New 123 changes next week

[MicCanberra]

Not sure what the point of your reply accenting that bonus points are not offered then, when that's the same both here and there.

 

There was a PDF also referred to that had bonus points (from an earlier promo). There were no bonus points with the current offer.

[aussiecruzer]

Hi guys, don't know if you can help my questions however here goes.

 

My wife and I are from Australia and wishing to do our first Celebrity Cruise either 2016 or 2017. We are thinking of either the 14 night Celebrity Eclipse, southern Caribbean or a Mediterrean cruise. If we go to the Caribbean we would most probably go in February/March, and if we go to the Med it would be late May or early September.

My questions are.

Would we be eligible for the 123 promo as set out above if we book by the 28th February as described below, or is this promo just for American cruisers.

Second question is if we decide to do one of the cruises early than stated on this 123 promo, when is the cutoff time when you can cancel and rebook without penalty.

Thanking you so much for any info.

 

 

 

Cheers Bob & Christine

 

Bob and Christine, we are also from Australia and have just booked a concierge cabin for a Caribbean cruise in 2016 getting all 3 perks, so this promo is definitely available to Australians and it expires on 28th Feb. We booked through a travel agent who advise that our $400 per person deposit was fully refundable up to 150 days prior to the cruise. Hope this helps.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I booked a Concierge class room on Millennium this past week for Alaska in June 2016. The pre-paid gratuities and $300 OBC are great - don't care about the beverage package as much but I will use it a little (probably not to the tune of $343 per person though). We also got a regular beverage package for our daughter as part of the deal which I know she will use.

 

However, if find a rate that is below $500 what I paid, then I will definitely rebook even if I lose the 123 promo because I will likely come out ahead. It will be interesting to see if that happens or not.

 

I'm sticking with my Concierge class, which I wouldn't have otherwise splurged on. If I deduct each of the 123 promo, only counting the beverage package as $15 a day (what it's worth to me), then I'm still well below what a regular Veranda will likely cost after gutting the sale.

[4774Papa]

The X and NCL are very different products, where one is a premium line and the other a budget line. Do you want Apple Bee's type food with lots of entertainment, or a 4 star dinner on a more tranquil atmosphere ship? The answer can very.

 

You'll see in Anchorage, different hotel chains, restaurant chains, and cafe's. The Courtyard Marriott is going for $170, but the Embassy Suites is charging $240. The cruise lines are no different, you get what you pay for.

Celebrity and NCL are different. We do prefer Celebrity.

However, there are many similarities. Entertainment on NCL is a little better than on X, but not by a lot.

MDR food is better on X and service is more consistently good, but the NCL specialty restaurants are excellent priced at an affordable upcharge, unlike the X specialty restaurant(s).

NCL does more to draw young people and we have seen a younger age average on NCL than X, but NCL is not a bad as Carnival.

The differences are not so great that I would put them in a separate class of premium or budget.

[AlbertaCruisers]

What would be nice would be nice would be the option of a price for an outside cabin and above without the 123 offer built in, for a few people like us who do not drink that much I'm pretty sure we would save money. Our drinks bill for the two of us on a two week cruise is never more than £500 and that's picking any drink we want. The mark up on the cabins plus the premium package upgrade cost is way more than that.

 

They do sometimes. A couple of weeks ago a lot of cruises through 2015 were on an exciting deals promo, I called and you could change over (as long as you were before final payment) and get the price reduction but would lose the 123 Go deal. The price reduction for our cruises on the Summit in Nov 2015 was $100 per person for a week. For us (I know others may be different), between bottled water, specialty coffee, real drinks, and the ease of not having to have to sign for anything or having a bar bill at the end, the discount would have to be a lot more than $100 per person to make me change.

[yorky]

They do sometimes. A couple of weeks ago a lot of cruises through 2015 were on an exciting deals promo, I called and you could change over (as long as you were before final payment) and get the price reduction but would lose the 123 Go deal. The price reduction for our cruises on the Summit in Nov 2015 was $100 per person for a week. For us (I know others may be different), between bottled water, specialty coffee, real drinks, and the ease of not having to have to sign for anything or having a bar bill at the end, the discount would have to be a lot more than $100 per person to make me change.

 

It would need to be more than that for us too. I just feel that paying nearly £1000 more just to move over the corridor for a room with a porthole because it includes a "free"drinks package is slightly unfair on those that are not decent drinkers. But it obviously works for the majority and Celebrity themselves so I would not expect anything to change.

[DancerOT]

I feel that by doing away with 123Go on Oceanview cabins, they aren't enhancing the brand or the perks. X has been intimating that they are trying to get more people in the 30's to try their product, but by pricing those of us in this category out of the perks, it isn't going to happen. They need to remember that it is cheaper to hold onto a current patron than to keep finding new ones. The perks on an oceanview was one reason I have been able to begin convincing some of my friends to try X. We are now just trying to figure out the best week/cruise. By changing the requirements (and without changing the current pricing which is high), we will probably be looking elsewhere again.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Celebrity and NCL are different. We do prefer Celebrity.

However, there are many similarities. Entertainment on NCL is a little better than on X, but not by a lot.

MDR food is better on X and service is more consistently good, but the NCL specialty restaurants are excellent priced at an affordable upcharge, unlike the X specialty restaurant(s).

NCL does more to draw young people and we have seen a younger age average on NCL than X, but NCL is not a bad as Carnival.

The differences are not so great that I would put them in a separate class of premium or budget.

 

Carnival and Norwegian are considered a Budget Line, Crystal and Regent Seven Seas are Luxury Lines, where the X, PCL, RCL, HAL and Disney are in the middle as Premium Lines. How much you enjoy them, where the value is, and the significance of the differences doesn't change the class of the lines.

 

Would you go to a Hampton Inn, and ask why they aren't matching the price of the Days Inn? "I want the Hampton Inn because I like it better, but at the Days Inn price because I don't see much of a difference between you two."

 

Then there's the food. If you have to eat more specialty dining on NCL because you don't like the MDR food as much, NCL just became more expensive on the back end.

[4774Papa]

Carnival and Norwegian are considered a Budget Line, Crystal and Regent Seven Seas are Luxury Lines, where the X, PCL, RCL, HAL and Disney are in the middle as Premium Lines. How much you enjoy them, where the value is, and the significance of the differences doesn't change the class of the lines.

 

Would you go to a Hampton Inn, and ask why they aren't matching the price of the Days Inn? "I want the Hampton Inn because I like it better, but at the Days Inn price because I don't see much of a difference between you two."

 

Then there's the food. If you have to eat more specialty dining on NCL because you don't like the MDR food as much, NCL just became more expensive on the back end.

I suppose we can beat this horse to death.

I am aware that some in the travel industry have characterized cruise lines in to categories. I generally concur with those characterizations, but would argue that my evaluations were based on seven X and five NCL cruies, trying to be as objective as possible.

 

The boundary between so called budget cruise lines and premium is not a Great Wall, there is gray.

 

There are many similarities between all the cruise lines. The differences tend to be subtle. As someone that almost books a balcony, or veranda on X, we have found the amenities to be very similar. NCL provides a free coffee maker with coffee in such cabins, X does not. X provides a free tote bag as well as the use of umbrellas, NCL does not. There are other minor differences regarding what is available on the ships, depending on the class of the ship, but the benefits are largely the same.

 

Those benefits are meal in either the buffet, MDR or a upcharged specialty restaurant.

Fitness Centers that from my experience are similar in amenities.

X's M class ships have the wonder T pools, which NCL does not have.

 

All offer generally overpriced excursions, while X's prices are generally cheaper than NCL.

 

NCL's specialty restaurants (generally six) have upcharges from $10 to $30, while X's upcharge restaurlant(s) (sometimes only one) is generally very expensive at $45 pp. Food quality is generally better in the MDR on X as is service.

 

I generally give X a five on my cc cruise evaluations for food and generally a four to NCL.

 

Entertainment is similar, but I generally five NCL a 5 and Celebrity a 4.5.

 

True, the intangibles are of value and this is where X adds value to the experience.

 

Your comparison to hotel chains is interesting. I have stayed in Marriott hotels that are clearly better than a Hilton.

Also, I have stayed in Holiday Inns that beat some of the Hiltons or Marriotts that I have stayed in.

That is a good reason to use tripadvisor or a like service.

[MicCanberra]

I have done 6 X cruises and only 1 NCL, (also Princess and RCI) but I have done P&O (Australia) which is considered to be a 3 star cruise line. I agree with 4774Papa, as the differences between cruise lines tend to be more subtle and is not a 'great wall'. That said, I have found the ship's themselves and crew's attitude and service tend to be the biggest differences even with in the same cruise line.

[Guinness1000]

Haven't read all the comments, just wanted to say that I'm super stoked to have booked our New Years cruise on Celebrity Summit today. Between the cruiseline 123 promo and ************, we got a really really great deal. Well, at least we think so. :)

[MicCanberra]

Well done. :D

Be careful what you post, or a notification may come your way.

[Guinness1000]

Oh, I'm pretty new here. Didn't know I did anything wrong. Wasn't trying to promote anyone. I was just really excited. :)

[Iamthesea]

Congratulations! :)

Edited February 27, 2015 by Iamthesea

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I suppose we can beat this horse to death.

I am aware that some in the travel industry have characterized cruise lines in to categories. I generally concur with those characterizations, but would argue that my evaluations were based on seven X and five NCL cruies, trying to be as objective as possible.

 

The boundary between so called budget cruise lines and premium is not a Great Wall, there is gray.

 

There are many similarities between all the cruise lines. The differences tend to be subtle. As someone that almost books a balcony, or veranda on X, we have found the amenities to be very similar. NCL provides a free coffee maker with coffee in such cabins, X does not. X provides a free tote bag as well as the use of umbrellas, NCL does not. There are other minor differences regarding what is available on the ships, depending on the class of the ship, but the benefits are largely the same.

 

Those benefits are meal in either the buffet, MDR or a upcharged specialty restaurant.

Fitness Centers that from my experience are similar in amenities.

X's M class ships have the wonder T pools, which NCL does not have.

 

All offer generally overpriced excursions, while X's prices are generally cheaper than NCL.

 

NCL's specialty restaurants (generally six) have upcharges from $10 to $30, while X's upcharge restaurlant(s) (sometimes only one) is generally very expensive at $45 pp. Food quality is generally better in the MDR on X as is service.

 

I generally give X a five on my cc cruise evaluations for food and generally a four to NCL.

 

Entertainment is similar, but I generally five NCL a 5 and Celebrity a 4.5.

 

True, the intangibles are of value and this is where X adds value to the experience.

 

Your comparison to hotel chains is interesting. I have stayed in Marriott hotels that are clearly better than a Hilton.

Also, I have stayed in Holiday Inns that beat some of the Hiltons or Marriotts that I have stayed in.

That is a good reason to use tripadvisor or a like service.

 

We were looking into NCL for the Mexican Riviera, and decided otherwise based on countless reviews of hard/old beds and the need for multiple egg crates to make them comfortable. Add in the smoking policies and food, and it's a deal breaker for us. That doesn't mean they doesn't measure up or even set the bar in other areas, but it's considered a budget line for a reason.

 

I liked Carnival about the same as RCL, and there's probably some people on here or NCL fans who wouldn't enjoy it at all. Comfy beds, good food, that's where it counts for me. It's flaws I either didn't notice or don't care about. Still they spend less money per passenger, have less fancy ships, and are priced accordingly.

 

Hotels, first and foremost, let's hope that the cruise industry doesn't start franchising! I like the star rating for hotels, which lets me know where the bar is suppose to be set (with an accompanied price to match it), and trip advisor tells how well the hotel measure up. If tripadvisor gives a Motel 6 a 4.1, and a Hyatt 4.1, the star ratings help us determine what quality people generally are approving of. I've been in good 2 Stars and bad 4 Stars, and generally go for the best bang per buck in any situation.

 

I would just choose Celebrity when they're priced about the same, NCl when it's a deal. Variety is the spice of life. ;)

Edited February 27, 2015 by Stateroom_Sailor

[MicCanberra]

Oh, I'm pretty new here. Didn't know I did anything wrong. Wasn't trying to promote anyone. I was just really excited. :)

 

No worries, you just cannot mention Travel agencies.

Great deals are worth getting excited about, hope you keep finding them and sharing the joy.:D

[knittinggirl]

We booked a cruise last fall w/o the 1 2 3 Go Promotion, then they tried to get us to upgrade to the 1 2 3 Go promotion for $500 more per person. I guess they weren't selling enough drink packages, so they put it in a promotion and raised our fare.

[DaisyFire]

When we booked through Celebrity a month or so ago, the agent told us that the gratuitues would show as a charge but the promo would apply in a couple of days - ditto for the beverage package. I think this is standard practice. Though it's a bit disconcerting that all their agents don't seem to be aware of this.

 

 

Just a tip, we found that when booking the Concierge cabin for the all inclusive offer that the gratuities price was in the final price. We then rang a couple of days later, as it said that on the booking, and the lady said to pay the price owing minus the gratuities cost when final payment is due and the gratuities would be adjusted 30 days before sailing. I said that would result in messages that we still owed money, and she said to ignore those. I said I didn't like the sound of that. (I have heard that 30 days prior it will be fixed line before for future cruise certificates when we should be getting the OBC for using one.) So I said a couple of times I didn't like it, but left it at that and finished the call. Thought I might ring later and try to talk to a supervisor.

 

So anyhow, within a few hours I get an adjusted invoice emailed, and it was showing the credit for the OBC, as well as the drinks package cost and a credit against the drinks package cost. So I was happy with the outcome, and I don't know if it would have been adjusted anyhow without the phone call. She didn't sound like she was passing anything on or going to do anything about it.

 

This was for a cruise in Nov 2016, so I am glad I have that booked before the changes happen :)

[MicCanberra]

Sometimes it can more than a few weeks before it shows in your order history.:D

[MarKay525]

Hello - thank you for this information about the changes.

 

How often is the 123GO all inclusive package offered?

 

We are looking at a sailing in November, 2016 in a Concierge stateroom. Will the 123GO promotion be offered again in the next 12 months? We only want these items:

1) An Unlimited Classic Beverage Package for two

2) Pre-Paid Gratuities for two

3) Up to $ 1000 Shipboard Credit per cabin

 

We usually don't book this far out, but if this is our only chance at this promotion, we would book now.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. Kay

 

I apologize if this has already been posted. I did search and did not see anything about this. ;)

 

I received this email from a TA this morning.

 

Today thru Saturday February 28, you can still book an OCEANVIEW or higher on most sailings from May 2015 - April 2017 and receive:

1) An Unlimited Classic Beverage Package for two

2) Pre-Paid Gratuities for two

3) Up to $ 1000 Shipboard Credit per cabin

4) 3rd/4th Passenger in same cabins receive a

Non-Alcoholic Beverage Package & a 40 Minute Internet Package

5) PLUS, Balconies for 2015 Alaska and Europe Sailings receive the same shipboard credit as Concierge Class

 

Starting Monday March 2, the following changes will take effect:

1) The current OCEANVIEW minimum purchase for the perks above becomes a BALCONY minimum purchase

2) Applicable sailing range changes from:

May 2015- April 2017 to: May 2015- April 2016

3) Balconies for 2015 Alaska and Europe Sailings do NOT get same Shipboard Credit as Concierge Class (they get NONE)

4) There are no additional perks for 3rd/4th in the same cabin

So, the final countdown is on. Don't wait any longer.

[#1cruiseaholic]

Maybe this is what you are looking for ? :

http://www.celebritycruises.com/htmlpage/123go-captains-club-offer?icid=ccc_bt_123gjn_1406_mul_lk_693187

 

Thanks so much for posting. We have done quite a few Celebrity cruises and to be honest have never seen anything before about additional Captain Club points. I will definitely pay closer attention to the 123 deals.

[MicCanberra]

Hello - thank you for this information about the changes.

 

How often is the 123GO all inclusive package offered?

 

We are looking at a sailing in November, 2016 in a Concierge stateroom. Will the 123GO promotion be offered again in the next 12 months? We only want these items:

1) An Unlimited Classic Beverage Package for two

2) Pre-Paid Gratuities for two

3) Up to $ 1000 Shipboard Credit per cabin

 

We usually don't book this far out, but if this is our only chance at this promotion, we would book now.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. Kay

 

I think the best strategy is to book when you think you have the best deal you can get, if you let it pass, it may not come again. However, it may and then an upgrade may or may not be possible/worth it.

[The_Big_M]

Hello - thank you for this information about the changes.

 

How often is the 123GO all inclusive package offered?

 

We are looking at a sailing in November, 2016 in a Concierge stateroom. Will the 123GO promotion be offered again in the next 12 months?

 

Let's just say it's unlikely to go away in the near future.

 

That said, what it includes and the requirements change slightly each time, as above.

 

Your choice whether you'd prefer to wait and take the risk, or lock in what you're happy with now.

[Cote d'or]

Thanks so much for posting. We have done quite a few Celebrity cruises and to be honest have never seen anything before about additional Captain Club points. I will definitely pay closer attention to the 123 deals.

 

You're welcome. The first time we received extra points, we didn't know this promotion was running. We were happily surprised to see a higher amount of Club points than expected.:)

[bar_20]

I just booked an NCL cruise for 5 September 2016 and the cost for a similar X cruise was not similar, when considering all the costs and benefits. Also, the cruise tour (priced on 2015 prices was several hundred more for X).

 

Not sure how most people pick a cruise. We were drawn to Celebrity because of its great itineraries coupled with reasonable prices.

 

Since Alaska cruises have a lot of competition, you would expect better prices. However, a seven day cruise costs almost as much as a 14 day cruise in other places. I suppose Alaska is popular, so competition doesn't help as much as in the Med or Caribbean.

 

We booked a balcony cabin on the Solstice for a 7 day cruise out of Seattle leaving May 13,2016. The balcony price for this cruise started at $1148.

 

NCL has a cruise on the Jewell leaving on May 14,2016 out of Seattle with the exact same itinerary as the Solstice with NCL's balcony pricing starting at $1299. NCL isn't always cheaper but the feel of the cruise does.