El Cheapo Cruises Thread

[woodyren]

I checked the inside price a week ago for the 26th Nov 8 day.

 

It was $851 + tax + grats if you want to pre pay. Total $1099

 

Same price as today. When you consider that the drinks are worth between $500-$600 AUS pp ( and you have to buy them if you want them on RCL for example) than it is a great deal for a balcony.

 

The other Solstice cruises are a lot dearer compared to this one. I registered the other day with an online TA and so have to wait till Monday to see if they secured a booking.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Hi GUT2407 ,

I think that they did bump up the inside cabins I had already checked them about a month ago ,and they were about $150 cheaper on the inside one .

Just got my booking from a travel agent(online) ,whoa:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:- it is $900 deposit by Tuesday ,I wonder what the deposit is thru Celebrity ,does anyone know?

Cheers Deb

 

Our deposit was $800 booking direct through Celebrity.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The inside cabin price on the 8 night 28th December cruise has jumped to $2199. That's 38 cents cheaper than the lowest Verandah category :eek:

 

C'mon Celebrity, we're not that stupid! :rolleyes:

[Pushka]

Our deposit was $800 booking direct through Celebrity.

 

 

It annoys me that it states that Captain's club members pay a reduced deposit (50%) but when you try that it doesn't accept $400. This is on the Australian booking site as its all in AUD. ONE DAY our ACCC might do something about that.

 

One the other hand I just cancelled and rebooked our cruise in August. Aqua the same price as what we were going to pay as the balance on our trip due in 3 weeks. Lost our deposit but picked up a nice cabin and kept the 123 drinks and OBC. I tried calling to sort out the booking but the operator insisted my HOLD on the cabin didn't exist and I would have to pay significantly extra. Then said he had a Guarantee Concierge available for the same price. Hung up and thought about for a few hours then decided to pay the deposit on my Hold Aqua and when that proceeded ok I cancelled the verandah. 90 days to go now.

[Ru2on]

I registered my pre interest with a travel agent for the 26th november solstice cruise it's showing $1015 which includes taxes , don't know how much grats are on top of this? I rang the agency today they are flat out but said I have a confirmed booking but won't get an email from them till tomorrow so fingers crossed that this really is confirmed. I tried to find the deal on celebrity site but it won't give me the special price the veranda price is not showing as reduced it says there's a special offer but won't show me what that is... I'm wondering if it doesn't like my ipad ! Trying not to get too excited till I get my email from the agent .. ( then have to find my $800 deposit :eek:)

[OzKiwiJJ]

It annoys me that it states that Captain's club members pay a reduced deposit (50%) but when you try that it doesn't accept $400. This is on the Australian booking site as its all in AUD. ONE DAY our ACCC might do something about that.

 

One the other hand I just cancelled and rebooked our cruise in August. Aqua the same price as what we were going to pay as the balance on our trip due in 3 weeks. Lost our deposit but picked up a nice cabin and kept the 123 drinks and OBC. I tried calling to sort out the booking but the operator insisted my HOLD on the cabin didn't exist and I would have to pay significantly extra. Then said he had a Guarantee Concierge available for the same price. Hung up and thought about for a few hours then decided to pay the deposit on my Hold Aqua and when that proceeded ok I cancelled the verandah. 90 days to go now.

 

Where are you going this time?

[OzKiwiJJ]

I registered my pre interest with a travel agent for the 26th november solstice cruise it's showing $1015 which includes taxes , don't know how much grats are on top of this? I rang the agency today they are flat out but said I have a confirmed booking but won't get an email from them till tomorrow so fingers crossed that this really is confirmed. I tried to find the deal on celebrity site but it won't give me the special price the veranda price is not showing as reduced it says there's a special offer but won't show me what that is... I'm wondering if it doesn't like my ipad ! Trying not to get too excited till I get my email from the agent .. ( then have to find my $800 deposit :eek:)

 

Grats will be roughly AU $170 if you prepay - I just pro-rated the grats from our 12 day cruise that I booked recently. Otherwise I think it's US $11.50 pp per day. Do you get the Pick Your Perk offer as well? It's worth getting the drinks package on that if you can.

 

The December 28th cruise is way more expensive, as you'd expect over NYE. If it was the same price as your cruise I would have booked it as a B2B to our NZ cruise, but can't afford over $2000 pp for an 8 day cruise.

Edited May 3, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[chester32]

I registered my pre interest with a travel agent for the 26th november solstice cruise it's showing $1015 which includes taxes , don't know how much grats are on top of this? I rang the agency today they are flat out but said I have a confirmed booking but won't get an email from them till tomorrow so fingers crossed that this really is confirmed. I tried to find the deal on celebrity site but it won't give me the special price the veranda price is not showing as reduced it says there's a special offer but won't show me what that is... I'm wondering if it doesn't like my ipad ! Trying not to get too excited till I get my email from the agent .. ( then have to find my $800 deposit :eek:)

 

Your grats will be $12-$13 per person per night

[goodycruising]

It annoys me that it states that Captain's club members pay a reduced deposit (50%) but when you try that it doesn't accept $400. This is on the Australian booking site as its all in AUD. ONE DAY our ACCC might do something about that.

 

I think you might have to ring them to pay your deposit at 50%. I have seen that somewhere. Don't know for sure as I didn't try it myself so far.

[Ru2on]

Hi Oz yes meant to get the pick your perk with it , I guess I will have to tell them which I want when I get the confirmation email we were thinking we would take the drink package and then upgrade it to the premium ..which has me kind of excited about trying different cocktails and martinis and not worrying about the price of them :) . (Let's hope I don't choose this cruise to get my first bout of sea sick and waste the package ! ). It seems from this thread alone there's been a lot of interest in in this cruise it really does seem a bargain price when you include the drinks. Shame the 8 day you were looking at didn't go as cheap.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Pushka]

Where are you going this time?

 

 

Add in 3 nights in HK, 6 nights in Paris, three nights Barcelona and a couple in Rome.

 

 

The Bev package and using OBC to upgrade works a treat.

Edited May 3, 2015 by Pushka

[OzKiwiJJ]

Hi Oz yes meant to get the pick your perk with it , I guess I will have to tell them which I want when I get the confirmation email we were thinking we would take the drink package and then upgrade it to the premium ..which has me kind of excited about trying different cocktails and martinis and not worrying about the price of them :) . (Let's hope I don't choose this cruise to get my first bout of sea sick and waste the package ! ). It seems from this thread alone there's been a lot of interest in in this cruise it really does seem a bargain price when you include the drinks. Shame the 8 day you were looking at didn't go as cheap.

 

 

 

I booked online with Celebrity direct and had to pick my perk during the booking process so it may be worth contacting your TA to ensure that you get it.

 

It's extremely good value when you get the drinks package included. Usually they don't offer the PYP deal on inside cabins. We had a drinks package on our RCI cruise and it was fun trying out lots of different cocktails. Warning - pace yourself, some cocktails have a serious kick. :D

 

If you're worried about sea-sickness just ask your doctor for a prescription for Stemetil. We got this before our first cruise as DH is prone to seasickness. He took one before we boarded, then as prescribed for another day just in case, and was fine after that. I took one the first night as well, just in case. We didn't notice any side effects.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Add in 3 nights in HK, 6 nights in Paris, three nights Barcelona and a couple in Rome.

 

 

 

Now I have a serious case of envy. :D

 

Sounds wonderful, that's a nice itinerary. You'll miss the Paris sales though, they're usually end June / early July.

[Pushka]

We do get to see the last leg of Tour de France down the Champs Elysees though!

[Ru2on]

Grats will be roughly AU $170 if you prepay - I just pro-rated the grats from our 12 day cruise that I booked recently. Otherwise I think it's US $11.50 pp per day. Do you get the Pick Your Perk offer as well? It's worth getting the drinks package on that if you can.

 

The December 28th cruise is way more expensive, as you'd expect over NYE. If it was the same price as your cruise I would have booked it as a B2B to our NZ cruise, but can't afford over $2000 pp for an 8 day cruise.

 

Wow just got my email confirming my cruise on Solstice 26 November 8 days Balcony guaranteed , Sth Pacific with the beverage package for $1099 including gratuities and taxes port charges etc . I was suprised it included grats

[OzKiwiJJ]

Wow just got my email confirming my cruise on Solstice 26 November 8 days Balcony guaranteed , Sth Pacific with the beverage package for $1099 including gratuities and taxes port charges etc . I was suprised it included grats

 

Yes, that would be about right, per person. The grats price I quoted was for two people. So the fare was $1015 plus $84 grats.

 

Fantastic! Hope you have a wonderful cruise. :)

 

I wish the NY one was that price. :(

[woodyren]

We are also confirmed for Nov26th $1099 all grats, taxes and PYP drinks.

 

Balcony gty.

[Ru2on]

We are also confirmed for Nov26th $1099 all grats, taxes and PYP drinks.

 

Balcony gty.

 

See you onboard woodyren, I am already excited about my first cruise on Solstice ..and my free beverage package , which I have decided to upgrade to the premium:D

[woodyren]

This thread is my favourite CC thread.

 

I have another cheap search question.

 

Has anyone ever booked on line with a Euro agent?

 

At present I am snookered for choice a little by the rising USD and my preferred RCL and Celebrity trying hard to hold the no deep discount line in the USA.

 

In order to sell large inventory of unsold cabins it appears that they are now offering deep discounts in Euros.

 

On our upcoming Quantum cruise you can get the two legs from Barcelona to Singapore (30 days) for around 1500 Euros compared to maybe $3000USD and$4000AUD. Doing the conversion shows that this is by far the cheaper option.

 

So should I add another search to my list of bargain hunting. Anyone have any experience in going down the Euro route?

[MMDown Under]

This thread is my favourite CC thread.

 

I have another cheap search question.

 

Has anyone ever booked on line with a Euro agent?

 

At present I am snookered for choice a little by the rising USD and my preferred RCL and Celebrity trying hard to hold the no deep discount line in the USA.

 

In order to sell large inventory of unsold cabins it appears that they are now offering deep discounts in Euros.

 

On our upcoming Quantum cruise you can get the two legs from Barcelona to Singapore (30 days) for around 1500 Euros compared to maybe $3000USD and$4000AUD. Doing the conversion shows that this is by far the cheaper option.

 

So should I add another search to my list of bargain hunting. Anyone have any experience in going down the Euro route?

 

Australians are seen as the "golden goose" ready to be milked by the cruiselines, so we have to learn to think outside the box, especially with the shrinking Aussie dollar. If they are not careful, they will kill that golden goose, as finances become tighter.

 

Whilst I haven't actually booked through a Euro Agent (except for a cruiseline UK agent), I would if an overseas cruise I was interested in was less expensive. One has only to look at the pages of cruise advertisements in the UK press to know where the opportunities are.

[sheridan318]

Hi yes I have booked with a European travel agent and it was all fine in fact we saved a considerable amount of money booking Hal , the service was top notch and after service even better

[MMDown Under]

Hi yes I have booked with a European travel agent and it was all fine in fact we saved a considerable amount of money booking Hal , the service was top notch and after service even better

 

That is good to hear.

 

My last cruise was booked in Euros rather than American dollars, because the rate was better at the time.

[woodyren]

For those who have booked in Euros would you mind letting us know the country your travel agent was in. Or did you use the cruise lines Euro site etc. How did you find where to book. Any clues within cc rules appreciated

 

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Forums mobile app

[to_dee]

Sorry no experience with a UK travel agent.

 

But following with interest as well...

 

It is super frustrating the higher prices on the AU sites. I have started to use a VPN and it is certainly interesting to see the local versions of websites eg Celebrity & RCI US site vs the AU version of those sites. Different specials different rates that's for sure!

 

Using a VPN you can certainly book these cruises on the US site but the payment is the issue. Without a USD billing address I cant pay for it online at RCI/Celebrity :(. I guess going via a travel agent is the way to go if the fare is cheaper at that time.

 

I presume the same would apply on the UK sites in that they would need a UK billing address but maybe not all sites might be worth checking. Usually if a seller goes to the trouble of setting different market pricing they would lock out via the billing address but like I say might be worth a check if you go onto the site book in EU if you use a VPN and set your ISP to a UK one then you would get their local rates.

 

We'd like to do a river cruise in maybe 2017 and if you have success in EU booking love to hear about it.

 

Hope my post is not too OT.

 

Also thanks for the heads up on the cheapo fare deals - big thumbs up- :D. Very much appreciated the Celebrity double upgrade info over the weekend.

[sheridan318]

yes it was a German company and I had to scan the internet to find it hope that helps :D