X-citing deals? have you traveled?

[suec12]

Getting ready to retire - signed up for x-citing deals. Just wondering if many folks here have taken advantage. Care to share details? Was ChoiceAir helpful for airfare - I keep thinking if I jump on an x-citing deal - last minute airfare would cancel any savings from the cruise. We do live near a major airport but not driving distance to a cruise port. THANKS!

[grandgeezer]

X-citing deals aren't that exciting. In most cases, the cruises that I have been monitoring, when they show up are the same pricing as it had been before. Sometimes they play games, reduce the cruise price but increase the first perk to balance it off. I noticed that they also increase the perk cost if you pick anything but a guarantee. Case in point, August 25 on the Equinox, nine nights in a balcony guarantee,: $899 plus $250 for the first perk. But if I pick a cabin (2D, which is the lowest balcony, it's $919 but the $290 for the first perk. The value of the perks is $130.50 p.p. for prepaid gratuities, $150 p.p. for the obc, and $581 p.p. for the Classic drink package. Nobody in their right mind wouldn't take the drinks if they wanted one perk. Pretty obvious what demographic they are targeting.

If you don't drink, the pricing is fairly reasonable.

You are right, normally airfares only go up the closer you get to the sail date. Choice air is wonderful for one way foreign ports, usually about 1/3 what you would pay otherwise. On our first transAtlantic it cost more to fly from Phoenix to Ft. Lauderdale, in coach than it did from Barcelona to Phoenix in Economy Plus.

[phoenix_dream]

IMHO, unless you can drive to port last minute airfares almost always cancel out any last minute savings. I also agree that you need to be careful about the pricing. Often the deals have no or few perks, and once you add those (presuming you would purchase beverage packages and/or internet anyway) the deals are rarely deals. Being recently retired we had hoped to take advantage of these also, but so far no luck (and we live near O'Hare in Chicago, with lots of flight options).

 

One option, for Caribbean cruises anyway, is to book a flight for 9-10 days around week-ends, and then wait and see what deals you might find at the last minute (Celebrity or otherwise). Worst case you end up with a nice vacation in Florida. Best case you grab a sweet deal on a nice cruise.

[Duanerice1]

I retired a couple of years ago and haven't really taken advantage of any of the offers. They just aren't that good for when we can travel. Just because I am retired doesn't mean I can just go when ever I want. Well I can but I still have other obligations to rearrange although none are work related :)

 

Another issue is our dog. She is getting older and we don't like leaving her a lot. When she passes we will probably travel a bit more but there is no hurry

[chemmo]

Getting ready to retire - signed up for x-citing deals. Just wondering if many folks here have taken advantage. Care to share details? Was ChoiceAir helpful for airfare - I keep thinking if I jump on an x-citing deal - last minute airfare would cancel any savings from the cruise. We do live near a major airport but not driving distance to a cruise port. THANKS!

 

When we retired a couple of years ago we thought we would at last save a fortune by going for last minute deals....

 

Hasn’t worked out that way!

 

Firstly I admit to being room and itinerary faddy....not the best of starts.

 

Then as others have said there are flight issues. Not only are flights often more expensive near cruising time often the only flights left have stops with long wait times....

 

To us the benefit of retirement has been to be able to cruise any time of the year and to extend our stays (often beginning and end). We have managed good deals on villas and hotels, for example in Florida in September and as a bonus the Orlando theme parks are quiet (never too old for Disney and Harry Potter)!

[dutchclogs]

X-citing deals aren't that exciting. In most cases, the cruises that I have been monitoring, when they show up are the same pricing as it had been before. Sometimes they play games, reduce the cruise price but increase the first perk to balance it off. I noticed that they also increase the perk cost if you pick anything but a guarantee. Case in point, August 25 on the Equinox, nine nights in a balcony guarantee,: $899 plus $250 for the first perk. But if I pick a cabin (2D, which is the lowest balcony, it's $919 but the $290 for the first perk.

.

 

Interesting -- I've been monitoring this cruise. I've noted the giving and taking away calculations you mention. Marketing must be working as the remaining 10-12 concierge cabins disappeared overnight, and now Concierge, Aqua and suites are showing sold out.

[villauk]

Interesting -- I've been monitoring this cruise. I've noted the giving and taking away calculations you mention. Marketing must be working as the remaining 10-12 concierge cabins disappeared overnight, and now Concierge, Aqua and suites are showing sold out.

 

Wow, those prices have dropped substantially since initially released. Maybe better for us to just book flights for next year and leave the cruise decision to the last minute - as Chemmo stated, one could always just stay in Orlando instead.

[cangelmd]

I've thought about these same questions - DH is retired, but i have a few years to go. I have wondered about airfare cancelling out the savings. We could drive to cruise ports if we were retired, but would have to spend one night to get to Florida ports - that would still be cheaper than flights for 2, but it eats up the savings, when you consider gas, extra food, parking etc - even if we drove straight home on the way back, no hotel night on the return.

I would likely get tired of the Caribbean as well, we can go to a nicer beach situation anytime we want to, so the ship and an occasional snorkeling trip is the appeal to us.

[miched]

I think exciting has a different meaning for Celebrity.

 

Like others I monitor the cruise prices and occasionally the cruise I have booked will be listed in Exciting Deals. Most times the price is more than what I paid and if it is lower it doesn’t come with any perks and most times are for guaranteed rate.

 

The cheapest prices are also usually for a inside cabin and that is standard for any cruise.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

Edited July 12, 2018 by miched

[BosoxI]

Interesting -- I've been monitoring this cruise. I've noted the giving and taking away calculations you mention. Marketing must be working as the remaining 10-12 concierge cabins disappeared overnight, and now Concierge, Aqua and suites are showing sold out.

 

Yup I've been tracking the September 3 Equinox. Eleven days and $1899 for an Aqua. No thanks. A veranda guarantee is now $949 plus $109/125/159 for specialty restaurants for 3/4/5 dinners. There's the deal.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Back in the day, Exciting Deals were occasionally exciting. Sometimes there were single supplements of 150% offered. Actually scored a couple after checking the airfare issue out first. Haven't seen anything exciting lately. And no deals on single supplements. Personally, I think Celebrity's prices are way too high for what you get. I guess as long as they can get people to book at those prices, they'll continue to charge them. I plan to move on to MSC's Yacht Club where I scored a screaming deal for a Yacht Club suite with NO single supplement.

[bigbenboys]

We have used Celebrity Air 2 times. I got a great deal on business class airfare to Europe for our October adventure. On our last cruise we talked to a Zenith couple about cruising. The idea of cruising back from Asia to Vancouver in a Sky Suite (15 nights) is about the cost of business class airfare. Why not just cruise back to the Pacific Northwest. As to the Exciting Deals we have looked at them. But we have not booked any yet. I'm thinking of last minute Alaska cruise next summer.

[Luvcrusn]

We are also both retired and can vacation whenever the spirit moves us. Although the last minute airfare does often cancel out the savings (if any) of exciting deals, we usually see better deals through our large online TA than those Exciting Deals offered in the X emails, and they usually contain perks. In addition, when large numbers of cabins disappear at once it could be because a large TA offers a special deal. Ours often does this. When comparing apples to apples, that seems the best value. We live in Pennsylvania and don't mind driving to Florida. We leave two days ahead of the cruise, stay overnight half way, stay in FL the night before departure. Even with two hotel stays, gas, tolls and parking the cost is less than flying (even when flights are booked during the optimal booking time of 90-120 days out) and also factoring in the baggage fees charged by the airlines. In addition we find it refreshing not to have to think about where we pack our liquids or worry about TSA requirements or airline weight/size limitations. It surprised me somewhat to see that folks from GA or AL consider themselves too far from FL to take advantage of last minute deals, until I realized that not everyone enjoys the drive time or is able to do it. We also stay overnight in Ft. Lauderdale at a hotel that offers free breakfast, and parking for up to 21 days, and transportation to Port Everglades.

 

Of course if we're cruising from Europe, Asia, South America, Vancouver, Alaska, Seattle, San Diego or Hawaii it's a whole different story!

[Redtravel]

Exciting deals can be good. Many are short dated discounts designed to fill cabins. I have booked them. Gty bookings can also be a way to save money. Only book Gty if you are ok with letting the cruiseline select your cabin. Do your homework. When booking any trip, check several ways to book. Check the cruiseline first. That gives you a reference price point when you shop for a cabin. Often the cruiseline is a good price. I have booked directly and with TAs. Then look at major online agencies. My TA often can beat Celebrity's price or give us some OBC or upgrade. Each time I book a cruise, I check multiple options. Also, if you need air tickets to get to the embarkation port, check options before you book anything. Just saw a good deal on a Tahiti cruise. Airfare is too high. I will let it pass. Be patient, keep checking, and when you see a good deal, book it.

[ghstudio]

Think of travel as a hobby when you retire. By that, I mean that Xciting deals is just one of the things you want to follow. You'll want to get newsletters from a number of travel agents, tour companies and so on. You never know when you'll turn up a "can't resist" deal on a river cruise, an air included guided tour somewhere, etc. Yes, you will be flooded with offers and email, but you're retired...you can quickly run through them and decide who offers great deals...who doesn't. You'll learn that choice air has great one way airfares to Europe if you want to do a transatlantic. You'll find sites where you post the cruise you want and TA's bid for your business. You'll also discover that there are airlines that aren't shown in the major airline booking web sites....as I said, it's a hobby to figure out the options.

 

Is all this worth it? Yes...we saved 25% on an already booked Celebrity Balkan cruise, (originally booked on-board)by going to the TA, cancelling the first booking and booking withe new TA in their group.... AND we got all four perks instead of just one in a concierge cabin. BTW, we found out about that special deal in an email from Cruise Critic!!!! We've saved over 50% on a river cruise over the best deal we had found anywhere....it was a weekend special on another web site that aggregates special deals from various sources.

 

I agree with most...Xciting deals generally aren't...but you never know. You will learn the tricks...eg. use celebrity's choice air if you want to fly to Europe one-way for a transatlantic; book your next cruise while on-board a cruise and get some perks from the cruise line, then move the booking to a TA and get more perks from that TA. Some TA's give classic perks like OBC or free gratuties,...but some TA's just give you a rebate after you return from the cruise...which might be a better deal. It's a bit of a jungle, but one you can figure out and it becomes almost a game to find the best deal...or to find some place you didn't even think about but it's irresistibly priced (eg. an upper amazon river cruise).

 

How do you find which sites to subscribe to....well, one way is to ask folks on your next cruise/trip who they follow/use...ask friends....wander around google and look at some of the big travel agencies to get started.

 

Best of luck finding great deals and enjoying your retirement.

Edited July 13, 2018 by ghstudio

[Chocolate martini fan]

We were able to take advantage of one of the exciting deals about 18 months ago. The cruise was scheduled for 5 days after my retirement date and DH was already retired. We got a 4 night Silhouette cruise in a balcony guarantee for less than $300 each. Since we live in Florida we drove to the port.

 

The timing and price was too good to pass up. Still checking the email each week hoping for another good deal.

[vkb2751]

Think of travel as a hobby when you retire. By that, I mean that Xciting deals is just one of the things you want to follow. You'll want to get newsletters from a number of travel agents, tour companies and so on. You never know when you'll turn up a "can't resist" deal on a river cruise, an air included guided tour somewhere, etc. Yes, you will be flooded with offers and email, but you're retired...you can quickly run through them and decide who offers great deals...who doesn't. You'll learn that choice air has great one way airfares to Europe if you want to do a transatlantic. You'll find sites where you post the cruise you want and TA's bid for your business. You'll also discover that there are airlines that aren't shown in the major airline booking web sites....as I said, it's a hobby to figure out the options.

 

Is all this worth it? Yes...we saved 25% on an already booked Celebrity Balkan cruise, (originally booked on-board)by going to the TA, cancelling the first booking and booking withe new TA in their group.... AND we got all four perks instead of just one in a concierge cabin. BTW, we found out about that special deal in an email from Cruise Critic!!!! We've saved over 50% on a river cruise over the best deal we had found anywhere....it was a weekend special on another web site that aggregates special deals from various sources.

 

I agree with most...Xciting deals generally aren't...but you never know. You will learn the tricks...eg. use celebrity's choice air if you want to fly to Europe one-way for a transatlantic; book your next cruise while on-board a cruise and get some perks from the cruise line, then move the booking to a TA and get more perks from that TA. Some TA's give classic perks like OBC or free gratuties,...but some TA's just give you a rebate after you return from the cruise...which might be a better deal. It's a bit of a jungle, but one you can figure out and it becomes almost a game to find the best deal...or to find some place you didn't even think about but it's irresistibly priced (eg. an upper amazon river cruise).

 

How do you find which sites to subscribe to....well, one way is to ask folks on your next cruise/trip who they follow/use...ask friends....wander around google and look at some of the big travel agencies to get started.

 

Best of luck finding great deals and enjoying your retirement.

 

Agree with what you are saying! We are retired and it is my full time to job to find deals for cruises and other travel/tours. And we can find deals but it takes time and effort. It is not as easy as checking x-citing deals from Celebrity.

[BosoxI]

There are some good deals but frequently not on Celebrity. The MSC Yacht Club is great; Regent is spectacular (and expensive) but we get what we paid for and with fellow passengers we enjoy. We have expanded our cruising horizons and it's been great. As was noted, for what Celebrity offers, their prices are too high in many cases.

[GottaKnowWhen]

Getting ready to retire - signed up for x-citing deals. Just wondering if many folks here have taken advantage. Care to share details? Was ChoiceAir helpful for airfare - I keep thinking if I jump on an x-citing deal - last minute airfare would cancel any savings from the cruise. We do live near a major airport but not driving distance to a cruise port. THANKS!

 

I tend to plan ahead, our next eight cruises planned are two b2b in November, two b2b in March 2019, two b2b in Sept 2019, and two b2b in Feb 2020. Our recent Mar 2018 Galapagos cruise was booked in Dec 2015. On the other hand, we are recently back from an unplanned Summit-to-Bermuda cruise, and in 6-7 weeks will go on an unplanned Equinox Caribbean cruise. The Summit and Equinox trips were in direct response to an email from Celebrity, probably the Exciting Deals program. In both cases the offers were after Final Payment. I used airline Miles to get to Newark for the Summit cruise, miles again to get to Miami for the Equinox trip. On the other hand, I have used Flights by Celebrity to get very reasonable rates on the flight to Barcelona this fall, the flight back home from Argentina, and the flight back down to Argentina next spring.

 

I had not been thinking about and carefully tracking prices for the Summit nor Equinox trips. I got the emails, the prices looked reasonable, and we booked. Are they truly "special" prices"? Could I have saved $50 or squeezed out an extra perq if I had been been tracking and had optimized the point at which I purchased? Maybe. But that is irrelevant. I just don't care. At the time I saw the offers, they were reasonable, in my considered judgement, the schedules fit our schedules, and so I booked.

 

In short, my experience is that Exciting Deals can be "exciting", air fare (or the availability of Miles) will make a difference, and in general advance planning may yield lower cruise and air prices. But if someone offers you a deal, take it. If there is a fork in the road, take it.

 

Stan

[andrek]

Although we love Celebrity we have found amazing deals on Princess and Holland America. We have cruised with them lately for a fraction of the cost of a Celebrity Cruise. Sign up for Stand By deals and Drop and Go with Princess. If you are a member of Holland America they also have great last minute cruise prices if you are flexible. Just to name a couple we did a TA for 14 days from Fort Lauderdale to Rome on a brand new ship (Koningsdam) in a balcony cabin for $799pp. Also did a TA on the Regal Princess from Copenhagen for a mini suite for $1699, 16 days and toured Norway, the British Isles and Canada ending in New York. Both were wonderful. Sign up for Travel zoo and Gate 1. Have fun with your retirement.