Any tips and tricks for booking and deals?

[jeffdal]

Will be our first sailing and will have six cabins.

 

Do you usually book directly?

 

Any ideas for deals?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Iamcruzin]

Will be our first sailing and will have six cabins.

 

Do you usually book directly?

 

Any ideas for deals?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I book directly but that is because I like to control my booking and Celebrity won't speak to you if you book through a travel agent. Many here have been lucky to find travel agents who offer perks like on board credit (OBC) or sometimes pay gratuities. We usually book an ocean view cabin and I haven't seen any great offers from a TA at this level that would sway me to turn over control of my reservation. With that said I would call a few travel agents because you have a large booking and probably could find and agency that would give you a group rate and possibly perks.

 

Make sure you ask the agent if the deposit and payments gets paid directly to Celebrity. Some fly by night agents charge the deposit and or payments to the agency and if the agency should go belly up you will be out the money. Stay away from TA's that charge a fee for cancellations or changes to the reservation.

 

After you book keep an eye on the price as they often drop. If you book through Celebrity you can call them direct and get the adjustment as long as it's before final payment. If you book through a travel agent you will have to go through them to get the adjustment. Sometimes the promotion may change before you can contact your agent. Make sure your agent can be reached by email just in case you discover the price drop during non business hours.

[hawk/hornfan]

With this many cabins I would certainly explore options with both brick and mortar and online travel agencies. Get suggestions from friends, relatives, and coworkers. We are unable to name agencies but do a search and you will find many of them.

[happy 2 b cruising]

Will be our first sailing and will have six cabins.

 

Do you usually book directly?

 

Any ideas for deals?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

From your other thread you were talking about Christmas week 2015. If you book now and get a Concierge cabin or above you should qualify for the 123 All Inclusive Promotion, Free Classic Drink Package {includes alcohol}, includes Pre-Paid tips and OBC. This Promotion runs until January 4, 2015. We also travel with a large family group during the Holidays, please be aware if someone books a suite they will have a separate dining room as of April 2015 and won't be able to join you in the MDR for "fixed" dining. Cabins fill up fast during the Holidays, I would suggest you don't wait to long to book. You can book direct through Celebrity and transfer to a Travel Agent for additional OBC too. Celebrity is a excellent Brand!

[cruisestitch]

That's important advice about having all be able to eat together.

 

If one couple books Aqua and the others don't, there could be a problem, as the non Aqua guests can't dine in Blu (unless in a Suite, and then it's only on a space available basis), if one couple books a Suite and the others don't it won't be as big a problem as the people in the Suite should be able to eat in the MDR with the others, but if you all want to go to the Suite dining room, it will be pricey! So you are better off with no one in a Suite, and no one in Aqua if you want to eat dinner together.

[fleckle]

.......Make sure you ask the agent if the deposit and payments gets paid directly to Celebrity. Some fly by night agents charge the deposit and or payments to the agency and if the agency should go belly up you will be out the money. Stay away from TA's that charge a fee for cancellations or changes to the reservation.

If you pay with a major credit card, you will not be out one penny, even if the travel agency goes belly up.

 

But still your cruise may be canceled if the TA does not make the payment for you, or makes it incorrectly.

 

When you use a travel agent, you can no longer make payments yourself but must rely on the travel agent to make them for you.

 

Each time you have a TA make a payment for you, insist that the travel agent sends you Celebrity's guest copy of the invoice showing that Celebrity actually received and recorded the payment and that it was applied to the correct reservation.

 

Do not rely on the travel agency's own invoice, as they can put whatever they want on their own invoice and it is no proof that the money was ever received by Celebrity, or that it was applied to the proper reservation.

 

When you check your credit card statement, it should show that the money was paid to Celebrity, not to the travel agency, but even that is no proof that the payment has been applied correctly.

 

Even the most honest travel agent can make a mistake, just as we all make mistakes ourselves.

 

The big difference is that when we make the payment ourselves and make an error, we can look at our Celebrity account, see the error and know that we need to correct it.

 

When a travel agent makes a payment for us, it does not show up when we look at our Celebrity account, so we would be unaware that the mistake even occurred.

 

Unless we actually receive Celebrity's own invoice, we may naively take the TAs word that the payment was applied to our reservation correctly, when in fact it may not have been.

 

 

Edited December 28, 2014 by fleckle

[grandgeezer]

From your other thread you were talking about Christmas week 2015. If you book now and get a Concierge cabin or above you should qualify for the 123 All Inclusive Promotion, Free Classic Drink Package {includes alcohol}, includes Pre-Paid tips and OBC. This Promotion runs until January 4, 2015. We also travel with a large family group during the Holidays, please be aware if someone books a suite they will have a separate dining room as of April 2015 and won't be able to join you in the MDR for "fixed" dining. Cabins fill up fast during the Holidays, I would suggest you don't wait to long to book. You can book direct through Celebrity and transfer to a Travel Agent for additional OBC too. Celebrity is a excellent Brand!

 

Just so you know, the 123 inclusive is not free, you pay for it. Personally, I want to pay for only items I want, not what's forced on me. I'm waiting for this promotion to end so I can book some cruisers. I've done 17 cruises with Celebrity and except for two Med cruises, I've never paid more than $95 per person, per night, for a balcony. Check today's pricing and see how that compares.

[cruisehome]

there are many on line sites to choose from

 

there is also a site that will have different travel agents post their prices

 

check it on:

 

 

 

cruise compete . com

 

 

my daughter lives in southlake tx - how far are you from Southlake.....

 

beautiful area

[Nanatravel]

As others have mentioned, a good reputable TA can make a "group" for you if available for that week from Celebrity. A group is 8 cabins but you don't have to book all of them to get the negotiated lower rate. If 8 cabins are sold, then extra amenities may be available to each cabin but you won't loose the rate if all cabins are not sold under deposit.

 

As one mentioned, you should monitor rate changes and contact your agent if you feel the savings is warranted and your rate should be lowered. It can't hurt to ask. Rates at the holidays are always at their highest.