What did you wish you knew before you booked?

[Iamcruzin]

14 hours ago, canderson said:

You can't discuss them here, but I'd encourage you to talk with fellow cruisers the next time you're on the water.  Come up with a list of things that are important to you in a TA, and see how people respond.  We got lucky in that we hit on a winner on our 2nd try, and have stuck with them for many years.

I know it's a moot point discussing but interesting information. I have been to many meet and greets and not once did I run into an agent or someone who could suggest an agent. I do have a long time cruise friend that I met at one of those meet and greets who was a member of a search engine cruise line. She would just give us her commission after we sailed when she received it. She since gave up that part time business. She said it was too much trouble for the few bucks she made. More cancelations than complete sailings and all anyone wanted was a discount. They couldn't care less about service. 

 

There is a travel group in my community run by travel agents. They claim that they can get group rates but when I check out the offers I come up with the same price and actually I can get a one category up grade with Celebrity which makes my rate better. I know if you book a certain amount of rooms one is free. My guess is that they are taking the free room and screwing everyone else.  They are taking advantage of new residents to Florida, cruising for the first time or who just don't have the knowledge and need their hand held. Needless to say I don't bother with that group.

[DaKahuna]

On 8/9/2024 at 6:53 AM, zitsky said:

Because of Move Up, it can be cheaper to book Aqua *first* then do Move Up to Sky Suite.  It might be less expensive than booking Sky Suite directly.

 

True but then you miss out on some of the benefits of booking a Sky Suite to begin with, e.g. CC points, drink package, and Wifi. 

 

[ItsADryHumor]

On 8/8/2024 at 12:30 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

Not to use a TA. 

I’ve booked on my own (Carnival, Disney) and used a TA (RCCL and Celebrity). The TA always saves us money, gets us the best room, and we usually get a little OBC to boot. 
 

He recently booked us an inside guarantee and texted the next morning to let us know we would be in an OV instead because he didn’t see any indoors and the system let him upgrade us. Also, we have $50 OBC. All for the same price as the original inside guarantee on the website. 

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

I know it's a moot point discussing but interesting information. I have been to many meet and greets and not once did I run into an agent or someone who could suggest an agent. I do have a long time cruise friend that I met at one of those meet and greets who was a member of a search engine cruise line. She would just give us her commission after we sailed when she received it. She since gave up that part time business. She said it was too much trouble for the few bucks she made. More cancelations than complete sailings and all anyone wanted was a discount. They couldn't care less about service. 

 

There is a travel group in my community run by travel agents. They claim that they can get group rates but when I check out the offers I come up with the same price and actually I can get a one category up grade with Celebrity which makes my rate better. I know if you book a certain amount of rooms one is free. My guess is that they are taking the free room and screwing everyone else.  They are taking advantage of new residents to Florida, cruising for the first time or who just don't have the knowledge and need their hand held. Needless to say I don't bother with that group.

The bigger agencies are the ones that have group rates.  They book a group of rooms on the ship at a discount.  Not all cruises have group rates.  My last cruise did and I got the All Included package thrown in plus additional OBC.  

[rickdent]

On 8/8/2024 at 11:52 AM, canderson said:

Reflection, although very similar in overall layout to its sister ships, does have a few unique features.  This didn't impact our final choice in cabins, but did provide an additional alternative that I needed to consider before making the reservation.  We wound up in Royal Suite, but Reflection has some cabins all the way up front on deck 14 that were tempting.  They're called Reflection Suites and are unique to that ship.  If that level of cabin is of interest to you, don't forget to have a look at those.

 

Another anomaly not uncommon to other ships:  If you're considering a Sky Suite, be sure to check out the back corners all the way aft.  Those cabins have overall larger space than other Sky Suites, especially on the veranda.

 

An idea of the cabin class you're considering would help.

There is one Reflection Suite, several others in the “private” hallway are Signature Suites.

[canderson]

1 hour ago, rickdent said:

There is one Reflection Suite, several others in the “private” hallway are Signature Suites.

Roger that.  Got em backwards.

[sushraya]

We haven't been on any celebrity cruises yet - have the first one booked.

I was going to book using the big box TA as I normally do.  Have traveled NCL and Royal before and didn't find a TA any more useful.  But for some reason, checked in with a travel agent and boy, am I glad I did check.   They had group rates - so we were able to get guarantee ocean view cabins with all inclusive (gratuities, wifi and classic drink package) for less than what we were booking inside cabins on the big box TA site.  Was very surprised.   

[bikerunner]

58 minutes ago, sushraya said:

We haven't been on any celebrity cruises yet - have the first one booked.

I was going to book using the big box TA as I normally do.  Have traveled NCL and Royal before and didn't find a TA any more useful.  But for some reason, checked in with a travel agent and boy, am I glad I did check.   They had group rates - so we were able to get guarantee ocean view cabins with all inclusive (gratuities, wifi and classic drink package) for less than what we were booking inside cabins on the big box TA site.  Was very surprised.   

Exactly I can get the Wi-Fi and drinks along with some obc from my TA on almost any sailings, albeit not the 3-4 day ones but dont do those, for the same price Celebrity costs for a room only rate in the same category, and many times even less expensive than the room only rate.  Yes understandable takes time finding a good TA but well worth it in the end of the things.  

[Iamcruzin]

On 8/10/2024 at 10:57 AM, NMTraveller said:

The bigger agencies are the ones that have group rates.  They book a group of rooms on the ship at a discount.  Not all cruises have group rates.  My last cruise did and I got the All Included package thrown in plus additional OBC.  

Is there a way of finding out which cruises have group rates?

[LadyBerard]

59 minutes ago, Iamcruzin said:

Is there a way of finding out which cruises have group rates?

Call large agencies and inquire.

[zitsky]

46 minutes ago, LadyBerard said:

Call large agencies and inquire.

I don’t use a big box agency.  Mine is big but they are affordable and they use group rates.  They offered OBC in the past, but since Celebrity changed the rules, I do not know if they will keep offering OBC.

 

My TA found $900 in credit that we didn’t know we had which paid for a good part of the deposit on our upcoming Retreat cruise to Bali.