Does not pay to book celebrity early

[jagoffee]

Very possible the OP saw a Tuesday special price which is for new bookings only.

Or perhaps did not want to give up some extras that were not available with the new rate.

[Scubaqn]

In our case we booked early, got choice air for $529 per person and got an obstructed view balcony. Six weeks before sailing, price dropped $600 per person less than what we paid for a guaranty balcony and it was for an Aqua Class cabin.

 

 

I agree with the poster earlier that said by booking early you had an option to get x cabin. You chose the guarantee cabin vs. a specific room. After the prices dropped on x guarantee then you were no longer happy with the choice. But you still were registered for what you paid for. It's like trying to get a lower mortgage because the prices dropped in your neighborhood. Celebrity is a business. They need to entice their customers to buy at x point and the earlier the better.

[attilamom1217]

We booked our last Celebrity cruise 9 months prior, got the 123 Go promo AND the price increased $450/person after we booked and the price never came down.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

I am a nurse do you need mouth to mouth LOL

 

HeLLOOOOOOOO NURSE!:D:cool::eek:;)

[grandgeezer]

I booked the transatlantic, on the Silohutte, inside of final payment for $900 p.p., for a 1B balcony, with a $225 obc from my online travel agent. I got air, through Choice Air for about the same price it was just before Christmas. I'd be hard pressed to think I could have done better by booking early.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

My philosophy is this-- if the price is acceptable to you, book the cruise and get the cabin you want. Be prepared to pay that amount. If the price drops and is not part of a New Bookings Only (NBO) special, celebrate your good fortune. If the price rises, celebrate your good fortune at having locked in the lower price. If the price drops and it is part of a NBO special, celebrate someone else's good fortune and realize that the law of supply and demand just didn't work in your favor this time.

 

If the price drops after final payment and is not part of a NBO special, see if you are able to and want to switch to a better cabin for the same or lower price, or possibly pay a bit more. Otherwise, celebrate the fact that you can take a cruise at all when most of the world's population cannot afford to. And celebrate that you didn't have to pay higher last-minute airfare.

 

Personally, I'm just happy that cruise lines allow you to hold cabins with a deposit and will honor price drops at all. Try that with an airline. Maybe there are some special plans out there, but for the most part you pay the going rate at the time you book, and that's all there is to it.

[kissmeyoufool]

helloooooooo nurse!:d:cool::eek:;)

 

lol:)

[verodoodle]

When you book early, you usually pay top dollar but get your choice of one or two amenities. If you wait until 30 to 60 days before sailing and book, many times a couple will save several hundred dollars but will not get the amenity previously offered and will not get to choose their exact cabin but will at least get a guaranteed category. If you do book early and have paid for the cruise and price goes down, good luck in trying to get the lower price or at least an upgrade. In our case we booked early, got choice air for $529 per person and got an obstructed view balcony. Six weeks before sailing, price dropped $600 per person less than what we paid for a guaranty balcony and it was for an Aqua Class cabin. When I called Celebrity, they would not even upgrade us to a non-obstructed cabin for what we had previously paid and would not let us upgrade even if we paid more which I thought was totally unreasonable. Celebrity needs to change their policy on this in my opinion.

 

Not sure why they would not let you move up. Our upcoming cruise which was past final payment has been dropping. We upgrades to a suite for just a little more than we paid for our cc cabin and then we told my SIL who had the same cat. cabin, so they call and switched to a suite guarantee for the same price they booked the original at

[Cruise Raider]

When you book early, you usually pay top dollar but get your choice of one or two amenities. If you wait until 30 to 60 days before sailing and book, many times a couple will save several hundred dollars but will not get the amenity previously offered and will not get to choose their exact cabin but will at least get a guaranteed category. If you do book early and have paid for the cruise and price goes down, good luck in trying to get the lower price or at least an upgrade. In our case we booked early, got choice air for $529 per person and got an obstructed view balcony. Six weeks before sailing, price dropped $600 per person less than what we paid for a guaranty balcony and it was for an Aqua Class cabin. When I called Celebrity, they would not even upgrade us to a non-obstructed cabin for what we had previously paid and would not let us upgrade even if we paid more which I thought was totally unreasonable. Celebrity needs to change their policy on this in my opinion.

 

I always book early and sometimes hear of others that got a better deal than I did....and we all know, it is all about the deal.

Most of the time, though, when I book early, I have gotten my price drops or upgrades. In the times when I have not, I was certainly glad I locked in the price when it was low. After booking and getting others interested in the cruise I have booked, they haven't been as lucky and end up paying a bit more. Only a couple times out of many cruises have I been burned on this.

[Cruise Raider]

We just booked the Century Coastal cruise for early April & our TA got us in last minute into a Family Veranda that normally sells for $3800 cabin price & we paid $2000 ,a $1800 savings. Now that is really nice .We also got free trip ins & a $75 OBC . It doesn't get any better than that .:D:p:D

 

We are retired & thus can wait for price drops . We rather pay in full after final payment & we are flexible as to location of cabin ;as long as it is a clear balcony .We are also flexible for itineraries . Therefore we can & do get best pricing . ;)

 

Not meaning to hijack this thread but we just disembarked from this cruise a few days ago....you are going to have fun!!!! Glad you got a good deal.

[teecee60]

Every cruise is different, you cannot use one example to establish a personal booking policy.

 

That statement is the ultimate bottom line...but there ARE some people, who will STILL establish and follow their own personal booking policy, because it's what THEY want to do.

 

Not only is every cruise different, but every cabin category on every cruise is different. That is why there are times when an OV is less expensive than an inside, or a CC is less expensive than a 2C.

 

It all depends on supply and demand, and those factors are different for every cabin category, and they change constantly between "rollout" and "sail away."

 

I posted numbers and I don't believe anyone said you can't pick up last minute deals. I've done it myself on a last minute med cruise. What people are saying is there is no fast rule about booking early and paying more.

 

You are correct, I should have used the word "most" as opposed to "all."

 

And it still doesn't matter, because if someone WANTS to book on the day an itinerary is released they CAN.

 

Some itineraries are extremely limited as well as very popular, and those prices will more than likely rise. Other itineraries (short cruises in the Caribbean) are plentiful and those prices will quite often drop.

 

I've seen 4 nighters to the Bahamas, from Miami for as low as $98pp!

 

I can't even LOOK at the Galapagos cruises until I win the lottery!

[ISABELLA]

In the past 4-5 years, we book a year or more in advance and I have not seen my cruise/ cabin category price went down from what I paid for - only went up. Maybe we are sailing on popular cruises.;)

[Jetswdo]

I have studied the Summit pricing for Bermuda cruises in June-- I am planning on doing that cruise June of 2015----

The last few months since January, the pricing for an aqua 2 cabin has been between $1350-1550 pp- (base) I called up to find out what the prices show this far out for June 2015 sailing. I was told from Celebrity rep, it is right now Captains Club price, 1644 pp (base) not including 123 go or pick your perk- but does include $150 per cabin OBC. Rep also said that above offers MAY be included in the future provided it doesn't say "new bookings only" and if I cancelled under that provision, then the cabin I picked could be booked by someone else while the change to reservation is being made.

 

So lets see: factoring the obc, figure the price is $1494 for the priveledge of booking early, uncertainty regarding adding beverage package promotion---No,

I don't think so!

Now unless you insist on one specific cabin and are willing to pay that much more for it, I just don't see how it pays to do this. I am picky regarding cabin- but refuse to go if price is ridiculously inflated- I have listed 10 cabins that I will be ok in. So once the fare is within $1350-1550 range with the package included, then I will book, and not look back. That I can live with.

[wallie5446]

This is the ole double edge sword problem. I am trying to remember, we booked in Jan 2013 with the 123 for our Nov sailing, and I think they put the 123 back on for a short time later in the summer. It came back Jan/Feb 2014 so we booked for this Nov. Will it return again later this year? Only the sandman knows for sure:D

Hang in there, good luck.

Edited April 4, 2014 by wallie5446

[hamrag]

We need to book early to secure an accessible cabin and so far we have never lost out on price. We always book Eclipse from Southampton and a 2B grade cabin preferably on deck 7. Our last 2 cruises never dropped below the launch price for a 2B grade, and so far this years Sept. cruise is saving us several hundred pounds on current adverts.

But we pay in UK pounds and are probably paying more for the same cruise than you might in N America.

 

Are you aware that us brits can book via a USA TA, and often get it for less? We have done that, no problem in the slightest, if the saving works out at more than £50pp.

[Lastdance]

it is amazing if you look at European travel sites...for example, if it is in pounds and you convert it to dollars, the price is most often very different from on the Celebrity site...many times less! I thought I had found a great deal, only to find out that I was completely wrong!:eek:

[Cruising89143]

The competition for cruise customers is way too high to book early. Simplicity or Peace of Mind isn't worth paying retail.

 

Either load up on a sale full of perks or book at a great price inside the final payment period.

 

Those who are flexible will and do benefit the most. :D

 

So let's see. If I were waiting until after final payment for my upcoming cruise not only would I have paid much, much more for a stateroom but I would not have been able to get the category stateroom that I wanted. It sold out within six months of bookings opening. I would have also paid double the price in airfare. What works for you does not work for everyone else. One size does not fit all. People should book what works best for them. If booking late works for you then by all means do it.

Edited April 5, 2014 by cruisingator2

[Iamcruzin]

I have studied the Summit pricing for Bermuda cruises in June-- I am planning on doing that cruise June of 2015----

The last few months since January, the pricing for an aqua 2 cabin has been between $1350-1550 pp- (base) I called up to find out what the prices show this far out for June 2015 sailing. I was told from Celebrity rep, it is right now Captains Club price, 1644 pp (base) not including 123 go or pick your perk- but does include $150 per cabin OBC. Rep also said that above offers MAY be included in the future provided it doesn't say "new bookings only" and if I cancelled under that provision, then the cabin I picked could be booked by someone else while the change to reservation is being made.

 

So lets see: factoring the obc, figure the price is $1494 for the priveledge of booking early, uncertainty regarding adding beverage package promotion---No,

I don't think so!

Now unless you insist on one specific cabin and are willing to pay that much more for it, I just don't see how it pays to do this. I am picky regarding cabin- but refuse to go if price is ridiculously inflated- I have listed 10 cabins that I will be ok in. So once the fare is within $1350-1550 range with the package included, then I will book, and not look back. That I can live with.

 

I actually called Celebrity twice for May 2015 Bermuda sailings because after I got off the phone and recovered from sticker shock I thought to my self this must be the double occupancy price. Well it was the per person price. They try to make us feel special being a Captains Club member giving us the opportunity to book before the general public at inflated prices. I don't understand the business model. I would think that you would want to fill the ships when the itinerary opens by offering a lower price and increase the price as the sailing sells out. Instead they try to fleece the repeat passengers and then discount and offer promotions to passengers who book 9 to 6 months out. This may have worked in the past but with social media being what it is they can't get away with this approach anymore. Word spreads fast now. With all of the search engines out there the consumer can really monitor price. Their approach insults my intelligence. The rep was trying to get me to book, promising that I could always call to get the lower price if the price should drop. I told him flat out why should I give you my money 13 months in advance only to have to monitor price and promotions for the next year. I will wait until the price drops. By not booking helps to keep the demand down and the price will fall. I told him while I'm waiting I will be looking at other lines and if the price is right I will book with them. At this time I can book a suite on NCL for the price of a Veranda on Celebrity same week same itinerary. Granted there are some itineraries that are unique and you need to book early but Bermuda isn't one of them.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Iamcruzin

[rubydoobydoo]

Are you aware that us brits can book via a USA TA, and often get it for less? We have done that, no problem in the slightest, if the saving works out at more than £50pp.

 

Do we get the same protection though as we do when booking with a UK agent ?

 

I was told it can be done by getting around the system, but we have no protection if the US agent goes bust, do you also have to provide a US address ?

 

I have never booked with a US agent so I don't know if that is just said to put people off.

[cle-guy]

Do we get the same protection though as we do when booking with a UK agent ?

 

I was told it can be done by getting around the system, but we have no protection if the US agent goes bust, do you also have to provide a US address ?

 

I have never booked with a US agent so I don't know if that is just said to put people off.

 

The 'protections' are not so important int he US. Ib the US, TA's never actually take hold of the cruise fares, they are required to remit direct to the cruiser line, so there is very slim chance of anything going awry that would require the protections you in the UK require.

 

Also, most problems can be handled with the Credit card company if the vacation you paid for wasn't what t was supposed to be.

 

It's just one of the cultural and custom differences US to UK I think.

[coolmom]

The competition for cruise customers is way too high to book early. Simplicity or Peace of Mind isn't worth paying retail.

 

Either load up on a sale full of perks or book at a great price inside the final payment period.

 

Those who are flexible will and do benefit the most. :D

 

How nice for you, but some of us still in the workforce must request vacation time at least six months in advance.

 

As for who benefits the most, the price for last minute flights especially international ones will quickly wipeout any cruise savings. Same goes for hotel rooms. I may have paid 'retail' for my Baltic cruise (although I did receive a price cut thanks to my TA and the price hasn't changed) but having purchased my 'peace of mind' I concentrated on getting a good flight to Amsterdam and saved $1200.00 even with a first class upgrade on the outgoing flight. And by booking my room in Amsterdam so far in advance I saved another $800.00 using accrued points. Try booking a flight or hotel last minute with points, it's almost impossible these days!

 

Sorry for the long post but it was rather insulting to say it's not worth paying for 'simplicity' or 'peace of mind' which are priceless when you have a busy life.

[upwarduk]

I looked at booking Canada / New England for Sept /Oct 2014. I had missed the early booking for Captain's Club members, so decide to wait until after final payment date, hoping the very inflated prices would reduce. I checked recently and all cabins are sold, except insides, on the date that I wanted.:eek:

 

My Oct 2015 TA on Reflection has jumped 7.5% in the 2 weeks since I booked Captains Club early booking promotion.

So maybe it does pay to book early, but I will still be looking at price drops near final payment.

[Iamcruzin]

Living in the northeast. I have always looked for last minute deals for Canada/New England. They don't happen or if they do it's rare. Those need to be booked early. You have to remember that the Northeast has very few options for sailing out of a home port .The market isn't flooded like the Caribbean and Alaska so this itinerary books quickly. The only last minute deals I have seen lately are for the Caribbean, Alaska and Europe. The problem with Europe is the expensive airfare.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited April 5, 2014 by Iamcruzin

[Jetswdo]

While overall I like Celebrity's product once onboard the ship, their rewards for captains club are ridiculous in terms of pricing for early birds on many of their itineraries, I guess Bermuda being one of them. So now I will watch every day to see when the prices drop to within reason----We are planning to one day do the New England/Canada cruise as well--thanks for sharing that itinerary fills up fairly quickly---I'll start monitoring the prices for those cruises as well. The Bermuda cruises for this June during the 2 sailings that I would consider for next year still has plenty of cabins that could work for us available.

We were considering the NCL ship- but I don't like their smoking policy-- and would rather not be on a ship with slides and all the kids stuff at this point in our lives. We were also thinking about doing HAL's ship from Boston, but don't like that they arrive in Bermuda at 1:00 and leave at 1:00-- also their smoking policy is the same as NCL: allowed on balcony----

Booking a cruise shouldn't have to be this much work! Anita

[boogs]

Booking a cruise shouldn't have to be this much work! Anita

 

It's only "this much work" if you chose to make it so.

 

We book at a price we find acceptable, no matter when we book it. We've booked some cruises 18 months in advance, and some cruises after final payment date, so we have covered all approaches. For those early bookings, I subscribe to a price monitoring service that for only 99 cents per cruise will monitor all cabin categories I am interested in and if a price drop occurs before final payment, it sends me an email notifying me of the drop and I request and always get the drop, or upgrade to a better stateroom for little or no additional cost.

 

After final payment, I never again check prices. Why torture myself?

 

We've been on cruises where the prices have dropped 50% BEFORE final payment, and we benefit greatly from that small price monitoring investment. On some cruises, such as the one we currently have booked, prices have not gone down. They may have stayed stable. Or they may have actually gone up - but I just don't care if they have. I'm not being asked by the cruise lines to pay more when prices go up, so why should I even care.

 

I do my research and decide on a cruise. I book if I like the price. I sign up for price monitoring. If prices go down, I call and get an adjustment. Other than that, I focus on excursions, pre and post cruise stays, how to get to and from the ship, and what to wear.

 

It just isn't that much work at all!

Edited April 5, 2014 by boogs