Feeling a bit deflated with X

[debtel007]

I booked a 10 day med cruise to celebrate my 50th birthday and as there was a sale on bought it before the sale ended. 2 days after it ended a new sale started with a far better deal.The new deal is one guest half price. my total cost for the cruise was £4315 includes premium drinks, $300 OBC and free wi-fi. The new deal is £1008 cheaper and includes only classic drinks. I called Celebrity to change and they say I need to give up my £300 deposit to change. If I do that it is still about £450 cheaper to buy everything else and lose my deposit.

 

I am not happy it went down 25% as I don't need wi-fi. I am in negotiation with X to try and sort something, they promised a call back but it never came today. Customer relations are not looking too good!!!

 

I have 2 booked but feel like I was played with the latest booking. I booked direct with X, anyone had any luck with not losing their deposit or do I a) suck it and lose the £300 or b) sulk, cancel and find a new cruise line?? I'm on the fence

[kevinyork]

Unfortunately you are in the UK, like us, and from reading most reports on here X stick to their terms ans conditions. So it looks like cancelling and rebooking would be best. It would be hard to find a better deal on another cruise line at the same price with the same perks.

 

 

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[Spike11]

Another one here annoyed with celebrity about their most recent sale. 25% off peaktime cruises with 10 months to go?? I can't understand their thinking. We have three different cabins for ourselves and family and they are linked through the use of our future cruise certificate. We would save on one of the cabins if we re-book and lose deposit, but not on on the other two and if we cancel one cabin the future cruise benefit for the other two would be lost - so a bit complicated.

The current sale is a very good deal for those booking now, but not so good for those who booked a long time in advance.

[Wiltonian]

I booked when it was £50pp deposit, so have cancelled and rebooked. While I understand your disappointment, I can't think of a comparable purchase scenario in which you'd be able to cancel a purchase and re-purchase with no loss of anything.

[Blondie008]

I booked a 10 day med cruise to celebrate my 50th birthday and as there was a sale on bought it before the sale ended. 2 days after it ended a new sale started with a far better deal.The new deal is one guest half price. my total cost for the cruise was £4315 includes premium drinks, $300 OBC and free wi-fi. The new deal is £1008 cheaper and includes only classic drinks. I called Celebrity to change and they say I need to give up my £300 deposit to change. If I do that it is still about £450 cheaper to buy everything else and lose my deposit.

 

I am not happy it went down 25% as I don't need wi-fi. I am in negotiation with X to try and sort something, they promised a call back but it never came today. Customer relations are not looking too good!!!

 

I have 2 booked but feel like I was played with the latest booking. I booked direct with X, anyone had any luck with not losing their deposit or do I a) suck it and lose the £300 or b) sulk, cancel and find a new cruise line?? I'm on the fence

 

Weigh it all up - do the sums accurately including the cost of upgrading the classic package to premium - cost in the loss of £300 until you get a net total.

If the net total is less than your original costing - you have won - you are better off than you were originally.

I did the same with an NCL cruise albeit its not an expensive cruise - I cancelled, lost my deposit - re booked - and it was cheaper.

The way I see it is if I was happy at the cost in the first place - anything less is a bonus.

The same rule applies to ALL holidays from the UK - pay the deposit today and if the price goes down we are stuffed.

Some we win some we lose :)

[MR_T]

Would all the people that are complaining about celebrity's pricing phone up to offer to pay more when the price of their cruise goes up... 😱

 

It's a simple system... Only book a cruise that your happy to book at the price your happy to pay for the deal that your happy to take... It's like any business prices go up and down and if you get a great deal great... If there's a better one after you have booked then either cancel & re-book, cancel altogether and stay at home or just remember you were happy to book in the first place! 😏

[yorkyred]

I booked a 10 day med cruise to celebrate my 50th birthday and as there was a sale on bought it before the sale ended. 2 days after it ended a new sale started with a far better deal.The new deal is one guest half price. my total cost for the cruise was £4315 includes premium drinks, $300 OBC and free wi-fi. The new deal is £1008 cheaper and includes only classic drinks. I called Celebrity to change and they say I need to give up my £300 deposit to change. If I do that it is still about £450 cheaper to buy everything else and lose my deposit.

 

I am not happy it went down 25% as I don't need wi-fi. I am in negotiation with X to try and sort something, they promised a call back but it never came today. Customer relations are not looking too good!!!

 

I have 2 booked but feel like I was played with the latest booking. I booked direct with X, anyone had any luck with not losing their deposit or do I a) suck it and lose the £300 or b) sulk, cancel and find a new cruise line?? I'm on the fence

 

We had to cancel and rebook for a better deal, Celebrity would not budge. Dont hold your breath regarding customer relations, they really have been very poor in our experience.

[teecee60]

 

Only book a cruise that your happy to book at the price your happy to pay.

 

 

THAT is the most outrageous thing I've EVER heard! :eek:

 

You're going to cut the number of threads here on cruise critic in half! ;) :D :rolleyes:

[FluffyFiFi]

We have the same issue with Celebrity, booked over 20 months in advance only to find we could have left it until now and paid the same for a Concierge Cabin (we have a B2 Balcony). On the roll call forum it seems those who booked through US TA's have had free or nearly free upgrades, but when I contacted Celebrity UK I was given details of their booking conditions and their pricing policy - but they did say they were sure I would enjoy my trip.

 

This upcoming cruise will be our first and last with them.

[wallie5446]

But are not Celebrity's policy's due to the laws written over there by the people you elected into office to protect you? Kick the rogues out, and put others into office and re-write the consumer protection laws.

 

This policy is not the fault of any of the Companies that are required to follow the law of the land.

[yorkyred]

But are not Celebrity's policy's due to the laws written over there by the people you elected into office to protect you? Kick the rogues out, and put others into office and re-write the consumer protection laws.

 

This policy is not the fault of any of the Companies that are required to follow the law of the land.

 

That's an often stated fact on here but is it actually true that a company can't rebook an individual without them having to lose their deposit ? When we owned a small hotel we allowed people to change their holiday with us at no cost. I've had plenty of experiences of other companies in the UK allowing changes without penalty and its stated on here that Celebrity were fine with it up to recent times. I'm not aware the law suddenly changed.

Surely Celebrity's policy is simply the one they chose to write up ?

Edited September 7, 2015 by yorkyred

[hcat]

Do Princess, P&O and other lines have the same issue?

 

Even USA booking hard to switch without losing perks, etc,

 

To OP: Hope it will work out and if not that you might still enjoy the cruise,.

[LabGuy64]

Could move to the US......:D

 

 

QUOTE=debtel007;47677399]I booked a 10 day med cruise to celebrate my 50th birthday and as there was a sale on bought it before the sale ended. 2 days after it ended a new sale started with a far better deal.The new deal is one guest half price. my total cost for the cruise was £4315 includes premium drinks, $300 OBC and free wi-fi. The new deal is £1008 cheaper and includes only classic drinks. I called Celebrity to change and they say I need to give up my £300 deposit to change. If I do that it is still about £450 cheaper to buy everything else and lose my deposit.

 

I am not happy it went down 25% as I don't need wi-fi. I am in negotiation with X to try and sort something, they promised a call back but it never came today. Customer relations are not looking too good!!!

 

I have 2 booked but feel like I was played with the latest booking. I booked direct with X, anyone had any luck with not losing their deposit or do I a) suck it and lose the £300 or b) sulk, cancel and find a new cruise line?? I'm on the fence

[The_Big_M]

That's an often stated fact on here but is it actually true that a company can't rebook an individual without them having to lose their deposit ? When we owned a small hotel we allowed people to change their holiday with us at no cost. I've had plenty of experiences of other companies in the UK allowing changes without penalty and its stated on here that Celebrity were fine with it up to recent times. I'm not aware the law suddenly changed.

Surely Celebrity's policy is simply the one they chose to write up ?

 

Agreed. Nothing to do with the law, or lawmakers. Don't know where some people get that from!

 

It's just companies 'following the law of the land' by taking as much as they can, consistent with the market they are in.

[soxfan2013]

Unfortunately you are in the UK, like us, and from reading most reports on here X stick to their terms ans conditions. So it looks like cancelling and rebooking would be best. It would be hard to find a better deal on another cruise line at the same price with the same perks.

 

 

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Sounds a lot like BA.

[soxfan2013]

It's like any business prices go up and down and if you get a great deal great... If there's a better one after you have booked then either cancel & re-book, cancel altogether and stay at home or just remember you were happy to book in the first place! 😏

 

There are many businesses that will give you the better price, just not most cruise, or airlines, but airline fares don't tend to go down as the flight gets closer like cruise fares.

[wallie5446]

That's an often stated fact on here but is it actually true that a company can't rebook an individual without them having to lose their deposit ? When we owned a small hotel we allowed people to change their holiday with us at no cost. I've had plenty of experiences of other companies in the UK allowing changes without penalty and its stated on here that Celebrity were fine with it up to recent times. I'm not aware the law suddenly changed.

Surely Celebrity's policy is simply the one they chose to write up ?

 

I have no idea except from what I have read over the years here on CC that is posted.

 

As hcat asked, do the other cruise lines follow the same format?

[nekzaadvakil]

Very surprising to read this absurd rule from Celebrity for cruisers from the UK. We're from India and we seem to enjoy the same rules as in the US. I've been able to reprice 3 of my 5 cruises so far, without any issues whatsoever. Considering the amount of business both Royal and Celebrity get from UK cruisers, this really surprises me.

[MR_T]

There are many businesses that will give you the better price, just not most cruise, or airlines, but airline fares don't tend to go down as the flight gets closer like cruise fares.

 

 

I tend to book my flights the very first day they are released so I know I have the flights & dates that suit me... Quite often throughout the next 11 months after booking the flights they have gone down during offer/sale times, do I then abuse the airline or discuss how bad their customer service is on a public forum... No of course not as I mentioned at the start i booked early to ensure I got the flights I wanted so I could tick that box...

[ShakeDaddy]

Why did you pull the trigger so fast? Obviously should have waited for the next sale.

[VEK]

At least UK cruisers can choose whether to cancel and rebook , which is what I did. I phoned celebrity direct and they were very helpful and compared the costs to make sure it was worth me cancelling. It only took a couple of minutes. I was happy with the price I had initially booked at so instead of taking a lower price I changed my booking from a c3 to an a2 for the effectively the same price.

 

As others have said factor in all the perks you are losing and decide what works for you.

[Spike11]

So can anyone explain why celebrity are knocking 25% of peak time cruises in summer 2016 and including a drinks package? Are they really that desperate for sales? I can understand them doing this nearer the time and then perhaps making money on drink sales (which is what keeps many restaurants going). It just seems a very risky step to me? Are they in trouble and if this is the future then are more cost savings agoing to have to be made on board?

[drinkspackageexpert]

I am from the UK. I always book at least a year in advance. I book my chosen room with my chosen perks. Pay the deposit. DONE. Then I pay it off and go on my cruise. I know I am happy with what a book when I book it and don't bother with checking for price changes. Why would I? After all, I wouldn't book it if I wasn't happy with the price. Sorry you feel duped for want of a better word but you booked during a sale and were happy with what you.....until something better came along!! Unfortunately life doesn't always work that way and sometimes we need to take a chance.

[yorkyred]

So can anyone explain why celebrity are knocking 25% of peak time cruises in summer 2016 and including a drinks package? Are they really that desperate for sales? I can understand them doing this nearer the time and then perhaps making money on drink sales (which is what keeps many restaurants going). It just seems a very risky step to me? Are they in trouble and if this is the future then are more cost savings agoing to have to be made on board?

Celebrity prices are still fairly high, even with the so called discounts. I doubt very much they are in trouble, looking at cruises going out over the next few months they seem to have plenty of cats of cabin already sold out.

[Adidas4fun]

I purchased a TV recently and two weeks later it was on sale. The company wouldnt listen to my complaints either. These big businesses just rip us off every time!