Re: honouring price drops?!

[ellie84]

Booked a cruise for September 2020 a few weeks ago, so only deposit paid. This week noticed a significant price drop on that sailing! Booked though a UK travel agent. They contacted celebrity to ask them to honour the price drop. And were met with a resounding no. They claim you have to cancel entire booking and then rebook. But they won’t hold the cabins. In our situation, we have quite specific requirements, so that would be extremely risky! I’m pretty sure on the boards I’ve read about people asking for price drops to be honoured and they were able to do that without cancelling. Has anybody been met with a no, like us? Does anyone know whether we can take it further?

[Alakegirl]

UK rules are different than US rules.  You might have read reports from US cruisers who got price drops.  

[villauk]

37 minutes ago, ellie84 said:

Booked a cruise for September 2020 a few weeks ago, so only deposit paid. This week noticed a significant price drop on that sailing! Booked though a UK travel agent. They contacted celebrity to ask them to honour the price drop. And were met with a resounding no. They claim you have to cancel entire booking and then rebook. But they won’t hold the cabins. In our situation, we have quite specific requirements, so that would be extremely risky! I’m pretty sure on the boards I’ve read about people asking for price drops to be honoured and they were able to do that without cancelling. Has anybody been met with a no, like us? Does anyone know whether we can take it further?

 

 

Price drops in the UK are no longer permitted, either prior to or after final payment (it stopped about 4 or 5 years ago - may be more as time does fly). You can either cancel and lose your deposit, or alternatively, in this was an onboard booking, move it to a future cruise and then rebook the current sailing as a new booking at the cheaper rate.

 

Different T&Cs over here to that of the US, so do not compare your booking to those replies you receive from US reservations. I have booked in the States for many, many years to retain the flexibility with my reservations.

Edited May 31, 2019 by villauk

[Toftwood]

Not in the UK sadly. It is not just Celebrity, most cruise lines seem to have similar Ts & Cs in the UK.  We were faced with a similar situation earlier this year and the price drop was so great that we cancelled our booking, forfeited our £300 deposit, moved from a mid-range cabin on deck 7 to a C2 on deck 10 and were still in pocket!! Admittedly this was on a T/Atl where prices do seem to plummet as final payment date approaches. 

[ellie84]

Thanks for your reply! Interesting to hear that here in the Uk the rules are so different 😞 So they won’t even transfer the deposit either to the new booking? So difficult to know what to do, as one our cabins booked is an accessible one, and there’s so few onboard, it’s quite risky cancelling and rebooking, even with the significant price drop! But obviously we don’t want to be paying so much more for the same thing! 

[ellie84]

22 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

Price drops in the UK are no longer permitted, either prior to or after final payment (it stopped about 4 or 5 years ago - may be more as time does fly). You can either cancel and lose your deposit, or alternatively, in this was an onboard booking, move it to a future cruise and then rebook the current sailing as a new booking at the cheaper rate.

 

Different T&Cs over here to that of the US, so do not compare your booking to those replies you receive from US reservations. I have booked in the States for many, many years to retain the flexibility with my reservations.

 

Thanks for your reply! I didn’t even realise that we could in the UK book with the States! Do you mind me asking how the process starts for that?

[villauk]

48 minutes ago, ellie84 said:

 

Thanks for your reply! I didn’t even realise that we could in the UK book with the States! Do you mind me asking how the process starts for that?

 

Find yourself a US TA and book; it’s that easy - just check if they charge any cancellation fees. It’s wise to get some recommendations from others (a good time is at the M&M where you can gain great information). Check the offers and deals on both sides of the pond, prior to booking, to see which fits your personal needs best 😉.

[NewWestwardbound]

1 hour ago, ellie84 said:

it’s quite risky cancelling

Even cancelling with Celebrity by telephone and on the same call immediately rebooking the same cabin?

[ellie84]

11 minutes ago, NewWestwardbound said:

Even cancelling with Celebrity by telephone and on the same call immediately rebooking the same cabin?

It’s because one of the cabins on the booking is a specific accessible cabin. And there’s just so few onboard, and it needs to be close to the other hooked cabins. That’s why it’s quite risky in our particular situation, but totally agree if an accessible cabin isn’t required then this far out, the risk is very low!

[G.M.T.]

2 hours ago, NewWestwardbound said:

Even cancelling with Celebrity by telephone and on the same call immediately rebooking the same cabin?

Yes, especially for accessable cabins where there is a waiting list. If an acessible cabin is cancelled the system will a hold on it for the first person on the wait list to decide.

 

OP if you were happy with the price when you first booked, just go with an open heart and mind and have a great cruise.

[Fixit2010]

I will book at a price I am comfortable with and once done, I don't track price changes.  That way I am not dissapointed.

[ellie84]

5 hours ago, Fixit2010 said:

I will book at a price I am comfortable with and once done, I don't track price changes.  That way I am not dissapointed.

Thanks for your reply 🙂 I totally understand and agree with your point, and it’s not that I was necessarily tracking any price change. I was actually on the site investigating something else for some friends, and it was only then that I noticed that the  price drop had dropped nearly  £1800! So it’s just annoying that we are essentially paying that amount more for the same thing that we could have for £1800 cheaper! It wouldn’t have annoyed me if it was a couple of hundred pounds, but this price drop was quite significant!

[ellie84]

5 hours ago, G.M.T. said:

Yes, especially for accessable cabins where there is a waiting list. If an acessible cabin is cancelled the system will a hold on it for the first person on the wait list to decide.

 

OP if you were happy with the price when you first booked, just go with an open heart and mind and have a great cruise.

Thanks for your reply 🙂 Yes you’re exactly right about the wait lists etc, hence it being a massive risk! And you’re right we were willing to pay the original price, but then when the price is dropped nearly £1800, it’s super annoying!

[ellie84]

10 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

UK rules are different than US rules.  You might have read reports from US cruisers who got price drops.  

Thanks for your reply 🙂 I’m quickly learning that’s, exactly what you said! Seems to be far more beneficial booking in US than here in the UK!

[ellie84]

9 hours ago, Toftwood said:

Not in the UK sadly. It is not just Celebrity, most cruise lines seem to have similar Ts & Cs in the UK.  We were faced with a similar situation earlier this year and the price drop was so great that we cancelled our booking, forfeited our £300 deposit, moved from a mid-range cabin on deck 7 to a C2 on deck 10 and were still in pocket!! Admittedly this was on a T/Atl where prices do seem to plummet as final payment date approaches. 

Wow, so glad you managed to take advantage of the price drop! Sounds like you bagged a great deal! Because one of our cabins in the booking is accessible, it severely limits the number of options if we were to lose our original cabins! But £1800 price drop is clearly significant!

[dtagirl]

What if you keep the accessible cabin, and take the price drop on the others.  Usually a good agent can do it so quick, book a new booking, cancel the old and switch the cabin.  At least that way you get some savings.

[chemmo]

Is there an accessible cabin in a higher category? For example a veranda accessible if you are in an oceanview or a sky suite accessible if you are in a veranda....

 

If there is and it is only a bit more expensive than what you have paid for your present cabin get your TA to contact Celebrity again. They may be willing to upgrade you.

 

We are also from the U.K. and tend to book directly with Celebrity. We find too many TA’s over here are not very knowledgeable about cruises generally and particularly lack knowledge of lines other than P and O and Cunard! We also find once they have got your booking they will not be proactive on your behalf unless you are firm with them...

 

Worth another phone call...you may not get any money back but you may get a better room.

[NewWestwardbound]

4 hours ago, ellie84 said:

Thanks for your reply 🙂 Yes you’re exactly right about the wait lists etc, hence it being a massive risk! And you’re right we were willing to pay the original price, but then when the price is dropped nearly £1800, it’s super annoying!

 

If I was looking at this decision in a work context I would be thinking about risk versus reward. 

 

Risk has two components: probability (of losing the combination of cabins on rebooking) and impact (if that happened) .

 

You believe probability is high in this case, in that you consider the accessible cabin to be rare, sought after and could be wait listed by another. This belief may be correct, but it is currently unsupported by specific data. One way of increasing or reducing confidence in this belief would be to gather more data, in this case by researching suitable cabin availability on this cruise (and possibly other similar cruises) by making mock bookings for suitable alternative cabins on the Celebrity UK website. This should give you a better feel for whether suitable alternative cabins are available, and therefore how probable it is that your current accessible cabin is waitlisted by another.

 

Impact is loss of the combination of cabins. 

 

The combination of these components is the effect - in this case potentially loss of the cabins and therefore - worst case scenario - the cruise.   

 

Reward is more straightforward: £1800 if you secure the same combination of cabins, less if you secure cabins in a higher grade. But only you know the "value" to you of this £1800, as in how important it is to you in the great scheme of things.

 

The optimum solution would involve maximising the reward whilst minimising the risk, by risk mitigation. You might do this by the excellent method chemmo suggests. Or more broadly by establishing if there is any other combination of cabins that meets your needs, and putting a hold on these (via a mock booking on the Celebrity UK website or via your Agent) before you cancel your original cabins. This gives you a fallback if your original cabins are waitlisted by another, and they take up the offer.

 

Or similarly you could waitlist suitable cabins on another cruise. 

 

Just my two-pennerth.

 

PS. I agree with chemmo re: booking with Celebrity; I have found it much easier to make changes to my bookings direct.

 

 

[ellie84]

7 hours ago, dtagirl said:

What if you keep the accessible cabin, and take the price drop on the others.  Usually a good agent can do it so quick, book a new booking, cancel the old and switch the cabin.  At least that way you get some savings.

You know what, that thought hadn’t even crossed my mind! But it’s actually a really fantastic idea! Thanks so much for your input! 

[ellie84]

5 hours ago, chemmo said:

Is there an accessible cabin in a higher category? For example a veranda accessible if you are in an oceanview or a sky suite accessible if you are in a veranda....

 

If there is and it is only a bit more expensive than what you have paid for your present cabin get your TA to contact Celebrity again. They may be willing to upgrade you.

 

We are also from the U.K. and tend to book directly with Celebrity. We find too many TA’s over here are not very knowledgeable about cruises generally and particularly lack knowledge of lines other than P and O and Cunard! We also find once they have got your booking they will not be proactive on your behalf unless you are firm with them...

 

Worth another phone call...you may not get any money back but you may get a better room.

The cabin in question is an accessible Concierge. So the next one up would be accessible Aquaclass. Which we’d be absolutely fine with, as have sailed Aqua previously, and the price would be less than what we paid for Concierge originally. However, unfortunately no accessible Aqua cabins still available. So the next step up would be accessible Sky Suite, but there is a significant price hike, as the price drop seemingly was not particularly significant for that category of cabins. But we are still definitely going to look into it, so thanks for the advice!

 

Regarding your other comments, totally agree with everything you’ve said. Firstly yes seemingly a lot of UK TA’s are not the most clued up on cruising, least of all with Celebrity! And yes I know exactly what you mean about their preference for Cunard and P&O. In fact on a previous Celebrity booking with them, our TA kept referring to our upcoming P&O cruise in any communication she had with us! In spite of the fact that we’ve only ever sailed with Celebrity! And wholly concur with your views about them not being proactive on our behalf. We literally have to make so many calls to the TA and countless emails! So frustrating that when booked with a TA, Celebrity won’t talk to you about your own booking! Thanks again for your advice :)

[ellie84]

4 hours ago, NewWestwardbound said:

 

If I was looking at this decision in a work context I would be thinking about risk versus reward. 

 

Risk has two components: probability (of losing the combination of cabins on rebooking) and impact (if that happened) .

 

You believe probability is high in this case, in that you consider the accessible cabin to be rare, sought after and could be wait listed by another. This belief may be correct, but it is currently unsupported by specific data. One way of increasing or reducing confidence in this belief would be to gather more data, in this case by researching suitable cabin availability on this cruise (and possibly other similar cruises) by making mock bookings for suitable alternative cabins on the Celebrity UK website. This should give you a better feel for whether suitable alternative cabins are available, and therefore how probable it is that your current accessible cabin is waitlisted by another.

 

Impact is loss of the combination of cabins. 

 

The combination of these components is the effect - in this case potentially loss of the cabins and therefore - worst case scenario - the cruise.   

 

Reward is more straightforward: £1800 if you secure the same combination of cabins, less if you secure cabins in a higher grade. But only you know the "value" to you of this £1800, as in how important it is to you in the great scheme of things.

 

The optimum solution would involve maximising the reward whilst minimising the risk, by risk mitigation. You might do this by the excellent method chemmo suggests. Or more broadly by establishing if there is any other combination of cabins that meets your needs, and putting a hold on these (via a mock booking on the Celebrity UK website or via your Agent) before you cancel your original cabins. This gives you a fallback if your original cabins are waitlisted by another, and they take up the offer.

 

Or similarly you could waitlist suitable cabins on another cruise. 

 

Just my two-pennerth.

 

PS. I agree with chemmo re: booking with Celebrity; I have found it much easier to make changes to my bookings direct.

 

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to write your amazing response 🙂 And of course everything you said is absolutely true and makes perfect sense. The issue we have lies in the fact that unfortunately you can’t book or even investigate accessible cabins online on Celebrity website. They don’t even show you whether there are even any accessible cabins left for each category. It’s majorly frustrating! Therefore our TA has to contact Celebrity directly, and due to the fact that our personal details are already linked to our current booking, they won’t accept further bookings for the same cruise! Unless we cancel first of course! And seemingly on the Celebrity UK website, you can no longer put a hold on cabins even regular ones not accessible ones, not even for 24 hours like you used to be able to do. I do wonder however whether Celebrity could tell, our TA whether there is a waitlist for these other accessible cabins, so we could determine whether this could work out for us cancelling and rebooking etc.

 

You've provided me with much much food for thought, going back to read your full response now, and to formulate a plan! Thanks again 🙂

[CHEZMARYLOU]

On Celebrity's US web site you can see the available accessable cabins by doing a dummy booking and selecting "I need a wheel chair accessible cabin" On an Equinox sailing in September 2020 it is showing 7 out of 8 available.  If you cannot do this from the UK site, post your ship, sailing date and category and someone can check the US site for you to give you an idea of what is available.

Edited June 1, 2019 by CHEZMARYLOU

[NewWestwardbound]

1 hour ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

On Celebrity's US web site you can see the available accessable cabins by doing a dummy booking and selecting "I need a wheel chair accessible cabin" On an Equinox sailing in September 2020 it is showing 7 out of 8 available.  If you cannot do this from the UK site, post your ship, sailing date and category and someone can check the US site for you to give you an idea of what is available.

Alternative, one should be able to obtain the same information from a telephone call to Celebrity. A little gentle subterfuge might be required: perhaps a group requiring a number of accessible cabins is considering booking the same cruise as you. The organiser would need to understand the availability of such cabins before finalising the booking.........

 

We are talking about £1800 here.......

[NewWestwardbound]

Sorry, I also meant to say that is a brilliant offer from CHEZMARYLOU. What a fantastic community this is!

[ak1004]

You might be surprised, but most people actually don't really care what cabin they get. Unless of course they have specific needs like accessible cabin. We have been in alt cabins, forward cabins, high decks, low decks. Couldn't care less. I know that on this forum, there are topics specifically dedicated to cabins, with hundreds of posts, but most cruisers would laugh if you tell them that people spend all the energy and time researching different cabins.  

 

My point is that for most people, cancelling and rebooking would be no issue at all if they can do it at lower price. 

 

Again, if you have some specific issues like sea seakness and prefer to be on mid ship, that's a different story.