Price drops in UK/Ireland

[mayfieldlodge]

I noted today that a cruise I have booked on Millennium next year has dropped in price for the same category. I telephoned my agent at Celebrity for a price adjustment and was told I would have to cancel and rebook to get the new price this means a loss of deposit. The original booking included free classic drinks and $300 OBC the same perks that are currently being offered. Is the agent right in what she says, I have seen in the past that people have been honoured price reductions? Please help me resolve my issue

[wendychloecruiser]

If you had booked with a U.S. TA you would have been able to have a rate adjustment, cabin change and likely a chunky OBC. NO loss of deposit. It's rarely beneficial (Med cruises are sometimes the exception) to book in the UK.

 

I hope that policies eventually become consistent as the product is the same no matter whose flag you fly.

[DYKWIA]

You're also at a disadvantage when booking a Guaranteed Cabin. Whatever cabin you're assigned when booking in the UK, that's it (unless Celebrity change it) - fair enough. But if you book in the US and don't like the cabin you're assigned you can swap cabins if another one in the same category is available. In effect you're more likely to get the duff room if booking in the UK because a savvy traveller booking in the US will be able to swap out a duff cabin if they get assigned it.

[mayfieldlodge]

Seems like I am out of luck then, I was hoping for some good news!

[sparklytink]

I noted today that a cruise I have booked on Millennium next year has dropped in price for the same category. I telephoned my agent at Celebrity for a price adjustment and was told I would have to cancel and rebook to get the new price this means a loss of deposit. The original booking included free classic drinks and $300 OBC the same perks that are currently being offered. Is the agent right in what she says, I have seen in the past that people have been honoured price reductions? Please help me resolve my issue

 

 

We were in a similar situation. I ended up cancelling our existing booking and losing the £300 deposit, but we were still £700 up so was a no brainer for us. We rebooked direct as the agent wouldn't even do the better price, so they lost our booking.

 

 

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[mayfieldlodge]

This is the response I got from Celebrity:

Thanks for your message, we're sorry to hear you feel disappointed. From time to time, we introduce offers into the market to encourage bookings and these vary country by country, depending on market conditions such as how many people have booked on particular sailings. By booking early, guests have greater choice over sail dates, choice of itineraries and state room locations, and when booking with offers, there is less choice surrounding these.

 

Your agent is correct in that the only way to receive an offer is to cancel at the loss of your deposit unfortunately.

 

Warm regards,

 

Celebrity Cruises UK

 

It appears I can do no more!

[chemmo]

OK you may not get any money back but you may get a much better room for not many more British Pounds!

[JAF1]

This is the response I got from Celebrity:

Thanks for your message, we're sorry to hear you feel disappointed. From time to time, we introduce offers into the market to encourage bookings and these vary country by country, depending on market conditions such as how many people have booked on particular sailings. By booking early, guests have greater choice over sail dates, choice of itineraries and state room locations, and when booking with offers, there is less choice surrounding these.

 

Your agent is correct in that the only way to receive an offer is to cancel at the loss of your deposit unfortunately.

 

Warm regards,

 

Celebrity Cruises UK

 

It appears I can do no more!

 

 

Of course it has nothing to do with us living in 'Rip off Britain'! We are in the 'same boat' with our Celebrity Cruise have found our room is now cheaper and as it is our first cruise with Celebrity we just hope when we get on board we are not met with any more disappointments.

[drinkspackageexpert]

Please excuse my confusion, but my experience seems to be somewhat different to those stated here.

 

I live in the UK, and booked direct with Celebrity.

I originally had a Concierge room for 4 people with 2 perks. My oldest son decided he would like to join us after all, and i noted an available Family Room.

So I rang them and they changed my booking to family room, I kept all my perks, did not have to lose a deposit...all i had to do was pay for the bigger room at the going rate and the 5th person.

 

And my mum also noted a cruise she had booked reduced in price by nearly 1000 pound......she rang them and they refunded the money.

No need to cancel and re-book in both cases. I do realise it is a different story with travel agents, but we had a bad experience when we booked our first cruise with a TA (we were left abandoned in San Diego with no information on how to get to our pre-booked hotel), so we only book direct now..maybe that is the difference...:):)

[mayfieldlodge]

I already have the cabin I want with no desire to upgrade (Corner Aft Family Cabin), having spoken to 2 different Celebrity agents I still cannot get the reduced price without cancelling and rebooking, at this point its not worth losing the deposit but it sure is frustrating when you are a loyal customer.

[chemmo]

The only way to cope with a situation like this is to look at it the other way round.....

 

You booked a room (a very nice room) at a price you were happy with. You do not want/need to upgrade so if you had not seen the price drop you would be really happy with what you have booked...

 

We looked at a Far East cruise for Spring 2017 as it was released. It was expensive but it was just what we wanted. We 'dithered' (old British term for struggling to make a decision) but then went for it. Soon it was sold out for our room category.

 

We could be in your situation but if we were does it matter? Lots of people play roulette to get the best price possible and I wish them good luck. At the moment my priority is to go places I want to go to at a price I am happy with.....

 

When I hit the stage of 'just wanting a Mediteranian/Caribbean break' where I don't mind what date I go, what ship I am on....I will join the roulette game. In the meantime if I am in your shoes with a great cruise booked in a really nice room but no discount I will not complain.

[Chunky2219]

My experience is exactly the same as drinkspakageexpert (cracking name, bye the way). See price drop, phone travel agent, get reduction. I've had this more than once on the same cruise.

 

If Celebrity have changed the UK rules then I'm well miffed and will be changing my booking method to the same as Cunard/P&O - hold my breath as long as possible for the best offers rather than book early.

 

.

[wendychloecruiser]

I book a cruise when the when all things align...timing, itinerary and rate. Of course rates vary depending on a multitude of parameters. That's not the issue. Why should I be encouraged to take business out of the UK in order to merely take advantage of rules that appear to skewed against the UK? I am glad to read that there are anecdotes of success stories. I frankly want to be able to adjust a booking that I make in the UK in the same way I can when I book with a U.S. travel agent. Nothing more nothing less.

[Suzy Smith]

My experience is exactly the same as drinkspakageexpert (cracking name, bye the way). See price drop, phone travel agent, get reduction. I've had this more than once on the same cruise.

 

If Celebrity have changed the UK rules then I'm well miffed and will be changing my booking method to the same as Cunard/P&O - hold my breath as long as possible for the best offers rather than book early.

.

 

We have always booked early, knowing that Celebrity UK will honour price drops, but I think the constantly-changing promotions that X are now running have changed the game. Celebrity's response to the OP does not refer to the price, but to the "offer" and the Ts & Cs of the current UK offer state:

 

"Existing Bookings that wish to access the new benefits for the July promotion will have to cancel existing bookings and make a new booking. (Please note cancelling existing bookings will incur cancellation charges)"

 

This wording now seems to be standard on X promotions. We are sailing at the end of August and booked our cruise 18 months ago. We have taken advantage of a price drop and added the drinks package and additional OBC, but it seems unlikely that we will be able to do this again in the future. Nothing stays the same forever and although we have had many wonderful cruises on Celebrity, we will now just wait for last-minute deals on Celebrity and other comparable cruise lines. Celebrity's prices have increased to include the cost of the drinks package and, for very moderate drinkers like us (and with Elite Plus benefits) the drinks package is of little value, so a last-minute deal with no perks will suit us just fine.;):)

[little britain]

You can have price drop applied, but the perks will fall off, because it is a different campaign. I know thus sounds mad because they are the same perks!! Only way they may be reapplied is if you booked during the July / August offer (as the t&c for that one were a little different).

So the question is, how big is the price drop? Is it enough to cover losing the drinks and obc? And my recommendation is to book in the USA in future, where my TA applies price drops before I even realise there has been one! Now that is service.

 

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[sandrwersoe]

I was hoping for some good news!

[mayfieldlodge]

I had no joy with the price drop, Celebrity were adamant the booking would need to be cancelled and re booked, with the loss of the deposit this didn't add up for us. I looked again today and the price has gone up above what we are paying, although this makes me feel a little better I cant help but feel let down by Celebrity, it seems the terms and conditions are changing all the time.

I don't have experience of booking with Agents in USA, finding a reputable company that deals with UK residents I presume the payments are in $, it will depend on the exchange rate at the time of payment to determine the final costings of the cruise.

[little britain]

Bad luck.

 

Yes US payments are in US$.

The savings are usually so large that it will more than compensate for any fluctuations in the exchange rate

 

In the USA if you book a GTY room you can swap to any other room in that category. In the UK you cannot.

 

In the USA if you cancel before final payment you get your deposit back. In the UK you cannot and you lose your deposit.

 

In the USA you can get price drops. In the UK it now appears you cannot (although this seems to depend on who you talk to).

 

In the USA you can move ship/sail date. In the UK you are charged £75pp admin fee.

 

No brainer.

[excitedofharpenden]

I looked again today and the price has gone up above what we are paying, although this makes me feel a little better I cant help but feel let down by Celebrity, it seems the terms and conditions are changing all the time.

 

It's all the special deals and offers that don't help. It used to be simple. Now it's not and I think this is exactly what Celebrity are trying to achieve. If it makes you feel better, I have booked with US travel agents before, but for now have given up because typically I book quite far ahead and have been burned a bit by exchange risk in the past. I also find it more difficult to service the booking if I need to because of time differences. Couple that with booking cruises on the ship now and there can be some good deals to be had there if you ask. If I'm happy with the deal I've got at the time that is fine.

 

Phil

[scotslizzy]

Is there something stopping UK residents from using a USA agent ?

 

Scotslizzy

[villauk]

Is there something stopping UK residents from using a USA agent ?

 

Scotslizzy

 

No :confused:.

[karli_ratte]

I cancelled and rebooked a cruise in the beginning of May directly with Celebrity Germany/Austria/Switzerland. I also lost my deposit, but still came out on top with about 200€. The person told me that this rule was put in place in March or April 2015 and before they were allowed to make those adjustments (as it had worked for me last year and the year before) on a case to case basis. I don't like booking via a TA and they won't accept bookings via Celebrity USA anymore, which they have done in the past. oh well...

[mayfieldlodge]

Is there something stopping UK residents from using a USA agent ?

 

Scotslizzy

 

Did you cruise Adriatic last year?

[Mynki]

Is there something stopping UK residents from using a USA agent ?

 

Scotslizzy

 

Not with Celebrity.

 

We booked a Holland America cruise through a US travel in 2013 no issues. I now believe HAL will only accept bookings for UK residents through a US travel agent if they are past cruisers.

 

I believe Princess will not accept bookings through US travel agents for UK passengers.

 

We have very recently experienced the benefits of using a US travel agent. We booked an AQ1 balcony. The price dropped and for $400 less than our original cost we could upgrade to a W class guaranteed suite. Despite not being able to pick the room we rebooked whist still keeping our OBC and drinks package. A few days later we were allocated the worst S1 suite on the Millennium 6102 (Restricted view).

 

We called the US travel agent and asked if we could change the room, despite only having paid for a guaranteed room. We asked for 6145, one of the two S1 suites that are connected to the two penthouse suites and often used as second bedrooms, being decorated like the PH and with a larger bathroom and balcony. The best S1 rooms on the ship. I didn't hold much hope, but they agreed at no extra cost.

 

We wouldn't have got this kind of deal with a UK agent. Maybe one day in the future Celebrity will go the same way as HAL. So it may be wise to book through a US travel agent the next time you book?

Edited August 20, 2015 by Mynki

[little britain]

I booked a cruise as a solo for approx. £500 in the USA.

 

I booked a gty balcony.

I was allocated a room. I swapped to another room on the sunny side of the ship. I swapped to another room with a bigger balcony, and this weekend I swapped to another room with a better sunny view......

The same room is on sale in the UK for over £2300 for a solo.

 

I leave you to draw your own conclusions.