"Free Perks" are not free

[grandgeezer]

On our Summit 7 night cruise the senior Aqua class was $1800, with go best no senior discount- classic drink packages and $300 OBC was $2300 ,worth it for us to pay $500 more for $1070 value.

 

 

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$1070 is the cost, not value. They are not the same thing. Value is what it’s actually worth. Based on what we drink, the markup is up to ten times the cost. To me the value is $107. As long as it makes you happy that’s all that counts.

[Toofarfromthesea]

Let me begin by saying I love Celebrity Cruises, so this is not a complaint, but relaying some interesting information that I think will help folks make a more informed decision when deciding on selection of "Free" Perks. After 19 cruises, I considered myself to be a very informed cruiser. But when booking our most recent Celebrity cruise I was surprised to find when I declined the "Free Perks" on the Celebrity web site reservation page, the cost of our cruise went down $250 per person. The two free perks we had chosen were gratuities and the classic beverage package. Even paying the $200 gratuities on a 7-day cruise, that left us with $300 to spend on board to reach the cost of the free beverage package. With the luxury of the Elite cocktail hour each night and four ports on the cruise, paying for the two free perks made no sense for this cruise. On longer cruises with more sea days, the beverage package remains a great perk.

 

I always figured the cost of the free perks were somehow worked into the cruise price to a certain degree, but was very surprised they were worked into the cruise fare to this degree. A representative on the future cruise desk on board did confirm for us that there is a cost charged to the passenger for each "free perk" they select for their cruise. So to perfectly clear, the "free perks" should be referred to as "discounted perks", which are still a good value. Again not a complaint but something to consider when booking your cruise.

 

TANSTAAFL.

 

After 19 cruises you should know that you should never read the words, ALWAYS do the math.

[jkgourmet]

Let me begin by saying I love Celebrity Cruises, so this is not a complaint, but relaying some interesting information that I think will help folks make a more informed decision when deciding on selection of "Free" Perks. After 19 cruises, I considered myself to be a very informed cruiser. But when booking our most recent Celebrity cruise I was surprised to find when I declined the "Free Perks" on the Celebrity web site reservation page, the cost of our cruise went down $250 per person. The two free perks we had chosen were gratuities and the classic beverage package. Even paying the $200 gratuities on a 7-day cruise, that left us with $300 to spend on board to reach the cost of the free beverage package. With the luxury of the Elite cocktail hour each night and four ports on the cruise, paying for the two free perks made no sense for this cruise. On longer cruises with more sea days, the beverage package remains a great perk.

 

I always figured the cost of the free perks were somehow worked into the cruise price to a certain degree, but was very surprised they were worked into the cruise fare to this degree. A representative on the future cruise desk on board did confirm for us that there is a cost charged to the passenger for each "free perk" they select for their cruise. So to perfectly clear, the "free perks" should be referred to as "discounted perks", which are still a good value. Again not a complaint but something to consider when booking your cruise.

 

IN most cases, I think you're correct BUT not if one can't factor in the Elite cocktail hour because they aren't Elite or, in my experience, if one books the lowest level cabin to get the perks - OV.

[ghstudio]

Really, I have never gotten cheaper prices when using them. They are the same as on the Celebrity web-site.

 

You aren't supposed to mention TA's by name on Cruise Critic.....however the one mentioned and others often have group rates that are lower than the Celebrity published rates. We just booked a cruise with another large TA that gave us a C3 cabin at their 2C balcony price....a promotion that ended last night. We booked with the same TA for a cruise next month, saved about $2K off the official celebrity price and got all 4 perks instead of the one that was offered by Celebrity (advertising note: we found that one from an email sales note sent by Cruise Critic). This morning I booked with the mentioned TA at the official Celebrity price but got 2 perks instead of one plus $300. Some of the offers only apply to specific cabin categories.

 

OTOH, both TA's many times charge the official price, but add some perks like additonal OBC or 2 perks instead of 1.

 

Finding good cruise deals is a full time hobby....

[CruisingChick]

 

Finding good cruise deals is a full time hobby....

 

More like a full time job than a hobby. My DH every day recites a list of offers he has received via e-mail from various vendors. Makes your head spin.

[BosoxI]

Finding good cruise deals is a full time hobby....

I don't know if it's a hobby, but would you please explain this to my wife who thinks I spend too much time on the computer but then wants to know what Great Deals I've discovered:D:D:confused: .

 

BTW Some of these posts are beyond my comprehension. Run-on sentences, no punctuation, I can't make heads or tails out of what is being said.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Yeah, we compared the cost of the cruise with/without the perks, and we knew we couldn’t/wouldn’t drink enough to merit the “free” perk, so we saved the money! I remember seeing the “get all perks” promo one year on a cruise, and then I compared it with regular pricing of the same itinerary on a different cruise line, and you’re definitely paying for those perks! It’s clearly effecting marketing for Celebrity, though.

 

 

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[JackN]

Why would you think they were free - just because Celebrity are calling them "perks"?

Total cruise price with or without perks is what make sense for each individual.

 

Because they always said and continue to say 'free perks". Again knew they were built in some how. Before you could not add and remove free perks on the web....now you can. I just found the amount the perks actually added to the reservation surprising. The last full thread here about Perks only debated the value in terms of how many drinks you would actually have versus taking another perk. Just thought some would find this interesting.

[JackN]

As I said, you would have to go through a TA to get the price without Perks. The Celebrity site does not give the option. You can select "No Thanks" but the price does not change. At least not on the 6 itineraries for a Celebrity Suite I checked for 2019.

 

Actually it does now change on the Celebrity web site, which is what triggered me to start this thread.

[JackN]

We have known this all along and only take the perk if it works out to our advantage over booking without perks.

 

Why didn't you take the $300 OBC? That's $150 per person. So that leaves you with $100, right? To pay $100 per person for a drink package is worth it in my opinion and this is from someone who rarely pays the extra for perks.

 

We got a $300 OBC from our travel agent.

[4774Papa]

Let me begin by saying I love Celebrity Cruises, so this is not a complaint, but relaying some interesting information that I think will help folks make a more informed decision when deciding on selection of "Free" Perks. After 19 cruises, I considered myself to be a very informed cruiser. But when booking our most recent Celebrity cruise I was surprised to find when I declined the "Free Perks" on the Celebrity web site reservation page, the cost of our cruise went down $250 per person. The two free perks we had chosen were gratuities and the classic beverage package. Even paying the $200 gratuities on a 7-day cruise, that left us with $300 to spend on board to reach the cost of the free beverage package. With the luxury of the Elite cocktail hour each night and four ports on the cruise, paying for the two free perks made no sense for this cruise. On longer cruises with more sea days, the beverage package remains a great perk.

 

I always figured the cost of the free perks were somehow worked into the cruise price to a certain degree, but was very surprised they were worked into the cruise fare to this degree. A representative on the future cruise desk on board did confirm for us that there is a cost charged to the passenger for each "free perk" they select for their cruise. So to perfectly clear, the "free perks" should be referred to as "discounted perks", which are still a good value. Again not a complaint but something to consider when booking your cruise.

We don't drink from dawn to bedtime, we usually start with the elite happy hour and then have wine with dinner. Drink Packages make no sense to us.

I hate the bundled pricing. I haven't figured out how to avoid the promos, just go for the basic cruise cost, so we largely book transatlantics or repos that don't bundle.

[ptf2009]

Pardon my ignorance, but we haven’t been on Celebrity in many years. If I’ve already booked a cruise with 2 “free” perks, can I call ask them to remove one or two of them and get a decrease in the price of our cruise? We’ve noticed that our OVB has now almost doubled in price and only one “free” perk is offered.

[gerelmx]

I do a dummy booking Eclipse CAT 2A to Hawaii Sept 22/19 with or without perks, the quote it's the same amount of $$$$. Current promo is 1 perk plus summer savings discount.

[pixey]

BOSOX I am the run-on, no punctuation culprit. I use talk text but at computer now. I take for CLAIM for my disgrace in communication skills via talk/test. I do not review One moron in every group and I'll take the trophy.

Free perks doesnt mean you drink til overboard.We dont drink our perk level either so it still has NO bill. Gratuites always aplus and with seated time dining if we have stellar service and we generally do always give waiter and asst an monetary envelope away from our table group. If we have Great service with room steward we do also.Grats a day is peanuts for staff by the time they divvy it among staff. My sun was a doo-wop singer on the Mercury and Infinity as part of entertainment and they were contracted and did well.Wait staff, bussers, room attendants etc are NOT.I waitressed while getting Masters in early 70s. APPRECIATE those who tipped above when they recognized Great service.

Day before cruise end you see folks at customer support desk demanding gratuity removal because they had AWFUL service.Never will they pin point but are cheap bast....s who shouldn't be cruising in the first place. Other is Gigantic folk who eat their way thru the cruise and walk with double plates NOT fast enough so they can stuff their mouth cavaties faster than they can chew. You want to lose weight on a cruise sit next to them! Disgusting.

Again apologize for talk/text on my phone. I will try to be more robotic LOL

[pixey]

I am the run-on no punctuation culprit. Talk/text via cell can do that.

[mmsJack]

As I said, you would have to go through a TA to get the price without Perks. The Celebrity site does not give the option. You can select "No Thanks" but the price does not change. At least not on the 6 itineraries for a Celebrity Suite I checked for 2019.

 

Actually the Celebrity site does offer the option to get the (discounted) prices w/ no perks. Though not the easiest to find, it is available. It must be done from the start of booking, if you click no perks at the end of the booking process, you're correct - the price won't change.

 

If you want to check: Once a specific cruise is selected the first screen asks the user to select the number of rooms - make the selection.

 

The next screen asks how many guests and this is where you can get the non/*big/bigger/best* pricing.

 

On this selection screen you will see (in small blue print, mid-way down) 'See if you quality for offers' with a small down arrow underneath. Click on this and a drop down list appears allowing the user to enter a captain's club#, state of residence and senior status.

 

The trick (OH Celebrity...) is that when you enter the info the first time the screen refreshed automatically and the info you entered disappears.

 

You will have to re-enter the info a second time and hit enter again - but then the info is retained and you will get any available discounted rates (so the non-go big/better/best prices) for each room category.

 

With this pricing option the site will still show you the go big/better/best option at the end of the booking process prior to payment in order to compare the value of adding perks.

 

Just FYI - not being argumentative. It's wholly ridiculous that users have to jump through these hoops fo figure the pricing out really - absolutely nonsensical...

[Mythbuster]

Actually it does now change on the Celebrity web site, which is what triggered me to start this thread.

 

Are you checking for a suite? I see it for cabins below suite but never for a Celebrity Suite. It does allow you to say "No Thanks" but the price does not change. I have tried different months and different destinations with the same results.

[pixey]

Like anything else which is business-oriented such as hotels Airlines excetera prices change according to season, prices often can vary within 2 weeks just like Airlines giving one high price and then dropping it. What is it that I don't understand?

[phoenix_dream]

I would hope most of us are capable of doing the math to see if the "free perks" are worth the cost. What I object to is their being called "free". That's simply false advertising in my book.

Most are capable, but believe me all you have to do is read Cruise Critic regularly and you will discover that there are many who drink the Kool-Aid so to speak. For example, so many people will argue that suites are a great value because of all the 'free' perks. They may or may not be a good value depending on the sailing, and they are certainly a great experience, but those perks that come with them are anything but free. Based on threads I have read here, it is clearly a successful marketing ploy that very many people do not see through. I agree that it is false advertising.

[Mythbuster]

Actually the Celebrity site does offer the option to get the (discounted) prices w/ no perks. Though not the easiest to find, it is available. It must be done from the start of booking, if you click no perks at the end of the booking process, you're correct - the price won't change.

 

If you want to check: Once a specific cruise is selected the first screen asks the user to select the number of rooms - make the selection.

 

The next screen asks how many guests and this is where you can get the non/*big/bigger/best* pricing.

 

On this selection screen you will see (in small blue print, mid-way down) 'See if you quality for offers' with a small down arrow underneath. Click on this and a drop down list appears allowing the user to enter a captain's club#, state of residence and senior status.

 

The trick (OH Celebrity...) is that when you enter the info the first time the screen refreshed automatically and the info you entered disappears.

 

You will have to re-enter the info a second time and hit enter again - but then the info is retained and you will get any available discounted rates (so the non-go big/better/best prices) for each room category.

 

With this pricing option the site will still show you the go big/better/best option at the end of the booking process prior to payment in order to compare the value of adding perks.

 

Just FYI - not being argumentative. It's wholly ridiculous that users have to jump through these hoops fo figure the pricing out really - absolutely nonsensical...

 

I tried your steps (3 times). After selecting the drop menu and inputting my info (twice) I still get the same prices I was getting before. I do get the Go Big/Better/Best options at the end if I select a non-suite. If I select a Celebrity Suite only the Go Best option comes up and the price does not change whether I chose add or not. Not sure what I am doing wrong.

 

Here is a challenge: see if you can get a lower rate than $8,411 for 2 people in a Celebrity Suite on the Summit for the August 18, 2019 cruise to Bermuda on the Celebrity website.

Edited July 25, 2018 by Mythbuster
Add test

[pixey]

When we have gotten the free gratuities for two of us the cruise we haven't paid a penny getting the drink pass package classic drink package just a promotion when it's done before the cruise it includes drinks up to whatever price and beer up to a certain price of beer up to certain price and no gratuities on that so you know you're perimeters. Ship would credit always has been what it has said it's going to be. Be fine dining what you do pay for if you book it on the cruise but if it's giving us a purse you don't pay anything he got to find dinner and if you order a bottle of wine it's not part of your drink package course you pay for it. I still don't understand when you say it's not free what isn't free? If the perks come with the promotion they are free if you're talking about cost of the cruise the websites very on how much you can pay for the cruise and what perks they offer that's a different ballgame. I just want to understand what is not free when you get on board if you have free drinks free patooties free 1 night dining experience what it is that you've ended up paying for?

[villauk]

When we have gotten the free gratuities for two of us the cruise we haven't paid a penny getting the drink pass package classic drink package just a promotion when it's done before the cruise it includes drinks up to whatever price and beer up to a certain price of beer up to certain price and no gratuities on that so you know you're perimeters. Ship would credit always has been what it has said it's going to be. Be fine dining what you do pay for if you book it on the cruise but if it's giving us a purse you don't pay anything he got to find dinner and if you order a bottle of wine it's not part of your drink package course you pay for it. I still don't understand when you say it's not free what isn't free? If the perks come with the promotion they are free if you're talking about cost of the cruise the websites very on how much you can pay for the cruise and what perks they offer that's a different ballgame. I just want to understand what is not free when you get on board if you have free drinks free patooties free 1 night dining experience what it is that you've ended up paying for?

 

I can’t quite understand your post :confused:, however, they are not free as the cost of those items is included in the fare that X offer to you - just in the same way as your food and entertainment is included (that’s not free either) e.g. the cruise is $700pp and X know that a beverage package, on average, costs them $50pp. They then offer that sailing for $900pp and state it has an included ‘free’ drink package. Marketing it as a ‘free’ perk entices you to purchase that item. When in fact, the purchase price would be lower without that included ‘free’ perk. The value of it may be totally different to you than it is to the next pax, but that’s irrelevant to X. You would never see that initial $700, so are totally oblivious to what the actual starting point was.

 

Many pax never ask what the cost would be without that ‘free’ perk as they are unaware you can obtain pricing without those ‘free’ perks. Again, X wouldn’t drop it down to the $700 example, even in that instance, as that would be the bottom line, say after FP etc.

 

I’m not in business as you can probably tell :D, however I do understand the concept of how businesses market to make you think you are getting a brilliant deal (as do many posting on this thread). Look at what X did with Aqua and the new S3 cabins on Edge. Those cabins are in undesirable locations, solution: provide extra amenities for those cabins, charge more and then pax will reserve them - they think they are getting something special (which may be the case to some). Voila, problem solved and extra revenue for X - brilliant marketing plan (give that guy/gal a huge bonus :D). They are a business and will use any techniques to ensure the shareholders are happy; after all, it’s about the bottom line ;).

[Nan_Sea]

That is a totally offensive statement. Why do you assume that just because someone is in the elderly group they have lost all ability to reason? Very disrespectful!!!

 

 

 

Thank you for posting what I was thinking.

[CruisingChick]

Here is a challenge: see if you can get a lower rate than $8,411 for 2 people in a Celebrity Suite on the Summit for the August 18, 2019 cruise to Bermuda on the Celebrity website.

 

You are correct that is the price for a Celebrity Suite no matter which option you pick. So I am thinking on that particular cruise you cannot book a suite without getting all four perks.

 

Also if I go to book an Ocean View it states the price includes one perk but I would never pay $1,349 for a 7 night cruise for an Ocean View cabin. $899 maybe but not $1,349 even if it includes the drink package.

 

Having said that the lowest inside cabin is $1,069 per person. That is crazy. We booked New England / Canada 14 night cruise for September 9, 2018 for $949 per person.

 

I don't know why anyone would pay these prices.

[TeeRick]

The only time you would get "free" perks from Celebrity is if you win a free cruise from Celebrity.