Booking Next cruise onboard

Hey everyone,

We are taking a Celebrity cruise in May and found another one for April 2019 that we are interested in booking.

I read that there are some perks to booking online, but we usually get an inside cabin, so aside from the discounted deposit, are there any perks for us?

If the perks are enough to pay the extra money for ocean view, we are certainly willing to consider it.

We have never booked while onboard, so I’m not sure what the benefits are.

Thanks!

The main benefit is some on board credit. This is above and beyond any perks or deals on offer. So even if you book the class of cabin that has no perks, you still get the on board credit for having made the booking whilst on the ship. The size of the credit does depend on class of stateroom and length of cruise.

Here's the current offer. Could be different when you are onboard. No perks for inside but some OBC

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/CEL_Onboard_Offer_JAN_2018_Offerv8.pdf

In addition to whatever booking promotion is offered at the time, the benefits to booking on board typically include a reduced deposit and some amount of OBC. At least that has been the case in our experience.

Expect to get about $100 in OBC per inside stateroom on a 6-9 day cruise and a reduced deposit of $100 per person. If they offer FREE perks, be advised you will be paying for them in the price.

We booked our next cruise while onboard the Silhouette a couple of weeks ago. The perks, regardless of cruise or cabin - $100 deposit that's 100% refundable or transferrable and a $200 OBC. The other perks come along as your cabin levels get higher. We cruise at the Concierge/Aqua class level, so we got paid gratuities, free drink package and $300 additional OBC. If you add those things to your inside cabin price, you may find it's worth it to book a higher class cabin.

Do you think that I am more likely to save money booking this far in advance as opposed to waiting 4 months to book onboard? I am new to Celebrity so I don’t know what the pattern is as far as pricing.

We booked our May cruise back in July and the price hasn’t changed much, but I don’t want to base the decision on this one alone. Has anyone had experience with significant price increase when it’s within a year of sailing?

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We tend to book early for our cruises. Then when on a cruise I will check on what booking on board will do for us. Then just before final payment I check on prices. I'll email my travel agent and she does her magic with Celebrity. Sometimes I get what I want and sometime I dont, but overall I seem to come out ahead. Also the reduced deposit for booking onboard is only for cabins/suites up to Sky Suites. Above SS you must have a full deposit when booking onboard.

We tend to book early for our cruises. Then when on a cruise I will check on what booking on board will do for us. Then just before final payment I check on prices. I'll email my travel agent and she does her magic with Celebrity. Sometimes I get what I want and sometime I dont, but overall I seem to come out ahead. Also the reduced deposit for booking onboard is only for cabins/suites up to Sky Suites. Above SS you must have a full deposit when booking onboard.

So if I book now and then get on the ship, will they typically allow me to "adjust" my existing reservation?

Unfortunately, my husband likes the inside cabins because he is not a fan of any light while he sleeps. *I* am totally opposite and feel like I need sunlight to wake me up, especially on vacation. But we certainly never do any suites or anything.

TBH, I always, with any vacation, check pricing daily to see if there has been any change. I booked our cruise in Hawaii for 2020 and I check that daily. I know that is a LOT of checking, but it take 20 seconds and if that price drops, it could save me a lot of money, so it's worth it. So I will definitely check this one daily as well...I just don't want to lose out on perks by not waiting to book onboard.

Now that X has implemented a fee for date changes or cancellations, you need to be sure of dates before booking on board. This new policy stinks and makes bookings far in advance questionable when bookings used to be flexible at no cost.

Be very cautious when booking on board. Some of the offers are not what they appear to be

Now that X has implemented a fee for date changes or cancellations, you need to be sure of dates before booking on board. This new policy stinks and makes bookings far in advance questionable when bookings used to be flexible at no cost.

You can still book refundable deposits on board in addition to the slightly cheaper non-refundable deposits

Be very cautious when booking on board. Some of the offers are not what they appear to be

I have found that the on-board bookings are the same as the "on land" bookings (same prices and same perks) except there is an additional OBC bonus, a smaller deposit and occasionally one additional perk.

Be very cautious when booking on board. Some of the offers are not what they appear to be

Don't quite understand your comment, maybe non-US customers get a better deal !

We choose our cruise, paid £148 deposit and they gave us $250 back ( thats £184 - better than using an ATM )

When we got home we transferred to a different TA for a lower price with the same perks.

If we cancelled the cruise we effectively would lose nothing as we didn't pay anything in the first place ( actual we already profited by £36 ). On top of that we are able to change our reservation to a different cruise as many times as we wish without incurring a fee. We already changed from Reflection to Silhouette without any charge last week.

Great deal for us Brits - hope it continues.

Here's the current offer. Could be different when you are onboard. No perks for inside but some OBC

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/CEL_Onboard_Offer_JAN_2018_Offerv8.pdf

We will be on the Summit in less than 2 weeks and will probably book another cruise while on-board. Does anyone know which sailings are included in this offer? The flyer says "select sailings".

We will be on the Summit in less than 2 weeks and will probably book another cruise while on-board. Does anyone know which sailings are included in this offer? The flyer says "select sailings".

For departures through April 2019 the select sailings should be the same as the current "on land" 2-perk sale bookings, so you can check any cruises of interest through April 2019 online. For post April 2019 you could try calling Celebrity, but may have to wait until on board.

Don't quite understand your comment, maybe non-US customers get a better deal !

 

We choose our cruise, paid £148 deposit and they gave us $250 back ( thats £184 - better than using an ATM )

When we got home we transferred to a different TA for a lower price with the same perks.

 

If we cancelled the cruise we effectively would lose nothing as we didn't pay anything in the first place ( actual we already profited by £36 ). On top of that we are able to change our reservation to a different cruise as many times as we wish without incurring a fee. We already changed from Reflection to Silhouette without any charge last week.

 

Great deal for us Brits - hope it continues.

When our 2019 cruise became cheaper online with the same perks we weren't allowed to change without losing our deposits but we were allowed to change to a different cruise using the original deposits. I don't know if you read the small print on the linked flyer in this post but what is the early booking offer only applicable to US residents all about ? It looks as though they get extra Obc under this scheme.

We will be on the Summit in less than 2 weeks and will probably book another cruise while on-board. Does anyone know which sailings are included in this offer? The flyer says "select sailings".

We always book on board and never had a problem with our chosen weeks. We have been able to switch but are obligated to the promotions in effect at that time. We have lost some OBC but able to keep our "free" perks and deposit.

Know your prices. Our two perks were going to cost us more than if we paid for them out of our pocket from the base price. When we refused them, we were able to apply a state discount and then received Shareholder OBC from the base price.

You may also find an extra OBC for booking early in the week onboard during your cruise. We got an extra $100 OBC for booking in the first few days of our last cruise.

Be very cautious when booking on board. Some of the offers are not what they appear to be

I asked specifically about that and was told it was 100% refundable, 100% changeable. I'm going to test that, because we've changed our mind about which cruise to take next. I will be contacting our TA tomorrow to make the change.

We always book on board and never had a problem with our chosen weeks. We have been able to switch but are obligated to the promotions in effect at that time. We have lost some OBC but able to keep our "free" perks and deposit.

 

Know your prices. Our two perks were going to cost us more than if we paid for them out of our pocket from the base price. When we refused them, we were able to apply a state discount and then received Shareholder OBC from the base price.

Unfortunately, starting in 2018, most cruises with "free" included perks no longer have an option to get a cheaper fair without the perks.

When our 2019 cruise became cheaper online with the same perks we weren't allowed to change without losing our deposits but we were allowed to change to a different cruise using the original deposits. I don't know if you read the small print on the linked flyer in this post but what is the early booking offer only applicable to US residents all about ? It looks as though they get extra Obc under this scheme.

Agree the UK T&C for an onboard booking are different and you are correct when you say that you are only allowed to change to a different cruise without loss of deposit. That is why we always make 2 onboard bookings and if a price drop occurs we use the other reservation to make the change, which is within their terms. We did this successfully without any hassle late last year.

Any feedback or tips on getting and booking using the Celebrity charge card(Visa). Like...are there any perks or advantages?

I’m not sure if his question was answered, but if I book now, can I request the perks that come with onboard booking once I’m on the ship? I’m just concerned that between now and May (when our cruise is) the prices for the future one will go up and I won’t save anything.

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I’m not sure if his question was answered, but if I book now, can I request the perks that come with onboard booking once I’m on the ship? I’m just concerned that between now and May (when our cruise is) the prices for the future one will go up and I won’t save anything.

 

 

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You can always ask, but you generally would have to cancel your existing reservation and book a new one at the prevailing rate.