The Perks that aren't

[onyourmark]

Pricing an 11 day cruise this afternoon

Total without Perks $3,241 for 2 in Concierge balcony.

Option to add 2 perks - Sail Plus: $341 per person ($682 for 2) for a total $3,922

Selected perks:

1. $150 per person OBC = $300 for the cabin

2. Prepaid Tips for 2 - $330 for the cabin

Total "2 Perks - Sail Plus" value $630, costing me $682.

Celebrity is bold enough to state regarding the final quesion: "Pay Gratuities before the cruise"

"Already included in the 2 Perks - Sail Plus package. You saved $330.00 USD"

Did I really SAVE $330 USD?  

Gross misrepresentation in my opinion.  Stay away from Perks scams.

 

 

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

It's always wise to do the math.

[hcat]

How can they say you saved...when the cost is  actually more than the value??

Glad my dh does the math!

[jelayne]

41 minutes ago, onyourmark said:

Pricing an 11 day cruise this afternoon

Total without Perks $3,241 for 2 in Concierge balcony.

Option to add 2 perks - Sail Plus: $341 per person ($682 for 2) for a total $3,922

Selected perks:

1. $150 per person OBC = $300 for the cabin

2. Prepaid Tips for 2 - $330 for the cabin

Total "2 Perks - Sail Plus" value $630, costing me $682.

Celebrity is bold enough to state regarding the final quesion: "Pay Gratuities before the cruise"

"Already included in the 2 Perks - Sail Plus package. You saved $330.00 USD"

Did I really SAVE $330 USD?  

Gross misrepresentation in my opinion.  Stay away from Perks scams.

 

 

I was looking at an 11 night and the cost to add 2 perks was $330pp.  Prepaid gratuities  and unlimited internet  are a savings but gratuity and OBC aren’t.  On cruises over 10 days OBC has always had the least value assuming one wants the internet.  

[hcat]

But for us we get sufficient  internet minutes with E plus...

Won't pay  extra for  Classic alc so not much else to choose.

Main thing for us is a Refundable Deposit..Can we pick that option with no perks?  Or just one?

 

X reps and trvl agents will be going nuts with so many options to explain and price out for clients,

[jelayne]

I have noticed for some cruises farther out like the Jan 2021 Panama Canal the price with refundable deposit doesn’t include perks. It does have $200 OBC for tge Sale Now prom.  
I just booked a cruise with a non-refundable deposit and it had perks.  We only book cruises we plan to take.  For the cruise we just booked the difference between the refundable and non-refundable was $1000.  Should we have to cancel $700 of the deposit goes as a credit on a future booking  (within 12 months) and we lose $200 which our travel insurance would cover.  
So it doesn’t seem that non-refundable  always is  no perks and refundable has perks

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, onyourmark said:

"Already included in the 2 Perks - Sail Plus package. You saved $330.00 USD"

Did I really SAVE $330 USD?

Computers don't thinks like people. They see that you had gratuities as one of your perks and consequently you are saving $330 on this one line item. No one has programmed it to "think" outside of the little box called Gratuities.

 

Unfortunately, booking a cruise nowadays necessities all of us making these types of calculations if we are to find the best price.  Hopefully, Celebrity will realize in time that we aren't about to pay an extra $52 and rethink its perks strategy. 

[drakes2]

2 hours ago, onyourmark said:

Pricing an 11 day cruise this afternoon

Total without Perks $3,241 for 2 in Concierge balcony.

Option to add 2 perks - Sail Plus: $341 per person ($682 for 2) for a total $3,922

Selected perks:

1. $150 per person OBC = $300 for the cabin

2. Prepaid Tips for 2 - $330 for the cabin

Total "2 Perks - Sail Plus" value $630, costing me $682.

Celebrity is bold enough to state regarding the final quesion: "Pay Gratuities before the cruise"

"Already included in the 2 Perks - Sail Plus package. You saved $330.00 USD"

Did I really SAVE $330 USD?  

Gross misrepresentation in my opinion.  Stay away from Perks scams.

 

 

I just got off the equinox last friday. I got a better perks booking my upcoming cruise with celebrity then booking onboard. They offered 150 obc for verandah cabin and would put your name in a draw for a free bottle of wine. What a joke. My TA gave me 2 bottles of wine and 200 obc for the same cabin location. 

[hcat]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

I have noticed for some cruises farther out like the Jan 2021 Panama Canal the price with refundable deposit doesn’t include perks. It does have $200 OBC for tge Sale Now prom.  
I just booked a cruise with a non-refundable deposit and it had perks.  We only book cruises we plan to take.  For the cruise we just booked the difference between the refundable and non-refundable was $1000.  Should we have to cancel $700 of the deposit goes as a credit on a future booking  (within 12 months) and we lose $200 which our travel insurance would cover.  
So it doesn’t seem that non-refundable  always is  no perks and refundable has perks

Wow..very  confusing to say the least.. Do you buy cancel any reason insurance?

We plan to cruise on whatever we book but life has its ups and downs!  

 

X has too many variables which is not a good thing combined with a terrible  website.  Glad we are booked through Jan 2021...and hoping for  good luck in the next booking period.

[NantahalaCruiser]

1 hour ago, drakes2 said:

I just got off the equinox last friday. I got a better perks booking my upcoming cruise with celebrity then booking onboard. They offered 150 obc for verandah cabin and would put your name in a draw for a free bottle of wine. What a joke. My TA gave me 2 bottles of wine and 200 obc for the same cabin location. 

Couldn't you have gotten both the $150 on-board booking bonus OBC and your TA's 2 bottles and $200 OBC by first booking on board and second transferring the reservation to your TA?

[wrk2cruise]

3 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

Couldn't you have gotten both the $150 on-board booking bonus OBC and your TA's 2 bottles and $200 OBC by first booking on board and second transferring the reservation to your TA?

 

Yes

[wrk2cruise]

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

I have noticed for some cruises farther out like the Jan 2021 Panama Canal the price with refundable deposit doesn’t include perks. It does have $200 OBC for tge Sale Now prom.  
I just booked a cruise with a non-refundable deposit and it had perks.  We only book cruises we plan to take.  For the cruise we just booked the difference between the refundable and non-refundable was $1000.  Should we have to cancel $700 of the deposit goes as a credit on a future booking  (within 12 months) and we lose $200 which our travel insurance would cover.  
So it doesn’t seem that non-refundable  always is  no perks and refundable has perks

 

I know you had a thread on non refundable deposits and my understanding of how that works if you canceled is in line with what you posted here.  Did you ever get an explanation of why the penalty schedule shown on the website is 25% the day after booking?

 

Also I believe you can get no perks with refundable deposit.  It's shown as "Price Rate" in the list below.  These are the price codes for the Jan 2021 Constellation Panama Canal Cruise C2 cabin shown on one of the large on-line TA sites. So the difference in NRD and Refundable deposit is $241.

 

 

 

[drakes2]

54 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

Couldn't you have gotten both the $150 on-board booking bonus OBC and your TA's 2 bottles and $200 OBC by first booking on board and second transferring the reservation to your TA?

I would have had to cancel and rebook and it was a non refundable deposit so didn't make financial sense. The onboard agents really go by the book.  Celebrity is just not going to give you something for nothing. The wine on the other hand sells for $70  a bottle in the DR so I'm happy.  I am an extremely pick wine snob.

[calicakes]

2 hours ago, drakes2 said:

I just got off the equinox last friday. I got a better perks booking my upcoming cruise with celebrity then booking onboard. They offered 150 obc for verandah cabin and would put your name in a draw for a free bottle of wine. What a joke. My TA gave me 2 bottles of wine and 200 obc for the same cabin location. 

I booked while on the equinox too.  Then I had it transferred to my TA.  X gave me 200 OBC and my TA gave me an extra 200 OBC, plus I got 300 OBC as part of the perk. 

[Fouremco]

36 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I would have had to cancel and rebook and it was a non refundable deposit so didn't make financial sense. The onboard agents really go by the book.  Celebrity is just not going to give you something for nothing. The wine on the other hand sells for $70  a bottle in the DR so I'm happy.  I am an extremely pick wine snob.

Why would you have had to cancel and rebook? A booking made with Celebrity, whether aboard or not, can be transferred to a TA as is, and the TA is free to add perks on top of those already provided by Celebrity.

[jelayne]

4 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

I know you had a thread on non refundable deposits and my understanding of how that works if you canceled is in line with what you posted here.  Did you ever get an explanation of why the penalty schedule shown on the website is 25% the day after booking?

 

Also I believe you can get no perks with refundable deposit.  It's shown as "Price Rate" in the list below.  These are the price codes for the Jan 2021 Constellation Panama Canal Cruise C2 cabin shown on one of the large on-line TA sites. So the difference in NRD and Refundable deposit is $241.

 

 

 

According to the rep I spoke with at X the  date that shows when you click on the Cancellation fees on the X website  isn’ t accurate and the the 25% kicks in when final payment occurs, and the booking confirmation shows the correct date.  

The prices you show above  from a particular TAs website and some of the prices are not visible when you book on-line with Celebrity or a number of the other large on-line TAs. The difference for the above is $241 pp so a difference of $482.

For the Cruise I booked, with the TA whose prices you quoted, the difference between the refundable and non- refundable was $1000 ($500 pp) and the perks were the same.

 We have a annual travel insurance policy that covers a cancellation for the standard reasons; death or serious illness of family member, accident, hospitalized, etc.  the which are the only reasons we would cancel.

[hcat]

10 hours ago, calicakes said:

I booked while on the equinox too.  Then I had it transferred to my TA.  X gave me 200 OBC and my TA gave me an extra 200 OBC, plus I got 300 OBC as part of the perk. 

Lots of OBC...that's great. Can it be used to pre book excursions, spa, extra dining?

Is any of it non refundable?

[drakes2]

10 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Why would you have had to cancel and rebook? A booking made with Celebrity, whether aboard or not, can be transferred to a TA as is, and the TA is free to add perks on top of those already provided by Celebrity.

The Celebrity rep at the future cruise desk said the deposit was non refundable and I would lose my deposit for my Mediterranean cruise next May. She was not the most helpful or knowledgeable IMO.  For the meager amount offered in OBC I just left it as is. I was also told the transfer has to be done within 60 days of booking. 

[Baron Barracuda]

If you're willing to take chance fares don't increase over time why not just book refundable and  just before fp date cancel and re-book non-refundable at lower price?

[calicakes]

5 hours ago, hcat said:

Lots of OBC...that's great. Can it be used to pre book excursions, spa, extra dining?

Is any of it non refundable?

Probably the OBC from the cruise line.  This is what I actually received. 

 

1) Premium Beverage Package for two 2) Prepaid Gratuities for two 3) Unlimited Internet 4) $300.00 Onboard Credit  5) $200.00 Onboard Credit  6) $350.00 Onboard Credit  

All Onboard Credit is Per Cabin, Unless Otherwise Noted.

Shipboard credit may be used as a substitute for any perk listed and will be at least equal to the original perk's value.
Sailings starting in Australia may have shipboard credit delivered in AUD, instead of USD; subject to terms and conditions of the cruise line.

*Please see General Terms and Conditions, section(s) “Amenities/Perks/Gifts" for additional information.

[NoWhiners]

These are interesting comments. We booked Silhouette for Jan 2021, for Antarctica, 14 days. We used a big box agency (located in Kirkland WA). We got a sunset veranda and all 4 perks, including the premium bev package, and a refundable deposit. The cost was $1K more than the cruise without perks, BUT we will get a $1K cash card from them after we complete the cruise. So, for us, this worked very well. 

 

Yes, I would have preferred to have the actual cash, but we go to bosco (my fake name for the place) every week, so we will have no problem using the cash card.

 

I am somewhat mystified by Xs refund policy, and why they make it so complex. I realize other lines also do weird things with refundable/non-refundable deposits and I don't get them either. We have been lucky so far and all the cruises we booked have had refundable deposits.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I guess we're all fortunate to had the sales in the past that we did.  I remember paying $1,750 each in  2016 for an 8 night repo from San Juan in Aqua, which included all 4 perks.  Even just last year, $650 each, for a 4 night Bahamas in Aqua, which included 2 perks.  People complained that you were paying for the perks in the price, I don't think so, but true today...

[Mynki]

4 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

I guess we're all fortunate to had the sales in the past that we did.  I remember paying $1,750 each in  2016 for an 8 night repo from San Juan in Aqua, which included all 4 perks.  Even just last year, $650 each, for a 4 night Bahamas in Aqua, which included 2 perks.  People complained that you were paying for the perks in the price, I don't think so, but true today...

 

When hurricane Irma smacked Puerto Rico and many cancelled their Summit sailings we got an 11 night concierge class room including classic drinks package for £451. We then booked the following 10 night sailing as a back to back and payed £501 for the second cruise also with a classic beverage package included and before back to back discount was applied. This happened as the prices crashed when Celebrity UK had a £900 off numerous sailings applied sale. 

When you calculate the cost of the beverage package the cruises were pretty much free. I wouldn't expect to see prices like that without a significant 'event' of some kind but I agree with what you're saying. 

[Redtravel]

There were some really great deals years ago.  There were times when booking with perks was actually less than booking cruise only. Sounds crazy.  There were deals offered to promote bookings. My TA is good at finding excellent deals.  We have booked some future cruises onboard. There were some good prices.  After transferring the booking to my TA, he often offered a better price.  Always do the math. Do not just assume that booking onboard is your best bet.  

[GerScot]

How do you physically transfer an onboard booking to a TA?