Requesting a quote based on specific budget

[mahdisbeih]

I have a specific budget for my cruise with a party of 3 families and total of 13 people.

 

Is it possible to call celebrity and try to get a different price from the one listed on their web site?

 

In other words, did anybody tried before to call a cruise line and tell them that I have this budget and I need to book a cruise?

 

Mahdi

[Freecall]

If I was working in a call center and somebody called and asked me to sort that out I would be more than happy.

 

Sounds a far more interesting thing to sort out than the usual boring stuff.

[deise17311]

Call a large internet TA and ask about their group bookings price (they sometimes block off rooms and sell for a discounted price) and or OBC discounts...forget booking directly, you will only get what is advertised...

[goose30]

I don't understand.

 

Are you asking for them to do the searching for you to see if they have something that fits your budget? That is something they might do.

 

On the other hand if you are asking if they will change their prices to fit your budget I think you are out of luck.

[WestLakeGirl]

You don't have enough people to be a group on your own. It's doubtful that Celebrity will lower their prices unless you add more people in order to qualify for group rates.

 

Large travel agencies sometimes have groups which you may join, but if the cost is still higher than your budget, you won't find them able to do much for you.

 

We are not allowed to discuss specific travel agencies here. You will probably have your posts which mention travel agencies by name deleted.

Edited June 12, 2014 by WestLakeGirl

[WestLakeGirl]

Only if you have enough people to make a group. Otherwise, no. The published price is it

[Lsimon]

I doubt Celebrity will negotiate. Never heard of that, well almost never, but the only way to find out is to call.

 

On the other hand a travel agent might be willing to offer some additional on board credit or other discounts or perks for a booking like that. Many do that for a regular one cabin booking.

 

You'd probably want a TA that does a lot of cruise booking and has good agents you can talk to. Unfortunately the board rules prevent naming travel agents although there are a few large ones that advertise here on Cruise Critic. You can click on one of their ads or go to the "find a cruise" like at the top of the page where there are lots of other links that will get you to the advertisers. I've never used any of these but others here do.

[Orator]

As has been said by others: The Celebrity will NOT negotiate price. The price is the price. All Travel Agents are charged the same price by Celebrity. They get a discount only if they are doing large group bookings and go through the Group Booking Department. You may use the group booking department if you have, I believe, a minimum of 8 cabins. A group booking locks you in to the price you agreed to pay,. You will not be eligible to get future price reductions if the price for your cruise is lowered. You can contact several TAs and see what extra benefits (On Board Credit (OBC), prepaid gratuities, a complimentary dinner, etc. The TA receive a commission for each booking based on the price paid, not including taxes or port charges. They usually return some of that back to the customer in the form of OBC. You may negotiate that, but they may not have much room. My advice would be to find some cruises that meet your budget by going to the Celebrity site or online TA sites and then after fining your options contact several TAs to see who will give you the most OBC.

Good luck.

[TheBeeSea]

If someone told me how much they had to spend and I was a salesman guess how much it would cost -if something was available

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

A group booking locks you in to the price you agreed to pay,. You will not be eligible to get future price reductions if the price for your cruise is lowered.

 

That has not been my experience in the past when I booked groups on Celebrity. The people in our group were able to take advantage of price reductions which took place prior to final payment.

 

Linda

 

[Orator]

That has not been my experience in the past when I booked groups on Celebrity. The people in our group were able to take advantage of price reductions which took place prior to final payment.

 

Linda

 

 

Depends on what Group Sales Department will offer. For example they may not offer the same price drops as available on Exciting Deals. The rules change once your reservation is under group sales. Was shut out of reductions as recently as the TA that we'll be on together. Would have lost all of the benefits if I took a reduced price since the group rate only applied to specific categories. I asked about upgrading from 2B balcony to a Concierge. Every case is different, just depends on the rules in place. Some just don't realize that a group rate MAY reduce flexibility.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Orator