UK Cruisers: please stay well informed

[wendychloecruiser]

So I have cruise booked on the Eclipse in June. I'm happy with the rate and location of the cabin. I unusually booked with a large UK agent as it was cheaper than my regular US TA. So far so good.

 

I noticed that the rates had dropped a little bit and there were some C1 cabins available for not much more than I paid for my 2B. As I was bored at home I thought I'd irritate the UK TA and enquire about upgrading despite knowing what the answer would be but it got a little more interesting.

 

I naturally had all the rates at hand when I called. When she did finally return my call she gave me rates that were about £600-800 MORE than what I paid and that would be AFTER I had already forfeited my deposit. I advised her her that those rates were not consistent with their website rates. This where it got interesting.

 

She advised me that if I chose to do this, I would not be eligible for the advertised rates as I had had a booking on that cruise....????WHAT????? Not being particularly shy I calmly tried to engage her into a discussion about this absurdity. I asked about the source of these seemingly arbitrary new rates and she said she wasn't sure. ??wasnt sure?? I was fully aware that I would be forfeiting my deposit but to not be available for the current lower rate was just incredulous to me. So you want to punish me like a 3 year old for wanting to book the same cruise twice for merely wanting a better rate? Wow, just wow.

 

We actually had a very good discussion about the whole situation about the inconsistencies in the UK versus US/CDN booking rules and regs and how these issues are affecting the UK market. Apparently there have been many upper echelon meetings discussing this issue the eventual outcome of which can only be favourable for the British traveller. The UK market has been somewhat protected by the tendency of Brits being quite, may I say, conservative in their decision making. This is certainly changing thanks to forums such as this one.

 

Please Celebrity, just be fair with your fares!

[Saab4444]

In Europe they often come up with the argument that a published rate applies only for new bookings but not for changing an existing booking (I have no idea where they find the rates for the latter). I am not talking about promotion benefits, just the basic price.

 

 

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[mustafabalcony]

We're in Spain and booked our cruise online with Celebrity, then decided to change to a different Celebrity cruise.

 

We phoned the international office and had no problem changing cruises and there was no charge for changing.

In the past, we booked a Royal Caribbean cruise online, cancelled it and got our complete deposit back.

 

The cancellation terms are on our booking info and give a full refund of the deposit up to a certain number of days in advance of the cruise. What they don't refund (which is reasonable) is the travel insurance if we bought it with the cruise.

[suekay]

We had exactly the same scenario recently when we wanted to upgrade from an oceanview to a balcony cabin on Eclipse November 2017. We were quoted £1000 more than current prices because "we already had a booking and the website prices were for new bookings" . We'd have been happy to pay either the current price or the price it would have been when we originally booked. I was kicking myself for not having booked through our usual US ta, but with the current exchange rate it had been more expensive . In the end we changed cruises entirely and booked Silhouette to the Holy Land. We would have been charged £75 pp but this was waived as we are Elite on Celebrity (one change free of charge) I was determined not to lose our £300 deposit by cancelling altogether. Unbelievable policy!!

[Chunky2219]

Maybe you need a different TA. For our May voyage last year the prices changed and I was able to re-book the same cabin for over £1k less, albeit by losing 2 x £150 deposit which stuck in my throat a bit.

 

Unless this is a new rule set by Celebrity, I suspect your TA may be maximizing their commission and not offering you the most flexible booking option.

 

It's a great shame that the forum doesn't allow recommendations, otherwise I'd point you at my very large, cruise only TA who consistently come up trumps when price drops arise and I've never had any sort of problem with any line when using them.

 

 

.

[suekay]

I think I do need a new UK ta. They blamed Celebrity in this case, but I get the impression they don't put themselves out to bat for the customer, just take the commission. My US ta is brilliant - I found her in the days when Cruisecritic allowed recommendations

[bogofman]

We would have been charged £75 pp but this was waived as we are Elite on Celebrity (one change free of charge) I was determined not to lose our £300 deposit by cancelling altogether. Unbelievable policy!!

 

 

i didn't know this

[jonsmum]

Definitely change your TA. I noticed (via a Facebook ad of all things) that our last cruise was being advertised a hugely reduced rates. We rang our (UK) TA and not only did we upgrade to a suite but also got a hefty refund as well. No deposit loss, just the perks that went with the original booking, BUT the refund more than covered all of those, with some to spare.

[wendychloecruiser]

A different TA is definitely in order for my UK bookings. :)

[soraya]

I really wish we had the same flexibility in the UK. I rarely cancel a cruise, but I do like to be able to change cabins if a better cabin becomes available and get price drops without arguing about it.

 

I don't understand why the cruise companies are so different in the UK and the US. I remember a UKTA saying that if they did what the US did, then people would be booking and cancelling cruises all over the place - and wasting the UKTA's time. But I think if I had more flexibility, I'd probably book more.

 

At the moment, with sterling all over the place, I don't want to book far in advance with a USTA. But I don't want to book with a UKTA and pay £££ for the privilege. Time for land tours in places hard to get to by cruise ship?

[wendychloecruiser]

The UK travel industry is fully aware of the inconsistent booking conditions. The more people cruise the more they talk. No one likes to be taken for a ride and feeling like they have been taken in some way.

 

The US TA's seem to be able to cope with all the calls for changes to a reservation. I may be unusual but I can count on one hand the number of times I have recalled my TA for an adjustment despite the many cruises I have been so fortunate to take. So I really don't know how much work it truly is. The UK TA's certainly don't hand out as much OBC as the US so it seems that the UK TA take in more money for less work. I don't know if the commission base is different so that comment may be unjust.

 

Competition is a wonderful concept. The first U.K. TA to offer no fees for changes to a reservation and to allow for cabin upgrades will likely be incredibly successful and attract a great deal of business.

[villauk]

Definitely change your TA. I noticed (via a Facebook ad of all things) that our last cruise was being advertised a hugely reduced rates. We rang our (UK) TA and not only did we upgrade to a suite but also got a hefty refund as well. No deposit loss, just the perks that went with the original booking, BUT the refund more than covered all of those, with some to spare.

 

You were very fortunate because this is unusual - possibly if it was a slow sailing (beginning of Dec?) and X wanted to entice you with the 'suite life', hoping that's where you'd book in the future ;).

 

I've said it so many times on CC, but if you book in the UK then you have to be happy with your initial pricing because it's not very often that you are able to obtain a better deal without losing your deposit, perks etc. X usually do get around the price adjustment by quoting that it's for 'new bookings only' - however, most TAs tell their clients that they can take the lower price if they forfeit their deposit.

 

Taking into account the US TA's OBC can also make a difference to a booking that is virtually costing out the same on both sides of the pond. I only book over here if the amount of the difference is so significant that it would be silly to do otherwise. I don't book until I'm happy with a price and the perks offered, and then watch for the price drops (which can sometimes only be for 24 hours and yet make a high difference to the total price).

 

If you can book after the 90 day FP date, great - but many of us are tied to peak periods and need particular cabin configurations for family sailing together ;).

[vadell]

Last year the price went down considerably after we had booked and I cancelled and re-booked, we forfeited our deposit £300 but ended up in a higher grade cabin for less money, we booked direct with Celebrity.

[Gordoncruickshank]

The last buy one get one half price gave genuine savings as they didn't raise the price immediately before they ran that offer. I had a RS booked for last October which I cancelled and rebooked saving over £2,000 after taking into account the loss of deposit. There are times when it is worthwhile losing the deposit if the difference was significant. I lost the drinks package but you get that free with the RS anyway.

[wendychloecruiser]

the last buy one get one half price gave genuine savings as they didn't raise the price immediately before they ran that offer. I had a rs booked for last october which i cancelled and rebooked saving over £2,000 after taking into account the loss of deposit. There are times when it is worthwhile losing the deposit if the difference was significant. I lost the drinks package but you get that free with the rs anyway.

 

 

why do we have to lose a deposit?

[villauk]

why do we have to lose a deposit?

 

This has been discussed on more than one occasion:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2401446

[Gordoncruickshank]

why do we have to lose a deposit?

 

 

 

It is the way our world of cruising works. I am not saying it is right but it is how it is.

 

 

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[Presto2]

So I have cruise booked on the Eclipse in June. I'm happy with the rate and location of the cabin. I unusually booked with a large UK agent as it was cheaper than my regular US TA. So far so good.

 

I noticed that the rates had dropped a little bit and there were some C1 cabins available for not much more than I paid for my 2B. As I was bored at home I thought I'd irritate the UK TA and enquire about upgrading despite knowing what the answer would be but it got a little more interesting.

 

I naturally had all the rates at hand when I called. When she did finally return my call she gave me rates that were about £600-800 MORE than what I paid and that would be AFTER I had already forfeited my deposit. I advised her her that those rates were not consistent with their website rates. This where it got interesting.

 

She advised me that if I chose to do this, I would not be eligible for the advertised rates as I had had a booking on that cruise....????WHAT????? Not being particularly shy I calmly tried to engage her into a discussion about this absurdity. I asked about the source of these seemingly arbitrary new rates and she said she wasn't sure. ??wasnt sure?? I was fully aware that I would be forfeiting my deposit but to not be available for the current lower rate was just incredulous to me. So you want to punish me like a 3 year old for wanting to book the same cruise twice for merely wanting a better rate? Wow, just wow.

 

We actually had a very good discussion about the whole situation about the inconsistencies in the UK versus US/CDN booking rules and regs and how these issues are affecting the UK market. Apparently there have been many upper echelon meetings discussing this issue the eventual outcome of which can only be favourable for the British traveller. The UK market has been somewhat protected by the tendency of Brits being quite, may I say, conservative in their decision making. This is certainly changing thanks to forums such as this one.

 

Please Celebrity, just be fair with your fares!

 

We put a deposit in a cruise for 2018 last weekend and their latest offer is that if the prices changes between now and December 2017 then you can rebook at a lower price and will not forfeit your deposit. Similarly, if an offer appears for a free drinks package before Dec 2017 then that would be automatically given to you as well. I saw it in writing ! Seemed a great deal and that's why we have booked early.

[villauk]

We put a deposit in a cruise for 2018 last weekend and their latest offer is that if the prices changes between now and December 2017 then you can rebook at a lower price and will not forfeit your deposit. Similarly, if an offer appears for a free drinks package before Dec 2017 then that would be automatically given to you as well. I saw it in writing ! Seemed a great deal and that's why we have booked early.

 

Yes, they have now offered that perk a couple of times throughout the last year. I did notice there was a timeframe on the offer though, so reservations for next summer's cruises would obviously be more at risk to losing out than those cruisers sailing early next year. Perhaps that will be the way they try to slightly bridge the gap between our booking terms and that of other countries?

[wendychloecruiser]

We put a deposit in a cruise for 2018 last weekend and their latest offer is that if the prices changes between now and December 2017 then you can rebook at a lower price and will not forfeit your deposit. Similarly, if an offer appears for a free drinks package before Dec 2017 then that would be automatically given to you as well. I saw it in writing ! Seemed a great deal and that's why we have booked early.

 

This is really encouraging. Just watch them offer a drinks package in January! Grumpy me! Please get it all in writing.

[mustafabalcony]

If the travel agent is getting a percentage commission on a booking, it won't be in their interests to help their clients to re_book at a lower price. It could even be that the agent takes their commission as soon as a client pays a deposit.

[wendychloecruiser]

If the travel agent is getting a percentage commission on a booking, it won't be in their interests to help their clients to re_book at a lower price. It could even be that the agent takes their commission as soon as a client pays a deposit.

 

But it would certainly be in their long term interests for future bookings. it is my belief that cruises are like Dachsunds....one is never enough...

[Chunky2219]

It's not so long ago that Celebrity allowed UK bookers to get a reduction if the price dropped. Once, I got two drops on the same cruise, although granted, the second one did cost me a £15 admin fee which my TA tried to avoid on my behalf.

 

It was a good reason to book early with X, unlike the Carnival Group lines where I lurk like a vulture, waiting to pick off late falling meat. But no more, since about 2016 Celebrity has closed the gap and I'm treating them the same as all the rest, hence why there's no forthcoming cruises in my sig.

 

There's absolutely no reason why they can't adopt the same model in the UK than in the US other than they think were all soft in the head and we'll put up with it.

[villauk]

 

There's absolutely no reason why they can't adopt the same model in the UK than in the US other than they think were all soft in the head and we'll put up with it.

 

Lol :D

[Kitekat]

We put a deposit in a cruise for 2018 last weekend and their latest offer is that if the prices changes between now and December 2017 then you can rebook at a lower price and will not forfeit your deposit. Similarly, if an offer appears for a free drinks package before Dec 2017 then that would be automatically given to you as well. I saw it in writing ! Seemed a great deal and that's why we have booked early.

 

We booked our September 2017 B2B2B in December 2015 under similar conditions. I kept an eye on prices and when they dropped in the middle of the year, I called our TA to double check and we got a cheaper price and a drinks package. The third cruise would not have much of a price change as it is one of the most popular (and a repositioning, therefore no drinks package). So, unless your TA is absolutely hot on watching prices, I would recommend you do this yourself, but it does work.