Booking while on board Worth It?

[sherbear850]

Has anyone booked a future cruise while on board? We are going to be on summit this October and are thinking of doing Hawaii on Edge next September and wondered if there is any advantage to wait to book then?

[Honolulu Blue]

49 minutes ago, sherbear850 said:

Has anyone booked a future cruise while on board? We are going to be on summit this October and are thinking of doing Hawaii on Edge next September and wondered if there is any advantage to wait to book then?

I'm going to tell a very special story about booking onboard that's going to apply to only a few other people, for reasons you're about to find out.

 

A bit over a year ago, the charter cruise I was on (on the Celebrity Summit) offered future bookings for that cruise and a few others the charter company was offering.  This is unlike the regular future cruise desk on ordinary Celebrity cruises, where you can pick from any Celebrity cruise that's offered at the time EXCEPT the charters.

 

Anyway, I saw these ladies and I was hooked.  I was waving my credit card to everyone in sight begging someone to take my $$$ for the next edition of the same cruise:

 

OK, so I exaggerated slightly.  I waited until the next morning to book. 😆

 

For my particular booking there were some advantages - I could book the same cabin if I wanted, I would have first dibs on any available cabins if I wanted to move around, the deposit was lower, and there was a live rep to talk to or answer any questions I had.  Your experience with a Celebrity future cruise rep will be different, as I'm sure other, more experienced posters will soon tell you.

 

P.S.  I think the Summit is a very nice ship.

Edited June 6, 2023 by Honolulu Blue

[Newbury newbie]

There is advantage in booking future cruises on board. One perk is that they’ll usually give you some OBC to use on your current cruise. 
Whatever deal they offer you on the future cruise will be the same as if you booked on-line or through a Celebrity agent back home. You may be able to pay a reduced deposit though. 
What is good though is that you get a guaranteed lowest price. So if you see that the cruise price comes down before you sail Celebrity will match the new price, which isn’t the same if you booked from home. That includes any sales promotions, so you need to keep checking (as they don’t volunteer any of that info), and get in touch with Celebrity. 

[39august]

On board booking gives you OBC for the cruise you are booking; not the cruise you are on. There is a reduced deposit for categories below suites. 

[Newbury newbie]

54 minutes ago, 39august said:

On board booking gives you OBC for the cruise you are booking; not the cruise you are on. There is a reduced deposit for categories below suites. 

Well I have to disagree with you there. We have booked future cruises where the OBC was added immediately to our current cruise account. 
If that wasn’t the case I wouldn’t have said it. 
So, please don’t confuse the OP!

[jelayne]

2 minutes ago, Newbury newbie said:

Well I have to disagree with you there. We have booked future cruises where the OBC was added immediately to our current cruise account. 
If that wasn’t the case I wouldn’t have said it. 
So, please don’t confuse the OP!

When was this?  We booked cruises while on board in 2021, 2022 and this year and the OBC has been for the cruise we were booking not the one we were on.

There was a time pre pandemic where if you were booking on board you had a choice of taking the OBC on the cruise you were currently on or for the future booking, but that is not the offer we have seen.  We booked cruises while on board as recently as last month

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I hope you still have the option to put it on the cruise you are booking. I’m going into my upcoming cruise paid and packaged up so I have no need of more OBC on it.

 

On the Edge in Feb 2020 it went to the cruise I was booking.

[wrk2cruise]

As others have said there was a time where they would try to apply it to the current sailing (although you could specify to apply to the sailing being booked).  As others have said that hasn't been the case for some time.

 

There are 2 major advantages of booking onboard.  The extra OBC (over and above anything being offered by the current promo see the chart below) and the reduced deposit on non Retreat staterooms.

 

The reduced deposit ($100 pp) benefit has just got better since the change to NRD deposits on bookings made after March 2.   Now if you cancel a NRD booking before final payment you loose your entire deposit (no partial FCC).  So with the reduced deposit you are only risking $200 vs $500 or $900.

 

[drakes2]

10 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

As others have said there was a time where they would try to apply it to the current sailing (although you could specify to apply to the sailing being booked).  As others have said that hasn't been the case for some time.

 

There are 2 major advantages of booking onboard.  The extra OBC (over and above anything being offered by the current promo see the chart below) and the reduced deposit on non Retreat staterooms.

 

The reduced deposit ($100 pp) benefit has just got better since the change to NRD deposits on bookings made after March 2.   Now if you cancel a NRD booking before final payment you loose your entire deposit (no partial FCC).  So with the reduced deposit you are only risking $200 vs $500 or $900.

 

On my May Apex cruise I booked 2 open sailings with $100 deposit for each.  Have booked a cruise for end November and will get $650 OBC for the booking.   Never heard of them giving on-board credit for a current sailing.  In the past they would give a bottle of wine but that seems to have disappeared. More cutbacks. 😆 

[Mauidiver]

We booked our next cruise onboard last week and not only did we get a better price (by $200), we got a bit more onboard credit ($50) and the $200 deposit. We obviously thought it was well worth it. You can also transfer the booking to your TA if you want.

 

There’s no risk in checking it out while onboard.  

[Lastdance]

Just remember that suites do not count, as of June 1, 2023.  

 

We have also been told by the representative while booking that if the $200(two people)is not used, that it will be refunded back to our card if we call Celebrity, after the six months, or whatever expires.  I have never had that happen because I book a cruise with it.  Can anyone on here verify that you received the money back?

Edited June 7, 2023 by Lastdance

[Alsmez]

10 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

We have also been told by the representative while booking that if the $200(two people)is not used, that it will be refunded back to our card if we call Celebrity, after the six months, or whatever expires.  I have never had that happen because I book a cruise with it.  Can anyone on here verify that you received the money back?

 

I haven't had this happen, but we just bought a future cruise certificate on board Eclipse last week, and our representative told us the same - if we don't choose a cruise within 6 months, it will be refunded. She also confirmed that if you want the freedom to change your itinerary without penalty, you can book a refundable fare and change the ship/sailing date/etc. as many times as you like without paying any fees. Once you are certain of the itinerary you desire, you can change to a non-refundable fare (which are always cheaper), but once you do that, any further changes incur a $100 pp fee, which effectively erases your $200 deposit. Make sure you are going on that cruise before you go non-refundable!

[lv2cruisgrl]

On 6/6/2023 at 2:43 PM, sherbear850 said:

Has anyone booked a future cruise while on board? We are going to be on summit this October and are thinking of doing Hawaii on Edge next September and wondered if there is any advantage to wait to book then?

The problem with waiting is everyday the chance of the cruise price going up isn't worth it.  The early bird usually gets the better rate.

[drakes2]

4 minutes ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

The early bird usually gets the better rate.

Not always true. I booked 2 future cruises onboard both open bookings and told I have 6 months to book or money will be refunded. Once home booked a cruise for November and had 4 price drops in a couple weeks and saved a further $400.  

[Ken the cruiser]

OTOH you can just book a "place holder" cruise onboard as far out as possible (e.g., a cruise on the Beyond in April 2025 like we did) with a $100 per person refundable deposit, get the applicable OBC referenced in post #8 applied to that booking, and be done with it.

 

Then when you find a more suitable itinerary you like better and it's before the final payment date of that "place holder" booking, you can have your TA/CVP make the change. However, if for some reason you cannot find a better itinerary by the final payment date, just change the booking to another itinerary far down the road, possibly in 2027. As long as you keep that same booking number you got when you booked it onboard, you will not lose the OBC.

 

With the "place holder" approach you do not lose the OBC booking perk after 6 months if you don't find a suitable itinerary like you would if you purchased it through their "Book Later" program.

 

Future Cruise Vacations (celebritycruises.com)

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[GotMINI]

We have booked future cruises on current cruise.   Have found that there's a lower deposit required and you tend to get slightly more on-board credit.  Think it depends on what you are booking.   We have then gotten off ship and transferred the booking to our own travel agent - and then she watches it for any price adjustments if any come up.   It's nice booking on board as you can ask questions to the travel person there, more easily pick cabin, can request different pricing scenarios, can more easily compare various cruises and/or dates, etc.  We typically walk by the travel room on day 1 or 2 to pick up brochures which lists all the dates and cruises available, then we look it through to see what's of interest, go back to the travel room to get pricing, and then book that day or come back to book when make final decision. 

 

Just note: that if you do not book right then, the price can change from when you walk out the door to when you come back to book it (as we have found) - it's not much but it happens.   

 

Oh and another benefit (?) is that since Royal Caribbean and Celebrity are same owners, you can actually book on any of their ships.  Travel person has to look up all the RC stuff (no brochures avail).  They'll also help with any royalty/club points you'd have and how that works.   

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

I've never had to "transfer the reservation" to my TA. Since she's who I booked the cruise I'm on through it is automatically assigned to her. I thought you had to sign a paper to NOT have it go to the TA. Why are so many having to transfer it to their TA after the fact?

[lv2cruisgrl]

16 hours ago, drakes2 said:

Not always true. I booked 2 future cruises onboard both open bookings and told I have 6 months to book or money will be refunded. Once home booked a cruise for November and had 4 price drops in a couple weeks and saved a further $400.  

True, however they mentioned Hawaii next September.   I had booked that cruise awhile ago and it's already $2000 more.

[drakes2]

25 minutes ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

True, however they mentioned Hawaii next September.   I had booked that cruise awhile ago and it's already $2000 more.

Did Hawaii on the Eclipse last May.  The cruise I booked dropped in price so got it repriced but now its gone up again so you have to be continuously watching prices.

[sherbear850]

We are looking at Celebrity Edge from Vancouver Sept 2024. What appealed to us with this cruise is the 2 days in every port.

If prices are rising that fast maybe we should quit messing around and make a decision and live with it.

Thanks for everyones help.

[drakes2]

12 minutes ago, sherbear850 said:

We are looking at Celebrity Edge from Vancouver Sept 2024. What appealed to us with this cruise is the 2 days in every port.

If prices are rising that fast maybe we should quit messing around and make a decision and live with it.

Thanks for everyones help.

Just book and look for price drops. Long way off till final payment.  Love the Edge class ships 

[mahdnc]

21 minutes ago, sherbear850 said:

We are looking at Celebrity Edge from Vancouver Sept 2024. What appealed to us with this cruise is the 2 days in every port.

If prices are rising that fast maybe we should quit messing around and make a decision and live with it.

Thanks for everyones help.

 

I agree--I wouldn't mess around either. Plus the more attractive cabins will get snapped up if you wait.  If there is a sailing of interest that is available to book now and my next cruise was in October, I would just book now (and watch for price drops along the way as drakes2 mentioned).

Edited June 8, 2023 by mahdnc

[Redtravel]

I would only book a future cruise if the perks were outstanding and it was completely refundable.  Sometimes booking onboard is a good deal. Often you can do better with a TA.  Now that most fcc vouchers have been used, the cruise prices have become very competitive.  Wait and book when you see a great price.  The key is to be flexible.  The closer you get to the cruise date, you can get better prices on sailings with low bookings.

[Jim_Iain]

I just booked cruise Equinox 11/24/2024 TransAtlantic 16 night cruise from Lisbon to Buenos Aires.   It's a long cruise and I booked a RS which came to $19,998.   Since it was prior to the new deposit rule and a upper suite,  I had to pay $1,800 deposit (not much lower than if I had paid the 10%.   I chose to book NR.

 

I would believe I got the Maximum, In total I got the current fare plus the following OBC's

$800,  $400, $300 plus $100 for B2B   for a total of $1,600 prior to those offered by my TA. 

 

I know offers change constantly and just checked currently if I booked online I would only get only $400

 

For me I  booked Non-Refundable as the Refundable would have cost $4,338 more.   If for some reason we need to change we will pay the $200 to change the sailing,  While doing a mock booking I noticed  the price has gone up $2,000.  

[drakes2]

54 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

I would only book a future cruise if the perks were outstanding and it was completely refundable.  Sometimes booking onboard is a good deal. Often you can do better with a TA.  Now that most fcc vouchers have been used, the cruise prices have become very competitive.  Wait and book when you see a great price.  The key is to be flexible.  The closer you get to the cruise date, you can get better prices on sailings with low bookings.

Looking at a cruise Panama and S. Caribbean for end January 2024 inside cabin most other categories sold out already but prices still too high for an inside as I have to pay double.  Refundable deposit is over 1K extra. Yikes! I may cancel my future cruise deposit if prices don't drop by end October.