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

[Monty's Mum]

Just to let you all know my story did have a happy ending :)

 

After speaking to a wonderful wonderful lady at Captains club today I got upgraded from my obstructed view on deck 6 to 9211, I'm so pleased I've been doing the happy dance :D

 

Woohoo well done you!!! ;) Have a fab time!!!

[Monty's Mum]

Lucky you!

 

I have not even recieved an acknowledgement or answer to my letter of 4th April and a follow up letter. I really feel like a valued member of the Captains Club! If they cannot be bothered to answer my letters, don't know if I can be bothered to cruise with them!

 

Richard

 

I hope you get an answer....soon!!

[mzk90]

Lucky you!

 

I have not even recieved an acknowledgement or answer to my letter of 4th April and a follow up letter. I really feel like a valued member of the Captains Club! If they cannot be bothered to answer my letters, don't know if I can be bothered to cruise with them!

 

Richard

 

4th April? Who did you send it to? Email or snail mail? Have you even received an acknowledgement?

[yorkshire lass 59]

Hi

The price of our Celebrity cruise plummeted from £3959 (Jan 2012)for a 2b balcony to £1885 for Guaranteed X balcony(April2012) for cruise leaving in August. We hadn't paid the final balance so we rebooked, losing our £300 deposit. We will not be able to change the cabin we are allocated or have any OBC to compensate for loss of deposit etc.

I have just read about all the advantages of booking in US - no loss of deposit when rebooking, onboard credit to compensate for price reductions, facility to change guaranteed allocation etc.

This has really put me off booking early and indeed I will probably not use Celebrity again as I feel like a second class citizen.

The UK market must be profitable for Celebrity so they need to look at their unfair differences in terms and conditions from booking in the US.

 

 

Q1 Some say they have had refunds, many have not. There does not seem to be a consistent policy.

 

Q2 Can't help, live in the wrong Boston!

 

 

Q3 We booked an Aqua A1 March 2011, basic price has remained constant on Celebrity at £2888, but after final payment Aqua class in general went on XA guarantee at £2072, so possibly some might have got an A1 for that price.

 

A letter to Celebrity UK on April 4th, asking them to clarify the rules on refund/upgrades/OBC after final payment goes un-answered as yet.

 

Richard

[mzk90]

Hi

The price of our Celebrity cruise plummeted from £3959 (Jan 2012)for a 2b balcony to £1885 for Guaranteed X balcony(April2012) for cruise leaving in August. We hadn't paid the final balance so we rebooked, losing our £300 deposit. We will not be able to change the cabin we are allocated or have any OBC to compensate for loss of deposit etc.

 

 

Did you contact X to see if they would do anything, as some folks on other threads seem to have had some joy of late?

 

They pay a buck for a litre of petrol in the US, but we seem to accept that difference! :D

[yorkshire lass 59]

Noticed the price had dropped significantly on balcony cabins for a Med cruise this August. Rang Celebrity direct and was told there would be no refunds for price drops even before final balance on Guaranteed X cabins. They also said that once the cabin was allocated it could not be changed.

So we decided to rebook anyway and lost £300 deposit which we paid in January but will have a guaranteed balcony for £1820 (+ £300 extra deposit) instead of our original 2b which we booked at twice the price!

There does not seem to be a standard practice for dealing with this issue and it all seems rather unfair that it depends on which agent you speak to as to what the 'rules' are regarding price drops and refunds, upgrades etc.

 

Has anybody managed to change from a specific cabin booking to a Guaranteed X without having to rebook and lose their deposit?

[missminnie]

Noticed the price had dropped significantly on balcony cabins for a Med cruise this August. Rang Celebrity direct and was told there would be no refunds for price drops even before final balance on Guaranteed X cabins. They also said that once the cabin was allocated it could not be changed.

So we decided to rebook anyway and lost £300 deposit which we paid in January but will have a guaranteed balcony for £1820 (+ £300 extra deposit) instead of our original 2b which we booked at twice the price!

There does not seem to be a standard practice for dealing with this issue and it all seems rather unfair that it depends on which agent you speak to as to what the 'rules' are regarding price drops and refunds, upgrades etc.

 

Has anybody managed to change from a specific cabin booking to a Guaranteed X without having to rebook and lose their deposit?

 

Hi

 

Yes we did. We originally booked a specific aqua class cabin for around £3,300. As it got closer to sailing we noted all the significant price drops so enquired. We were advised we could have switched to a guaranteed aqua for around £2,079 which was significant cheaper price but would lose most of our OBC so decided to hold out for a little as may have been allocated a worse cabin. But then noticed the price of our grade had dropped so called and got the reduction. We then looked into upgrading to a suite just a few days later and managed to switch to a guaranteed suite taking advantage of yet another price drop and so we've taken advantage of that.

 

So we originally booked an A2 for £3,300 and now in an aft sky suite for £2,315 in total - all without having to cancel and rebook. Just called and enquired.

[Monty's Mum]

Noticed the price had dropped significantly on balcony cabins for a Med cruise this August. Rang Celebrity direct and was told there would be no refunds for price drops even before final balance on Guaranteed X cabins. They also said that once the cabin was allocated it could not be changed.

So we decided to rebook anyway and lost £300 deposit which we paid in January but will have a guaranteed balcony for £1820 (+ £300 extra deposit) instead of our original 2b which we booked at twice the price!

There does not seem to be a standard practice for dealing with this issue and it all seems rather unfair that it depends on which agent you speak to as to what the 'rules' are regarding price drops and refunds, upgrades etc.

 

Has anybody managed to change from a specific cabin booking to a Guaranteed X without having to rebook and lose their deposit?

 

Hi Yorkshire Lass

 

I changed to a guarantee just before final payment also.....see #13 of this thread and it explains more.....I had to fight for it though and spoke to a supervisor to get it....the amendments dept though....but I had so many different answers to begin with....but told them that if I cancelled I would book P&O instead and not rebook!!! I did lose the $350 OBC but it was a saving of £1500. :)

[suesie]

I have just secured a price drop after having made final payment on Friday.

I booked direct with celebrity and telephoned them today to ask if they would honour a price drop that happened this morning. They said they looked at each on a case by case basis but did honour the drop - although we have gone back into the guarantee pool as the room couldn't be kept. If we don't like the room we're given next we can keep going back into the pool unless that is the only room left!!

I'm very happy with Celebrity:)

[Pjran]

We are booked to cruise on Equinox in June and today it is listed on the XcitingDeals for a much lower price. I have phoned our TA so have my fingers crossed for an upgrade, although to be honest I very much doubt it but try to remain optimistic.

 

Please wish us luck, thanks.

 

UPDATE: TA has informed me it is not possible to transfer our payment to Auqa or Conciege cabin even though the price has dropped without cancelling and starting afresh.

[Adammara]

Just returned from our 'Rip Off' cruise on Eclipse, where the cabin next but one to us was sold off £1200 less than we paid, I wrote to Celebrity, and here is the answer I recieved (after we left!)

 

I understand you sent an email to Dominic directly on 2nd April. We’ve

checked, and that email doesn’t appear to have reached us. Thank you verymuch for your patience while we looked into the points you’ve raised.

 

As I’m sure you are aware, we run a variety of promotions throughout the year to encourage new bookings. All of these are bound by certain

restrictions such as ships, sail dates, and booking dates and promotions can change in a matter of weeks.

 

We always encourage our guests to book early to make sure they can secure the itinerary, stateroom and dining option they want. The longer the cruise is on sale, the less likely it is that you’ll be able to secure the options you’re looking for.

 

Our reservation system is based on fluid pricing and – as you know – the

cost of our cruises can increase or decrease at any time. New prices that become available often only apply to new bookings.

 

As you’re aware, we’re always happy to reduce the cost of the holiday if

there is a price code available that applies to your existing booking. This

is true for our UK-booked guests whether you’ve paid in full or not, and

whether you’ve booked directly with us or through a travel agent. It’s worth noting, though, that if you’ve booked with a travel agent it’s at their discretion whether they will honour the price drop or not.

 

We know that our current pricing policy – which we outline in Section 1.9 of our Booking Conditions – isn’t as clear as we would like it to be. We’re

currently reviewing a number of different options for the way our pricing

rules should work in the future. Once we’ve reached a decision, we will of

course update the information to reflect any changes we’ve made. I hope the information I’ve given you has helped to clarify our current policy.

 

Thank you again for taking the time to contact us about this. We look

forward to welcoming you onboard Celebrity Eclipse tomorrow.

Looks like we had the wrong 'price code'! We were in Blu, and chatting to the couple on the first night, found out they booked an outside cabin on deck 3, and were upgraded free of charge to Aqua Class!

 

For several reasons, the cruise did not live up to our expectations, and have decided cancel our future cruises booked with Celebrity, as it appears late bookings are the best bet in the present economic climate.

 

Richard

[gosport11]

Im starting to get the same vibes,late is a better option :eek::(

[kruzgal]

Until they produce a clear and consistent policy for UK customers, and train all their staff in what that policy is, I am thinking the same. We will also stick with booking directly with Celebrity in future and will be unlikely to use a TA.

[Sparkle 123]

Yes I agree, I am also going to wait to book next years cruise. Either that or book with a US travel agent so we can cancel before final payment without penalty.

[helpthejuggler]

Friends on Silhouette on 5-jul in a 1C were able to get a seniors refund when that became available £218.

 

Then XC concierge gty became available much cheaper than they paid. They turned down the upgrade and refund taking $1200 OBC instead.

 

Not bad as this is 50 days to sailing. They report back that X are planning to stop giving reductions in future.

 

Friends are very happy though with their first Celebrity cruise booking, but will not book so far ahead again.

[walkingbry]

Hello, with regard to your query concerning the price dreductions.

We recently returned from a fantastic cruise on the Silhouette which we booked over a year in advance. After the final payment the price reduced slightly and we duly contacted our travel agent, who in turn contacted Celebrity on our behalf.

After some negotiation we had a refund to our credit card of over £350 and I found Celebrity most helpful. From start to finish a professional company who provided us with an excellent service from the moment we arrived at the port to when we left

[Bestbubba]

I have a feeling we UK cruisers are going to pay the price for the poor Med bookings that are causing huge price drops this year. I think they are going to stop giving price drops to us across the board in future. It will be "New bookings only" for them all when they "re-think their pricing policy" as per the email Adammara received. They wouldn't get away with this in the US but they know they can over here.

 

Although I am really pleased for the people that have had their price drops honoured, it is appalling business practice that the result you get depends on who you speak to....in the same department. I have no axe to grind personally, we saved over £1000 on our Century B2B, but what I am reading here doesn't make me confident for future cruises.

 

We are just back from 31 days on the Century and have a Celebrity cruise booked for next April and another for the following October. I think these will be the last ones we book in the UK.

 

Sue

[welshfamily]

Hi,

We too will never bookearly again.

We are due on our 6th cruise in July after discovering Celebrity only 4years ago. That's 71 days cruising and we always book more than 1 cabin as our name suggests we are a family. We too have been badly stung by the price drop which happened 1day after final payment. Our TA, a well known Internet cruise specialist has tried, and tried, to get Celebrity to at least meet them half way.

We were booked in a 2c, we wanted to change to an Aqua class guaranteed, there was a difference of £6 Or a £400 a person drop if we went to a guanteed balcony cabin. We were not interested in a refund even if they were prepared to do it. At first Celebrity would not move. Then they agreed to escalate it up. Nothing happened. Our travel agent was told if we wanted to upgrade we would have to pay the price Aqua class was ON THE DAY WE BOOKED. Our travel agent fought for 2 days and then suggested that we Cancelled and re booked with them thus giving us our Aqua class cabins which were allocated within a few hours. Our travel agent and ourselves shared the cost of the loss of deposit however we lost our Captains Club loyalty OBC which was given to us when we booked. Our TA is now waiting for Celebrity's revenue department to decide wheither they will honour this OBC. We have been waiting over a week for the reply. Our TA have honoured their OBC offer.

To be honest we not holding out any hope. We have learnt a valuable lesson about booking early. Just don't do it unless you have no other option. We are sad reguarding this as we had,before this happened ,decided we were going to book our next cruise on board the Eclipse for an Azamara cruise in the autumn. We will now wait and if we have to we will look at other cruise lines.

Celebrity needs a policy which is clear and to which everyone sticks. That way there would be no dissatisfied customers. We do hope someone from Celebrity is reading these boards as Bill does over on the Azamara boards. We British are known for our sense of fair play. Come on Celebrity that's all we are asking for.

[timetravellers]

We are pff on Century oin 3 weeks. Tries to upgrade from Concierge to Sky Suite 50 days out as there was a massive price drop and SS was cheaper than what we had paid for Concierge. Rather a long story, but they wanted £200 pp to upgrade which would have made our cost 150% of advertised price. Our formal complaint fell on deaf ears.

We have one more cruise booked with Celebrity (which sold out 12 months ahead) but we shal never ever book early with Celebrity (or any other cruise line without a specific price drop policy) again unless it is an itinerary that is particularly sort after.

[B17]

I have successfully obtained price drops with Celebrity in the past. Three years back twice on one cruise. I always ask the TA I book with if they are aware of and recognise this policy so I know I can get their support if I do need to make a claim. The way it works as I understand it is it must be on a like for like basis so exactly same grade of cabin - what can complicate this issue is if you have booked already on a promo where you have OBC or 'free parking' etc.

The only way it works is on a stright forward Cruise only basis - like for like same grade.

 

See your grade of cabin cheaper - claim the price drop reduction off you final bill. OR see a higher grade cabin cheaper ask to be bumped up. You can do this once only without penalty as its classed as a change to your booking. Thereafter if you make another claim its a £35 pp admin fee.

 

I have done this several times without problem BUT I emphasise it can depend on which agent you use (some can act a bit clueless).

[scotslizzy]

The whole point about going on holiday is to getaway from the every day cares and worries but when you have to fight, fight and fight again to get a price drop then it really does take any joy out of looking forward to the holiday .

 

We have had the same issue but at least with some persistance and perhaps a very upfront statement that we would just cancel we got a price reduction which we then converted into a change of flights from Manchester to Edinburgh, we are sailing on the Equinox in October .

 

As others have stated I will not book early next year and take my chances with the type of cabin we get.

 

Scotslizzy

[Fixit2010]

Though I keep a look out at price drops, I decide that I will only pay what I can afford anyway. I have my budget and that is for th package. Yes it would be nice to save £300 or so but once I have made that final payment, I no longer worry about the price. Its done, i have a holiday to look forward to and thats it.

Forget about what you have shelled out. It is like property, you don't buy a house and constantly look at the market price after and then go back to the sales agent and complain if the base rate drops and house prices plummet. Just deal with it.

[kruzgal]

Looking at it from a business point of view I think there has to be a cut off point at which price drops (in the form of refunds) are not honoured, after final payment being the obvious choice. Celebrity have to sail with full ships to make a profit and at some stage they need to discount in order to be able to do this. However, I don't see any reason why they can't offer an upgrade during this period to compensate loyal passengers. There are benefits to booking earlier than final payment - choice of cabin, choice of dining, cheaper flights etc. and not everyone can leave it that late to plan due to work commitments. Celebrity are not the only company having problems with this, particularly this year given the economic conditions, Concordia etc. We still prefer to sail Celebrity and they have come through for us with a price drop 6 months before our cruise which is very fair (you would be lucky to get any drop with P&O) - just wish they would sort out their policy so we can book with confidence.

[Adammara]

Fixit2010 quoted: Yes it would be nice to save £300 or so but once I have made that final payment, I no longer worry about the price. Its done, i have a holiday to look forward to and thats it.

If the the drop after final payment was £300. I would not have worried at all. But a drop of over £1200 for the same grade Aqua A1 two weeks after final payment date was hard to swallow.

Even more so when you see that other pax have recieved cash refunds, OBC or upgrades as they had different booking codes to mine. What upsets me that due to my 'booking code' none of these were available for me. I know we have different rules to the US, but Celebrity UK need to clarify the situation urgently.

 

Lots of cruise lines with lots of late booking offers at the moment, we may just walk away from our September booking on Constellation and loose our deposit.

 

I may be cynical, but I guess that Dominic Paul, Vice President & Group Managing Director Europe, Middle East & Africa never saw my letters as they were answered on his behalf by a Customer Relations Executive.

 

 

Richard

[timetravellers]

But a drop of over £1200 for the same grade Aqua A1 two weeks after final payment date was hard to swallow.

 

Even more so when you see that other pax have recieved cash refunds, OBC or upgrades as they had different booking codes to mine. What upsets me that due to my 'booking code' none of these were available for me. I know we have different rules to the US, but Celebrity UK need to clarify the situation urgently.

 

 

Richard

 

Totally agree.

 

Gail