cruisecriticmember Posted December 20, 2014 #1 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Was notified of a 66% price drop on a cruise I had already booked. Turns out the cost, in three different cabin categories, is higher than I paid with fewer perks. Is this a gimmick wherein the cruise line jacked up prices for a short time so they could then sell this "bargain" or am I missing somethig?;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jelayne Posted December 20, 2014 #2 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Where did this notification of a price drop come from; Celebrity, a TA or a price monitoring site? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruisecriticmember Posted December 20, 2014 Author #3 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Where did this notification of a price drop come from; Celebrity, a TA or a price monitoring site? Cruise critic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare ghstudio Posted December 20, 2014 #4 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Was notified of a 66% price drop on a cruise I had already booked. Turns out the cost, in three different cabin categories, is higher than I paid with fewer perks. Is this a gimmick wherein the cruise line jacked up prices for a short time so they could then sell this "bargain" or am I missing somethig?;) Not sure if you should call it a scam....but if you watch the fares and offers, be they from a TA or celebrity, you'll often find that one offer is $1500 with $100 OBC and the next week, it's $1600 with a $200 OBC. Do cruise lines mark things up so they can give you perceived freebees (e.g 1-2-3)...yup, sometimes. You'll also find that celebrity guarantees the lowest rate on some fares...but then you check the fare on celebrity's own web site and it's $200 less than you paid. You call to get your fare adjusted and find that celebrity is selling a "travel agency only" fare. Yup....happened to me....celebrity wouldn't match the fare they showed on their own web site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jveevers Posted December 20, 2014 #5 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Very confusing these "price drops". When they say 66% off or whatever % off , I think they are refering to what the price is now compared to the "brochure price" from a Cruise Line brochure printed maybe 12 months ago which is the starting price and usually high. I am continually getting emails from TA's saying 50% off, 40% off etc etc. That doesnt mean that fares have reduced by that percentage over-night. The best thing to do if you are thinking of booking a cruise is moniter prices yourself so that you have a reference point when you see these "offers" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamcruzin Posted December 20, 2014 #6 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I think the Online TAs run the biggest scams. They always seem to list a brochure price that never existed as the original price and compare it to the current cruise line price. I watch prices like a hawk and I have never seen the brochure prices that they list. Someone who doesn't know better would think they were getting a good deal. The other scam I hate is when they jack up the price of an inside and ocean view higher than the price of a veranda and then advertise "Get a Veranda for the Price of an ocean view". They do this with all the categories depending on inventory. Again a newbie would think this is great deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tangerinebunny Posted December 20, 2014 #7 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I've come to think of it as an attention getting ploy that I ignore. The $5/5 alerts site seems to do a far more reliable job. (Can't name them, but it's easy enough to find.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CantanaLobo Posted December 20, 2014 #8 Share Posted December 20, 2014 Is this a gimmick wherein the cruise line jacked up prices for a short time so they could then sell this "bargain" or am I missing somethig?;) Not missing a thing. There there's the perennial two-for-one "sale" gimmick on Oceania... The $5/5 alerts site seems to do a far more reliable job. (Can't name them, but it's easy enough to find.) One thing that site doesn't do is alert if they add a promotion without changing the price. Just use the alert as a signal to go check. I still periodically look at the cruise line site to see what they're currently offering for any cruise we have booked. Alerts are just one tool in the arsenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oxo Posted December 20, 2014 #9 Share Posted December 20, 2014 I think the Online TAs run the biggest scams. They always seem to list a brochure price that never existed as the original price and compare it to the current cruise line price. I watch prices like a hawk and I have never seen the brochure prices that they list. Someone who doesn't know better would think they were getting a good deal. The other scam I hate is when they jack up the price of an inside and ocean view higher than the price of a veranda and then advertise "Get a Veranda for the Price of an ocean view". They do this with all the categories depending on inventory. Again a newbie would think this is great deal. I have seen the opposite. Go to Celebrity's site and get a price. Then go to the TA and get a much cheaper price. I just did it this week. Same cruise, same Category cabin, same date, and yes, 123 Pick. I saved a little over $1,000 for two. Plus got a very good OBC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iamcruzin Posted December 21, 2014 #10 Share Posted December 21, 2014 (edited) I have seen the opposite. Go to Celebrity's site and get a price. Then go to the TA and get a much cheaper price. I just did it this week. Same cruise, same Category cabin, same date, and yes, 123 Pick. I saved a little over $1,000 for two. Plus got a very good OBC. On one of the sites that I'm referring to, which is advertised a lot on CC is listing an inside stateroom on a 7day Bermuda cruise at brochure price of $1498. Their price is $649 which is advertised at a 57% savings. I don't know what brochure they are referring to but I have yet to see and inside stateroom advertised on the Celebrity website or brochure for this itinerary at that outrageous price. Maybe they are quoting a price from a 1980's brochure.:rolleyes: By the way Celebrity is selling the inside stateroom for this sailing for $649 as well. So the 57% saving is fictional. There are TA's out there that will give you a legitimate discount or OBC but this agency is clearly false advertising. Edited December 21, 2014 by Iamcruzin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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