OBC from your TA

[dani negreanu]

I've sent it to u

 

 

Sorry, Lisa, it bounced back :D

[dar68]

I know that cc doesn't allow travel agency names to be shared, but I am at a loss as to how to find this NH agency. If someone would PM me or email me at lheisel at gmail dot com I'd appreciate it!!

 

I'd love to get the name of this NH agency also. My email is carbonear13@yahoo.ca. Thanks.

[vplsh]

I've sent it to u

 

Thanks!!

 

I somehow neglected to put the correct email in! It is lheisel13 at gmail dot com.

 

Don't know how, but...

 

Thanks again.

[cruisecriticmember]

on a river cruise we booked our TA got us an upgrade from a class 5 cabin (lowest fare) to a class 2 cabin with french balcony. With that and other discounts we are getting the cruise for 1/2 price ( or to look at it another way 2 for the price of one) for the category we originally booked. plus it is on the newest and fanciest ship in the cruise company's fleet. Sweet present for our 10th wedding anniversary.:)

[vplsh]

Anyone with any more recent deals?

 

When would be the best time, do you think, to book for a last minute deal? We have the airfare booked and there are 5 potential cruises for the week we're looking to go.

[redjetz]

The TA we use has given us $600 for 14-day cruises. The previous one gave us a specialty restaurant and a bottle of wine. We like the cash better :-)

[teecee60]

Anyone with any more recent deals?

 

When would be the best time, do you think, to book for a last minute deal? We have the airfare booked and there are 5 potential cruises for the week we're looking to go.

 

Prices are usually pretty high over Christmas and New Years, but last minute deals ARE available in the last week.

 

Here's a smattering of the best I could find in the next few weeks...

 

5 nights on Caribbean Princess R/T FLL for $199pp on 3 Jan OR...

 

9 nights same ship, same port, same date, for $358pp

 

7 nights Norweigian Jewel R/T Houston for $299pp on 3 Jan

 

7 nights on Carnival Splendor R/T Miami for $309pp on 4 Jan

 

14 nights on HAL Nieuw Amsterdam R/T FLL for $799pp on 4 Jan (shareholder OBC)

 

14 nights on HAL Ryndam R/T Tampa for $799pp on 4 Jan (100 OBC + shareholder OBC)

 

7 nights on Celebrity Silhouette R/T FLL for $549pp on 25 Jan

 

13 nights on Celebrity Constellation FLL-Rome for $699pp on 9 Apr (100 OBC+200 shareholder OBC)

Edited December 18, 2014 by teecee60

[LabGuy64]

Who is your TA?...I did all the work and she just booked it (Penthouse suite)...and All I got was a 200.00 OBC

 

I do all of my own research and make my own decisions so I only use the TA for making the booking. I usually get OBC of around 10% (we book upper end suites). The good thing is with the TA's OBC, if we don't use it, it gets credited back to our credit card.

[need2bespoiled]

We also book upper level suites, and combined between Celebrity onboard booking benefits and our TA (in general we use the same NH TA as others) we get 10% ish. Our OBC Is usually about $1000/week after the gratuities are covered either by Celebrity or the TA.

 

sperkins921: $100 may be ok, as with guaranteed staterooms rates, I think commission is lower, so at about $300 (grats plus OBC) your not doing too badly on a $3300 cruise I think you said?

 

Question:

 

I've seen all cabins below suites cheaper than the advertised X Price through agencies with groups but never suites. Has anyone gotten the NH agency, or any agency to actually price a SUITE below Celebrity's advertised prices when part of a group?

 

We've done most of our booking onboard and once you do that, that unnamed agency will not do better on price, but will on OBC based on the groups they have booked. I ask because I am curious if I might do better NOT booking onboard as the current benefits aren't much better than those being offered off ship.

 

One other thing I didn't see mentioned, when using this un-named agency, they generally require final payment about a month earlier to finalized their 'group' or so they say that is the reason.

 

One final note for all those in the UK using US travel agents, we met a UK travel agent onboard our last cruise. He always pays to cruise, and doesn't take freebies so he remains very independent. He offers OBC and actually on some cruises, better suited to the UK market, he actually has better prices than we were offered by Celebrity onboard or by our U.S. Agency, even if his OBC was less, the total cost was lower on a couple cruises. He is very creative about cruises, and your most well traveled agent and has a UK website ;)

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Edited December 18, 2014 by need2bespoiled

[LabGuy64]

I would also be very greatful for the info on the NH travel agent

 

please send it to criblord40@sbcglobal.net

 

thanks

[sperkins921]

we are not allowed to name the travel agent even in a private message. This is where creative googling will be your friend. you already know the place is in New Hampshire, and you already know its for cruise vacations. Put two and two together in your search bar and you'll get all the information you need.

[need2bespoiled]

we are not allowed to name the travel agent even in a private message. This is where creative googling will be your friend. you already know the place is in New Hampshire, and you already know its for cruise vacations. Put two and two together in your search bar and you'll get all the information you need.

 

Since there are no private message features here, hard to do that for sure, and naming is definitely a no no, but email is ok :) No way they can control it anyway.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[sperkins921]

We also book upper level suites, and combined between Celebrity onboard booking benefits and our TA (in general we use the same NH TA as others) we get 10% ish. Our OBC Is usually about $1000/week after the gratuities are covered either by Celebrity or the TA.

 

sperkins921: $100 may be ok, as with guaranteed staterooms rates, I think commission is lower, so at about $300 (grats plus OBC) your not doing too badly on a $3300 cruise I think you said?

 

Question:

 

I've seen all cabins below suites cheaper than the advertised X Price through agencies with groups but never suites. Has anyone gotten the NH agency, or any agency to actually price a SUITE below Celebrity's advertised prices when part of a group?

 

We've done most of our booking onboard and once you do that, that unnamed agency will not do better on price, but will on OBC based on the groups they have booked. I ask because I am curious if I might do better NOT booking onboard as the current benefits aren't much better than those being offered off ship.

 

One other thing I didn't see mentioned, when using this un-named agency, they generally require final payment about a month earlier to finalized their 'group' or so they say that is the reason.

 

One final note for all those in the UK using US travel agents, we met a UK travel agent onboard our last cruise. He always pays to cruise, and doesn't take freebies so he remains very independent. He offers OBC and actually on some cruises, better suited to the UK market, he actually has better prices than we were offered by Celebrity onboard or by our U.S. Agency, even if his OBC was less, the total cost was lower on a couple cruises. He is very creative about cruises, and your most well traveled agent and has a UK website ;)

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Jenna,

 

just off the reflection, & I wondered the same thing in terms of booking with the aforementioned unnamed travel agent. onboard credit and an all inclusive 123 go package was very tempting but, we are at a place in our lives that while we have three and four weeks of vacation respectively to spend, with me and my medical practice I can only take one week of my four weeks at a time. And since the Caribbean itineraries were not released at the time we were on the ship, we just didn't book anything.

 

Now, I come to find out that the unnamed travel agent basically has the same deal. The only thing that I did not know was whether the onboard credit would be double. (Ie if we had been able to book onboard would we have gotten the TA offered OBC and X's?)

 

Fine print leads me to believe not, because they said that the onboard credit was a mixture from them and celebrity. I think basically they are offering the same onboard booking deal. The one thing that I had not been happy about is price drops as you mentioned, and the fact that your final payment has to be done so much earlier than what the line actually requires. The customer service for me anyway has not been worth the hassle. Though I guess if you get lucky and get a lot of onboard credit it makes up for it.

[sperkins921]

Since there are no private message features here, hard to do that for sure, and naming is definitely a no no, but email is ok :) No way they can control it anyway.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

lol Touche. This is what I get for reading on my phone before I actually get out of bed and have coffee and start my day. lol good catch.

[need2bespoiled]

Jenna,

 

just off the reflection, & I wondered the same thing in terms of booking with the aforementioned unnamed travel agent. onboard credit and an all inclusive 123 go package was very tempting but, we are at a place in our lives that while we have three and four weeks of vacation respectively to spend, with me and my medical practice I can only take one week of my four weeks at a time. And since the Caribbean itineraries were not released at the time we were on the ship, we just didn't book anything.

 

Now, I come to find out that the unnamed travel agent basically has the same deal. The only thing that I did not know was whether the onboard credit would be double. (Ie if we had been able to book onboard would we have gotten the TA offered OBC and X's?)

 

Fine print leads me to believe not, because they said that the onboard credit was a mixture from them and celebrity. I think basically they are offering the same onboard booking deal. The one thing that I had not been happy about is price drops as you mentioned, and the fact that your final payment has to be done so much earlier than what the line actually requires. The customer service for me anyway has not been worth the hassle. Though I guess if you get lucky and get a lot of onboard credit it makes up for it.

 

Some incorrect info here.

 

1. The OBC they give you onboard is COMPLETELY free, they give it back to you on the CURRENT cruise you were on, as OBC, which is refundable. That amount is then applied to reduce the booked cruise, so basically free deposit. It is COMPLETELY combinable with anything your TA is willing to offer on top of it OR other Celebrity promos, like 123

 

2. If the price drops, you get the lowest price. I have just never seen upper level suites at less than cruise line published rates, as you can find with other cabins. We do receive price drops. After you've made final payment, yes, you would have that bit of time when you may not be eligible for a price drop. I guess that's a gamble you take, but suites have, in general not come down much except for some very specific times like the very end of November and the first two weeks of December. If you want a deal in the Caribbean, that is the time period I have found with the best rates.

 

My experience tells me you should have booked ANY Cruise while onboard. We booked 2 cruises a couple weeks ago for itineraries that were not yet published. As soon as they were published, they transferred those bookings to the new itinerary, so the free deposit was moved, no penalty.

 

The ONLY time I can imagine is NOT better to book onboard, is if the actual group rate being offered is lower than the rate you agree to with Celebrity. I have yet to be offered a lower "group rate" from any published rate for a suite (Sky Suite and above). I'm curious, has anyone seen this? Usually they just give us the extra savings in OBC I guess, but it is hard to know completely. I think the percentage of OBC can actually be higher for non suites paying published rates when the TA has a group rate that is cheaper than the published rate. They make money on the difference.

 

This also answers some questions some previous posters had about how TAs give up 10% when their commission is 10%. In addition to the end of year kickbacks, the large NH TA has groups on nearly every Celebrity sailings so if they're charging you the published rate, but paying less, they have the commission AND the difference between what they're paying and the published rate in addition to their commission to give back as an incentive or amenity.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Edited December 18, 2014 by need2bespoiled

[CrusieToy]

Hi Everyone- I wanted to see what people were getting from their TA for booking with them. We booked a group of 8 for a Med cruise (13nights) through a TA and it seems like we are not getting a lot in return-so I wanted to check and see what others were getting.

 

Thanks

on our 1/2/15 cruise we got $250 OBC from our TA the cruise cost a little over $3,000

 

on our 9/11/15 we got $300 OBC from our TA the cruise cost about $4,200.

Edited December 19, 2014 by CrusieToy

[LabGuy64]

200 obc from TA on cost of 20,000

 

on our 1/2/15 cruise we got $250 OBC from our TA the cruise cost a little over $3,000

 

on our 9/11/15 we got $300 OBC from our TA the cruise cost about $4,200.

[need2bespoiled]

200 obc from TA on cost of 20,000

 

Woefully disappointing. It should be $2k

 

In the end, just remember there is little you can spend money onboard as of April except for the Spa, the shops and nice bottles of wine as everything else is included.

 

I know, little consolationsm but at least, now you know.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[LabGuy64]

could use it in the casino couldn't I?

 

Guess she took a short term profit rather than the long term association.....short sighted but you live and learn.....of course as the more expensive cruise is 2 years away I could line up a better TA, cancel and rebook....

 

 

Michael

Edited December 19, 2014 by LabGuy64

[LabGuy64]

Anyone else out there that has booked a cruise at this level or higher get 10% from their TA or near it?

[need2bespoiled]

Anyone else out there that has booked a cruise at this level or higher get 10% from their TA or near it?

 

Yes, at the casino for a 5% fee, though on occasion I've seen it waived.

 

We have received more than 10% for cruise at those levels of spend, or close to it. Combined with Celebrity OBC and loyalty perks with said TA much more than 10%.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[LabGuy64]

Kind of pisses me off as the TA is supposed to be a friend of my wife

 

Yes, at the casino for a 5% fee, though on occasion I've seen it waived.

 

We have received more than 10% for cruise at those levels of spend, or close to it. Combined with Celebrity OBC and loyalty perks with said TA much more than 10%.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[LabGuy64]

Of course as you pointed out I am getting a pretty nice package from Celebrity but the TA really did not do much for her money.....she should have "spread the love a bit"

[need2bespoiled]

Of course as you pointed out I am getting a pretty nice package from Celebrity but the TA really did not do much for her money.....she should have "spread the love a bit"

 

"Business" with friends is a tough spot to be. Where a large Internet TA has groups and kickbacks to profit off of, it's possible your wife's friend only has a smaller commission from a smaller agency.

 

My recommendation is to let it go, enjoy the cruise and move on.

 

If the price is the same for your PH, you can cancel and rebook with a different agency, BUT if both PHs are sold, there is no way to know what the price would release at or if someone else has it wait listed for your cruise. Of course you or your wife would also have to be willing to lose a friend.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

[LabGuy64]

TRUE,

 

It is a messy business....of course you could ask how good a friend she is...However, as I have checked the other PH which is still open.....the price has gone up 4,000 I will let it go...just never use her again