Price difference between TA and Celebrity

[SnorkelBoy]

So I have only been on one cruise with RCI and booked with a TA. When the price changed downward on RCI it was also reflected on the TA site and after calling in I would get the lower price.

 

On Celebrity's site the price has dropped $50pp for our class, but it hasn't been reflected on our TA site (it's been a couple of days). Does the TA have to honor the lower price that Celebrity shows?

 

Thanks Dave

[4774Papa]

I don't know about the TA, we always book direct, but if your cruise has not reached final payment, call X and they will lower your price.

[ISABELLA]

so i have only been on one cruise with rci and booked with a ta. When the price changed downward on rci it was also reflected on the ta site and after calling in i would get the lower price.

 

On celebrity's site the price has dropped $50pp for our class, but it hasn't been reflected on our ta site (it's been a couple of days). Does the ta have to honor the lower price that celebrity shows?

 

Thanks dave

 

yes

[Gracie115]

So I have only been on one cruise with RCI and booked with a TA. When the price changed downward on RCI it was also reflected on the TA site and after calling in I would get the lower price.

 

On Celebrity's site the price has dropped $50pp for our class, but it hasn't been reflected on our TA site (it's been a couple of days). Does the TA have to honor the lower price that Celebrity shows?

 

Thanks Dave

 

 

The TA probably won't do a thing unless you call and tell them you know of the reduction....then YES they should have to honor the lower price if it is before final payment is due.

[kyriecat]

Did you ask about the TA policies before booking? Most TA's won't automatically adjust your price - you have to call and let them know. Some will not honor price drops at all. I've heard of TA's charging a "booking adjustment fee" for price drops so there could be a fee to get the lower price. I've had a TA who reduced the amount of "perks" for price drops because it lowers their commission. If the lower price is for new bookings only, you would have to cancel and rebook to get it. Some TAs charge a cancellation fee even if you rebook with them.

 

Verify what your TA's fees and policies are with regard to price drops.

[cocobakerchica]

So I have only been on one cruise with RCI and booked with a TA. When the price changed downward on RCI it was also reflected on the TA site and after calling in I would get the lower price.

 

On Celebrity's site the price has dropped $50pp for our class, but it hasn't been reflected on our TA site (it's been a couple of days). Does the TA have to honor the lower price that Celebrity shows?

 

Thanks Dave

 

The short answer is yes, the TA has to honor the lower price. If the lower price isn't reflected on the TA's page, call them up and let them know! They may know about the drop, but it hasn't yet been updated(I know I'm giving a huge benefit of the doubt here, but still...).

[sandancer]

I don't know about the TA, we always book direct, but if your cruise has not reached final payment, call X and they will lower your price.

Tried this previously and Celebrity will not discuss anything if you have used a TA. That's because the TA "owns" the booking.

[Andy]

Tried this previously and Celebrity will not discuss anything if you have used a TA. That's because the TA "owns" the booking.

 

Absolutely correct. When a TA holds your booking... in most all circumstances, Celebrity will not discuss your booking, nor make pricing adjustments. It's up to the TA to resolve such issues.

[SnorkelBoy]

Thanks everyone for that information.

[Bridge Maven]

I don't know about the TA, we always book direct, but if your cruise has not reached final payment, call X and they will lower your price.

 

4774 Papa - Since he booked his cruise from a TA, he can't call Celebrity directly. He has to contact the TA and ask his TA to call Celebrity on his behalf.

[BKFlowerMound]

Did you ask about the TA policies before booking? Most TA's won't automatically adjust your price - you have to call and let them know. Some will not honor price drops at all. I've heard of TA's charging a "booking adjustment fee" for price drops so there could be a fee to get the lower price. I've had a TA who reduced the amount of "perks" for price drops because it lowers their commission. If the lower price is for new bookings only, you would have to cancel and rebook to get it. Some TAs charge a cancellation fee even if you rebook with them.

 

Verify what your TA's fees and policies are with regard to price drops.

 

I wouldn't use a TA with most of these practices. One exception is that I understand that the "perks" might go down if there is a price adjustment. The perks are paid from the TA's commission, which goes down as the price goes down. That seems fair to me.

[kyriecat]

Not all TA's have fees, but some do. New cruisers don't always know to ask questions and read the "fine print" before booking with a TA. I learned some lessons the hard way and some from reading boards. I booked with a TA once who wouldn't accept Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor coupons. I didn't ask enough questions before giving them my booking so I lost out on $150 off my cruise. I also booked once with a TA who charged $35 for every booking change, including ones that increased her revenue. I didn't realize that when I booked - I was focused on the perks. I changed my cabin from a balcony to a suite (with an increase in the cruise fare) and noticed an extra $35 had been billed to my credit card.

 

Since there were some very helpful people on the boards who pointed out the TA's gotchas for me when I was a newbie cruiser, I try to pass the information along to the next cruise generation. ;)

[CQG67]

This is based on my experiences:

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (which includes Celebrity and Azamara) does not discount their cruises - period. The only advantage to using TAs is that they will often give you shipboard credit for your cruise - you pay the same cruise fare - just have some money in your shipboard account to ease the pain at the end of your trip. For example, July of 2011 we reserved a category C balcony for the innaugural transatlantic cruise on the new Refelection in November of this year. We got a $250 discount for booking during a specific time period last July because we are Select members of their Captains Club. We were given $150 shipboard credit from our travel agency. Then, about a month ago, Celebrity offered military and senior citizen discounts on this trip. I called our agent and we went up to a category B balcony and saved $500 on our fare and still got to keep the $250 discount from last July. We are paying $1031 pp for a 13 night ta cruise BUT our shipboard credit went down to $75 because our agency was making a lower fee. $75 is better than nothing!

Some of the Carnival companies, i.e. Holland, Carnival, Cunard still discount - Princess used to but stopped in January of this year. Often there are lower prices, early booking, special deals, etc. especially for people who are repeaters with a cruise line and are members of their particular "clubs." I'm Elite on Princess so I get specials offered that are better priced than the guy who has never sailed with them. The secret is to monitor the line's website often once you have booked. If you see a price reduction, then call your TA and ask for that reduction. Rarely will they will do this on their own and often they aren't too happy about it because it cuts into their fee. It can get a bit tricky as sometimes the special rates require you to handle it as a new booking (very irritating). Once you pay your fare in full, and the price goes down, you are more often than not, out of luck getting a lower price. AND yes, if you book with a TA you have to handle any changes with that person - Celebrity will not get involved.

I'm not sure if Celebrity does this - but I think they do - while on a cruise, they will offer advance booking incentives. You can put a $100 pp deposit on a future cruise (you don't have to pick anything specific at the time) and you will get shipboard credit on whatever that cruise ends up being. Usually you have 4 years to use this booking deposit. For example, on one line, we have a minimum of $100 shipboard credit per person for pre deposit while on a cruise, plus a minimum military credit per cabin of $100 plus a minimum $100 per cabin stockholder's credit. Some times at the end of a cruise we don't owe hardly anything on our stateroom bill. On a recent cruise our bill was $3 after all of the credits. RCCL is very tight when it comes to its shareholder onboard credits as they quit letting you combine it with any other specials a couple of years ago. Therefore, we couldn't use it on our transatlantic this year because we got the $250 discount from last July and the military discount.

Have a good weekend and I hope this helps you somewhat.

;)

[FLACRUISER99]

This is based on my experiences:

Royal Caribbean Cruise Line (which includes Celebrity and Azamara) does not discount their cruises - period. The only advantage to using TAs is that they will often give you shipboard credit for your cruise - you pay the same cruise fare - just have some money in your shipboard account to ease the pain at the end of your trip. For example, July of 2011 we reserved a category C balcony for the innaugural transatlantic cruise on the new Refelection in November of this year. We got a $250 discount for booking during a specific time period last July because we are Select members of their Captains Club. We were given $150 shipboard credit from our travel agency. Then, about a month ago, Celebrity offered military and senior citizen discounts on this trip. I called our agent and we went up to a category B balcony and saved $500 on our fare and still got to keep the $250 discount from last July. We are paying $1031 pp for a 13 night ta cruise BUT our shipboard credit went down to $75 because our agency was making a lower fee. $75 is better than nothing!

 

Some of the Carnival companies, i.e. Holland, Carnival, Cunard still discount - Princess used to but stopped in January of this year. Often there are lower prices, early booking, special deals, etc. especially for people who are repeaters with a cruise line and are members of their particular "clubs." I'm Elite on Princess so I get specials offered that are better priced than the guy who has never sailed with them. The secret is to monitor the line's website often once you have booked. If you see a price reduction, then call your TA and ask for that reduction. Rarely will they will do this on their own and often they aren't too happy about it because it cuts into their fee. It can get a bit tricky as sometimes the special rates require you to handle it as a new booking (very irritating). Once you pay your fare in full, and the price goes down, you are more often than not, out of luck getting a lower price. AND yes, if you book with a TA you have to handle any changes with that person - Celebrity will not get involved.

 

I'm not sure if Celebrity does this - but I think they do - while on a cruise, they will offer advance booking incentives. You can put a $100 pp deposit on a future cruise (you don't have to pick anything specific at the time) and you will get shipboard credit on whatever that cruise ends up being. Usually you have 4 years to use this booking deposit. For example, on one line, we have a minimum of $100 shipboard credit per person for pre deposit while on a cruise, plus a minimum military credit per cabin of $100 plus a minimum $100 per cabin stockholder's credit. Some times at the end of a cruise we don't owe hardly anything on our stateroom bill. On a recent cruise our bill was $3 after all of the credits. RCCL is very tight when it comes to its shareholder onboard credits as they quit letting you combine it with any other specials a couple of years ago. Therefore, we couldn't use it on our transatlantic this year because we got the $250 discount from last July and the military discount.

Have a good weekend and I hope this helps you somewhat.

;)

Based on my experiences you can book a group cruises through a TA with a lower fare than booking direct with RCI/Celebrity. This can be a group even though you don't know it's a group cruise! I am not talking about OBC I am talking about the total amount (The amount that is charged to your CC).