How much luck has UK cruisers had with Price Drop guarantee after the final payment??

[Monty's Mum]

Hi all

This is mainly for UK cruisers as the T&C's seem to be tougher/tighter in the UK than the States....just wondering if anyone has challenged the price drops and claimed or upgraded on their cruises and what has happened specifically after the final payment has been paid???

Thanks again in advance!! :)

[swigso]

Hi,

Not been able to get OBC but have upgraded to a suite,and paid the difference

It also depends if the offer is for new bookings only

When you will not get anything.

[Monty's Mum]

Hi,

Not been able to get OBC but have upgraded to a suite,and paid the difference

It also depends if the offer is for new bookings only

When you will not get anything.

 

Hi Swigso

If I have booked say a cabin C1 grade and that price drops after you have paid the final payment have you challenged it and is that when they have offered the upgrade to a suite for a cost?? Also what do you mean by "offer being for new bookings only?" do you mean the cost of the cabin being sold on their website?? Who did you contact for this?? Customer service or Captains Club?? Sorry for all the questions and thanks for your help!! :confused:

[Jem 12]

Hi all

This is mainly for UK cruisers as the T&C's seem to be tougher/tighter in the UK than the States....just wondering if anyone has challenged the price drops and claimed or upgraded on their cruises and what has happened specifically after the final payment has been paid???

Thanks again in advance!! :)

 

 

Hi I have an email from Celebrity that states that in the UK we are entiltled to price drops, even after final payment.

 

I presume it will exclude anything that states new bookings only.

 

I do wish that all Celebrity employees were trained to the same level and sang from the same songsheet, I have an ongoing issue about being able to request a change to a guarantee cabin.

[Monty's Mum]

Hi I have an email from Celebrity that states that in the UK we are entiltled to price drops, even after final payment.

 

I presume it will exclude anything that states new bookings only.

 

I do wish that all Celebrity employees were trained to the same level and sang from the same songsheet, I have an ongoing issue about being able to request a change to a guarantee cabin.

 

Hi Jem 12

Have you read the thread "How guaranteed is a guarantee?" last updated on 10th April. Everytime you phone through to someone you get a different answer on the same question?? Very frustrating.....are you trying a supervisor???

 

With re the price drop....I was under the impression that we were eligible for it however like you when you phone up celebrity employees its as though they are making it up as they go along.....a friend of mine is a TA and has never heard of anyone getting it and I was just more interested has this ever been honoured at all??

 

Thanks again!!

[janelouiseb]

Thank you for this useful information, I have a supplementary question and wonder if anyone can help. I paid for a C3 cabin but got an upgrade to C1 (for booking while on board), should I be checking the C1 or C3 prices?

jane

[Jem 12]

Hi Jem 12

Have you read the thread "How guaranteed is a guarantee?" last updated on 10th April. Everytime you phone through to someone you get a different answer on the same question?? Very frustrating.....are you trying a supervisor???

 

With re the price drop....I was under the impression that we were eligible for it however like you when you phone up celebrity employees its as though they are making it up as they go along.....a friend of mine is a TA and has never heard of anyone getting it and I was just more interested has this ever been honoured at all??

 

Thanks again!!

 

Hi Monty's Mum,

 

Thanks for understanding the frustration, I have come off the phone with a really nasty taste in my mouth!!!! I have started to come to the conclusion the more you travel with Celebrity the worse they treat you!!!!

 

Are you in the position of being due a pricedrop, if so I could forward the email I received, not that it will probably mean anything!!!!

 

Jean

[hillsprint]

Celeb's current policy seems to be that the specific stateroom price is not dropping, but the price for Gty stateroom is. Then when you ring up asking about the Gty price, you are told it is for New bookings only.

 

Have been watching the price of some higher grade cabins, we're in a 1C veranda, but those listed on the X site seem mainly to be ones with adverse comments on the S Class spreadsheet.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[Monty's Mum]

Hi Monty's Mum,

 

Thanks for understanding the frustration, I have come off the phone with a really nasty taste in my mouth!!!! I have started to come to the conclusion the more you travel with Celebrity the worse they treat you!!!!

 

Are you in the position of being due a pricedrop, if so I could forward the email I received, not that it will probably mean anything!!!!

 

Jean

 

Hiya Jean

 

I am due on the Eclipse in May and I have seen a drop in price on our guarantee but not massive enough to phone up for all the hassle at the moment...but I would rather be looking to upgrade as there is 3 of us in a cabin so keeping my eye on that moving a little.... it was really a conversation I was having with my friend who is a travel agent about her aunty who has booked on an October Cruise and I was telling her to watch the price drops etc and I thought I wonder how many of the UK cruisers have actually got through the rubbish customer service assistants!!!

 

I have a guarantee just like you and have been given a very forward cabin which I would not have chosen but I am happy with the risk factor associated with it but I have still got my eyes on the prices to see if they come down any further in the suites. So where are you now and where do you want to move too??? All that I have seen is that you can move within the same category only if you are answered by someone who knows how to do this?? Another suggestion is to phone Captains club number on that last thread I mentioned and see what they can do for you..there have been people asking to go back into the selection pool would this be something that you would be interested in??? But I do think nothing ventured nothing gained.....as long as someone the other end is asking questions or attempting to help you as much as possible you don't mind hearing the words "no not possible" but its when the attitude "computer says no" it raises my blood!!! ;)

[Monty's Mum]

Celeb's current policy seems to be that the specific stateroom price is not dropping, but the price for Gty stateroom is. Then when you ring up asking about the Gty price, you are told it is for New bookings only.

 

Have been watching the price of some higher grade cabins, we're in a 1C veranda, but those listed on the X site seem mainly to be ones with adverse comments on the S Class spreadsheet.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

 

Hi Michael

 

I'm booked in a GTY room and ours has dropped a little but I am keeping my eye on a suite to upgrade nothing as yet.....however I wonder if by booking a GTY the Price policy still remains the same and they honour it???:confused:

[Jem 12]

Hiya Jean

 

I am due on the Eclipse in May and I have seen a drop in price on our guarantee but not massive enough to phone up for all the hassle at the moment...but I would rather be looking to upgrade as there is 3 of us in a cabin so keeping my eye on that moving a little.... it was really a conversation I was having with my friend who is a travel agent about her aunty who has booked on an October Cruise and I was telling her to watch the price drops etc and I thought I wonder how many of the UK cruisers have actually got through the rubbish customer service assistants!!!

 

I have a guarantee just like you and have been given a very forward cabin which I would not have chosen but I am happy with the risk factor associated with it but I have still got my eyes on the prices to see if they come down any further in the suites. So where are you now and where do you want to move too??? All that I have seen is that you can move within the same category only if you are answered by someone who knows how to do this?? Another suggestion is to phone Captains club number on that last thread I mentioned and see what they can do for you..there have been people asking to go back into the selection pool would this be something that you would be interested in??? But I do think nothing ventured nothing gained.....as long as someone the other end is asking questions or attempting to help you as much as possible you don't mind hearing the words "no not possible" but its when the attitude "computer says no" it raises my blood!!! ;)

 

Hi Monty's Mum

 

Oh no you have just opened up another whole can of worms, this hasn't happened to us but has to someone on our roll call, but maybe it is different, they were booked in a normal cabin and wanted to change to a guarantee concierge (a better grade than they had booked I think) but were told they couldn't book a guarantee for 3 people!!!! In the end they ended up booking two cabins on a guarantee basis one for two people and one for one including paying the single supplement and I think still saving some money, plus they have two bathrooms.

 

We were allocated a 2b but very far forward, only a couple from the front, I was going to live with this, but then I noticed that there was one near to the lifts, and thought hey why not change, as it happens it is a 2d because of obstructions, but they Captains club attitude was no can do (this was even before the cabin number was mentioned), I am Elite with Celebrity and I am not expecting any special treatment, just the same as other passengers on the same ship, roll call etc. They did eventually agree to this change, but with a very sarcastic comment of this is your last change!!!

 

I know that we will have a great time once we are on board, Silhouette is a beautiful ship.

 

Jean

[grayjay]

Thank you for this useful information, I have a supplementary question and wonder if anyone can help. I paid for a C3 cabin but got an upgrade to C1 (for booking while on board), should I be checking the C1 or C3 prices?

jane

You must check the C3 prices!

[Monty's Mum]

Hi Monty's Mum

 

Oh no you have just opened up another whole can of worms, this hasn't happened to us but has to someone on our roll call, but maybe it is different, they were booked in a normal cabin and wanted to change to a guarantee concierge (a better grade than they had booked I think) but were told they couldn't book a guarantee for 3 people!!!! In the end they ended up booking two cabins on a guarantee basis one for two people and one for one including paying the single supplement and I think still saving some money, plus they have two bathrooms.

 

We were allocated a 2b but very far forward, only a couple from the front, I was going to live with this, but then I noticed that there was one near to the lifts, and thought hey why not change, as it happens it is a 2d because of obstructions, but they Captains club attitude was no can do (this was even before the cabin number was mentioned), I am Elite with Celebrity and I am not expecting any special treatment, just the same as other passengers on the same ship, roll call etc. They did eventually agree to this change, but with a very sarcastic comment of this is your last change!!!

 

I know that we will have a great time once we are on board, Silhouette is a beautiful ship.

 

Jean

 

Hi Jean

 

I originally had booked us in a SV cabin and then the Concierge cabins dropped on GTY so I asked to upgrade to those just before final payment was due.....3 different answers to the same question but all a no so I asked to go through to a supervisor who tried and asked around but because they were loosing money it was not going to be a straight forward change and eventually I was cancelled and rebooked into the GTY the only thing that we lost was $350OBC which is fine on the savings we made.....I was annoyed as all parties were telling me it was only for new customers only but it does not say that on any of their website or information and I really knew that the reason was as they would be loosing money but no one would admit that until the supervisor!!! As I said previously I don't mind the word no I just want someone to help or ask for me at least!!! And I think that maybe you just need to ask again or for a supervisor!!! Or ask them to at least ask the supervisor!!! And with regards to changes in the T&C's minor or major changes are chargeable but we are talking £25 -£150 charge which I am sure if you offer they might consider it might be worth a punt!!

I find the inconsistancy debatable!!!

Good luck and let me know if you get any joy!!!

But either way have a fantastic cruise!!!! :D

[Adammara]

We booked an Aqua A1 cabin direct (£3113) for Eclipse on May 4th when bookings opened in March 2011, the price has remained more or less constant ever since. We made our final payment at the beginning of March, and shortly after the final payment date passed, guarantee Aqua cabins were available at £2318. A phone call to our Celebrity PCS, got the reply that we could cancel and rebook, no guarantee of cabin, and we would loose our free parking and OBC, so probally not worth the hassle. One UK online TA has been offering Aqua A1 cabins for less than £2000, although they have now sold out. We are not interested in upgrading to a suite, as we want to dine in Blu.

We have booked a wine cruise on the Constellation, and have had 2 price drops, and final payment is not till July!

 

When UK bookings opened for 2013, I asked our PCS about pricing for 2013, and was told that 'Celebrity looks after their regular customers' so I foolishly booked 2 Celebrity cruises for next year. Then I saw the above offers on our May cruise, and was quite upset. After discussions with another PCS, I wrote to Domonic Paul, the UK boss, but to date have not had an acknowledgement or reply. Having been previously ripped off by P&O, we thought Celebrity treated customers better, but it appears they do not. Wish they would spell out their policy, it would appear there are no hard and fast rules with regard to the upgrade/price drop/final payment rules.

 

This has made us certainly think about trying other cruise lines, and we are actively looking at completely different holidays for the future.

 

Richard

[janelouiseb]

You must check the C3 prices!

 

Thanks, I will!

[Jem 12]

We booked an Aqua A1 cabin direct (£3113) for Eclipse on May 4th when bookings opened in March 2011, the price has remained more or less constant ever since. We made our final payment at the beginning of March, and shortly after the final payment date passed, guarantee Aqua cabins were available at £2318. A phone call to our Celebrity PCS, got the reply that we could cancel and rebook, no guarantee of cabin, and we would loose our free parking and OBC, so probally not worth the hassle. One UK online TA has been offering Aqua A1 cabins for less than £2000, although they have now sold out. We are not interested in upgrading to a suite, as we want to dine in Blu.

We have booked a wine cruise on the Constellation, and have had 2 price drops, and final payment is not till July!

 

When UK bookings opened for 2013, I asked our PCS about pricing for 2013, and was told that 'Celebrity looks after their regular customers' so I foolishly booked 2 Celebrity cruises for next year. Then I saw the above offers on our May cruise, and was quite upset. After discussions with another PCS, I wrote to Domonic Paul, the UK boss, but to date have not had an acknowledgement or reply. Having been previously ripped off by P&O, we thought Celebrity treated customers better, but it appears they do not. Wish they would spell out their policy, it would appear there are no hard and fast rules with regard to the upgrade/price drop/final payment rules.

 

This has made us certainly think about trying other cruise lines, and we are actively looking at completely different holidays for the future.

 

Richard

 

Hi Richard

 

I am sorry you have had such a frustrating experience with your future cruise, I think we have have all been in that loop some time in the past.

 

I for one will never book a cruise very far in advance from now on, to be honest I have retired recently and can now go away when I want, so if I see what seems like a good deal we will book and go.

 

I booked a month ago for a cruise in June and have also just booked for October, because the price was right. We were due to go on the Eclipse in Sept but have decided to cancel that one and lose our deposit.

 

We also always do our own flights now, so that we don't spend hours hanging around airports etc. on Disembarkation day.

 

I fully appreciate that what else can you buy or book and get price reductions if they happen, so the only thing that irritates me is the lack of equality, So Celebrity decide what the rules are and then stick to them for everybody and train your lovely staff so they all say the same thing

 

Enjoy your May cruise we did the Fjords last year on the Constellation, but for us now that we have been on a Solstice class ship, I don't think we would cruise again on an M class., unless it was an exceptional itinery!!!!

 

We were due to have an Aqua cabin on a cruise, that was cancelled by the Volcano, so I envy your Aquaclass cabin, we haven't experienced it yet.:)

[Monty's Mum]

Hi Richard

 

I am sorry you have had such a frustrating experience with your future cruise, I think we have have all been in that loop some time in the past.

 

I for one will never book a cruise very far in advance from now on, to be honest I have retired recently and can now go away when I want, so if I see what seems like a good deal we will book and go.

 

I booked a month ago for a cruise in June and have also just booked for October, because the price was right. We were due to go on the Eclipse in Sept but have decided to cancel that one and lose our deposit.

 

We also always do our own flights now, so that we don't spend hours hanging around airports etc. on Disembarkation day.

 

I fully appreciate that what else can you buy or book and get price reductions if they happen, so the only thing that irritates me is the lack of equality, So Celebrity decide what the rules are and then stick to them for everybody and train your lovely staff so they all say the same thing

 

Enjoy your May cruise we did the Fjords last year on the Constellation, but for us now that we have been on a Solstice class ship, I don't think we would cruise again on an M class., unless it was an exceptional itinery!!!!

 

We were due to have an Aqua cabin on a cruise, that was cancelled by the Volcano, so I envy your Aquaclass cabin, we haven't experienced it yet.:)

 

Celebrity customer service are frustratingly like our weather!!! Consistently inconsistent!!! :p

[Jem 12]

Celebrity customer service are frustratingly like our weather!!! Consistently inconsistent!!! :p

 

With the exception of one, I have always found the staff lovely, They just don't say what I want to hear!!!!

 

May be what we have to do is find one who reads CC, who knows what the rest us are talking about and ask to speak them with our queries etc.:)

[Monty's Mum]

With the exception of one, I have always found the staff lovely, They just don't say what I want to hear!!!!

 

May be what we have to do is find one who reads CC, who knows what the rest us are talking about and ask to speak them with our queries etc.:)

 

Very true!!! :)

[swigso]

The problem lies with the call centre staff, they all think they are right but

You can get 3 different answers to the same question, I have discovered to ring agin and see if you get the answer you want.

Usually speaking with the captains club gets things done.

What is frustrating is that some TA's believe whatever X tell them.

I recently booked a gty for a med cruise in early Oct.the price including flights was just too good to pass.

When I was allocated my cabin my TA who is a very experienced on line cruise specialist was adamant that I could not change my cabin.

I needed to get an e-mail from the captains club before they would

Call back to X and change my cabin.

I am not going to use them again,I will use the American TA in future, even though I may be at the mercy of the pound vs the dollar.

The benefits are just better and they do not charge CCard fees and should anything go wrong my Credit card will provide cover.

Sorry for the long post, but sometimes they are customer dissatisfaction agents,albeit through no fault of theirs, just bad training

[Monty's Mum]

The problem lies with the call centre staff, they all think they are right but

You can get 3 different answers to the same question, I have discovered to ring agin and see if you get the answer you want.

Usually speaking with the captains club gets things done.

What is frustrating is that some TA's believe whatever X tell them.

I recently booked a gty for a med cruise in early Oct.the price including flights was just too good to pass.

When I was allocated my cabin my TA who is a very experienced on line cruise specialist was adamant that I could not change my cabin.

I needed to get an e-mail from the captains club before they would

Call back to X and change my cabin.

I am not going to use them again,I will use the American TA in future, even though I may be at the mercy of the pound vs the dollar.

The benefits are just better and they do not charge CCard fees and should anything go wrong my Credit card will provide cover.

Sorry for the long post, but sometimes they are customer dissatisfaction agents,albeit through no fault of theirs, just bad training

 

Hi Swigso

I couldn't agree more.....I have been thinking the same thing about an american agent as you can cancel with them and not loose the deposit as well as other benefits....it might be worth the risk to do it!!

Don't feel bad about the long posts....this is the place to vent it all....either that or end up shouting at a customer service agent somewhere!!!! ;)

[DebbieMacG]

We booked an Aqua A1 cabin direct (£3113) for Eclipse on May 4th when bookings opened in March 2011, the price has remained more or less constant ever since. We made our final payment at the beginning of March, and shortly after the final payment date passed, guarantee Aqua cabins were available at £2318. A phone call to our Celebrity PCS, got the reply that we could cancel and rebook, no guarantee of cabin, and we would loose our free parking and OBC, so probally not worth the hassle. One UK online TA has been offering Aqua A1 cabins for less than £2000, although they have now sold out. We are not interested in upgrading to a suite, as we want to dine in Blu.

We have booked a wine cruise on the Constellation, and have had 2 price drops, and final payment is not till July!

 

When UK bookings opened for 2013, I asked our PCS about pricing for 2013, and was told that 'Celebrity looks after their regular customers' so I foolishly booked 2 Celebrity cruises for next year. Then I saw the above offers on our May cruise, and was quite upset. After discussions with another PCS, I wrote to Domonic Paul, the UK boss, but to date have not had an acknowledgement or reply. Having been previously ripped off by P&O, we thought Celebrity treated customers better, but it appears they do not. Wish they would spell out their policy, it would appear there are no hard and fast rules with regard to the upgrade/price drop/final payment rules.

 

This has made us certainly think about trying other cruise lines, and we are actively looking at completely different holidays for the future.

 

Richard

 

That's terrible Richard, have you spoken to Celebrity yourself? I always understood that they would honor price drops? I am booked on the same 4th May cruise but booked only a couple of weeks ago, it's seems such a shame that you booked so early yet have had to pay so much more. Wouldn't they even give you OBC? :confused:

[CruiseImage]

We did a TA on the eclipse last year, the priced dropped TWICE before we set sail, called X on both occasions and got the money back difference - no questions asked.

 

Have to agree with a few other comments, you NEED to know or sound like you know what you're talking about. As you may have experienced with some travel agents and even call centre staff for the cruise companies, it becomes obvious that THEY don't really know their own business enough to give you a satisfactory answer.

Stick with it... It does work out in the end.

[hillsprint]

More price drops today on our Solstice cruise in May, this time to specific staterooms, not just the Gty. But once again told they are for New Customers only.

 

Looks like in future I'll just wait to near the cruise to book, and book my own flights in advance so as to get the best of both worlds.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[hillsprint]

Well, what a difference 24 hrs makes, rang X today and got though to my PCS, who had been off yesterday. So now we've got an upgrade from a 1C to an S1 at a price that was better than I had expected !!

 

So as has been said, be persistent :)