US Cruisers booking on Celebrity UK Website

[Cruising Mama50]

My husband and I are considering a cruise out of Barcelona later this year. We currently have the sailing on hold through Celebrity USA, but have not made final payment. I looked on the UK sight just for general info and found that the category cabin we have on hold, with all of the same booking incentives is almost $1000 cheaper.

 

Does anyone know if a US resident can book using the Celebrity UK website? I created a "mock" reservation. It walked me completely through the required steps, including name and address with no problem. I did NOT enter my credit card info which would be my next step. I have several cards with no foreign transaction fees assessed so that would not incur any additional expenses and I've already figured the currency exchange rate.

 

Any information is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

[Fouremco]

Posters often talk negatively about the different rules governing bookings on the UK site in comparison to the US and Canadian sites. You might want to research these a bit further to determine whether the lower price is worth it, assuming that you are even able to complete a booking.

[bluwes]

Bookings through the UK website do not qualify for any price drops. The price you pay is locked in. You would also be subject to any currency fluctuations.

 

At the moment the GBP is at its lowest against the US Dollar I have ever seen, and is probably something to do with the uncertainty over British membership of the EU. If that is resolved by the vote in June I can only see it going higher. Indeed there has been upward movement today following the so called agreement.

Edited February 20, 2016 by bluwes

[az_tchr]

you are also subject to loss of deposit on UK rules on a change or rebooking. nothing is for free.

[bluwes]

you are also subject to loss of deposit on UK rules on a change or rebooking. nothing is for free.

 

Oh yes that as well!! We lose out every which way.

[hecc5]

''Does anyone know if a US resident can book using the Celebrity UK website? I created a "mock" reservation. It walked me completely through the required steps, including name and address with no problem. I did NOT enter my credit card info which would be my next step. I have several cards with no foreign transaction fees assessed so that would not incur any additional expenses and I've already figured the currency exchange rate.''

 

 

Hi, I Can't speak about US booking in the UK ... but I can and do, do it the other way around...although not through Celebrity direct.

 

I have 2 Celebrity cruises which have been booked on US terms - Celebrity do allow it..... ( Holland and America, for instance do not)

 

On each occassion I have got the same cruise in the equivalent amount, but in dollars - not pounds, so have save 'around' 30% and got much better benefits... ( currency fluctuation of course affects actually money saved)

 

I have one cruise in April, upon which I was able to take advantage of price reductions.

 

Incidentally, there is a UK based agent who publishes a telephone number for international customers .... who offers good deals on RCL cruises.

 

I guess we all make a decision, spend v consumer protection, v deposit loss v benefits.

 

Yesterdays save of around 30%, plus free grats in addition to go best, and OBC from Celebrity and the TA meant it was an opportunity to not be missed, and I'll do without our 'customer protection'....

 

Each cruise on it's own merits ....

 

 

Helen

[ghstudio]

My husband and I are considering a cruise out of Barcelona later this year. We currently have the sailing on hold through Celebrity USA, but have not made final payment. I looked on the UK sight just for general info and found that the category cabin we have on hold, with all of the same booking incentives is almost $1000 cheaper.

 

Does anyone know if a US resident can book using the Celebrity UK website?

 

 

Not only can you, but if you happen to be travelling and make a reservation without checking the URL, you may find that the reservation you assumed was made with Celebrity in the US was really made with the local country. This actually happened to us on one cruise...we booked while out of the US. After much back and forth, we managed to get it fixed, but I can assure you that the default reservation site is the site local to wherever you are making reservation....not your home country.

[Maya_C]

My husband and I are considering a cruise out of Barcelona later this year. We currently have the sailing on hold through Celebrity USA, but have not made final payment. I looked on the UK sight just for general info and found that the category cabin we have on hold, with all of the same booking incentives is almost $1000 cheaper.

 

I found the price on a cruise out of Barcelona lower on the UK site than in the US. One person cautioned that the currency exchange is at an all time low for the pound against the dollar. One way to avoid currency fluctuations would be to pay the full fare at today's rate. I presume all but the deposit would be refundable. Is that true? Can a UK cruiser tell me how much the deposit is for Celebrity cruises and whether the whole deposit would be lost if a change is made? Does anyone know if buying trip insurance cover the cost of the lost deposit?

 

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Maya

[Project_gal]

I found the price on a cruise out of Barcelona lower on the UK site than in the US. One person cautioned that the currency exchange is at an all time low for the pound against the dollar. One way to avoid currency fluctuations would be to pay the full fare at today's rate. I presume all but the deposit would be refundable. Is that true? Can a UK cruiser tell me how much the deposit is for Celebrity cruises and whether the whole deposit would be lost if a change is made? Does anyone know if buying trip insurance cover the cost of the lost deposit?

 

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Maya

 

Maya

 

You are correct. The Pound hit a seven year low this morning and shows no sign of slowing yet.

 

The UK deposit is £150 pp. If you cancel, you loose it all. If you wish to make a change, they will charge £35. The first change used to be free for Captain's Club members but this is no longer so.

 

One positive, I believe, is that final payment date is a little later in the UK than [most?] US bookings. 8 weeks pre-cruise.

 

One thing to note that Celebrity in the UK do not offer the same perks and are currently not offering any for early bookings. You need to be sure that you are comparing apples with apples.

[upwarduk]

The UK deposit is £150 pp. If you cancel, you loose it all. If you wish to make a change, they will charge £35. The first change used to be free for Captain's Club members but this is no longer so.

 

We unfortunately cancelled a cruise last July. At that time I was told that because we are Elite, we would not be charged the £35, if we changed the booking to another cruise..

I also was told that only ONE change is allowed.

[villauk]

I found the price on a cruise out of Barcelona lower on the UK site than in the US. One person cautioned that the currency exchange is at an all time low for the pound against the dollar. One way to avoid currency fluctuations would be to pay the full fare at today's rate. I presume all but the deposit would be refundable. Is that true? Can a UK cruiser tell me how much the deposit is for Celebrity cruises and whether the whole deposit would be lost if a change is made? Does anyone know if buying trip insurance cover the cost of the lost deposit?

 

Thanks for any help you can give me.

Maya

 

If you cancel, you will lose your deposits (£150pp) and many insurance policies do not take the deposits into account. Many times over here, you're charged for any adjustments you want to make. It's not as easy as it is in the US to apply new promotions, price drops and perks to current bookings. Basically, once you've booked, that's it - so check those perks carefully. You won't be able to constantly swap and change without penalties like you can in the States ;). Additionally, if you're booking guarantees, you won't be able to change cabins once allocated - whatever you're issued, you have to keep.