OBC. Thing of the past?

[Hawkstar33]

9 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

not THAT long. We got $300 OBC on our upcoming 8n cruise in the inside cabin on Reflection. I booked it less than a year ago.

With TA, or thru Celeb ??...That is alot for an inside...Maybe I'm not using the right people.

 

[Itchy&Scratchy]

8 minutes ago, Hawkstar33 said:

With TA, or thru Celeb ??...That is alot for an inside...Maybe I'm not using the right people.

 

through Celebrity. We don't book through TAs.

 

P.S. Oh, and it's our first X cruise. 

P.P.S. Didn't get any OBC for our next two X cruises, though.

Edited March 12 by Itchy&Scratchy

[Hawkstar33]

2 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

through Celebrity. We don't book through TAs.

 

P.S. Oh, and it's our first X cruise. 

P.P.S. Didn't get any OBC for our next two X cruises, though.

Jeez...Elite Plus and we can't pry a nickel out of them at this time...

[Jeremiah1212]

1 minute ago, Hawkstar33 said:

Jeez...Elite Plus and we can't pry a nickel out of them at this time...

OBC for Celebrity has been offered in the past as part of the “fake sales” people like to refer to. Since the current offer for Wave season has been in place since December there has not been any offered. Instead it’s given as an actual discount other fare. 

[CruseKrazy]

Last July 4 Celebrity was giving substantial OBC.  By Black Friday there was very little.  Their share price has recovered nicely.

 

Edited March 12 by CruseKrazy

[Ex-Airbalancer]

4 hours ago, doghog said:

With Princess if you, your spouse or both are veterans you will receive an OBC. We used a TA for our 27 March 2024 Enchanted Princess cruise. For that booking Princess gave us an OBC, plus the veteran OBC plus the TA gave us an OBC. 

 

https://www.princess.com/content/dam/princess/promos-deals/pdfs/military-personnel-benefit-overview-request-form-north-america.pdf

 

 

 

With Celebrity both people  get $100 off the price of a cruise if you or your spouse is a vet or in the military 

[doghog]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

With Celebrity both people  get $100 off the price of a cruise if you or your spouse is a vet or in the military 

I thought the subject was OBC. I'm very familiar how the veteran discount works. I apply and we always receive it. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

59 minutes ago, doghog said:

I thought the subject was OBC. I'm very familiar how the veteran discount works. I apply and we always receive it. 

OBC or a discount, I am ok with either one 😁

[Swagner36]

On 3/11/2024 at 10:04 PM, zitsky said:

So is there any benefit to using a TA for my next cruise?  Because I understand that TAs are no longer giving OBC but Celebrity is doing that?

 

How much OBC are they giving?  Is it per day or does it depend on the cost?

I just booked a little while ago and got $250 on board credit from TA

[Hawkstar33]

46 minutes ago, Swagner36 said:

I just booked a little while ago and got $250 on board credit from TA

Ok great...What did you book exactly, if you don't mind??  Veranda, Aqua, Concierge, Suite?   And did you receive any other perks?? 

[Jeremiah1212]

35 minutes ago, Hawkstar33 said:

Ok great...What did you book exactly, if you don't mind??  Veranda, Aqua, Concierge, Suite?   And did you receive any other perks?? 

 

You should be able to get 8-10% of the cruise fare (pre tax/fees) as a starting point. Some smaller agencies will give none. Shop around and know what to ask for. 

 

TA Group rates will come with a refundable deposit (mostly), classic drinks and basic WiFi. There are a few more ways for TA's to give additional OBC on top of that - however both are getting a little more restrictive. 

[Hawkstar33]

2 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

You should be able to get 8-10% of the cruise fare (pre tax/fees) as a starting point. Some smaller agencies will give none. Shop around and know what to ask for. 

 

TA Group rates will come with a refundable deposit (mostly), classic drinks and basic WiFi. There are a few more ways for TA's to give additional OBC on top of that - however both are getting a little more restrictive. 

Hopefully they will answer my questions, and ty for your info

Edited March 14 by Hawkstar33
add on

[Swagner36]

6 hours ago, Hawkstar33 said:

Ok great...What did you book exactly, if you don't mind??  Veranda, Aqua, Concierge, Suite?   And did you receive any other perks?? 

Veranda on the Equinox for Christmas. Got $250 OBC and prepaid tips, basic drink package with basic wifi

[Hawkstar33]

8 hours ago, Swagner36 said:

Veranda on the Equinox for Christmas. Got $250 OBC and prepaid tips, basic drink package with basic wifi

TY for the info

[gold1953]

1 hour ago, Hawkstar33 said:

TY for the info

but you pay a much higher price for all of that 

[gold1953]

Perhaps Celebrity is on to the fact that many are cashing non refundable through casino. This non refundable only cost them the 'wholesale cost of any product' Therefore cashing in hits their bottom line hard

[Hawkstar33]

9 minutes ago, gold1953 said:

but you pay a much higher price for all of that 

Yes agreed...They just make it up by adding it to the fare..Days of good deals are few and far between..We keep booking regardless, so they just keep slowly dwindling us down..I used to use it in the casino, but switched to buying liquor onboard..At least I would go home with something..I also just checked to see what my travel group was giving for that xmas cruise, and they show zero obc..Maybe I need to look around at other TA's

Edited March 14 by Hawkstar33
more info

[gold1953]

1 minute ago, Hawkstar33 said:

Yes agreed...They just make it up by adding it to the fare..Days of good deals are few and far between..We keep booking regardless, so they just keep slowly dwindling us down..I used to use it in the casino, but switched to buying liquor onboard..At least I would go home with something..

I only book with base price

[paulh84]

For the price they charge for refundable rates and no OBC from booking direct you are missing the boat by not finding a travel agency that has group rates. My most recent Celebrity booking through a TA was almost 30% less than booking direct and has $400 in OBC. 

[gold1953]

33 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

For the price they charge for refundable rates and no OBC from booking direct you are missing the boat by not finding a travel agency that has group rates. My most recent Celebrity booking through a TA was almost 30% less than booking direct and has $400 in OBC. 

depends on what you are booking. I paid 550 for my 2 week inside , then another 150 to move to veranda then I won a move up bid to Aqua for $150 each. I have $200 obc and no perks but don't need them with elite plus. 

[Notagoose]

There's a site I can't mention where TAs provide quotes for the cruise/date/cabin type you're looking for, and it's an easy way to see if there are good OBC deals to be had. On my holiday cruise this past December, we were quoted $650 OBC as well as a group rate for an infinite balcony on Beyond which was 2k less than the Celebrity website price. The OBC ended up somehow being $1050 by the time we cruised (I didn't ask questions! Maybe they caught a price drop?)  Sometimes I request quotes and nothing is better than what's on the Celebrity website, but it's always worth trying. 

[Adowsett]

We got $1000 OBC for our cruise in September booking a Sky Suite.  Also got the Prem.drinks, Wifi and tips. Also got 10% off using my blue light card, which was great.

[Jeremiah1212]

What people received in the past from Celebrity doesn't really matter as of today. The current sale runs through April 7th.

 

There is no OBC offered and hasn't been since December. The current offer is pretty straight forward. You get a $75-$200 discount depending on the day you book and the cabin category. Just don't book on Thursdays because you will get nothing. 

 

Friday to Monday

$100 Per Inside or Ocean View Stateroom
$200 Per Veranda Stateroom and above (CC, AQ, Retreat)

Tuesday and Wednesday

$75 Per Inside or Ocean View Stateroom
$150 Per Veranda Stateroom and above (CC, AQ, Retreat)

Thursday

No additional savings 

 

OBC from TA's can be issued a number of different ways. That's a whole separate set of criteria and promotions geared to TA's that a general customer can't see. 

[Swagner36]

3 hours ago, gold1953 said:

but you pay a much higher price for all of that 

Actually the deal I got was a lot cheaper than Celebrity's web prices. My TA had a group of cabins

[doghog]

1 hour ago, Swagner36 said:

Actually the deal I got was a lot cheaper than Celebrity's web prices. My TA had a group of cabins

Agree. We have also experienced getting lower cruise fares, gratuities, specialty dining and OBCs using a TA. Haven't received any BPs. 4 outta 5 aint bad. 😉

Edited March 14 by doghog