Jeremiah1212

13 hours ago, -The-True-North- said:

Any way to know that TAs have group rates?

 

I used I VERY large well known TA online, and they were 100$ cheaper than the website, but no freebies only OBC.

You’ll need to ask around or shop a few TA’s. 
 

12 hours ago, rinshin said:

What change or changes causing this?  I am returning to Celebrity after considerable absence and accepted the fact that it is no longer the Celebrity of pre-2010 I am familiar with.  

The only real change is if you don’t use the certificate within 12 months, they keep the deposit rather than automatically refund. It’s really not a big deal if you plan on actually booking a cruise within 6 months. You already lost the OBC benefit after letting it sit for 6 months. 

30 minutes ago, cbfb said:

Thank you!!!! Is the 30 days to transfer once you book the trip or once you purchase the certificate? 

The window to transfer to a travel agent is 30 days from the certificate purchase date. Dropping the form in the box on the last day of the cruise is the best way to do it. 

Easy solution is find a travel agent with group rates and you won’t have to pay a premium for the refundable deposit - and you’ll get tips and WiFi. 
 

48 minutes ago, cruizingOmi said:

FCC is only available Onboard and is not transferable

Sorta. Two caveats. You can book a Future Cruise for someone else who is not onboard. You can also change any names as many times as you want on a Book Later Certificate up until you select a cruise. 

I'm not up to speed on the casino aspect at all, but I would call Celebrity directly and see who (or if) they have an agency on record to verify the Blue Chip rep isn't wrong. It wouldn't be totally unheard of for Blue Chip to use Expedia to service casino bookings either.

3 hours ago, ito717 said:

Managed to change all of tomorrow’s plans to today (minus 4 hours since we arrived at noon today vs the original 8am tomorrow) and had a great day in Hilo. Lots more chatter about this, including from our Uber driver and a tour guide today. 
 

I’m looking at the NOAA charts that are publicly available for the Island of Kauai and I can’t find any restrictions or markings off the Na Pali coast about the 50 passenger/3000 yard zone. Now I’m curious. Does anyone know where this restriction comes from (State of Hawaii? Kauai County? NOAA?) and how it is communicated to mariners? 

This law dated 1988 outlines the restrictions. The actual exhibit (the diagram depicting the area) is a poor scanned copy of a copy, but it outlines the area. 

https://casetext.com/regulation/hawaii-administrative-rules/title-13-department-of-land-and-natural-resources/subtitle-11-ocean-recreation-and-coastal-areas/part-3-ocean-waters-navigable-streams-and-beaches/chapter-256-ocean-recreation-management-rules-and-areas/subchapter-2-north-shore-kauai-ocean-recreation-management-area/section-13-256-41-na-pali-coast-ocean-waters-general-restrictions

My little 19 foot boat doesn't make me a marine navigation expert, but short of some technical malfunction which is pretty obvious did not happen, negligence isn't an 'out'. You still bear responsibility.

10 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Easier to ask for forgiveness than permission applies here? 
 

what was harmed? 

Despite being illegal, Hawaiians are very serious about protecting their environment. That area is full of fringing reef with all sorts of marine life. 

18 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

Poster was referring to this link to the deals where the format has changed to be much harder to read.

 

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Exciting_Deals/CEL_Exciting_Deals.pdf

That format has always been available to travel agents (who it is intended for). For the public the sailings are easily identified through the link in the email or on the website. However you can't easily identify which stateroom categories qualify. 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/promo-controller?contentPromotionId=promotion-217. 

8 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

So if I have the classic package when I booked, I can still upgrade, right?  My package came under a group rate and isn’t showing in my planner. According to my TA it won’t show and I can’t upgrade until I board which means I can’t take advantage of the  35% off. Does that sound right to you?

That does not sound right. Your packages may take a bit to show up if you just recently booked. The issue where the upgrade option was not available in the Cruise Planner seems to be mostly resolved now. Either way, call if you have to and they can sell the upgrade over the phone. 

What do you mean by added when you booked? You booked All Included with Drinks and WiFi or you paid separately for the drink package? You can only adjust the price if you purchased drinks separately. 

18 minutes ago, Team Stag said:

I feel like Celebrity has taken a page from that book.  They have their price & now play a constant shell game with how they advertise their price.  Buy one get one 75.  But one - other passenger 50%, etc etc but at the end they all come out the same price.  My recent cruise (before final payment), I saw it was $100 cheaper.  So I call the TA & she confirms it but it reduces my current OBC form $200 to $75.  So basically a net $25 gain to stay with what we had (knowing my wife will spend at least $200 on board).  I feel like it's just trying to create confusion and force the customer into a sense of urgency to book "to get the best deal".

Luckily Celebrity's current promotion has been the same since December and will run through at least June. 75% off the second guest with bonus OBC every day except Thursdays. The base rate fluctuations are drive by demand as always. You can also find a TA that has discounted group rates to avoid the price swings. 

Look at RCG's first quarter numbers. They don't need to do offer fire sale rates right now. Occupancy is higher than it was back in 2019, for 2024 they are quoting having ~12% capacity left to sell for the year. Deposits held are up by $770 million since Q1 2023. 

The way that process is described is not how most do it. I'm not sure I recall that method even being an option. You select a room charge, not OBC, as the payment source. You load your account with the desired amount and that posts to your account like any other onboard charge. Just like if you purchase a drink or specialty dinner. Your OBC is applied toward the room charge until it's spent then you would have a balance due at the end of the cruise if you deplete the OBC. You can also rack up some serious credit card points this way but it's borderline not the scrupulous use of your credit card program. 

Despite people often saying this is not allowed and you can't do it, the casino host has instructions available at the desk that explain exactly how to accomplish this. I almost always cash out the $600+ nonrefundable Retreat OBC with no 5% fee. 

How far out are you looking? If you shop around you can probably find the Beyond cruise priced fairly close to the Reflection cruise. 

As of late my preference leans almost exclusively to E class ships. S class just doesn't feel the same anymore. 

14 hours ago, D. B. said:

Twice they have pulled off flight changes that got me where I was trying to go when my original flight was cancelled at the last min. while I was At the airport!

 Once I had to get on one flight while agents of FBC  were working on a replacement for the next leg and I had to turn off my phone when the cabin door was closed.

 I went to the airlines desk as soon as my present flight landed and was told "It's all been taken care of and here is your new flight information" 

 FBC only books flights that are Refundable most of the time. You can book directly with an airline at a non refundable ticket.

 Also you do not have to Pay for your reserved flights till 90 days before the sailing date.

 I sometimes pay the balance early if that  allows me to do seat selection.

If you check the airline app almost all of them will automatically rebook you on the next available flight once your original flight get canceled and/or give you an option to change that flight. That's not Flights by Celebrity magic accomplishing that. I'm well aware of the selling features but I am quite certain most people greatly overestimate what they are actually doing in these scenarios. 

24 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

 

Look at the airline's Contract of Carriage. Most will rebook you on another airline if necessary.

That part isn't clear cut at all. Most will only pursue that option if the delay or cancelation is their responsibility (like a maintenance issue or crew time out) and they cannot reaccommodate you on their metal and the partner/OAL has to agree to take the ticket and the other airline has open seats. There are also odd rules about codeshares, etc too. If a delay is due to weather or anything else outside of control of the airline (like a strike or air traffic issue) they aren't paying to put you on another airline. In reality there is nothing magic or special Celebrity can offer.

If you get stuck stateside in Chicago or Atlanta then have to attempt to meet up with the ship in a place like Santorini, Mykonos or Naples during peak summer travel, the stars better align because it's just likely to happen.

Maybe there were artificially influenced by all of the inevitable commentary like "we turn our phones off and put them in the safe!!!" every time a question is asked about anything phone or app related.....

It really doesn’t matter. Is it on the same ticket or separate? They could have just added the return to your existing ticket. It has nothing to do with forcing you to go pay early so they can make a half cent in interest. 

1 minute ago, attitudeda said:

When were on the Apex in January they were for who ever rented the cabana. If someone was sitting there they were asked to leave by the attendants.

There are no loungers directly in front of a cabana on Apex. 

22 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

I had a CS booked for Sept 2024 Alaska 7 night sailing. In my eyes the price was to high. I ask our TA to see what she could do. One conference call with X. We got no where. I got a call the next day from our TA. I dont know who she talked too. In the end we now have our 1st RS booked and saved $3000.

Suite prices across the board for Sept '24 Alaska have fallen considerably since December. As of today for 9/1/24 Solstice a Sky Suite is priced the same as a Celebrity Suite. 

It’s pretty easy. I eat basically as I would at home. Portion control, lean protein, lots of vegetables, clean carbs and minimal pastries, desserts and frozen drinks. I don’t really concern myself with butter or sauce on the vegetables. I skip things like the giant slab of fatty prime rib. The vegetarian entrees are usually a good option once you get tired of heavy meals. 

No. 

36 minutes ago, Charles4515 said:

That is not something that requires iOS 17. I have had apps that I make purchases in that saved credit cards and default payment or Apple Pay info for years. 

Right. However that’s not what I was addressing. Multiple payment methods and Apple Pay in the mobile cruise planner is new to the app. Though it does add a lot of complexity with handling and storing additional personal info.  

2 hours ago, markeb said:

 

I'm not going to disagree with that. But do you seriously think anyone in Celebrity management understands that? This version says it added a "guest wallet" which must only be available onboard or after check-in; I don't see it in my app.

If you complete a cruise planner purchase in the app like a shore excursion you now have the option for to add a default plus other credit cards that can be saved or can use Apple Pay.  

What is your Retreat budget standpoint?  Upper suite or Sky Suite level? Explora Journeys and Ritz Carlton Yachts are both worth a look if you (generally) can go a bit higher than the normal Sky Suite range. If you're sticking to mainstream ships with the ship within a ship concept, you just have to weigh your pros and cons. You've mentioned all of the semi-comparable lines. Yacht Club is likely cheaper but that comes with some cons, Haven is typically on par with Retreat prices but you'll find a lot more kids, the Royal Caribbean suite product varies significantly from ship to ship and class to class and generally isn't worth the money in my opinion. Princess offers a 'Suite Experience Manager' but it isn't a butler. Sun Princess is the only ship that would be close for now.

July 28 Eclipse? Nothing to do with groups. That inventory already went back to Celebrity. What happened was they opened triple and quad cabins to book for doubles. If you notice every single cabin except one that is now open can accommodate a 3 or 4.