New Promotion - Saved Some Money

[twincheryl]

18 hours ago, Jimbo59 said:

If you book with a low $25 or $100 non-refundable deposit and cancel, you will be charged the full regular deposit amount, $250 to $450 per person (or more). They have your credit card info.

 

I refuse to play Celebrity’s game. I now wait until after final payment date when all deposits become non-refundable.

We've played many games with Celebrity and RC over the years.... but didn't think about this one you seem to be speaking of.  

 

So, if by some stroke of immense luck, the price of a non-refundable cabin becomes lower than my same refundable cabin, I can call and change my refundable to non-refundable at that point?  I thought that would have to be done BEFORE final payment.  Have you actually done this?

[wrk2cruise]

14 hours ago, Jimbo59 said:

Directly on the Celebrity Website.

 

I think you may be confused between before final payment date and after.   After final payment the full deposit amount is forfeited.   I'm not sure this is even an issue anymore as the first step of the penalty is now 25% of the full cruise fare.  It used to be just the deposit amount.  There used to be some confusion where people who booked with reduced deposit would be surprised when they were out $900 when canceling after the final payment date.

 

I've done several book on board with $100 pp deposit.  The T&C are clear that if you cancel or change ship/sail date there is a $100 pp fee, that's all.

 

[wrk2cruise]

8 minutes ago, twincheryl said:

We've played many games with Celebrity and RC over the years.... but didn't think about this one you seem to be speaking of.  

 

So, if by some stroke of immense luck, the price of a non-refundable cabin becomes lower than my same refundable cabin, I can call and change my refundable to non-refundable at that point?  I thought that would have to be done BEFORE final payment.  Have you actually done this?

 

Any repricing to NRD would have to be done prior to final payment.  I believe the post above is saying they will wait to book until after final.

[cantstopingcruising]

I recently booked with the $25pp NRD and was told by the Celebrity agent that that was all I can lose.

[twincheryl]

29 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

Any repricing to NRD would have to be done prior to final payment.  I believe the post above is saying they will wait to book until after final.

That would make more sense... thanks!

[Ken the cruiser]

22 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I love finding these out of the blue promotions when I'm doing my daily "fake booking" rituals! It's like going on an Easter egg hunt and finding a golden egg! We just refared our A1 cabin on a 15 day TA in Oct 2021 where the price stayed the same, $2,429 pp, but we were able to add a third perk. Also, our 15 day Apr 2021 TP in a S2 went down another $150 pp and this is after we have refared this cruise at lease 3 times already. 

Interesting little tidbit, our 15 day TA in Oct 2021 in a aqua class cabin went up $1,000 pp today. Sure glad we saw this sale yesterday!

[lyssa13]

Saved $1300 on my Edge sky suite for my 3/22 savings today!  Lost a little OBC but I was okay with that, would rather have the money in my pocket. Such a nice holiday surprise!

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

5 hours ago, cantstopingcruising said:

I recently booked with the $25pp NRD and was told by the Celebrity agent that that was all I can lose.

Agree. My travel agent asked very specifically and confirmed that all I would lose prior to final payment date was $25.

[Bo1953]

I wish to thank the OP for posting this...

 

... as a result, we were able to save $400, plus add a Perk, plus gain an additional $100 in OBC after penalties were imposed.

 

Afterwards a savings of approximately 7% from the original fare.

 

A no brainer for me...

 

bon voyage

Edited December 21, 2019 by Bo1953

[Waterluv]

Yeppers! The Sale is great I actually switched my Equinox sailing from October 2020 to July which is peak so normally higher and it was lower and I upgraded to a Suite. It worked out awesome. Now we just have to get our traveling friends to switch with us 🤪😊

[twincheryl]

Well, I guess the joy of booking onboard or the day a cruise is open for booking can still save money in the long run.  Have 4 booked and none of the sale prices are any better $$ or perks, so will keep watching.  Have had many price drops over the years, so it can definitely happen!

[RSLeesburg]

On 12/19/2019 at 4:50 PM, Alsmez said:

I got an alert that the price of one of my existing bookings had gone down, so I checked the website - they are out of their minds with these pricing structures. My current room (a C2 on the 1/29/21 sailing of Equinox) is $1,669 non-refundable with one perk (no surcharge for the drink package) or $2,819 refundable with three perks. $1,150 for two perks and a refundable deposit????????? INSANITY. Especially since you can add two more perks to the non-refundable fare for just $180. They have apparently decided that they are going to force people over to non-refundable fares by any means necessary!

 

 

Quick question - in the screenshot, it says “pay for the price of two”.  I have noticed this come up on my mock bookings but cannot figure out what it means.  I was looking at suite so both best price and best value includes 4 perks and 50 percent of 3/4 passenger.  So, what does this mean?  

[bjahil47]

Today my 9/25/2020 went down almost $1,000!  Only change was I had to agree my $200 deposit is now non refundable. 

[Moby Jones]

On 12/19/2019 at 10:09 PM, yorky said:

Latest promotion in the Uk $200 OBC for inside to aqua cabin. The price for our cruise has been raised by £240 in line with the promotion from yesterday. Another master stroke by Celebrity.

 

I booked a 2021 north bound Alaskan cruise yesterday. The UK offer was $200 OBC. 

So I booked the cruise in the US via a TA where the cruise fare was £300 less per person! The deal also allowed you to pick three perks so I went with the classic beverage package, gratuities and $300 OBC. The TA also included a token additional $50 OBC for a total of $350. 

So the difference in deals was massive overall. 

The US TA didn't initially want to give us our captains club one category room upgrade though arguing that this was a block booking on their part hence the discounted price. But persistence paid off, they had to call Celebrity who agreed to it. This is a first for us but it all worked out. 

The inconsistency with service onboard also applies to global pricing too! 

Edited December 22, 2019 by Moby Jones

[yorky]

1 hour ago, Moby Jones said:

 

I booked a 2021 north bound Alaskan cruise yesterday. The UK offer was $200 OBC. 

So I booked the cruise in the US via a TA where the cruise fare was £300 less per person! The deal also allowed you to pick three perks so I went with the classic beverage package, gratuities and $300 OBC. The TA also included a token additional $50 OBC for a total of $350. 

So the difference in deals was massive overall. 

The US TA didn't initially want to give us our captains club one category room upgrade though arguing that this was a block booking on their part hence the discounted price. But persistence paid off, they had to call Celebrity who agreed to it. This is a first for us but it all worked out. 

The inconsistency with service onboard also applies to global pricing too! 

I’ve always been of the opinion that the cruise industry is very unfair to just about anyone outside of the US. This is just the latest example of a Celebrity promotion in the US being far superior to that in the UK. We all know the existing situation of refundable deposits in the US which gives the ability to book multiple cabins and then cancel later at no cost thus making them unavailable to the rest of us. People should not have to even think about looking for an American ta which is fraught with danger if you don’t know which one to book with. There should be an even playing field.

[Moby Jones]

3 hours ago, yorky said:

I’ve always been of the opinion that the cruise industry is very unfair to just about anyone outside of the US. This is just the latest example of a Celebrity promotion in the US being far superior to that in the UK. We all know the existing situation of refundable deposits in the US which gives the ability to book multiple cabins and then cancel later at no cost thus making them unavailable to the rest of us. People should not have to even think about looking for an American ta which is fraught with danger if you don’t know which one to book with. There should be an even playing field.

Here's the thing though, we're currently looking at an Apex cruise next year. And our UK TA is currently around £250 cheaper per person than the best deal I can find in the US! There's just no consistency at all. 

I'm happy to trust the US TA as we've used them many times before and never had an issue. Booking on credit card and having travel insurance also adds further piece of mind. But I totally get what you're saying about people booking multiple cruises with the intention of only taking one or two. This never struck me as a sound business model but it is what it is. That said with the newly introduced non refundable fares in the US being cheaper we might see this practice reduce. 

[bikerunner]

I think I been lucky in pricing. I do look at celebrity website and find ones interested in and see if there are any good deals. Sometimes sometimes not.  I check various ta’s also to see what extras they might have. Last few cruises I have found ta’s that have group rates available so usually around 1000-1500 cheaper than the published rate with perks and refundable.  I don’t mind doing the investigating for it, have friends who are ta’s and they guide me to other ones they know In the business.  I know that usually does not happen.  

[4774Papa]

We booked a transatlantic from Rome to Tampa on the Connie for October 2021,  Celebrity has the similar promo deal the thread poster mentioned, but guess what, Celebrity raised the price before hand.   We booked without any promos and prefer that to booking with even one free.   

[Cruise Raider]

I called in a couple of days ago and the rep couldn't do anything for me.  I saw this wasn't quite right so called back this morning and got somebody else.  So glad I didn't just take the first guy's word for it.  

Now, I am booking with a refundable deposit and to add free gratuities to my beverage package and $300 obc, it is only $50 more per person ... so,  no brainer!!  I was able to add my 3rd perk ... not exactly free but still a savings for me overall.  

 

My reservation is a bit complicated as it is a rebooking after a cruise that was chartered.  As mentioned, I am glad the rep down at Celebrity went the extra steps for me to get me the best deal possible.  

[Lastdance]

On 12/20/2019 at 1:54 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

Interesting little tidbit, our 15 day TA in Oct 2021 in a aqua class cabin went up $1,000 pp today. Sure glad we saw this sale yesterday!

 

I know...I am happy too!  Just checked all of my cruises once again, and found only NRD's with a little better princing!  

Edited December 23, 2019 by Lastdance

[mlmbar]

On 12/20/2019 at 12:31 AM, koolforkatz said:

 

I was told several times when I booked under the last $25 non-refundable deposit promotion, that if I were to cancel, that is all I would lose - $25. Where did you hear this?

I was also told that a number of times when I called

[14 months and counting]

We booked a 2021 BTB in January of 2019.  One cruise stayed the same price but the other one was $ 500 less.  We retained the three perks originally offered.  Also received the $ 150 BTB discount on our vacation.  If we get lucky AMEX will have another promotion and we will save even more money.

 

Thanks for the update.

[bebe08]

Just saved $500 on a NZ cruise Jan 2022.  I booked a few weeks ago with Dec promo got 2 perks and $200 to spend on board.  Repriced with 3 perks lost the $200 but got the third perk being $300 OBC, so up $100.  Cruise fare also came down by $200 pp.  First time this has happened to us...Woo Hoo!!

 

 

 

[bob278]

On 12/19/2019 at 3:15 PM, mchell810 said:

With this sale my cruise fair has actually dropped $200 -- I already have the 3 perks; however, I'd have to switch from a refundable to a non-refundable fare.  While I have every intention of going on the cruise I am not willing to give up my refundable status while I am still 11 months out for such a small amount.  As others have said I think Celebrity is doing everything it can to get rid of refundable fares.

In the US, the non-refundable deposit is not as bad as the term implies.  If you cancel, you get a Future Cruise Credit for the amount of the deposit less $100 per person.  I just changed a cruise to a non-refundable and saved $1,800.  The risk/reward for me was well worth it because there is a very low probability that we would cancel for a reason that is not covered by our travel insurance.

[villauk]

On 12/22/2019 at 11:56 AM, yorky said:

for an American ta which is fraught with danger

 

 

??? Unsure if you are aware, but in the US, the cruise line takes the money at source, no TA involvement like there is over here.