Booked not always included. Is my agent confused

[ellsbells3032]

So my agent gave us two prices. One is not always included and the always included was over £1k more for 9 days as it charged for my daughter as well who will be 9 months old so we decided against it. But I am confused by celebrity website as it says it is always included anyway so thought my agent might be confused and thars the extra perks I would be paying extra for. But my account let's me buy classic drink packages and WiFi. 

 

So I am confused... 

 

Will I have gratituties and drinks included or not?

[rebeccac]

The Celebrity website does not generally advertise that you can buy sailings without the "always included" items.  I would suspect that your agent has booked the version without all the extras, so you will not have any of the extras included, but will be able to add on the ones that you want.

[upwarduk]

Look at your Invoice from your TA.

Under Cruise Line Inclusions, mine says:

 

Onboard Credit £0.00

Drinks Package Classic x2

Gratuities  Yes

Wi Fi          Yes

 

You won’t find these on line.

Edited April 18, 2022 by upwarduk

[ellsbells3032]

I don't have "cruise line inclusions" on my invoice 

[leaveitallbehind]

3 hours ago, rebeccac said:

The Celebrity website does not generally advertise that you can buy sailings without the "always included" items.  I would suspect that your agent has booked the version without all the extras, so you will not have any of the extras included, but will be able to add on the ones that you want.

This is correct.  As I understand it, they are not generally advertised per se on the website as the fares that are not "always" are not offered on all sailings or in all stateroom categories on those itineraries when they are offered.  A TA - or the cruise line directly - would be able to identify those sailings where they are being offered for those who want that option.  But my understanding is that "always" is the predominant fare structure now being offered on the vast majority of sailings and stateroom categories.

 

But the TA (or cruise line directly) should identify which fare structure is being considered as it is always the customer's choice as to which fare they prefer.

Edited April 18, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[the penguins]

On 4/18/2022 at 11:31 AM, ellsbells3032 said:

So my agent gave us two prices. One is not always included and the always included was over £1k more for 9 days as it charged for my daughter as well who will be 9 months old so we decided against it. But I am confused by celebrity website as it says it is always included anyway so thought my agent might be confused and thars the extra perks I would be paying extra for. But my account let's me buy classic drink packages and WiFi. 

 

So I am confused... 

 

Will I have gratituties and drinks included or not?

You have managed to book exactly what we are looking for i.e. a price without AI. I know you can't post the name of your Agent here but if I gave you my email would you be willing to email me? I promise not to tell the Agent where I got it from. Thanks

[ellsbells3032]

You may not be able to use them as they're a specialist for a career but can let you know in case you are

[leaveitallbehind]

6 minutes ago, the penguins said:

You have managed to book exactly what we are looking for i.e. a price without AI. I know you can't post the name of your Agent here but if I gave you my email would you be willing to email me? I promise not to tell the Agent where I got it from. Thanks

As I understand it, theTA has no special ability to provide a price without AI.  When available, any TA or the cruise line directly can book that fare for you.  The key is, in my experience, it is only offered on select itineraries and stateroom categories and not available on all itineraries.  You would just have to determine which itinerary you are interested in and ask the TA or the cruise line if the fare configuration is available.  I don't believe they can "create" that fare otherwise.

Edited April 19, 2022 by leaveitallbehind

[jagoffee]

On 4/18/2022 at 7:14 AM, ellsbells3032 said:

I don't have "cruise line inclusions" on my invoice 

What is the ship and date of your cruise?

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, ellsbells3032 said:

You may not be able to use them as they're a specialist for a career but can let you know in case you are

Thanks, anything is worth trying. My email address is:

geoffanita at hotmail dot com. Sorry for the odd way of writing it stops the robots - just replace the words with the usual symbols. Thanks Geoff.

[the penguins]

2 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

As I understand it, theTA has no special ability to provide a price without AI.  When available, any TA or the cruise line directly can book that fare for you.  The key is, in my experience, it is only offered on select itineraries and stateroom categories and not available on all itineraries.  You would just have to determine which itinerary you are interested in and ask the TA or the cruise line if the fare configuration is available.  I don't believe they can "create" that fare otherwise.

Up until AI different agents had different deals often with lower (net) rates if you booked the flights with them. Then as the deals ran out they were generally not renewed. For while Celebrity had "Simply Sail" rates but these were only on a very few cruises, only for Guarantee cabins and the reductions were so small as to be an insult. Celebrity insist that some Agents still have these net deals but so far, despite a lot of searching, I have not been able to find one and nor does any Travel Agent advertise such rates.  

[leaveitallbehind]

10 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Up until AI different agents had different deals often with lower (net) rates if you booked the flights with them. Then as the deals ran out they were generally not renewed. For while Celebrity had "Simply Sail" rates but these were only on a very few cruises, only for Guarantee cabins and the reductions were so small as to be an insult. Celebrity insist that some Agents still have these net deals but so far, despite a lot of searching, I have not been able to find one and nor does any Travel Agent advertise such rates.  

Maybe it is different in the UK.  In the US "deals" with lower fares typically arise from blocks of rooms booked by the TA for individual release into that block as a TA group.  The cruise line will typically issue a reduced rate to the TA on those blocked staterooms.  Other perks would be coming out of their commissions.  In the US flights booked by a TA typically don't pay a commission, so there is little incentive (other than good service) to reduce a rate based on bundled flights.  But, yes, Simply Sail is only available on select itineraries and categories.

[Torfamm]

Not sure what your confirmation says but many report that the option to buy drink packages appears for them even if they have the AI pricing.  Have you checked your booking confirmation yet?

 

[Saturngrl]

I checked my booking confirmation and called Celebrity.  They don't know my status since I booked through my TA.  My TA reported we have AI and my fingers are crossed.  She got us a fantastic group rate. 

[Jeremiah1212]

1 hour ago, the penguins said:

Up until AI different agents had different deals often with lower (net) rates if you booked the flights with them. Then as the deals ran out they were generally not renewed. For while Celebrity had "Simply Sail" rates but these were only on a very few cruises, only for Guarantee cabins and the reductions were so small as to be an insult. Celebrity insist that some Agents still have these net deals but so far, despite a lot of searching, I have not been able to find one and nor does any Travel Agent advertise such rates.  

 

Net rates are essentially at cost. They do exist but you cannot book one independently and TA's have no reason to offer you one. 

[leaveitallbehind]

44 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

Not sure what your confirmation says but many report that the option to buy drink packages appears for them even if they have the AI pricing. 

 

Could that be the option to upgrade from the standard package (which is the base package included with "Always") to the premium package, which is available at an upcharge.

[the penguins]

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Net rates are essentially at cost. They do exist but you cannot book one independently and TA's have no reason to offer you one. 

We have a difference here between the terms used and the products offered in the US and the UK.

In the UK some Agents ( technically here these agents would be classed as Tour Operators rather than retail agents) were given "net rates" that could be used to create packages. Again "technically" these packages had to include the cruise, a flight and a minimum of 1 nights hotel. The Agent also had to hold a government issued ATOL licence. The other benefit for these Tour Operators was that it wasn't necessary to hold block bookings as the prices were available across all classes of cabin.

In addition there are also Agents/Tour Operators who do hold "blocks" of cabins and promote their packages in a different way.

Sorry if this is a bit complex but I have spent many years working in and grappling with the complexities of the UK travel industry.