Black Friday + Winter promotion: 1 free perk for "Sail" and "Sail Plus"

[mikkelhansen]

There have been a few threads asking about Black Friday deals with Celebrity, so here's some info, together with some info about Celebrity's winter promotion.

 

Black Friday / Cyber Monday

Promotion booking window: November 26 - December 3, 2019 for sailings departing January 1, 2020 - May 3, 2021

Offer: 25$pp deposits + Get one free additional perk with "Sail" and "Sail Plus" price tiers - can be combined with the "normal" November promotion, ie. 100$ additional OBC for all persons in the stateroom. The free perk is a choice of Classic Beverage Package (will result in cruise price increase), Unlimited Wifi and Prepaid Gratuities.

Only valid with non-refundable deposit (this seems to be the new trend for these "flash sales").

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/CEL_The_BIG_Deal_Offer_Nov.pdf (TA-oriented info about the promotion)

https://www.celebritycruises.com/cruise-deals/black-friday (Official page, but no useful info yet)

 

Sail Beyond Event

Promotion booking window: December 19, 2019 - February 5, 2020 for sailings departing January 2, 2020 - May 3, 2022 (the full 2021/2022 itineraries have NOT been released yet, and to my knowledge are not accessible via any means as of yet!)

Offer: Get one free additional perk with "Sail" and "Sail Plus" price tiers. The free perk is a choice of Classic Beverage Package (will result in cruise price increase), Unlimited Wifi, Prepaid Gratuities and 150$ OBC pp.

Valid with both non-refundable and refundable deposits.

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/CEL_2020_Wave_Offer_Sail_Beyond_Event.pdf (TA-oriented info about the promotion)

[bikerunner]

I was hoping they would run this again like they did last year.  I can live with if I have to forfeit the deposit of 25/50 for the room.  Couple cruises I have been thinking about for next year and this might work in helping me decided.  Ill be on Celebrity thru the 29th on the reflection so will see if I can get the additional obc for booking on board. 

[mikkelhansen]

1 minute ago, bikerunner said:

I was hoping they would run this again like they did last year.  I can live with if I have to forfeit the deposit of 25/50 for the room.  Couple cruises I have been thinking about for next year and this might work in helping me decided.  Ill be on Celebrity thru the 29th on the reflection so will see if I can get the additional obc for booking on board. 

The BF promotion is combinable with the November offer, so I believe it would be combinable with the Future Cruises promotion as well.

[barbette165]

" The free perk is a choice of Classic Beverage Package (will result in cruise price increase),...."

 

I know the use of English varies between the UK and the US, but this does seem to be a very strange interpretation of the word "free"

Edited November 13, 2019 by barbette165

[Iamcruzin]

5 minutes ago, barbette165 said:

" The free perk is a choice of Classic Beverage Package (will result in cruise price increase),...."

 

I know the use of English varies between the UK and the US, but this does seem to be a very interpretation of the word "free"

Celebrity has their own language that doesn't translate the same in British or American. They can claim it's free because they are charging more for the cruise not the drink package.

Edited November 13, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[vtcruising]

On 11/13/2019 at 9:37 AM, barbette165 said:

" The free perk is a choice of Classic Beverage Package (will result in cruise price increase),...."

 

I know the use of English varies between the UK and the US, but this does seem to be a very strange interpretation of the word "free"

I think they actually may not be charging the $14/day for the Beverage Package perk. This is what I found - they have it in in big letters that they won't be charging and then in the fine print it says they are (maybe they changed their minds and decided not to charge extra, but forgot to change the fine print?). Clear as mud!

 

 

Edited November 24, 2019 by vtcruising

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Clear as mud!

 

Which is just how they like it.

[mikkelhansen]

13 hours ago, vtcruising said:

I think they actually may not be charging the $14/day for the Beverage Package perk. This is what I found - they have it in in big letters that they won't be charging and then in the fine print it says they are (maybe they changed their minds and decided not to charge extra, but forgot to change the fine print?). Clear as mud!

 

 

To be honest, I actually am in doubt whether that line was added in the PDF after my original post, or if I simply overlooked it back then and found the price increase term in the small print. But if there is indeed no 14$ upcharge for the beverage perk as the extra perk, I definitely know which perk I am choosing, when the promotion starts tomorrow! We already have OBC and gratuities as the two standard perks, and wifi isn't really essential for us - so getting the beverage perk for free would be fantastic. But I won't get too excited since the upcharge is still mentioned in the small print - but that could be a copy-paste error by just using the standard terms.

[vtcruising]

1 hour ago, mikkelhansen said:

To be honest, I actually am in doubt whether that line was added in the PDF after my original post, or if I simply overlooked it back then and found the price increase term in the small print. But if there is indeed no 14$ upcharge for the beverage perk as the extra perk, I definitely know which perk I am choosing, when the promotion starts tomorrow! We already have OBC and gratuities as the two standard perks, and wifi isn't really essential for us - so getting the beverage perk for free would be fantastic. But I won't get too excited since the upcharge is still mentioned in the small print - but that could be a copy-paste error by just using the standard terms.

I am hoping it is the fine print that was the copy error, since the other one hasn't been in any other ads as far as I know, so less likely to be copy error (though they could have changed their minds and taken it out).

 

If it is true, It's funny because it is what some of us here predicted: 1) that TA's would waive the cost as a perk (being done) and 2) X might waive the cost in certain sales (maybe being done starting tomorrow). Marketing is an amazing thing - notice how after 6 weeks of the price addition to the beverage package perk and the angst it has caused, they can change it into a perk and a positive thing. 🙂

 

The other thing I noticed was that we are only allowed to book one cruise with the $25 deposit. Is that normal? I've booked at $20 and $25 deposits before, but can't remember if I have booked more than one at those deposit rates.

[mikkelhansen]

20 hours ago, vtcruising said:

I am hoping it is the fine print that was the copy error, since the other one hasn't been in any other ads as far as I know, so less likely to be copy error (though they could have changed their minds and taken it out).

The beverage perk has NO fare increase during the BF promotion (at least with the US TA I use). No separate upcharge is added on the final booking page either, which would also be strange, since it is indeed not an upcharge, but a fare increase:

 

 

Furthermore, like the Veteran's Day sale, this is an actual free perk - no "hidden" charge via an increased base cruise fare. The four Apex 2021 sailings I checked have the same rates as yesterday and in the weekend, but now just with one/three perks instead of zero/two perks.

Edited November 26, 2019 by mikkelhansen

[wrk2cruise]

I still haven't seen the sale posted on the US Celebrity site or the large TA sites I use.  I'd be interested in this TA site for research.  My email is wrk2cruise at nc.rr.com

[PhillyTravelBug]

Looks like I just might keep saving and wait for another Veterans Day type of sale. This Black Friday sale isn’t spectacular.

[mikkelhansen]

1 hour ago, wrk2cruise said:

I still haven't seen the sale posted on the US Celebrity site or the large TA sites I use.  I'd be interested in this TA site for research.  My email is wrk2cruise at nc.rr.com

I sent you an e-mail.

 

4 minutes ago, Joeghartman said:

Looks like I just might keep saving and wait for another Veterans Day type of sale. This Black Friday sale isn’t spectacular.

It's still one free perk. Agreed, not four perks for the two perks price, but for 2021 sailings - and especially the just-released 2022 sailings, this is a great way to secure one free additional perk, and I guess the four-for-two promotion will return at some point (Veterans Day sale was only for 2020 sailings). If the price for our cabin is still the same at that time, or just slightly increased, we'll just do another upgrade to all four perks.

Remember, you can reprice your booking at any time to the current promotion. So you could reprice your current (two-perk, I suppose) booking to this BF promotion and get the free perk, and if a better promotion turns up later at no or just an acceptable price increase, you can reprice your booking to that promotion again.

Edited November 26, 2019 by mikkelhansen

[PhillyTravelBug]

I didn’t think of booking and then always switching to a better promo offer when one becomes available. I may do that. Thanks.

[killsport]

2 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

I'd be interested in this TA site for research.

Me too. Any hints or key words I might search on google to find it?

[mikkelhansen]

23 minutes ago, Joeghartman said:

I didn’t think of booking and then always switching to a better promo offer when one becomes available. I may do that. Thanks.

Of course, you should be aware of any TA restrictions that would prohibit this, but I believe nearly all US-based TAs allow this, and the same when booking directly with Celebrity.

 

Just now, killsport said:

Me too. Any hints or key words I might search on google to find it?

I can't write it out due to forum rules, but it's an American TA that sells cheap cruises - you could even say discount cruises.

Hope that helps.

Edited November 26, 2019 by mikkelhansen

[vtcruising]

If you book now without the beverage package $14/day surcharge, they will add it if you rebook to get a lower price, unless that offer also waives the extra charge, correct? If the offer is worth it due to the deposit and extra perk, then that may not matter to someone, but just wanted to point it out.

[mikkelhansen]

1 hour ago, vtcruising said:

If you book now without the beverage package $14/day surcharge, they will add it if you rebook to get a lower price, unless that offer also waives the extra charge, correct? If the offer is worth it due to the deposit and extra perk, then that may not matter to someone, but just wanted to point it out.

I definitely believe so, I forgot to mention that in my previous post. The FAQ sheet about the 14$ explicitly mentioned that a repricing after October 10 would incur the 14$pppd increase, unless it would be waived by the promotion (last part not mentioned directly, but concluded implicitly), like now with the BF promotion.

It was more the point that if anyone was waiting for the 4-for-2 perks promotion to return, you would get the premium package anyway, and thus no 14$ increase at that time. So this promotion with one free perk would be a good "half-way solution" to get the beverage package added with no price increase, and it could act as a springboard for a future upgrade to 4-for-2, if the price at that time was acceptable.

Edited November 26, 2019 by mikkelhansen

[vtcruising]

Even if the $14/day was added, one might still come out ahead with a price drop. Just wanted to remind people that may be part of the equation when rebooking. 🙂

[TeeRick]

Hard to see the fine print but I think the offer excludes suites for the $25 deposit.  It would be nice if they had at least some amount of reduced deposit for suites too.

[koolforkatz]

I did a couple of mock bookings and see no additional charge for drink package.

 

Question:  for a non-refundable deposit, if you book under this $25 deposit promotion then you would only be out about $25 if you cancelled? Versus a $900 non-refundable deposit where you would have to pay the much larger change fee if you cancelled? Or would they come after you for more money if you cancelled/changed? I can't see anything in fine print regarding that.

[mrsg00fy]

1 hour ago, koolforkatz said:

 

Question:  for a non-refundable deposit, if you book under this $25 deposit promotion then you would only be out about $25 if you cancelled? Versus a $900 non-refundable deposit where you would have to pay the much larger change fee if you cancelled? Or would they come after you for more money if you cancelled/changed? I can't see anything in fine print regarding that.

I’d like to know the answer to this as well.  I thought that this had been discussed on this board but I am unable to find that thread.  

[wrk2cruise]

Also note the sale only applies to sailings up to May 3, 2021, so does not include the just opened Europe sailings.  The flyer for the Wave promo next month does include those so I guess I'll have to wait and hope the prices don't go up.  Ya right.

[Laurab23]

Just now, wrk2cruise said:

Also note the sale only applies to sailings up to May 3, 2021, so does not include the just opened Europe sailings.  The flyer for the Wave promo next month does include those so I guess I'll have to wait and hope the prices don't go up.  Ya right.

Also does not include Bermuda 2021.

[wrk2cruise]

I read the fine print and it doesn't mention anything about NRD and the typical $100 admin fee stuff so I'm pretty sure you just lose the $25 deposit.    The fine print does say the $25 deposits are only for the NRD fares so full deposit on Suites and Refundable fares.