Blue chip email? Is it a scam?

[eas2225]

22 hours ago, CarolRoy said:

Are there any cruises out of Bayonne with this offer?

Yes!  We are on the Beyond October 26, 2022, out of Bayonne.

Its 9 nights to Bermuda, Curacao and Bermuda, and we were able to pay to upgrade to Aqua.

 

 

 

 

[CarolRoy]

27 minutes ago, eas2225 said:

Yes!  We are on the Beyond October 26, 2022, out of Bayonne.

Its 9 nights to Bermuda, Curacao and Bermuda, and we were able to pay to upgrade to Aqua.

 

 

 

 

We are on the Oasis out of Bayonne October 23, 2022.  Maybe I can look into other cruises out of Bayonne.  Any suggestions?

[SHIP TRAVELER]

On 9/21/2022 at 4:36 PM, bapaleg said:

What is bbc. This is our first time on celebrity and we got a blue chip offer

For those of us trying "break the code" on this deal, are you a gambler on other cruise lines or land based casinos that might share data to Celebrity?  Just Curious........ and jealous of course.

[bapaleg]

My husband gambles a little on princess cruises but we have never been on celebrity 

[SFCAcruiser]

1 hour ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

For those of us trying "break the code" on this deal, are you a gambler on other cruise lines or land based casinos that might share data to Celebrity?  Just Curious........ and jealous of course.

 

Many of us have stated we are not big gamblers, perhaps gambling <$50 the entire  cruise. The true big gamblers get separate and richer offers from BCC, and those offers have been going on for quite some time and are not what this particular thread is about. 

 

My opinion is that these offers are a form of a clearance sale by X and for whatever reason X has decided to run this sale through BCC, perhaps to protect the price integrity for the published fares? I have inferred that there is no "rhyme or reason" as to who gets the offers. Some of us are E+ and some are new to X. As others have posted: "Go figure". 

[CruiserGrandma2]

We received this offer as well.  I sent it to my TA who checked it out for us.  Legit but only person (my husband ) who got the email could book.  We’ll be on the Infinity in November on an 8 day cruise.  Had to pay port fees and tax for $413.  We were told if we wanted the drink package it would add another $1100 so we opted to just pay as we go. I was given a choice of a few balcony rooms too.  
 

I almost  forgot…neither of us are gamblers.  My husband had one point on a Blue Chip account.  I think he played about $20 on slot machines on our last Celebrity cruise in 2019. 
 

Edited September 24, 2022 by CruiserGrandma2

[CalGal2]

4 minutes ago, CruiserGrandma2 said:

We received this offer as well.  I sent it to my TA who checked it out for us.  Legit but only person (my husband ) who got the email could book.  We’ll be on the Infinity in November on an 8 day cruise.  Had to pay port fees and tax for $413.  We were told if we wanted the drink package it would add another $1100 so we opted to just pay as we go. I was given a choice of a few balcony rooms too.  
 

I almost  forgot…neither of us are gamblers.  My husband had one point on a Blue Chip account.  I think he played about $20 on slot machines on our last Celebrity cruise in 2019. 
 

I looked at that one too, but the return flight for us in the West Coast runs into the start of Thanksgiving travel and didn’t want to risk that. It would still run $2.5 thousand just with tips, flights, hotel pre cruise, airport pkg, and without drinks. So as much as I hate to give up “free” cruise, it’s not worth it for us on West Coast. I was able to book a Mex Riv cruise on an earlier BCC, but we can drive to the port for that. Nice itinerary, just bad timing for us. hopefully another offer will come around for 2023. 

[CalGal2]

On 9/20/2022 at 6:23 PM, read2learn said:

Thanks for the info! Now I'll be up all night searching for a cruise that will fit in my schedule. Let's hope the cruise gods are watching over me!  ☺️

That’s what I did for the last 2 days. But, between the holidays and the air fare, pre-cruise hotel, airport pkng, it just didn’t make sense to try to force this “free” cruise into our schedule. I did call BCC today and asked about the 10 day sailings and he checked my BCC tier , which is Pearl aka “zilch”, he couldn’t offer any “free” 10 day. It breaks my frugal heart to pass on this as well. We did snap up a Mex Riv on a prev BCC email, so we’ll see if others come our way either on the ship or afterwards. I’m going to try to play a min amt each day, to get some free drinks and to see if that helps our cause. 
 

Good luck with your search. 

[mahdnc]

35 minutes ago, CruiserGrandma2 said:

 I think he played about $20 on slot machines on our last Celebrity cruise in 2019. 
 

 

I'd say he hit the jackpot!

[read2learn]

2 hours ago, CalGal2 said:

That’s what I did for the last 2 days. But, between the holidays and the air fare, pre-cruise hotel, airport pkng, it just didn’t make sense to try to force this “free” cruise into our schedule. I did call BCC today and asked about the 10 day sailings and he checked my BCC tier , which is Pearl aka “zilch”, he couldn’t offer any “free” 10 day. It breaks my frugal heart to pass on this as well. We did snap up a Mex Riv on a prev BCC email, so we’ll see if others come our way either on the ship or afterwards. I’m going to try to play a min amt each day, to get some free drinks and to see if that helps our cause. 
 

Good luck with your search. 

I did stay up until  3am checking the cruises and air schedule. I had enough points to get us there and enough Hilton honors for the hotel. Otherwise it may not have been worth it. My tier is also Pearl and i very seldom gamble more than $20 in the casino . Check page 13 of this post #320 and it lists the cruises from the original offer. I asked for one of these and it was available. Good Luck!

[CalGal2]

On 9/24/2022 at 3:50 PM, read2learn said:

I did stay up until  3am checking the cruises and air schedule. I had enough points to get us there and enough Hilton honors for the hotel. Otherwise it may not have been worth it. My tier is also Pearl and i very seldom gamble more than $20 in the casino . Check page 13 of this post #320 and it lists the cruises from the original offer. I asked for one of these and it was available. Good Luck!

Yes, post 320 was the list I was working off of for my research, since my offer only included 1 8 day and all other 3-7 day Caribbean. I did get a very nice BCC rep and he explained that the 10 day cruises were not available for my offer and tier, but he did offer me a BCC discount with an AI pkg, which they won’t allow on a free cruise offer. Still the complexities of air travel so close to Thanksgiving/Christmas for us from the West coast made me decide against it. But it was interesting that the net cost was similar to the “free cruise” with a forced (but very cheap internet and bev pkg add on). Honestly, I think they wing these offers. Some reps say yes, some say no, you can’t pick something else, you can’t change from the Carrib to Mex, etc. And this BCC is all new to me. I will be happy with my Mex Riv sailing coming up, that is bringing me back the the world of cruising after almost 3 years! Glad you were able to take advantage of the second offer. 

[westcoasttech]

With Celebrity, inconsistency is the only consistency!!

 

I got the Mexican offer and booked (7 day for 2023).  It was explained to me that "my" BCC offer meant that Aqua would be a small ($20) per day additional charge - room only (no inclusions), but still a great deal, and I managed to snag an aft-facing Aqua A1 ... so happy dance!

 

Earlier this month very surprised to also receive the Caribbean routes offer (I'm the OP of post #320 with the list of cruises).  Phoned to book and was told "my" BCC offer, this time, covered a E1 (infinite verandah) and that "Aqua upgrades were not available" but I could check back later.  Oh well, still a great deal and I went with an E1.  Out of curiosity, I phoned today to check on possible upgrades to enquire about pricing.  Today I was told that for "my" offer an Aqua would be list price with a discount, that would end up being about $2k.  While I love Blu, it's not worth that much to me!  However, "my" offer did cover Sunset Verandahs, and I managed to get moved to a Sunset Verandah.  (Will be 1st time on E-class and I had been reading up on IVs and was not too sure about them!)  So I am very happy with another aft-facing cabin with a more traditional balcony.

 

I can't help wondering what answer I would get if I called again and spoke to someone else ... but I'm too busy doing another happy dance!

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

1 hour ago, westcoasttech said:

With Celebrity, inconsistency is the only consistency!!

 

I got the Mexican offer and booked (7 day for 2023).  It was explained to me that "my" BCC offer meant that Aqua would be a small ($20) per day additional charge - room only (no inclusions), but still a great deal, and I managed to snag an aft-facing Aqua A1 ... so happy dance!

 

Earlier this month very surprised to also receive the Caribbean routes offer (I'm the OP of post #320 with the list of cruises).  Phoned to book and was told "my" BCC offer, this time, covered a E1 (infinite verandah) and that "Aqua upgrades were not available" but I could check back later.  Oh well, still a great deal and I went with an E1.  Out of curiosity, I phoned today to check on possible upgrades to enquire about pricing.  Today I was told that for "my" offer an Aqua would be list price with a discount, that would end up being about $2k.  While I love Blu, it's not worth that much to me!  However, "my" offer did cover Sunset Verandahs, and I managed to get moved to a Sunset Verandah.  (Will be 1st time on E-class and I had been reading up on IVs and was not too sure about them!)  So I am very happy with another aft-facing cabin with a more traditional balcony.

 

I can't help wondering what answer I would get if I called again and spoke to someone else ... but I'm too busy doing another happy dance!

Also snagged a sunset veranda on Apex for the Caribbean offer. It'll be our first edge class as well!

[ShelleyK]

On 7/29/2022 at 4:38 PM, CaroleSS said:

ok, my first email as well, so I have a ton of questions!

 

I did a mock booking and the cheapest veranda is $799 with taxes, fees and port expenses of $142.42. Does this mean that my cost for the cruise would be $142.42 plus gratuities, drinks, etc?

Is there a single supplement associated with this? If I want to go, I'd have to find someone who wants to go on the cruise and pay full fare, right?

I booked as a solo and only paid the port charges . Go for it! 

[spielerin]

Just booked 2nd offer 10 night Caribbean solo $169

[gold1953]

2 hours ago, spielerin said:

Just booked 2nd offer 10 night Caribbean solo $169

Nice. Easch offer code is different. We could not book a 10 night but both my husband and I got the offer so we booked a B2B

[kelleyd]

On 9/27/2022 at 7:15 PM, westcoasttech said:

With Celebrity, inconsistency is the only consistency!!

 

I got the Mexican offer and booked (7 day for 2023).  It was explained to me that "my" BCC offer meant that Aqua would be a small ($20) per day additional charge - room only (no inclusions), but still a great deal, and I managed to snag an aft-facing Aqua A1 ... so happy dance!

 

Earlier this month very surprised to also receive the Caribbean routes offer (I'm the OP of post #320 with the list of cruises).  Phoned to book and was told "my" BCC offer, this time, covered a E1 (infinite verandah) and that "Aqua upgrades were not available" but I could check back later.  Oh well, still a great deal and I went with an E1.  Out of curiosity, I phoned today to check on possible upgrades to enquire about pricing.  Today I was told that for "my" offer an Aqua would be list price with a discount, that would end up being about $2k.  While I love Blu, it's not worth that much to me!  However, "my" offer did cover Sunset Verandahs, and I managed to get moved to a Sunset Verandah.  (Will be 1st time on E-class and I had been reading up on IVs and was not too sure about them!)  So I am very happy with another aft-facing cabin with a more traditional balcony.

 

I can't help wondering what answer I would get if I called again and spoke to someone else ... but I'm too busy doing another happy dance!

Yes on the inconsistency!  I booked the deluxe verandah and called twice to ask about an "upgrade" to get the rooms closer together, I have two.  Each time was told full rate for anything. 

 

I just called again after noticing 2 connecting sunset cabins available.  According to the agent these were considered the same as the room we already had so no additional dollars.  I am second guessing if I made the right choice, but with my almost 16 year old, the connecting cabins will give me peace.  The other rooms were the extended balcony rooms, floor 7, above the smoking area - which started my investigation into different rooms.

[pellanor]

Did anyone who booked the September 20 Caribbean offer get the follow up September 28 offer?

[seabreeze0389]

Hi.  Did anyone receive the latest BCC offer for a Veranda stateroom plus 50% off a second veranda stateroom?  
 

How does it work for the second stateroom? Thanks. 

[Nic6318]

15 minutes ago, seabreeze0389 said:

Hi.  Did anyone receive the latest BCC offer for a Veranda stateroom plus 50% off a second veranda stateroom?  
 

How does it work for the second stateroom? Thanks. 

 

Hi

 

Just call them or fill out the online form.

If you call, be prepared for a sometimes long wait for them to answer. I have been surprised a few times with them answering within a few minutes.

 

happy sailing

[cruisequeen4ever]

4 hours ago, seabreeze0389 said:

Hi.  Did anyone receive the latest BCC offer for a Veranda stateroom plus 50% off a second veranda stateroom?  
 

How does it work for the second stateroom? Thanks. 

Nope

[eddieg07410]

Definitely not a scam. Booked 11 day cruise on Solstice in December, Paid taxes and port fees. Only problem now is I need to figure out hot to get medical insurance for cruise without needing cruise reimbursement. Book quickly as this is only from October to December and rooms are running out.

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

38 minutes ago, eddieg07410 said:

Only problem now is I need to figure out hot to get medical insurance for cruise without needing cruise reimbursement.

Start here

https://www.insuremytrip.com/travel-insurance-plans/travel-medical/

Several plans that include medical and evacuation only.

[Cruising Cindy Lou]

Was going thru my mail yesterday.  About to throw away a card.  Words Free Veranda caught my eye.  As reading, my hands started shaking, it was for a free cruise.  Filled out the online form.  Will give them 2 days to call.  If no word will call them back.  Hoping we can snag a December cruise.  We will drive to port so no issues.  Seems too good to be true!  Are the ships having issues sailing full now?  We had 3 Celebrity cruises booked thru pandemic.  2 were cancelled and we cancelled the last one.  It has been almost 3 years since we sailed Celebrity.  Maybe a reward for us letting them keep our money for 2 years, haha. I will take it. 

[Nic6318]

12 minutes ago, Cruising Cindy Lou said:

Was going thru my mail yesterday.  About to throw away a card.  Words Free Veranda caught my eye.  As reading, my hands started shaking, it was for a free cruise.  Filled out the online form.  Will give them 2 days to call.  If no word will call them back.  Hoping we can snag a December cruise.  We will drive to port so no issues.  Seems too good to be true!  Are the ships having issues sailing full now?  We had 3 Celebrity cruises booked thru pandemic.  2 were cancelled and we cancelled the last one.  It has been almost 3 years since we sailed Celebrity.  Maybe a reward for us letting them keep our money for 2 years, haha. I will take it. 

 

Hi

 

If you have the time in case of a possible long wait on the phone (I just put the phone on speaker and go about things I need to do around the house), give them a call. That way everything if finalized right away. You will know the ship, sailing, cabin number, exact cost, everything done.

 

good luck 

happy sailing