Speciality Restaurant discount not applied

[ohiojohn]

I am now currently on the Apex and this is the last day.  We booked Eden for 2 nights and the experience and food was excellent.  The Eden reservations were booked about 10 months ago.  So I went down to the Captain’s Club office to have my 15% Captains Club discount applied.  They said NO discount is available.  Celebrity said I booked the Eden at a promotional price before the price increase, therefore no discount is applied.  Of course I did not book at a promotional price. I recall the price had been $55 for the last 2 years.  Now this surprise result really does not impact me financially but somehow it does not sit well.  I good portion of our OBC was transferred to our service staff anyway.

I do read Cruise Critic, maybe I missed this change being discussed already.

 

[Arizona Wildcat]

8 minutes ago, ohiojohn said:

I am now currently on the Apex and this is the last day.  We booked Eden for 2 nights and the experience and food was excellent.  The Eden reservations were booked about 10 months ago.  So I went down to the Captain’s Club office to have my 15% Captains Club discount applied.  They said NO discount is available.  Celebrity said I booked the Eden at a promotional price before the price increase, therefore no discount is applied.  Of course I did not book at a promotional price. I recall the price had been $55 for the last 2 years.  Now this surprise result really does not impact me financially but somehow it does not sit well.  I good portion of our OBC was transferred to our service staff anyway.

I do read Cruise Critic, maybe I missed this change being discussed already.

 

You answered your own question.  The Captain's Club discount cannot be combined with most other discounts.  

[jelayne]

If you book ahead of time I have found it difficult, to impossible to get the Captain Club discount once on board.

Some have reported the CC Hostess/Host applied it, other Guest Services, others the MaitreD and others that there was a table near Guest Service where they processed the discount.

 

None of these has worked for us.  When we wait to book until on the ship we get the discount otherwise only once and the effort to get the discount wasn’t worth the $ saved.

[ohiojohn]

1 minute ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

You answered your own question.  The Captain's Club discount cannot be combined with most other discounts.  

So you think a price that was in effect for at least 2 years is a promotional price.  

[ohiojohn]

1 minute ago, jelayne said:

If you book ahead of time I have found it difficult, to impossible to get the Captain Club discount once on board.

Some have reported the CC Hostess/Host applied it, other Guest Services, others the MaitreD and others that there was a table near Guest Service where they processed the discount.

 

None of these has worked for us.  When we wait to book until on the ship we get the discount otherwise only once and the effort to get the discount wasn’t worth the $ saved.

Thanks for your response. I agree it is a hassle and most times the discount is not worth the effort.  I guess we were luckily last years discount was applied.  Again not a lot of money involved.

[phoenix_dream]

We have never had an issue getting our Captain's Club discount applied after the fact while onboard, in the specialty restaurant.   On occasion the waiter has been a bit confused how to do it, but we always get it applied.  However, if there was already a discount applied we never tried to get an additional CC discount.  

[Islander500]

Agree that it’s a hassle. We booked Murano on the ship with the Maitre D, and presented our seapass card with our Elite + designation.  He confirmed it would be discounted 15%.  On our on-Board account, we were charged the full price. That annoyance and the fact that we had to reserve a bit later than our preferred time for dinner (at Blu), we cancelled. It shouldn’t be that hard to get the loyalty benefit they promised and beautifully presented in a pre-printed card we found in our stateroom 

[LGW59]

8 minutes ago, Islander500 said:

Agree that it’s a hassle. We booked Murano on the ship with the Maitre D, and presented our seapass card with our Elite + designation.  He confirmed it would be discounted 15%.  On our on-Board account, we were charged the full price. That annoyance and the fact that we had to reserve a bit later than our preferred time for dinner (at Blu), we cancelled. It shouldn’t be that hard to get the loyalty benefit they promised and beautifully presented in a pre-printed card we found in our stateroom 

Did they correct it for you?

 

[tschwa2]

6 hours ago, ohiojohn said:

I am now currently on the Apex and this is the last day.  We booked Eden for 2 nights and the experience and food was excellent.  The Eden reservations were booked about 10 months ago.  So I went down to the Captain’s Club office to have my 15% Captains Club discount applied.  They said NO discount is available.  Celebrity said I booked the Eden at a promotional price before the price increase, therefore no discount is applied.  Of course I did not book at a promotional price. I recall the price had been $55 for the last 2 years.  Now this surprise result really does not impact me financially but somehow it does not sit well.  I good portion of our OBC was transferred to our service staff anyway.

I do read Cruise Critic, maybe I missed this change being discussed already.

 

Typically if you book pre cruise it is usually a 7-10% discount that is considered a promotional price.  If you wait and book it on the ship it is slightly higher but then the 15% discount would apply.  I believe the regular Eden rate is $65.

 

Edited January 20, 2023 by tschwa2

[hrhdhd]

I had a promotional price and got the Elite Plus discount by speaking with the Captain's Club host onboard. There's no perk if it can't be stacked.

[phoenix_dream]

5 hours ago, Islander500 said:

Agree that it’s a hassle. We booked Murano on the ship with the Maitre D, and presented our seapass card with our Elite + designation.  He confirmed it would be discounted 15%.  On our on-Board account, we were charged the full price. That annoyance and the fact that we had to reserve a bit later than our preferred time for dinner (at Blu), we cancelled. It shouldn’t be that hard to get the loyalty benefit they promised and beautifully presented in a pre-printed card we found in our stateroom 

Were you charged the full price on the form you signed?  They should have changed it before you signed.

[Lastdance]

I have never been able to get a discount either, but have been told over and over again just to go to Guest Services and they will handle it. They have trained many of us not to bother, I guess.  I never book it as part of a package discount either, as I want a certain time for my reservations.  Whether or not I try again for my next cruise depends on whether I choose to go through the aggravation or not.  My OBC is usually incorrect, so that alone is a hassle in itself, even though I have my hard copies. My TA and I laugh about this, as she always sends me an email to see what they have done this time!

[WonderMan3]

I normally don't book specialties in advance since I stay in suites and getting a reservation isn't usually a problem onboard. I did do it with Edge because it was a new ship at the time and I worried about specialties filling up. When I got onboard I had to go to the Retreat Concierge to have the Elite discount applied. Even with her taking that action one of the restaurants still failed to apply it and when I went back to the Concierge to get it fixed at the end of the cruise she was livid and gave a talking to over the phone to the restaurant manager. This is a very common problem which Celebrity needs to fix.

[ohiojohn]

Thanks everyone for your comments.  My only purpose to post this was to make people aware that if you received a promotional price for booking a speciality restaurant then you would not receive the Captains Club discount, which seems logically.  But what surprised me was I believed I did not receive a promotional price.  The small discount not received did not impact my wonderful cruise.  The staff of Apex have been wonderful.

[RichYak]

9 hours ago, ohiojohn said:

I recall the price had been $55 for the last 2 years.

FWIW, that's not my recollection. I think all specialties went up in price (plus gratuities added) about 6 months ago. Others will correct me if I'm wrong.

[Judge56]

If you paid $55, that less than the cost with the 15% discount.  With the 15% discount, it cost approximately $60 on the Apex this week.