Mynki

4 minutes ago, Pushka said:

There are other amenities. Like access to the spa facilities. And while the other specialty restaurants are nice Blu is available breakfast as well. The shower in Aqua is good too. 

I know. I've sailed in aqua class six times over the last five years. But whilst Blu is very nice for breakfast and I do like the shower I personally don't believe it's worth £240 ($308) per cabin more per day. I mean, what value would you personally put on breakfast in Blu and a shower per day? 

On 11/22/2019 at 6:10 AM, ptrpanpens said:

When you can find better service, better itineraries, better food, much better small ship experience for a lower price on some Azamara cruises in the Med next April and May than comparable Celebrity itineraries, you know something is up.

Add to this non refundable deposits on Celebrity and the fact that drinks and gratuities are included on Azamara it’s a no brainer as to which line to pick. Even though they are both part of the same company. Le Club Voyage points earned on AZ are higher and automatically apply to Captains Club loyalty program, too.

Celebrity pricing is now comparable to some Seabourn and on some rare occasions Silversea cruise prices. These are true 6^ luxury lines. It's not common but I've seen the classic verandah suites (376 square feet with 64 square foot balcony) on Silversea with grats, internet all drinks and $1000 OBC go for the same price as some E class aquaclass rooms. 

I've also noticed that good last minute deals on AZ are slowly starting to increase in availability in recent months. 
 

On 11/22/2019 at 4:07 AM, Luvcrusn said:

I was just browsing a few cruises for March 2020 Aqua Class A2. None are past final payment.

 

Reflection 11 night 3/2/20           $2799

Reflection 10 night 3/13/20        $2599

Reflection 11 night 3/23/20        $1949

Silhouette 12 night 3/15/20       $5869!!!!!!! (Concierge is $3919 AND Veranda is $2729)That's almost $2000 more for Aqua than Concierge and $3100 more than Veranda per person. 

 

What am I missing or is this a case of Celebrity IT Strikes Again?

 

Some of the new 2021 itineraries had aqua class rooms priced at £120 pppn more than a regular verandah. For that you could buy all four perks, dine in a specialty restaurant nightly and still have money left over. How Celebrity can justify such a premium is beyond me. 

16 minutes ago, Lolou127 said:

Thanks both, sorry should’ve said first time cruisers with X so wasn’t sure what to expect when going through checkout, I sort of expected a time/date to appear and it didn’t hence the question x

Take a look at your cruise planner once you've signed in to the Celebrity website. As Wine-O says it's highly unlikely to be held whilst in port. They want to sell maximum places on it after all. Enjoy it. We did. :) 

Hang on as I've not been told which sailing you're on I'll have to go and dig out my crystal ball...

In all seriousness you'll need to consult your cruise planner or call Celebrity direct to have a sporting chance of being given a a date and time. 

4 hours ago, kayehall said:

We own a bar...LOL.  He is just old and set in his ways

Now that is a shame! They have some really good European beers onboard. He's bound to like some if you can convince him to try them. :) 

4 hours ago, mickey89 said:

Onboard bookings have changed so much.  It was only 18 months ago that I paid £148 deposit and received $250 obc which I redeemed immediately.  They were using $1.69 conversion rate when the real rate was $1.29.  (Cheaper than using an ATM) Maybe that's the reason why the incentive obc is now only available on the future cruise.

 

It's last minute bookings for me now unless I see a bargain.  Celebrity pricing is ridiculous, we booked a B2B cruise only 2 months ago and today the price is 78% higher.  How can that be justified ?

 

Not sure if you've seen my thread on Iconic Suite pricing but I think that highlights perfectly how absurd Celebrity pricing can be. I still can't fully understand how the occasional X cruise can be 30% cheaper when booked in the US compared to the UK and vice versa (extreme examples, but they have occured). 

There's only two classes of stateroom I'm really interested in. I have a perceived value of both with some flexibility for geographical location. As we're relatively young we still have some sailings on our bucket list left and so just wait patiently. When an interesting itinerary comes up and it's at an acceptable price I literally book within hours or even minutes because experience has told me that at those prices rooms don't hang around very long. That could be six to twelve months before sail date or it could be after final payment. 

There's currently three European 2021 sailings I'd really like to do but can't justify the opening prices so will just monitor those and hopefully strike when prices drop on at least one of them, which they always seem to do. 

327 days. But it's highly likely one or even two more will be booked and taken before then.

2 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

Yes.  When using non-refundable OBC to buy chips they give you special promo chips which can't be redeemed for cash, they have to be bet.  Any winnings are paid in regular chips which can be cashed out.  If you look in your cruise planner there is a way to buy chips ahead of time and get a 10% bonus, these work the same way even if you don't use OBC to buy them.

So go to the roulette table and bet half on red and half on black then before cashing out? 😁

On 11/19/2019 at 9:27 PM, Phxazzcruisers said:

They are still priced way too high in my humble opinion

Same class of ship, same number of nights. But the Iconic suite on Apex on this sailing is around three and a half times as much. If anyone can explain how the Apex sailing is worth £2032 per person per night more please do enlighten me! :) 

Prices from the same UK based TA. They may be more or less in other countries. 

24 minutes ago, mickey89 said:

You are correct Celebrity have changed their T&C, now an onboard booking is Non-Refundable but does allow unlimited FREE changes prior to final payment (57 days). The deposit paid is equivalent to the incentive obc given. That still remains (see T&C item 3)  https://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/terms-and-conditions/promotional-terms/#Future Cruise Promotion

 

 

 

 

 

I'd agree that that is the official view. However it's not unheard of for them to have smaller deposits as a further incentive to book onboard. We've paid a $100 deposit for a 14 night AQ sailing when the OBC was more. Last month you could pay a small deposit to secure perks on cruises that were yet to be released! You may have seen the threads discussing this? Nothing is set in stone with X. 

Then again the same website claims there are two chic nights on 14 night sailings, yet EVERY one I've done has always had three. 

12 hours ago, mickey89 said:

Celebrity’s incentive to booked onboard was that they gave an obc equal to the deposit paid. Originally you had the option to take this obc on the current or the future cruise. This policy changed in that this obc is now only given on the future cruise.

If at a later date you decided to cancel that future booking the deposit paid onboard would be refunded in full and you forfeit the incentive obc.   That is still Celebrity’s onboard policy, so little britain’s comment is correct.

You're wrong here. 

The OBC offered depends on the type of stateroom offered and the length of the cruise booked. It has nothing to do with the size of the deposit you paid. This was the case last month when I was last onboard and every time I've sailed over the last few years. 

The deposit was non refundable if you cancelled but it could be transferred to a different sailing where you would keep the additional OBC but not necessarily any other perks you were given as that depended entirely on the deal offered on the cruise you were switching to. 

41 minutes ago, catlover2027 said:

I wrote a query to our on-line TA today, about a possible Celebrity cruise 9/15/2020, withe the 4 perks promo that Celebrity has been offering.  She wrote   "Also, Celebrity has a new policy with regards to the beverage package perk. When you have the beverage package as an amenity, they now have a fare supplement of $14 per person per day that goes along with that. This supplement would be included with your reservation balance at final payment time."   Anyone aware of this, when it starts (or started!) and how they will let you know about this new fee?????

Eileen Derrick

The $14 supplement only applies to the classic beverage package. I believe if you are booking the four perk promo then this will include the premium beverage package in which case the supplement does not apply. Your TA should have pointed that out I believe. 

1 minute ago, fstuff1 said:

oh.. i was thinking Ov to balc.

or balc to concierge.

or concierge to aqua.

 

its only a +1 level  upgrade within the same room class? 😞

Yes. Sadly.......  :)

2 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

Elite:

"One category stateroom upgrade applicable up to AquaClass®* "

 

woah.. how the heck do i take advantage of this?!

Request it at the point of booking. It only applies if there is a suitable room available and there are some restrictions. But if rooms are available you can book an aqua class 1 room for the price of an aqua class 2 room as an example. Or pay for a concierge 3 and get a concierge class 2 room etc. . I hope that makes sense? 

Does anybody else find it amazing how one company can create such confusion amongst it's experienced and loyal customer base? 

1 minute ago, Charles4515 said:

Elites get specialty coffee at the breakfast location. Elite Plus we get free latte, cappuccino and espresso around the ship. 

 I know. 😉 

4 hours ago, isdoo said:

They have done in the recent offers - the suites had all these four items included - so it is a straight increase on the price from last week.

What I really mean is will all suite bookings from now on come with all four perks? Be they repos or other cruises. :) 

13 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Nope. We're only elite and it's for elites and above. 

Nope. You're referring to the Elegant Tea event. I'm referring to the Captains Club benefits of free beverages around the ship. You won't find free tea, latte, cappucinno and espresso listed on the Elite benefits page.  

https://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/captains-club/elite-plus/


 

7 minutes ago, fstuff1 said:

 

whats elegant tea?

what specialty coffees as elite?

(my last cruise was on summit and 1st time as Elite and never heard of these 2 benefits)

The Elegant Tea party  is usually held in the MDR. Elite and above members are invited. Sandwiches, cakes and tea are served there. It's once per cruise. The details will be found in your stateroom as to its time and location when you embark. 

I believe only Elite + and above qualify for a limited selection of free teas and coffees. I assume the poster is referring to this. 

42 minutes ago, kayehall said:

I just looked it up yesterday under the drink packages on Celebrity website.  Hubby not too pleased....

 

What isn't he pleased with? Lack of selection? Those on offer etc? Pricing? 

10 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I would think they should at least put your name on a lifeboat!

Hahaha. That's the best idea I've heard for the loyalty program ever! :)

3 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

WOW   I was looking at Iceland cruises on the Summit in August 2021 and the prices are sky high.  I'm not booking at these prices.

A 12 day Ireland and Iceland aqua class sailing from Southampton including CBP and grats was around £1500 per person earlier this year. This was before final payment on Silhouette too. Just to put the newly released pricing into perspective. 

2 minutes ago, mafig said:

 

It was Reflection.  I even asked about the Eggs Benedict.  Don't recall the year.

In my experience the staff in Luminae onboard Millennium and Eclipse had no issues letting people go off menu if you asked them. They did everything they could to keep you happy. 

18 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

Agree, same for us: sailed another line without any status.

 

I have been more amazed to read posts in the past saying that they would love to try itineraries on another line but don’t because of not having any status 😯. Can’t think why one would restrict themselves from seeing other parts of the world just because of not getting free laundry or minutes of free internet.

We're on the same page. People can also miss out out on great deals if they restrict themselves to one line. It seems strange to me too. 

I also find it slightly ironic that the loyalty program is of limited use to those in suites who accrue the most CC points.