Purchasing a cruise while on a cruise

[bstrong3]

I will be sailing in a week on the summit and am thinking of purchasing a future cruise while on board, I have never done this so I am reaching out to those with experience on this for any do's or don'ts. Thanks in advance!! Cruise on!:)

[sanger727]

First thing I would do is a forum search. Have seen several threads by people who felt like the terms weren't explained to them correctly in terms of what perks could transfer if you needed to change cruises. Make sure you are aware so you don't get sucked into salesman talk.

 

 

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[ChucktownSteve]

Another thing to be careful of if you booked the Summit cruise through a TA is that they not automatically assign your newly booked cruise to that TA unless you want them to. If it's automatically transferred to them, then you don't have leverage to get more perks than if they feel they might not get the booking you made.

 

You can have it booked to Celebrity and then you have 60 days to transfer it to a TA. I would shop TA's when you get home to see which one will give you the most in perks on top of what you received when you booked.

 

Here is a link to the transfer form if you need it later.

http://media.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/content/en_US/pdf/faq/2010_CelebrityBookingTransferForm.pdf

Edited January 2, 2017 by ChucktownSteve

[bstrong3]

Thanks for that link!

[weregoingcruising]

What perks are currently being offered when booking onboard? Looking at late 2018 and early 2019 cruises. My TA has some good offers starting today but i'm thinking of waiting to book onboard on Equinox during our 1/20/2017 cruise. :confused:

[whatevergoes]

I always book the first day I get onboard so I have the best cabin selection and all the perks fir booking onboard . I have a Celebrity contact here that I use for all my bookings. He tells me to just book onboard regardless of price to get all the onboard perks. Then when I get home he takes the reservation and tweaks it and gets me the best deal. I keep an eye on pricing going forward until final payment and he will always adjust pricing or perks for me up to the final payment. Used same Celebrity agent for Six years and have never not gotten a great deal. I would call and obtain an agent now so you're ready when you get home. I would tell you my agent's name but I don't think cruise critic allows me to post it here. Good luck and Happy sailing

[keesar]

We have booked on board. Making them early in the cruise really does not make a big difference as the rooms have been available for booking for some time. The key is to see what perks are being offered. That is the determining factor. Also be advised that if you change your itinerary later on, you are NOT guaranteed to keep those perks as you are subject to the current promotions. That can be good news or....

 

I would have a particular cruise in mind prior to boarding and be aware of what the current perks are available.

[Traveling Library]

We have booked on board. Making them early in the cruise really does not make a big difference as the rooms have been available for booking for some time. The key is to see what perks are being offered. That is the determining factor. Also be advised that if you change your itinerary later on, you are NOT guaranteed to keep those perks as you are subject to the current promotions. That can be good news or....

 

I would have a particular cruise in mind prior to boarding and be aware of what the current perks are available.

 

And be aware of the current price. Check the pricing of the cabin class you want before you visit the future cruise people. Then you'll know if you are getting a good "deal" or not.

[Lastdance]

Yes, great ideas from other posters! Do your homework and have all cabins that you are interested in fully researched and that material with you. Also, transfer to a good TA for even more onboard credit.

 

I have booked the very first day for a great price and onboard. Got the best price ever by booking the first day and transferring to my TA. It had all 4 perks and was a suite. Prices change all the time, now more than ever like the airfares, so there are different strategies. The best of luck!:)

[Tomato53]

You can access the Celebrity website free in the internet cafe so you can look at the current pricing and stateroom availability.

[Mark.Jules]

I think others have covered the important items. Our experience booking while we were onboard the Solstice was wonderful. Easy transfer to our TA, upgraded on cabin level, and $450 OBC for our next cruise. We truly had a wonderful experience booking while onboard. Go early to beat the crowds. Also, I do not know if this made a difference in how we were treated but we attended the 15 minute presentation given by the future cruse desk then walked right in to book.

[springfire]

We booked our TA trip for this year back on out TA cruise in 2015. It really was a no brainer. We received free gratuities, additional OBC and matching deposit. When we got home we gave it to our booking agent for cruises and received additional OBC. I often find good deals on a cruise for future cruises. Do your homework, make sure you can cancel without penalty and transfer the booking to your own agent.

[harz99]

Of course if you are a UK cruiser you will not fare so well! On Solstice at the moment we have had all the flyers with juicy perk offers, none of which we can get except the classic drinks package as that is the current UK landside offer.

 

There was a time when we used to buy Future Cruise Certificates for the future OBC as that was all we could get in the way of perks, not much better for us now.

 

It's a shame Celebrity won't follow Royals lead and treat everyone who books on board as being a North American, same offers and perks for all is so much simpler and avoids the bad feelings we and others suffer.

 

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[Driftwoodgal]

Your deposit amount can be lower when you book on board. They run several kinds of specials so be sure you understand what your perks are.

 

Great advice about making sure your booking is not associated with a TA. You can always change that for 60 days after you book it, but not after that day. Also, remember the clock starts ticking from the day you put your deposit down and get paper work.

[bstrong3]

great! Nice tip Thank you!

[Gordoncruickshank]

Of course if you are a UK cruiser you will not fare so well! On Solstice at the moment we have had all the flyers with juicy perk offers, none of which we can get except the classic drinks package as that is the current UK landside offer.

 

There was a time when we used to buy Future Cruise Certificates for the future OBC as that was all we could get in the way of perks, not much better for us now.

 

It's a shame Celebrity won't follow Royals lead and treat everyone who books on board as being a North American, same offers and perks for all is so much simpler and avoids the bad feelings we and others suffer.

 

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We booked on board the EClipse in 2016 for 2018 and received the full benefits on the flyers then. We booked a Celebrity Suite and received all 4 perks incl the premium beverage package. Will be disappointed if we cannot do that again next month.

[fleckle]

Another thing to be careful of if you booked the Summit cruise through a TA is that they not automatically assign your newly booked cruise to that TA unless you want them to. If it's automatically transferred to them, then you don't have leverage to get more perks than if they feel they might not get the booking you made.

 

You can have it booked to Celebrity and then you have 60 days to transfer it to a TA. I would shop TA's when you get home to see which one will give you the most in perks on top of what you received when you booked.

 

Here is a link to the transfer form if you need it later.

http://media.celebritycruises.com/celebrity/content/en_US/pdf/faq/2010_CelebrityBookingTransferForm.pdf

 

Very good point about making sure that they do not assign your new booking to any TA when you book onboard.

If they do that, you lose your flexibility and leverage.

 

Some of the future cruise sales agents will ask you first but some don't, and then much to your chagrin, you later realize that they went ahead and assigned your booking to the previous TA without even consulting you.

 

That can be especially aggravating when a much better deal from another TA shows up a week later, but you are already locked in to the previous TA.

Different TAs can offer better deals for different cruises, so the one that had the best deal for your last cruise may not be the one who has the best deal for your next cruise.

 

Even if you think that you will probably end up using the same agent again, it is always best to leave your options open initially.

 

 

Here is a link to Celebrity's new transfer form; quicker and easier to fill out online and submit than the old pdf version

 

Celebrity Cruises Travel Agency Transfer Form

 

 

Edited January 3, 2017 by fleckle

[villauk]

We booked on board the EClipse in 2016 for 2018 and received the full benefits on the flyers then. We booked a Celebrity Suite and received all 4 perks incl the premium beverage package. Will be disappointed if we cannot do that again next month.

 

The offers can change from day to day, even when onboard. Last week, we were on Millie and for the first couple of days the offer of 2 perks plus the extra OBC for booking onboard was only available for Concierge bookings or above. Two days later and the offer had changed to 2 perks and the OBC for oceanview cabins and above. So, moral of the story, booking as soon as you board isn't always the best deal ;). This was booking through my US TA, not sure what they were offering UK bookers?

[jb008]

Make sure to read the fine print!

 

On US bookings your deposit is normally fully refundable when booked on board... however they often run a promo option where you get an OBC on your current cruise, which can make the deposit non-refundable (or reduced by the disbursed OBC amount). This is an optional promo though, so if you defer the OBC to your future cruise it keeps the deposit refundable.

 

They were sold as moveable and you'd keep your perks by the on-board reps. I've had mixed success moving these bookings through X, I'm guess a certain amount of phone roulette (aka hang up and call again - HUCA) might be worthwhile.

 

That being said, I have used several of these future cruise bookings through my non-X TA with pretty good success. I also booked and subsequently cancelled 3 separate bookings and got those deposits refunded without any problems. I sort of look at it as a low risk option... worst case is that I'll just cancel and get my deposit refunded if the on-board perks aren't movable or there's better fare options.

 

I'm not sure about the X phone agents, but my TA is able to usually parse out a few different rate options (current promo vs. historic rate deposited on-board vs. resident rate [when applicable]). One small plus of the on-board bookings (even if repriced into a new fare that drops some of the perks) is that $100pp hold a room versus the sometimes higher deposits on an off-the-shelf booking.