Beware - Deceptive advertising Celebrity

[sg1812]

:mad:

 

I have just made a provisional booking on Celebrity, based on their email advertising. http://www.celebritycruises.com/cruises/cruise-package-RF11M132?packageid=RF11M132&dest=EUROP&shipCode=RF&shipName=Celebrity-Reflection&applyCriteria=false&sailDate=1150518&cabincls=undefined&promoType=86

 

It clearly says on the screen, book a veranda cabin or better, and get all three of their offers; Beverage package, prepaid gratuities, and onboard credit.

 

It clearly gives a price per person of $1699. Based on this I reserved two cabins online, looked at flights, then called in to pay. When I asked about the promotions, the agent told me that they were not valid with my bookings, as the price given was a "special" that is not valid with the promotion. This so misleading. Nowhere on the booking page does it say that the promotion that you click on is not valid on the price that comes up!

When I spoke to someone in the resolutions department, she told me that she gets this call all day. Well maybe that is an indication that you are doing something wrong!!!! I am SO glad that I did not spend an additional $4,000 on flights before calling them. Please, everyone be aware of their deceptive advertising before giving them your credit card number.

[cle-guy]

:mad:

 

I have just made a provisional booking on Celebrity, based on their email advertising. http://www.celebritycruises.com/cruises/cruise-package-RF11M132?packageid=RF11M132&dest=EUROP&shipCode=RF&shipName=Celebrity-Reflection&applyCriteria=false&sailDate=1150518&cabincls=undefined&promoType=86

 

It clearly says on the screen, book a veranda cabin or better, and get all three of their offers; Beverage package, prepaid gratuities, and onboard credit.

 

It clearly gives a price per person of $1699. Based on this I reserved two cabins online, looked at flights, then called in to pay. When I asked about the promotions, the agent told me that they were not valid with my bookings, as the price given was a "special" that is not valid with the promotion. This so misleading. Nowhere on the booking page does it say that the promotion that you click on is not valid on the price that comes up!

When I spoke to someone in the resolutions department, she told me that she gets this call all day. Well maybe that is an indication that you are doing something wrong!!!! I am SO glad that I did not spend an additional $4,000 on flights before calling them. Please, everyone be aware of their deceptive advertising before giving them your credit card number.

 

 

 

You didn't pay attention to this line:

The offer will be applied automatically. This offer cannot be combined with other offers unless noted otherwise.

 

or this one, in red (from the link you provided)

Pricing not shown because no staterooms are available in this category at this time, or no stateroom can accommodate your number of guests. Please select another category or another sailing

 

When doing an online booking you tell it what cruise & cabin category you want then it displays a block telling you what promotions apply. If none do it indicates:

Savings

Best cruise fare shown

Onboard Credit

Best cruise fare shown

When you went through your booking and agreed tp pricing, what were you expecting. You agreed to a price, one that notifies during the booing process "best fare shown".

 

And of course, those words none of care to ever read, that have a lot of bearing on bookings, the Terms and Condition's part of which state:

All Offers are applicable to new individual bookings, non-transferable, applicable only to qualifying bookings, not combinable with any other offer. Offers exclude Book & Go, Celebrity Explorations, Exciting Deals, Interline, net rates, travel agent, and employee rates. No refunds or credits for unused options. Offers and prices are subject to availability and change without notice, capacity controlled, and not applicable to charters or contracted groups. Cruise portion of cruisetours eligible for Offers based on number of cruise nights. Single occupancy bookings eligible for Offers. Refer to the Cruise Ticket Contract for additional terms and conditions. Celebrity reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions and to change or update fares, fees and surcharges at any time without prior notice.

 

It's also entirely possible you got an agent who is giving wrong info. As I try booking from your link, i do get the savings shown to show up, they appear as 2 $150 credits on the totals screen $150 for each passenger.

 

ACTUALLY, what I discovered is the $1699 fare is a GTY cabin, so that is the deal, no other promos will apply to it. The discount of $300 applies to specific cabin categories. So agent as right, the GTY cabin fare was a special fare. From the T&C's that state capacity controls apply, there is zero capacity in the GTY category, while it's open in fixed subcategories. A GTY counts as a special offer.

 

Also this cruise is already within final payments, so lily has lots of specials running.

Edited March 25, 2015 by cle-guy

[sg1812]

Actually, that is the screen I went to when on the phone with the agent. I did NOT get the red line, in fact I have two booking numbers, showing that there was availability at that price, on the page where they advertise the inclusions. My big question is; Why be so misleading and dishonest? If it does not apply, take the banner down from that page. Or option two, add a line, saying that this price does not qualify for the offer stated above. How hard is that?

 

To give further information, yesterday evening I called an agent on the same cruise. He went through their website, and confirmed that all was included at that price. I guess he was reading the same blurb. I was not ready to book until this morning, and he is now out of the office, so I went direct to the cruiseline.

 

The fact that the booking agent told me that she gets these calls all day, everyday, and that she personally has spoken to the internet department about them SHOWS that they Celebrity are not doing the right thing. Just be honest, upfront and clear with your customers/potential customers - the other cruise lines can do it, so why would Celebrity not adopt the same approach?

[cle-guy]

Actually, that is the screen I went to when on the phone with the agent. I did NOT get the red line, in fact I have two booking numbers, showing that there was availability at that price, on the page where they advertise the inclusions. My big question is; Why be so misleading and dishonest? If it does not apply, take the banner down from that page. Or option two, add a line, saying that this price does not qualify for the offer stated above. How hard is that?

 

To give further information, yesterday evening I called an agent on the same cruise. He went through their website, and confirmed that all was included at that price. I guess he was reading the same blurb. I was not ready to book until this morning, and he is now out of the office, so I went direct to the cruiseline.

 

The fact that the booking agent told me that she gets these calls all day, everyday, and that she personally has spoken to the internet department about them SHOWS that they Celebrity are not doing the right thing. Just be honest, upfront and clear with your customers/potential customers - the other cruise lines can do it, so why would Celebrity not adopt the same approach?

 

When you go to do the booking, and select GTY cabin, you Get a notification that Best Fare Shown. That's he way X lets you know what your fare will be.

 

Had you selected a non-Gty Cabin, you would have got a notice that said "Fare includes $300 savings"

 

Also the page with fares, indicates Special Offers Available with an arrow to click and continue on. This is the screen where you then determine why cabins the special fares apply to, which display noting Discount provided or Best Fare shown.

 

It's the GTY you booked that made the cabin ineligible. ANY OTHER cabin you booked, would have allowed it. But GTY are a special fare plain and simple, on any cruise line, and generally allow no further perks or discounts.

 

Booking agents say lots of things and lots of things to soothe their customers. It's what customer service is about.

 

As a consumer, we all should by now in our adult lives know, that special offers and promotions are always full of catches, and outs, and limitations, cruises are no different.

 

Sounds like your Agent (assume personal TA not Celebrity, as you state you tried to call Celebrity later...?) was not familiar with GTY restrictions when talking to you, thus that agent needs some more training. The agent themselves failed to read all the fine print, that they are "Capacity Controlled" Any agent knows capacity controls exist and they need to look for them.

 

The only way to get a full fare detail its to book till you get toe final screens where it displays the itemized Crusie fare including taxes, discounts and other items.

 

No different than when I see a billboard in Cleveland advertising Flights on allegiant air for $49 to florida. The se the tiny asterisk and small print and when booking find it's available alright, just only if I book a 5:45 am flight, departing on the 3rd tuesday of may. It doesn't apply to every flight Allegiant has to florida. Only way to know is go and try a booking to see if I get lucky.

 

This is all about "Buyer Beware" not "Bait and Switch"

Edited March 25, 2015 by cle-guy

[flames9]

Ur better booking with a good travel agent..as you will get the same price..offers..and get On-board credit (OBC) from your travel agent...and don't have to deal with Celebrity's mickey mouse website

[ghstudio]

Irrespective of what the fine print says.....if the poster's perception is that they are combinable...and if the resolution desk is getting similar calls all day....it is essentially deceptive advertising, bait and switch advertising...or if you prefer, just poor advertising because it appears to be shady.

 

Whichever of those choices you prefer, celebrity would be well advised to consider changing their advertising on this one.

[cle-guy]

Irrespective of what the fine print says.....if the poster's perception is that they are combinable...and if the resolution desk is getting similar calls all day....it is essentially deceptive advertising, bait and switch advertising...or if you prefer, just poor advertising because it appears to be shady.

 

Whichever of those choices you prefer, celebrity would be well advised to consider changing their advertising on this one.

 

So just don't bother adhering to the terms and conditions or other policies?

 

If my perception after seeing people smoke in the smoking section but the pool is that smoking on the ship is acceptable, do I get a pass when I light up at dinner?

 

It's not deceptive advertising it's "puffing" a well known and accepted marketing strategy.

 

And what we know is the resolution desk with a disgruntled person not he line, SAYS they get these alls all the time. We do not have factual data about this. I've been in customer service, and always side with the person on the phone or in front of me. Next person in lines steps up, says "wow, that was a pain in the butt customer, right" and of course then are with that customer, after telling the prior one they were right.

 

If the resolutions department was spending an extraordinary amount time fielding these exact same calls, they would absolutely change the policy, to save money and agent time.

 

Their advertising says cabin fares are $xxx per person. well I'm 1 person, so shouldn't I get that rate when I book, the per person fare, and not have to double it up if sailing solo (even though fine print someplace says "based on double occupancy" that wasn't my perception?) don't think so. But my initial perception was that's my fare.

 

That ships sail at capacity, means the advertising is actually working.

 

Had there been no terms and conditions associated with the fare and they would not allow it, then that would be shady. But to say something is shady even though it follows the T&C's, is a bit shady too.

 

PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY......

[ghstudio]

If people feel deceived or cheated, it is, by my definition, poor advertising. Of course there are those who say any advertising is good advertising, but I (with an MBA in marketing) don't agree. Of course I feel the same way about car leasing advertising where they show the down payment and miles included in the smallest possible print or so fast you can't possibly see it on the TV screen.

 

The legaleeze, the small print, and so on have nothing at all to do with the issue raised by the OP. Celebrity isn't breaking any laws...they are just creating animosity with some folks who read and try to take advantage of the ad.

 

I don't think that was their intent...but also irrespective of that, changing the ad would probably have better results across more individuals.

[wallie5446]

And just like the CSR at Celebrity gets these kinda calls all day, so we also get these kinda threads on Cruise Critic.

 

It ain't booked till the disclaimer is read. Don't like the final deal, don't book the cruise. Kinda simple.

[kasowell2]

I totally agree with you. I wish all of them would say the price is $$$$ with the 123go promotion or $$$ without the promotion. It still works out cheaper sometimes but I do get a feeling of bait and switch sometimes

[Shake]

No bait and switch here by Celebrity.

 

What a customer may feel, doesn't mean the terms are not laid out in plain English. I feel 65* degrees is very comfortable but most others do not.

[ghstudio]

We have friends who will never sail on HAL because of this type of advertising vs reality...or their perception of it. Right or wrong, we sail with these folks sometimes so we never consider HAL on those cruises.

 

With just some small changes and less "anything can change for any reason" type of words", this would have been a positive ad. Based on the OP's reaction or interpretation, it kind of turned them off to celebrity. Does that matter in the large scheme of things.....no...but one has to wonder how many folks had the same issue/reaction.

 

Make the ad clear...simplify or eliminate the small print....and everyone wins.

[varoo]

It is no different from the travel agency sites where they advertise a lot of perks up front to get your attention, but then when you click through to the category you actually want, the perks do not apply to it.

 

The confusion occurs because the attention-grabbing perks are prominently displayed, but the disclaimer terms and conditions are in small print that most people do not bother to read.

 

At least the Celebrity website does tell you right up front

"The offer will be applied automatically. This offer cannot be combined with other offers unless noted otherwise."

 

We have learned that for us it may just as well state:

"These perks do not apply to any great price offer that you will actually want to book." ;)

 

[johhnnyt]

No bait and switch here by Celebrity.

 

What a customer may feel, doesn't mean the terms are not laid out in plain English. I feel 65* degrees is very comfortable but most others do not.

 

Couldn't agree more. If you choose not to read the terms and conditions of a contract, and then think its someone else's fault that you didn't, it certainly isn't the company's fault.

 

Hardly deceptive, to me it comes down to if you think you see a deal that seems to good to be true, read the entire ad, not just the part that you like

Edited March 25, 2015 by johhnnyt

[cheeseheads4ever]

I am no cruise expert by any stretch but I agree there are a ton of promotions that change daily and impossible for the average person to keep up with them all. I do nothing online. I don't deal with a travel agent. I deal directly with the cruise line rep. I get there name and number and have a contact when an issue comes up. We have been on a half a dozen cruises and have never been promised something we never received. The reps can get you the exact number of the room, the 123 go offers and are truly very helpful. We booked one a year out and got the 123 go all 3 offers. Plus it dropped $300 got that too plus $300 OBC.nothing dropped or was taken away.

I'm not saying what we do is the best but it works for us and by talking to a human you seem to get the straight goods.i have gotten some unheard of cruise deals by talking directly to a cruise rep. Maybe we are just lucky or have had good luck. I think best thing is to write all your questions down prior to calling cruise line and then have them answer them for you.

[BosoxI]

. Of course I feel the same way about car leasing advertising where they show the down payment and miles included in the smallest possible print or so fast you can't possibly see it on the TV screen.

 

 

Ouch. Jaguar pulled a fast one on me years ago, and now every time I see a lease car ad on TV, I cringe.