[UK] Celebrity - Price Drop before Final Payment - Celebrity not honoring.

[abzee]

Hi

 

I have a Celebrity Booking and it seems before my Final payment there is a reduction in price by around £400.

 

I checked the Terms : https://www.celebritycruises.com/gb/company/customer-support/our-price-promise ( it does not allow price match) and also spoke to Celebrity UK CS and they cannot price match or provide OBC.

 

However, in the US or other regions, they do allow reduction.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/int/company/customer-support/best-price-guarantee

 

Any advice on how do I go about it?

 

I feel like discrimination and although paying the equivalent price in USD in GBP.

 

Is there an Ombudsman/ Trade Body specific to Cruises where this can be flagged.

 

Regards

 

 

 

[JJK2008]

27 minutes ago, abzee said:

Hi

 

I have a Celebrity Booking and it seems before my Final payment there is a reduction in price by around £400.

 

I checked the Terms : https://www.celebritycruises.com/gb/company/customer-support/our-price-promise ( it does not allow price match) and also spoke to Celebrity UK CS and they cannot price match or provide OBC.

 

However, in the US or other regions, they do allow reduction.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/int/company/customer-support/best-price-guarantee

 

Any advice on how do I go about it?

 

I feel like discrimination and although paying the equivalent price in USD in GBP.

 

Is there an Ombudsman/ Trade Body specific to Cruises where this can be flagged.

 

Regards

 

 

 

As I recall (I could be completely wrong) it has something to do with the laws in the US and those other regions. Not the same laws in the UK. Good Luck.  

[vino123]

I was told by my UK Celebrity cruise consultant they only allow price drops if your cruise was booked with the Future cruise offers while onboard another cruise. I just changed my booking and got a better cabin and small price drop before final payment. Sadly they don't honour price drops in the UK anymore otherwise.

[odysee]

If you book in Germany or Switzerland, no price drops considered either.  Different payment terms, sales laws make for other T&C , which can also be to the advantage of clients, eg when ports are dropped.

Can’t have it all 🥹

Edited June 3 by odysee

[hcat]

uk bookings have consumer protections that other places  lack.. guess its a trade off

[PTC DAWG]

Sounds like too much government to me..YMMV.

[Lena11033]

1 hour ago, JJK2008 said:

As I recall (I could be completely wrong) it has something to do with the laws in the US and those other regions. Not the same laws in the UK. Good Luck.  

 

This is correct.

 

[baw53]

If you have paid  £300 deposit then cancelling, losing your deposit  and rebooking would save you £100…..be careful though if you have OBC with your original booking as the new booking may not be offering it .I have always understood you can only take advantage of price drops if it is a ‘ Future Cruise ‘ booking( which I have taken advantage of many times) 

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, abzee said:

Hi

 

I have a Celebrity Booking and it seems before my Final payment there is a reduction in price by around £400.

 

I checked the Terms : https://www.celebritycruises.com/gb/company/customer-support/our-price-promise ( it does not allow price match) and also spoke to Celebrity UK CS and they cannot price match or provide OBC.

 

However, in the US or other regions, they do allow reduction.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/int/company/customer-support/best-price-guarantee

 

Any advice on how do I go about it?

 

I feel like discrimination and although paying the equivalent price in USD in GBP.

 

Is there an Ombudsman/ Trade Body specific to Cruises where this can be flagged.

 

Regards

 

 

 

you have answered your own question - you booked under UK rules and are subject to those conditions. Had you booked in the US you might have been able to take advantage of US Conditions but you wouldn't have had the consumer protection available in  the UK .

You would have also been subject to currency fluctuations which might or might not have worked in your favour - no guarantees.

From experience if you do have a major issue it is much easier to fight X in the UK than it is to argue with it's US Office.

We book in both countries depending on the offers at the time - something which is easy for us as our son is a US Citizen.

[villauk]

It’s a myth about the laws making the difference as many years ago Celebrity used to honour price drops over here and then they just stopped. I know as I have received those price drops. You also don’t need to be a US citizen to book in the States, as someone posted above, I’ve booked many cruises both sides of the pond and have used my own U.K. address. If you are Elite or above and book over here, you can move your deposit to another cruise and then rebook at the lower price, providing it’s not past final payment - unless they have recently decided to change that to their benefit too.
 

There is also a difference if you book a guarantee over here: you can’t change the cabin once it’s been allocated. In the US, you can choose to move to another cabin providing it’s in the same category. 

[chemmo]

I don’t know what room category you are in but worth looking at the cost of higher levels of room. If you upgrade to a room at least £1 more than you have paid I think they will upgrade you. Hence, you won’t get any money back but you may get a better room. Worth a try…

[the penguins]

9 hours ago, villauk said:

It’s a myth about the laws making the difference as many years ago Celebrity used to honour price drops over here and then they just stopped. I know as I have received those price drops. You also don’t need to be a US citizen to book in the States, as someone posted above, I’ve booked many cruises both sides of the pond and have used my own U.K. address. If you are Elite or above and book over here, you can move your deposit to another cruise and then rebook at the lower price, providing it’s not past final payment - unless they have recently decided to change that to their benefit too.
 

There is also a difference if you book a guarantee over here: you can’t change the cabin once it’s been allocated. In the US, you can choose to move to another cabin providing it’s in the same category. 

I didn't say "you had to be US citizen" just that our son is one.

I believe a fairly recent change from X is that if you now book in the US the conditions that apply will be based on your address which may remove some of the benefits I.e. price drops. X accepts us as US residents enabling us to choose the address we use for z particular booking. 

[Lolou127]

16 minutes ago, chemmo said:

I don’t know what room category you are in but worth looking at the cost of higher levels of room. If you upgrade to a room at least £1 more than you have paid I think they will upgrade you. Hence, you won’t get any money back but you may get a better room. Worth a try…

Be careful if you have any OBC and it’s not currently being offered as you will loose it, well that’s what they’ve told my TA as our cruise price has dropped and an Aqua class room is now only £150 more but we’d loose our OBC!

[chemmo]

Just now, Lolou127 said:

Be careful if you have any OBC and it’s not currently being offered as you will loose it, well that’s what they’ve told my TA as our cruise price has dropped and an Aqua class room is now only £150 more but we’d loose our OBC!

Yes, sadly you do need to be careful with any changes…However, if you have a drinks package and WiFi it can often be difficult to find something to spend that OBC on! You definitely need to consider what is important for you.

[abzee]

21 hours ago, baw53 said:

If you have paid  £300 deposit then cancelling, losing your deposit  and rebooking would save you £100…..be careful though if you have OBC with your original booking as the new booking may not be offering it .I have always understood you can only take advantage of price drops if it is a ‘ Future Cruise ‘ booking( which I have taken advantage of many times) 

Our Deposit is £600 so cancelling and re-booking is not the choice.

[abzee]

3 hours ago, chemmo said:

I don’t know what room category you are in but worth looking at the cost of higher levels of room. If you upgrade to a room at least £1 more than you have paid I think they will upgrade you. Hence, you won’t get any money back but you may get a better room. Worth a try…

I checked and the higher class rooms are much pricier ruling out this option at the moment.

[jojo1966]

46 minutes ago, abzee said:

Our Deposit is £600 so cancelling and re-booking is not the choice.

Why is your deposit £600...standard deposit for us in the UK is only 300???

[abzee]

4 minutes ago, jojo1966 said:

Why is your deposit £600...standard deposit for us in the UK is only 300???

£150 per person.

[jojo1966]

2 hours ago, abzee said:

£150 per person.

Ah. OK.. that's a lot to have to recoup by cancelling and rebooking then ..I agree

[abzee]

Thanks, everyone.

They added $200 OBC to my account for a difference of around £350. 

Don't get anything if you don't ask.

 

[Lolou127]

34 minutes ago, abzee said:

Thanks, everyone.

They added $200 OBC to my account for a difference of around £350. 

Don't get anything if you don't ask.

 

Well done, can I ask did you have to really plead your case or were they accommodating without too much pressure? I’m in a similar position but would be happy to pay slightly more to upgrade but if I do they’ll take away our OBC!!

[abzee]

13 minutes ago, Lolou127 said:

Well done, can I ask did you have to really plead your case or were they accommodating without too much pressure? I’m in a similar position but would be happy to pay slightly more to upgrade but if I do they’ll take away our OBC!!

I had to plead.

I mentioned that I do know the UK and US policy differences, but it's unfair and discriminatory if the difference is high. You ask them to escalate as the agents have lesser powers.

[wrk2cruise]

3 hours ago, Lolou127 said:

I’m in a similar position but would be happy to pay slightly more to upgrade but if I do they’ll take away our OBC!!

 

They really don't "take away our OBC".  It's really that you are paying the prevailing rate including the current promo conditions.  Most rates today don't include OBC.

[hawkesbaynz]

Before I started cruising and reading these forums I would never have thought you could reprice a holiday. Considered it a reasonable gamble. Ever tried to reprice a holiday to Spain with TUI or a ski trip with Inghams!!

 

Also from reading these forums and booking about a dozen cruises I now have an intelligent guess of when to book the cruise for the best price i.e the week it comes out, or just before sailing after final payment. Saying that I cannot fathom Princess’s pricing and have lost out with a booking.
 

I have cancelled an X cruise with the British office loosing the £300 but whilst the rep was sorting out the paperwork on the phone I booked for a considerable discount on the US site (no US address for us). Fortunately the currency did not go against us.

 

Recently on an X cruise and a couple recommended their contact at X who will honour price drops. Booked our next cruise with her! Mind it was using Future Cruise Certificate purchased on the ship.

[villauk]

9 hours ago, hawkesbaynz said:

Before I started cruising and reading these forums I would never have thought you could reprice a holiday. Considered it a reasonable gamble. Ever tried to reprice a holiday to Spain with TUI or a ski trip with Inghams!!

 

Also from reading these forums and booking about a dozen cruises I now have an intelligent guess of when to book the cruise for the best price i.e the week it comes out, or just before sailing after final payment. Saying that I cannot fathom Princess’s pricing and have lost out with a booking.
 

I have cancelled an X cruise with the British office loosing the £300 but whilst the rep was sorting out the paperwork on the phone I booked for a considerable discount on the US site (no US address for us). Fortunately the currency did not go against us.

 

Recently on an X cruise and a couple recommended their contact at X who will honour price drops. Booked our next cruise with her! Mind it was using Future Cruise Certificate purchased on the ship.

If you’re Elite or above, you could have moved that booking to a future cruise and kept the £300 deposit against another cruise, whilst still booking on the US site. Do you have a name for the person at X who you spoke to for future reference?