Price drop.

[wwcruisers]

I am glad it worked out for you. But some itineraries are more popular than others, Antartica for instance, the prices do not go down, they just keep increasing until sold out. :D

 

Ditto on our upcoming Millie Wine Cruise (southbound Pacific Coastal). We got one small price drop, right after we booked (almost a year in advance). Since then, the price of our veranda cabin has steadily risen. Tomorrow is final payment deadline, and our cabin is now $500 more per person!

 

Our motto is: book early enough to get a cabin that you want, at a price that you can live with. Then, watch for price drops, special rates, etc. We almost always find an applicable price drop, or opportunity to upgrade. But, we don't spend one moment stressing over promotions (eg: "new bookings only") that we can't take advantage of. :cool:

[Lois R]

Hi... we will be on the Summit to Bermuda....

 

A suite on Summit for 140 bucks extra? I agree with everyone else....

Great buy:D:):D...

[Michael50]

So, again this morning I decided to look into the suites and what was available to us - after I called my travel agent I was told that the fares have climbed up, and there is nothing they can do for us - I guess I should have jumped on it yesterday - oh well....

[jerseygirl3]

So, again this morning I decided to look into the suites and what was available to us - after I called my travel agent I was told that the fares have climbed up, and there is nothing they can do for us - I guess I should have jumped on it yesterday - oh well....

 

That's probably because others that had the suite offered to them jumped at the opportunity. For $70/pp, I would have grabbed it! Suites are typically located in very good areas, so I wouldn't have worried about it being a gty.

 

Oh well...live and learn.

[MicCanberra]

So, again this morning I decided to look into the suites and what was available to us - after I called my travel agent I was told that the fares have climbed up, and there is nothing they can do for us - I guess I should have jumped on it yesterday - oh well....

 

Never mind, as you were hesitant it shows me that you were happy with what you have, and you now have that $140 that you can spend on something else.:D

[Hawaiian]

Hi everyone! I have just booked a 12 night European cruise on the Constellation and for the very first time, I booked it directly with Celebrity.com and did not use a travel agent. My question is, what if the price drops BEFORE final payment is due? Upgrading is not an option as I specifically booked this cruise because my favorite FV cabin was available and I wouldn't trade it for anything unless it was the Penthouse Suite. Would I be entitled to the lower fare or at the very least, an OBC? Thank you for any advice.

 

Matt in Hawaii

[LynnObie]

Matt, If there is an actual price decrease, yes, you will be entitled to the new price if you ask. If they offer a Tuesday special, I've heard that you might find it tricky getting the new price *and* keeping your current FV cabin. Maybe someone else who has actually experienced this type of situation can share what happened to them. My point is that a price "for new bookings only" that appears before you've made final payment could be booked, then cancel your existing reservation. The trick might be getting Celebrity to move your FV cabin to the new booking. In case you weren't already aware of this, you have 60 days from booking with =X= to have the booking transferred to your preferred travel agent, should you wish to do so.:)

[Hawaiian]

Thank you Lynn! Could you or anyone else tell me what the advantage would be to transfer my booking that I have made directly with Celebrity to my normal TA? Would she be able to get me something that I don't already have? I'm just curious. Would I then have to pay my TA a commission on something that I was able to do myself? Thanks for the advice!

 

Matt in Hawaii

[LynnObie]

Matt, You're welcome! I sometimes book at the cruise line's web site if I see a particular cabin I want when my travel agent's office is closed. The advantage to me in transferring to the travel agency is that the one I use always discounts cruise fares (if allowed) and/OR gives me a ship board credit and/OR gives me prepaid gratuities. If you have an agent that does these things, that's your advantage. Also, my agent always watches for price drops and applies them if she notices one before I do. The cruise line won't give you a price reduction unless you notice it and ask for it. As for commissions, you don't pay them, the cruise line does. Some agents share their commissions by giving perks mentioned. As you may know, we are not allowed to name travel agents here at Cruise Critic. Based on my understanding, there are many agents who offer the type of services that mine does so it might pay to shop around. You have 60 days from date of booking with Celebrity to make a transfer should you wish. My 2 favorite cruise lines allow this but I have no idea about others.:D

[Hawaiian]

Thanks again for the informative reply Lynn! For the same reason that you mentioned, I booked this cruise myself because the FV corner stateroom that I had on my Greek Island cruise last fall was available on my upcoming cruise and my travel agent that I normally use is in Indiana and she was closed for the day and I live in Hawaii and I just couldn't risk that great cabin not being available when I woke up the next morning! I am pretty good about monitoring deals and discounts so I guess I can just take a daily look at the cruise and see if rates drop, and then make my calls to Celebrity if they do. On a different note, I read an old thread from about 2 years ago that talked about being upgraded on day of embarkation without prior knowledge or consent and I definitely do not wish to be upgraded from what I already have unless it's the Penthouse Suite! Do you think it's necessary to inform Celebrity that I do not wish to be upgraded?

 

Aloha,

Matt

[LynnObie]

Thanks again for the informative reply Lynn! ..........Do you think it's necessary to inform Celebrity that I do not wish to be upgraded?

 

Aloha,

Matt

Matt, You're welcome and, yes, definitely tell Celebrity you do not want to be "upgraded". As for monitoring, yes, I always do that too in case I see a price drop before my agent. I still prefer to transfer my booking to my agent for the various perks she offers. That's actually the primary reason I use them as I prefer doing cabin selection and staying on top of monitoring myself.:D