Price reduction without asking

[mrpacker03]

Tuesday I booked a cruise with a big online agency that I've used several times because they always give me the best deal. I got an e-mail from my agent yesterday telling me that she got me a $150p.p. price reduction. She said she was checking this particular cruise out for another customer and remembered I had just booked it a couple of days ago. Guess who will get my next cruise booking??

[bigmohes]

Wow that is awesome! I check everyday myself, I am afraid to trust it to anyone else! Great Score! Keep him/her on your speed dial.

 

It is nice to hear someone cheer good service instead of only sharing the bad.:)

[mrpacker03]

I normally check just about everyday too, but with the holiday being here, I got backed up. This is the first time this has happened, and maybe the last, so I'm going to enjoy it. If there would have been more than a couple of days between the booking and the other person's quote, she probably would have forgotton about me. I'm not the memorable.

[tallcva3344]

Tuesday I booked a cruise with a big online agency that I've used several times because they always give me the best deal. I got an e-mail from my agent yesterday telling me that she got me a $150p.p. price reduction. She said she was checking this particular cruise out for another customer and remembered I had just booked it a couple of days ago. Guess who will get my next cruise booking??

 

 

She did her job, which most do not do. That cost her at least $30 in commission. It is amazing we have to be excited for someone to do their job. But it does look like you got a good agent. H

[TeaBag]

You are indeed lucky. What a nice email to get. It may have cost the agent $30 in commission but he/she will gain that back from your loyalty which he/she is sure to get.

[Phxazzcruisers]

It is also refreshing to get a positive post once in awhile. YVRcruiser is also spot on. $30.00 in commission for customer loyalty is a small price to pay !! Kudos to your TA and thanks for posting

[QShip]

Sounds like a note to her boss is in order.

[New Hampshire]

There is a website on which you can register your cruise and set up an alert to be notified if your price drops. There is a cost of $.99 an alert, well worth it. In the last six weeks, I have received two emails from the website informing me of two price drops on our cabin. Total savings so far is $1200, well worth the $.99. I can't tell you the name of the website here. Give me your email address and I'll send it to you.

[BBsails]

New Hampshire, I'm not certain, but I don't believe you would be prevented from posting the link to the site that you mention on which you can register to receive an alert in case of a price drop. It's not a travel agency.

 

Here's a quote from the CC guidelines: "There shall be no third-party recommendation of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted."

[Tara Jane]

Hi, I am from Australia so we dont get the deals you folk in the USA get. I am curious as to when you say you watch prices and check daily so reductions so you can ask your TA to try and get the reduction. Are you checking celebrity website for a price or do you check any other TA? Will celebrity reduce the price of another TA?

I have booked with an aussie TA and am very happy, got it for $300 each less than celebrity website. I also notice the price on the celebrity website does not include taxes./ port charges, so I probably saved quite a bit more.

[Cruise Junky]

This happened to us a couple of years ago. Online only agency. We were on a cruise and I was checking e:mail. The first one I saw was your Pride of America cruise has been cancelled...which got a W T * from me..kept reading and sure enough, they'd found me a better deal and rebooked it on our behalf. Pretty happy.

[chefcaw]

New Hampshire, I'm not certain, but I don't believe you would be prevented from posting the link to the site that you mention on which you can register to receive an alert in case of a price drop. It's not a travel agency.

 

Here's a quote from the CC guidelines: "There shall be no third-party recommendation of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted."

 

 

When the website has been posted, it has been deleted.

 

Chris

[Aussie geebee]

Hi, I am from Australia so we dont get the deals you folk in the USA get. I am curious as to when you say you watch prices and check daily so reductions so you can ask your TA to try and get the reduction. Are you checking celebrity website for a price or do you check any other TA? Will celebrity reduce the price of another TA?

I have booked with an aussie TA and am very happy, got it for $300 each less than celebrity website. I also notice the price on the celebrity website does not include taxes./ port charges, so I probably saved quite a bit more.

We're Australians as well and I regularly check the celebrity prices for our cruise to see if prices have dropped, but I usually know through the thread for our cruise. On our last two cruises with Celebrity they have honoured the price drops before final payment. On our Adriatic cruise in September we now have an Aquaclass cabin for $1400 each less than we paid for our deck 9 cabin almost 12 months ago. Our TA has made 3 prices adjustments or changes on this cruise for us. We also have our deck 6 hump cabin on the Solistice out of Auckland in January for the price of in inside cabin, the prices dropped dramatically in January this year. We don't usually get the extras that Americans get but Celebrity certainly honour the price drops so it is worthwhile to keep on checking.

[BBsails]

Didn't realize that, Chris. Thanks.

[tallcva3344]

Hi, I am from Australia so we dont get the deals you folk in the USA get. I am curious as to when you say you watch prices and check daily so reductions so you can ask your TA to try and get the reduction. Are you checking celebrity website for a price or do you check any other TA? Will celebrity reduce the price of another TA?

I have booked with an aussie TA and am very happy, got it for $300 each less than celebrity website. I also notice the price on the celebrity website does not include taxes./ port charges, so I probably saved quite a bit more.

 

Check the website. Normally on Sunday they offer some specials because the agents are not working. You can change to a lower price before final payment is due. I have changed three times before.

 

Of course the best specials are held back after the final payment date fot the cruise in question. Also sometimes you will see them get specific with the specials so existing folks cannot take advantage of it. Like resident (state) specials in the USA and Senior specials will be offered prior to final payment. H

[Tara Jane]

Thanks for that info. I just wasnt sure if it was just celebrity's own site or

any on line TA that they will recognise.

I do check celebrity every day and others just in case, but so far am ahead. Final payment date is this coming week for us.

[New Hampshire]

I always checked Celebrity's website every few days for price drops until I discovered the website I mentioned that checks it for you. I have a Med cruise booked for October. I just received my third email notification from the site this morning alerting me to a price drop on the cruise. Each of the last two drops were $300 pp and this most recent one is $400 pp. We have saved $2000 from the price the cruise was at booking.

 

If I attempt to write the name of the website, it will be removed by the moderators. Anyone who wants it can put their email on this thread and I will email it to them or maybe you will figure it out by reading this. There is a dot net at the end. I love to CRUISE and my favorite food is FISH. I hope everyone has the same good price drop luck I've had. The tracking website is wonderful. Beside the cruise that I'm taking in October, I have another booked for next May that I have on the site being tracked and another that I am considering booking for Sept. 13. It's a wonderful tool.

[mandream]

I love to CRUISE and my favorite food is FISH.

 

Just Google "cruise price alerts"

 

Mike

[gkny]

I had to call my ta for the price reduction. He did give me the price reduction but I had to stay on top of it.

[New Hampshire]

Just Google "cruise price alerts"

 

Mike

 

 

 

I did and it popped right up. It's a great site, saved me all that time checking the Celebrity site every few days.

[mishdoob]

New Hampshire - thank you SOOOOO much!!

[New Hampshire]

You are very welcome. I love these boards. I have learned so much, have saved so much money and have enhanced my cruise experiences so much from all the info I've gotten. I believe in passing any good info on to the rest of the CC family.

[phoenix_dream]

She did her job, which most do not do. That cost her at least $30 in commission. It is amazing we have to be excited for someone to do their job. But it does look like you got a good agent. H

Don't disagree in total, but in fairness to TA's (and I am not one, nor do I know any personally) they often are juggling what I imagine are dozens if not hundreds of customers in the case of large online agencies. To expect them to regularly check for price drops for every customer seems like going above and beyond doing their job IMHO, especially when every price drop would result in a loss of salary for them. In the case of online agencies, the company is awarded the loyalty rather than the individual agent. So to look at it another way, in essence we would be asking someone to proactively look for options that would lower their salary so that their company can reap the benefits. Hmmmm. Not sure I would be so altruistic. I think this type of monitoring may be fair to expect from a land based agent with fewer clients who owns the client base and can benefit from the loyalty, but an online agent? Would be nice, but is not really something I would consider an expected part of their job. Just my opinon.

[mrpacker03]

I agree completrly with Phoenix Dream. I am just a lucky beneficiary of this. I didn't expect it or even think it would happen. They are juggling way too many balls for this to be something that is expected or required of her.

[BEAV]

New Hampshire, I'm not certain, but I don't believe you would be prevented from posting the link to the site that you mention on which you can register to receive an alert in case of a price drop. It's not a travel agency.

 

Here's a quote from the CC guidelines: "There shall be no third-party recommendation of travel agencies on any forums within Cruise Critic. General discussions regarding the TYPE of AGENCY to be used to purchase a cruise will be allowed, as long as no recommendations for any source of purchase are posted."

 

Agreed. As long as the website that monitors pricing isn't also an agency who sells cruises, I can't see where it falls under these posting guideline categories.