123 plus promo then price drop?

[b_cruise]

if I book a Europe cruise now, get two of the three promo choices, then the price drops, will I lose the promos to get new price?

[hancock]

Yes, if the 123 promo is not offered with the new price.

[b_cruise]

So would there be any advantage to booking now as the price almost always goes down especially Eurooe?

[Cruise Junky]

So would there be any advantage to booking now as the price almost always goes down especially Eurooe?

 

Depends how much you value the perks. We have $200 obc, gratuities and drinks for a 13 day cruise. We both drink so would probably be spending $75 a day on drinks so I would have to see a price drop of about $700 per person to outweigh what I have. I figure I can decide if and when the price does go down what's the better outcome for us but right now I have the cabin I want and are pretty darn happy with the price and it's inclusions.

[mickeysgal]

if I book a Europe cruise now, get two of the three promo choices, then the price drops, will I lose the promos to get new price?

 

Depends - on how that "price drop" is structured. I had a real, rack-rate, type price drop on my recently booked cruise and I was able to get the new rate and keep my perks. Then later, Celebrity ran a special generic discount promotion off current prices. Because it was offered as a discounted/'special offer' off current prices, and not a true price drop/reduction on it's regular, current rates, I was not able to take advantage of it and also keep my perks.

 

It's very confusing. Spreadsheets become your friend to figure out what combination works best in order to compare apples to apples. What may look like a good idea to cancel/rebook may end up costing you the same if not more in the long run once you take in all the factors.

Edited June 8, 2014 by mickeysgal

[b_cruise]

Depends - on how that "price drop" is structured. I had a real, rack-rate, type price drop on my recently booked cruise and I was able to get the new rate and keep my perks. Then later, Celebrity ran a special generic discount promotion off current prices. Because it was offered as a discounted/'special offer' off current prices, and not a true price drop/reduction on it's regular, current rates, I was not able to take advantage of it and also keep my perks.

 

It's very confusing. Spreadsheets become your friend to figure out what combination works best in order to compare apples to apples. What may look like a good idea to cancel/rebook may end up costing you the same if not more in the long run once you take in all the factors.

 

In order to keep some of these extras did u book through celebrity direct? I'm considering online TA but not sure if I may run into issues.

[BILLP1]

My on line travel agent has called us on each of out last two Celebrity cruises with a price drop one of which was $ 900 and we kept our perks both the drink package and on board credit.

I still can't figure the advantage of booking with the cruise line. My agent wants our business as well as our future business and works hard to keep it. Dealing with the cruise line agents is like going to the DMV.

[kathynorth]

So would there be any advantage to booking now as the price almost always goes down especially Eurooe?

 

People have reported that they were able to take advantage of price drops while the 1,2,3 was still active and were able to keep everything and get the price drop. If you want to take a price drop you usually can only keep the perks that are in play at the time of rebooking. The 1,2,3 is a Celebrity perk, not a TA perk. You'd have to check the TA policy about what happens to perks if you rebook to take advantage of a price drop. For example, one of the TAs we use gives us OBC equal to 5% of the base cruise price. If we take a price drop then our OBC also goes down a bit. It can be a bit complicated keeping track of all these rules, but can also be well time well spent if you luck out with a big drop.

Edited June 8, 2014 by kathynorth

[joandian]

You can take the price drop providing another promotion isn't involved. If for instance the price drop is due to a state or age discount, they aren't combinable with the 123 package.

 

If it's a general price drop, you can take the drop and keep your drinks.

[TMLAalum]

As long as the price drop isn't a senior, military, "special offer" or resident rate, the perks should travel with the reduced price. They have for us in the past. However, when there was a senior rate special on our most recent cruise, and I was looking to pay more to "upgrade" to CC from our OV, the prepaid gratuities we had would have been forfeited. We did the math and decided not to make a move- great decision because we loved our M-class cabin 7003!

 

It never hurts to make a call to your booking agent- either Celebrity or your Travel Agent- if there is a price reduction that you even think might apply to you and allow you to keep your original perks. As the old adage goes "Nothing ventured, nothing gained!"

[mickeysgal]

In order to keep some of these extras did u book through celebrity direct? I'm considering online TA but not sure if I may run into issues.

 

I originally had a booking with Celebrity, but they too couldn't adjust my price and keep my perks because the price drop that I saw was actually a resident rate, and another time it was a special offer off the regular current price.

 

I did switch and booked with a TA - the perks were too good to pass up - and the biggest drawback I had with my TA other than loss of control of the reservation (which is huge to some people) is that to take advantage of any price drop, it was considered in their eyes, a cancellation and a rebook. And that meant cancellation charges applied per person and possible loss of perks that they were giving at the time I originally booked. I could rebook it, as long as I absorbed the cancellation charges and their new OBC was whatever deal they were running at that new point in time. Go into this with eyes wide open and look at the real potential costs of booking via a TA. All these costs had to be taken into account when deciding whether or not to try to take advantage of the price drop. We had (still have) a speadsheet that will show us the reality of the entire cost of the cruise. It's easy to get swept up in a $200 price drop (for example), but if that means you have TA cancellation charges and possible lost or adjusted perks, like OBC...well, that could mean you end up paying more overall in the end. Now, that said, we were able to switch from a 1A to a A1 category without cancellation charges because the regular everyday rack rate price of that A1 had dropped to what I paid for the 1A.

 

It gets very complicated, with the "Can I..." questions, but like others have said, it never hurts to ask. And if you find you have a dismissive rep on the phone. Hang up and try again.