Pricing for UK

[Amyracecar]

Hi,

 

I know this question has probably been asked before but I can't find a thread that specifically relates to this scenario.

 

Basically we booked our cruise (27th November, Millennium, Far East) quite some time ago. It had some pretty nice extras (credit & drinks) and we booked a FV room. I think the price ended up as somewhere in the region of about £3400 when we paid gratuities.

 

I looked on this week and similar rooms are on sale at £600-800 cheaper (it may have changed since) and I just wondered if anybody has had any luck trying to get their cruise reduced in similar circumstances before?

 

I'm aware we don't have the same guarantees as UK passengers and I didn't book via a TA, however some people have said that they've managed to get an improved deal just by trying. I won't lose sleep if we don't get anything as I was happy with the price at the time, but as I could cancel and re-book and still save money I didn't know if it was worth asking them.

 

The thing in their favour appears to be the drinks package from what I can see as I haven't seen it offered in recent deals.

[Gordoncruickshank]

You would have to cancel and rebook but you need to make sure that there is a suitable cabin as you may not keep your current cabin. It gets released and someone else may book it before you can be assigned to it.

 

If the saving is enough it is worthwhile - you do lose the deposit though.

[mickey89]

Depends on your status and the status of your Travel Agent with Celebrity.

We booked a cruise around NZ on Millennium a few years ago and the prices dropped significantly after final payment. I approached the TA and he was able to get a refund of £650 and he said that if we had flights included he would not have been able to do anything.

More recently we had a cruised booked on the Eclipse and once again the prices dropped after final payment. This time we had booked thru the US and our TA was able to get $500 reduction, we had the free beverage package which was unaffected. It did help that we had two future cruises booked with Celebrity.

 

Suggest you approach your TA and ask them to explore the options available.

[Chonga]

Are you booking from the UK or US? In the UK Captains Club Elite and above ( I don't know if this applies to you) are allowed one free change to a booking, however the rebooking would be with whatever extras are on offer today so you could lose credit and drinks to get the lower price. You don't lose your deposit by doing this if you have the relevant "status" [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[waggie]

Hi,

 

I know this question has probably been asked before but I can't find a thread that specifically relates to this scenario.

 

Basically we booked our cruise (27th November, Millennium, Far East) quite some time ago. It had some pretty nice extras (credit & drinks) and we booked a FV room. I think the price ended up as somewhere in the region of about £3400 when we paid gratuities.

 

I looked on this week and similar rooms are on sale at £600-800 cheaper (it may have changed since) and I just wondered if anybody has had any luck trying to get their cruise reduced in similar circumstances before?

 

I'm aware we don't have the same guarantees as UK passengers and I didn't book via a TA, however some people have said that they've managed to get an improved deal just by trying. I won't lose sleep if we don't get anything as I was happy with the price at the time, but as I could cancel and re-book and still save money I didn't know if it was worth asking them.

 

The thing in their favour appears to be the drinks package from what I can see as I haven't seen it offered in recent deals.

I have just tried to mock book a FV and there are several available. Interesting since there are very few 'standard' balcony cabins available. The cost for cruise only is showing as £2578. I cannot see what perks if any, so cannot see if the deal would be worth you trying for. You say that you didn't use a TA, so did you book direct with celebrity? Also, as other people have said you do have to consider the deposit loss if you do not have Captains Club status. It is worth asking the questions, and let us know how you get on.

[jael001]

I managed to get a price drop on our last cruise but I did lose my original deposit and my OBC. Because I had flights booked through them it was complicated but it was worth it as I still saved about £900 after losing the deposit and OBC. I wouldn't have done it for a £500 saving though, not if I then had to lose my deposit and OBC out of that.

[vadell]

We were in exactly the same situation the same week I booked our cruise it went down £700, I was told basically they could upgrade us or cancel and re-book. We decided to cancel and book again but it still meant we were better off and we also went from a regular veranda to concierge cabin. I was particularly upset at the fact that it was only a matter of days later the price dropped but still it was worth cancelling and losing the deposit.

[Wiltonian]

An alternative may be to get an upgrade just above your current price. For example, an Aqua cabin may now be comparable to the price previously paid for a balcony. As long as you're paying a few pounds more, they may let you upgrade.

 

Stuart

[Elaine0138]

I have in the pass got our cruise reduced to the lower price when there was a price drop. There is no harm in asking either for the reduction or an upgrade.

[spendless]

I managed to get a price drop on our last cruise but I did lose my original deposit and my OBC. Because I had flights booked through them it was complicated but it was worth it as I still saved about £900 after losing the deposit and OBC. I wouldn't have done it for a £500 saving though, not if I then had to lose my deposit and OBC out of that.

I recently cancelled booking direct with celebrity to take advantage of price reduction and OBC. Same room booked. Deposit was transferred to a "ghost" cruise to use in 2017 so not lost!

[Jim_Iain]

I managed to get a price drop on our last cruise but I did lose my original deposit and my OBC. Because I had flights booked through them it was complicated but it was worth it as I still saved about £900 after losing the deposit and OBC. I wouldn't have done it for a £500 saving though, not if I then had to lose my deposit and OBC out of that.

 

To see the perks - on the mock booking take it all the way through where you select a cabin. On the next screen where you would put in passenger names. Look on top right corner an select Expand. Under the picture you will see underlined words - Select Offers - It will give you a summary of any offers that are included. If the word Offers is not available there are no perks.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Jim_Iain

[Chunky2219]

Celebrity used to honour price drops in the UK, which worked well for me and I saved thousands for the price of a few phone calls. It made it worth booking early.

 

Now..... they've joined the pack and you have to cancel and rebook as I did on our last voyage. A good TA will keep the same cabin for you. At least the lost deposit is smaller, not the 15% that the Carnival brands charge, so with them you're absolutely hog ted. Sooner or later Celebrity will close that loophole as well.

 

No more early booking with Celebrity for me. I'm happy to sit and wait until they blink. Caveat emptor.

 

 

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