Obc

[oskarNZ]

Hi everyone,

 

I have booked an 2013 Asian cruise on the Celebrity Millenium and am curious about whether or not I got a good deal.

 

I went to a travel show and the Agent there was offering half price deposits, US$100 obc per cabin (we have an oceanview, but this obc didn't change with cabin category) and they also took $60 off the price being offered on the NZ Celebrity website.

 

Compared to the US website, I am still paying about $400 more than those in the US. However, I realise that Celebrity need to protect themselves with this price difference in case the NZ dollar slips back down to around the 75 cent mark before final payment.

 

What irks me, however, is all the threads I have been reading lately about the deals US passengers get from their travel agents. I have read a few threads lately where passengers have said that they won't accept OBC any less than 10% of the cruise cost (pre fees and taxes). I've also seen threads where people have been offered free prepaid gratuities as well as free dinners in specialty restaurants. It makes my $100 look pitiful.

 

So here are my questions. Has anyone in NZ (or Australia for that matter), ever found deals with agents anywhere near as good as those being offered to US passengers? By NZ standards, was the deal I got reasonably good or shoud I keep looking? I know we can't mention specific agents, but if there are better deals to be had, I'll do some more intensive research.

 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts and suggestions.

[rugbypopsie]

The only way to secure the best deals is the same as buying anything from anywhere..research. You need to suscribe to all the cruise newsletters put out from the specialist cruising t/a as well as watching the US sites for reference. sometimes the Aussie agents can get close to the overseas price but the US t/a's are more used to offering incentives to gain bookings...wine, OBC, pre paid gratuties and meals in the specialty restaurants are common. The real advantage comes with price drops..US agents will always honor price drops as you can cancel and rebook much easier than you can here in Australia. However don't drive yourself nuts and spoil your holiday..if you have booked and you are pretty happy with the deal...stop looking and start looking forward to your cruise.

[Aus Traveller]

The only way to secure the best deals is the same as buying anything from anywhere..research. You need to suscribe to all the cruise newsletters put out from the specialist cruising t/a as well as watching the US sites for reference. sometimes the Aussie agents can get close to the overseas price but the US t/a's are more used to offering incentives to gain bookings...wine, OBC, pre paid gratuties and meals in the specialty restaurants are common. The real advantage comes with price drops..US agents will always honor price drops as you can cancel and rebook much easier than you can here in Australia. However don't drive yourself nuts and spoil your holiday..if you have booked and you are pretty happy with the deal...stop looking and start looking forward to your cruise.

Very wise advice. :)

[johndon]

We deal with a cruise TA out of Vancouver, Canada and pay much less than purchasing in Australia. Although this TA is promoted by Cruise Critic I am not allowed to name them. I suggest you do some more on line research and this TA will probably pop up.

 

John

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

Oskar NZ if you have a look at my post on 'Find and Deal and Share it' thread you'll see I posted a cruise deal from an Aus T/A on Voyager of the Seas including everything which I thought was pretty good.

 

Then I got online and started doing my own research. The difference in the end was huge.... only if I booked through an overseas T/A. They offered more of everything making it the best value.

 

Always pays to find time to do your research until you know there's nothing better out there, as there's a lot of competition around now.

 

We've cruised on Millenium, lovely ship, excellent crew and service.:)

 

Jilly:)

[oskarNZ]

Thanks heaps everyone for your helpful advice.

 

I have found a much better deal with a US TA which includes free prepaid gratuities. I tried ringing them today to get some more info but couldn't get through. Will try again tomorrow.

 

However, at the end of the day, I would much rather find a similar deal with a NZ Agent. Not only is it nice to give business to your own countrymen, but a certain sense of security comes from booking close to home. However, after lot's of online research I just can't find anyone who offers booking incentives anywhere near as appealing as the US Agents. That's why I asked this question. I wasn't sure if I was still missing something or if I should just accept that NZers don't get the same deals as those in the top half of the world?

 

To be honest, this whole using a TA thing is quite new to me. I'm used to booking land holidays where more often than not it works out quite a bit cheaper if you book everything yourself. I've been quite surprised that this is not usually the case with cruises.

 

By the way, I am aware that there are often good deals to be found in NZ on the total price of the cruise, particularly if you book last minute. It's just that I am restricted to cruising during peak times when the last minute deals are less likely. For that reason I like to book early and look for incentives such as OBC.

 

Jilly, that deal you got on your upcoming cruise was awesome. Well done. What a great price and good spotting.

[The_Big_M]

I agree with rugbypopsie and would say you got a good deal.

 

It's not that NZ is disadvantaged, as the offers you refer to are not a part of the market anywhere except in the US, and that's only due to all the competition and how established cruises are there. And even then, it's only with cruise specialists - you can equally go to mainstreet TAs, or even cruise specialists without offers and you won't get anything except the standard cruise price.

 

It's also not something you'll normally get in Canada, the UK, or any other markets (aside from offers the cruise line themselves make). So don't take it that you've done badly - in fact the opposite - but just factors specific to the US.

[oskarNZ]

I agree with rugbypopsie and would say you got a good deal.

 

It's not that NZ is disadvantaged, as the offers you refer to are not a part of the market anywhere except in the US, and that's only due to all the competition and how established cruises are there. And even then, it's only with cruise specialists - you can equally go to mainstreet TAs, or even cruise specialists without offers and you won't get anything except the standard cruise price.

 

It's also not something you'll normally get in Canada, the UK, or any other markets (aside from offers the cruise line themselves make). So don't take it that you've done badly - in fact the opposite - but just factors specific to the US.

 

Thank you so much Big M. It's reasurring to know that by NZ standards my deal was fine. I'm one of those people who like to know they've got a good deal :)

 

Now I just need to decide whether I want to send my business overseas. The TA I've presently got has been lovely to deal with so far and I'd feel bad cancelling on her. But at today's exchange rate, the deal I found yesterday was a saving of NZ$1000 over what I'm presently paying :eek: That's a lot of cocktails...

[rugbypopsie]

Thank you so much Big M. It's reasurring to know that by NZ standards my deal was fine. I'm one of those people who like to know they've got a good deal :)

 

Now I just need to decide whether I want to send my business overseas. The TA I've presently got has been lovely to deal with so far and I'd feel bad cancelling on her. But at today's exchange rate, the deal I found yesterday was a saving of NZ$1000 over what I'm presently paying :eek: That's a lot of cocktails...

 

It is a lot of cocktails or a huge slice off another cruise and that is what sends a lot of us looking for deals off shore. Word of warning check the cancellation policy of the local t.a often our local ones unlike the US ones have very punitive conditions for cancellations.:mad:

[oskarNZ]

Thanks Rugbypopsie. I'm very pleased you told me that as you have brought my attention to what could potentially be a bit of an issue.

 

When I went to the travel show, I specifically asked the TA about canceling the cruise. 2013 is still a long way off, so I wanted to know if we would get our money back should we have to cancel for some unexpected reasons. Anyway, the TA verbally assured me that I would get a refund up until the cancelation dates specified by Celebrity. I stupidly took this advice to be correct without asking for any paperwork to back it up.

 

The first time I got any Terms and Conditions emailed to me was after I'd paid the deposit, and to be honest, the first time I read them carefully was today (I know - not very responsible of me. Please no lectures anyone :o ) Lo and behold, it says that "Deposits are non-refunable"

 

To be honest, I am a little bit stressed right now. :( I have quite a few big changes happening in my life during 2012 (e.g new job and hopefully selling this house and buying another). While I'm fairly sure we will still be able to afford the cruise, I probably wouldn't have booked it had I known the deposit was non-refundable. It's too risky with all the other changes going on.

 

So now I'm in a bit of quandry.

Do I get all worked up and complain to the agent for giving me misleading information? Or do I learn from my mistakes, try hard to forget about the better deals being offered in the U.S and the fact I was lied to, and look forward to my cruise? Hmmmm...

[The_Big_M]

To be honest, I am a little bit stressed right now. :( I have quite a few big changes happening in my life during 2012 (e.g new job and hopefully selling this house and buying another). While I'm fairly sure we will still be able to afford the cruise, I probably wouldn't have booked it had I known the deposit was non-refundable. It's too risky with all the other changes going on.

 

So now I'm in a bit of quandry.

Do I get all worked up and complain to the agent for giving me misleading information? Or do I learn from my mistakes, try hard to forget about the better deals being offered in the U.S and the fact I was lied to, and look forward to my cruise? Hmmmm...

 

If it were me, I'd probably raise it now, since you originally asked about it as it was a concern you had before booking. If you wind up with some reason to want to cancel later, it'd be more difficult to sort out (e.g. agent may have left, or they may argue you should have challenged it when buying). Whereas now you have the perfect reason, that you were told one thing and now you have received the documentation see another.

 

If anything, that is reason enough to cancel now as you have been delivered terms that did not agree with what you verbally signed up to. It may well be that the terms are old or incorrect as well though, and they may issue something corrected straight away. Alternatively if there was some mistake, it can likely be resolved much more positively now than if you were to leave it until e.g. next year.

[oskarNZ]

Thank you again Big M. Your advice is sound and makes perfect sense to me.

 

After reading your post I decided to put together a very carefully worded email to my TA questioning the printed term vs. the quoted one.

 

I also mentioned that because I did the actual booking via the phone and email, I have yet to sign or tick anything that states I agree to the Terms and Conditions. While the TA has a link to the Terms and Conditions in her email signature, this link doesn't work. The first actual copy I received was after I had paid.

 

I know that I made a mistake by not going out of my way to read the terms and conditions before I booked. But I also think the TA had a responsibility to at least ensure that I'd received, seen and agreed to them. Also, I had read the Celebrity Terms and Conditions and was given the impression that the Agents were the same.

 

Anyway, fingers crossed it all works out. I'll let you know the outcome.

[SunnyinDubai]

Whilst this has the potential to become a he said/she said scenario (and I hope that it does get resolved in your favour :)), I do wonder what would happen if the question was not asked at the time of the booking but as you get the T&C after the booking and you read it and don't agree to the terms, does that give you the right to cancel? I would think so given that you were not able to read the T&C before paying the deposit..but I could be wrong. Any one know the answer to this one? :confused:

[oskarNZ]

Whilst this has the potential to become a he said/she said scenario (and I hope that it does get resolved in your favour :)), I do wonder what would happen if the question was not asked at the time of the booking but as you get the T&C after the booking and you read it and don't agree to the terms, does that give you the right to cancel? I would think so given that you were not able to read the T&C before paying the deposit..but I could be wrong. Any one know the answer to this one? :confused:

 

Thanks Sid, I was wondering the same thing. If need be I will have a chat with a lawyer friend of the family to see where I stand. But at this stage I'm hoping that it won't have to come to that.

 

I know what you mean about the potential to become a "he said, she said" situation. I have been in such a situation with a business before and it got a bit messy. In the end it all worked out in my favour, but it was a stress in my life that I didn't need. I'm hoping this situation just sorts itself out without too much fuss.

[rugbypopsie]

Cancellation provisions are a trap that everyone should be aware of before parting with their hard earned cash! I wont lecture Oskar about not reading the T& C ..how much did you have to part with for the deposit. I have known people to get so much a better deal elsewhere that they cancelled anyway. When you purchase through the US remember you are purchasing in USD and you should protect yourself against unfavourable currency fluctuations. Put USD aside whenever our currency is at a good level if it goes up buy some more..plenty of places for your deposit USD..various banks have travel cards you can load with currency.

At the very least I would be writing to the travel papers complaining about the unfair treatment you have received..the threat of going public with the issue may be enough to convince your agent to be reasonable...and you could help someone else in the same situation or potentially in the same situation.

Join our campaign for fairer booking conditions for aussies and kiwis..why are we singled out for these draconian bookling conditions that the cruise lines would never get away with in the US? Our cruise market is being seen as a "cash cow" for cruise lines struggling to fill ships elsewhere..we like to cruise but we learn fast..:mad:

[oskarNZ]

Hi everyone,

 

Good news, my panic is over. My TA emailed me back today with a very nice email. She acknowledged that yes, she had told me the deposit is refundable and that is because it is. When booking a Celebrity Cruise (and perhaps other cruise lines??) they follow the Celebrity Terms and conditions where a deposit is fully refunable up until 151 days before the cruise.

She appologised for the confusion that her agency's Terms and Conditions have caused and will bring this up with her superiors. In the mean time, she has re-emailed me my invoice and added the clause that my deposit is fully refundable as per the terms set out by Celebrity. Big relief!

 

I was pleased with the service I received from her at the start, and in a way, despite this hiccup, I am even more pleased now. I think based on that I might just sleep on my booking for a while and leave it the way it is. I have a couple of holidays planned within the next 3 months and I have been so busy fussing over the price of a 2013 cruise that I haven't taken the time to look forward to what's coming up. Perhaps it's time to take a break from all the fussing and re-evaluate my options again early next year.

 

Thank you everyone for your wonderful advice. You've all been very helpful and supportive. :)

[oskarNZ]

If it were me, I'd probably raise it now, since you originally asked about it as it was a concern you had before booking. If you wind up with some reason to want to cancel later, it'd be more difficult to sort out (e.g. agent may have left, or they may argue you should have challenged it when buying). Whereas now you have the perfect reason, that you were told one thing and now you have received the documentation see another.

 

If anything, that is reason enough to cancel now as you have been delivered terms that did not agree with what you verbally signed up to. It may well be that the terms are old or incorrect as well though, and they may issue something corrected straight away. Alternatively if there was some mistake, it can likely be resolved much more positively now than if you were to leave it until e.g. next year.

 

I wanted to thank you again Big M for your sound advice. You were spot on.

 

By emailing quickly, as you suggested, I have put my mind at ease :)

[The_Big_M]

Glad to hear it all worked out as you'd originally understood. :-) And the TA sorted it out quickly too.

 

Enjoy your upcoming holidays!