Anyone else get Sales Call from X..

[hcat]

Just  had a cell phone   message from a Celebrity Cruise Planner looking to sell!  She was aware of our Future Cruise Credit...not wasting any time! Guess they will aggressively pursue folks to use up their credits soon.. We are not planning to use ours until 2021. .

 

Kind of premature and in  poor taste ...esp since the monetary refund part of our cancellation did not  hit our card yet!

 

She also pronounced herself our "Assigned Cruise Planner"...That's not our  choice or request.  We book with whoever answers the phone when we call.  

 

Has amyone else received similar calls?

Edited March 19, 2020 by hcat

[Hawkstar33]

Nope       I'm still waiting for my TA to send my cancellation paperwork.   I'd like to see what we are ending up with, and how it is to be used etc. We had to cancel the night before the shutdown  

[molemaui]

I was fortunate enough to compete my two cruises on 3/1. 

 

On Tuesday, (3/17) I received a sales call from Celebrity. It was from the same person who calls me periodically even though I don't book directly with Celebrity. For the FIRST time, he was not pushy, just asked basic questions and offered his assistance if and when we're ready. I was amazed, at this change in sales tactics. 

 

Also, usually receive 10-15 cruise brochures per week from virtually everyone. Since March 8, we've received none. Our mailman must be so happy. 

 

[niakwa]

I tried to see if could get a deal on the May 8,2021 Norway cruise (we are scheduled for the May 9, 2010 Norway cruise) but would have cost me $450 more than what I paid for the May 9 cruise.

 

Would have thought they would at least match price and perks so that they could keep my cash. Guess need to wait till they cancel and the decide on cash refund or 125% FCC

 

[Covepointcruiser]

We have never received a call from Celebrity and we have been cruising with them since 2000.   We have a very good travel agent if that is an issue.

[DC1979]

Yes.  I booked a cruise for December after cancelling my cruise for March 14.  I received a call from the PCC to schedule my flights through Celebrity.  Considering the current meltdown I’m pretty sure current airline schedules mean nothing.  I refuse to book until things settle down.  I did think the timing was weird.  Seemed a little tone deaf considering all that is happening right now.  

[deliver42]

I wold book on either X or Royal, but their prices are insane right now You would think that they would have REAL offers to get people to turn over their cash to them, but what do I know? The powers to be get paid millions to get as much money as they can from passengers. Well, right now, count me out.

[molemaui]

Once things "normalize", (the new normal) I predict pricing to be at or near current high levels. There will be pent up demand as well. A few months out, I predict deals or falling prices-whatever you want to call them. 

 

We are fortunate as we rarely book a cruise that is more than 90 days out. Once things are back up again, we will monitor pricing and jump back in hopefully in a better time. My real fear is timeframes will be pushed out far more than anticipated. Cruising in September may be ambitious but I hope I'm wrong. 

[Doubt It]

"Pent up demand".

 

Not sure about that. With the stock market losses and employment losses - is it logical to assume the same number of people as before will be booking pricey cruises?  I would expect some people will cruise, but likely less per year.

 

I do not have as much $ as before, I most certainly do not plan any cruises for the foreseeable future. All vacation travel is cancelled other than vacations I can drive to in my fab new vehicle bought earlier.

 

Cruising just has too many risks and hassels with the air, cruise ship and product deterioration on both.

 

Moving on and that was before the virus.

[NMTraveller]

Most of my junk mail is from the cruise lines....

[julia]

Srsly???  There are TA's still on 2-hour holds trying to get through to Celebrity to service existing bookings!  This is just ridiculous....

[zitsky]

@julia what else can you do stuck at home except book more cruises?

[molemaui]

2 hours ago, Doubt It said:

"Pent up demand"

 

Cruising just has too many risks and hassels with the air, cruise ship and product deterioration on both.

 

Moving on and that was before the virus.

 

The "pent up demand" I refer to is the many thousands that have credits from cruises either cancelled by the passenger or cruise line. These 125% credits in many cases will not buy you the same cabin on the same cruise in the future given the prices now showing. As the credits are only good for a year I believe, there will be an artificial demand for many cruises. When and perhaps only when ships are half to three quarters full (or even less) will we see pricing return to levels we're used to. 

 

[Doubt It]

molemaui, thanks for clarification - and I agree with you.

 

The FCC will not purchase an equivalent product - it will be a lesser product.

 

Get the cash and then evaluate future travel options out there - it is not necessary to stick to cruising - there is an amazing world of escorted tours, driving vacations etc - with significantly less density impact.  

 

Having expanded beyond cruising to high end escorted tours - has totally been uplifting and shown me parts of the world I never would have seen if I only focused on cruising.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[molemaui]

1 hour ago, Doubt It said:

 

Having expanded beyond cruising to high end escorted tours - has totally been uplifting and shown me parts of the world I never would have seen if I only focused on cruising.

 

 

Absolutely. Have a Tauck tour scheduled now which I may unfortunately have to cancel. I've always felt that cruising is a no brainer for relaxing and scratching the surface of places you want to dive in deeper. 

 

I believe that even Tauck's small group tours are 24. Have done 16 or less and those are great. But....I will include cruising when and if everything returns!

 

Edited March 20, 2020 by molemaui
quote didn't come out correctly

[ohiojohn]

Yes earlier this week I was contacted by my Celebrity cruise planner.  I am lucky I have a very seasoned professional, who has handled all my cruises including 3 future cruises.  Unfortunately our next cruise is to Alaska May 29.  We discussed the potential strategies if the cruise got cancelled.  After the call was completed, I felt better he contacted me during this cruise industry situation.  I never thought our discussion was a marketing call, initiated by Celebrity.

[hcat]

Interesting,  our was def marketing as we do not have an assigned Cruise Planner,  and did not request one.

 

The person who left  the phone mesage followed up with an e mail. Maybe we'll write back and see if she can shake our  credit card refunds loose. 

 

  Basically,  she seems anxious to help us burn up our FCC.  We already have a plan to apply it to  an already booked cruise in 2021, so we do not need help with that.

[hcat]

Yet another sales call for us.

 

This message was about booking airline res for our Jan 2021 Constellation cruise.  Are they for real? Last thing on our minds right now.

 

They should devote  all their efforts to processing refunds back to credit cards  and announcing the next  group of canelled cruises.  That would be helpful.

[Nymich]

2 hours ago, hcat said:

 

 

They should devote  all their efforts to processing refunds back to credit cards  and announcing the next  group of canelled cruises.  That would be helpful.

Good point.  They all made another colossal mistake in selling cruises for mid April.  Tell me what Country is waiting with open arms for any cruise ship?  So now we will see more cancellations and more tied up phone lines.  The cruise lines put a self inflicted beating on themselves by having such a short delay.

[zitsky]

I question the judgment of any pax buying a cruise for next month.

[molemaui]

Almost a waste of time to go to the mailbox. Only gotten 2 cruise brochures this week and one of them was a postcard! 

[hcat]

Still getting a few brochures by mail but  they are not flooding the mailbox anymore.

Maybe some of these were  already in process

[hcat]

Today we received an enticing  e mail cruise ad...I replied  that we are still looking forward to our credit card refunds rather than a new booking.

 

Mixed messages! 

How about something from LLP of a resassuring nature???

[OuiOnboard]

Have never received copious brochures, calls, etc. from Celebrity, but I'm easy. If they institute a  CC level between Elite+ and Zenith  with unlimited internet (for DW), I'm sure that I can sell her on a few months of cruising in 2021. Come on LLP...reel in the fish that are already on the line.

 

[hcat]

Received a post card today...they are trying to reel in the fish with the Cruise With Confidence Offer,. Hurry, offer expires Aptil 15th

 

We are going to pass for now!

Edited April 9, 2020 by hcat