Anyone else heard the UK price drop matching is no more?

[iandjm]

Hi. I called Celebrity UK to ask if they could price match on my July 2016 cruise, which is something that they have always offered. I was told that they no longer honour price drops. This is a shame as it really was a big plus point with booking Celebrity, as you felt reassured booking a cruise well in advance.

Has anyone else heard anything about this?

Ian

[swigso]

As far as I understand in the UK price drops were never honoured.

You could always upgrade even if it was for only a one pound increase

But if the price went below what you had booked you could upgrade

but still pay the price you booked.

Never Ever had a price drop through a UKBooking, but

Book through my USA T A and always done.

Different countries different rules

[cle-guy]

There was a very brief period of time last year that UK bookers got the Best Price Guarantee, but it applied only on sailings for a 6 month period of time which have now gone past.

 

The Best Price Guarantee specifies:

The Best Price Guarantee is only available to U.S. and Canadian consumers.

[GLYNAGP]

Ive only managed to get a price drop once and that was on RCI . We booked B2B around Oz/NZ and the combined price seriously dropped (well over £1000) I asked for a price drop to be considered which was refused, so I asked for an upgrade to a Balcony from an outside , they wanted more money to do this as they said the upgrade cost would have to be based on the price at my original booking, so I said well just cancel and I will rebook the same cabin. It was actually worth doing this and loosing the initial deposit and the OBC . They actually then agreed to price drop and we kept the OBC

[Suzy Smith]

We have had price drops honoured in the past by Celebrity UK and have taken advantage of a price drop for our cruise later this month (and actually added the 123 Go package at the same time). The only condition they ever made to us was that you had to take the whole package as it was being offered at the time and you couldn't cherry pick the best perks and the best price from different promotions. Our last price drop was quite a while ago and Celebrity UK do seem to have changed some of their policies lately - it is noticeable that all new promotions now seem to be restricted to new booking only, so perhaps this is another change of policy. We tend to book as soon as the itineraries are released, knowing that if we keep checking the prices we can be sure we have the best deal. If the Celebrity UK are no longer honouring price drops, there is no incentive to book early and the pricing and timing of your reservation becomes a bit of a lottery.

Edited August 10, 2015 by Suzy Smith

[little britain]

What Suzy says is right. They do still honour price drops ( I had this confirmed last week) but you will lose the benefit s you had.

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

[Project_gal]

As far as I understand in the UK price drops were never honoured.

You could always upgrade even if it was for only a one pound increase

But if the price went below what you had booked you could upgrade

but still pay the price you booked.

Never Ever had a price drop through a UKBooking, but

Book through my USA T A and always done.

Different countries different rules

 

Despite what members have frequently reported on Cruise Critic, Celebrity always used to honour price drops - before the guarantee mentioned in Curt's post. We have only been able to take advantage of it once because, booking immediately cruises are released, there has only ever been one opportunity. However, when we booked cruises subsequent to that, our [then] personal cruise consultant at Celebrity UK used to remind us to watch prices in case of price drops.

 

Unfortunately, it has now been over 18 months since we lost our PCC and I no longer have a clue as to what the Celebrity UK policies are. However, Celebrity UK have dropped many other benefits, such as Deviation Fees being waived for Captain's Club members, so it is quite likely that they have dropped price drops as well.

[tomsafrica]

Question is, why would anybody book through Celebrity or a TA in the UK when you get much better terms and conditions working through a TA in the USA ? Under no circumstances would I ever book a cruise with anyone without a price drop guarantee.

[yorkyred]

Question is, why would anybody book through Celebrity or a TA in the UK when you get much better terms and conditions working through a TA in the USA ? Under no circumstances would I ever book a cruise with anyone without a price drop guarantee.

 

It's a fact that the vast majority of cruisers in the UK would never book through an American TA. Many are older and a good percentage still use high street travel agents and after that the same agents online. It's all about what they know over the years and feeling secure. Using an American TA would not cross most people's mind even if they knew which one to use and many on here don't even have that information as you can't name agents. If you take a Celebrity cruise out of Southampton as an example I would gues less than 2% of British passengers would use a foreign TA.

[Newbury newbie]

Are UK based passengers allowed to make reservations through a U.S. TA? I understand people do, but is it completely lawful? A bit like using the U.S. Amazon site while living in the UK?

[tomsafrica]

It's a fact that the vast majority of cruisers in the UK would never book through an American TA. Many are older and a good percentage still use high street travel agents and after that the same agents online. It's all about what they know over the years and feeling secure. Using an American TA would not cross most people's mind even if they knew which one to use and many on here don't even have that information as you can't name agents. If you take a Celebrity cruise out of Southampton as an example I would gues less than 2% of British passengers would use a foreign TA.

 

That's the whole point isn't it? Celebrity are using the general lack of knowledge to penalise non US based cruisers "just because they can", hence the importance of websites like cruisecritic where people can share information and experiences and allow others to make a better informed decision on their travel plans. That's the beauty of the global shopping mall called the internet!

 

Some cruiselines theoretically don't allow you to book via the USA. I say theoretically because in practice I don't think they can stop you as much as they might huff and puff to the contrary. Celebrity have no such restrictions as far as I know - they just hope everyone doesn't notice that you can! :D

[villauk]

Are UK based passengers allowed to make reservations through a U.S. TA? I understand people do, but is it completely lawful? A bit like using the U.S. Amazon site while living in the UK?

 

Which law do you assume we may be breaking :confused:?

 

The Royal group do allow booking via the US, however, not all cruise lines allow this - more to do with the extra money they charge in the UK than anything else!

 

Unsure if you are aware, but when you make a payment to your US TA, it's taken directly by the cruise line e.g. your credit card will show Celebrity, not the TA's name ;). Unlike in the UK when it's all through the TA.

[GLYNAGP]

I've never booked through a U.S. Agent, but I did look into it once and discovered that some U.S. cruise lines allow it and others don't . One thing to keep in mind is the currency exchange rate, again when I looked at doing it the exchange rates were appalling and there was little or no savings . It was some time ago so things may have changed

[Bestbubba]

We've always received price drops from Celebrity UK, no problem. We usually book direct and watch the prices. One phone call and it's done. Last week, a month before final payment on 5th September, our Eclipse TA had a price drop and also balcony guarantees. Phoned and told sorry, can't /won't. Told we could cancel and lose deposit and rebook, don't think so. Much to-ing and fro-ing and request to speak to supervisor etc. Eventually told can't have advertised price as rep couldn't see it (hello? I'm looking at it on my iPad while we're having this conversation) but can have it for £40 more. Still a bargain and DH had lost the will to live by then so we went ahead.

We have booked with a US TA before, very easy but like someone else mentioned, you have to watch the exchange rate, it's not always a good deal.

If Celebrity are changing the rules like this, in future we'll just wait till after final payment to book.

Sue

[yorkyred]

That's the whole point isn't it? Celebrity are using the general lack of knowledge to penalise non US based cruisers "just because they can", hence the importance of websites like cruisecritic where people can share information and experiences and allow others to make a better informed decision on their travel plans. That's the beauty of the global shopping mall called the internet!

 

Some cruiselines theoretically don't allow you to book via the USA. I say theoretically because in practice I don't think they can stop you as much as they might huff and puff to the contrary. Celebrity have no such restrictions as far as I know - they just hope everyone doesn't notice that you can! :D

 

I found trying to book with a U.S. Ta very hit and miss even with Celebrity. I used one of the big US sites where you put in your details and TA's give individual quotes. I got two quotes both from UK ta's and no American ones. You can still find TA's in America that don't want to take bookings from the UK. Not sure if they come under pressure from the big cruise lines. Of the two quotes we got one was better than any other price we received and they had a base in the UK but obviously linked to one of the big US companies and we booked with them.

[Newbury newbie]

Which law do you assume we may be breaking :confused:?

 

I don't know that's why I asked the question. :confused: Based on the fact that there are import/export controls between the US & UK. In my simple mind this sort of "trading" would most likely contravene these controls (and laws).

[excitedofharpenden]

There's no reason at all that you can't use a U.S. travel agent if they are prepared to act for you. I've done it a few times. My only reservations are the exchange risks one has, especially if booked far ahead and the time difference in order to service the booking. I have also found that there are quite a few times that the deals have been better here. If you are prepared to do a bit of research and keep yourself on the email list of offers from a travel agency in the U.S. it can be worthwhile.

 

Phil

Edited August 11, 2015 by excitedofharpenden

[villauk]

I don't know that's why I asked the question. :confused: Based on the fact that there are import/export controls between the US & UK. In my simple mind this sort of "trading" would most likely contravene these controls (and laws).

 

Goods are not being imported or exported, they are providing a service - just in the same way that you can book hotels or excursions directly with the service provider or via a third party.

 

As Phil stated, you check both sides of the pond and see what works out best for your situation. The cruise lines are perfectly aware of where you are based when they accept the booking: they have all of your details on file, in duplicate if you are also Captain's Club members.

[mickey89]

The last time I booked a Celebrity cruise around New Zealand was 2008 with a UK T/A. It was cruise only with an independently arranged flight, the cruise priced dropped significantly I complained and the UK agent managed to achieve a £850 reduction with Celebrity, a month before sail date ie after final payment

Agree with many of the previous comments, I have booked every Celebrity cruises both Caribbean and Mediterranean via the US since 2010 as the deals are so much better. Being able to book so far ahead and to pay a fully refundable deposit is a major advantage over the UK, also many additional perks are always on offer which are alien to the UK T/A's.

Since Celebrity introduced it's new pricing structure (Go best, GO stupid, Go....) the price advantage has been eroded but the other benefit still persuade me the US Travel Agent give me the better deal, even with exchange rate fluctuations.

Edited August 11, 2015 by mickey89

[cle-guy]

Which law do you assume we may be breaking :confused:?

 

The Royal group do allow booking via the US, however, not all cruise lines allow this - more to do with the extra money they charge in the UK than anything else!

 

Unsure if you are aware, but when you make a payment to your US TA, it's taken directly by the cruise line e.g. your credit card will show Celebrity, not the TA's name ;). Unlike in the UK when it's all through the TA.

 

This is probably the biggest thing that comes about as a result of the UK Consumer Protection Laws - and why they are so important for UK cruses, and we as Americans front understand it.

 

The likelyhood of Royal Caribbean going under and not refunding us is next to nothing, while a Brick and Mortar company going under before sending payment on to RCL can be quite high. The UK laws protect you from this, which explains partly why there are higher expenses there - RCL has to in essence budget for covering such potential losses.

 

In the US our regulations changed so that instead of offering government protection, they merely required payments be processed directly by the cruise line., thus the risk of a small agency scamming our funds is not there.

 

No laws are being broken by booking via the US, as stated RCL has no such prohibition. There are some TA's who won't handle international clients, but that's their own policy, not in accordance with any law.

[Project_gal]

This is probably the biggest thing that comes about as a result of the UK Consumer Protection Laws - and why they are so important for UK cruses, and we as Americans front understand it.

 

The likelyhood of Royal Caribbean going under and not refunding us is next to nothing, while a Brick and Mortar company going under before sending payment on to RCL can be quite high. The UK laws protect you from this, which explains partly why there are higher expenses there - RCL has to in essence budget for covering such potential losses.

 

The protection for the tour company going under is not really seen as that important in the UK for, as you say, a company such as Royal Caribbean although the protection against the TA going under may be seen as more important. [Remember, in the UK, we pay the agent and not the tour operator.] We have had that protection for decades. However, it is the TA who funds the insurance scheme not the tour operator unless they sell direct to the public.

 

What is valued by some is the relatively more recent protect provided during travel. This covers everything from the minor [e.g. compensation for delayed flights] to more important [e.g. incidents such as when one of Celebrity's ships broke down in the South of France or the Icelandic Volcano]. Not all tour operators did all they were legally obliged to do at the time of the volcano but the incident did clarify what their responsibilities are. An example of tour operators taking responsibility at that time was the charter of Eclipse to bring back holidaymakers from Spain.

 

I stressed that this is only valued "by some" because peoples' values do differ. Many will only want the lowest cost. Others value convenience or peace of mind. Others are simply risk averse - whether that is of exchange rate fluctuation or anything else.

 

For us, as our personal circumstances mean that we travel less often but spend more than average, we look for peace of mind and are risk averse. We travel with a laminated sheet setting out our rights in the event of a travel emergency. If we were still at the stage of our lives when we took more frequent, less expensive trips, we would probably be looking for lowest costs.

[swigso]

My view is that paying by a credit card gives me all

the protection I want, travel insurance covers me in the event

of delays etc.

Maybe I have been lucky,