"Always included" - false advertising?

[Ipeeinthepools]

Again. I think you will be fine because Celebrity updated the reservation for me after a couple of days.

 

Here is the original invoice I received.  

 

 

Here is what I received after a few days with all of the details.  Get a new copy next week.

 

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by Ipeeinthepools

[mayleeman]

 

 

@Cruisin 4 Ever  You can get a pdf copy emailed to you by calling the Celebrity cust serv line and follow the prompts. But this may only work if you booked directly with Celebrity.

[zitsky]

18 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Mine is from Celebrity (who I booked the cruise withy over the phone). My email  attachment (not Celebrity's website) from Celebrity is ,"Guest Copy.pdf(111 KB). I click on that to view my booking. Three pages. All my direct Celebrity bookings have been this way. 

 

@ChucktownSteveis correct. 

 

Darn that Steve!  He's right again!  🤣

[zitsky]

7 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Again. I think you will be fine because Celebrity updated the reservation for me after a couple of days.

 

Here is the original invoice I received.  

 

 

Here is what I received after a few days with all of the details.  Get a new copy next week.

 

 

Thank you.  What might be confusing to people is all the codes they use and how they add an item then subtract an item to zero it out.  I found it hard to translate and I think I'm pretty dumb err wait I mean smart.

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 minute ago, zitsky said:

 

Thank you.  What might be confusing to people is all the codes they use and how they add an item then subtract an item to zero it out.  I found it hard to translate and I think I'm pretty dumb err wait I mean smart.

 

I'm sure you are almost as smart as I am.  😉  I think what's important is that someone can see all of those features were included.

[ChucktownSteve]

24 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

Darn that Steve!  He's right again!  🤣

 

My wife says that a lot too. So does my patrol partner 🤣

Edited October 11, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[jg51]

On 10/9/2021 at 8:40 PM, wrk2cruise said:

 

If it says Loyalty NRD then that's a problem, no PERKS.   This should be in the Promotions section on the guest invoice.

.

You have pointed out an EXTREMELY important thing, "wrk2cruise."  Two or three days ago, we discovered a massive deficiency in Celebrity's online booking system, which can result -- without any warning -- in the assignment of the "Loyalty NRD" discount, which REMOVES (!) the three "Always Included" [sic] features, leaving the booking guest with no beverage package at all!  (Admittedly, some folks would prefer that.)

 

Here's how we discovered the problem ...

All current Summit cruises in November are set up with AI fares (not with "Simply Sail" fares nor with "Guarantee" staterooms) .

 

1.  A person that is booking online will quickly get to a screen that says, "click here to see if you qualify for a discount."

2.  If he/she clicks on that link, an opportunity is offered ...

..... (a) to enter a U.S. state of residence, or ...

..... (b) to declare that he/she is a first responder [one of two types], ... and/or ...

..... (c) to provide his/her Captain's Club [nine-digit] number.

3.  If the Captain's Club number is inserted by the person booking, the immediate visible result is a decreas in the cruise fare, leading the person to be very pleased ... BUT ...

4.  The "review before paying" page, near the end of the process provides a summary that ...

..... (a) reveals that a "Loyalty NRD" discount was assigned ...

..... (b) does not list "Always Inc NRD" at all ...

..... (c) and does NOT warn the booking person that taking the Loyalty discount results in the three Always Included [sic] features being DROPPED (as though he/she is making a "Simply Sail" booking)!

 

The screen into which a Captain's Club number can be entered badly needs to be fixed -- to WARN the booking public of what will happen to them if they enter a number.  (Entering a U.S. state does not cause this problem.)

.

[LGW59]

51 minutes ago, jg51 said:

.

You have pointed out an EXTREMELY important thing, "wrk2cruise."  Two or three days ago, we discovered a massive deficiency in Celebrity's online booking system, which can result -- without any warning -- in the assignment of the "Loyalty NRD" discount, which REMOVES (!) the three "Always Included" [sic] features, leaving the booking guest with no beverage package at all!  (Admittedly, some folks would prefer that.)

 

Here's how we discovered the problem ...

All current Summit cruises in November are set up with AI fares (not with "Simply Sail" fares nor with "Guarantee" staterooms) .

 

1.  A person that is booking online will quickly get to a screen that says, "click here to see if you qualify for a discount."

2.  If he/she clicks on that link, an opportunity is offered ...

..... (a) to enter a U.S. state of residence, or ...

..... (b) to declare that he/she is a first responder [one of two types], ... and/or ...

..... (c) to provide his/her Captain's Club [nine-digit] number.

3.  If the Captain's Club number is inserted by the person booking, the immediate visible result is a decreas in the cruise fare, leading the person to be very pleased ... BUT ...

4.  The "review before paying" page, near the end of the process provides a summary that ...

..... (a) reveals that a "Loyalty NRD" discount was assigned ...

..... (b) does not list "Always Inc NRD" at all ...

..... (c) and does NOT warn the booking person that taking the Loyalty discount results in the three Always Included [sic] features being DROPPED (as though he/she is making a "Simply Sail" booking)!

 

The screen into which a Captain's Club number can be entered badly needs to be fixed -- to WARN the booking public of what will happen to them if they enter a number.  (Entering a U.S. state does not cause this problem.)

.

Like Ipee, my invoices have always very clear, succinct and inclusive.  IDK maybe Celebrity sends different types of invoices?  Though my experience clearly differs.  I always book directly with a Celebrity agent, they email the invoice, I review while he/she is still on the line, never been a problem, never.

[Ipeeinthepools]

7 hours ago, LGW59 said:

Like Ipee, my invoices have always very clear, succinct and inclusive.  IDK maybe Celebrity sends different types of invoices?  Though my experience clearly differs.  I always book directly with a Celebrity agent, they email the invoice, I review while he/she is still on the line, never been a problem, never.

 

Perhaps booking directly with the Celebrity agent or working through a TA that is providing group rates is the difference.  I sense that someone needs to do additional work on the group rate reservation after my TA hangs up with the Celebrity agent and when you book directly there are no group rates and your reservation is complete when you hang-up.  You may also get the same result with a TA when you book after final payment and the TAs have released all of their group space.

 

In any case, I think it's a good lesson to always double check your reservation.

[ChucktownSteve]

1 hour ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Perhaps booking directly with the Celebrity agent or working through a TA that is providing group rates is the difference.  I sense that someone needs to do additional work on the group rate reservation after my TA hangs up with the Celebrity agent and when you book directly there are no group rates and your reservation is complete when you hang-up.  You may also get the same result with a TA when you book after final payment and the TAs have released all of their group space.

 

In any case, I think it's a good lesson to always double check your reservation.

 

I definitely agree with Ipeeinthepools about double checking your reservation.  I haven't booked directly with Celebrity for I can't remember how long.

 

My TA makes it very easy to understand what's included.  Here's a partial shot of our7 night  Feb Apex sailing in an aft facing S1.  The larger OBC is from our TA and gets refunded in cash at customer service. I don't sent it to the credit card so I can keep the 3% cash back reward.

 

The other is from Celebrity and goes to my DW. Celebrity's website shows I'm actually getting $450 from them for shareholder benefit and $50 more for I don't know what. But I don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

When our TA places us a group, she tells me and there's extra ROBC

Edited October 11, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[kearney]

13 hours ago, jg51 said:

.

You have pointed out an EXTREMELY important thing, "wrk2cruise."  Two or three days ago, we discovered a massive deficiency in Celebrity's online booking system, which can result -- without any warning -- in the assignment of the "Loyalty NRD" discount, which REMOVES (!) the three "Always Included" [sic] features, leaving the booking guest with no beverage package at all!  (Admittedly, some folks would prefer that.)

 

Here's how we discovered the problem ...

All current Summit cruises in November are set up with AI fares (not with "Simply Sail" fares nor with "Guarantee" staterooms) .

 

1.  A person that is booking online will quickly get to a screen that says, "click here to see if you qualify for a discount."

2.  If he/she clicks on that link, an opportunity is offered ...

..... (a) to enter a U.S. state of residence, or ...

..... (b) to declare that he/she is a first responder [one of two types], ... and/or ...

..... (c) to provide his/her Captain's Club [nine-digit] number.

3.  If the Captain's Club number is inserted by the person booking, the immediate visible result is a decreas in the cruise fare, leading the person to be very pleased ... BUT ...

4.  The "review before paying" page, near the end of the process provides a summary that ...

..... (a) reveals that a "Loyalty NRD" discount was assigned ...

..... (b) does not list "Always Inc NRD" at all ...

..... (c) and does NOT warn the booking person that taking the Loyalty discount results in the three Always Included [sic] features being DROPPED (as though he/she is making a "Simply Sail" booking)!

 

The screen into which a Captain's Club number can be entered badly needs to be fixed -- to WARN the booking public of what will happen to them if they enter a number.  (Entering a U.S. state does not cause this problem.)

.

This was our experience. Received the resident's discount email...hit booking link... searched for my cruise...found it... among a list of others... at the time there was an "Always Included" flag. So I continued on to find significant savings vs my original booking. But one of my cruises was with in 90 days...so I called. After going around and around with the agent... she told me that my current price was less than the newer AI pricing.. I kept telling her what I was seeing on the screen was significantly less. After bitching on CC.. I went back to the original email and in 4pt font..it noted that the new promo did not include AI. So I decided to complain to Celebrity. Told them that it was misleading to have the Always included flag up when the pricing was for no extras. I noticed the next time I checked that the flags had been removed. I do with they would develop a matrix...so you could see all the deals and compare.. perhaps set it up so you could insert cabin number and it would give you a price for each option with perhaps key items highlighted. Anyway one can dream.  I thought of switching to the no options pricing... but after removing gratuities the savings... were about $50-$60/day for the two of us. So w might save a bit...but nice thing with AI is that I can check email a bit more often than I would normally and wont think twice about ordering an extra drink or two without thinking about the bill.  But you do have to be careful when repricing to make sure you are comparing all the features you want

[zitsky]

38 minutes ago, kearney said:

This was our experience. Received the resident's discount email...hit booking link... searched for my cruise...found it... among a list of others... at the time there was an "Always Included" flag. So I continued on to find significant savings vs my original booking. But one of my cruises was with in 90 days...so I called. After going around and around with the agent... she told me that my current price was less than the newer AI pricing.. I kept telling her what I was seeing on the screen was significantly less. After bitching on CC.. I went back to the original email and in 4pt font..it noted that the new promo did not include AI. So I decided to complain to Celebrity. Told them that it was misleading to have the Always included flag up when the pricing was for no extras. I noticed the next time I checked that the flags had been removed. I do with they would develop a matrix...so you could see all the deals and compare.. perhaps set it up so you could insert cabin number and it would give you a price for each option with perhaps key items highlighted. Anyway one can dream.  I thought of switching to the no options pricing... but after removing gratuities the savings... were about $50-$60/day for the two of us. So w might save a bit...but nice thing with AI is that I can check email a bit more often than I would normally and wont think twice about ordering an extra drink or two without thinking about the bill.  But you do have to be careful when repricing to make sure you are comparing all the features you want

 

So you gave Celebrity feedback and they acted on it?  You decided the All Included pricing better met your needs and chose that option?

[wrk2cruise]

My problem was a bit more severe as I did the mock booking on the first day of the promo (before I even go the email on the promo with the T&C).   When I got to the summary page yes it showed the Loyalty NRD fare BUT also stated Always Included and listed the 3 included perks.  When TA called Celebrity they of course said No Perks and in fact by that time they had fixed the web site.  TA escalated to resolutions and 3 days later they honored the price with AI.

 

What I have observed is if you don't the the offer to upgrade to Elevate or Indulge packages then there are no perks included.

 

Edited October 11, 2021 by wrk2cruise

[zitsky]

Celebrity honored a "mistake" fare once that saved me about $1500 but the cruise was canceled b/c covid.

[grandgeezer]

Look up the definition of “always” and decide for yourself if it’s false advertising or not.

[ChucktownSteve]

43 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

Look up the definition of “always” and decide for yourself if it’s false advertising or not.

 

It's always unless it's not sometimes.

Edited October 11, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[kearney]

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

 

So you gave Celebrity feedback and they acted on it?  You decided the All Included pricing better met your needs and chose that option?

It was a close call. if we had chosen the no frills pricing ... factoring out gratuities...which you pay anyway... the difference...between a could of different cruises was $50-$60/day for the two of us. Being Elite... I am usually satisfied with CC cocktail hour... so normally I would go with the cheaper fair. But being longer cruises... it is nice to have more than 90 minutes wifi to check email and stay somewhat intouch. And this way I can have a frozen drink post excursion or a few specialty coffees..without finding myself doing the math. We have only had one 4 perk cruise before and on that occasion I found myself writing down all the drinks and calculating costs. Well since DH like McCallum that really threw off the math...and we did better with the package. But without that type of thing we would have saved some going with the no frills.. But after many months of being cooped up..figure I will splurge and not nickel and dime these trips. 

 

I actually sent if the price guarantee form... with screen shot of the All included banner with the cruises I was booked on and copied Celebrity management... got a call. They didn't give any special deal but the woman was wondering what specifically I saw that gave me the impression All included was part of the deal... so I told her the steps and also suggested that...I liked it when you could see the NR vs Refundable deals and be able to compare... the way they used to do it... it now appears that when you go through the page with the loyalty number, resident location..that they send you to the best pricing... without regard for other deals.... I don't know that the flow was the same in the past. Anyway.. shortly after my call I noticed that the banners were gone. It could be that they were already modifying it and my call was not the cause...of the change

[the penguins]

9 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

I definitely agree with Ipeeinthepools about double checking your reservation.  I haven't booked directly with Celebrity for I can't remember how long.

 

My TA makes it very easy to understand what's included.  Here's a partial shot of our7 night  Feb Apex sailing in an aft facing S1.  The larger OBC is from our TA and gets refunded in cash at customer service. I don't sent it to the credit card so I can keep the 3% cash back reward.

 

The other is from Celebrity and goes to my DW. Celebrity's website shows I'm actually getting $450 from them for shareholder benefit and $50 more for I don't know what. But I don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

When our TA places us a group, she tells me and there's extra ROBC

Confused, the maximum Shareholder benefit is $250 for 14 nights, $100 for 13 nights. How are you getting $450?

[ChucktownSteve]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

Confused, the maximum Shareholder benefit is $250 for 14 nights, $100 for 13 nights. How are you getting $450?

 

I didn't explain it properly. I knew what was in my head but y'all didn't lol

 

The initial $300 was a perk I booked under also with unlimited wifi, grats and premium liquor as listed on my confirmation. Then was added $100 shareholder for  7 days. I don't know what the extra $50 is for that was added to my account after the confirmation.  However it may have something to do with about being after final payment on an earlier cruise that got canceled so they gave me the $50 for the lift and shift?  My TA and her Celebrity rep couldn't figure it out.  Who knows why Celebrity does what they do?

 

This was before their brilliant AI promotion where they figured they could charge people for what they were giving them as free perks to book.  A lot of people aren't the wiser.

 

The $666 FCC was actually cash I had paid on my credit card but they took it off my booking from cash in the L&S, then gave it back to me as FCC and applied it back to my sailing.  It's their voodoo economics during the pandemic.

Edited October 11, 2021 by ChucktownSteve

[the penguins]

3 minutes ago, ChucktownSteve said:

 

The $300 was a perk I booked under also with unlimited wifi, grats and premium liquor. $100 shareholder for  7 days. I don't know what the extra $50 is for but it may have to do with something about being after final payment on an earlier cruise that got canceled so they gave me the $50 for the lift and shift?  My TA and her Celebrity rep couldn't figure it out.  Who knows why Celebrity does what they do?

 

The $666 FCC was actually cash I had paid on my credit card but they took it off my booking from cash in the L&S, then gave it back to me as FCC and applied it back to my sailing.  It's their voodoo economics during the pandemic.

Shame, I was getting excited about there some how being a way of getting extra Shareholder benefits. Thanks for clarifying.

[ChucktownSteve]

13 hours ago, the penguins said:

Shame, I was getting excited about there some how being a way of getting extra Shareholder benefits. Thanks for clarifying.

 

There is a way of getting extra OBC just not the shareholder benefit.  It's called using a TA that rebates on their commission.  The one I use now will send me a check after the cruise for those lines which don't let you redeem their OBC for cash.

[the penguins]

On 10/12/2021 at 12:44 PM, ChucktownSteve said:

 

There is a way of getting extra OBC just not the shareholder benefit.  It's called using a TA that rebates on their commission.  The one I use now will send me a check after the cruise for those lines which don't let you redeem their OBC for cash.

We do that but the Post specifically said "shareholder" but that has now been clarified.

[misterkevin]

On 10/5/2021 at 8:02 PM, LGW59 said:

It’s not all inclusive, it’s Always Included, hence the 3 perks they reference, Wi-Fi, tips, beverages.  Beyond that there is a cost unless you are in Royal Suite or above.

Not in my experience. I had booked a Royal Suite on the Summit about a week ago, and read these warnings. My booking did not include the Retreat NRD listing on it, so I called Celebrity, waited over an hour, only to be told that I had to pay an additional $34pppd to add tips, premium beverages, streaming internet, and the Indulge level OBC. That didn't make sense to me.

Edited October 26, 2021 by misterkevin
Correction

[wrk2cruise]

@misterkevin  Did you inadvertently book using Loyalty NRD promotion which includes no perks even in Retreat.

[misterkevin]

@wrk2cruiseI wouldn't call it inadvertent. There was something called NRD discount on my booking which I thought was another discount due to the current promotion. I thought the NRD meant "non refundable deposit" which isn't related to the Always Included benefits in my mind. At no point in my booking was I warned that this fare didn't include the Indulge perks. I assumed because the "add tips" option was greyed out, that they were included. Because I read that Royal Suites and above always included Indulge perks, I still can't fathom that this fare which is still twice the price of a sky suite wouldn't include them. The more I think about it, the more I feel deceived. 

Edited October 27, 2021 by misterkevin
Correction