Switching 123 promo to Best promo

Hi Everyone,

This is just an information share in the hopes that it might be helpful to anyone else who booked on board prior to the introduction of the new Big, Better, Best pricing structure. In the interest of providing full details (in anticipation of questions) this will be a long post.

In April of this year, while on our Easter Break Eastern/Western Carib B2B on the Reflection, I had such a great cruise that I booked the identical B2B cruise (and cabin - an S1 ) via the onboard sales team for the 2016 sailing. At the time the 123ALLGO promotion was running and so that was applied to both reservations.

Of course since then, the Big Better, Best offer has come into effect - and 123ALLGO would be roughly equivalent to the Best offer category. 123 offered Classic Bev pack (not Premium as per Best), Pre Paid Grats (Best does as well), $250 OBC (not $300 as per Best), and no internet package (Best gives unlimited Internet).

I did not transfer the booking upon my return (so its considered direct with Celebrity). Also I live in Trinidad (southern most Caribbean island) - so direct bookings are dealt with by Celebrity's International Consumer Outreach Representatives.

Having kept an eye on pricing and availability for these two itineraries (price stable, lots of availability), I decided to call Celebrity this morning with a question and a request:

The Question:

Can I change the booking offer on my reservations from 123 to Best - given that, according to current pricing and offer, more is being offered in terms of value for the S1 rate that I booked at than I am currently set to receive.

The Request:

If I cannot change the booking offer, can we go ahead and cancel and immediately rebook my reservation using the Best Offer (since it would be to my benefit to this)

Rep went off the line for a few minutes to consult and came back to say yes, they will change the booking offer from 123 to best...no price increase (total is actually $40 less) - but a definite increase in value with the addition of unlimited internet, the bev package upgrade to premium and $100 more in OBC (total).

I decided to ask, and got through with my request. Given that we know that Celebrity is prone to deliver inconsistent experiences when it comes to requests such as these, I cannot guarantee that this experience will hold true for everyone..on your first try. But we now know it can be done.

I got my revised paperwork docs via email - so I have tangible confirmation.

Net net - if you are in a similar situation - ask. If you don't get through on your first try - try again. It can be done - you just have to find the right combination of rep/supervisor who will get it done.

Oh and because I know someone will ask: I am elite (this upcoming trip will qualify me for elite plus) not that I'm sure that makes a difference - but its always nice to think that loyalty counts :)

I hope that this has been useful and that someone else will have similar good fortune. May the odds be ever in your favor :)

Happy cruising everyone!

Karen

Loyalty probably does mater some. What maters more is reaching out to the "right" person. Several TAs that work for a couple of the big box agencies simply will not book X or RC because of the constant changes in deals and inconsistencies within those deals. I posted some time ago we booked an Eastern Med cruise way ahead. Prices held firm until the day after one could cancel w/o penalty. Within 2 days the prices dropped $900pp! and Celebrity was reaching out offering cheap upgrades to suites etc. We decided against an upgrade as were doing a B2B and after several calls form our TA and finally a conference call with CClub rep, reservations supervisor, our TA, and me they agreed to a change that was beneficial to me. Should not be that hard!

Several TAs that work for a couple of the big box agencies simply will not book X or RC because of the constant changes in deals and inconsistencies within those deals. /QUOTE]

 

Really? I'm surprised. I recall reading that some TAs won't book Norwegian because they give the TAs less commission (don't know if that's true or not), but this is the first I've heard of it with Royal or X. Interesting.

Thought I would ask my TA to see if we could switch from the 123GoPromo to the Best Promo.

She was told, after a long wait on hold, that it would cost us an ADDITIONAL $2630.00 to switch to the Best promotion. Our initial booking was less than the $2630 more they wanted to charge. We only have a CC room.

That just doesn't make sense to me, but obviously we will stick with the 123GoPromo and pay to upgrade the drink package and possibly purchase the unlimited internet package (we are Elite so get a 90-minute package each and 30% of the unlimited).

Figured it didn't hurt to ask.

We switched from 123GO to Best for $30. Just keep an eye on pricing and called to have it switched over when it seemed reasonable. No hassle at all in switching and it was worth it!

We switched from 123GO to Best for $30.

I think maybe the issue is that there are no more CC1 cabins left. If I quote a AQ cabin, the pricing we were quoted does make sense.

My regular travel agent is away, so I had someone else at the company try. When she gets back I'll explain we want to keep our same cabin. It doesn't hurt to try again.

Glad it worked for you.

Several TAs that work for a couple of the big box agencies simply will not book X or RC because of the constant changes in deals and inconsistencies within those deals. /QUOTE]

 

Really? I'm surprised. I recall reading that some TAs won't book Norwegian because they give the TAs less commission (don't know if that's true or not), but this is the first I've heard of it with Royal or X. Interesting.

 

I've never heard that. Interesting. Up until about a year ago, NCL had the best commission pay out of all the major lines. Now they're on an even par with RCI & Celebrity.

We booked on board in March with the 1-2-3 Go perk. I just called and asked if I could switch to the better perk offered now. I was told that I would have to pay the going rate for the cabin we booked. Didn't make sense to pay an additional $1500. I will try again another day.