Question about Pricing and Price Drops

Hello,

I am looking to book a cruise for 2020. If you book with a TA can you still get refunds if the price drops before final payment or does this only apply if booked directly with Celebrity? The only reason we would book with a TA is that they are offering a 300 OBC + 2 perks and Celebrity on their website is only offering 2 perks. I did a mock booking and the cruise still looks pretty empty in the class we have chosen. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Also, does anyone know if Celebrity usually has a yearly Black Friday Promotion?

Thank you.

up until final payment date you can change your 'contract' or cancel. Watch .. as the better price may not come with the same perks . Also check to see if your TA has a fee for changes . Use a TA who can be contacted at short notice 7 days a week as prices jump around .

Yes before final payment you can request adjustment on your cruise rate because of price drops, or if you like a cabin upgrade. We booked B2B2B2 from Vancouver to Hawaii and Pacific Coast for Sept/Oct 2019 since first days of December 2017, we have several price drops and always have received the better price plus last time we receive also a better promo the summer savings discount plus extra OBC.

Yes after final payment you can request adjustment on your cruise rate because of price drops, or if you like a cabin upgrade. We booked B2B2B2 from Vancouver to Hawaii and Pacific Coast for Sept/Oct 2019 since first days of December 2017, we have several price drops and always have received the better price plus last time we receive also a better promo the summer savings discount plus extra OBC.

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I think you meant "before" final payment

 

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Thank you I edited

I book with a large online TA and have been able to get price adjustments prior to final payment several times. I'd suggest contacting the agent you're considering and ask the question just to be sure. There's no way for anyone on CC to know the rules of an agency that we're not allowed to name. I notice that OP is in Canada and different rules may be in place there than in the US.

Hello,

 

 

 

I am looking to book a cruise for 2020. If you book with a TA can you still get refunds if the price drops before final payment or does this only apply if booked directly with Celebrity? The only reason we would book with a TA is that they are offering a 300 OBC + 2 perks and Celebrity on their website is only offering 2 perks. I did a mock booking and the cruise still looks pretty empty in the class we have chosen. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

 

 

Also, does anyone know if Celebrity usually has a yearly Black Friday Promotion?

Thank you.

I would ask the TA the following before booking with them:

1- will they honor price drops from X ?

2- do they charge to change your pricing?

3- will the change in pricing affect any perks they are giving you ?

4- do they charge if you have to change or cancel the sailing?

Steve

I would ask the TA the following before booking with them:

1- will they honor price drops from X ?

2- do they charge to change your pricing?

3- will the change in pricing affect any perks they are giving you ?

4- do they charge if you have to change or cancel the sailing?

 

Steve

add to this list..

what hours and days are they available. .. Is there always someone to take calls

Thank you all for your expertise. You all provided some great advice.

add to this list..

what hours and days are they available. .. Is there always someone to take calls

I would ask the TA the following before booking with them:

1- will they honor price drops from X ?

2- do they charge to change your pricing?

3- will the change in pricing affect any perks they are giving you ?

4- do they charge if you have to change or cancel the sailing?

 

Steve

In general, I book a future cruise while on-board in order to take advantage of the "extra's" offered by Celebrity for doing so: extra OBC, reduced deposits and sometimes a second perk. Two advantages of booking a future cruise are: (1) you have 60 days to transfer the reservation to a TA - which gives you plenty of time to find the right TA based on the questions provided by other posters, and (2) if you need to change your future cruise date, you can replace the one booked on-board with a different date/ship/itinerary and the OBC you received from Celebrity will move to the new future cruise (given the cabin category and duration are the same).

I would extend Q2 to ask whether they charge you for making changes to cabin categories (i.e. upgrading your cabin when a fare drop allows for that change at no additional cost) or for changing your cabin. In the recent past, I've taken advantage of fare drops which allowed me to move from a 2A to a 1A to a C2 to a A2 cabin - and paid less for the A2 cabin than my original on-board booking for a 2A cabin. The key is picking a TA who is not going to charge you for changes/cancellations and is reachable 7 days a week, if possible, since fare drops are frequently short-lived.

In general' date=' I book a future cruise while on-board in order to take advantage of the "extra's" offered by Celebrity for doing so: extra OBC, reduced deposits and sometimes a second perk. Two advantages of booking a future cruise are: (1) you have 60 days to transfer the reservation to a TA - which gives you plenty of time to find the right TA based on the questions provided by other posters, and (2) if you need to change your future cruise date, you can replace the one booked on-board with a different date/ship/itinerary and the OBC you received from Celebrity will move to the new future cruise (given the cabin category and duration are the same).

 

I would extend Q2 to ask whether they charge you for making changes to cabin categories (i.e. upgrading your cabin when a fare drop allows for that change at no additional cost) or for changing your cabin. In the recent past, I've taken advantage of fare drops which allowed me to move from a 2A to a 1A to a C2 to a A2 cabin - and paid less for the A2 cabin than my original on-board booking for a 2A cabin. The key is picking a TA who is not going to charge you for changes/cancellations and is reachable 7 days a week, if possible, since fare drops are frequently short-lived.[/quote']

 

Another couple of items to be concerned about:

1- Do they keep your credit card number on file? This can be risky. My TA requires me to give them my CC# whenever a payment is necessary.

2- Do you pay the TA or directly to the cruise line? Again, it is much safer if you pay directly to the Cruise Line (i.e., the TA uses your CC to make the payment on the cruise line's site as opposed to paying their agency and then cutting a check to the cruise line).

 

Steve

Another couple of items to be concerned about:

1- Do they keep your credit card number on file? This can be risky. My TA requires me to give them my CC# whenever a payment is necessary.

2- Do you pay the TA or directly to the cruise line? Again, it is much safer if you pay directly to the Cruise Line (i.e., the TA uses your CC to make the payment on the cruise line's site as opposed to paying their agency and then cutting a check to the cruise line).

 

Steve

Your points are well taken. My experience is the same as what you described - I provide my credit card info each time a payment is due.

Are you aware of cases where credit card information has been retained by a TA?

I know that my credit card is charged directly as the charge appears with the cruise line name, not the TA NAME. Again, I haven't seen it done any other way and thought that was the usual practice.

I like my TA (big box seller of hot dogs) because I receive a cash back card from them upon my return from my cruise and, when I also use their Visa card, I also receive a rebate through the credit card company. The cash back card is approximately 8% of the cruise fare which is much better than the "perks" I would have received from other online or local TA's that don't charge nuisance fees (for changes

and/or cancellations). I can reach them by phone 7 days a week and their hours run into the evening which helps when you are working during the day. So, requesting fare drops or cabin changes/upgrades is easy. I started using them after reading so many posts about TA benefits/perks here on Cruise Critic - and came to understand that I was missing the boat by using a local TA who gave me nothing extra ( yes - pun intended).