Price drop for a few hours??

[Iamcruzin]

I keep late hours and have had my cruises priced adjusted after midnight through Celebrity.We are on the east coast and I never have had a problem getting through and have even booked cruises at 1:00am. This is one of the reasons that I don't like to book with a TA. I usually can save myself more money than what ever OBC a TA can offer and at times if the price drops you can lose any OBC that the TA has given you when you booked. Next time try putting a 24 hour hold on the booking. This will give you time to sort things out with the TA.

Edited November 11, 2016 by Iamcruzin

[cheeseheads4ever]

HI Lobster123 or anyone who received a price drop. Besides looking at Celebritys site how do get price drops? You can email me at packerfanlarry1@gmail.com

 

Thanks so much!!

[Iamcruzin]

HI Lobster123 or anyone who received a price drop. Besides looking at Celebritys site how do get price drops? You can email me at packerfanlarry1@gmail.com

 

Thanks so much!!

 

Google cruise price drop alerts. Cruise Critic has it's own as well.

[sanger727]

There are several "cruise fare monitoring sites". Google should be helpful in your search. We are not allowed to post these on Cruise Critics. It would be a bit "fishy".;) :):D:p

 

The one I use charges $1.00 (yes, one dollar) per cruise monitored. It's a WHALE of a deal!:p

 

HI Lobster123 or anyone who received a price drop. Besides looking at Celebritys site how do get price drops? You can email me at packerfanlarry1@gmail.com

 

Thanks so much!!

 

This post will get you there if you look on google. the correct website has "fish" in it and ends with .net. also has the word cruise in it.

[iancal]

On one of our Celebrity cruises there was a price drop. It was on gtys. We traded in our balcony for a balcony gty. Saved a bunch of money and were assiged a better cabin cat/location than we had previously booked. We have also done the opposite. No cost savings but we moved to an extended balcony cabin.

 

It really does pay dividends to keep a close eye on the pricing matrix of your cruise-on all cruise lines.

Edited November 12, 2016 by iancal

[Flafun888]

I would like experienced cruisers' opinions. I found a price drop last night on a Celebrity balcony cabin for april 2017 sailing - from 1109 to 964/person. I called big box ta who confirmed I could get it and still keep my onboard booking OBC and both perks (pkg and $300 obc) I booked with originally. So that was a win-win :)

 

But because it was a lower fare, she told me my original TA incentive (free grats) no longer applied. Instead, the best they could do would be a $50 obc for the cabin.

 

I still saved about $150 total bottom line off the cruise everything included, so not complaining! I'm just curious if the loss of that incentive is customary and reasonable given the price drop per cabin or do you think the TA should have been able to stay with the original free grats offer?

 

This is a huge online cruise agency, not a small brick and mortar TA. There is also no price discount from them, group rate or any other benefit other than the original free grats offered to get the booking.

 

Thanks for any insight you can provide.:D

[Iamcruzin]

I would like experienced cruisers' opinions. I found a price drop last night on a Celebrity balcony cabin for april 2017 sailing - from 1109 to 964/person. I called big box ta who confirmed I could get it and still keep my onboard booking OBC and both perks (pkg and $300 obc) I booked with originally. So that was a win-win :)

 

But because it was a lower fare, she told me my original TA incentive (free grats) no longer applied. Instead, the best they could do would be a $50 obc for the cabin.

 

I still saved about $150 total bottom line off the cruise everything included, so not complaining! I'm just curious if the loss of that incentive is customary and reasonable given the price drop per cabin or do you think the TA should have been able to stay with the original free grats offer?

 

This is a huge online cruise agency, not a small brick and mortar TA. There is also no price discount from them, group rate or any other benefit other than the original free grats offered to get the booking.

 

Thanks for any insight you can provide.:D

Yes, it is customary for a TA to alter the complementary incentive with a price reduction as it usually comes out of their commission.

Is the $150 savings still the total savings after you add back the price of the gratuity to the total cost of the cruise? If so then you are ahead of the game. If you still haven't added the price of the gratuity back in with the lower fare than that could be the game changer and you might have been better off with the original deal.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Iamcruzin

[Flafun888]

Thanks for your comments! Appreciate it. Yup - I'm still ahead of the game even after losing the TA incentive, so it was a good move. :)

 

I guess I was just a bit surprised that a $975/person cabin receives the same incentive as a $350-400/person interior, deeply discounted OV, or post-final payment deeply discounted guarantee cabin. They give $50 OBC for those too. So I was guessing mine might be 75-100.

 

Again, I'm delighted there was a reduction at all, so not complaining. Just curious as to whether it seemed low or avg to people with a lot more booking experience than me. Just to help me on the next booking.

 

Thanks again!

Edited November 13, 2016 by Flafun888

[Iamcruzin]

Thanks for your comments! Appreciate it. Yup - I'm still ahead of the game even after losing the TA incentive, so it was a good move. :)

 

I guess I was just a bit surprised that a $975/person cabin receives the same incentive as a $350-400/person interior, deeply discounted OV, or post-final payment deeply discounted guarantee cabin. They give $50 OBC for those too. So I was guessing mine might be 75-100.

 

Again, I'm delighted there was a reduction at all, so not complaining. Just curious as to whether it seemed low or avg to people with a lot more booking experience than me. Just to help me on the next booking.

 

Thanks again!

My experience has been the standard $50 OBC for that price range which is why I don't hand my booking over to a TA. It is more important to me to be able control my own booking so I can call Celebrity to receive a price reduction before it disappears. I have been able to save more than a $50 OBC using this method.

[grandgeezer]

My experience has been the standard $50 OBC for that price range which is why I don't hand my booking over to a TA. It is more important to me to be able control my own booking so I can call Celebrity to receive a price reduction before it disappears. I have been able to save more than a $50 OBC using this method.

 

I suggest finding a different travel agent. We recently booked a B2B (14 days total) on the Celebrity Silhouette for this December. They had a fire sale since it was after final payment. We paid about $3,100 total for the both of us for an A1 (Aqua) balcony, same cabin both legs. There was no perks from Celebrity but we got $500 obc from the agent which is refundable. That's over 15%. I also get price reductions, can change cabins and get any questions answered.

[Iamcruzin]

I suggest finding a different travel agent. We recently booked a B2B (14 days total) on the Celebrity Silhouette for this December. They had a fire sale since it was after final payment. We paid about $3,100 total for the both of us for an A1 (Aqua) balcony, same cabin both legs. There was no perks from Celebrity but we got $500 obc from the agent which is refundable. That's over 15%. I also get price reductions, can change cabins and get any questions answered.

 

We are both still working for the next 12 years at least. Someday when I am retired and can leave at a moments notice and can book longer than 7-10 day itineraries I will be more proactive finding an agent. We tend to book ocean views as well and the fire sales usually are on inside cabins which I have only sailed in once. I don't expect anyone to be giving me a $500 OBC for a room that only cost $900. I have also booked cruises well in advance before we can request vacation time for the following year which have resulted in having to cancel because one of us couldn't get that particular week off. It's a fine balance of finding the right itinerary at the right price that works with our schedule. The perks that Celebrity provides even though they are included in the fare work out better for us in the long run as the senior,resident discount isn't much of a savings. I still call several agents to see if they can beat Celebrity or Princess price buy have yet to find any. I book at a price that I am willing to pay and watch for price drops. This method has been very successful for me.

[Flafun888]

Thank you both for the comments. Appreciate it. Mike: I have to agree that $50 isn't worth getting a TA involved. If it were a more elaborate or complex sailing that would benefit from a good TA's insights, that would be different. But this is a no-flights, drive to the port 7 day Caribbean. The only reason I transferred the booking was because free grats was a nice bonus. None of my last 3 sailings had price drops until after final payment.

 

There's nothing wrong with the agency. But nothing standout either: no group rates or unusually good service that makes the experience any better than booking with Celebrity directly, as I did the first time.

[grandgeezer]

We are both still working for the next 12 years at least. Someday when I am retired and can leave at a moments notice and can book longer than 7-10 day itineraries I will be more proactive finding an agent. We tend to book ocean views as well and the fire sales usually are on inside cabins which I have only sailed in once. I don't expect anyone to be giving me a $500 OBC for a room that only cost $900. I have also booked cruises well in advance before we can request vacation time for the following year which have resulted in having to cancel because one of us couldn't get that particular week off. It's a fine balance of finding the right itinerary at the right price that works with our schedule. The perks that Celebrity provides even though they are included in the fare work out better for us in the long run as the senior,resident discount isn't much of a savings. I still call several agents to see if they can beat Celebrity or Princess price buy have yet to find any. I book at a price that I am willing to pay and watch for price drops. This method has been very successful for me.

 

There isn't a one size fits all, you have to do what you have to do. I book balconys and not always fire sales. I also book at the price I'm willing to pay and watch for price drops. If I can't get my price, we just don't go, no big deal. All I'm saying is that if you can find the right agent, there is money to be saved. I've used the same one for the last 18-20 cruises and couldn't be happier with the money I've saved.

[Jazzbo]

I found our TA through a website that competes to give you the best deal for the cruise you want. She's with a big internet agency, but happens to be located right here in Orlando. I liked her so much, I continue to use her. We always get good OBC from her, and whenever I found a price drop, or an additional OBC from Celebrity, she got it for us. When there was a price drop on the 12/31 Reflection Western Caribbean (we were already booked on the 1/7 Reflection Eastern Caribbean), and the same cabin was available, so I grabbed it with a 24-hour hold.

 

I did have to spend some time on the phone with our TA and Celebrity to book under the TA, but it was well worth it. Got $300 OBC from the TA, plus she asked the Celebrity agent about the b2b discount, and we got another $50 off each cruise. Love her!

[Flafun888]

Thanks for sharing your experience...glad it's worked out so well for you! I can't really complain about this agency. I called the customer service number asking about the drop and the rep quickly jumped on the phone with Celebrity and it was all handled politely and efficiently. It just so happened that the lower cabin rate now puts me $25 under the cutoff for the next higher OBC they would pay out. (Their OBC amounts are all published right on their website, so it pretty much confirmed what she told me.)

 

Thanks again for chiming in! :)

Edited November 14, 2016 by Flafun888