Celebrity Future Cruise Desk or Not

[ScottC4746]

I spoke to my TA the other day about the possibility of an 11 night Australian cruise in 2026.  She suggested I visit the future cruise desk and that she could pick it up from there.  Is there any advantage to booking via the FCD and if they offer me something to entice me to book, do I lose it when my TA picks up the cruise?

 

My former TA has always told me never to do FCD so now I am confused.

[jelayne]

The advantage is a reduced deposit for non suite cabins and OBC based on cabin category, length and type of cruise.  When you book onboard the booking will automatically be transferred to the TA that has the booking for your current cruise, nothing for you to do.

 

You do not lose the OBC with a transfer.   You also keep your reduced deposit unless your TA has group space with lower pricing, in that case you will have to pay the standard deposit to get the group space. 

[ScottC4746]

So I wonder why my former TA told me otherwise other one of the many reasons he is former.

 

Cool beans sounds like Jamie Oliver would say, "easy peasy"

[jelayne]

Maybe the former  TA was referring to the Future Cruise certificate, pay deposit now select cruise within a certain time frame.  I personally didn’t care for that idea and the time frame to book sometimes changed.  
 

Lately all of our booking have been done onboard, primarily for the reduced deposit. I would rather give them $200 deposit vs $900.   Of course the OBC is nice too. 

[Lastdance]

As long as you are not booking a suite, the $200 down and extra OBC is most likely the best way to go.  If you do not use your FCC, the money is refundable, but you most likely need to make sure that happens.  We have never had an issue either way, but do what is best for you.  I would not suggest becoming a shareholder either, at this point in time.  The stock is very high and you need to purchase 100 shares minimum.  This also gives you more OBC after you submit the required information.  Additionally, purchasing insurance without needing to worry about pre-existing conditions needs to just cover your downpayment, but you only have 15-21 days to do that after you book!  Maybe I am sharing more than you were asking, but also wanted to share important information just in case.

 

Happy Booking!

Edited January 12 by Lastdance

[ScottC4746]

21 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Maybe the former  TA was referring to the Future Cruise certificate, pay deposit now select cruise within a certain time frame.  I personally didn’t care for that idea and the time frame to book sometimes changed.  
 

Lately all of our booking have been done onboard, primarily for the reduced deposit. I would rather give them $200 deposit vs $900.   Of course the OBC is nice too. 

I believe you are correct on this.

[daydreamer16]

I know that there was a change to the suite deposit. We have never booked a suite but are thinking about it for a special anniversary. What' the deal now?

 

Thanks

[BytownMatt]

So I have a bit of a different take on this which may (or may not) explain the comments by the OP's former TA. I certainly agree with the previous comments regarding the advantages with the reduced deposit and additional onboard credit. My issue is that the prices I have been quoted at the Future Cruise desk onboard have been consistently higher or much higher than what my TA can offer (mainly through group rates). On a couple of occasions the prices I was quoted onboard were even higher than what appeared on Celebrity's website. I know that lots of people book their cruises onboard so perhaps I have just been unlucky with the specific cruises I inquired about or I have been asking the wrong questions about available discounts, etc. Personally my approach has been to buy the future cruise certificate onboard to get the reduced deposit and OBC benefits and then work with my TA to find the best cruise fare. 

[dogsdogs]

57 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

As long as you are not booking a suite, the $200 down and extra OBC is most likely the best way to go.  If you do not use your FCC, the money is refundable, but you most likely need to make sure that happens.  We have never had an issue either way, but do what is best for you.  I would not suggest becoming a shareholder either, at this point in time.  The stock is very high and you need to purchase 100 shares minimum.  This also gives you more OBC after you submit the required information.  Additionally, purchasing insurance without needing to worry about pre-existing conditions needs to just cover your downpayment, but you only have 15-21 days to do that after you book!  Maybe I am sharing more than you were asking, but also wanted to share important information just in case.

 

Happy Booking!

Just a heads up on booking a future cruise deposit on board.  We are just off a B2B on Reflection over Christmas and NYE.  On the second cruise, we visited the Next Cruise office and were told that as of 1/1/24, your deposit on a "book later" cruise is no longer refundable.  We didn't know or we could have done it on the first leg of the B2B when it was refundable.  We left without doing it.

[cruzzzinma]

1 hour ago, daydreamer16 said:

I know that there was a change to the suite deposit. We have never booked a suite but are thinking about it for a special anniversary. What' the deal now?

 

Thanks

The deposit for suites is 10 percent of the cruise fare. Also be aware that the suite deals on board are generally not refundable. We booked on board in Sep 2022 for Sep 2023 cruise. My husband’s health declined and I cancelled the cruise in Feb 2023. We lost part of the deposit, got some credited to our credit card and got some back in future cruise certificates which I will probably not use.

[mahasamatman]

My strategy has always been to make a speculative booking at the end of schedule to lock in the OBC and then rebook with my TA when I find a cruise I like. I don't know if even that works any more.

[NMTraveller]

If your TA has a group rate for the cruise you want it will be a better deal.  If not,  then perhaps on the ship will give you a better deal.

[Mrdell]

1 hour ago, dogsdogs said:

Just a heads up on booking a future cruise deposit on board.  We are just off a B2B on Reflection over Christmas and NYE.  On the second cruise, we visited the Next Cruise office and were told that as of 1/1/24, your deposit on a "book later" cruise is no longer refundable.  We didn't know or we could have done it on the first leg of the B2B when it was refundable.  We left without doing it.

Very true… we are on Beyond and visited the Next Cruise Desk and was told that our deposit for a book later cruise is not refundable… we decided to not do it also.

[Baynanno1]

Yet another "nickel and dime" change that Celebrity have not informed the cruisers about - once again we find out from those currently cruising who visit the Future Cruise / Next Cruise Desk.

[1Virgo]

Figures. I ve had no word about a refund for a Future cruise deposit that I asked for. I do have a paper saying refundable.  

 

We never book onboard as we have found the prices higher.  I have always checked pricing for cruises we are interested in, then compare with onboard.  one cruise was about $4000 more.  

 

[paulh84]

11 hours ago, dogsdogs said:

Just a heads up on booking a future cruise deposit on board.  We are just off a B2B on Reflection over Christmas and NYE.  On the second cruise, we visited the Next Cruise office and were told that as of 1/1/24, your deposit on a "book later" cruise is no longer refundable.  We didn't know or we could have done it on the first leg of the B2B when it was refundable.  We left without doing it.

Your deposit has never been automatically refundable just because you used a book later certificate. Or are you saying if you don’t use the certificate the deposit is eventually forfeited? Either scenario conflicts with what the flyer says in cruise documents I just recently received. It says if you do not pick a sail date within 1 year the deposit is refunded. If that has changed I will use the book later form in my edocs instead of the ones they have available onboard and see what happens. 

Edited January 12 by paulh84

[dunedinmaiden]

13 hours ago, Lastdance said:

As long as you are not booking a suite, the $200 down and extra OBC is most likely the best way to go.  If you do not use your FCC, the money is refundable, but you most likely need to make sure that happens.  We have never had an issue either way, but do what is best for you.  I would not suggest becoming a shareholder either, at this point in time.  The stock is very high and you need to purchase 100 shares minimum.  This also gives you more OBC after you submit the required information.  Additionally, purchasing insurance without needing to worry about pre-existing conditions needs to just cover your downpayment, but you only have 15-21 days to do that after you book!  Maybe I am sharing more than you were asking, but also wanted to share important information just in case.

 

Happy Booking!

I just got off a ship for Christmas and New Year's.  The Future Cruise Desk advised us that after the New Year the Future Cruise Certificates would no longer be refundable.  Use it or lose it!

[dunedinmaiden]

44 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

Your deposit has never been automatically refundable just because you used a book later certificate. Or are you saying if you don’t use the certificate the deposit is eventually forfeited? Either scenario conflicts with what the flyer says in cruise documents I just recently received. It says if you do not pick a sail date within 1 year the deposit is refunded. If that has changed I will use the book later form in my edocs instead of the ones they have available onboard and see what happens. 

Yes, if the certificate is not applied within the specified time, it's forfeited.  This was a recent change in the New Year.  The Future Cruise Desk specifically told us this.

[Winemaker_1]

14 hours ago, Lastdance said:

 I would not suggest becoming a shareholder either, at this point in time.

It's in nosebleed territory and several insiders have made large sales just recently.   I don't own it but I'd dump it if I did.  I like it at $60/shr. 

[Mrdell]

2 hours ago, paulh84 said:

It says if you do not pick a sail date within 1 year the deposit is refunded.

The agent we spoke to said that the expiration date is six months… not sure if this is new also.

[cosmo1027]

For Future Cruise Certificates booked prior to 2024, does anyone know if the deposit is automatically refunded once you reach 6 months (we booked last July after the timeframe was changed from 1 year to 6 months), or do we have to request a refund if we are not going to move forward with booking?

[ScottC4746]

Thank you all for the responses.  Let me throw this scenario out there:

We book for Australia, Edge, February 2026 at the Next Cruise Desk with no insurance.

We get home and speak with our TA who picks up the booking and she gets the commission, all happy now.  Just to put numbers out there, let's say it is $500 OBC.  One can dream right?

She adds Aliante Insurance, finds a lower rate in her group booking, but her group rate is only $250 OBC.  Would I then lose the additional $250 OBC I had?

 

Speaking of commissions, I don't want to screw my TA out of a commission.  Does she still get it?

[billc23]

20 hours ago, cosmo1027 said:

For Future Cruise Certificates booked prior to 2024, does anyone know if the deposit is automatically refunded once you reach 6 months (we booked last July after the timeframe was changed from 1 year to 6 months), or do we have to request a refund if we are not going to move forward with booking?

I automatically received my deposit back. On mine (yours may be different) , the time frame for benefits (OBC) was 6 months but the refund time frame was 1 year. So I just received a refund from certificates purchased in January of 2023. The lower deposit held for the full year also. 

[BytownMatt]

4 hours ago, ScottC4746 said:

Just to put numbers out there, let's say it is $500 OBC.  One can dream right?

She adds Aliante Insurance, finds a lower rate in her group booking, but her group rate is only $250 OBC.  Would I then lose the additional $250 OBC I had?

In my experience over the past year and a half, the Future Cruise OBC can be combined with the TA OBC offer (if there is one) but others may have a different experience with their TAs.