FINALLY offering 3 perks again!!!!

[mek]

2 hours ago, sfaaa said:

Perks in this promo are consisted of Free Gratuities and/or OBC. Both are cash in kind perks equivalent to actual cash discount in your pocket.

Im not sure what the particulars are for the promo that started this thread, but I know 95% of the time people are not getting anything free and although the included perks may be offered for less than they would pay on board, they are only valuable if a person wants or can use them.  

For my husband and myself  included perks only increase the price of the cruise and since we both have pre existing conditions that require us to always buy insurance we end up paying more for insurance than any perks are worth.  

 

So now I will book more cruises after the final payment date passes - the prices generally go down and I don't have to worry about non refundable charges. I'm not terribly picky about cabin location and I can always find something that  will make me happy.

 

[Wine-O]

We booked Constellation European cruise with 2 perks.  The cost of the cruise since we booked has gone up $400 per stateroom.  To add the additional perk, it would cost an additional $800.  Not such a good deal in my opinion. 

 

You need to check with your TA to see if you can add the additional perk without paying the additional amount from your original booking.   🍷

[lmb84]

On 6/12/2019 at 2:18 PM, Cruise Junky said:

what a joke....add an extra perk and the price goes up $800 Cdn.  Now the price of the Non Refundable with 1 perk is the same as the two perks refundable deposit yesterday.  Do they think people are stupid?   I'll pass.

I hear you....at about 38% exchange???? NOPE, NOT HAPPENING

[Glendakayself]

OP, Thanks for posting. I had checked the price yesterday, but I had not noticed the added perk(s). The price has been the same for almost a week and did not change. We were planning on waiting a couple of weeks and changing to the Non-refundable deposit for a savings of over $1300 but adding the gratituties to our reservation which would have made our savings less. As it is, we were able to switch to the NRD and add the grats. The price drop is greater than our remaining balance, and we are receiving a refund to our credit card and will have to pay back $300 in OBC that we spent on excursions. That said, we saved a little over $1,000 could still have price drops before our final payment July 8. Non-refundable strikes fear in my heart, but we do have insurance.

 

We also tried to add a perk to our Ref. Dep. 2020 Alaskan cruise, but the price had increased by $90 before the 3-perk special. $90 is not bad for an extra perk, but we did not need it. (Already had 2 perks included.)

Edited June 14, 2019 by Glendakayself

[Janthere]

Thanks to the OP - we were able to get the third perk for free on our original booking with 2 perks. 🙂 Never would have seen that without this board!

 

[jelayne]

Every time there is a promotion some find it of no value and others save $ or gain a perk or upgrade.  This promotion worked for us, price reduced by $400 and we added a perk.  

We have been fortunate to have promos work for us more often than not.   One of the perks are ever free but when you can get a better price it’s a win.

[happy cruzer]

Just a reminder, be sure to price your cruise with 2 perks and then again with 3 perks.  In our case the 2 perks (bev package and grats) was a better value, adding the 3 perk of OBC added more cost to the fare than the OBC added.  The internet package would have been a good value as the 3rd perk but not one we use.  We did stay with a prev promo Sail Beyond with 2 perks because the price was lower.  Just a reminder to check all the options.

[Beth_55]

Is it possible to change to non refundable and 1 perk if I am booked at refundable and 2 perks ?  

[prish]

9 hours ago, jelayne said:

Every time there is a promotion some find it of no value and others save $ or gain a perk or upgrade.  This promotion worked for us, price reduced by $400 and we added a perk.  

We have been fortunate to have promos work for us more often than not.   One of the perks are ever free but when you can get a better price it’s a win.

 

Very true jelayne. I just got off the phone with Celebrity and repriced our Apex May 10, 2020 sailing. Got $200 off per person plus a third perk of OBC $300. We’d chosen the beverage package and gratuities when we booked. 

 

Lucky this worked for us, we have an Alaska sailing in less than a month which doesn’t qualify. You win some...

[The Fun Researcher]

As others have said, when I repriced our cruise with 3 perks all it did was add to the price of the cruise (at least as much as the value of the 3rd perk).  No thanks.  I'm happier with the two selections of Classic Drink Package and $150 OBC for two.   I could care less about getting the gratuities paid for because they are coming out of the OBC already.  The high speed internet is one of the last things I want on a cruise.  We like to disconnect, and only send pictures and photos to friends and family back home when we get to certain ports.

Dan

Edited June 14, 2019 by The Fun Researcher

[capsplace]

We have two cruises impacted.  For one, the current going rate is identical to our booked rate.  They added the extra perk, no charge.  As for the other, the current going rate is much greater than our booked rate.  To get the extra perk, we would have to pay the current going rate, which we did not.

Edited June 14, 2019 by capsplace

[goofysmom99]

2 hours ago, Beth_55 said:

Is it possible to change to non refundable and 1 perk if I am booked at refundable and 2 perks ?  

Yes it is.  I'm in the process of changing two refundable B2B cruises ($100 deposit onboard bookings) in fall 2020 to nonrefundable with one perk.  Net change is $780 lower fare and $600 OBC added.  I don't drink now but do get the coffees so a beverage pkg no longer has appeal.  

[debshomespun]

Changed our 5/13/20 Equinox 10 day sailing from 2 perks (drink pkg & $300 OBC) refundable, to 1 perk (drink pkg) and saved $900. Already have $200. OBC to use towards gratuities. Much better deal IMHO. Very happy. 

Edited June 14, 2019 by debshomespun

[The Fun Researcher]

35 minutes ago, debshomespun said:

Changed our 5/13/20 Equinox 10 day sailing from 2 perks (drink pkg & $300 OBC) refundable, to 1 perk (drink pkg) and saved $900. Already have $200. OBC to use towards gratuities. Much better deal IMHO. Very happy. 

 

I'll be interested to see if we have an opportunity to save some money by going non-refundable as well, once we book flights.  That's the trigger point for me to be o.k. to book non-refundable.  If I've invested the cash for flights then we are going for sure.

Dan

[oneputt18]

We booked 12 day silhouette cruise for our 50 th anniversary in March of 2020 . We did it in December while we were on the Equinox. Got two perks plus extra $200 OBC. We paid $5025 for two in Aqua, price today is $11,210. Would somebody seriously pay that much for a 12 day cruise on Celebrity in Aqua class? 

[Beth_55]

So I rebooked at the non refundable, and just 1 perk. Will buy internet later. Lost my 200.00 OBC but still came out ahead.  Final payment tomorrow and then I can quit looking !  LOL   Yeah right ! 

[Cruise Raider]

On 6/14/2019 at 6:42 AM, happy cruzer said:

Just a reminder, be sure to price your cruise with 2 perks and then again with 3 perks.  In our case the 2 perks (bev package and grats) was a better value, adding the 3 perk of OBC added more cost to the fare than the OBC added.  The internet package would have been a good value as the 3rd perk but not one we use.  We did stay with a prev promo Sail Beyond with 2 perks because the price was lower.  Just a reminder to check all the options.

 

Precisely!!  I had the agent on the phone for over an hour (so very helpful)!  As mentioned, I was able to upgrade from an inside to an OV, pay just a tiny bit more and pick up an extra perk ... so the math worked out in our favor as I was able to upgrade my cabin.  

I did choose the internet instead of the OBC even though only one of us needs the internet.  However, I am kind of wondering if I would be able to swap it out for OBC down the road if I find I won't need the internet after all (or if it goes on sale).  The agent did check on the price of the internet and it was $299 for one device ... and already had some OBC from a FCD and a goodwill gesture from Celebrity ... so it was awash and as of now, we will get two devices with unlimited WiFi.  It won't go to waste.  

Anyway ... I digress ... and yes, you are absolutely correct ... just do the math.  For me, it worked in my favor!  For others, it may not.  

[CA_Cruzing]

Our cruise in Mar 13 2020 has now increased $900 per person. This “sale” didn’t offer much value to us. 

[4cats4me]

For us, we could have dropped from 4 to 3 perks for $235 savings, but that would have meant losing the Premium Bvg Pckg, so for a 10 day cruise we want the Premium, hence no real saving after all.

It’s all about knowing your prices. 

We booke at a very good rate back in November and have watched our cruise prices spiral out of control worse than the stock market, only to be back at the same price we booked last November.  😏

[wrk2cruise]

On 6/12/2019 at 2:42 PM, Cruise Junky said:

It might be a website glitch, but check out the cancellation rules.  Mine said I would lose 25% of the fare if cancelled after next week even though the deposit is only half of that.  Very strange terms.

 

I think that's the new penalty after final payment.  It used to be just the deposit amount but now it's 25%.  I guess since they have so many reduced deposit offers.

[Jimbo59]

So Celebrity has a curious marketing approach. For a cruise over a year from now, I can book with a non-refundable deposit, or I could pay $630 additional per person to reserve a cruise with a refundable deposit and some perks that I don’t want or need.

 

I told Celebrity to let me know when I can book with a refundable deposit and no perks. Meanwhile I will be looking at other cruise companies.

 

 

[cruisingnewtoit]

I never switched from 4 to 3 perks because my cruise price would have stayed the same.

 

My cruise price dropped $200 when the 4 perks came back.

[lienf]

The 3 perks worked for us. We have a 19 night TP booked in April 2021, originally with no perks. Added the perks for $1400 $C for the two of us. Grats, drink package, and $300 OBC. Our TA has given us $950 OBC which is refundable so we won’t need that. So the upgrade is basically $450. Without the prepaid gratuities we would have had to pay $730 just for that. 

[FirstTimeFreddy]

I wish Celebrity had the same promotions on both sides of the Atlantic. In the UK their current promotion is a free Classic drinks package and free onboard gratuities. So I guess that's 2 perks, though they don't call them perks on the UK website. Though when I received my invoice for my September cruise, there was also a £200 'Summer Saving' discount for each of us. This wasn't part of the promotion when I booked, so must've been automatically deducted from the price we were shown at the time of booking.

 

Last November we got the classic drinks package and the ultimate wifi free with our booking. To be honest, I'd rather free wifi and pay the gratuities instead. Are any of the perks interchangeable if you have a UK booking?