The 1-2-3 Promo is a con!

[kevinyork]

Feeling pretty fed up. We were looking at a couple of Eclipse sailings next Spring last week. Then we saw that the 1-2-3 Promo was coming this Friday for UK bookings. Great we thought. However since then the prices for obstructed balconies have increased by £500 pp on each sailing. Same thoughout the summer and autumn on all Eclipse sailings.

 

Clearly this is so that come Friday it looks like the price has not increased but they have included the drinks package for free. Free? Its added £500 to the price! Added to that whenever someone in here mentioned that the 1-2-3 Promo was coming to UK bookings Cruise Critic took down their post. Why even bother since waiting for the Promo would cost more!

 

Shame on you Celebrity.

[CaroleSS]

Granted we're already booked, but I frequently check prices. Overnight price of our cabin went up $250pp as news of the 1-2-3 promo came out.

 

Just like every other 'sale' out there.....raise the price for a little bit then drop it (back to the original price) and people think they are getting a 'deal'!!

 

(think about that when you are out shopping on Black Friday!!)

[scanditaly]

I have been checking prices for a Panama Canal sailing.

 

The sky suites have increased $800 per person since last week.

 

The Royal Suites have increased $1000 per person as well.

 

Our category is sold out, but I am certain that its' price has gone up as well. We will not be able to get this promo for our voyage.

[jagoffee]

I do not know about the UK booking site, but in the US the Giving Thanks promotion just expired (15%). The result was that the prices for the cruises included in the Giving Thanks promotion.

[MicCanberra]

Prices fluctuate all the time but this certainly seems as if they are trying to get some people in that haven't monitored the prices.:D

[4cats4me]

although their prices have increased a lot, I plugged in my state for a resident rate, and that dropped the price by $500. However, it is my understanding that resident rates might not be combinable with another promo.

[welshfamily]

The prices from 1st Nov. to 24th Nov, included a15% discount if you had the relevant CC membership. The price has now gone back up to the original October price from the 25th of Nov, give or take £50. Obviously the new promotion will give other benefits such as free classic package and/or OBC. Celebrity has not yet started discounting their Summer 2014 cruises. Thought out all this the Eclipse sailings from Southampton have remained over£200 a day for AQ, a hefty increase on last year. Consequently at this stage having lost our original cruise to a charter I have decided to wait until I feel the price per day is right for me.

[MicCanberra]

The prices from 1st Nov. to 24th Nov, included a15% discount if you had the relevant CC membership. The price has now gone back up to the original October price from the 25th of Nov, give or take £50. Obviously the new promotion will give other benefits such as free classic package and/or OBC. Celebrity has not yet started discounting their Summer 2014 cruises. Thought out all this the Eclipse sailings from Southampton have remained over£200 a day for AQ, a hefty increase on last year. Consequently at this stage having lost our original cruise to a charter I have decided to wait until I feel the price per day is right for me.

 

Fair enough, I would be disappointed as well if my cruise was canned.:D

[Doudounka]

The prices from 1st Nov. to 24th Nov, included a15% discount if you had the relevant CC membership. The price has now gone back up to the original October price from the 25th of Nov, give or take £50.

 

Welshfamily is right, prices we saw last few weeks were with a discount, just checked a European cruise (reflection oct 6th ocean view) we have saved in our favorties and indeed price did go up roughly 15% (2015$ vs 2319$) with the end of give thanks promo (but that is TOTALY NORMAL). Our upcoming cruise in march has not seen much of a price raise at all, it is almost at same price as it was when we booked 2 months ago (459$ vs 489$). Last april with did a cruise on Connie, paid 750$ for concierge and took advantage of the 123 go promo as did people with inside cabins at 400$, so with the drink package worth 250$ (yes i know it is not what X pays or whatever) it was like we paid 500$ for a concierge room and people with inside rooms is like they paid 150$, i know you can't see it just as coldly as this, but with my past and present experience, i do not feel that X is trying to screw me at all.

 

"Shame on you Celebrity" ??? I see no shame at all, shame is on people who see a promo (give thanks 15% off), do not take advantage of it and cry out wolf or thief when promo is over and prices go back up to original prices...

[Redtravel]

The promos are just selling techniques to attract bookings. You pay for them. if you use the beverage package a lot, you may save some money compared to buying individual drinks. The beverage packages are nice for heavy drinkers. For Celebrity, beverage packages are a good idea. Pay in advance. They have your money. When I bought a beverage package, I drank more than usual. On my last cruise, I opted not to buy a beverage package. Drank as I wanted. I saved money.

[ghstudio]

Not sure about the UK, but in the us and on the celebrity US site the prices shown over the past few weeks did NOT include the 10 or 15% discount...that was taken off when you booked. I compared the before discount price to the current price and found that it had increased by $200 on our cruise.....one can only presume that is to partially cover the cost of 1-2-3.

 

You pay one way or the other....it's just marketing.

[Doudounka]

Not sure about the UK, but in the us and on the celebrity US site the prices shown over the past few weeks did NOT include the 10 or 15% discount...that was taken off when you booked. I compared the before discount price to the current price and found that it had increased by $200 on our cruise.....one can only presume that is to partially cover the cost of 1-2-3.

 

You pay one way or the other....it's just marketing.

 

Well for us the prices on US website did show them with the give thanks promo, there was a little green cardboard icon under the prices (when in "find a cruise" search) and when you hovered your mouse over it, it said it was a promo price.

Edited November 26, 2013 by Doudounka

[Lsimon]

I don't know if recent prices included the discount of the expired program or not. But I do know that prices on our upcoming cruise increased to all time highs the other day, with many cabins going up around $400/pp.

 

On the other hand the cabin selection is getting very thin so it appears that our cruise is selling very well with some categories are already sold out even though our sailing is still 4 months away. So it wouldn't surprise me that prices are going up and that they wouldn't need to 123-go promotion to move cabins on our sailing.

 

Back when the first 123-go promotion came out last winter I noticed the prices did not increase on our cruise. I was able to add it to our booking although I did have to loose a different OBC and increase my price by $50/pp for an increase that had occurred well before the promo. At the same time there were others on this forum that were reporting big increases in the prices for their sailing concurrent with the introduction of the 123-go promo. So it appears that Celebrity may be increasing prices on cruises that already have sold most of their cabins out while possibly leaving prices on sailing that need a little sales push alone so that the promotion does give a better discount on these.

 

Overall the practice doesn't surprise me. It is very common today for many businesses to always have their products discounted, on sale, or subject to some other promotion. I don't really like that style of marketing but it is becoming mainstream whether I like it or not.

[excitedofharpenden]

Feeling pretty fed up. We were looking at a couple of Eclipse sailings next Spring last week. Then we saw that the 1-2-3 Promo was coming this Friday for UK bookings. Great we thought. However since then the prices for obstructed balconies have increased by £500 pp on each sailing. Same thoughout the summer and autumn on all Eclipse sailings.

 

Clearly this is so that come Friday it looks like the price has not increased but they have included the drinks package for free. Free? Its added £500 to the price! Added to that whenever someone in here mentioned that the 1-2-3 Promo was coming to UK bookings Cruise Critic took down their post. Why even bother since waiting for the Promo would cost more!

 

Shame on you Celebrity.

I agree with your assessment. I booked a Caribbean cruise on Eclipse for March next year a few days ago because I thought this might be what would happen. I checked the price and it's now £400 more. I should have booked the Transatlantic I'm planning to take in October at the same time. I'm pretty sure the 123 Go won't apply to it and that's £400 more than it was last week too. Will wait and see when the new promo comes out. I've said it before and I'll say it again, all these smoke and mirrors offers Celebrity do drive me nuts.

 

Phil

[Gordoncruickshank]

I agree with your assessment. I booked a Caribbean cruise on Eclipse for March next year a few days ago because I thought this might be what would happen. I checked the price and it's now £400 more. I should have booked the Transatlantic I'm planning to take in October at the same time. I'm pretty sure the 123 Go won't apply to it and that's £400 more than it was last week too. Will wait and see when the new promo comes out. I've said it before and I'll say it again, all these smoke and mirrors offers Celebrity do drive me nuts.

 

Phil

123Go cruises.pdf[/ATTACH]

 

Here are the 123Go sailings for the UK offer.

 

Gordon

rest of the world.pdf

[excitedofharpenden]

Thanks for that Gordon! It looks like the Med cruise that I'm doing before it as a B2B is on there. Better book by 31st December as I get a 25 tier point bonus. I'll be Zenith in no time! LOL (tongue firmly in cheek because I don't give a monkey's).

 

Phil

[Gordoncruickshank]

No problems Phil

 

I have been waiting on this sort of promotion to book for Feb/Mar 2015 as the previous offers didn't go past 2014.

 

When does the 25 point bonus kick in? Is it for bookings before 31 December?

 

Gordon

[excitedofharpenden]

 

When does the 25 point bonus kick in? Is it for bookings before 31 December?

 

Gordon

Yes, that's the way I read it.

 

Phil

[ghstudio]

Well for us the prices on US website did show them with the give thanks promo, there was a little green cardboard icon under the prices (when in "find a cruise" search) and when you hovered your mouse over it, it said it was a promo price.

 

Forget the price in the green thing...that was if you took that offer. I'm talking about the normal prices above. Did you really think they were going to ADD 1-2-3 to the 10/15% offer? Let's be just a bit reasonable in expectations.....

[Gordoncruickshank]

I'll be Zenith in no time! LOL (tongue firmly in cheek because I don't give a monkey's).

 

Phil

 

We just made it to Elite after the last cruise but all I can see is it costing me more for internet with my "free 90 minutes". I was better off getting 25% off a big package.

 

We always take the beverage package so there is no real incentive to use the Elite drink vouchers - (my wife is always sleeping when the Elite cocktail hour is anyway and I certainly wouldn't wake her up for a free drink - too frightened!).

 

Ok the laundry will be good when we are away for so long in February/ March next year - may save an extra case

 

Gordon

 

Gordon

[jagoffee]

Not sure about the UK, but in the us and on the celebrity US site the prices shown over the past few weeks did NOT include the 10 or 15% discount...that was taken off when you booked. I compared the before discount price to the current price and found that it had increased by $200 on our cruise.....one can only presume that is to partially cover the cost of 1-2-3.

 

You pay one way or the other....it's just marketing.

 

Me, again. Since you are repeating this information are you 100% certain that you are correct?

I am fairly certain that when I was looking at my upcoming 1/14 cruise that the first price screen reflected the discounted rate. I was looking for a possible upgrade. Again as I recall when I hit the booked button it showed the discount on the left and the adjusted price on the lower right, but am believe that it was the discounted price shown on the first page. Of course I am not 100% certain as I did not save the screen.

 

Thanks

[rjrpar]

Me, again. Since you are repeating this information are you 100% certain that you are correct?

I am fairly certain that when I was looking at my upcoming 1/14 cruise that the first price screen reflected the discounted rate. I was looking for a possible upgrade. Again as I recall when I hit the booked button it showed the discount on the left and the adjusted price on the lower right, but am believe that it was the discounted price shown on the first page. Of course I am not 100% certain as I did not save the screen.

 

Thanks

I'm pretty sure you are correct. The price quoted included the discount (in US)

 

We are also booked on the Eclipse in March and it is a very popular cruise due to its length and ports. There is no reason for Celebrity to provide incentives so they just up the price. The best way to book popular cruises is to book early and watch for price reductions. We booked the 14 nighter last February with the 123 Promo and the price today for the same cabin class is up $550/person. No downside to book real early.

[karena1]

We were lucky. We had already booked our cruise at an amazing price for a balcony on Summit. Then the 123 promo came out. Prices went up $300 pp more than we paid. But all I had to do was call and give up my $100 OBC to get the free classic bev pkg so that was a no brainer!:) So we got a great price on our cruise plus the free bev pkg.

[Doudounka]

Forget the price in the green thing...that was if you took that offer. I'm talking about the normal prices above. Did you really think they were going to ADD 1-2-3 to the 10/15% offer? Let's be just a bit reasonable in expectations.....

 

What are you talking about if we expected to ADD 1-2-3 promo to thanksgiving offer ??? I never assumed and said that, those are 2 different things completely. What i said is during TG promo we were seeing reduced price in cruise search window, and when TG promo ended price went back to original price before promo and green tag disapeared. Guess will explain again.

 

This is for a cruise we've had in our favorites for a few weeks now :

 

Before thanksgiving Promo price for Reflection October 6th European cruise, ocean view price was 2312$

 

During thanksgiving promo, price was shown, with a green card under it at 2030$

 

After promo ended and as of right now is at 2319$

 

So tell me where the price increase is ? Yes i see it now, 7$

 

Still wonder where I said and asked and assumed they would add the 123 promo to thanksgiving promo...

[Doudounka]

Me, again. Since you are repeating this information are you 100% certain that you are correct?

I am fairly certain that when I was looking at my upcoming 1/14 cruise that the first price screen reflected the discounted rate. I was looking for a possible upgrade. Again as I recall when I hit the booked button it showed the discount on the left and the adjusted price on the lower right, but am believe that it was the discounted price shown on the first page. Of course I am not 100% certain as I did not save the screen.

 

Thanks

 

I too was seeing same thing, green tag under discounted price yes ?