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Future cruise deposits offer a minimal credit. If you know the cruise you want there is often much more obc offered depending on the length of the sailing and the cabin type. Pricing is usually the same though if I remember correctly I have once or twice saved a tiny bit booking onboard. 
 

If you know what you want to do there is no downside to booking onboard provided you book with a refundable deposit). And it does transfer to your travel agent if you use one (provided you transfer within 30 days and before final payment). 
 

Personally I do like to keep a few FCDs in my account to place things on hold. They are a lot easier to track than credit card deposits and refunds. 

What a cluster - another totally failed experiment by X management. Glad to see they are finally backtracking on this cut disguised as an “enhancement.” Fingers crossed that they backtrack on the solo pricing next. 
 

I wonder how much of a decline in sky suite bookings and service scores it took for them to change course on this. Of course it will take a long time for them to get all the butlers back in place even if no one left - lots of jobs to back fill. 

I totally understand that the pandemic was financially devastating to the travel industry, and costs increase over time, and the need to improve shareholder value, etc. X needs to figure out how to do this without alienating their customers. It’s just not sustainable to charge luxury prices far higher than any of the other premium cruise lines while cutting service levels back. There are way too many options out there (granted others made cuts too but at a fraction of the impact and price). 

On 2/5/2024 at 4:10 PM, Giraffes said:

I know we've been paying it all along, but does nobody here think that paying 200% is also absurd? When I tell people that I pay for two passengers when I cruise solo, they are dumbfounded. It seems like Celebrity made us so angry about paying more than 200% that we have no choice now but to be HAPPY about the 200% for a solo sailor. Gaslighting?

It is and it isn't. I can totally understand charging 200%. Cruise lines have given prices as per person for a long time to make people think it is less ($1,500 per person sounds better than $3,000 for a cabin). Essentially I think of it like a hotel room. Hilton or Mariott don't care if I am one or two people, they charge $300 for a room for one night. Unless I add extra guests and now they have to service the sofa bed or provide an extra free breakfast. The incremental cost to the cruise line of 1 vs 2 people is miniscule. I have never complained about 200%, though I am grateful when there is the occasional sale offering a discount on the supplement.

Where I take offense is paying more on top of that. If it is all about onboard spending then go back to including the onboard credit - as a solo I had to use $800 of OBC by myself vs 2 people using $400 each. If I didn't spend it, then they got to keep the difference.  

On 2/5/2024 at 4:10 PM, Giraffes said:

I know we've been paying it all along, but does nobody here think that paying 200% is also absurd? When I tell people that I pay for two passengers when I cruise solo, they are dumbfounded. It seems like Celebrity made us so angry about paying more than 200% that we have no choice now but to be HAPPY about the 200% for a solo sailor. Gaslighting?

Totally agree. They say it is about onboard spending. I really doubt most guests are spending the amount they are charging solos extra. For retreat cabins/Royal Suite it is as much as $3K or $6K more on a 7-10 day sailing. It comes out to anywhere from $300-800 per day. As much as some retreat folks might spend I highly doubt that is actually the average OBS of guests in suites. If they really want everyone to spend, why would they get rid of the retreat always included promotion that had $800 or so of OBC. That literally forced you to pre-pay for onboard spending and include it in the price. And if you don't they keep whatever they baked into the price for it (just like they keep whatever you don't spend on your drink package). 

Just took a look at a last minute cruise 1 month out (10 day on Silhouette). One would think they would be happy to sell a cabin this close in, even if it is to a single traveler - currently 8 retreat cabins and 1 guarantee verandah left. Their pricing suggests they still wouldn't want a solo. 

Horizon Suite

$17,207 for 2

$24,528 for 1

Celebrity Suite

$16,090 for 2

$22,919 for 1

Sunset Sky Suite 

$11,856 for 2

$17,207 for 1

Verandah Guarantee 

$3,815 for 2

Not permitted for 1

I also notice that even though this is all about onboard spending not taking place, we don't get a penny of onboard credit for our extra $5-7 thousand dollars. IMO it is a money grab pure and simple. And they are counting on enough people not paying attention or knowing enough to ask what the price for 2 is.

I know some people say book for 2 and have the other no show...I would not want to take that risk. Who knows what sort of policies they may enforce around this.  They certainly have the right to charge whatever they want, and we have right to take take it or not. I am of the mind that if my $17K for a Horizon suite isn't good enough for them, then I wish them luck with getting the equivalent off of a move up bid or couple looking for a last minute 10 night cruise...given they still have 3 horizon suites, 2 celebrity suites and 3 sunset sky suites I doubt they will fill all with couples paying rack rate. But of course what do I know? 

Ok, rant over. 

I think the odds of anything other than a sky suite are very close to zero. I believe any cabin can bid on a higher suite also so most likely someone will pay for it. Celebrity is quite good at maximizing their revenue. 

12 hours ago, twins_to_alaska said:

So best bet seems to book refundable for $100 and then can change the cruise to nonrefundable for cheaper later if want or cancel and get all back.

Yes, I would agree with this. 

15 hours ago, bnurick said:

Obviously, I am onboard. The Future Cruise Desk booked a new refundable reservation and then called shoreside the next day to have the amount less $200 added to the listed deposit amount. Are you saying that our reservation is now not refundable? I guess I can get online and do a ‘mock’ cancellation and see what happens. Any insight would be appreciated.

If they booked a new reservation with a refundable deposit it should be OK, the only thing is if you cancel I would suspect you may lose the $700 so I would probably just change to another refundable deposit sailing if you need to make any changes. 

11 hours ago, ColoradoCruiser88 said:

Thank you, @mahdnc.

Do you know if you can assign the Book Later cruise to a TA of your choice if you book later?

If your TA has a “Group Cruise” pricing on your selected cruise, do you lose the benefits of booking onboard?  TIA.

You can transfer as long as it is within 30 days of making the book later deposit (not when you book the reservation). I believe you should keep the benefits, but they keep changing the rules so rapidly it’s hard to say what they will do or if there is some other exclusion. 

The only option to save some of your funds is to pay the 200 change fee and rebook a new cruise at the time of cancellation. Otherwise you lose everything. Note that the new booking is also non-refundable and any further changes in sailing date or ship will result in additional $100 pp change fee. 
 

sounds like the future cruise consultants got it sorted for you which is great. Glad to see they have some power to fix things. 
 

On 12/25/2023 at 11:36 AM, wrk2cruise said:

Actually no, once a reservation is set to NRD it can't be changed to refundable.   I just changed a sail date recently and they didn't collect the $100 pp at the time of change.  They just added a line item to each passenger on the new invoice.

Fun story. You can technically change to the refundable price but the reservation will remain non-refundable and subject to change fees. Once had a TA mess this up before I became a TA myself and it was a royal mess. 
 

On 1/4/2024 at 2:56 AM, Free and Easy said:

Found that Specialty dining in Tuscan and Murano have almost doubled their prices since I last cruised with Celebrity! Wonder if fellow Celebrity cruisers still find them worth the extra money paid........??

Basically everything on X has doubled. The biggest sticker shock for me was seeing the price of X excursions compared to the exact same one on other brands. I guess good for them if they can get it. 

Well, after being unsure if I would ever sail with Celebrity again I am glad to say I snagged one of their discounted solo pricing on a November 24 & February 25 sailing. Glad to see they are changing course. 
 

On 1/12/2024 at 10:11 AM, Random Cruizer said:

 

This is my point of view, as well, paying double isn't fun, but understandable.  I won't pay over that. On my first two cruises, I think I also got "75% off second guess" discount for the one cabin, which I understand they are also taking away.  Seems like it's going to be goodbye to Celebrity for me.

The 75% or sailings is dubious to me. Sounds like it will be hit or miss - guess it is definitely buyer be ware when booking! 

7 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

Thank you.  It's the Solstice that I am going on and it was the Solstice that said it couldn't be done but that was 2012.

I have split the bed on Solstice in the last year! The individual beds are small but comfortable! 

2 hours ago, SouKnoMe said:

Where do the promo codes come from?

It will show on your booking confirmation. 

I posted on the other thread but for those that aren't on that one: 

Maybe positive sign - I did a few test bookings for Winter 2024 and it looks like solos are actually discounted slightly (looked at Eclipse and apex in November) and substantially discounted in retreat cabins with a 2K-3K savings. I thought maybe they backtracked but over the summer of 2024 and everything I found still has the extra surcharge for solos. 

Looking into 2025 summer months still have the surcharge, but winter 2025 looks to have the 

Also, when booking thorough the consumer website I waws not able to add a refundable deposit option to solo retreat bookings but could still do it on the TA side. 

Not sure if this is a glitch or an intentional change on their part, but any solos looking at winter sailings I would suggest trying to nab one ASAP. 

The winter sailings that have discounted solo pricing have a promo code "SINGLES" attached to it. Summer sailings have the "RET 2PK SGL" or "NOPERK SGL" promo. 

Maybe positive sign - I did a few test bookings for Winter 2024 and it looks like solos are actually discounted slightly (looked at Eclipse and apex in November) and substantially discounted in retreat cabins with a 2K-3K savings. I thought maybe they backtracked but over the summer of 2024 and everything I found still has the extra surcharge for solos. 

Looking into 2025 summer months still have the surcharge, but winter 2025 looks to have the 

Also, when booking thorough the consumer website I waws not able to add a refundable deposit option to solo retreat bookings but could still do it on the TA side. 

Not sure if this is a glitch or an intentional change on their part, but any solos looking at winter sailings I would suggest trying to nab one ASAP. 

The winter sailings that have discounted solo pricing have a promo code "SINGLES" attached to it. Summer sailings have the "RET 2PK SGL" or "NOPERK SGL" promo. 

2 hours ago, luv2kroooz said:

Yep, that is where they lost me. I can understand to a degree the fare supplement of 200%, but when they try to ascribe an additional supplement based on an unknown (spending habits), it makes no sense.

 

This, too, will probably pass. Times are good for the lines right now. High passenger demand, high pricing. It won't always be that way.

100% Agree with you. It was not long ago that they were not charging solos a supplement at all due to desperation to fill cabins. I doubt that they will go back to that, but going back to standard solos pay 200% may be in the cards. I guess time will tell. 

46 minutes ago, janabelle61 said:

I'm onboard and spoke to Future Cruise about this. She suggested booking a cabin mate as a work around - so even Celebrity's employees are encouraging us to work around the new policy.

 

If it's revenue Celebrity is worried about, they can either have the double occupancy rate or nothing. Their choice. I'm certainly not inclined to spend more on board given the new policy!

Totally agree with you. I am sure their employees know it is a ridiculous ask - especially when absolutely no other cruise line tries to do this. I can understand paying the double occupancy price, as much as it hurts every time I do it. But paying more (and substantially more at that) is just totally illogical. I am sure the future cruise people hate this, it must be killing their solo sales. 

I totally agree, if 2x is not good enough, then they can just sell to someone else. Hopefully when enough of us vote with our wallets they will change their minds. 

On 1/8/2024 at 5:41 PM, RuthC said:

Someone I frequently travel with has done this for our small party of 5-6 several times. We have been fixed seating for late (main) dining, and she has selected specific tables that meet our needs/wants, and put in the request about 2 weeks before sailing. 

If you wait too long to make the request, especially waiting until you board, the table you want may already be assigned. If done too soon, such as when you book the cruise, the request can get lost in the shuffle. 
Table assignments for an upcoming cruise are made about 1-2 weeks before the cruise starts. Make the request for a specific table right before that, giving first, second, and third choice table numbers. 

Who do you typically make the request to? Is it the main reservations dept? 

Ironically we have been assigned the worst possible table location on every single cruise we we selected fixed dining. It is always either on side of the upper dining room, between a pole, waiter's station and solid wall with no way to see windows, or in the former orchestra pit where tables are 1/4 inch apart and you look at everyone's feet around you. This has happened on every single cruise we have ever booked and after the first night the Neptune concierge usually requests the Maitre'D move us and we have always been accommodated. 

The only cruise we couldn't get fixed dining was a 2 week Panama canal (even though we booked a suite over a year out). As I recall they wouldn't take reservations for more than the same day (and this was pre-app) so you had to call daily to make reservations or show up and wait. Our waiter the first night was wonderful so when we called the next morning we requested his section. Turns out it was him who answered the phone - after that he made reservations for us in his section for the next day every single night & took absolutely amazing care of us the entire cruise. Best dining service we ever had on a HAL ship. 

On 1/6/2024 at 3:33 PM, rj59 said:

Drawbacks of the process: I never received a boarding pass in the app, only a generic one online with no bar code. So when I showed up at noon with no boarding time, I was told I’d have to wait until after 2, which I ignored and snuck through after luggage drop. Then the face scan didn’t work, and so after waiting in another line, they couldn’t print out a bar code to scan. Fortunately, ship security saw me in the system and let me on. The other system failure was that my $200 in military/stockholder credit didn’t appear, and the HAL rep I called said OBC can’t be applied after a cruise has started. So l’m not feeling real good about the standby program or about HAL now. The stress and uncertainty I’ve experienced the past 7 days are fairly strong and unpleasant, so I’m not sure if it’s worth the cost savings. 

I don't think that I could take the stress of maybe going, maybe not going and not knowing the room type until so late. Glad you got a great room! 

On 1/8/2024 at 3:58 PM, drakes2 said:

Time to try NCL even though I am Elite plus with Celebrity.  Based on principle alone I refuse to pay more than double the cost. 

I will definitely not consider booking Celebrity as a solo or double as long as they keep this up. It is really just one thing too many. If I have learned anything in post-pandemic cruising, it is loyalty to no brand. In the past I have always had a favorite cruise line and tended to stick with that - now I consider everyone and choose based on itinerary, price, amenities & other inclusions or perks. 

To be honest I was very impressed with NCL. Had written them off years ago. They have certainly made some cutbacks from what they used to do, particularly in the entertainment department, but what cruise line has not changed. I cancelled 4 Celebrity retreat bookings and moved them to the Haven. 

5 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

Never understand the concept of worrying about money not being spent by 2nd passenger.

A lot of solos go to speciality dining and go on excursions and shop and drink.  Couples can be quite cheap and thrifty too.

This is a great point. I actually spend way more on specialty, etc. when I am on my own then I do when travelling with family. I also do way more in the spa. Perhaps they have data to back up that solos spend less, but I totally agree. 

6 hours ago, Oceansails said:

I took this issue up twice with the executive office, received written responses, and telephone calls confirming that the promotion of buy one , 2nd person 75% off for a non refundable rate, or 50% off 2nd person refundable rate will not apply to solos. Corporate knows that solos would effectively be paying over 200% for any solo cabin as compared to someone who is using the bogo discount. Sometimes I have 2 in the cabin, sometimes I cruise solo. They lost 4 suite bookings that are now on other lines for 2024. 
We are currently on Eclipse and I have met several people cruising on this trip who are solos who are not booking. I usually sail in suites whether as a solo or when traveling 2 in a cabin.
Celebrity has the right to set their policies, and we each have the right to book or not book under these changes at inflated pricing for solos. 
The future cruise sales teams onboard our Beyond sailings in November and December 2023, wanted people traveling as a solo to just put a name for the 2nd person in the cabin, and then just no show the person on the day of departure, to get the promotional pricing rate. 
The Executive office team is aware of this, and it could get your entire trip repriced if they catch it.

I personally will not pay more than 200% of the fare for a cabin booked as a solo. After almost 30 years, 60 cruises on Celebrity and as  stockholders, it is a short sighted response by management in my opinion.

We are all enjoying a wonderful time on Eclipse, the crew is great as always, but have no new bookings for the 2025-2026 sailings. 
 

This is really disappointing. I have actually cancelled 4 retreat bookings in upper suites with X and have nothing booked with them. As much as I like the onboard experience, I will absolutely not support a company that penalizes solos in this way. Additionally their pricing is just so out of line with comparable or better products. I guess they have enough demand that they just don't care how many people leave for other cruise lines. 

On 12/29/2023 at 3:32 PM, FlaMariner said:

From the HAL Mariner website page.....for whatever it might be worth....

 

How quickly will my Cruise Day status be updated after I return from a cruise?

Seven to ten days after your cruise or Cruisetour ends. 

 

This has always been my experience with one notable exception. If you book a shorter portion of a longer cruise I have found it doesn't post until the whole cruise ends. I did a 1 night Seattle - Vancouver which continued on to San Diego, then Fort Lauderdale. As I recall it posted about a week after the ship completed the cruise in Fort Lauderdale.

You definitely can buy onboard but should book sooner rather than later - they usually stop selling 3 or 4 days before the end of the cruise. You most likely can just buy it in your navigator app under shore excursions. 

On 1/6/2024 at 11:19 AM, Toofarfromthesea said:

 

Can I ask a follow-up question?  Will they email me an acknowledgement of my request submission or instructions on how to access the assistance?

Usually I get an email back 1-2 business days later. Please note they will assist only for the initial embarkation and final disembarkation. Wheelchairs are not provided for use onboard or at various ports of call (though there is usually someone at the gangway who will help push you the length of the gangway if you are in a wheelchair). You are totally on your own as soon as you get to the end of the gangway or back on the ship. If you need to rent a wheelchair for use onboard, the two main companies are Special Needs at Sea (HAL preferred vendor) and Scootaround. I strongly recommend Special Needs at Sea - if you have an issue with the chair, HAL can work with them to offer a replacement. If you use another vendor all they can do is rent you one if available. 

In my experience, for embarkation they will unceremoniously dump you in the lobby, though sometimes they will take you to your cabin or a lounge but it varies from ship to ship. For disembarkation there is usually a lounge near the gangway they will have you go to and then pushers will come with wheelchairs periodically to take you off the ship and back to the port. 

On 1/6/2024 at 1:27 PM, DCThunder said:

Thanks.  Reading fine print was never my specialty!

 

Has this changed in the past year?  I thought I'd used a gift card to pay the crew appreciation charge on a HAL cruise in early 2023?

I don't think gift cards have ever been able to apply to pre-cruise website purchases. You could try calling ship services (800-541-1576) and see if they can do it over the phone. You should have no trouble using it onboard though.