New Reserved Passage / Open Passage conditions as of August 1st, 2013

[sandyss]

Thanks so much for posting the actual form. At first, I thought being able to combine an Open Passage with one other promotion would give me reason to starting buying them again.

 

I doubt Celebrity will interpret being able to combine in the way that you've envisioned. I believe the promo (123go, etc) would have to be offered at the time you book your voyage. It would surprise me if they let you just say "I want that" without jumping through a lot of hoops on a case by case basis.

 

Only time will tell.

Jane

 

We booked a reserved passage on our "first day" in Ketchikan under the new rules. We were told that if a promo was available in the future, we could add it to our reservation.

 

The other thing I note is that they will still require full (double) deposit when a suite is booked with either Open or Reserved Passage bookings. Don't see any point in letting Celebrity hold $100 for an extended length of time to possibly get back $50 to $100 of future OBC (for the length/type of cruises we typically book).

 

 

We booked two cabins - a balcony for us ($100 deposit per person) and a royal suite for our son and his family (a whopping $500 deposit per person :eek: since it was a royal suite)

 

We may decide to cancel both cabins after our experience on the Millennium - and the $500 deposit per person for our son's suite.

[gimletgal]

Hi Everyone,

 

Isn't it amazing that whenever something new comes out, it creates yet another round of confusion ? It's also disappointing they are reducing the OBC. It seems to be a cutback, desgined to improve their bottom line. It's also how they do it. They attempt to make it seem as if : "Hey Wow, - we've got some great news for you", then after reading the details, you realize it's not so great after all.

 

This new update will likely confuse their onboard booking personnel, and their shoreside reservations folks, to new heights. And, if anyone thinks it will be a piece of cake to simply add a promotion to their Passages booking ? I wouldn't bet the house on that. You will likely have to pay the prevailing rate etc, when a new promo is announced.

 

IMO, this does not seem like anything to be pleased or excited about.

 

Sad but true, Andy! The on board booking personnel rarely know what they are talking about. They will tell you anything you want to hear just to get you "signed up". In the past, I have found that I knew more about their programs and how they worked than they did. :eek:

[SusieV]

Maybe it's just me, but I'm not unhappy about this. There are two significant improvements- the increase in OBC on reserved passages plus the ability to combine with another perk. Isn't the latter what we've all been asking for?

 

I am wondering what happens if you book a reserved passage and then later move to another sailing. Will the OBC be adjusted to that of an open passage or will you get the reserved passage amount for the new sailing?

 

As it stands now, my 2015 7 night sailings are getting $100 OBC apiece from reserved passages. If pricing hasn't changed when I sail in October, I will definitely cancel them and rebook onboard to get $250 OBC apiece instead! That seems like a pretty good deal to me!

[Azulann]

Well, I am going to being using my open passage this week to book a last minute cruise ( only 8 weeks away).

Call Celebrity today and found out I have to use the tranfer form found under FAQ on their web site. this open passage was purchased last Jan. I just want OBC for a 12 day cruise.

I do know to use the booking number on the certificate when I book the cruise with a TA.

 

Let you know how it all worked out in a few days.

[Hapytocruise]

If it allows adding "one" additional promotion - could that be shareholders credit??? If so - now that would be fabulous.

[CruisingChick]

If it allows adding "one" additional promotion - could that be shareholders credit??? If so - now that would be fabulous.

 

The Shareholder Benefit states that it is not combinable with any other offer or promotion. So I would assume that would mean no, unless they change their requirements

[dodger1964]

If it allows adding "one" additional promotion - could that be shareholders credit??? If so - now that would be fabulous.

 

That is what I thought. It seems to be the only long term promotion they have. The others I assume are not here for ever??

[Cruzinram]

Just got an email from a large internet agency. Celebrity Promo 1 2 3 Perk for Nov 2013 through Dec 2014 bookings. The T/A seemed to be able to be combined with an open passage. Exact perks were not completely defined.

[royalcruz]

The open passages is transferable...so that means that you can buy one and give it to a friend? That's a big change.

 

I don't like the reduction in OBC so I don't think we'll bother buying open passages anymore.

[willie2845]

The open passages is transferable...so that means that you can buy one and give it to a friend? That's a big change.

 

I don't like the reduction in OBC so I don't think we'll bother buying open passages anymore.

 

:( Just one more reason for us to start shopping for another cruise line!

I'm sure Mr. Bayley has his hand in this somewhere, once again it's the bottom line over his cruisers.

[Christine Frances]

The open passages is transferable...so that means that you can buy one and give it to a friend? That's a big change.

 

I don't like the reduction in OBC so I don't think we'll bother buying open passages anymore.

 

But the lower OBC is offset against allowing one promo - hopefully the bev pkg for us:D I will happily reduce my normal OBC by $50 for a Reserved Passages and it would still be a deal to us with the Open.!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

We have 2 cruises booked, one with an open passage certificate. The OBC was limited to the cruise portion of the booking. The 1st time we cruised Alaska the OBC under the open passage was based on both the land and cruise.

 

We've been looking at some land based vacations and may move in this direction. Or, will take a look as some other cruise lines.

 

Mary Lou

[JaneStarr]

Summit Canada New England cruises are 14 nights

Eclipse Caribbean sailings are 14 nights as well.

 

Good info to have. Thank you!

We are unlikely to ever choose 14 nights in the Caribbean. There's a slightly higher chance of us booking a Canada/New England cruise, but we tend to stay home (in New England) in the Fall or drive to visit Canadian relatives :D

Jane

[d4m]

I'm sure Mr. Bayley has his hand in this somewhere, once again it's the bottom line over his cruisers.

 

BINGO. Bottom Line appears all important to Mr B. His mindset has been pretty obvious since the beginning

[JaneStarr]

Even the passages that were previously purchased have different wording and contract language from those purchased several years ago.

 

Perhaps this is a way to get people to buy stock rather than passages.

As a point of reference, here is what my Passage Certificate from 2/6/08 shows for OBC:

 

TOTAL CRUISE-ONLY FARE ONBOARD CREDIT

$0001-$2499 $50 per stateroom

$2,500-$3,999 $100 per stateroom

$4,000-$5,999 $150 per stateroom

$6,000-$7,499 $200 per stateroom

$7,500+ $300 per stateroom

Jane

[JaneStarr]

Hi Everyone,

 

Isn't it amazing that whenever something new comes out, it creates yet another round of confusion ? It's also disappointing they are reducing the OBC. It seems to be a cutback, desgined to improve their bottom line. It's also how they do it. They attempt to make it seem as if : "Hey Wow, - we've got some great news for you", then after reading the details, you realize it's not so great after all.

 

This new update will likely confuse their onboard booking personnel, and their shoreside reservations folks, to new heights. And, if anyone thinks it will be a piece of cake to simply add a promotion to their Passages booking ? I wouldn't bet the house on that. You will likely have to pay the prevailing rate etc, when a new promo is announced.

 

IMO, this does not seem like anything to be pleased or excited about.

 

Andy,

As usual, i agree with your interpretation. Due to this latest "enhancement", I'm done purchasing Celebrity Passage certificates.

 

It's taken us over 3 years to be able to use the Passage I purchased in Feb. 2010, and they supposedly made an exception to enable its use on our 7/4/14 Millennium CruiseTour with a cruise agent/friend's small group.

 

No exaggeration; I have never had the use of a Celebrity Passage certificate go smoothly.

 

You wouldn't believe the effort it took to get the proper OBC applied to a cruise that was a replacement for one that Celebrity themselves cancelled (Equinox 6/30/10 Med) just weeks after booking opened. They require you to keep the same booking number, but then insist that it needs to be changed. The shoreside reservation people (and supervisors/mgrs) promise you won't lose your OBC & swear that the "notes on your reservation" in their system reflect the proper amount for the ship to award, but Guest Relations on the ship says they can't see any notes and need to speak to "Miami" during normal business hours. The limited amount of documentation provided to you is not accepted and takes days of visits to Guest Services on a trans-Atlantic crossing to straighten out

 

I been around long enough to anticipate the confusion and inconsistent application that follows whenever a new offer is implemented or an old one "enhanced". It's just not worth the aggravation to me for so little reward.

 

I really feel badly for cruisers who buy certificates and believe what they are promised by onboard personnel. Unfortunately, the onboard future cruise consultants seem to either be poorly informed. I'd rather believe that than that they are just motivated to say anything necessary to close a sale.

Jane

[constantcruiser]

I fully agree with other posters who have said that Future Cruise Consultants will tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to book a cruise while on board. But at least X has the decency to identify the culprits as sales staff. RCI actually refers to theirs as "Loyalty Ambassadors" oh, right!

 

And on our last Celebrity cruise, the FCC office was so busy with people dying to buy passages that they actually brought in one of the dancers to help! Poor fellow barely knew the details of the cruise he was on right then, much less any information about future itineraries.

[mcrcruiser]

Summit Canada New England cruises are 14 nights

Eclipse Caribbean sailings are 14 nights as well.

 

Also full transit Panama Canal cruises are 14 or 15 night cruises

 

We were going to book the Sept 7,2014 New England cruise on Summit while on our Hawaii cruise because of the $300 past OBC . Now we have to rethink whether to book it on our Hawaii cruise or wait until after final payment & save a bundle on the reduced prices ;which happens .for that pricy New England cruise. Lowering the OBC is a deal breaker for us:o

 

In general we are seeing much lower prices on a lot of X cruises after final payment ,since we can see all the Tuesday lower price specials;)

[mcrcruiser]

Hi all,

 

didn't read it elsewhere on the board (except one thread mentioning it as a side note), hope it didn't miss it.

 

Celebrity changed the form for the passages they offer onboard at August 1st, 2013.

 

There are differences on both, the reserved and the open. The main difference for BOTH is that they are combinable with one promotional offer! So if any promotion (123go, pick your perk etc.) comes up you can just say "i want that" and it will be added to your booking. No need for rebookings etc.

 

I attched the form, sorry for the quality but I didn't have a scanner and therefor I shot a picture with my camera. Let's share what you think on the changes!

 

UP

 

UniPac thanks for posting this heads up about the new passages deals :).

 

We think that X wants to do away with passages & thus the decrease in benefits :rolleyes:. We really don't care for their marketing perks ;but ,it would be better than passages ,at this point when you can get your tips pre paid;)

[bvm49]

Late last year when we booked our recent 15 night Celebrity cruise with our travel agent who is owned by RCI, we were told we could use our Celebrity Future Cruise certificates. Although we had been assured when we purchased them on our last RCI cruise that we could use them on any future cruise regardless of the deal offered; we were surprised to be told after our final payment was made that they were not allowed!

 

This was the reason they gave us (quote): “The Next & Future Cruise bookings made onboard are not combinable with certain fares available in the market. It appears that the booking made by Cruise1st for Celebrity Infinity has been made on one of these restricted fares and is therefore not combinable with the booking made onboard.”

 

When we requested the Shareholder benefit they used the same reason.

[FateHappens]

Also full transit Panama Canal cruises are 14 or 15 night cruises

 

 

I believe Panama Canal cruises would be considered "repositioning cruises", and therefore not eligible for the larger On-Board-Credit.

[Lovemychoos]

We are just about to go on our 5th Celebrity cruise, and have used open passages twice. We did intend to purchase another one next month, but now the obc has been halved, I really don't see the point :(

 

Shame really, as I thought it was a brilliant idea, and definitely encourages people to continue booking Celebrity.

 

We'll still do so, but will pass on the open passages now.

 

Lou

[travelwide]

Food for thought.....If a Panama Canal cruise goes back and forth from say San Diego to FLL, which some do, then those would not be considered repositioning as it is going back and forth. However, if you take the last PC cruise from FLL on its way to San Diego and then the ship goes to say Alaska for the season, that would be a repositioning cruise. I wonder if that will be the case! I can see this becoming very convoluted and misunderstood by X reps.

 

I had mentioned previously not having many 16+ nt. cruises which would give you the max obc. Will really have to think about purchasing one on our Sept. cruise as the only long, so to speak, cruises we would do would be a TA. We will have to see how this plays out.

[GigemAggies]

Can we book a Royal Caribbean future cruise while on an Celebrity cruise and get the same benefits offered for booking on Celebrity?

[UniPac]

Can we book a Royal Caribbean future cruise while on an Celebrity cruise and get the same benefits offered for booking on Celebrity?

 

I dont think so.

 

 

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