Booking on US website when living in UK

[lucky white heather]

Thanks everyone for the answers. I've gone via the US site prior to posting and placed a hold on a cabin, even though my address is in the UK (I logged in to my account I created last time I cruised with Celebrity). I assume having done this, I'll be able to place the $200 deposit without issue, so hopefully it is possible to complete the booking via X US website (otherwise I'll be on the lookout for a good US TA!).

Lucky white heather + others - is this something you attempted before and the site prevented?

Edit: read more recent posts after pressing refresh and I see others have been ok - I'll confirm the booking and then make a call to X before paying the full amount, just to be safe. Thanks again everyone :) (got a great price AND a great cabin on hold so wanted this to work!)

 

I've never booked any of our cruises outside the UK.. we either booked via a UK/ TA or since I experienced a TA who was reluctant to apply for price drops (which we probably would not have qualified for anyway?) as it would have lowered their commission, I have done direct bookings with X ..I have been told by many posters over a long time it is a "no brainer" not to use a US based TA for the "perks" you get with them but somehow I still feel reluctant????

Congratulations on getting what you wanted.

[logicgf]

The short answer is I don't know for certain..but from the advice given by your Dutch TA about needing to charge for this change..does 45 euros equate to roughly £35 or £56 ..if it does ...these are the two prices I heard would be charged for "changes " but that would be a per person charge . Are they asking 45 euros per person or overall ???? You need to check this out and convert to see how it compares with what UK clients are going to be charged . I would guess if UK is having to pay , so would any European bookings.

 

Hi Lucky White Heather, thanks for coming back so quickly. 45 euros does equate to roughly £35 and is per person. As this was the one and

only change I have requested I wondered if this could be viewed as the "one freebie change".

regards g

[lucky white heather]

Hi Lucky White Heather, thanks for coming back so quickly. 45 euros does equate to roughly £35 and is per person. As this was the one and

only change I have requested I wondered if this could be viewed as the "one freebie change".

regards g

 

As far as I know you are allowed one /first change "free" whether it is a price drop or cabin change or general change.. it sounds as if it might be your "freeby" and if you have had no other changes already made to your booking then I would think it would be termed your "cost free" change..so I would ask them to give you a reason for applying this cost as perhaps they are mistaken in making you pay and they could check this out before charging you ????

 

Do let us know what happens next if you get an explanation from your TA and if they make you pay assuming that given this new charge you want to go ahead with your cabin change .

[Elaine0138]

Lyn Mc

 

To get a price reduction here in the UK you need to go back to X's site and do a new booking to see what the current price is. I did it a few days ago and I managed to get us nearly £300 refunded as we have made final payment, a new senior rate had been applied to the cabin. Our TA was brilliant this time, but a couple of years ago they didn't know that the reductions could be applied to UK cruisers and I had to badger them to contact X.

[lucky white heather]

Lyn Mc

 

To get a price reduction here in the UK you need to go back to X's site and do a new booking to see what the current price is. I did it a few days ago and I managed to get us nearly £300 refunded as we have made final payment, a new senior rate had been applied to the cabin. Our TA was brilliant this time, but a couple of years ago they didn't know that the reductions could be applied to UK cruisers and I had to badger them to contact X.

 

 

I also take a screen print of the price when you book after seeing this advice on the boards..I'm not that computer savvy but it is a help if you want to

a) check immediately what you paid at the time to compare later on

B) have as evidence if the current price on your cabin grade has dropped if you need to persuade your TA to ask about a price drop which you think you may be entitled to..however these price drops are sometimes quickly withdrawn if they have the desired effect of drumming up more business so you have to be aware of their time limitations as well.

[keela1eva2]

Hi Yvonne

 

Once again we are back to this age old query. June and I are on the Soltice on the 9th October.

After booking there was a price drop of £149 on June's 2A balcony and as you know I never have a problem with my trusted TA. This change was free but the TA did inform me that a further change would incur a charge. Price depends I was told but a minimum of £35.

Sad to say I have had no price drops but did get a good deal which was temporarily on offer when I did my booking.

This cruise is heavily booked with only 2 insides 1 outside no balcony rooms a just 1 each of the higher grade of Suites. Penthouse Royal and Celebrity.

 

Prices have been high this year and many other dates are completely sold out. No over 55 or guarantee rooms noted!

 

As you said I am reading less on the boards these days. Just keeping an eye now that our date is only 4 weeks away.

 

Someone I know through Holiday Truth books nearly all his cruises( and he takes around 4 a year) through the same US TA. He has had no problems to date. My query would be that we might not be covered if that TA went out of business. No ABTA bonding?

 

Sue

[swigso]

Hi we have booked several times using a US website (Carnival and Royal Caribbean). There is a freefone number from the UK and we have had no issues. As you mentioned it often works out cheaper.

If you need the website let me know.

 

Would love the web address,

my mail is blueinns@msn.com

[lucky white heather]

Hi Yvonne

 

Once again we are back to this age old query. June and I are on the Soltice on the 9th October.

After booking there was a price drop of £149 on June's 2A balcony and as you know I never have a problem with my trusted TA. This change was free but the TA did inform me that a further change would incur a charge. Price depends I was told but a minimum of £35.

Sad to say I have had no price drops but did get a good deal which was temporarily on offer when I did my booking.

This cruise is heavily booked with only 2 insides 1 outside no balcony rooms a just 1 each of the higher grade of Suites. Penthouse Royal and Celebrity.

 

Prices have been high this year and many other dates are completely sold out. No over 55 or guarantee rooms noted!

 

As you said I am reading less on the boards these days. Just keeping an eye now that our date is only 4 weeks away.

 

Someone I know through Holiday Truth books nearly all his cruises( and he takes around 4 a year) through the same US TA. He has had no problems to date. My query would be that we might not be covered if that TA went out of business. No ABTA bonding?

 

Sue

 

Hi Sue,

so nice to see you are back in the swing of cruising ....I take your point that there are less vacancies on your next cruise so less chance of getting reductions for either 55+ or "guarantee" rooms...yet our 2nd cruise of our next B2B ( oct /nov) Rollcall had comments today that there were plenty of rooms still available which they said was a surprise to them as they thought it would sell out swiftly ???? perhaps everyone is trying out the newer ships so there will be more space on the other ships???

I still don't know the answer to booking out of the UK ...with confidence! I think you have to either take the risk or do without.I am still reluctant yet the perks are better (it seems ) although the US / TA's apparently often quote prices without the taxes etc included....but even on X 's website you have to go into your (online ) booking more than just a basic look to get an overall price which isn't the first price you see anyway.The final price is always more than it looks at first when they add on taxes , tips element, etc etc

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise...did you read the new perks for elites BTW.. I see they are much improved!! stay well!

Yvonne

[keela1eva2]

Yes Yvonne looking forward to the new Elite CC perks. Finally they look worth having!

As for the US bookings etc. In the US they are not allowed to discount so they offer OBC etc etc.

My TA is nearly always giving me an 11% discount off the X price so for me I am sure that I break even at least. I think for me travelling alone a lot of the time I need the security and not any uncertainty in my travel plans.

Are you on Summit or Century as I know you are not keen on the Solstice class?

June and I are flying out a day early just in case and tonight I have booked with the hotel our taxi to transfer to the Ship.

 

I am well and hope you are also as well as Elliot. Will email you when I have time. Enjoy your cruise when it comes along you deserve it!!

 

Sue

[The_Big_M]

Hi again, you do not need a TA if you don't want one; I booked directly on the Celebrity website and used my Australian address with no problems at all.

 

That may have changed since then. I tried a few days' back, but was given an error on their site that I was unable to complete the booking on the US side due to my address.

[johnny124]

That may have changed since then. I tried a few days' back, but was given an error on their site that I was unable to complete the booking on the US side due to my address.

I've just gone through to payment on X site and unfortunately have the same problem - I'll give X a call but if I must pay UK prices I won't be booking.

[lucky white heather]

Yes Yvonne looking forward to the new Elite CC perks. Finally they look worth having!

As for the US bookings etc. In the US they are not allowed to discount so they offer OBC etc etc.

My TA is nearly always giving me an 11% discount off the X price so for me I am sure that I break even at least. I think for me travelling alone a lot of the time I need the security and not any uncertainty in my travel plans.

Are you on Summit or Century as I know you are not keen on the Solstice class?

June and I are flying out a day early just in case and tonight I have booked with the hotel our taxi to transfer to the Ship.

 

I am well and hope you are also as well as Elliot. Will email you when I have time. Enjoy your cruise when it comes along you deserve it!!

 

Sue

 

I'll email you Sue...you know we prefer Mclass but next year there is not going to be an Mclass in the Med..it's Solstice class which although beautiful doesn't fit all our needs. .

There is no replacement for Mclass doing the BCN/VCE/BCN run..pity as that was a very popular cruise although we have done it several times already but it did save a long flight elsewhere.

Our B2B is ex Newark to MIA (repo) and then MIA/MIA on Constellation.

 

Yvonne

[cvaty]

AD Johnny and Heather,thank you both very much for the informations!!!!

JOHNNY,gald you could macke your booking!!!

[Lyn Mc]

Hi

 

Johnny, if you find the X website has your cruise priced in dollars, I would have thought every US TA will also have this price, at least. As Phil says you could get caught with the exchange rate but we have always fared very well with the US agent we have used. Never really crossed my mind about the ABTA bonding, we used a big agency, not just Web-Based - perhaps it should have - but this agency has been going for years and they do loads of repeat business, much more than my UK TA.

 

Thanks everyone for all your info. Will definately look at both US and UK agents next time we are looking to book 'cruise only'. Have to say that with the Equinox/Eclipse being based in Southampton we are more likely to get the big sales pitches for these and perhaps better prices on 'specials'. Our Sept 2010 cruise was a special and a great price, US price converted from dollars for an inside is way more than we have paid for a balcony. No balconies/suites left now but we are hoping that some open up for our 'one change' allowance so that we can move up a deck!!

 

Again, thanks a lot for all the comments and great info.

 

Lyn

[excitedofharpenden]

Lyn, I tend to book very early and take advantage of the lower price when the cruise is released. It's not every cruise, but the cost seems to represent a price curve the shape of a hill. Starts low, goes up and then after final payment or when there are cabins to be sold toward the end it drops. Because of that I don't tend to chase price reductions as there haven't been any of real note on my recent cruises. I look at the price in dollars and compare it to what I'd pay in sterling. I've got an idea of the sort of price I want to pay (underlined as it's the important part for me) and then I decide from there if I book in USD or through a UK TA. Doesn't sound very loyal, but it works for me. When I use a US travel agent I just factor in a worst case scenario with the sterling dropping like a stone. So far I haven't protected the price in any way, but that might be something I do by paying the whole balance, or maybe half of it at the time of booking. I've never had an issue with the US TA I use with a UK address.

 

There have been times when the £ price looks very attractive and other times when the USD price is lower. Celebrity appear to protect their prices at a given point. If the USD drops or other currencies weaken between this point and the time one books (and from experience) that has a marked effect on the comparison.

 

Phil

[Alan2504]

I found when checking for flights with ?-bookers they are now covering cruises with an offer of 15% off on some Celebrity cruises?

 

(Not obvious from their main site but google their name with cruises)

 

If you are having trouble e-mail my forum name at netscape.net and I will try to help :)

 

The offers were too good to resist, so booked for Easter on the Millie

 

Alan

[johnny124]

Well, the cruise disappeared from the UK site and reappeared at a price much closer to the US site one, so I've cancelled the hold on the US site and held the cabin on the UK one - so all worked out, albeit £40 dearer!

[logicgf]

As far as I know you are allowed one /first change "free" whether it is a price drop or cabin change or general change.. it sounds as if it might be your "freeby" and if you have had no other changes already made to your booking then I would think it would be termed your "cost free" change..so I would ask them to give you a reason for applying this cost as perhaps they are mistaken in making you pay and they could check this out before charging you ????

 

Do let us know what happens next if you get an explanation from your TA and if they make you pay assuming that given this new charge you want to go ahead with your cabin change .

 

 

Just heard back from my Dutch TA they would charge us the difference in price for the cabin (that's OK) but they also insist on charging us 45 euros per person administration charge. Have decided to stick with what we have. Thanks for all the information. regards g

[lovespositano]

Well, you guys, I have the opposite experience. I live in the U.S. and checked ALL the U.S. sites that I think have the best prices, and I found the best price BY FAR on a UK site (and booked it there - paid in pounds). It was a LOT cheaper. These cheaper prices apply just to X and RCI (Princess is MUCH higher on the UK site than the US site).

[lucky white heather]

Just heard back from my Dutch TA they would charge us the difference in price for the cabin (that's OK) but they also insist on charging us 45 euros per person administration charge. Have decided to stick with what we have. Thanks for all the information. regards g

 

They must be charging you for giving you a new invoice which is what I think they are doing... I had that once as well and fought it successfully.. sorry it did not work out to save you money...I spoke with 2 Dutch guys on a cruise last November..they booked via the UK in sterling instead of Euros..they said it saved them money but they had to do a lot of arguing ( presumably with UK HQ) to be able to book in the UK but were successful eventually.

They were business guys and seemed to book suites regularly so perhaps that counted with the UK HQ towards being allowed to book out of Holland while having a Dutch address.???I don't know...maybe it is the same sort of thing as UK guests booking in the US to take advantage of their lower pricing and better booking conditions?

 

You always have to check out and compare prices with every grade of cabin ..our current booking Balcony cabin was £1 per person more expensive than the ocean view we had considered taking... you have to spend time checking to get the better deal.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise anyway in your first choice cabin.

[AHB27]

 

Thanks for the info. I suppose the big thing is: How do we, in the UK, get to be 'eligible' for the price-drops.

 

Lyn

 

Lyn,

 

About two months ago I spoke with my UK-based TA (Gills) and pointed out that the list price for our forthcoming Equinox cruise had dropped by several hundred pounds pp (for a 14-night trip). We had not paid our final balance and, as per Celebrity's terms & conditions, we were still in a position to cancel without losing anything. So, theoretically we could have cancelled and re-booked to get the price reduction. When I pointed this out to the TA they spoke with Celebrity and I received the reduction whilst keeping our original cabin. The TA simply adjusted the final balance due.

 

I have previously used a few US-based TAs (when the $ was rather less strong !) but have no experience of negotiating a price reduction with them. I was aware at the time that certain cruise lines were trying to prevent US-based TAs from selling to UK-based customers. UK prices for almost everything seem to be higher than US prices and it may be that US bookings can save money even at current exchange rates. If the savings are minor, though, I would prefer to deal with a local UK TA, so the price-drop issue is significant.

 

Alan

[Andym]

I've just been on a well known US site where you can book from here in the UK via a freephone number.

 

Celebrity cruise to Alaska 30 April 2010 in a 2c, £957.71 without gratuities.

 

Direct with Celebrity website £973 without gratuities, not much of a saving.

 

My local TA can get it for us at £920.

[keela1eva2]

I very much agree. You do need to check out the prices everywhere. I have seen prices less for higher grades on balcony ocean view and insides. I always check out the web sites myself.

My other ploy is that I find the best price and then take it to my trusted TA who works hard to either meet it or better it as the case may be.

 

So you are doing the Caribbean Yvonne. I would like to do QM2 later.

 

Sue

[insidecabin]

Hu Sue,

 

As to ABTA bonding and US bookings.

 

This should not be an issue,

 

This is how it has worked or me.

 

THe US TA's should just act as a intermedery so it is the cruise line that actualy takes the money so even if the TA goes bust the cruise booking is safe.

 

Pay part/all by CC and you are covered for the cruiseline failure.

 

Even with ABTA there is nothing you can do about cruise line failure. yo will get you money back but still no cruise.

 

 

For RCI and Celebrity I am noticing that for a lot of trips prices are closer for the lower grade cabins I have been lookng at.

 

on NCL low grades are similar price but suites are tending to be a lot cheaper US some 50%.