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I finally heard from my TA yesterday with the port changes for 2023 holiday and segment after that. Attached to the email we received from my TA was a copy of what Crystal sent to our TA on our behalf and a new copy of the invoice with the changes to the itinerary. We are still pursuing with her why it took so long and why it is being relayed to us in this manner. We have not yet received this information directly from Crystal as of this moment like others have stated to on this thread. Again I found out about these changes in July and have been looking for some type of explanation from Crystal as to why it’s taking so long to inform passengers to these changes ever since.

I’m still in the same boat as you! As of this moment no email and will now be bringing this up again with my TA to let her know that certain people seem to have been contacted just recently directly from Crystal. If it wasn’t for following cruise critic I wouldn’t have even known of the changes. This is certainly a concern to me for sure!

I agree but this itinerary change happened months ago and the only reason I knew that is because somebody pointed it out on cruise critic! It’s interesting that it took Crystal months to let people booked on the cruise to know that the itinerary changed?

Wow that change was months ago! I still haven’t heard from Crystal about the change in other words no email for me yet. I asked my Travel agent about it a while ago she hasn’t heard anything back yet maybe now she will let me now? Thanks for posting that. It’s really not giving me confidence it NC communications abilities!

Is that invoice for a single occupancy? Mine is for $250.00 I’m guessing it’s because it’s for a double occupancy invoice?

Wow ok that’s a mouthful! I think I was able to follow that. Again thanks for being patient with your time and explanations in my trying to understand getting into the weeds of the situation if you will!

@May B I hope I don’t make this ever so more confusing? So for the room I wanted on the 2023 holiday cruise that is showing on the website it’s the one for 20 days and it shows $9100.00 for my room. Based on the education I have appreciated from everyone it turns out that that cruise is the combination of 2 cruises, one 9 day and one 11 day. If you look at there individual pricing for those segments for the same room I wanted the price would be $9600.00 in combination so the pricing on the combination 20 day mentioned above is showing on the website with the 5% combination discount already included. On the website it’s says from $8500 to $9100.00 for same category depending on location. I hope that helps?

I apologize but I’m not following your “soft opening for the first tier” is that to get some kind of understanding of how well the intend itineraries are likely to be booking after being released to everyone and if it’s not maybe going to plan they can make changes in the itineraries or pricing?

Just another thought Crystal is playing catch-up with there itineraries. I could see a potential side to playing the momentum card if you were someone who was out front with their itineraries but right now I wouldn’t make people wait to see your product when your behind everyone else. Again IMHO. What’s the old saying the early bird gets the worm?

Thanks. Another thought that popped into my head with Crystal building momentum is it gives people more time to look at other cruise lines who have the itineraries for 2025 out there to be booked now and possibly losing future bookings as they’re looking to do by doing a drawn out tease.

Btw at the end of last post I meant staged access not staged release.

Yea I get it with big events type cruises like the world cruise but not a rest of the year of itineraries that is to be released. I don’t do the open deposit game unless there is strong incentives. I don’t do for maybe I like a future itinerary I know nothing about to get first access. I get the teaser aspect but if there is a time frame for the releases I know for one I want to know when so I can prepare. Tease all you want until they put up, it doesn’t make any difference till I know the rules for booking if as stated earlier that it might be staged? I don’t see it as a momentum issue unless they feel very certain that the possibility of selling out many if not all the segments is a possibility. I get it for very limited categories like the CP and people like me who have very specific itineraries and rooms that I would be interested in. But that’s just me. So are those dates previously posted by Ter777 not correct??? I keep asking no one’s answering. All I’m asking at the end of the day if there is a definitive staged release of the 2025 itineraries at this point that someone knows for sure and then when and how it will work I would like to know as soon as possible. Again just looking for the rules from Crystal on the 2025 itinerary release I know the news release says September 27th but if there is a staged release like suggested earlier in this thread I’d like to know about it, that’s all!

I get that but if you are in group one and are maybe eager to have access to the itineraries, and have the added option of being able to book earlier than everybody else I’d say it’s a bit tight. Just saying…

Ok thanks. Cutting it a bit close if the info from @TER777 is correct?

Where do you find that information on the Crystal website? September 13 is only two days away yet nothing listed on the Crystal website yet any idea when that info will be posted?

@BWIVince Thanks again I don’t know why it has to be so difficult to show this is the case on a cruise lines website. I’m guessing a fine print indication would probably be sufficient at least for someone like me.

I get that I really do if I was putting segments together. When I go on the website there is a 20 day cruise listed. How am I supposed to know that Crystal put 2 other segments together if I am only looking at that 20 day one. So you’re saying who the hell knows what cruises are combined segments and which ones are not. Because again I can’t find it anywhere on the website that the 20 day is a multi segment combination and the price is priced accordingly.

It’s $9600.00 pp on my invoice then they take the 5% off that. In other words I feel it should be the $9100.00 pp then they take the 5% off because I’m adding it the the cruise after that. I’m frustrated and it is not my intention to frustrate everybody else. I apologize if I’m doing that to you.

Thanks for your time and explanation. It’s certainly unfortunate that this industry practice is this type of case. I certainly like to be able to figure out my invoice with what is available on a cruise lines website and I have been able to do this with my other 4 bookings.

Common industry knowledge to whom? I’m guessing not the average person looking at the website to book this cruise. What about the people who don’t use a TA. If I was someone looking at the website and was thinking about booking this cruise I would assume my pp price would be $9100.00. I had some friends that were interested before I decided to book and told them that would be the price based on all the other bookings I have that work that way, again all 4 other bookings I have match the website pricing this one does not so this is the first time I feel imho I was mislead. Again imho a Crystal problem. Not getting snippy you don’t know me! Enjoy your cruise.

@avalon244Btw show me where on the wonderful Crystal website it tells you that’s the Btb price I would really appreciate you showing me that!

My opinion Crystal’s the problem not my travel agent in this situation! IMHO!

My plan as in the past situations I have had is to write a email at this point with as much reference material so I can make my point and have it in writing. I still feel the situation is misleading from the Crystal website and that’s what I intend to present from my perspective.

I apologize if I made this confusing I’m new to this situation and maybe I didn’t explain it in the right way. In hindsight maybe the title of the thread should have been different? I wanted a specific room in a waitlisted category for the holiday cruise. Based on what I’m reading I guess I wasn’t on an official Crystal waitlist that you put money down for because I only wanted a specific room and I guess the official waitlist program doesn’t work that way? My TA had my request for the room I wanted and was watching out for it, if and when it might become available. A few days ago it became available. She sent me the invoice and I checked the website and as I said the invoice says $9600.00 pp and the website says $9100.00 pp. I questioned this discrepancy. To make it short she said she couldn’t get a clear explanation from Crystal and that that was what the price was going to be. As I mentioned earlier she suggested I call if I was not happy with expectation to hear it myself. My wife called and they basically told her because the category the room is in that we want is waitlisted they can charge more. Based on what I’m reading from everyone’s responses Crystal was wrong both times is explaining the situation to us that being my TA and to my wife. I have since gotten an email from my TA stating what has be said by others that the $9100.00 includes the btb discount. I still have an issue as to why this is not clearly stated on the Crystal website. I hoping Monday I can sort this out with the new information I was presented on this thread to hopefully get Crystal to add something to there website in a situation where they combine multiple segments into a new separate segment. I apologize again if I made this a confusing situation for anyone. It still is to me, but based on the help from others on this tread I pretty much think I understand what happened. I’m still not happy with they way it’s been going down and Crystal needs to do some work on there end to end confusion in what is happening in this type of situation.

I did thanks!