DEALs, OBC, upgrades, etc HOW????

[akruz]

This spring we took a cruise with Celebrity and booked thru our local travel agent. We got a Seniors rate and a stupid coupon book worth zip!

On board the ship, fellow passengers were saying how they got obc, free gratuities, upgrades, you name it. I would like to know how????? But no one seemed to share who they booked with just the upgrades, etc.

Do I book through the companies mentioned on cruise critic when you get the cruise critic emails. The last email received today mentioned very good sales with Celebrity on cruises that we would have interest in. But it was through companies other than Celebrity stating the sale ends soon. Too date, I have never received the Celebrity newsletter with their Wednesday or Tuesday Sales? I know we cannot pm on cruise critic but I do have a pm on trip advisor. I really like to know the good companies? and if they are advertised on cruise critic the companies should be authentic, right? Perhaps using my PM on tripadvisor I could get names of some good companies to deal with especially from CANADA.

I have a great interest in the Panama and the Hawaii 15 day for 2013.

[Andy]

This spring we took a cruise with Celebrity and booked thru our local travel agent. We got a Seniors rate and a stupid coupon book worth zip!

On board the ship, fellow passengers were saying how they got obc, free gratuities, upgrades, you name it. I would like to know how????? But no one seemed to share who they booked with just the upgrades, etc.

Do I book through the companies mentioned on cruise critic when you get the cruise critic emails. The last email received today mentioned very good sales with Celebrity on cruises that we would have interest in. But it was through companies other than Celebrity stating the sale ends soon. Too date, I have never received the Celebrity newsletter with their Wednesday or Tuesday Sales? I know we cannot pm on cruise critic but I do have a pm on trip advisor. I really like to know the good companies? and if they are advertised on cruise critic the companies should be authentic, right? Perhaps using my PM on tripadvisor I could get names of some good companies to deal with especially from CANADA.

I have a great interest in the Panama and the Hawaii 15 day for 2013.

 

Hi Akruz,

 

A couple of items to mention. Always be weary of folks who tell you what they paid for on their Cruise. I've heard so many exaggerations over the years, that it's made my head spin !

 

What I'm happy to share, is that it often pays to book onboard. Celebrity offers additional OBC, reduced deposits, and possibly some minor cabin upgrades. We book onboard, most all the time.

 

As for getting the best deal and upgrades - we are not allowed to mention Travel Agents on here, so I suggest using search engines. Keep in mind, that Google is your friend :). I hope this helps !

[MicCanberra]

Hi Akruz,

Always be weary of folks who tell you what they paid for on their Cruise. I've heard so many exaggerations over the years, that it's made my head spin !

 

I agree, I have heard of some deals that some people have claimed to have received and with the low cost and price drops and extra OBCs, that it meant that they practically went for free. Too good to be true, I think.

The best deal I have ever received, was when I cruised for free because my wife paid for it.:D

[d4m]

Since you have already taken one cruise, hopefully you have registered for Captain's Club. Occasionally that is beneficial for a sale, an OBC or upgrade.

 

Many people use TA's and get some good deals, but remember that they aren't always available when prices change. Since you have to talk with your TA and cannot contact Celebrity if your booking is with a TA, then the drop in prices might be over before you can contact a TA. Happened to us the last time.

 

Getting great deals often takes a lot of time and research and "deals" aren't always the best deals around

[sandthrush]

I use an online travel agent who's prices are the same or lower than the cruise line website is offering, and they often give an OBC. The higher cabin category you select, the higher the OBC.

 

I say "often" because they don't always offer an OBC. We were looking to book a cruise a few years back, and they didn't offer an OBC, so I booked directly with the cruise line.

 

The online TA that we use always offers the same selection of cabins that the cruise line website offers.

 

I'm stating facts here, I am not exaggerating, nor am I in the habit of discussing what I paid for a cruise with other people, but since the subject came up I'm putting in my two cents.

[CateW]

I booked our upcoming Eclipse cruise about a year in advacne through Celebrity. Got a OGC and military discount (thanks to my husband). That cruise is now $2,000 more and this was directly through Celebrity. I think that there are definitely deals out there but you need to look for them. Generally, I do my own research and then transfer it to an online consortium that we have been using for years. JMO

[smtcan]

Perhaps using my PM on tripadvisor I could get names of some good companies to deal with especially from CANADA.

 

Canadian TAs do not usually give any incentives above those offered by the cruise lines. We generally book with Celebrity, using an Open Passage certificate (purchased on board). We then have the option to transfer to a travel agent within sixty days, so we phone several online TAs in the US to see if anyone is offering OBC. We have to book in $US to do this and the Open Passage also has to be in $US. We only transfer the booking if it is beneficial, because I like to have the ability to contact Celebrity directly if I have any questions.

Sheila

[retired067]

Hi, I also use an online TA located in NH, USA, when the final price is right. I have not found a Can. TA to give incentivies other than the ones offered by the cruise line. Some things to look for when booking with USA TA"s, Usually the cruise has to be booked in US$, so watch the Can$ difference, know your credit card's exchange rate, TA's cancellation policy, some charge a flat rate, so weigh these against the amt. of the OBC's and other perks and see if the deal is right.

[Lynnees]

Canadian TAs do not usually give any incentives above those offered by the cruise lines. We generally book with Celebrity, using an Open Passage certificate (purchased on board). We then have the option to transfer to a travel agent within sixty days, so we phone several online TAs in the US to see if anyone is offering OBC. We have to book in $US to do this and the Open Passage also has to be in $US. We only transfer the booking if it is beneficial, because I like to have the ability to contact Celebrity directly if I have any questions.

Sheila

 

You are mistaken. I am a Cdn TA and I have many U.S. clients because I ccan offer incentives that at least equal some of the US TA's.

[jaspersmommy]

I am in Alberta and have had no problem getting OBCs for cruises through two different Canadian TAs. Both of them have been large organizations with many locations, not small local TAs. I'm not saying smaller ones won't do it, I just haven't used any.

 

For our upcoming cruise, my TA offered OBCs and then decided to purchase group space on our sailing when I decided to book. That reduced our cost and it was quite an attractive reduction. So between the reduction from purchasing group space and the OBCs we receoved, we did very well.

[akruz]

I am going to start my research with all your help, thanks. I sure appreciate your information.

Also, appreciated the Cdns that gave me some insight, too.

 

May I please ask one more question........ how far ahead do you all book. I want to go in March 2013 or early April 2013 should I be researching and booking NOW!

[MicCanberra]

I am going to start my research with all your help, thanks. I sure appreciate your information.

Also, appreciated the Cdns that gave me some insight, too.

 

May I please ask one more question........ how far ahead do you all book. I want to go in March 2013 or early April 2013 should I be researching and booking NOW!

Yes, if you want a particular cabin or a particular cruise. If not then you could always wait for the 90 day / last minute specials.:D

[retired067]

You are mistaken. I am a Cdn TA and I have many U.S. clients because I ccan offer incentives that at least equal some of the US TA's.

 

I have contacted several agencies in Canada re OBC's to no avail, If I knew the name of your agency I would certainly give you a try.

[Lynnees]

I have contacted several agencies in Canada re OBC's to no avail, If I knew the name of your agency I would certainly give you a try.

 

I wish I could, but if I do, I'll be banned. It's against cc's rules.

[akruz]

I have contacted several agencies in Canada re OBC's to no avail, If I knew the name of your agency I would certainly give you a try.

I would certainly do the same.

If I give my PM on trip advisor which some have on CC can we exchange information. Could that be an option or am I asking for trouble as some others have given me there PM and we sorted out tours, etc. It prooved to be very good for us who did exchange. Very helpful and had no problems.

[retired067]

I wish I could, but if I do, I'll be banned. It's against cc's rules.

 

Yes, I understand the rules, is there another way to contact your agency?

[phoenix_dream]

One point I like to clarify also is that when people talk about 'upgrades' it can mean many things. To me, the definition means you booked a particular cabin and then sometime before sailing you get contacted by the cruiseline and offered a better cabin for the same price. To my way of thinking, that is the only true 'upgrade' and to the best of my knowledge, is also a very rare occurrence (and when it does happen it is almost always to people new to Celebrity - guess they want to fool them into thinking this could happen again:rolleyes:).

 

Others do not agree and define it differently. A common definition is that cruisers will monitor prices (or their TA's do) and if the prices drop they 'upgrade' to a higher level cabin for the same price. Some people even call it an upgrade if they have to pay a little more than originally. To me these are not true upgrades, but definitely good deals.

 

My point is not to start a debate on what an upgrade is or is not, but to repeat the thought that you can't necessarily always believe what people say - or that they have the same understanding of terms that you do.

[MicCanberra]

One point I like to clarify also is that when people talk about 'upgrades' it can mean many things. To me, the definition means you booked a particular cabin and then sometime before sailing you get contacted by the cruiseline and offered a better cabin for the same price. To my way of thinking, that is the only true 'upgrade' and to the best of my knowledge, is also a very rare occurrence (and when it does happen it is almost always to people new to Celebrity - guess they want to fool them into thinking this could happen again:rolleyes:).

 

Others do not agree and define it differently. A common definition is that cruisers will monitor prices (or their TA's do) and if the prices drop they 'upgrade' to a higher level cabin for the same price. Some people even call it an upgrade if they have to pay a little more than originally. To me these are not true upgrades, but definitely good deals.

 

My point is not to start a debate on what an upgrade is or is not, but to repeat the thought that you can't necessarily always believe what people say - or that they have the same understanding of terms that you do.

 

So true, I upgraded from my bedroom to a balcony cabin and it only cost me $xxxx. :D

[Lynnees]

Yes, I understand the rules, is there another way to contact your agency?

 

I wish I could give you that information.

[Bosjoe]

Hi, I also use an online TA located in NH, USA, when the final price is right. I have not found a Can. TA to give incentivies other than the ones offered by the cruise line. Some things to look for when booking with USA TA"s, Usually the cruise has to be booked in US$, so watch the Can$ difference, know your credit card's exchange rate, TA's cancellation policy, some charge a flat rate, so weigh these against the amt. of the OBC's and other perks and see if the deal is right.

 

 

I use them for last minute specials. There cancelation policy is outrageous. $100PP now..

They have lost a booking today for Reflection as I am not 100% sure for my January date.

 

To the OP, always ask for what they have to offer along with thier cancelation policies.

[chelsea_gal]

We are almost neighbours !!! we are in AB ;), anyways we book a couple of different ways as I am pretty independent so a online TA suits me just fine.

 

So we book either via a online TA , via Celebrity ( usually using the onboard future cruise booking).

 

Each option we have gotten OBC's and other goodies. Most online TA's are US Based but with the CDN $ to US$ not being whole lot of difference we dont worry so much that they are US based TA's. We have also found that some online TA's will actually let us choose to pay either in US$ or CDN $.

So we just play the currency "monitoring" game when given that option.

 

And if you have sailed with Celebrity before just make sure and sign up for the Captains Cruise club and believe you me the emails will flood through listing the offers.

 

We or rather " me" as my DH:) just wants to know when we are going and not sure much where :-) and leaves all the planning to me. So with various tools I just monitor the prices and if I see a drop will call whoever i have booked through and get them to get me on that price.

 

of course this is up to the point we have fully paid, we have changed cabin and levels for our next cruise 3 times now to our advantage price wise.

 

As to your question how far a head to book, well we booked our Dec 2012 , whilst on-board in Dec 2011. Got the reduced deposit fee, future booking cabin deal , a OBC credit Celebrity offers, and then transferred to a online TA when we got back ( you have 60 days to do so and got some extra OBC's .

 

I have to say that doing it this way seemed to for the next cruise yield some advantages. The disadvantage was having to wait 365 days :) .

oh well a small price to pay.

 

Now thinking of booking 2 futures cruises one for April 2013 and either Dec 2013 or early 2014.

 

Hope this helps have fun !!!

[akruz]

"And if you have sailed with Celebrity before just make sure and sign up for the Captains Cruise club and believe you me the emails will flood through listing the offers."

We signed up for the captains cruise club and to date received zip from them for emails. I wondering if anyone else has this problem.

 

Chelsea Gal.....When you state "on board future cruise booking" this is something you can only book while on board the ship NOT once off the ship. We have only cruised once with Celebrity this April AND did not understand the booking program as we were told you get obc but you could not combine any other promotion later on. This is why we rely on the seasoned CC cruisers for insight.

 

thank you as I certainly appreciate your assistance and anyone who took the time to reply.

[chelsea_gal]

"And if you have sailed with Celebrity before just make sure and sign up for the Captains Cruise club and believe you me the emails will flood through listing the offers."

We signed up for the captains cruise club and to date received zip from them for emails. I wondering if anyone else has this problem.

 

Chelsea Gal.....When you state "on board future cruise booking" this is something you can only book while on board the ship NOT once off the ship. We have only cruised once with Celebrity this April AND did not understand the booking program as we were told you get obc but you could not combine any other promotion later on. This is why we rely on the seasoned CC cruisers for insight.

 

thank you as I certainly appreciate your assistance and anyone who took the time to reply.

 

Yes Akruz ... the booking we made was indeed made onboard , the deposit was only $200, ( I think that figure is only for US and Candian Residents could be wrong but I seem to recall something special about it)

 

what we did was to go visit the Future cruise folks , discuss the "future" cruise we wanted to take. They had printed the 2012 schedules, got some pricing. Then with my trusty friend " IPAD" :) I googled some of the online TA 's and compared.

We could see that we were saving some $ at that stage so we went back and booked. Not sure about the combine any other other promotion thing you mentioned. As we did not have any other promotion to add or was thinking of adding.

 

I will agree that they dont do such a good job explaining the onboard booking process as we had to ask /reconfirm a few points a couple of times. Until it finally clicked/registered what the advantages were.

 

Well I find that strange you not getting any email's we get something at least once a week. And it comes directly from Celebrity and not a online TA that much I know. Now you have me thinking as to whether it is the Captain club or just Celebrity humm.

[MicCanberra]

Yes Akruz ... the booking we made was indeed made onboard , the deposit was only $200, ( I think that figure is only for US and Candian Residents could be wrong but I seem to recall something special about it)

 

what we did was to go visit the Future cruise folks , discuss the "future" cruise we wanted to take. They had printed the 2012 schedules, got some pricing. Then with my trusty friend " IPAD" :) I googled some of the online TA 's and compared.

We could see that we were saving some $ at that stage so we went back and booked. Not sure about the combine any other other promotion thing you mentioned. As we did not have any other promotion to add or was thinking of adding.

 

I will agree that they dont do such a good job explaining the onboard booking process as we had to ask /reconfirm a few points a couple of times. Until it finally clicked/registered what the advantages were.

 

Well I find that strange you not getting any email's we get something at least once a week. And it comes directly from Celebrity and not a online TA that much I know. Now you have me thinking as to whether it is the Captain club or just Celebrity humm.

I am not sure, but sometimes there is a box you tick (or not) to subscribe to deals/newsletters/emails . You may want to check your captains club details.:D

[boblin]

I agree with those who suggest doing an open booking while onboard. $100 deposit plus $300 OBC per cabin for 2wk cruise. Also book well in advance (at least 1 yr, or for last minute bargains, check celebrity .com every Tue for 1 day only specials). Also I usually book with lge internet agency, and do better vis a vis OBC, free grat's etc. I'm Canadian too, find local agencies not very competitive.