Booking future cruises on-ship?

[Waywardspirit]

I think I read somewhere you can book future cruises while on-board, and get a good deal.  Are the deals really that good or are they counting on the fact that they have a confined audience under the effects of alcohol?

[omeinv]

What you get is additional on board credit you can't get any other way, and a reduced deposit ($100.00 per person, rather than $450.00 per person is usual).  The base price will be exactly the same as anywhere else.

 

The additional on board credit varies depending on the length of the cruise booked, and a the category of the booked room.  You will have the choice of getting the OBC applied to the cruise you book, or the cruise you're on.  If you apply it to the cruise you're on, the deposit you place becomes non-refundable, since the cruise line has already given a benefit to you.

 

The default is any cruise you book on board will be assigned to the same travel agency that handled the cruise you are on.  If you DO NOT want that, make certain they book it direct to Celebrity.  You then have either 60 days, or until the final payment date, to transfer the booking to the agency of your choice.  A lot of folks do this, to then get home and shop for the agency that offers the best additional perks.  Of course if you are happy with any travel agent that booked your current trip, the default works fine.

 

A booking you make on board will have a booking number assigned to it.  If your plans change, before final payment, you change that booking number to a new cruise, and then your book-aboard OBC will remain, so you never "cancel" a cruise booked aboard, unless you decide you're never going to cruise Celebrity again. 

 

You can also book Royal Caribbean and Azamara cruises on board, but those bookings will be solely for those lines, you can't switch them later to Celebrity.

 

If you have friends wanting to travel on a future cruise with you that are not on the cruise where you are booking, you can book aboard for them, getting them the OBC and reduced deposit.  However, you can only book someone not present for a cruise you yourself are booking, or have booked. 

 

They also offer a "Cruise Later" certificate, which is in essence an open booking.  you have a reservation number that never expires, that you can eventually apply to a cruise.  These don't offer quite as good a benefit, so it's to your advantage to book a "real" cruise, quite far out on the schedule, then change the booking to a cruise you want when you decide.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

 

 

 

 

[Scotswoman]

Is the OBC compatible with Shareholder Credit? Or does that get deducted?

Morven

[omeinv]

For Shareholder credit to apply, you have to be booked with no other perks whatsoever.   These "perks" include any package (e.g. Go Big, Better, Best etc.) and anything like a senior or resident discount, and Xciting deals (last minute bookings).  That being said, the last I knew, if the shareholder credit otherwise applies to your cruise, the book-aboard OBC will combine with it.  However, It's been years since I owned stock, so you'd definitely want to check with the Shareholder Benefit Team for a definitive and current answer.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[Scotswoman]

Thanks for this information! 

Morven

[wrk2cruise]

3 hours ago, omeinv said:

For Shareholder credit to apply, you have to be booked with no other perks whatsoever.   These "perks" include any package (e.g. Go Big, Better, Best etc.) and anything like a senior or resident discount, and Xciting deals (last minute bookings).  That being said, the last I knew, if the shareholder credit otherwise applies to your cruise, the book-aboard OBC will combine with it.  However, It's been years since I owned stock, so you'd definitely want to check with the Shareholder Benefit Team for a definitive and current answer.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

No unfortunately Shareholder Credit doesn't combine with any other Celebrity perk like the book on-board credit.  That said it's always advised to send it in and let them deny it as occasionally they let it go through.

[ghstudio]

rule number 1:  If you have 100 shares of RCL stock, apply for the credit ON EVERY CRUISE.  Let them determine if you should get it or not.  I've spoken to many frequent cruisers and every so often, for whatever reason, they get the credit.  In our case, we just completed a TA with no benefits from Celebrity, only from our TA.  We received a $250 stockholder credit.

[NantahalaCruiser]

8 hours ago, omeinv said:

What you get is additional on board credit you can't get any other way, and a reduced deposit ($100.00 per person, rather than $450.00 per person is usual).  The base price will be exactly the same as anywhere else.

 

The additional on board credit varies depending on the length of the cruise booked, and a the category of the booked room.  You will have the choice of getting the OBC applied to the cruise you book, or the cruise you're on.  If you apply it to the cruise you're on, the deposit you place becomes non-refundable, since the cruise line has already given a benefit to you.

 

The default is any cruise you book on board will be assigned to the same travel agency that handled the cruise you are on.  If you DO NOT want that, make certain they book it direct to Celebrity.  You then have either 60 days, or until the final payment date, to transfer the booking to the agency of your choice.  A lot of folks do this, to then get home and shop for the agency that offers the best additional perks.  Of course if you are happy with any travel agent that booked your current trip, the default works fine.

 

A booking you make on board will have a booking number assigned to it.  If your plans change, before final payment, you change that booking number to a new cruise, and then your book-aboard OBC will remain, so you never "cancel" a cruise booked aboard, unless you decide you're never going to cruise Celebrity again. 

 

You can also book Royal Caribbean and Azamara cruises on board, but those bookings will be solely for those lines, you can't switch them later to Celebrity.

 

If you have friends wanting to travel on a future cruise with you that are not on the cruise where you are booking, you can book aboard for them, getting them the OBC and reduced deposit.  However, you can only book someone not present for a cruise you yourself are booking, or have booked. 

 

They also offer a "Cruise Later" certificate, which is in essence an open booking.  you have a reservation number that never expires, that you can eventually apply to a cruise.  These don't offer quite as good a benefit, so it's to your advantage to book a "real" cruise, quite far out on the schedule, then change the booking to a cruise you want when you decide.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

Great summary - In addition, occasionally on-board booking offers 2 perks for certain cabin classes for certain departure dates while on-land booking is only offering 1 perk.

 

If you are considering booking a Royal Caribbean or Azamara cruise while on board a Celebrity ship, then research those cruises before boarding since Celebrity's future cruise agents are generally not that knowledgeable about their sister lines.

[Dimarie40]

We recently booked a future  cruise while onboard.  We were able to book a concierge cabin for cheaper than a regular veranda.  It included gratuities, a classic drinks package each, wifi and $100 USD pp OBC.  It was too good to pass up. 

 

$100 pp deposit each which is fully cancellable and transferable. 

[newfiegirl4]

Hi, I have a question,

I'm sailing on the Infinity later this month and I already have another cruise booked for March on the Reflection(10 nights). I'm wondering, if that's already booked with a TA, with an OV, would it be better to cancel booking and rebook onboard with the supposedly better perks? Possibly moving to a better category (veranda)? We have the 2 perks already, classic beverage pkg and a $300 OBC. 

Hope I made sense in explaining...lol

Thanks,

Catherine

[omeinv]

You did make sense.  You'd likely be better leaving things alone.

 

When you booked, you got the two perks.  If you cancel and re-book now, you'd only get one (presumably you'd select the drink package, giving up the $300.00 OBC).  You would gain $150.00 in OBC for booking on board.  Your net loss would thus be $150.00 in OBC. 

 

Now, all that being said, you may be better off, if the overall goal is to move up.  The prices while they have the two-perk offer are generally higher than when it's not running.  It may be that your overall package (price, perks, and book-aboard OBC) may be more appealing to you.  I would definitely recommend you bring your confirmation statement with you on the cruise, so they can evaluate what you have against what you want.

 

Harris

Denver, CO