Wonder how Future Cruise Booking are Doing

[Bo1953]

On 8/20/2023 at 10:27 AM, tfred said:

true, but every hospitality business is like that though. Prime example is HAL that has the reputation of being an "senior" cruise line. No one wants that as a business

 

The loyalty program is really bogus   You really dont get anything value as you would in hotels or airlines.  No upgrades, some free 2 day laundry, not much else 

 

I am not so sure that "driving away " is the right phrase as it isnt either or   

tf - There are one (1) category upgrades for within the port hole and general verandah categories and NOT to/within suites.

 

Or, do I need to say that I have received upgrades. I understand that upgrades are not available to those of us who sail in suites, though.

 

bon voyage

[horseymike]

On 8/20/2023 at 9:29 AM, kywildcatfanone said:

Cruises are sailing at capacity.  If loyal cruisers don't like changes being made, there are plenty of people to take their place.

Good . Let them. 

[hubofhockey]

1 hour ago, retired dude said:

whats that about a fool being born------------------

 

You name the cruise line and you'll see similar complaints on all of them right now.  Inflation has hit the travel industry hard.  The cruise business is very competitive when it comes to pricing and all of these lines are either cutting corners and going for more a la carte pricing, raising prices, or dropping favorable deposit rules to keep ship capacity up or to get customers booking at higher refundable rates.  The truth about new customers is not that they are suckers.  As people get older, they naturally shift from Royal Caribbean and Carnival to Celebrity.  The base is there.  

[Boatharbour]

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

@jbcallender  If that's what they told you it was a big fat lie.   When you actually select a sailing you will get whatever promo is available at the time.   You do get the bonus OBC for booking onboard based on the length of the sailing and the cabin type.   The real benefit is the $100 pp deposit amount which allows you to take a NRD price and only risk the $100 pp until final payment.  If you are booking a suite then a full 10% deposit will be collected so much less benefit.

We went to an Alaska presentation on board and were definitely told the same thing. However when I went to purchase a FCC on the same cruise  I was told it was whatever the promo was at time of the actual booking,

 

We felt slightly duped but bought the FCC anyway attracted by the low deposit.  A day later we booked a cruise to Antarctica. Three weeks after that Celebrity cancelled the cruise and offered us $200 OBC as compensation. I’m unsure if we still keep the original OBC. 
 

All the changes made us open our eyes to other lines and we’ve now booked with HAL. For $200 PP we can take out cruise cancellation protection. Far less than the refundable deposits charged by Celebrity. 

[Redking]

On 8/20/2023 at 2:12 PM, miched said:

With all of the negative threads about  cutbacks I wonder how the Future Cruise Bookings are doing?

 

In the past I would book  1 or 2  cruises or just open certificate early in the cruise to avoid the the rush at the end of the cruise.   People would decide to book another cruise while on board for the extra perks because they had a fantastic experience.   This would be the last few days  and there were long lines to do that.   
 

Reading the negatives threads I doubt if many are booking another cruise while on board.   
 

I have 8 more cruises booked. Depending on my experience on our next cruise that is in a Sky Suite I may bite the bullet and cancel the others when final payment is due  and lose the $100 because they are all non refundable.   A small price to pay compared to the thousands it would cost for a inferior product if the current policy continues

 

I doubt if they will miss me as there are a lot of first time cruisers that don’t know any better and I think that is the market they are after.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

 

I agree that it seems many of us on this forum are no longer in X's target demographic. In our case the once 55+ parents travelling with their teenage/young adult children have "matured".  Time for a change and let our adult children take our places 😀 

[Jim_Iain]

I have almost always booked on-board for cruises as much as 2 1/2 year in the future.   Especially after Celebrity just cancelled our November 2024 TransAtlantic leaving us with the first 1/2 of a B2B not cancelled -  will not be booking any future cruises while aboard.    I may purchase some of the Future Booking Certificates. 

 

I have to agree with @Redking and started looking at other cruise lines after 23 years of only sailing Celebrity.

[grandgeezer]

3 hours ago, retired dude said:

whats that about a fool being born------------------

I like “You can fool some of the people all of the time.”

[deliver42]

Celebrity seems to be following NCL's lead on cancelled cruises. That's why I stopped looking at NCL, and until they get their act together, i won't be looking at Celebrity. When I book a cruise I expect it to be firm, not counting emergencies  or weather related. If it's mechanical on a particular ship and the itinerary is altered, I can live with that, but to cancel 2 years out  for a reposition is ridiculous. Why don't you know this when you open the bookings?

[Redking]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I have almost always booked on-board for cruises as much as 2 1/2 year in the future.   Especially after Celebrity just cancelled our November 2024 TransAtlantic leaving us with the first 1/2 of a B2B not cancelled -  will not be booking any future cruises while aboard.    I may purchase some of the Future Booking Certificates. 

 

I have to agree with @Redking and started looking at other cruise lines after 23 years of only sailing Celebrity.

Thought of you this morning Jim when I saw they had cancelled their season in South America. So disappointing. We have two cruises booked with Scenic Eclipse II one from Chile to Tahaiti and the other to Antarctica. So much for not being sure about small ships🤣. Likely we'll take the hit and loose our deposits on two Edge sailings when we cancel.

 

Looking forward to your Ponant review. Is it September?

[Honolulu Blue]

2 hours ago, deliver42 said:

Celebrity seems to be following NCL's lead on cancelled cruises. That's why I stopped looking at NCL, and until they get their act together, i won't be looking at Celebrity. When I book a cruise I expect it to be firm, not counting emergencies  or weather related. If it's mechanical on a particular ship and the itinerary is altered, I can live with that, but to cancel 2 years out  for a reposition is ridiculous. Why don't you know this when you open the bookings?

I'm more forgiving (or should I say philosophical) about cruise lines and their strategic moves. Yes, it feels awful to be on the consumer end of a cancellation for any reason, but if they think can make more $$$ by repositioning somewhere else or chartering a ship or whatever else, I think they have to do it.

[TowandaUK]

8 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I have almost always booked on-board for cruises as much as 2 1/2 year in the future.   Especially after Celebrity just cancelled our November 2024 TransAtlantic leaving us with the first 1/2 of a B2B not cancelled -  will not be booking any future cruises while aboard.    I may purchase some of the Future Booking Certificates. 

 

I have to agree with @Redking and started looking at other cruise lines after 23 years of only sailing Celebrity.

Now I know X is in trouble when Jim starts looking elsewhere. Have you thought about Cunard Jim?  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, TowandaUK said:

Now I know X is in trouble when Jim starts looking elsewhere. Have you thought about Cunard Jim?  

What was you think X is trouble ? 
on our November Constellation TA it sailing at over 95% filled on old , non renovated ship 

The ship they probably not making their money on is the West coast Mexico routes 

[TowandaUK]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What was you think X is trouble ? 
on our November Constellation TA it sailing at over 95% filled on old , non renovated ship 

The ship they probably not making their money on is the West coast Mexico routes 

I’m looking at it from the point of view of the guests. X would appear to be in trouble with the regular guests. I have no doubt X will continue to sell. It seems that many of the loyal guests who have sailed with X forever are having second thoughts. There’s no doubt X is changing. Time will tell whether it remains a line we still wish to sail with. 

[hubofhockey]

28 minutes ago, TowandaUK said:

I’m looking at it from the point of view of the guests. X would appear to be in trouble with the regular guests. I have no doubt X will continue to sell. It seems that many of the loyal guests who have sailed with X forever are having second thoughts. There’s no doubt X is changing. Time will tell whether it remains a line we still wish to sail with. 

They HAVE to change because their sweet spot is probably 35-55 in age.  35 year olds of today aren’t the same as 35 year olds 10 years ago.  As we have gotten older, we have moved to lines that deal better with people a little older.  We’ll still go Celebrity, but now Azamara, Oceania, and maybe Viking (some friend love Viking,but doesn’t seem like a fit for us).

[Cruise till you drop]

9 hours ago, Honolulu Blue said:

I'm more forgiving (or should I say philosophical) about cruise lines and their strategic moves. Yes, it feels awful to be on the consumer end of a cancellation for any reason, but if they think can make more $$$ by repositioning somewhere else or chartering a ship or whatever else, I think they have to do it.

We are of the same opinion.  We look at the basics that are offered and that’s what we enjoy which is a chance to travel to many ports of call in the same week, a nice ship that is well maintained, a decent room that is cleaned daily, available food at all meals included in the price, things to do while onboard, and nice weather in the winter months.

 

 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[Cruise till you drop]

On 8/20/2023 at 12:00 AM, Boatharbour said:

We were on the Apex in July and the FC desk was very busy on sea days and extremely busy on the last day. 

 

We purchased a FCC for the first time and then used it while on board to book Antarctica 2025. The low deposit and OBC were the draw cards. Barely three weeks later, all these cruises were cancelled yet bookings were still being taken right up until the announcement. 
 

Unless we can apply the credit to a previously booked NZ cruise in 2024, we’ll probably  let it go. All of this uncertainty has led us to try another line , another destination in 2025. 

We had a similar experience on the Edge in March. Future Cruise agents were always busy with passengers.  
And we also purchased FCC for the first time (since it’s refundable) and recently used it for a Jan 2025 10 day Caribbean sailing on the Beyond.

 

Biggest surprise was that the $200 FCC served as our total deposit (which is usually $900)

[miched]

If you book a non refundable deposit cruise with or with out a FCC and the cruise is canceled by the cruise line are you charged the $100 cancellation fee?   If the  deposit was more than $100 do they give a full refund or is it in future cruise credit?

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

[Boatharbour]

6 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

And we also purchased FCC for the first time (since it’s refundable) and recently used it for a Jan 2025 10 day Caribbean sailing on the Beyond.

When they cancelled our Antarctica cruise, the FCC wasn’t refunded in cash. It can only be used as another FCC. 

[miched]

4 hours ago, Boatharbour said:

When they cancelled our Antarctica cruise, the FCC wasn’t refunded in cash. It can only be used as another FCC. 

I would be ok with that.   I wouldn’t want to lose the $100 fee because I booked a non refundable fare and they canceled. 

[Boatharbour]

12 hours ago, miched said:

17 hours ago, Boatharbour said:

When they cancelled our Antarctica cruise, the FCC wasn’t refunded in cash. It can only be used as another FCC. 

I would be ok with that.   I wouldn’t want to lose the $100 fee because I booked a non refundable fare and they canceled. 

Well, after Celebrity emailed us to cancel our cruise and told us that our deposit could only be returned as another FCC, our credit card received a full refund today.