even be a way to get documentation.

 

[mnocket]

Well if you have a single that would like to join you on the cruise, I guess you could substitute that person for one of your grandparents.  Then the other grandparent that is still on the booking could be a no show.  The result is one person gets to use their cabin instead of it going totally to waste.

[numnums]

3 hours ago, mnocket said:

Well if you have a single that would like to join you on the cruise, I guess you could substitute that person for one of your grandparents.  Then the other grandparent that is still on the booking could be a no show.  The result is one person gets to use their cabin instead of it going totally to waste.

Yes, we're able to change the guest.

 

But now I'm being told that if the other person doesn't show up, the substitute might not be able to get on? Is that normal? Are they actually able to enforce that at the port??

[mnocket]

5 minutes ago, numnums said:

Yes, we're able to change the guest.

 

But now I'm being told that if the other person doesn't show up, the substitute might not be able to get on? Is that normal? Are they actually able to enforce that at the port??

I don't see why it would be a problem.  Guests don't even have to board at the same time.  The substitute can board without the other person being there.  The ship will sail regardless of no shows.  No one is going to hunt the substitute down and insist they leave the ship because the other person is a no show.  It seems to me that whoever told you this would be a problem is just offering a hypothetical that isn't realistic.  I wouldn't worry about it. 

[hcat]

why not just let it go rather than add more unless one grandparent chsnges their mind  

 

did they initially agree and reneg?

then they should  pay the  loss

 

can they move to a later date if they might feel up to it?

[mayleeman]

Just wondering whether they were really reluctant to go from the beginning and why they are backing out. Unless you pushed them into it, @hcat seems correct to ask them to pay.

 

OTH, what would the cruise be like if they felt compelled to go and griped all cruise long?

[numnums]

28 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I don't see why it would be a problem.  Guests don't even have to board at the same time.  The substitute can board without the other person being there.  The ship will sail regardless of no shows.  No one is going to hunt the substitute down and insist they leave the ship because the other person is a no show.  It seems to me that whoever told you this would be a problem is just offering a hypothetical that isn't realistic.  I wouldn't worry about it. 

That's excellent, these were my initial thoughts as well. I was just starting to get stressed out because I thought it might have been new changes celebrity put out or some hidden rule somewhere! I just absolutely hate putting anyone in the position of not being allowed entry, or any uncomfortable situation. It would truly make me pop a vein if I wasn't allowed to bring at least one person in an already paid for cabin...

 

20 minutes ago, hcat said:

why not just let it go rather than add more unless one grandparent chsnges their mind  

 

did they initially agree and reneg?

then they should  pay the  loss

 

can they move to a later date if they might feel up to it?

 

12 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

Just wondering whether they were really reluctant to go from the beginning and why they are backing out. Unless you pushed them into it, @hcat seems correct to ask them to pay.

 

OTH, what would the cruise be like if they felt compelled to go and griped all cruise long?

 

In all honesty my mom pushed them to going, when I told her it wasn't a good idea for various reasons, one that you have also listed.

 

Since they're old she wanted to do a nice thing and also celebrate their retirement... And also hid a very important fact from me that they're deathly afraid of water.🤦‍♀️ (That I just found out RIGHT NOW.)

 

Because they're family I also can't expect them to pay or I would be a heartless monster and have relatives messaging me why and inflammatory things.😭

 

I can say more but what's done is done, If I can just pull off to someone enjoying that cabin I'll be very happy!

Edited November 21, 2023 by numnums
edit

[mayleeman]

6 minutes ago, numnums said:

Because they're family I also can't expect them to pay or I would be a heartless monster and have relatives messaging me why and inflammatory things.

 

I asked because I once had a situation with prepaid nonrefundable restaurant reservations treating a brother who decided to not show up. I decided not to ask for reimb b/c of your same concerns. Swallowing a loss like that may have been a lesson I needed not to rely on a guy who had stood us up many times before. Good luck!

Edited November 21, 2023 by mayleeman

[Lastdance]

I can see all the stress this has caused you, in your writing, but hopefully, you will find a resolution that can allow you to go forward, putting this all to rest.  Sometimes dealing with family, along with hidden information, makes people crazy especially during the holidays.  A cruise is an excellent way for you to move forward and just know that you didn’t have all the information available to you when making those reservations, but your heart was/is truly in the right place!

[LeeW]

Summary - you can switch one of the grandparents for a new person now and then when you sail the second grandparent doesn't show up.  Celebrity (and most any cruise line) won't let you switch all people in a cabin.  People don't show up for many reasons - airlines, sick, ...  You have already paid for the room so Celebrity doesn't care.

 

If cabin holds 3 you MIGHT be able to  book two new people into it and leave one grandparent to noshow.  Problem with this is that they might reprice the whole room to add a third person.  You could ask if you could add a third person to either of your cabins.

 

Since you booked through a TA, they must be the one to make the changes. 

Edited November 21, 2023 by LeeW
more

[hcat]

maybe your mom should kick in if you lose 1 full fare.... hope it works out and u have a great cruise!

[gordiej]

OP was paying for the grandparent's cabin regardless. Why make them pay only in the case they DON'T show up - makes no sense. It's a sunk cost. Sure, if you can get your friend to go and take their place, that seems to be the best way to salvage things. Just tell Celebrity that the one grandparent (who remained on the reservation) came down with norovirus. 🫣

[Travelling2Some]

I'm just wondering if your grandparents (and your mother) are fully aware that you are now on the hook for their cruise fare?  Do they understand the financial policies of cruise lines?  Much as I love my family and friends they are all adults and I'm very firm that everyone pay their own way from the very beginning.  When they have to put their own money on the table you will immediately see who is not serious about going.  The opportunities for drama are endless when you make plans and payments for others.