yet another price drop question

[DCguys]

I booked our upcoming Dec. cruise on May 4th and recently paid the balance. Today there was a price drop. I was sure I'd read on these boards that reservations made before 5/17, not 5/1, were grandfathered in and could still get the difference back as an OBC. My TA says no and that he called X and they said not for reservations made after 5/1/10. Am I crazy here or was the 17th mentioned?

[scf1270]

Since you booked prior to 5/17 you should be good.

 

We booked both of our upcoming cruises will onboard the Summit in early May, and have gotten price drops for both.

 

Have your TA call again. Celebrity is not known for having well educated CSRs!

 

Good luck and report back!

Sara

[nat9511]

I booked my December cruise on May 6th. I was able to take advantage of a price drop after I made final payment. I went from a 1A to a C2 and have $300 OBC. I would call your travel agent again and insist on the price drop. They will not refund the money to you but will give OBC.

[lvcruiser]

Agree. May 17the was the beginning of the new price drop guarantee program, not the 1st of May. This has been stated on Celebrity's website. Your TA doesn't know and is only taking the word of a Celebrity CSR that also doesn't know what the program really says. Have him continue to call back until he gets someone that knows what they are doing, asking for a supervisor or the Resolutions Desk, if necessary. I just received a $300 OBC for a price drop that occurred on my 12/11 Eclipse sailing. Keep on them.

[DCguys]

good to hear! Can I just call X myself to demand the adjustment/OBC or does my TA have to do it for me???

[spotgrey]

Where do I find the information regarding the new Celebrity Price Drop rules. I haven't cruised in a while and haven't been on CC lately. I looked for info on Celebrity Web Site but could not find it. Thanks..

[helen haywood]

If you booked through a TA then the TA will have to make the call re the price adjustment. But everyone is correct that May 17th was the cutoff date.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Where do I find the information regarding the new Celebrity Price Drop rules. I haven't cruised in a while and haven't been on CC lately. I looked for info on Celebrity Web Site but could not find it. Thanks..

 

I looked on the Celebrity website and could not find where it spells out the new (but not improved) price drop policy. It may be that they prefer not to advertise this. Look for the Best Price Guarantee (BPG) link on the home page towards the bottom right, in the Find A Cruise box. Or if you prefer, here's a link-- https://secure.celebritycruises.com/beforeyourcruise/heroSingleTxtSubBPG.do;jsessionid=0000VqJswEX4bu-hgL5_8RIBN-9:12hdbcveb?pagename=celebrity_best_price_guarantee

 

Here's a Cruise Critic news article based on an interview with Carol Cabezas, Celebrity's director of sales strategy and automation, regarding the BPG and the new price drop policy. It speaks to RCCL, but applies to Celebrity and Azamara as well-- http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=3880

 

Essentially, for North American bookings after May 17th, 2010, if there's a price drop before final payment is actually made, you can get a fare adjustment (or switch to a new cabin for whatever price it's now selling for) by contacting Celebrity and requesting it. After final payment, you will not receive a fare adjustment, but can still request a different cabin (if available) that's now the same price as what you paid, or request one that's more than what you paid by paying the difference. You could also request a cabin that's now less expensive but is still a higher class than your original cabin, but will not receive a refund or OBC for the difference. It no longer pays to look for a downgrade to a lower class cabin that's much less expensive, since you will not receive any type of compensation.

 

The exception to this policy is the BPG. If the price drops within 48 hours after you book, you can invoke the BPG by completing the form found online at Celebrity's website. You will receive the difference in price, plus 10%, in the form of a nonrefundable OBC. According to the Cruise Critic news article, you can invoke this (if applicable) either before or after final payment is due, and if done before, you can still receive additional fare reductions if they occur prior to final payment being made and keep the 110% OBC. If a drop occurs within 48 hours of booking and prior to final payment, you'd still have the option of simply taking the fare adjustment, as well.

[DCguys]

I just had my TA call again and no luck, they refused my OBC request saying May 1 was the absolute deadline. If he can't make this happen and I can't call and get it done myself, I guess I'm out of luck :mad:

 

ugh

[yayvacation!]

I just had my TA call again and no luck, they refused my OBC request saying May 1 was the absolute deadline. If he can't make this happen and I can't call and get it done myself, I guess I'm out of luck :mad:

 

ugh

 

 

But May 1 wasn't the cut off May 17th was!!!! I would call again and again and again.

 

Maybe the Celebrity CSR's should be replaced by the cruise critic board posters, since we all seem to know their policies better than they do!!! Getting on the same page with policies cannot be that difficult! I am losing faith..............

[retired067]

I an new to CC forum and over the last couple of days I read a lot of posts dumping on Celebrity CSR's and in all cases the bookings were made through a TA. I'm just corious why people still use a TA when it's so easy to book online or phone the cruise company. I haven't used a TA in a number of years and haven't had an issue. My dealings with Celebrity has always been enjoyable and the CSR's have always been very professional. As stated on another thread Celebrity pays those TA's a 16% comission, for what. I know I can't get my fare reduced by 16% when I book with Celebrity but I would still perfer to deal with CSR's then any of the TA's I've used.

Jack

[NnJ2010]

Go look at 'a sixths' thread. I book through a ta because it saves me hundreds of dollars over celebrity (or any cruiseline direct). Although the one I use is not for new cruisers or people who want to make a lot of changes (one type of quote they use is a bottom dollar pricing but then there's a 25dollar fee if you make changes). But it literally saves me hundreds each time. But they are always quick...I sent a change laye last night for a special rate and it was done by this morning and confirmed. I have a friend that opened a cruise only ta and she can't save me as much but she's all about service that I recommend to any friends or acquaintances who are new to cruises or want more help and she too can usually find some way to save her customers money. So you have to decide what you want/need out of a ta.

 

And in some cases if a problem arises some tas will have more pull than an individual.

[jagoffee]

I an new to CC forum and over the last couple of days I read a lot of posts dumping on Celebrity CSR's and in all cases the bookings were made through a TA. I'm just corious why people still use a TA when it's so easy to book online or phone the cruise company. I haven't used a TA in a number of years and haven't had an issue. My dealings with Celebrity has always been enjoyable and the CSR's have always been very professional. As stated on another thread Celebrity pays those TA's a 16% comission, for what. I know I can't get my fare reduced by 16% when I book with Celebrity but I would still perfer to deal with CSR's then any of the TA's I've used.

Jack

 

Just in case you do not know the answer one of the reasons that people book with TAs when they can book directly with Celebrity is to save money with an OBC. I would agree that when you only have Celebrity involved you know for sure who is making a mistake. With a TA it is always possible that it is the TA and not Celebrity.

[firemanbobswife]

Your TA and Celebrity are 100% wrong. Here is the link to Celebrity's website that says the new booking policy takes place for reservations after May 17, 2010. http://www.celebritycruises.com/beforeyourcruise/faq/home.do;jsessionid=0000kAWbsbuYugI0tthNHn2cLYc:12hdbcveb?faqSubjectName=Pricing%2FAvailability&faqId=4048&pagename=faq_answers

[firemanbobswife]

They might be confusing May 17th for new pricing policy and August 1 for change in final payment date.

[retired067]

Hi, NnJ2010, can you give an example

Jack

[NnJ2010]

Hi, NnJ2010, can you give an example

Jack

Sure. when I booked my cruise the website price (celebrity's website) was 2594.22. (That's cruise fare plus port charges plus taxes and fees) for 2 people gty verandah.

 

With my online ta I paid 269.22 less than that. Now that is before I was able to take advantage of upgrading to a CC cabin due to a military discount that came available yest. which did cost me a 25 dollar change fee (as I mentioned earlier the one I use is a nofrills kind of service but they are quick and efficient for experienced travelers.) And if I had gone through a normal TA, such as my friend who offers impeccable service and would assist with the planning, I would have probably paid the same rate as celebrity's website however, she would have given me an OBC but it wouldn't have been as much as what I saved with the other company.

 

So TA's do have their place and many of them work damn hard for not a lot of money these days. And people don't understand or appreciate the wealth of knowledge a good TA has. The key is finding one you like and one enjoy working with and develop a relationship with if you want to get opinions on locations, cruiselines, staterooms, etc. (or find an online agent that gives you a rate you are happy with)

[yayvacation!]

Hi, NnJ2010, can you give an example

Jack

 

 

I'll chime in too..... I booked an upcoming cruise through Celebrity directly for $4,771 for 2 of us (includes taxes and fees) Celebrity at the time was having a $200 OBC for booking directly with them.

 

Then I transferred the booking to a TA for an additional $300 OBC, no price change in the cabin from time of booking through final payment, and my category has long since sold out.

 

My TA "saved" me $300 via OBC on top of what Celebrity gave me. She is fast, professional and easy to get ahold of. I requested 2 changes of her, neither was an emergency and she took care of them within 12 hours. I'm certain that if it was something like a price drop or room upgrade that needed immediate attention she would be on it within minutes.

 

My comment about the CSR's was simply that they are not all on the same page, if you call 3 different reps with the same question you get 3 different answers, that's not good.

[retired067]

Hi, glad to see you guys were able to get OBC's and upgrades. I just booked 14 night S. Carribean for April/11, paid 1482.35USD p/p for oceanview, Celebrity, Consellation. Are you booking suites to get the perks? and are the extra OBC's coming from TA or Celebrity? Just trying to get some info to if I can cash in.

Thanks

Jack

[NnJ2010]

TAs are typically where you get the better obcs. My savings was courtesy of a ta. And from what yayvacations said she booked with celeb directly to take advantage of a promotion then switched her booking to a ta to save even more. Of course now due to new regulations if you do what yayvacations dis you will have to do it by a certain time (there's a thread here mentioning that you will mow have xx number of days to transfer a booking). And no, ive never booked a suite but of course can't answer fir yayvacations.

 

Also keep in mind that now celeb doesn't offer obc if the price drops after final payment (unless you booked prior to may 17) but you can still use it to upgrade.

[yayvacation!]

Hi, glad to see you guys were able to get OBC's and upgrades. I just booked 14 night S. Carribean for April/11, paid 1482.35USD p/p for oceanview, Celebrity, Consellation. Are you booking suites to get the perks? and are the extra OBC's coming from TA or Celebrity? Just trying to get some info to if I can cash in.

Thanks

Jack

 

My original OBC came direct from Celebrity, then I transferred the booking to my TA who offered extra OBC for the switch. The OBC you get for transferring will depend on the price paid for the cruise, but most TA's will give you extra OBC for any category booked, the amount will change but that's it. We have a Celebrity Suite booked at a rate of $4,771. for 2 of us including taxes and fees. The TA kicked back $300 when we transferred.

I would call some TA's and see what you can get! Also watch for price drops through the Celebrity website, you might be able to get OBC or an upgrade if the price goes down.

 

 

 

TAs are typically where you get the better obcs. My savings was courtesy of a ta. And from what yayvacations said she booked with celeb directly to take advantage of a promotion then switched her booking to a ta to save even more. Of course now due to new regulations if you do what yayvacations dis you will have to do it by a certain time (there's a thread here mentioning that you will mow have xx number of days to transfer a booking). And no, ive never booked a suite but of course can't answer fir yayvacations.

 

Also keep in mind that now celeb doesn't offer obc if the price drops after final payment (unless you booked prior to may 17) but you can still use it to upgrade.

 

Exactly!!

[helen haywood]

No, you don't have to be booking suites to get OBC from your TA. I always get some from mine and I am generally in a 2B balcony.

[DCguys]

OP here and just wanted to update you all on what happened. I called X myself. The first complicating factor was that I was/am part of a group rate booking through the TA. I know now from X that sometimes there are different rules and deadlines for groups than for individual reservations. Even so, they confirmed that 5/17 was the cutoff regardless, BUT I changed my original booking. On 5/4 we booked a Solstice cruise that I later had to switch to a later sailing date on Eclipse because I got a new job. The way my TA described it to me, I thought my booking was just transferred - no real change in status, but X told me that they are not able to give me the OBC because the change happened after 5/17 (I got a new booking number).

 

X was very nice once I got a hold of the right person. I don't fault my TA too much. I have no idea why he was told 5/1 was an important date, but I'm sure he did call twice and was told the truth, that I can't get the pricedrop back as an OBC. I booked with a TA because I got a lower rate (that was because of the group booking) and a decent OBC.

 

I'm bummed we didn't get an additional OBC, but we did get a better than rack rate in the first place and already have some OBC so I guess I can't complain too much.

[JAKE3337]

I can't seem to find out what the policy was if you booked prior to May 2010. I booked our June 2011 Bermuda trip March 2010 for 3 cabins. Looks like at this point there are still quite a few open cabins.

 

Does anyone know what the policy was for bookings from March 2010? My final payment is due Feb 28, 2011.

 

If I pay now, am I locked into something where I might not get any price reductions? What happens after I make final payment and there is a price reduction? I assume I would get an OBC or do I get a price reduction? I can't remember from previos cruises as the ones that I was on never went down.

 

Does the OBC have to be spent on the ship or if not spent, can it be refunded on my credit card?

 

Thanks

Angela

[lady cruise alot]

We purchased a Sky Suite2 on the Connie for March 2011 way before May 17th. Found a $997.00 price drop for 2 on this cabin. X would not give OBC but gave us an upgrade to a Celerity Suite at a cost of an additional $70.00 per person. We lost our balcony and ended up paying more but the cabin is much bigger. We will miss the balcony but the other choice would have been to lose the $997.00 had we stayed in the SS2. To me this whole thing is not fair to the pax at all. They want you to book early but then do something like this. Now the people booking the suite we had get it for much cheaper than we paid. Plus X had our money all this time and could collect interest on it Hummmmmmmm We don't get OBC from out TA. just a cheap bottle of sparkling wine.