Group rates on the Edge

[grandgeezer]

Got an e-mail from my online travel agency and they have group rates on the Edge for this fall and winter. They do charge a cancellation fee. The last week of November and the first three weeks December is almost $1,000 p.p., for an infinity balcony, less than Celebrity’s web site. They are also giving 10% of the base cost as a refundable obc. I checked four different cabins and they show up available on both Celebrity’s and TA’s web site as available, so they are not holding back any premium cabins.That’s $325. Not interested unless the price drops a couple of hundred dollars p.p. I’m not interested in the perks so the cruise isn’t worth it to us. We are doing a Yacht Club Suite, on MSC, in October for less money.

[KikisDad]

Not a fan of cancellation fees by TAs. Sometimes it is worth it to do a non refundable deposit with the cruise line. If you don’t want perks, tell your TA, most of the time there are lower ‘standard’ rates. Good luck. 

[hcat]

I'd make sure they are not obstructed views... by lifeboats or  davits..

Edited January 13, 2019 by hcat

[grandgeezer]

This isn’t a guarantee. There are lots of cabins left that are unobstructive with prime locations.

As far as cancellation fees, I’d gladly risk the $100 for a chance to save $2000. I checked a couple of other online agencies and they weren’t offering this deal.

[hcat]

Guess they will get a good response b/c EDGE prices are still high!

Edited January 13, 2019 by hcat

[villauk]

14 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

Got an e-mail from my online travel agency and they have group rates on the Edge for this fall and winter. They do charge a cancellation fee. The last week of November and the first three weeks December is almost $1,000 p.p., for an infinity balcony, less than Celebrity’s web site. They are also giving 10% of the base cost as a refundable obc. I checked four different cabins and they show up available on both Celebrity’s and TA’s web site as available, so they are not holding back any premium cabins.That’s $325. Not interested unless the price drops a couple of hundred dollars p.p. I’m not interested in the perks so the cruise isn’t worth it to us. We are doing a Yacht Club Suite, on MSC, in October for less money.

 

 

So not only are they offering free cruises on Edge to casino players, they are highly discounting to their best TAs! I obviously knew certain TAs get the best rates, but $1000pp less than X’s pricing is a huge amount this early in the game 😮! Are they offering the 4 perk promo in with the deal too and is it just for IVs?

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I guess any way to cook the books and fill those cabins, while on the surface looking like everything's going for top dollar.  They could just lower the price to $1,500 rather than charing half their passengers $2,000, and the other half $1,000, but that won't keep up the image...

[ipeeinthepool]

17 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

Got an e-mail from my online travel agency and they have group rates on the Edge for this fall and winter. They do charge a cancellation fee. The last week of November and the first three weeks December is almost $1,000 p.p., for an infinity balcony, less than Celebrity’s web site. They are also giving 10% of the base cost as a refundable obc. I checked four different cabins and they show up available on both Celebrity’s and TA’s web site as available, so they are not holding back any premium cabins.That’s $325. Not interested unless the price drops a couple of hundred dollars p.p. I’m not interested in the perks so the cruise isn’t worth it to us. We are doing a Yacht Club Suite, on MSC, in October for less money.

 

It looks like the "Revolution" against the outrageous prices on the Edge is underway.  

[grandgeezer]

7 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

So not only are they offering free cruises on Edge to casino players, they are highly discounting to their best TAs! I obviously knew certain TAs get the best rates, but $1000pp less than X’s pricing is a huge amount this early in the game 😮! Are they offering the 4 perk promo in with the deal too and is it just for IVs?

 

It's all four perks for oceanview and up. I believe the oceanview is $1249 p.p. and the regular balconys are in the $1499 range. the  IV balconys are $1619. None of these include taxes and port charges.

[grandgeezer]

7 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

So not only are they offering free cruises on Edge to casino players, they are highly discounting to their best TAs! I obviously knew certain TAs get the best rates, but $1000pp less than X’s pricing is a huge amount this early in the game 😮! Are they offering the 4 perk promo in with the deal too and is it just for IVs?

 

22 hours ago, hcat said:

I'd make sure they are not obstructed views... by lifeboats or  davits..

 

It appears to be for everybody. if you figure out who it is, it will show Celebrity’s price, start the booking. When you get to picking a cabin, the prices I mentioned will show up. It doesn’t show the four perks (e-mail I got did). If interested, give them a call to verify. I’ve done 20+ cruises with them and I still call them to book.

What I like a out them when you agree to the deal, they will put the cabin on hold and send you an e-mail spelling out exactly what perks you are getting from Celebrity and what you are getting from them. Takes out all the questions if something happens down the road. If you agree, fill in the blanks and return it and the cabin will be booked.

It might not be worth it to some people as they do charge a cancelation fee.

[hcat]

Sounds like a good deal..we usually book directly with X..

 

I called X  to check our future cruises..the 3 perks offer X has online did not apply..but we did get good  rates when we booked

 

[Lastdance]

I say...let the games begin...Celebrity Air is making changes to their internal system, so it is not functioning very well...told that when I called yesterday...more IT issues...airlines are higher, so after my April TA, if prices on airfare are crazy, I will cancel or switch, quite possibly losing $100...just the way the world is nowadays!

Edited January 14, 2019 by Lastdance

[ipeeinthepool]

On ‎1‎/‎13‎/‎2019 at 1:52 PM, grandgeezer said:

Got an e-mail from my online travel agency and they have group rates on the Edge for this fall and winter. They do charge a cancellation fee. The last week of November and the first three weeks December is almost $1,000 p.p., for an infinity balcony, less than Celebrity’s web site. They are also giving 10% of the base cost as a refundable obc. I checked four different cabins and they show up available on both Celebrity’s and TA’s web site as available, so they are not holding back any premium cabins.That’s $325. Not interested unless the price drops a couple of hundred dollars p.p. I’m not interested in the perks so the cruise isn’t worth it to us. We are doing a Yacht Club Suite, on MSC, in October for less money.

 

I know you can't identify the TA but could you reply with an interesting riddle?

[grandgeezer]

1 hour ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

I know you can't identify the TA but could you reply with an interesting riddle?

 

They charge a cancellation fee.

Sales open Mon-Fri, Service Mon-Sat though you can book online 24/7

They are located on the east coast

They don't deal, they give you a best and final offer upfront.

They've one many awards from the cruise lines for sales and customer service.

This deal is supposed to end Wednesday. Depending on demand it might end earlier. It was still available five minutes ago.

 

[cruiserchuck]

15 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

So not only are they offering free cruises on Edge to casino players, they are highly discounting to their best TAs! I obviously knew certain TAs get the best rates, but $1000pp less than X’s pricing is a huge amount this early in the game 😮! Are they offering the 4 perk promo in with the deal too and is it just for IVs?

 

i suspect the TA held a block of rooms when the Edge cruises first went on sale.  Since prices have gone up since then, the TA can now offer them at a rate lower than on Celebrity's website.  I have twice been able to get cabins far below Celebrity's current price, and in both cases the TA had a block of rooms reserved from when prices were lower.

 

I doubt that Celebrity is now discounting the rates to the TA.  Celebrity generally seems to charge the same rate to everyone (other than senior/resident rates) at the same time, although some TAs offer more perks.

[villauk]

5 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

 

I doubt that Celebrity is now discounting the rates to the TA.  Celebrity generally seems to charge the same rate to everyone (other than senior/resident rates) at the same time, although some TAs offer more perks.

 

 

Possibly, however, with X offering free cruises to some already and the amount of available cabins that are still available, nothing would surprise me. As someone else posted, it’s better to do it through the backdoor quietly to dispose of cabins and save face, rather than drop those prices and have those that have cancelled rebook at cheaper rates if X dropped the prices across their own published rates.

 

It suggests that no block was reserved according to Grandgeezer’s post above - he checked 4 different cabins and all were available on both sites 🤷‍♀️. Personally, I do wonder at the longevity of the IVs on Edge. Some may try them as a one-off but how many will return at this current pricing level? Perhaps Asia is the final destination for the Edge class and they will be modified to suit?

[grandgeezer]

28 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

Possibly, however, with X offering free cruises to some already and the amount of available cabins that are still available, nothing would surprise me. As someone else posted, it’s better to do it through the backdoor quietly to dispose of cabins and save face, rather than drop those prices and have those that have cancelled rebook at cheaper rates if X dropped the prices across their own published rates.

 

It suggests that no block was reserved according to Grandgeezer’s post above - he checked 4 different cabins and all were available on both sites 🤷‍♀️. Personally, I do wonder at the longevity of the IVs on Edge. Some may try them as a one-off but how many will return at this current pricing level? Perhaps Asia is the final destination for the Edge class and they will be modified to suit?

 

My understanding on how group rates work, at least through the TA I use is, they go to Celebrity and tell them they will sell, I'll say 100 cabins total on a particular cruise. Celebrity will give them a flat percentage discount per cabin, no matter what the category is. That way there is no premium cabins taken out of the system until they are actually booked.  I think they are conservative enough with their estimate of cabins so they don't have to worry what happens, discount wise, if they don't meet their quota.

We've been lucky enough to take several group rate cruises through them and we always selected cabins shown on the u.k. site, and not on theirs, and got them every time.

[villauk]

48 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

 

My understanding on how group rates work, at least through the TA I use is, they go to Celebrity and tell them they will sell, I'll say 100 cabins total on a particular cruise. Celebrity will give them a flat percentage discount per cabin, no matter what the category is. That way there is no premium cabins taken out of the system until they are actually booked.  I think they are conservative enough with their estimate of cabins so they don't have to worry what happens, discount wise, if they don't meet their quota.

We've been lucky enough to take several group rate cruises through them and we always selected cabins shown on the u.k. site, and not on theirs, and got them every time.

 

 

Thanks for the explanation. So it is a possibility, as stated, that this may be the case. But there again, I’ve just read on another post that someone was able to upgrade once on the ship - something I’ve not heard of in years. There’s usually a sign up on GS stating the ship is sailing ‘full’ so don’t bother asking and this has been the case whenever we, or someone in our group, has asked. Makes you wonder if X are already struggling to push the Edge cabins 🤔?

 

I know our X site does show all available cabins which isn’t always the case on the US one 😉. 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

17 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

Makes you wonder if X are already struggling to push the Edge cabins 🤔?

 

 

With 2/3 of passengers either being neutral to negative, I can't see why.  If this forum doesn't get flooded with new accounts from non-cruisers excited about Edge, I'd say that it is a flop (at least at the current price point).  

 

Casino Players and TA partners, X is trying to reach out to their existing base to fill cabins.  Why not partner with Hyatt or something, and offer a special rate to non-cruisers with hotel status?  That's suppose to be the whole point here.

[villauk]

2 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

With 2/3 of passengers either being neutral to negative, I can't see why.  If this forum doesn't get flooded with new accounts from non-cruisers excited about Edge, I'd say that it is a flop (at least at the current price point).  

 

Casino Players and TA partners, X is trying to reach out to their existing base to fill cabins.  Why not partner with Hyatt or something, and offer a special rate to non-cruisers with hotel status?  That's suppose to be the whole point here.

 

 

If it was free, I’d try the IV . But as it stands, we prefer sailing in a proper balcony and so would not pay the current IV rates. Same for Apex and Beyond, unless they reconsider proper balconies or the itineraries are something special (that could also be a way to generate more business from past passengers/existing base: more exciting itineraries). Personally, the window set-up works more on river cruises because you are closer to the water. If I wanted an OV, I’d book an OV and expect to pay considerably less than Edge pricing IVs.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

4 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

If it was free, I’d try the IV . But as it stands, we prefer sailing in a proper balcony and so would not pay the current IV rates. Same for Apex and Beyond, unless they reconsider proper balconies or the itineraries are something special (that could also be a way to generate more business from past passengers/existing base: more exciting itineraries). Personally, the window set-up works more on river cruises because you are closer to the water. If I wanted an OV, I’d book an OV and expect to pay considerably less than Edge pricing IVs.

 

Exactly, River Cruises are closer to the water and you've got plenty of room to relax, eat or have a beverage, and stretch out your legs.

 

 

[ipeeinthepool]

12 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

 

They charge a cancellation fee.

Sales open Mon-Fri, Service Mon-Sat though you can book online 24/7

They are located on the east coast

They don't deal, they give you a best and final offer upfront.

They've one many awards from the cruise lines for sales and customer service.

This deal is supposed to end Wednesday. Depending on demand it might end earlier. It was still available five minutes ago.

 

 

I wish I knew the answer to this riddle. Should I start at the beginning of the alphabet  or should I expect some competition for my cruise?

[Stateroom_Sailor]

10 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

I wish I knew the answer to this riddle. Should I start at the beginning of the alphabet  or should I expect some competition for my cruise?

 

If you put an e-mail in your signature, I'm sure someone will contact you directly.

[ipeeinthepool]

14 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

If you put an e-mail in your signature, I'm sure someone will contact you directly.

 

Done, it was always in my signature but I guess I need to show my signature to enable others to see it.  We'll see if this helps me solve the riddle.

[grandgeezer]

5 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

I wish I knew the answer to this riddle. Should I start at the beginning of the alphabet  or should I expect some competition for my cruise?

 

It's a two word name. first and last word start with the same letter. Start at the front, you won't have to go far.  I've tried the competition one several times and have found at least two agencies that beat them every time. I still just check these two, but Agency #1 beats them every time, most of the times they're close, except for group bookings. Only one more day to take advantage of it, at least for now.