Celebrity Vacation Planner

[Fouremco]

5 minutes ago, ginrom said:

He even told me that I could save money by getting rid of the senior and resident rate discount.

Could you expand on this? Nothing surprises me with Celebrity pricing these days, but it seems illogical that you could save money by eliminating a discount.

[drakes2]

1 hour ago, Fouremco said:

Not so! That was the case, and still is for the majority of Canadian TA's who believe that a bottle of wine is a significant perk! But ever since a certain Big Box store extended its travel arm to Canada a couple of years ago, I get this type of discount on every cruise that I book with them.

I have never seen a travel agency in any big box store but maybe the couple of times a year I've gone into one I could have missed it.  The one time i did use a large agency in Canada was many years ago before i even went on these boards. Spent over two hours talking to us trying to make the sale and once we did we never even received a bottle of wine. I'm told it comes out of their commission so maybe that's why. He's approached me over the years and I even  questioned the wine was told they dont do that. He lost all future business. I'm happy with X service may not be the best at times but I only call when I have changes. 

[ginrom]

8 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Could you expand on this? Nothing surprises me with Celebrity pricing these days, but it seems illogical that you could save money by eliminating a discount.

Sorry.. I should have explained better. By removing those discounts he explained that the 4 perks would be a better deal if we were interested in the premium alcohol package. It was a better overall deal. 

[drakes2]

19 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Could you expand on this? Nothing surprises me with Celebrity pricing these days, but it seems illogical that you could save money by eliminating a discount.

I've never found the senior rate and in my case the Ontario resident rate to make a difference. At least not on Celebrity's site. 

[Beachlover1989]

1 hour ago, ECCruise said:

Um. if the TA gives you OBC, it goes back to your credit card at the end of the cruise.  Absolutely no reason to spend it.

And our TA, who works out of home, is available at 6:00 AM. No Celebrity CVP is working at that time.  And honestly, I have every bit as much "control" over my booking as someone who books with the cruise line.

Like I said, we've saved enough in the last couple years to fully pay for several sailings.  The savings in the last 18 months or so?  Around $6000.  

I guess it all depends on what matters to you.  My CVP saved me $5,400 on one cruise coming up.

[ECCruise]

1 minute ago, Beachlover1989 said:

I guess it all depends on what matters to you.  My CVP saved me $5,400 on one cruise coming up.

Must be magic then. 

[Fouremco]

28 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I have never seen a travel agency in any big box store but maybe the couple of times a year I've gone into one I could have missed it.  The one time i did use a large agency in Canada was many years ago before i even went on these boards. Spent over two hours talking to us trying to make the sale and once we did we never even received a bottle of wine. I'm told it comes out of their commission so maybe that's why. He's approached me over the years and I even  questioned the wine was told they dont do that. He lost all future business. I'm happy with X service may not be the best at times but I only call when I have changes. 

 

As far as I know, their travel arm is only online, not in their stores. They should be easy to find using Google.

 

15 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I've never found the senior rate and in my case the Ontario resident rate to make a difference. At least not on Celebrity's site. 

 

Agreed. I've yet to find any of these discounts to be beneficial, but I haven't found them to be detrimental either.

[Fouremco]

26 minutes ago, ginrom said:

Sorry.. I should have explained better. By removing those discounts he explained that the 4 perks would be a better deal if we were interested in the premium alcohol package. It was a better overall deal. 

I don't understand why you couldn't have had the discount and the 4 perks, but as I said previously, nothing is surprising with Celebrity pricing these days.

[drakes2]

7 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

I don't understand why you couldn't have had the discount and the 4 perks, but as I said previously, nothing is surprising with Celebrity pricing these days.

Since I booked in August then upgraded with the vets sale then downgraded again to save $600 prices on my Apex cruise have gone sky high. Seems more people are booking closer to final payment at these ridiculously high prices.  

[Pushka]

Five cruises and have never been assigned one. 

[DebInAntigua]

I’ve gotten those emails about my “assigned” CVP after doing courtesy holds, but ignored them. When I need to call I just talk to whoever answers the customer service line for making changes to an existing cruise. Are there actually benefits and savings to be had if I use the same CVP all the time? 

[CruiserMickey]

4 hours ago, DebInAntigua said:

I’ve gotten those emails about my “assigned” CVP after doing courtesy holds, but ignored them. When I need to call I just talk to whoever answers the customer service line for making changes to an existing cruise. Are there actually benefits and savings to be had if I use the same CVP all the time? 

 

There are no monetary savings (that’s I know of) to be had using the same CVP all of the time, but the benefit I am finding is that she knows me and my preferences, so goes out of her way to make bookings and any changes as easy and pleasant as possible.

 

We had the unfortunate experience of having two of our cruises canceled by Celebrity (charter and redeployment) and our CVP was so helpful in putting together a different b2b scenario that worked better for us and saved thousands of $$$ over our original booking.

 

There is something to be said for excellent customer service, whether through an outside TA or a CVP. We found that with our assigned CVP and we are happy to stay with her. I have even written an email to her supervisors to show my appreciation.

[drakes2]

18 minutes ago, CruiserMickey said:

 

There are no monetary savings (that’s I know of) to be had using the same CVP all of the time, but the benefit I am finding is that she knows me and my preferences, so goes out of her way to make bookings and any changes as easy and pleasant as possible.

 

We had the unfortunate experience of having two of our cruises canceled by Celebrity (charter and redeployment) and our CVP was so helpful in putting together a different b2b scenario that worked better for us and saved thousands of $$$ over our original booking.

 

There is something to be said for excellent customer service, whether through an outside TA or a CVP. We found that with our assigned CVP and we are happy to stay with her. I have even written an email to her supervisors to show my appreciation.

My X CVP does give me extra bottles of wine onboard I drink California cab and 2 mid price range bottles were in my cabin which I took to dinner. 

[drakes2]

On 1/17/2020 at 5:24 PM, Fouremco said:

Not so! That was the case, and still is for the majority of Canadian TA's who believe that a bottle of wine is a significant perk! But ever since a certain Big Box store extended its travel arm to Canada a couple of years ago, I get this type of discount on every cruise that I book with them.

I went on their site yesterday and did not see any cash back offer. They did however have a $500 ,gift card.  Perks were the same but prices are now higher than what I paid during vets sale.  Could not get through on the phone was on hold quite awhile.

[Pickels]

I don’t know if it’s the same, (I don’t think it is), I’ve called the Captain’s Club whenever I had a question, concern or request and have been 100 percent satisfied each time,

[Fouremco]

For some reason, with Celebrity cruises they give a cash card instead of OBC, whereas for our HAL cruises we always get OBC.  Given the fact that there never seems to be a shortage of OBC, the cash card is a nice alternative for those of us who shop there regularly. In addition, I get an annual 2% cash back on spending, including travel.

 

Wait time can be a problem sometimes during peak hours, particularly on weekends, but I've managed.

 

I've been happy dealing with them, and it's nice to have a TA in Canada that offers competitive perks, but as usual, it's good to keep your options open and shop around.

[drakes2]

36 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

For some reason, with Celebrity cruises they give a cash card instead of OBC, whereas for our HAL cruises we always get OBC.  Given the fact that there never seems to be a shortage of OBC, the cash card is a nice alternative for those of us who shop there regularly. In addition, I get an annual 2% cash back on spending, including travel.

 

Wait time can be a problem sometimes during peak hours, particularly on weekends, but I've managed.

 

I've been happy dealing with them, and it's nice to have a TA in Canada that offers competitive perks, but as usual, it's good to keep your options open and shop around.

Appreciate all your help. For now I'm happy with my pricing for this upcoming cruise  OBC, 4 perks and wine.  With the PBP ( a first for me) the wine will be consumed at the hotel in Barcelona post cruise. 

[hvbaskey]

On 1/17/2020 at 5:22 PM, Beachlover1989 said:

I absolutely LOVE our CVP!  He has called us when there's a good deal to be had, even though I follow prices on our booked cruises every day, sometimes it's hard to figure out all the details by doing a mock booking.  I'm not looking for more OBC - we never use what we have and are always looking for something to buy on the last night to spend it all.  I love that I have someone specific to call, knows me, knows what I'm going to ask ahead of time (I swear he reads my mind), can book all my dinner reservations ahead of time, sends me extra info on all excursions, emails and calls me back on time, and has saved me a ton of money. I also like the control that booking directly accords...when there are issues with the cruise, it's much easier to deal with than a TA.

 

I have had an excellent CVP, only to be promoted.  Then another one who was also excellent, then promoted.   Third was a Dud - so went to an excellent TA.   Reaped the benefits of the TA until after each and every cruise the perks seemed to get less and less.

 

I still had the contact info for my CVP #2 from years ago and reached out to her if she knew someone like “her”.   She recommended CVP #4, I gave her a try for my last cruise and as a bonus for “coming back”, we were given $100 OBC and chocolate covered strawberries on embarkation day.  A nice “welcome back”.   I REALLY like CVP #4 (reminding me of the old days) and I will stick with her.  She’s totally committed to finding me the best promo / price point and is very pro active.  She’s another gem.    IF she gets promoted - I may again revert to a TA - but for now - a very happy camper.

As someone who did reap the benefits of transferring onboard bookings to a TA (extra OBC, specialty dining, etc.); I get it - but I also get the other side of when you find an amazing CVP; Celebrity has my business.

[hvbaskey]

2 hours ago, Pickels said:

I don’t know if it’s the same, (I don’t think it is), I’ve called the Captain’s Club whenever I had a question, concern or request and have been 100 percent satisfied each time,

 

Whenever I have had a discrepancy or concern, Captain’s Club / Celebrity One Touch has always been able to resolve it.

[Oceangoer2]

1 hour ago, hvbaskey said:

 

Whenever I have had a discrepancy or concern, Captain’s Club / Celebrity One Touch has always been able to resolve it.

Well...YYZ neighbour...we've used X reps for many years...I've been very satisfied with them and mentioned how GREAT they were.  In retrospect, I've done all the work, email my request for booking, indicate perks etc and after booking, do all the homework checking cabin reductions, better locations, etc.  Now I'm wondering just how great they've been when I've never been offered any little extra on my behalf, such as mentioned by more than a few posters.  ie:  calling me when there's a price reduction, offering a 'good will gesture' for a bday or special anniversary....other little appreciatives for our loyalty.  Maybe I've been too hard working on my own behalf and should put a little more on the rep to work for me?  BTW, I agree with captains club/ Resolution Desk being very helpful solving issues.  Only had to call twice on rather important concerns which were taken care of right away on that phone call.

Edited January 19, 2020 by oceangoer2

[Gimpy McFarlan]

I think we were assigned a CVP after putting a hold on an Asia cruise several years ago. She did such an excellent job walking us through the options we have consulted with her on all of our X cruises. We have saved a lot of $ buy reserving guaranteed rooms and then using the CVP to get us into better cabins. Since we are not alcohol drinkers the get-all-perks specials never make sense. They almost always cost more than a cruise-only or 1 perk fare.

[bkbarrym]

On 1/19/2020 at 11:53 AM, oceangoer2 said:

Well...YYZ neighbour...we've used X reps for many years...I've been very satisfied with them and mentioned how GREAT they were.  In retrospect, I've done all the work, email my request for booking, indicate perks etc and after booking, do all the homework checking cabin reductions, better locations, etc.  Now I'm wondering just how great they've been when I've never been offered any little extra on my behalf, such as mentioned by more than a few posters.  ie:  calling me when there's a price reduction, offering a 'good will gesture' for a bday or special anniversary....other little appreciatives for our loyalty.  Maybe I've been too hard working on my own behalf and should put a little more on the rep to work for me?  BTW, I agree with captains club/ Resolution Desk being very helpful solving issues.  Only had to call twice on rather important concerns which were taken care of right away on that phone call.

You raise  a good point. What should be the expectations for a CVP? I don't find my CVP to be proactive at all. Not a single call to advise of a new promotion that could work in our favour or discounts on shore excursions etc. Expecting too much? Or time for a new  CVP?

 

It seems that the onus is on us to stay on top of promotions and bring it to the CVP's attention who will then act on it. Perhaps they are too busy or they want to (or told to) maintain the revenue if they can. I think it would ultimately improve loyalty if they were more proactive.

 

[drakes2]

10 hours ago, bkbarrym said:

Now I'm wondering just how great they've been when I've never been offered any little extra on my behalf, such as mentioned by more than a few posters.  ie:  calling me when there's a price reduction,

I check on a daily basis for price reductions as they fluctuate like the stock market. I don't expect my CVP to do this. I was recently on a cruise at a dining table with a TA and her group who said she checks clients files once a week. Because of this they missed out on some price drops and upgrades.

[Oceangoer2]

12 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

I check on a daily basis for price reductions as they fluctuate like the stock market. I don't expect my CVP to do this. I was recently on a cruise at a dining table with a TA and her group who said she checks clients files once a week. Because of this they missed out on some price drops and upgrades.

yes...I check quite often and don't see fluctuations daily or even weekly, but I do call my CVP on the occasion(s) when they change.  My point was that some posters say their CVP seems to give more attention to their accounts than others do.

[drakes2]

16 minutes ago, oceangoer2 said:

yes...I check quite often and don't see fluctuations daily or even weekly, but I do call my CVP on the occasion(s) when they change.  My point was that some posters say their CVP seems to give more attention to their accounts than others do.

My cruise fare just dropped this morning by $50 CDN for our verandah but would lose the $200 USD sail now promo we got in November so hardly worth it. In November when I repriced there was a price drop in the morning which I took advantage of then by 1 pm it went up again. Thus my reference to the stock exchange.