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How to get the last minute deals everyone talks about?


sammygeorge
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Now that we're retiring, we'll be spending our winters in Florida. When we cruise, "everyone" talks about the great last minute deals they get. Because we were working, we always booked far in advance but now we'll be far more flexible. So . . . how do people find these deals?

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Celebrity sends a weekly “Exciting Deals” email which lists cruises they are trying to fill. The Florida resident rates are often excellent. They never include any perks, but the savings are good. You will need to prove Florida residency to be eligible.

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If you are flexible... here's just a few of the incredible "last minute" deals I managed in the last few years...

 

15 nights Reflection $449pp, 23 nights Century $799pp, 35 nights Explorer OTS $1667pp... all from online sites.

 

All were booked after final payment, and last minute flights through Choice Air/A2SEA were dirt cheap as well.

 

Many of the more popular cruises will sell out even before final payment, but even those will quite often have last minute cancellations, and the less popular itineraries can have eye popping price drops that might only last a single day, so you have to be ready to jump at the fleeting opportunities.

 

Spend 90 seconds every morning and 90 seconds every evening checking on line, it can save you THOUSANDS.

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Now that we're retiring, we'll be spending our winters in Florida. When we cruise, "everyone" talks about the great last minute deals they get. Because we were working, we always booked far in advance but now we'll be far more flexible. So . . . how do people find these deals?

 

 

Try this link to Celebrity X-iting Deals: (also known as "Tuesday Specials".

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Exciting_Deals/XcitingDeals_cel_tues.pdf

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Best is to book a cruise when and what you think that you may want when on board to get the extra perks. The cerificate can be transferred to another cruise, including the one with the special rate.

 

Then just keep watching for that special deal that may never happen and if it doesn’t you will have that other cruise booked.

 

If you keep waiting for that special deal you may never cruise again

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

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Best is to book a cruise when and what you think that you may want when on board to get the extra perks. The cerificate can be transferred to another cruise, including the one with the special rate.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with this advice. We have ALWAYS gotten a better overall deal (price and/or perks) from our online big travel agency than they offered us onboard.

 

Maybe it's because we book low-end cabins (inside, now OV to get the Celebrity perks). Maybe it's because we have no status (40+ days on board, and we're still not Elite). But, in our case, booking on board would cost us money.

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Now that we're retiring, we'll be spending our winters in Florida. When we cruise, "everyone" talks about the great last minute deals they get. Because we were working, we always booked far in advance but now we'll be far more flexible. So . . . how do people find these deals?

 

An example of the last minute offers, At this time for the Summit Oct 7 to New England and Canada. Inside GTY CAT Z costs $1,400 less than the Inside CAT 9

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I'm sorry, but I have to disagree with this advice. We have ALWAYS gotten a better overall deal (price and/or perks) from our online big travel agency than they offered us onboard.

 

Maybe it's because we book low-end cabins (inside, now OV to get the Celebrity perks). Maybe it's because we have no status (40+ days on board, and we're still not Elite). But, in our case, booking on board would cost us money.

But you could book onboard, get Celebrity's perks and then transfer to your travel agent and get their perks. Best of both worlds.

 

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

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But you could book onboard, get Celebrity's perks and then transfer to your travel agent and get their perks. Best of both worlds.

 

Sent from my SM-G892A using Tapatalk

 

Only if they are not getting a group rate through the TA.

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The new prices listed in the Tuesday Specials are reflected in the price of the specific cruises on line, on the Celebrity website. The email/list of good deals aim you to the specific cruise, so you can then go to the Celebrity website or your TA and get the deal listed. Thought I’d mention that, you don’t need a special code or go through a different website, the special email just aims you to the cruises with the deals. ‘

 

Now that I’m retired, we are gong to start looking at those listings. So many of them are Carribean Cruises, but they do list European ones (which can be tricky for flights and so on as a quick deal), Alaska and the one we’ll watch next year - Bermuda. Did that last year and loved it. Would Love to get a good deal on it and fly up and jump on that cruise again.

 

Den

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Only if they are not getting a group rate through the TA.

 

I book every cruise on board and then transfer to my TA. If there is a group rate available I get that plus keep all of the perks from booking on board. The only requirement is that I sometimes I have to pay the full deposit. The deposit from the certificate is applied to be part of that deposit.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

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Where would one find these or sign up for them?

The link that wwcruisers gave you will contain all of the last minute specials to all destinations. This is mostly generated weekly, so check for new ones, usually starting on Friday

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You open up the link below and then highlight the information in the address drag and drop it to your desk top. Every Tuesday the information on the link will change to the current offers.

 

XcitingDeals_cel_tues.pdf

 

The deals are usually effective on Tuesday, but available to view at some point on Friday. There are some weeks when the deals are available all week.

 

Other than insides, the exciting deals have not been too exciting of late.

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When wintering in Florida I always check the Celebrity site on Fridays and Saturdays for next day sailings and haven't been disappointed. We pack that night and leave next am. We've done this 4 times with great deals on guarantees and were upgraded twice. Once to OV and once to Aqua. Have to be ready to sail and who isn't.

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When wintering in Florida I always check the Celebrity site on Fridays and Saturdays for next day sailings and haven't been disappointed. We pack that night and leave next am. We've done this 4 times with great deals on guarantees and were upgraded twice. Once to OV and once to Aqua. Have to be ready to sail and who isn't.
Is this still possible? It was my understanding that cruise lines must submit names of all cruisers 48 hours in advance of the cruise.

 

Sent from my HUAWEI KII-L05 using Tapatalk

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