Beware the "Loyalty NRD"

[DCPIV]

3 minutes ago, lorimay said:

I have to believe this is a glitch in their website and not an intentional feature.

 

I sort of agree with you.  I don't believe they are intentionally misleading anyone, and I mildly regret that I implied otherwise.  However, the website is misleading, and it's not just a glitch.  There's a step or two missing or, at least, a lack of transparency that needs to be fixed.

[wrk2cruise]

I ran into this when the Loyalty NRD promo first came out.  The website was broken and the confirmation page displayed the Always Included section including listing all 3 perks.  When I called my TA the next day to reprice he instantly told me that that rate didn't include perks.  I tried another dummy booking and it had in fact been corrected.  He sent the screen shots (take over the weekend) to resolutions and they eventually honored the price with AI perks.

 

The other key when booking non Retreat categories is you are not instantly offered Elevate or Indulge upgrades, this mean no perks with the rate you are investigating.

 

It sure would be nice if they just gave you a selection of rates with what is included so you could select what you wanted.   Oh wait that's the way it used to be and "Always Included" was introduced to simplify things.

[hiccups]

I discovered this about two weeks ago when I was pricing out cruises.  When it asked me if I wanted to pre-pay gratuities, I figured something was up.  I knew that the “Always Included” items should appear on the booking screen, and they weren’t listed.

 

I decided to try the booking without my state or CC membership number, and boom, it was back to AI!  The price differential was more than worth it to us (much less than the $100/day a few people have said is assigned to AI).

Edited October 26, 2021 by hiccups

[jelayne]

17 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

 

We actually do have a good TA.  She's good at what she does, and she's responsive.  We use her when we need to or when we have a more complex trip. We actually have a couple of Silversea bookings coming up that we did through her.

 

I sort of feel a little bad about it when I book a cruise online.  However, by the time I'm done looking at itineraries, pricing, and stateroom availability, I only have a few more clicks to complete the booking.  If I could easily do a courtesy hold from the website, I would love nothing more than to do that and then refer it to her so that we could go over things and then let her complete the booking.

I do courtesy holds fairly often and then email my TA who takes over.

[DCPIV]

1 minute ago, wrk2cruise said:

It sure would be nice if they just gave you a selection of rates with what is included so you could select what you wanted.   Oh wait that's the way it used to be and "Always Included" was introduced to simplify things.

 

Yes, indeed.  It wasn't very long ago that you could choose perks (or a perks promotion or something like that).  At the time, that seemed more complex. 🤣

 

Thanks for pointing out about the offer to include Elevate or Indulge.  Yes, that did not come up because I was booking a Retreat category.  I'm not sure what I would have thought if such an offer had come up, but I expect I would have wanted to investigate a little more about what I was booking.

[DCPIV]

15 minutes ago, hiccups said:

The price differential was more than worth it to us (much less than the $100/day a few people have said is assigned to AI).

 

That's how it worked out for us in the end.  The price to reinstate the Retreat perks was only about $100 more than the total of the gratuities and OBC.

[bauermj]

21 minutes ago, hiccups said:

I discovered this about two weeks ago when I was pricing out cruises.  When it asked me if I wanted to pre-pay gratuities, I figured something was up.  I knew that the “Always Included” items should appear on the booking screen, and they weren’t listed.

 

Same for me, the gratuity question was a clue.

 

I do understand how this would lead to confusion and should be fixed by Celebrity. Annoying

[DCPIV]

18 minutes ago, bauermj said:

 

Same for me, the gratuity question was a clue.

 

I do understand how this would lead to confusion and should be fixed by Celebrity. Annoying

 

You reminded me of something that I just confirmed with a mock booking.  The offer to prepay gratuities always comes up on that same page that offers insurance and refundable deposit.  However, the "maybe later" box is checked when making an AI booking.  As it turns out, the "maybe later" box still was checked when I did the mock "Loyalty NRD" booking.  I have to believe that also was the case when I did the actual booking yesterday.

 

There most certainly are some crossed wires.

[misterkevin]

Thank you for posting this. I just got off the phone after waiting on hold for 61 minutes with Celebrity to have the "pleasure" of adding an additional $34 per person per day to include the OBC, Stream Internet, Premium Beverages, and Tips. It's about $100 more in total than I would have paid for the tips and OBC alone. 

 

I asked the service rep if they were getting a lot of calls about this, and she said, "a few, but they are working on the website to better reflect the perks included with the fare." It is a little quizzical (maybe even deceptive) to book a high level suite which is billed as Indulge Perks Always included and not have them included.

[brownc424]

1 minute ago, misterkevin said:

 

 

I asked the service rep if they were getting a lot of calls about this, and she said, "a few, but they are working on the website to better reflect the perks included with the fare." It is a little quizzical (maybe even deceptive) to book a high level suite which is billed as Indulge Perks Always included and not have them included.

While the current issue appears to be a mistake on Celebrity's part, the overall issue with booking a suite and not getting perks is definitely deceptive. If you read the terms and conditions for The Retreat it clearly states that "All guests who book The Retreat on or after November 17, 2020 will receive the Indulge Package at no additional charge". There are no additional clauses excluding certain booking categories.

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, misterkevin said:

Thank you for posting this. I just got off the phone after waiting on hold for 61 minutes with Celebrity to have the "pleasure" of adding an additional $34 per person per day to include the OBC, Stream Internet, Premium Beverages, and Tips. It's about $100 more in total than I would have paid for the tips and OBC alone. 

 

I asked the service rep if they were getting a lot of calls about this, and she said, "a few, but they are working on the website to better reflect the perks included with the fare." It is a little quizzical (maybe even deceptive) to book a high level suite which is billed as Indulge Perks Always included and not have them included.

What suite did you book?

 

[bunnybee]

2 hours ago, bloomcruisers said:

this exact thing happened to me about 2 weeks ago.

I found a nice C1 (sunset veranda?) with the AI  available for a good price. I booked it online and took screenshots of the 2 pages of my confirmation showing AI and specifically listing drink pack, wifi, etc along with the cabin number, price, and deposit paid along with amount due. My CC number was also there.

Then the email confirmation shows up and I notice my remaining payment is lower than the original. So I look closer and see the loyalty NRD and 20% discount instead of AI.  So I call, wait on hold, and get someone who also tries to tell me that is what I booked. I said..No I have screenshots that say otherwise.

So she says OK, and I have to read her everything on my screenshot. After which she says Ok again and that she can match what my screenshot says. Well, I would hope so since I had just booked it online an hour ago.

So the next email confirmation comes in. Lo and behold, it is now an AI rate but $300 some dollars higher than my original booking. So I have to call again. This time I made her stay on the phone till I received a revised email confirmation with all details correct.

So this book and switch is definitely happening and I have no idea why.  So examine online confirmations carefully.

Same.  I stayed on hold until they honored the deal.

[jg51]

3 hours ago, DCPIV said:

Yesterday, we had an unpleasant experience booking a new sailing.  After discovering that we had some time to cruise in February, we poked around on the website and found something we liked and that also had a relatively attractive price for a CS.  We went ahead and booked it.  During the booking, I went ahead and added my Captain's Club number and state of residency to see if we qualified for any "discounts."  The rest of the booking went normally and as expected.  We were pleased to see a very substantial "Loyalty NRD" discount at the checkout page (along with the current 20% promotional discount).  Only after I paid the deposit did I see that we had booked a "simply sail" fare.  I was rather confused and none too happy about that. ... [etc.]

.

Hello, "DCPIV."

 

It's very unfortunate that you -- and some others who have posted on this thread after booking cruises, over the last two weeks -- did not see that we (and "wrk2cruise") exposed this catastrophe on October 10 -- after an experience similar to yours.  We were very fortunate not to have actually proceeded to book a would-be disaster on October 8.  We were lucky to realize what had happened.

 

At this point, we must fully accuse Celebrity of a blatant and deliberate deception, because we reported the problem SEVENTEEN DAYS AGO, but they have done NOTHING to fix the Internet site.  As we explained to more than one person at "X", the page on which we enter our Captain's Club number MUST BE CHANGED to state -- in big, red letters -- that the entry of that number will cause the "Always Included" items to be detached from the reservation.  [Entry of a home state does not cause the same problem.]

 

Celebrity has FAILED to fix that page for more than two weeks now, resulting in the loss of vast amounts of time (spent by guests and CVPs on the phone), worry, and loss of money to those who "gave in" and paid more.  Celebrity should have been restoring the three AI features at NO EXTRA CHARGE to those who were "violated" by the error (failure of notification, up front).

 

Here is our October 10 post, exposing the flaw:

.

[misterkevin]

59 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

What suite did you book?

 

Royal Suite on the Summit for 3/5/22.

[Morecruises1]

I paid for the upgrade for perks at some $706 and have the question that my Xpress pass on the app says "Suite Class".  I booked a retreat room.    Is that going to be a problem with check in to the retreat lounge?  Also my booking still shows adding tips but one poster said that might go away tomorrow.  This is a cray BAD deal.

[LGW59]

Just now, misterkevin said:

Royal Suite on the Summit for 3/5/22.

Wow and it does not show all of the perks that come with that level suite.  They should NOT be adding anything here on this, it is included in that level suite, as you obviously know.  Good luck!!!!

[ORV]

3 hours ago, davekathy said:

Your experiences IMO is why others should heed what you experienced and call Celebrity directly (if they don't want to use a TA) to book their cruises and not thru the website. But not everyone has had bad experiences either. How many times has someone posted on CC how horrible Celebrity's website is. Never mind, I know the answer. A lot. Only speaking for myself I always book over the phone or at the future cruise desk while onboard. Again, thanks for posting your experience. 

Yep, that Celebrity website will make you want to rip your hair out, and not just in the booking process, also when you try to manage your booking. What's truly ironic is when you are working on manage my booking and it's screwing up you see an icon telling you about the awards their website has won. You can make this stuff up. 

[DCPIV]

27 minutes ago, Morecruises1 said:

my Xpress pass on the app says "Suite Class".  I booked a retreat room.    Is that going to be a problem with check in to the retreat lounge?

 

You're good to go. I'm not sure why they haven't shifted to "Retreat" on the Xpress passes, but it's the same thing. 

[misterkevin]

41 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

Wow and it does not show all of the perks that come with that level suite.  They should NOT be adding anything here on this, it is included in that level suite, as you obviously know.  Good luck!!!!

No it didn't. Actually, at only $34pppd more, it's almost as if I were booking to upgrade to the Indulge package over the basic AI fare. The whole experience makes me distrustful of Celebrity in general.

[ReubenR]

The fundamental problem is that Celebrity's website is terrible. Can't remain signed in, can't get the same thing to appear on different visits, can't easily navigate to the information you want, and can make heads nor tails of what you're getting when you book a cruise.

 

I send e-mails to the Engagement Dept (celebrityengagementcenter@celebrity.com) pointing out all the bugs I find each month. Sadly, those problems are rarely addressed. You'd think if website issues are costing the company money due to higher call volume required to fix such mistakes, that the company would rather spend money fixing the problems instead. Oh, well.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2021 by ReubenR
typos

[twincheryl]

deleted

Edited October 26, 2021 by twincheryl

[davekathy]

2 hours ago, ORV said:

Yep, that Celebrity website will make you want to rip your hair out, and not just in the booking process, also when you try to manage your booking. What's truly ironic is when you are working on manage my booking and it's screwing up you see an icon telling you about the awards their website has won. You can make this stuff up. 

Agree and exactly why I would never book directly on their website. I only base this on their website being consistently inconsistent. But I also would never book a cruise on a TAs website either. I want to talk with a person and go over the booking with them. That's what is nice about booking while onboard. Besides some of the perks/benefits are nice.  

[cluso]

3 hours ago, jg51 said:

.

Hello, "DCPIV."

 

It's very unfortunate that you -- and some others who have posted on this thread after booking cruises, over the last two weeks -- did not see that we (and "wrk2cruise") exposed this catastrophe on October 10 -- after an experience similar to yours.  We were very fortunate not to have actually proceeded to book a would-be disaster on October 8.  We were lucky to realize what had happened.

 

At this point, we must fully accuse Celebrity of a blatant and deliberate deception, because we reported the problem SEVENTEEN DAYS AGO, but they have done NOTHING to fix the Internet site.  As we explained to more than one person at "X", the page on which we enter our Captain's Club number MUST BE CHANGED to state -- in big, red letters -- that the entry of that number will cause the "Always Included" items to be detached from the reservation.  [Entry of a home state does not cause the same problem.]

 

Celebrity has FAILED to fix that page for more than two weeks now, resulting in the loss of vast amounts of time (spent by guests and CVPs on the phone), worry, and loss of money to those who "gave in" and paid more.  Celebrity should have been restoring the three AI features at NO EXTRA CHARGE to those who were "violated" by the error (failure of notification, up front).

 

Here is our October 10 post, exposing the flaw:

.

3 hours ago, jg51 said:

.

Hello, "DCPIV."

 

It's very unfortunate that you -- and some others who have posted on this thread after booking cruises, over the last two weeks -- did not see that we (and "wrk2cruise") exposed this catastrophe on October 10 -- after an experience similar to yours.  

.

Thank you, yes I did see your thread and that's the reason I tried several types of bookings--see comment #3.  Although I have an email that shows my cruise/price as I wanted, it does not show up on my Celebrity page that way.  What was really strange was while I was looking, I only got 2 options--AI price and a Gateway Veranda price for an Oct 2022 sailing.  Kind of forced you to an AI if you wanted a specific cabin.  I looked today, and the prices have gone up.

Edited October 27, 2021 by cluso

[DCPIV]

3 hours ago, jg51 said:

.

Hello, "DCPIV."

 

It's very unfortunate that you -- and some others who have posted on this thread after booking cruises, over the last two weeks -- did not see that we (and "wrk2cruise") exposed this catastrophe on October 10 -- after an experience similar to yours.  We were very fortunate not to have actually proceeded to book a would-be disaster on October 8.  We were lucky to realize what had happened.

 

At this point, we must fully accuse Celebrity of a blatant and deliberate deception, because we reported the problem SEVENTEEN DAYS AGO, but they have done NOTHING to fix the Internet site.  As we explained to more than one person at "X", the page on which we enter our Captain's Club number MUST BE CHANGED to state -- in big, red letters -- that the entry of that number will cause the "Always Included" items to be detached from the reservation.  [Entry of a home state does not cause the same problem.]

 

Celebrity has FAILED to fix that page for more than two weeks now, resulting in the loss of vast amounts of time (spent by guests and CVPs on the phone), worry, and loss of money to those who "gave in" and paid more.  Celebrity should have been restoring the three AI features at NO EXTRA CHARGE to those who were "violated" by the error (failure of notification, up front).

 

Here is our October 10 post, exposing the flaw:

.

 

Thanks for that link. Unfortunately, I had stopped following that thread long before you posted it. 

 

Yes, it is a frustrating shame that this has been going on for this long. I don't know about big, red letters or all that, but there needs to be something that indicates prior to paying your deposit that the perks aren't there. 

[OUBaylor1]

I encountered this same situation yesterday.  While waiting for my cruise agent to reach a Celebrity representative because of a big price discrepancy between Celebrity's website price and my agent's price on a Sky suite, I did a sample booking leaving off my Captain's Club number but including my state of residency and checking the box for military.  That is when I discovered that the "loyalty" discount did not specifically detail the four "always included" Retreat benefits.  Once the Celebrity representative came on line, I asked if the "loyalty" discount did not include the Retreat "always included" benefits, and he said that is correct.  As a Celebrity Classic Captain's Club Member (I paid to join), I told the Celebrity representative that in my opinion for Celebrity to use the word "loyalty" was contradictory in this marketing situation.  When told that I will receive a loyalty discount, I think that I am receiving an additional benefit, not losing a benefit. I think Celebrity misstepped here by using the term "loyalty."