Shore Excursions - advertised price inflated by 20% Why?

[Team Alpha]

Hello All, hopefully someone can shed some light on this for me.

 

I'm looking to book a couple of shore excursions via the Celebrity website for our Celebrity Solstice Australia 'Top End' cruise next month. The problem is that the tour is quoted at one price in AUD (Australian dollars) but then when I add the passengers, the price per pax is inflated by 20% in AUD.

 

Here's an example, the Mount Tambourine & Gold Coast tour on 11/3/15 during our Brisbane port day says adults from $166.75AUD but when I add the pax details it jumps to $201AUD per pax.

 

It's not a currency exchange issue because they're both quoted in Australian Dollars. And whilst it says 'FROM' I can't find any reason it would be increase. I've also checked the additional terms and conditions and can find no explanation there.

 

I've followed the contact us details for Australia - the phone number is permanently busy; I've emailed info.au@rcclapac.com without a response yet.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks

 

Rob

[Beanb41]

Hello All, hopefully someone can shed some light on this for me.

 

I'm looking to book a couple of shore excursions via the Celebrity website for our Celebrity Solstice Australia 'Top End' cruise next month. The problem is that the tour is quoted at one price in AUD (Australian dollars) but then when I add the passengers, the price per pax is inflated by 20% in AUD.

 

Here's an example, the Mount Tambourine & Gold Coast tour on 11/3/15 during our Brisbane port day says adults from $166.75AUD but when I add the pax details it jumps to $201AUD per pax.

 

It's not a currency exchange issue because they're both quoted in Australian Dollars. And whilst it says 'FROM' I can't find any reason it would be increase. I've also checked the additional terms and conditions and can find no explanation there.

 

I've followed the contact us details for Australia - the phone number is permanently busy; I've emailed info.au@rcclapac.com without a response yet.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks

 

Rob

 

send an email to : contactmichael@celebrity.com

 

It goes directly into the CEO's office and a reply is normally made within 24 hours. Be sure to include your Cruise number as you may just get a phone call. I did when I had an issue

[Vikstar]

The "from" price would be the Children's price

[RickT]

The "from" price would be the Children's price

 

Nope, most shore excursions list a separate price for children which is lower than the adult fare.

 

I had the exact same thing happen with an excursion I am looking at. The Adult price was listed as $87 Cdn (child price $54) and when you try to buy it the price jumps to $102. What is odd is that I was actually able to reach Celebrity who said "Sorry, $102 is the price" but couldn't explain why it went up and was higher than the $87 listed on the website. What is even worse is that the price in US $ is $79 and that is the price if you try to buy it. Guess I'll wait until I get onboard and pay $79 US.

 

I'm guessing this all has to do with the currency fluctuations (and more importantly the rising US $) and that in typical Celebrity website fashion isn't being handled well.

 

In my case, the different between the two published rates is 10% which is a "nice" exchange rate (currently the Cdn $ is 20% below the US $) while the actual rate they are trying to charge is $23% below the US $ (which is worse than the current exchange rate).

 

To the OP, please post what you find, and good luck.

Edited January 30, 2015 by RickT

[jveevers]

The "from" price would be the Children's price

 

 

No.... I just dummy booked one on our Sept cruise, "from $128.25 adult"

When I get to the payment page it says $154.50

Tried same with couple of others, all increase by at least 20% when coming to the payment stage.

I think its just another celebrity website nasty. The $128.25 is probably the USD cost (although it does say AUD) which when converting to the AUD would be around $154.50.

I would say that currency conversion rates have recently been changed and it is all now wrong. They will get around to fixing sooooooonnnnnnnnnnnn

 

RickT as above has the same result in CAD

Me, well I bought some OBC today at that insane exchange rate of AU25 = USD 25, so when I come to book onboard using my USD OBC I will get a great deal

Edited January 30, 2015 by jveevers

[monicajay]

I had the same problem in CAD when I tried to book Normandie Restaurant. US $ price is 45. On web-site in Canada it says "from: $49 CAD" (which would be a very good rate of exchange but when I went to book it increased to $57.50 CAD (which is a terrible rate of exchange).

 

It can't be a child rate thing as no children are allowed in the restaurant.

 

I decided to wait till I board.

[shylock50]

I had the same problem when purchasing excursions in pounds sterling, so rang the UK head office to be told that all excursions are purchased in US dollars and the difference from the advertised price to the price at checkout is if the exchange rate alters.

[Team Alpha]

It has nothing to do do with the children's prices as an early response suggested. I eventually got through to RCCL 1800 Australian phone number (Interestingly it was answered in Guatemala) and the initial response was 'it says from with an asterix so the inflated price is correct'. I told the youn lady you can't advertise a price & then that price not be available. In Australia there are laws against false& misleading and deceptive conduct. I asked to speak to a supervisor & after many minutes was put through. Initially he tried to fob it off as gratuities but I persisted. Eventually he said I wasn't the first reporting this error and he needed evidence to escalate. So he gave me his email & asked for screen shots. I have sent the email the email with what he asked for. I'll wait 48 hours then email Michael Bayley as per the first response.

[Sheik]

send an email to : contactmichael@celebrity.com

 

It goes directly into the CEO's office and a reply is normally made within 24 hours. Be sure to include your Cruise number as you may just get a phone call. I did when I had an issue

 

Or simply contact customer service....:rolleyes:

[I_r_a]

...

Edited January 30, 2015 by I_r_a

[ghstudio]

Personally, I would just buy two individual meals at the restaurant and not worry about the 2 person price being higher. You can book them one at a time, indicating who the reservation is for. Don't even worry if the times are different...you can easily work that out on the ship

 

This will be far easier than trying to find anyone in Celebrity who will even recognize that the web pages are wrong....

Edited January 30, 2015 by ghstudio

[ghstudio]

Personally, I would just buy two individual meals at the restaurant and not worry about the 2 person price being higher. You can book them one at a time, indicating who the reservation is for. Don't even worry if the times are different...you can easily work that out on the ship

 

This will be far easier than trying to find anyone in Celebrity who will even recognize that the web pages are wrong....

 

Whoops...too many threads on meals....but the idea is the same with excursions...just buy two individual tickets.

[jveevers]

Whoops...too many threads on meals....but the idea is the same with excursions...just buy two individual tickets.

 

It is not an issue of price changes when buying multiple excursions. Same thing happens when just buying 1.

 

BTW TeamAlpha Michael Bayley is no longer CEO so the "contactmichael" email address may not be relevant.

Edited January 31, 2015 by jveevers

[jveevers]

Hello All, hopefully someone can shed some light on this for me.

 

I'm looking to book a couple of shore excursions via the Celebrity website for our Celebrity Solstice Australia 'Top End' cruise next month. The problem is that the tour is quoted at one price in AUD (Australian dollars) but then when I add the passengers, the price per pax is inflated by 20% in AUD.

 

Here's an example, the Mount Tambourine & Gold Coast tour on 11/3/15 during our Brisbane port day says adults from $166.75AUD but when I add the pax details it jumps to $201AUD per pax.

 

It's not a currency exchange issue because they're both quoted in Australian Dollars. And whilst it says 'FROM' I can't find any reason it would be increase. I've also checked the additional terms and conditions and can find no explanation there.

 

I've followed the contact us details for Australia - the phone number is permanently busy; I've emailed info.au@rcclapac.com without a response yet.

 

Any ideas?

 

Thanks

 

Rob

 

 

 

It all seems to be fixed now, at least for the excursions on my next cruise.

[Safety Squirrel]

Nope, most shore excursions list a separate price for children which is lower than the adult fare.

 

I had the exact same thing happen with an excursion I am looking at. The Adult price was listed as $87 Cdn (child price $54) and when you try to buy it the price jumps to $102. What is odd is that I was actually able to reach Celebrity who said "Sorry, $102 is the price" but couldn't explain why it went up and was higher than the $87 listed on the website. What is even worse is that the price in US $ is $79 and that is the price if you try to buy it. Guess I'll wait until I get onboard and pay $79 US.

 

I'm guessing this all has to do with the currency fluctuations (and more importantly the rising US $) and that in typical Celebrity website fashion isn't being handled well.

 

In my case, the different between the two published rates is 10% which is a "nice" exchange rate (currently the Cdn $ is 20% below the US $) while the actual rate they are trying to charge is $23% below the US $ (which is worse than the current exchange rate).

 

To the OP, please post what you find, and good luck.

 

 

With the excursions when you start to book - it says prices starting at $... I booked excursions 14 days ago when the Canadian dollar was low but not as low as it is today and the prices were actually as quoted. I am travelling with someone and I sent them the printouts. When they went to book by telephone, they did not get the price that I had shown and customer rep said that was the price. So .... long story short -- after visiting TA for final payment -- came home to book their excursions. Again it said 'prices from'. When we actually booked - prices were higher but the same as the Celebrity rep had quoted. The Canadian dollar has now dropped below the $.80 mark and my guess is that Celebrity is watching the market and adjusting prices accordingly. My friends, unfortunately 'snoozed' and did not book when I did and as a result are paying more. They could wait until onboard and the Canadian dollar could fall even more. One of the excursions that they wanted to go on and I had booked - was already sold out.

 

I do not know about the Australian rate of exchange, but certainly Celebrity is adjusting to the strength of the US dollar compared to the Canadian dollar.

[Beanb41]

It is not an issue of price changes when buying multiple excursions. Same thing happens when just buying 1.

 

BTW TeamAlpha Michael Bayley is no longer CEO so the "contactmichael" email address may not be relevant.

 

I am advised that the email address is still current

[Team Alpha]

Well guess what...I go on the Celebrity site and the tour I want to book now says from $240. So since my query they've adjusted the advertised price to match the actual price that they are charging. And it looks like all the shore excursions for our cruise have gone up.

 

Really poor form RCCL & Celebrity.

 

I'm feeling a little ripped off and dissatisfied at present. There's no response yet from the guy at RCCL I emailed. Luckily I've got the screen shots. He assured me he would resolve it and get back to me.

 

I really am annoyed about this and will be seeking a satisfactory outcome. To be continued.

 

I hope the Celebrity rep reads this.

[jveevers]

Well guess what...I go on the Celebrity site and the tour I want to book now says from $240. So since my query they've adjusted the advertised price to match the actual price that they are charging. And it looks like all the shore excursions for our cruise have gone up.

 

Really poor form RCCL & Celebrity.

 

I'm feeling a little ripped off and dissatisfied at present. There's no response yet from the guy at RCCL I emailed. Luckily I've got the screen shots. He assured me he would resolve it and get back to me.

 

I really am annoyed about this and will be seeking a satisfactory outcome. To be continued.

 

I hope the Celebrity rep reads this.

 

I think all this coincides with Celebrity adjusting everything for exchange rates. Dont know about other currencies but the AUD has crashed against the USD and Celebrity could not keep prices at old rates. Good luck getting a satisfactory outcome, good luck getting any responce at all from Celebrity, they either play dumb or bs to you.

[Team Alpha]

I think all this coincides with Celebrity adjusting everything for exchange rates. Dont know about other currencies but the AUD has crashed against the USD and Celebrity could not keep prices at old rates. Good luck getting a satisfactory outcome, good luck getting any responce at all from Celebrity, they either play dumb or bs to you.

 

Thanks for your comments Jeevers. Yes the AUD has dropped against the USD but adjusting the shore excursion price for Aussie pax doesn't stack up in this instance because the cruise is around Australia calling at all Australian ports (with the exception of Bali). So what they're doing is charging the pax more to pay for the excursion but then their buying power of the USD has increased when they pay the tour operator I.e. They pay less in USD to the tour provider. So they win on both the sale and the purchase (which they on sell) of the shore excursions.

 

IMHO that's unfair.

[LuckiePuris]

All prices for Australian cruises (maybe other countries too, but just speaking about the Aussie ones) have increased the last few days. Shore excursions, specialty dining, beverage gratuities etc

[Team Alpha]

Well I have an outcome to report - perhaps a coincidence bit I think not.

 

This issue arose about 6 weeks before our departure date. As mentioned in earlier post, I had contacted customer service in Guaremala and had a supervisors email address. So every Friday before we left I emailed him direct saying that I was still seeking a resolution. I never once got a response so was a bit disgruntled but was not going to let it spoil our much anticipated cruise.

 

To my surprise when we boarded I checked our account on our stateroom TV and we had an extra $200 OBC. I asked guest relations where or who had the credit had come from and rpt hey couldn't tell me other than a booking credit (which I knew it wasn't). Our travelling companions with whom we booked did not have the credit.

 

Whilst I don't have any communication in reponse to my query, I can only assume it's a credit from Celebrity to satisfy my query.

 

So it's the old story, the squeaky wheel that gets attention.

 

So thank you Celebrity!