Price drops -how do they work?

[Whitechapel girl]

We've just booked a cruise on Celebrity via a US travel agent. Can anyone enlighten me on how the price drop works and how we go about it once we see a drop.

 

Thanks.

[cruisestitch]

Since you are using a US travel agent, prior to final payment date, if the price of the cruise drops they should be able to get you the lower price. However, some travel agents have a fee attached to this re-booking so check with the TA.

 

After final payment, if the price drops there will be no on-board credit or other compensation. If you find a better room at the same price, you can move to that room, or if the price difference is only a small amount, you may be able to move up for very little money. But again, check with your TA to see what their procedure is for post-final-payment price drops

[cynbar]

I should add that usually you have to keep an eye out yourself for price drops, and then notify your TA. Usually they don't have the time to monitor prices for all their customers, but are happy to call for you if they get the info they need.

[djc4410]

We've just booked a cruise on Celebrity via a US travel agent. Can anyone enlighten me on how the price drop works and how we go about it once we see a drop.

 

Thanks.

Price drops seem to be a function of cabin inventory vs. days remaining until sail date. One example is the Solstice trans-Pacific cruise from Hawaii to Australia that departs on Oct. 4. Two months ago the cruise was virtually sold out with only an occasional vacant cabin showing up as people cancelled and got full refunds. Now that the final payment deadline has passed or is about to pass, depending on how cabins were booked, we're seeing a surge of available cabins. This week alone, inventory jumped from 53 cabins and suites to 59 according to one booking website. With only 77 days remaining until sail date, we can expect to see this cruise listed on Celebrity's "Tuesday Specials" website roster of discounted offerings. Last year, we upgraded from a Category 8 outside cabin to a Category C3 Concierge cabin for about $200 once that cruise was featured on the Tuesday Special roster.

[Whitechapel girl]

Thanks for all the info. Again here in the UK we don't get 'Tuesday specials' :(

[suekay]

I thought that current bookings cannot benefit from the lower prices on the Tuesday specials list?

[d4m]

I thought that current bookings cannot benefit from the lower prices on the Tuesday specials list?

 

We have been told repeatedly the same things. Aldready booked? Not eligible

[Toronto Guy]

You absolutely can upgrade a current booking on those specials - call back until you get an agent who will do it and don't take "no" from your travel agent. As long as you are paying a little bit more it is just considered an upgrade. That being said, you may have to give up any drink packages or OBC etc. to get the upgrade - so calculate that into the pros and cons of doing such. If you have a drink package already included on your price you might already be further ahead!

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[frogsgirl]

We've just booked a cruise on Celebrity via a US travel agent. Can anyone enlighten me on how the price drop works and how we go about it once we see a drop.

 

Thanks.

 

We are from the UK & book directly with Celebrity. We are to sail on Solstice to Alaska in September 2014 & booked as soon as the itinerary came out, no promos. Just recieved a new invoice with £125 reduction for some reason...no phone calls required :)

[baldercash]

Just this evening I received a $200.00 pp discount on our Nov 20th Sydney to Singapore Millennium cruise.

Booked last fall and after 3 cabin changes we are in a large almost centre aft A1 cabin on 11th deck.

 

I am a Canadian who uses a large US internet TA very popular on CC.

Just emailed my booking # and current sale price.

They confirmed the price and discounted the booking by $200.00pp down side was they reduced our ship board credit by $25.00. So net gain $375.00.

 

We are doing the Nov 2nd Honolulu to Sydney leg as well but the ship seems to be almost fully booked so likely no discount.

I will continue to watch the price.

Good luck.

[djc4410]

Just this evening I received a $200.00 pp discount on our Nov 20th Sydney to Singapore Millennium cruise.

Booked last fall and after 3 cabin changes we are in a large almost centre aft A1 cabin on 11th deck.

 

I am a Canadian who uses a large US internet TA very popular on CC.

Just emailed my booking # and current sale price.

They confirmed the price and discounted the booking by $200.00pp down side was they reduced our ship board credit by $25.00. So net gain $375.00.

 

We are doing the Nov 2nd Honolulu to Sydney leg as well but the ship seems to be almost fully booked so likely no discount.

I will continue to watch the price.

Good luck.

Regarding the issue of prior bookings not benefiting from "Tuesday Special" sales, it is true that you cannot have the price of your current cabin reduced when it goes on sale at a later date, but you certainly can upgrade to a more expensive cabin which is on sale by only paying the difference between the two prices. Doing that generates a positive cash flow for Celebrity and they just trade one empty cabin for another in the process.

 

Regarding the Millennium cruise on Nov. 2nd to Sydney, we are on the Solstice cruise a month ahead of you going into Sydney and it also was fully booked before payment deadlines. As of last evening (19 July), cabin availability has increased from 53 to 67 units, so people definitely are bailing out of their contracts and taking refunds. Watch for the same thing to happen on the Nov. 2nd cruise.

[baldercash]

As of last evening (19 July), cabin availability has increased from 53 to 67 units, so people definitely are bailing out of their contracts and taking refunds. Watch for the same thing to happen on the Nov. 2nd cruise.

 

67 cabins or 140 passengers light on a ship of 2,900 I assume is considered sold out and they will not drop prices?

If they do it will be after final payment?

We are watching and hoping to get an aft A1 on deck 11 so we may be able to swap cabins. Only 5 cabins up there and the 2 side not premium though bigger balconies then on the side.

We are on 11th deck but on the side near aft on Nov 2nd.

Not a cruise we intend to repeat so we want specific cabins.

 

Enjoy your cruise, we have done so many it is fun to have a cruise to be excited about once more!

[eyelovcrusin]

I'm curious as to where you can find out how many cabins on a ship are avaliable / unsold. I thought that wa s information that the cruiseline doesn't give out.

[djc4410]

I'm curious as to where you can find out how many cabins on a ship are avaliable / unsold. I thought that wa s information that the cruiseline doesn't give out.

They don't, but major cruise booking sites let you shop for cabins and suites on specific cruises and then will display deck maps which contain listings of cabins available for booking. All three major US airlines (American, Delta, and United) use similar cruise booking programs that let you do this so that you can select a specific cabin and then book it on-line. Just go to the airline's website and do a search for "cruises" and you can see what is open. In some cases you have to enter your name to get that far, but some only ask for a ZIP code before opening up the availability screens.

 

If you are a frequent flyer with a particular airline, using their cruise website often results in huge airline frequent flyer mileage bonuses being offered for cruise bookings. In some cases, the free miles will get you to or from the cruise port, especially if you use the airline's frequent flyer miles credit card (i.e. Chase Visa for United Mileage Plus, etc.) to buy the cruise.

[djc4410]

67 cabins or 140 passengers light on a ship of 2,900 I assume is considered sold out and they will not drop prices?

If they do it will be after final payment?

We are watching and hoping to get an aft A1 on deck 11 so we may be able to swap cabins. Only 5 cabins up there and the 2 side not premium though bigger balconies then on the side.

We are on 11th deck but on the side near aft on Nov 2nd.

Not a cruise we intend to repeat so we want specific cabins.

 

Enjoy your cruise, we have done so many it is fun to have a cruise to be excited about once more!

It's been our experience that price drops occur after final payments are due and the cruise lines count up all the cancelled cabins. I would say it should happen around the 60 day mark, possibly sooner, and perhaps once again at about 30 to 45 days out.

[Whitechapel girl]

What happens if you made yr final payment and there is a price drop - or is it then too late for any changes?

[justcrusn]

You cannot get the discounted price on your existing booking.

BUT - you can upgrade, if a better cabin, say concierge or aqua or a suite

Is available you can usually get that cabin at the sale price as long

as you are paying more. Even just a little bit more.

[djc4410]

You cannot get the discounted price on your existing booking.

BUT - you can upgrade, if a better cabin, say concierge or aqua or a suite

Is available you can usually get that cabin at the sale price as long

as you are paying more. Even just a little bit more.

A good example of that is the Celebrity Solstice cruise in October from Hawaii to Australia. We had noticed that the inventory of unsold units had jumped to 69 cabins and five suites as of 23 July. So late that night, Celebrity released special fares for seniors and military that were as much as 50% less than before. We called our travel agent the next morning (today) and got an upgrade from a lower deck outside cabin without veranda to an upper deck Concierge cabin for only $200 additional, including taxes. Plus, we received a $25 on-board account credit as a bonus. Bottom line - if the transaction results in a positive cash flow for the cruise line, there are deals to be had when cabins go on sale.

[Marbella Man]

Can someone please tell me how to find the cabin availability on any Celebrity cruise?

 

Many thanks John.

[djc4410]

Can someone please tell me how to find the cabin availability on any Celebrity cruise?

 

Many thanks John.

You can't do it at the Celebrity website as they only offer a sampling of cabins for sale in each category, at least it seems that way. To see actual inventory, go to a major cruise booking site and act like you want to book a cabin. First select the specific cruise you have in mind by sail date, ship name, etc. When you display the cruise you want to review, go to the next screen and enter your demographic data (age group, state of residence, etc.) and possibly your name, although some booking sites don't require your name at that point in the game. Next, you should see a listing of all cabin classes currently available on the cruise. If you click on a particular cabin category, you will be taken to a screen displaying a list of all such cabins by deck and cabin number. Simply make a list of cabins in each booking category and you'll have that cruise's open inventory. At that point, the program will ask you to select a specific cabin and then proceed through the booking process. You can exit the site without doing an actual booking. The cruise booking sites found at major airline websites all have this capability, as one example of where to look for this feature.

[Marbella Man]

Many thanks for your informative reply, I will check this one out.

 

Thanks John.

[ladylemondrop]

What happens if you made yr final payment and there is a price drop - or is it then too late for any changes?

 

I would like to know this too, if the price drops after final payment, can you maybe upgrade to a higher category of cabin?

[cb140]

We've just booked a cruise on Celebrity via a US travel agent. Can anyone enlighten me on how the price drop works and how we go about it once we see a drop.

 

Thanks.

 

That's funny, we're from the UK too and have just done exactly the same thing. Felt weird using a US travel agent but it was a free phone number from the UK and I thought, why not? And he said to us that we would benefit from any price drop there was, and when I asked how we would know, he said "you and I will monitor the prices" (which seems consistent with what other people have been saying on this thread). Our cruise isn't for AGES (August 2014) so is the best time to start checking prices in Spring next year? (I assume they wouldn't drop before then - final payment is early June).

[PORT ROYAL]

We've just booked a cruise on Celebrity via a US travel agent. Can anyone enlighten me on how the price drop works and how we go about it once we see a drop.

 

Thanks.

 

To monitor USA price drops

 

Tuesday/Friday Specials

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Multi_Dest/Special_Offers/rci_sales_event.pdf

Additional

To have the facility to compare all USA price websites including RCCL/Celebrity without being re-directed back to UK sales site use software called Tunnel Bear

[Tricks USA websites that your computer is in another country (USA etc.)]

https://www.tunnelbear.com/

Download – Switch on – Turn right dial to preferred Country (USA)

Most of UK CC members use "Tunnel Bear"

Happy hunting

[djc4410]

I would like to know this too, if the price drops after final payment, can you maybe upgrade to a higher category of cabin?

Yes, you can upgrade to a better cabin or suite by paying the difference between whatever you paid for your original accommodations and the new price of the cabin or suite you desire. You can't get a refund on your original purchase if you want to keep your cabin or if you want to upgrade to a higher category cabin which is now priced below what you paid in the beginning. That is one reason to initially purchase on the lower end of the price scale so you have some room between the old and new prices.