Hong Kong & Halong Bay Vietnam - Best time to Book?

[madmedic]

We would love to cruise from Hong Kong sometime in 2021 taking in Vietnam , in particular Halong Bay. When is the best time to book? I notice that Millenium is doing that itinery Feb 2021 but prices including flights from London Heathrow seem quite steep for balconies. Wondering if they are likely to reduce as we are so far out from sail date ? I realise it's like asking how long is a piece of string, but as we are in the UK we do not benefit from price drops closer to sailing.

What is the newly revolutionised Millenium like? Do not see the new pictures on X when we try to book.🤔

[Louhut1]

We took this cruise last December before the revolution.  It was reasonably priced at the time.  We loved it.  Halong Bay was incredible.   Weather was good.  A little hot in Bangkok but incredible sights.  Hong Kong and Singapore were great.  One of our favorite cruises.  We will be on the Millennium in a few days for an Alaskan cruise.  Looking forward to seeing the new ship.  Timing when to put in your reservation is always difficult.  I like being able to pick certain cabins on certain decks so I like to reserve early and start planning.  Our December cruise never dropped and in fact was higher after we made our deposit.  There was some upgrades offered after final payment but we were happy with where we were.  We also had a very active Roll Call and lots of good info learned on it.  

[smtcan]

We cruised from Singapore to Hong Kong with stops in Vietnam including an overnight in Halong Bay in March this year.  We booked at what we thought was a reasonable price just over a year in advance in the January sale.  We booked ocean view, hoping we would upgrade to balcony after  final payment, since we are in Canada where this is possible.  The price never came down, in fact it rose considerably so that the reductions after final payment left the price higher than we had paid.  We were very comfortable in our ocean view cabin and since we were off the ship so much we really didn't miss the balcony.

 

Sheila

[madmedic]

Thanks we have a cruise in October so may well see what deal we can get on board. Still want to see any pics of Millie post revolution though. Perhaps Louhut1 could post some after the Alaskan cruise.😎

 

[madmedic]

Would like to know benefits are there to booking onboard with X?  I see thay are offering free grats as well as drinks package for ocean view and above if we were to book now. Just wondering if we might get some OBC if we book on our next cruise.

[Mynki]

On 6/14/2019 at 5:00 PM, madmedic said:

We would love to cruise from Hong Kong sometime in 2021 taking in Vietnam , in particular Halong Bay. When is the best time to book? I notice that Millenium is doing that itinery Feb 2021 but prices including flights from London Heathrow seem quite steep for balconies. Wondering if they are likely to reduce as we are so far out from sail date ? I realise it's like asking how long is a piece of string, but as we are in the UK we do not benefit from price drops closer to sailing.

What is the newly revolutionised Millenium like? Do not see the new pictures on X when we try to book.🤔

You can book with a US travel agent and then take advantage of any price drops. We are also in the UK and have done this many times now. 

Two to three years ago you would have been likely to get a great deal with very reasonable short notice air fare. However Asian cruises seem to have increased in both price and popularity in more recent times. If I were you I'd compare UK vs US prices and if there's little in it book in the US and monitor pricing if you're happy with the deal you get. As others have pointed out though, there is no guarantee of a price drop. 

[madmedic]

What are the implications of booking through US TA? Never done it this way before.

[Mynki]

It's simple enough.

First of all get a quote from your US based TA or Celebrity UK. You need to understand that the cruise could be cheaper or better value if booked in the UK but treat each voyage individually. Ignore anyone who makes sweeping statements as they simply do not know what they are talking about. 

Find a US TA. We're not allowed to mention them on this forum so if I were you I might google 'worlds largest cruise agency' and select a TA that has a UK freephone number. 😉

With a US based TA you have the choice of booking a non refundable deposit cruise and a cruise with a refundable deposit. The latter will cost more. I suggest you call the US based TA and have a discussion with them so you fully understand how much the deposits are and their t's & c's which will apply if you have to cancel. US deposits are often considerably higher than those here. 

Understand that you will have no ATOL or ABTA cover if booking in the US. Therefore pay on credit card and ensure you have good quality comprehensive travel insurance. I appreciate this might sound like a no brainer.....

If you book a non refundable deposit cruise and cancel you will lose your deposit just like you would do here. 

If you paid for the refundable deposit you have until final payment date to cancel and get your deposit back. 

Should the price dip before final payment date you can call, the US TA and have them rebook you at the new price. Bear in mind you may lose any perks you received at the point of booking so make sure you pay attention to the details of your booking. You can save a lot of money doing this but equally the price may only ever increase. 

After final payment you will NOT be able to take advantage of any price drops. You will however be able to upgrade to any class of cabins that then cost at least cost $1 or more than you paid. 

Bear in mind that exchange rates can affect the cost of your cruise if they change between the day of booking and final payment date. Also bear in mind that there will be costs for a foreign currency purchase on your credit card. Finally, the base fares quoted in the US do NOT include taxes and port fees like they do in the UK so ensure you include those when undertaking any US vs UK comparisons. 

Write a list of any questions you have and then call the US TA if their deal looks appealing and have your agent explain things to you. Get this in writing via an email and you'll be fine. UK TA's probably give better customer service overall but the ones we've used in the US have been ok. 

Hope that helps. 

[madmedic]

👍 Very helpful, thanks. 

[madmedic]

Just wondering what benefits I would get booking on board on my next cruise compared to online now.  

[ggo85]

Not sure of what is currently being offered but usually it's some combination of lower deposit and some OBC. 

[mrsgoggins]

5 hours ago, madmedic said:

Just wondering what benefits I would get booking on board on my next cruise compared to online now.  

 

You would get the benefits and prices offered in the UK at the time, plus some additional OBC and usually pay a lower deposit.  The biggest benefit IMO however, is the ability to move the booking to another cruise at any time before final payment.

 

I recently booked a Hong Kong to Tokyo cruise for 2021 with a ‘placeholder’ booking made onboard.  I got the current UK offer plus the additional $250 OBC.  At 11 months out I will research flights and if I can’t get what I want I can abandon the idea and move the booking again.  If the price of the cruise goes down before final payment, then again I would consider moving the booking and paying cash to re-book at the cheaper price.  I would then be subject to the t&cs that apply to UK bookings with regard to cancellation charges.

 

I have used a US TA in the past, but right now do not want to play the currency game with our political situation being as it is.

Edited June 19, 2019 by mrsgoggins

[madmedic]

11 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

You would get the benefits and prices offered in the UK at the time, plus some additional OBC and usually pay a lower deposit.  The biggest benefit IMO however, is the ability to move the booking to another cruise at any time before final payment.

 

I recently booked a Hong Kong to Tokyo cruise for 2021 with a ‘placeholder’ booking made onboard.  I got the current UK offer plus the additional $250 OBC.  At 11 months out I will research flights and if I can’t get what I want I can abandon the idea and move the booking again.  If the price of the cruise goes down before final payment, then again I would consider moving the booking and paying cash to re-book at the cheaper price.  I would then be subject to the t&cs that apply to UK bookings with regard to cancellation charges.

 

I have used a US TA in the past, but right now do not want to play the currency game with our political situation being as it is.

That makes pefect sense to me, particularly with regards to the currency. Didn't realise you could change to another sailing if needed. That would be a real advantage with it being so far out Feb 2021.

Thanks

 

[mrsgoggins]

42 minutes ago, madmedic said:

That makes pefect sense to me, particularly with regards to the currency. Didn't realise you could change to another sailing if needed. That would be a real advantage with it being so far out Feb 2021.

Thanks

 

 

Glad to be of help.  Another thing I have found very useful, I book direct with Celebrity and was lucky enough to be allocated a great Cruise Consultant who has vast knowledge of cruises and the ships.  He has also been very helpful to me in ways I would not wish to make public, because some of the things involve doing things with my bookings that I have read are meant not to be possible with UK bookings.  I have taken a fair number of Celebrity cruises in just a few years so I don't know if this helps with my treatment, but I do value this relationship.  Moving bookings (made on board) is very straightforward.

 

Let's hope we both make our 2021 cruises!  So far I am favouring Lufthansa out of Manchester for Hong Kong out and Tokyo return - and keeping tabs on the prices of both Premium Economy and Business Class, although I will check with Celebrity to see if they can better what I find nearer the time.  We do intend adding a couple of days onto the cruise at both ends.

[madmedic]

5 hours ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

Glad to be of help.  Another thing I have found very useful, I book direct with Celebrity and was lucky enough to be allocated a great Cruise Consultant who has vast knowledge of cruises and the ships.  He has also been very helpful to me in ways I would not wish to make public, because some of the things involve doing things with my bookings that I have read are meant not to be possible with UK bookings.  I have taken a fair number of Celebrity cruises in just a few years so I don't know if this helps with my treatment, but I do value this relationship.  Moving bookings (made on board) is very straightforward.

 

Let's hope we both make our 2021 cruises!  So far I am favouring Lufthansa out of Manchester for Hong Kong out and Tokyo return - and keeping tabs on the prices of both Premium Economy and Business Class, although I will check with Celebrity to see if they can better what I find nearer the time.  We do intend adding a couple of days onto the cruise at both ends.

 

Really hope that we do make our cruises. Hong Kong has got a special place in our hearts as it's where we met and married many years ago. We too have a great cruise consultant who has been more than helpful with our upcoming cruise. Is it possible to transfer that booking that booking to your land based Celebrity Cruise Consultant?  I would like to have her help with the arrangements if possible. We always book direct because my husband gets military discount with Celebrity, every little helps.

😎

[mrsgoggins]

21 minutes ago, madmedic said:

 

Really hope that we do make our cruises. Hong Kong has got a special place in our hearts as it's where we met and married many years ago. We too have a great cruise consultant who has been more than helpful with our upcoming cruise. Is it possible to transfer that booking that booking to your land based Celebrity Cruise Consultant?  I would like to have her help with the arrangements if possible. We always book direct because my husband gets military discount with Celebrity, every little helps.

😎

 

Yes, it is possible, and in fact, when you make your on board booking the name of your land-based Cruise Consultant is likely to appear automatically if you have used her before.  Wow for marrying in Hong Kong!  We have never been to that part of the world and thought it was about time to put it right ..... and absolutely to every bit of discount helping 😉