Advice on price drops

[welshrich]

Hello, we've always sailed on RCI but are looking to book our first Celebrity cruise, can anyone tell me if they will honor price drops before final payment?

[villauk]

Yes if you book through a US TA, if it's a UK TA then ask the question BEFORE you book as many now don't ;).

[di T]

It depends who you book through, I've found if I use American travel agent no problem with getting price drops. Dianne

[jael001]

If you book directly through Celebrity UK or through a UK travel agent then no, they wont honour price drops, you would need to cancel and rebook (losing your deposit) so it would only be worth it for a significant drop. If you book via a US travel agent then you can get the price drops.

[Onasunnyafternoon]

Could anyone please advise on which US travel agents they have used, if they are based in the UK and paying in £? We've always used UK ones in the past. Thanks in advance.

[villauk]

Could anyone please advise on which US travel agents they have used, if they are based in the UK and paying in £? We've always used UK ones in the past. Thanks in advance.

 

We're not allowed to name TAs, it's against CC rules ;)

[Onasunnyafternoon]

Whoops sorry I didn't know that! My bad :eek:

[sandancer]

Could anyone please advise on which US travel agents they have used, if they are based in the UK and paying in £? We've always used UK ones in the past. Thanks in advance.

 

 

Don't worry, lots of people didn't realise it's not allowed to ask for TA names. To answer your question, no, you can't pay in £s. All your transactions will be in US$ but will show on your credit card statement as £ as your card provider will have converted the currency. We use both a US and UK agent, compare both before you book. Most US TAs allow you to cancel and get back the deposit. They are much more generous than UK agents with OBC and other perks. You have to accept though that the price is at the mercy of the currency exchange rates.

 

 

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[worldtravellerrus]

our TA has gotten us quite a few price drops when they occur before final payment

 

Yes if you book through a US TA, if it's a UK TA then ask the question BEFORE you book as many now don't ;).

[sandancer]

our TA has gotten us quite a few price drops when they occur before final payment

 

 

Where did you book UK or US?

 

 

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[beaveh]

I must admit I've been very surprised to see that US travellers seem to get a much better deal by being able to cancel bookings without loosing deposits /perks etc.

I think the UK get poor service! Watching the fairs drop by over £300 each has been a bit of a shocker and I'll think very carefully before booking my next cruise!.

[captain99]

I don't get the price drop but they included all the four perks instead

[andrew cooper]

If you book directly through Celebrity UK or through a UK travel agent then no, they wont honour price drops, you would need to cancel and rebook (losing your deposit) so it would only be worth it for a significant drop. If you book via a US travel agent then you can get the price drops.

 

Can someone explain to me how this is fair and reasonable ? If someone from the US books the same 14 day cruise to Europe sailing from Southampton as myself how can the American guy have a price drop honoured by Celebrity yet we can't ? Why does the simple fact that I booked in the UK have any relevance ?

 

I know this question has been asked many times but I still havn't read a convincing reply or explanation .

[sandancer]

I don't get the price drop but they included all the four perks instead

 

 

You would not get anything if you booked in the UK and that is where the OP is asking about. Hence many people suggest using a US TA.

 

 

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[Bo1953]

Can someone explain to me how this is fair and reasonable ? If someone from the US books the same 14 day cruise to Europe sailing from Southampton as myself how can the American guy have a price drop honoured by Celebrity yet we can't ? Why does the simple fact that I booked in the UK have any relevance ?

 

I know this question has been asked many times but I still havn't read a convincing reply or explanation .

 

Then, there is NO convincing you of any of it. It is similar to airline pricing differences for the same destinations booked either in the U.S. or GB for the other country, there are different prices quite often and very different rules based on where and how you book.

 

bon voyage

[emsachs]

Hello, we've always sailed on RCI but are looking to book our first Celebrity cruise, can anyone tell me if they will honor price drops before final payment?

 

I'm in USA, and I lowered my price twice, upgraded a class, and now just upgraded to a suite for the same price as my original fare.

[sandancer]

Lucky you

 

 

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[SheriffJoe]

Can someone explain to me how this is fair and reasonable ? If someone from the US books the same 14 day cruise to Europe sailing from Southampton as myself how can the American guy have a price drop honoured by Celebrity yet we can't ? Why does the simple fact that I booked in the UK have any relevance ?

 

I know this question has been asked many times but I still havn't read a convincing reply or explanation .

 

That's an easy answer....life ain't fair! :eek:

[villauk]

Can someone explain to me how this is fair and reasonable ? If someone from the US books the same 14 day cruise to Europe sailing from Southampton as myself how can the American guy have a price drop honoured by Celebrity yet we can't ? Why does the simple fact that I booked in the UK have any relevance ?

 

I know this question has been asked many times but I still havn't read a convincing reply or explanation .

 

You won't get one. I've been booking in the US for years, mainly for that flexibility ;).

 

I must admit I've been very surprised to see that US travellers seem to get a much better deal by being able to cancel bookings without loosing deposits /perks etc.

I think the UK get poor service! Watching the fairs drop by over £300 each has been a bit of a shocker and I'll think very carefully before booking my next cruise!.

 

You've learnt the hard way, as most of us do ;). If I'd booked my current cruise in the UK, I'd be in tears. The perks have increased over the months and it's dropped several times to a stage where it's nearly half of the initial deployment price. If that was a UK booking, I'd be paying thousands more £ - or alternatively, I'd have lost my deposit x4. I can live with the exchange rate difference.

[bogofman]

I'e found a US TA that i can do dummy bookings on their web site.

 

Prices are coming out quite similar to the Celebrity UK web site ( current prices)

 

The US site has more perks, but the price comes out more, taking into account on board credit, grats and drinks, they are essentially the same.

 

The bonus is that future price drops can be used on the US TA site , but not on the UK site

 

For next year i'll be investigating the US Ta's before booking on UK site again.

[villauk]

I'e found a US TA that i can do dummy bookings on their web site.

 

Prices are coming out quite similar to the Celebrity UK web site ( current prices)

 

The US site has more perks, but the price comes out more, taking into account on board credit, grats and drinks, they are essentially the same.

 

The bonus is that future price drops can be used on the US TA site , but not on the UK site

 

For next year i'll be investigating the US Ta's before booking on UK site again.

 

You'll find the US TAs also offer extra OBC on top of what X is offering as a perk, and it can be quite substantial (so it needs to be accounted for in the equation/comparison) ;). Tbh, it's the flexibility I like when booking in the US.

Edited April 12, 2016 by villauk

[triona]

We have booked with UK TA and on all occasions ( 3 times ) we have been able to receive price drops, total of £600 . The last time was 2015 . You must ask, what have you to loose. Good luck.

[jael001]

No it's not fair, but apparently it's down to the fact that we have ABTA and ATOL protection, whereas in the US they have no protection at all. If something goes wrong that's too bad. I personally dont think the so called protection we have is worth losing our deposits and not being able to take advantage of the deals that the US has.

[sandancer]

We have booked with UK TA and on all occasions ( 3 times ) we have been able to receive price drops, total of £600 . The last time was 2015 . You must ask, what have you to loose. Good luck.

 

 

Since 2015 the rules have changed. Time was your Captains Club status eased things along but not anymore. We have had several price drops in the past but that has gone by the board now.

 

 

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[az_tchr]

There other difference is the protection that UK bookings have. If we in the US miss a port we maybe get a refund of a few dollars. Celebrity cancels a cruise and we lose our airfare if booked and maybe get a future cruise credit. In the UK if ANYTHING that was promised is not delivered you are entitled to a refund.

 

For example, we missed two ports on a cruise Long Beach to Panama. Received a refund of about $22USD. The Brits on the cruise received about $450.

 

Second it is simply the policy for the travel industry in the UK. Your travel industry made the policy and all but one TA stands by that policy. Only by a huge amount of complaining wil it change.

 

Last, while you can book through some North American TAs you need to provide an address over here and pay in US or CDN $$, which puts you at risk for currency changes and possibly a fee to change Sterling to dollars as well.