Celebrity and TA discounts

[lysolqn]

Remember when X stopped agents from discounting cruises below X's own published rates? Wasn't that supposed to level the playing field and keep prices the same, agent to agent? Just did some comparison shopping for a possible upcoming cruise and have quotes that differ by as much as $120 per person for the same category cabin, same ship, same sail date, senior discount, all taxes and port charges included. How's that possible?

[cruiseco]

Remember when X stopped agents from discounting cruises below X's own published rates?

 

Your premise is wrong. TAs are prohibited from offering a fare not approved by Celebrity. So those agencies that perhaps have some blocked group space that is currently priced below Celebrity's published rates are free to offer it. Even though it's below the current published rate it's still a contracturally approved rate.

[poetic license]

An agent should factor in all possible discounts, such as resident discounts, senior discounts, past passenger discounts, loyalty program upgrades and special fares, group fares, etc. etc. If you book online, you are bound to miss at least some of the discounts available. Took me awhile to figure that out, too. I've been using a super agent for the past year, and she never fails to try and get every last discount we could possibly utilize. It has saved us right at .... surprise, surprise .... $120 ... over booking online. Multiply that over multiple cruises, and that's a chunk of change.

 

Also, an agency might have pre-paid for a block of cabins when they were released and pass the savings on later to customers. Since they bought the cabins at the lower rate, the price can be lower to you if any of those cabins are available after the rates have gone up.

 

Cheers,

[canderson]

Remember when X stopped agents from discounting cruises below X's own published rates? Wasn't that supposed to level the playing field and keep prices the same, agent to agent? Just did some comparison shopping for a possible upcoming cruise and have quotes that differ by as much as $120 per person for the same category cabin, same ship, same sail date, senior discount, all taxes and port charges included. How's that possible?

The posts above take some of the possible differences into account. The operative phrase is "contracted rate".

 

It's actually possible to find Celebrity cruises out there where a couple could save over $1000 by shopping agencies carefully. That situation can occur when Celebrity has been raising prices over time, but an agent has put money down up front for these cabins at release and is selling them at or near the original price -- the original "contracted rate". It's a gamble for the agency, but careful selection of only those cruises that historically go up in price (e.g., certain N. European itineraries) minimizes the risk a great deal, and can create a real bargain situation for customers who are looking for a cruise that was open for bookings some time back.

 

Ah, it looks like PoeticLicense is already describing that in the last paragraph -- although I'd emphasize again that the savings with agencies that follow this business model can at times be SUBSTANTIAL. It's always worth shopping around, as you may discover that the cruise you want is one of the ones that have been selected by the agency for this treatment. Anyway, hope my post clarified it a bit.

[newmexicoNita]

Most of the time, especially on the more popular sailings you won't find much, if any difference in pricing no matter what. That being said, there are times when different agencies offer different prices for reasons already listed. Some agents will shop a little harder for their clients and not just take the run of the mill rate: sometimes there are special discounts such as residence rates, AAA, groups rates, etc. The basic rate will always be fixed, but that doesn't mean you can't find something less. There is no way every possible rate can be published. It is up to agents to find what is best. Again, not always will the discounts be available. I hope I have helped just a little. NMNita

[flashdog_1]

Captain's club told me that you may not have a senior discount and a regional discount. It's one or the other.

[canderson]

Most of the time, especially on the more popular sailings you won't find much, if any difference in pricing no matter what.

Wouldn't you say that it's on the very popular sailings that start booking up early that Celebrity starts really cranking up the prices compared to initial release?

[Sky Sweet]

Most of the time, especially on the more popular sailings you won't find much, if any difference in pricing no matter what. That being said, there are times when different agencies offer different prices for reasons already listed. Some agents will shop a little harder for their clients and not just take the run of the mill rate: sometimes there are special discounts such as residence rates, AAA, groups rates, etc. The basic rate will always be fixed, but that doesn't mean you can't find something less. There is no way every possible rate can be published. It is up to agents to find what is best. Again, not always will the discounts be available. I hope I have helped just a little. NMNita

 

I thought that you could only get a AAA rate when you book a cruise through AAA.