1-2-3 Promotion available to World with exception of UK

[tine-tine]

We are currently aboard Equinox and as usual we book our next January cruise while on board. When we attend at the Future Cruise Sales to make the intended 28 night b2b cruise booking, we found that British guest are excluded from the current 1-2-3 offer that is available to the rest of the World, both on board and through Agents.

 

One of the segments of the offer is the Classic Drink Package which alone is worth 88$ a day, is you x this by 28 you see what a loss this is if you are intending to purchase the drink package! Are we UK guests subsidising the rest of Celebrity guests promotion?

 

I queried this with CC Club Hostess and apparently there have been complaints from other guests but Miami can do nothing about the matter, despite being unhappy with the situation, as the UK have the final say on the matter!!!! Sounds to me like the tail wagging the dog.

 

Two very unhappy loyal cruisers who are now not booking the cruise and will look elsewhere. What happened to Celebrity loyalty?

[Azulann]

I have always been curious about what is included in your cruise price when you are a UK citizen?

You have different government rules about insurance, taxes and airiline responsibity if flight is delayed etc. Is this correct?

[br.carlos]

1, 2, 3 Promotion is not available on Celebrity's website for Brazilians. I had to book thru the American website and call their US costumer service in order to have it applied to our booking. 10.000 Brazilians sail on Celebrity every year. I know it's not a huge number, but it's not negligible.

[MR_T]

We are currently aboard Equinox and as usual we book our next January cruise while on board. When we attend at the Future Cruise Sales to make the intended 28 night b2b cruise booking, we found that British guest are excluded from the current 1-2-3 offer that is available to the rest of the World, both on board and through Agents.

 

One of the segments of the offer is the Classic Drink Package which alone is worth 88$ a day, is you x this by 28 you see what a loss this is if you are intending to purchase the drink package! Are we UK guests subsidising the rest of Celebrity guests promotion?

 

I queried this with CC Club Hostess and apparently there have been complaints from other guests but Miami can do nothing about the matter, despite being unhappy with the situation, as the UK have the final say on the matter!!!! Sounds to me like the tail wagging the dog.

 

Two very unhappy loyal cruisers who are now not booking the cruise and will look elsewhere. What happened to Celebrity loyalty?

 

Hi

 

What complete rubbish regarding Miami not being able to do anything... I am booked on the celebrity eclipse transatlantic crossing in April which I booked in jan 13 and I was told that this cruise nw qualifys for the uk drinks package which is ment for uk based ships sailings out of Southampton... But was told Miami had decided to offer it to the transatlantics coming back to the uk as well... So on one hand Miami can't do anything then the other hand they can do everything!

 

Tony

[Jenna109]

Celebrity really do need to take notice. One of the main problems was the wording which excluded British residents from the offer. We have a Transpacific cruise booked for October out of the US and this has the drinks package but NOT for BRITISH RESIDENTS However, we have a Transatlantic cruise this April out of the US but booked in the UK which does have the package.!

Apart from being very unfair to passengers what about our travel agents? They must be really taking some flack from customers. We have a great agent and she rang immediately but no luck. UK agents will be affected long term as many on these boards are finding US agents as these add so many extras to bookings which are not available to Us in the UK

Celebrity have also stopped my agent giving discount. What are they trying to do? I thought they were wanting to increase their UK market - not drive us to other lines.

 

Come on Celebrity think long term, ie one booking year, and admit your mistake with the NOT FOR BRITISH RESIDENTS as it is unfair - what have we done:eek:

[Sparkle 123]

Yes I totally agree Jenna, it really does seem unfair, sadly most UK cruise bookers probably don't read cruise critic and have no idea that we are getting the raw end of the deal as usual and Celebrity know that.

 

I would be interested to know if any UK residents have managed to successfully book the 123 promo with a US travel agent.

I have booked with US travel agents in the past without problem but am a little nervous with this promo due the the fact it clearly states not for UK residents:confused:

[chrishb]

We are also very unhappy how Celebrity deals with the offer. In Germany the 1-2-3 promotion is offered however not to all sailings and Celebrity does not extend the offer to existing bookings as they have done it in the US. Miami told me that it should be no problem, however I had to contact the German office which denied unfriedly!

I am really annoyed how differently Celebrity treat their customers. It casts a big shade on our transpacific cruise in October, giving us a feeling of second class passengers while we have to pay 1600$ for something which the majority gets for free!

[swigso]

We are currently aboard Equinox and as usual we book our next January cruise while on board. When we attend at the Future Cruise Sales to make the intended 28 night b2b cruise booking, we found that British guest are excluded from the current 1-2-3 offer that is available to the rest of the World, both on board and through Agents.

 

One of the segments of the offer is the Classic Drink Package which alone is worth 88$ a day, is you x this by 28 you see what a loss this is if you are intending to purchase the drink package! Are we UK guests subsidising the rest of Celebrity guests promotion?

 

I queried this with CC Club Hostess and apparently there have been complaints from other guests but Miami can do nothing about the matter, despite being unhappy with the situation, as the UK have the final say on the matter!!!! Sounds to me like the tail wagging the dog.

 

Two very unhappy loyal cruisers who are now not booking the cruise and will look elsewhere. What happened to Celebrity loyalty?

 

The silly thing is that you cannot get the OBC with the 123 promotion

So there is no real benefit by booking on board now,

Look on the Internet for a TA based in the States, they will happily

Take your booking, I would love to advise you some more but it is banned from

doing so.

If you do a search you may find my email.

[Piggeldy]

We are also very unhappy how Celebrity deals with the offer. In Germany the 1-2-3 promotion is offered however not to all sailings and Celebrity does not extend the offer to existing bookings as they have done it in the US. Miami told me that it should be no problem, however I had to contact the German office which denied unfriedly!

I am really annoyed how differently Celebrity treat their customers. It casts a big shade on our transpacific cruise in October, giving us a feeling of second class passengers while we have to pay 1600$ for something which the majority gets for free!

 

I just have to agree with that so much!

 

We booked the TA on the Eclipse a few days (first week of January) before the promotion was offered in Germany. We have now asked twice if it could be applied as it was obviously possible to customers booking through the US... and were given a very clear no.

 

I am also mainly unhappy with how differently customers are treated. If there were legal reasons involved that would be fine with me (we were even looking at cancelling and rebooking in a higher class cabin, still told we couldn't apply the promotion, we would happily have lost our deposit) but for no reason having different rules for different countries while selling them the exact same product... shall I just say that it did upset me a little bit? It it is possibly for US customers to apply it to an existing booking, it should also be possible for non-US customers booking through their national offices, especially if the promotion exists in their country, no?

 

Ah well. I just try to avoid 1-2-3 threads now and hope for a 10% off deal later in the year (though I fear there might not be one as most people will have the free drinks package anyhow). We were planing on going with a non-alcoholic premium anyways.

[SamfromOz]

It looks like X are doing a similar thing to Australians, too.

 

The Celebrity Australia website states that the 1-2-3 go promotion is not available for "local" sailings (around Australia, NZ etc) but only for sailings in Asia, America, Europe etc.

 

Obviously, most Australians would want to cruise close to home. The smart ones will be ditching the local agents and booking their (local) cruise through a US agent in order to get that beverage package (which is available to everyone else on the same cruise).

 

It just seems really cynical and nasty of Celebrity to treat some countries differently to others. Its also quite short-sighted and naive to think they can get away with it in these days of international forums, the internet, and switched-on consumers.

[Skimble1973]

We are also very unhappy how Celebrity deals with the offer. In Germany the 1-2-3 promotion is offered however not to all sailings and Celebrity does not extend the offer to existing bookings as they have done it in the US. Miami told me that it should be no problem, however I had to contact the German office which denied unfriedly!

I am really annoyed how differently Celebrity treat their customers. It casts a big shade on our transpacific cruise in October, giving us a feeling of second class passengers while we have to pay 1600$ for something which the majority gets for free!

 

 

Same here. 2 weeks ago they refused to add the package to an already-booked cruise in March 2013 while US guests got the package added. The German office told me that they couldn't do anything about it and they did not know about the procedure in the US. What made me really angry was the reasoning: EQUAL TREATMENT OF ALL PASSENGERS.

This is what they told me: As I had booked the cruise so early I had so many benefits like better choice of cabins and the chance to get better prices :confused: - so they could not add the package.

 

There were times when bookings were adjusted to price drops.

 

Well, I will consider this treatment when I spend (or better don't spend) money on board and when I plan further cruises. It's probably time to try HAL or Princess.

[Piggeldy]

There were times when bookings were adjusted to price drops.

 

Bookings can be adjusted to price drops... just got a confirmation about an adjustment this morning (price had dropped by 80 Euros earlier in the week, now it's up 40 Euros again).

[Skimble1973]

Bookings can be adjusted to price drops... just got a confirmation about an adjustment this morning (price had dropped by 80 Euros earlier in the week, now it's up 40 Euros again).

 

Ok, so where's the difference between a price adjustment and adding a drink package?

[nijh]

I was ignoring the 123 posts, but when I realised that even people who had passed final payment were getting it I did some maths and the real scale of this hit me.

I’m booked for March. Others on my cruise are getting the Premium Package for $172; I’m going to have to pay $909.

That's over $2200 extra for the 3 of us travelling. We're not talking a small perk available to a minority of the client base with this; its big money with seemingly only the UK excluded.

[Piggeldy]

Ok, so where's the difference between a price adjustment and adding a drink package?

 

THAT would be a question you have to ask Celebrity Germany. I have NO idea. But would love to know. I guess the answer might either be "Because" or "It's the rules. It's in the fine print" or "How are we supposed to know what the Miami office does for the US bookings?".

 

By the way, our travel agent's website says, if you adjust to a lower price, the rules for new bookings at the time of the adjustment will apply (e.g. you might lose an obc). However, even when adjusting to a lower price, you cannot add the 1-2-3 promotion because... it's an existing booking and the promotion can't be added.

 

I was ignoring the 123 posts, but when I realised that even people who had passed final payment were getting it I did some maths and the real scale of this hit me.

 

Haha! Yes, save yourself the pain and don't do the maths!

 

Classic package - $44/night.

We are on a 13 night cruise - $572.

For two - $1.144.

[iann]

I was annoyed at this apparent unfair treatment so did some price comparisons between US and UK agents.

 

The Mediterranean cruise I am looking at seemed to be around 50% more expensive on the US site, meaning that the price difference would pay for a drinks package, should I decide on one.

 

Is it perhaps a case of swings and roundabouts? I must admit I find the finer details of cruise pricing rather confusing and I may be missing something here. Perhaps someone a bit more up to speed could enlighten me.

[Jade13]

Celebrity really do need to take notice. One of the main problems was the wording which excluded British residents from the offer. We have a Transpacific cruise booked for October out of the US and this has the drinks package but NOT for BRITISH RESIDENTS However, we have a Transatlantic cruise this April out of the US but booked in the UK which does have the package.!

 

Is one of your bookings a net rate while the other is not? My understanding is that the net rates are already discounted because they include bundled items at a discounted fare such as air included and/or hotel included. The terms and conditions clearly state which fares are included and which are not.

 

We meet British travels all the time who book through a US agent. They take care of their own airfare.

[The_Big_M]

It looks like X are doing a similar thing to Australians, too.

 

The Celebrity Australia website states that the 1-2-3 go promotion is not available for "local" sailings (around Australia, NZ etc) but only for sailings in Asia, America, Europe etc.

 

I can see they did that because they're also running a promtion on local cruises that is not offered in the US. Just like the 123 offer isn't combinable with other promotions, if they did add it then it would be effectively combining.

 

Some may prefer one promotion over the other, but that's the same with any promotion.

[Jade13]

I have always been curious about what is included in your cruise price when you are a UK citizen?

You have different government rules about insurance, taxes and airiline responsibity if flight is delayed etc. Is this correct?

 

They often include a bundled package with air and hotel. I believe these are considered net rates which are excluded from the 123 Go! promo.

 

Is there any reason someone in the UK cannot book with a US agent and make their own air arrangements?

[nijh]

I was annoyed at this apparent unfair treatment so did some price comparisons between US and UK agents.

 

The Mediterranean cruise I am looking at seemed to be around 50% more expensive on the US site, meaning that the price difference would pay for a drinks package, should I decide on one.

 

Is it perhaps a case of swings and roundabouts? I must admit I find the finer details of cruise pricing rather confusing and I may be missing something here. Perhaps someone a bit more up to speed could enlighten me.

 

Word has it that some prices have been put up following the introduction of this package, but others have not.

 

I know from my own pre-booking research that the cost of my cruise when I booked it was roughly the same whether I booked through Celebrity UK or a US TA.

 

Therefore the people on my cruise have paid the same base fare as me but are each getting a $700 ‘bonus’ just before we sail.

 

Nice.

[Jade13]

The silly thing is that you cannot get the OBC with the 123 promotion

So there is no real benefit by booking on board now,

Look on the Internet for a TA based in the States, they will happily

Take your booking, I would love to advise you some more but it is banned from

doing so.

If you do a search you may find my email.

 

The advantage of booking onboard is the low $100.00 deposit. That is all I had to pay with the 123 Go! promo. We had an Open Passage and I did name the second person when I booked a specific cruise for the additional $100.00 as we will need both our names when we book our flights.

 

However, if we want to switch to our agents group booking, we will need to pay the full deposit about 6 months prior to the cruise. It will also be on condition that they have space available.

[alfaromeo147]

Hi All Im just wondering if this 123 offer is available to ROI customers , Itried to book my up coming Cruise in March through an American TA and was told I couldnt ,

[*kittykate*]

My uk travel agent has told me that from tomorrow the celebrity offer of 'free drinks package' will be changing to a 123go offer. However, only 1 freebie may be selected - drinks package, onboard credit or free coach/car parking. When I questioned the offer and pointed out the US version of 123go I was told it was definitely only 1 freebie :(

[Jenna109]

They often include a bundled package with air and hotel. I believe these are considered net rates which are excluded from the 123 Go! promo.

 

Is there any reason someone in the UK cannot book with a US agent and make their own air arrangements?

 

Don't know but this is what a lot of us are now researching. Not fair on UK agents:eek:

[Bestbubba]

Don't know but this is what a lot of us are now researching. Not fair on UK agents:eek:

 

There is no problem booking through a US agent and making your own air arrangements, we have done so many times:)

 

Sue