miched Posted August 15, 2013 #1 Share Posted August 15, 2013 We had just got of of the Summit from a Bermuda cruise in May 2012. It was our 3rd cruise on X. We have a much higher status from the clubs on Princess and Carnival so we booked basically 2 B2B cruises on the Dream and Ruby during Oct and Nov 2012. Went on the cruises and enjoyed them for various reasons. X came out the 123 promo shortly after and that became a offer that we couldn't pass up so we booked 2 cruises that were B2B but on different ships during Feb and March 2013. The reason that we do that is because we drive to FL from Mi so we want to make it worth the trip. Plus the credits from the 2 cruises put us into the Elite status. I doubt that we would have booked those cruises without the 123 promo. We also took another Bermuda cruise without the 123 promo because we wanted to take advantage of the perks for being Elite plus we also wanted to go back there. We now have 3 more 14 day cruises in the next 9 months booked because of that promo and I doubt that we would have booked that many if it wasn't for that promo. The part of the promo that we take is the drink pack. Wondering how many others booked more cruises than planned because of the 123? . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A Sixth? Posted August 15, 2013 #2 Share Posted August 15, 2013 I'm looking at a January 2015 Princess cruise, but have not booked just in case there's a 123 deal on "X" for that time.... so while I haven't booked just for the 123... I may if they wave the deal under my nose. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted August 15, 2013 #3 Share Posted August 15, 2013 We have had all our future cruises booked for the itinerary. When the 123 came out, we were told we were not eligible as it was for new bookings only. We promptly cancelled all three cruises and re-booked them with the package, with a TA and received OBC as well. So without actually making us book more cruises, it certainly changed the bookings we had.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHEZMARYLOU Posted August 15, 2013 #4 Share Posted August 15, 2013 No, we were planning on our New Years cruise and the 123 package came along. When we booked Alaska there was no package but we ended up with a nice ship board credit so we're happy. Even if they offered one now the price of our cruise with the land tour has gone up well beyond what we are paying. We've also booked and cancelled 2 other cruises that did not have the package for reasons other than no package. Mary Lou Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyTvlr Posted August 16, 2013 #5 Share Posted August 16, 2013 I booked my upcoming cruise only because of the 123, and now I am hoping it comes around again for an Asia cruise I am interested in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akowilm Posted August 16, 2013 #6 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Booked the next one because of 123, and booked the 2015 one while researching the previous one because we realized how much we saved booking so far out. Even if they choose to offer a promo, we would not cancel and re-book the 2015 (Summit, South Caribbean) because we got a primo cabin (1140) and we got it for a very reasonable rate!! We would, however, book one in between these two if a good promo presented itself, and we would sacrifice one of our land vacations. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NLH Arizona Posted August 16, 2013 #7 Share Posted August 16, 2013 No, the 123 promotion had no bearing on my bookings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted August 16, 2013 #8 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Booked the next one because of 123, and booked the 2015 one while researching the previous one because we realized how much we saved booking so far out. Even if they choose to offer a promo, we would not cancel and re-book the 2015 (Summit, South Caribbean) because we got a primo cabin (1140) and we got it for a very reasonable rate!! We would, however, book one in between these two if a good promo presented itself, and we would sacrifice one of our land vacations. The cancelling and re-booking only works in some cases, if your original buy price is a really good deal, then the promo would not cover the new costs incurred.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kelmac Posted August 16, 2013 #9 Share Posted August 16, 2013 We booked long before the 1,2,3 Promo came out, however, we converted our second phase of our BtoB on the Infinity this past June, and it was the "best Deal" ever!! We were able to move to Aqua Class + the 1,2,3 Promo very close to the same amount we booked for (CAT 9 inside cabin). We took the Onboard credit + the free Gratuities. The Elite happy hour is enough alcohol for us!:rolleyes::) Kel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casandbliz Posted August 16, 2013 #10 Share Posted August 16, 2013 No, the 123 promotion had no bearing on my bookings. Same with us. We already had our cruises reserved, and were able to get the promo by giving up our OBC. It just made the cruise that much more enjoyable!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nebr.cruiser Posted August 16, 2013 #11 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Actually, we may have cruised less with the 1 2 3 promo because every time I priced a cruise with that promotion it was significantly higher than we had paid before. Since we don't drink, or very little, not even pop very often, it definitely wasn't a good deal for us. I suppose if we did book with that promo we might have some pop or (me only) special coffees, but I don't need or want it. We'd rather have a lower cruise price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K.T.B. Posted August 16, 2013 #12 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Sail more? Probably not. Drink more? Definitely yes! :p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare MicCanberra Posted August 16, 2013 #13 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Drink more? Definitely yes! :p Definitely yes as well.:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig103 Posted August 16, 2013 #14 Share Posted August 16, 2013 123 GO was the reason we are going to Panama for our next vacation, instead of the UK. It was always our plan (we even bought a Passages for the eventuality) but moving it up made sense when we could get $1500 in free alcohol! I mean 8 sea days, it's perfect! :D If I was retired, and/or lived in Florida, I'd have booked more than one cruise, especially with the half price deposits back in January. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
camarodrivenrs Posted August 16, 2013 #15 Share Posted August 16, 2013 123Go deal made our decision to pick Celebrity Reflection over Royal Princess very easy. It was a complete toss up before the deal came out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cruise Junky Posted August 16, 2013 #16 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Yes, we booked Solstice specifically for the 123 package. That then turned my attention more towards Celebrity and we have two others booked, currently without the package, but I'm hoping :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karena1 Posted August 16, 2013 #17 Share Posted August 16, 2013 We had Jewel booked for April 2014. Then when the 123Promo came out, I priced Summit against Jewel. Even with my D+ balcony discount, Summit was $400 less expensive. Then throw in the 123promo for the beverage package and it was a no brainer. Gave up my $100 OBC I had for booking onboard, transferred the reservation over to Celebrity and are now booked on Summit with the 123promo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueboro Posted August 16, 2013 #18 Share Posted August 16, 2013 My brothers and wives always do a trip in Feb/March so it did not cause us to book a trip...but it did cause us to select X over HAL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CanuckCFAN Posted August 16, 2013 #19 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Having the option to purchase a drink package in the first place is what originally turned our attention to Celebrity; however, since we loved our first Celebrity cruise experience so much, when the 123Promo came out it really was a no brainer to book this year’s TA with Celebrity as well… In retrospect, since we would have purchased the drink package anyway, our C2 cabin would need to drop in price to less than $700pp to equal the value we received through this promotion. We feel pretty safe in saying that we received an amazing deal :p… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ghstudio Posted August 16, 2013 #20 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Yes, we cruised celebrity less! We aren't interested in the drink package and we often get free gratuities and obc's from our TA or stockholder benefits, so the increased prices just weren't worth it. We finally booked a TA when our TA offered a price some $900 less than what celebrity was charging, but without 123. The TA gave us gratuities and we will hopefully get the stockholder obc. 1-2-3 isn't a plus in Our case when the fare is hiked to cover the benefits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onessa Posted August 16, 2013 #21 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Similar to GHstudio - we were actually less inclined to sail (if anything) - the drink packages don't interest us in the least, we generally get the pre-paid gratuities via some other means . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smtcan Posted August 16, 2013 #22 Share Posted August 16, 2013 There were definitely some price hikes to cover the cost of the packages, but the cruise we booked has not varied by more than $50 for balcony cabins since we first looked at it before the original 123 GO offer until today. We are very light drinkers and would never pay for a package, either in actual dollars or by way of an inflated price, but we will enjoy it this time. The next cruise we booked we took a seniors' rate without any package because the lower rate was more beneficial to us. Sheila Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig103 Posted August 16, 2013 #23 Share Posted August 16, 2013 There were definitely some price hikes to cover the cost of the packages, This is certainly true in some cases, and those not taking the drink package didn't benefit as much. For example, my father in law is coming along and chose the $300 OBC. fast-forward and his cabin dropped $625, enough to change and still come out ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare richstowe Posted August 16, 2013 #24 Share Posted August 16, 2013 We pick cruises based on the date, price and ship which is our order of importance. The alcohol package is nice but since we are not big drinkers we see it as "worth" about $30-$35 for the two of us each day. Therefore it is the equivalent of an OBC of $225 per week and we count it as such. No we don't book because of the 123 drink promo. We discount any perk like gratuities, OBC or drinks package in to the cost of the cruise. We also include the cost of air to get a total cruise vacation cost and then compare our options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stormynow Posted August 16, 2013 #25 Share Posted August 16, 2013 Yes, booked a Jan & Mar 5 day constellation just for the drink pkg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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