Trying to book a Galapagos Cruise--Need Advice

[jajsmom]

First of all, thanks to all of the recent LIVE from the Galapagos cruise reports!!! It really confirmed that it is something we would like to do.  While it's hard to tell the real differences between the northern, southern, inner and outer loops, it looks like any of them will be a fabulous trip (and it should be for the price!😊)

Celebrity currently has a "special" going, which is 20% off the cruise price (which is higher than it was prior to the sale), and free airfare, up to $750pp for the first two guests, good until the end of this year.  So I priced a cruise on the website, and since it is a 10 night cruise, it includes transportation from Quito to Baltra.  When I asked about the free airfare, they told me it was an extra $800!  What, how is that free?   They assume it costs $2300 for two people to fly to Quito, so you are "getting" $750 pp off.  I live in Florida, and for the same time in 2024 (we're planning 2025), R/T airfare is less than $600 pp. So asked about booking our own airfare, and they said they will give us $500 pp off for that.  However, that price is already built into the cruise, so we would actually be spending $1000 more for the cruise.  And I asked if we could remove the free airfare later and was told sure.  But then you would have to pay the prevailing rates at that time.

 

So I feel like Celebrity is Bait and Switching us.  For an almost $20K cruise, I feel like they are offering something and taking it away at the same time.

 

My first questions at this time are for those who have purchased airfare, did you get a reasonable rate to Quito, or is it better to take the bad deal of "free" airfare through Celebrity? And for those who have previously used the free airfare deal, was  it a deal for you?  Did you actually get $750 off the price of your airfare, or was it just easier not to have that extra job of planning airfare?  and when booking air through the cruise line, do you have any control over choices or airlines, flight times, cabin class, etc.  

 

I've put a 48 hour hold on the cruise, but need more information than the cruise line is giving me before I book.  Thanks for any incite!

[jajsmom]

And one other question.  I've had cruises re-fared in the past. Will Celebrity refare is the price changes on a Galapagos cruise?  Thanks!

[prmssk]

We were in the Galapagos on a 10 day package Celebrity Xpedition, Northern Loop in November and had the $750 pp flights credit promotion with our booking.  

 

Flights by Celebrity is handled by a separate department than the people you book your cruise with so I wouldn't completely trust airfare numbers quoted by the booking people as it relates to flights.

 

When I called Flights by Celebrity to book our flights, I had done my research and knew what it would cost to book on my own and which flights I wanted.  I told Flights by Celebrity exactly which flights I wanted and was pleasantly surprised when Celebrity quoted me rates that were cheaper than what I was seeing online.  I was seeing rates of about $1,100 per flight and through Celebrity we paid $189 each (plus the $750 promotional credit).  Our $750 flight credit might have covered it completely if we had been willing to have two layovers and go through Miami so I would expect your fares out of FL to be cheaper than mine were.

 

For us, it was definitely a good deal to take the flight promotion.  It also was a very seamless experience so I am very happy with our decision.

 

And yes, you should be able to re-fare the cruise if the price goes down just like any other Celebrity cruise but I'm not sure the price goes down all that often.

[wrk2cruise]

Here is a link to the sales flyer on the flights promo.

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Galapagos/08_01_23_FLY_GAL_Flights_On_Us_Galapagos_Offer_08-01 to 09-30-23.pdf

 

Pay close attention to the terms and conditions.   If you notice it says the flights must be booked during the offer period which ends this week.   Of course flights are not available to book for your timeframe.

 

I have read in the past people in this situation when trying to book flights when they opened were told that the promo wasn't currently active so no deal.

 

They also detail the GALAPNOAIR promo with $500 pp off cruise fare if you do your air independently.  I don't understand how that is "built into the cruise"  I'd call back and ask for it to be priced without the FLYGALAPAGOS promo and add the GALAPNOAIR.   The way I see it the bottom line should be $1000 less for 2 people.

 

You would probably be better off to call Flights By Celebrity and ask how this promo would work when flights are not open to book yet.

 

If it were me I'd probably take the $500 pp off the cruise fare to not risk the promo not being honored unless they can give you something in writing that it will be honored outside the "booking window".

 

You can try entering these 2 promo codes using APPLY A PROMO CODE AND EXCLUSIVE RATES DISCOUNTS   to see what the resulting rates are.

 

Good luck.

 

Edited December 27, 2023 by wrk2cruise

[prmssk]

21 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

Here is a link to the sales flyer on the flights promo.

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Galapagos/08_01_23_FLY_GAL_Flights_On_Us_Galapagos_Offer_08-01 to 09-30-23.pdf

 

Pay close attention to the terms and conditions.   If you notice it says the flights must be booked during the offer period which ends this week.   Of course flights are not available to book for your timeframe.

 

I have read in the past people in this situation when trying to book flights when they opened were told that the promo wasn't currently active so no deal.

 

They also detail the GALAPNOAIR promo with $500 pp off cruise fare if you do your air independently.  I don't understand how that is "built into the cruise"  I'd call back and ask for it to be priced without the FLYGALAPAGOS promo and add the GALAPNOAIR.   The way I see it the bottom line should be $1000 less for 2 people.

 

You would probably be better off to call Flights By Celebrity and ask how this promo would work when flights are not open to book yet.

 

If it were me I'd probably take the $500 pp off the cruise fare to not risk the promo not being honored unless they can give you something in writing that it will be honored outside the "booking window".

 

You can try entering these 2 promo codes using APPLY A PROMO CODE AND EXCLUSIVE RATES DISCOUNTS   to see what the resulting rates are.

 

Good luck.

 

The brochure you linked does not have a window within when the flights must be booked.  It only lists a window within the cruise must be booked.  As long as the booking has the FLYGALAPAGOS promo code on the invoice, there shouldn't be any issue booking the flights and getting the flight credit when flight options open up.  There was not an active Flights on Us promotion going on for Galapagos cruises when we called to book our flights (almost a year after we had booked our cruise).

[wrk2cruise]

5 minutes ago, prmssk said:

The brochure you linked does not have a window within when the flights must be booked.  It only lists a window within the cruise must be booked.  As long as the booking has the FLYGALAPAGOS promo code on the invoice, there shouldn't be any issue booking the flights and getting the flight credit when flight options open up.  There was not an active Flights on Us promotion going on for Galapagos cruises when we called to book our flights (almost a year after we had booked our cruise).

 Just quoting T&C.  There is a Offer Period defined and it clearly states flights must be booked during the Offer Period.  Sorry I used the term booking window instead of Offer Period.  I don't have direct experience but have read here others who have been denied the discount when flights opened.  You evidently had a different experience.  Big surprise that Celebrity is inconsistent!

 

That's why I advised if they are looking to use the flight discount promo that they call FBC and get confirmation from them as I believe the discount is applied to the air invoice.

Edited December 27, 2023 by wrk2cruise

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, prmssk said:

The brochure you linked does not have a window within when the flights must be booked.  It only lists a window within the cruise must be booked.  As long as the booking has the FLYGALAPAGOS promo code on the invoice, there shouldn't be any issue booking the flights and getting the flight credit when flight options open up.  There was not an active Flights on Us promotion going on for Galapagos cruises when we called to book our flights (almost a year after we had booked our cruise).

I agree completely with your assessment. 

[jajsmom]

Thank you all.  I will try calling Flights by Celebrity tomorrow and see if I can work this out.  I did try putting the FLYGALAPAGOS promo into a new booking, and it told me that the code was not valid.  The $500 pp is automatically being deducted, and I cannot make that go away.  When speaking to my travel agent and the Celebrity agent earlier today, no one was able to make any sense of things.  We're well over 330 days prior to the cruise, so no air rates will be available for a long time.

And @prmssk and @mahdnc, thank you both so much for your live reports. You are both partially responsible for us booking this trip!

[Gardenbunny50]

Here was my booking story.  We booked on board last August 2022 on a trip to Alaska and attended the Destination presentation for Flora and Galapagos with Machu Picchu May 10-26. It offered the air, 20% off and the rates were lower then than what they offer now.  We also have the before extension in Quito and the after extension in Lima after MP.  We booked and were told any changes if we found a lower fare later we would lose our original deal.  But rates have never went below our booking fare. Our final pay is due Jan 10.  Just booked our flights with Celebrity and my TA on Dec 6.

I had researched on my own so I knew how expensive flights were and I followed along on the Live for prmssk and mahdnc to get info on what they did.  Mine being a little different since we fly back from Lima. But what awesome and detailed posting they did.  So helpful.

We live in Atlanta.  Delta flights were way over the $750 pp and times were not what I wanted. I had seen that American Air from Miami had better times and was even under the $750 - and about a $1000 lower than Delta. So I had my TA book those - it works for us.

My sister lives in Jacksonville FL and we drive to her home and spend night and leave next day driving to FLL for cruises all the time.  Going on to Miami isn’t that much difference.  Even adding in a budget hotel for 1 night before cruise doesn’t barely makes a dent into the $1000+ savings.

Since Covid the prices to travel have increased, and our travel investment funds have decreased 🙁.  So we now look for any savings we can find.  Before Covid it was not an issue.

But we are so excited to be going… hoping someone doing the cruise and MP will do a Live post between now and May! 🙂

 

 

 

[jajsmom]

After talking to Celebrity today, we booked the 10 night Southern Galapagos route for September 2025.  We did get the airfare package (which we have to pay for the FREE airfare), but it is still less than we will be able to get on our own.  And because flights are generally cheaper from Florida, hopefully we'll be able to upgrade too!  It sounds like I will have to do the work in advance to see what the flight prices are.  We can fly from Orlando to Miami, or even drive to Miami if we get a better rate. I can't believe our deposit was more than some cruises we have been on!

Thank you all!  time to start getting excited!!!

[billc23]

Check out Jet Blue FLL to UIO. Typically $550 RT. 

[Ken the cruiser]

When we booked our recent Flora cruise back in Dec 2021, the same "sale perks" were going on then as well. We took the "Free" Air option and booked through Celebrity Air. We even upgraded to Delta Comfort+ both ways and it only cost us an extra $480 total, and that was from our regional Alabama airport to Atlanta with a direct flight from there to Quito. They initially tried to route us through Dallas and Miami before flying to Quito. But when we told the rep about the flight combination we found, he had to check with his supervisor and was later given the green light to proceed.

 

Just remember to book your RT flights as soon as possible to get the best rate. As far as the cruise price going down, our Sky Suite with Balcony actually went up $1,700 pp within a year of us initially booking it. So, I wouldn't hold my breath that the price is going to go lower. But you never know ...

Edited December 27, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Gardenbunny50]

There is no rhyme or reason on air ticket pricing!

I am thinking in the very near future the new cruise fare “deals” on all lines will now be at the earlier you book the better/best fare.  Before Covid you could book to hold a cabin and watch if prices go down before final pay and get the lower price.  

I read recently that Princess will begin to no longer offer the Drop and Go super low fares to fill up the ship.  

[Shiba_Lover]

We booked the 16 night package on Flora.  We only paid 200 for air using the promo.  Then I paid myself on the airline site to upgrade to econ + seats.  

[jajsmom]

On 12/27/2023 at 5:36 PM, Ken the cruiser said:

When we booked our recent Flora cruise back in Dec 2021, the same "sale perks" were going on then as well. We took the "Free" Air option and booked through Celebrity Air. We even upgraded to Delta Comfort+ both ways and it only cost us an extra $480 total, and that was from our regional Alabama airport to Atlanta with a direct flight from there to Quito. They initially tried to route us through Dallas and Miami before flying to Quito. But when we told the rep about the flight combination we found, he had to check with his supervisor and was later given the green light to proceed.

 

Just remember to book your RT flights as soon as possible to get the best rate. As far as the cruise price going down, our Sky Suite with Balcony actually went up $1,700 pp within a year of us initially booking it. So, I wouldn't hold my breath that the price is going to go lower. But you never know ...

Thanks, good information.  We live in Orlando, but would be willing to drive to Miami to get a better deal.  and have extra money to upgrade.

[jajsmom]

On 12/27/2023 at 4:40 PM, billc23 said:

Check out Jet Blue FLL to UIO. Typically $550 RT. 

That would be great, and well worth a few hour drive.