Do military veterans get a discount on Celebrity?

[Sigyn]

My husband is an Air Force veteran. He didn't retire from the military, but he was in for seven years with an honorable discharge. Is he eligible for any military or veterans discount on Celebrity? We have an upcoming cruise in July and I've read this about Celebrity and I'm not sure how it's applied or how to get it if he is eligible. (His Real ID shows his veteran status.)

 

Celebrity Cruises offers military members special savings. Savings are per person, for first and second guest, and are based on type of stateroom:

$25 – Inside and Ocean View

$100 – Veranda, Concierge Class, AquaClass® or The Retreat

 At least one guest in the stateroom must be an active, retired or veteran member of the United States military. A valid military ID must be presented at the pier to validate eligibility.

[Pennstatedj]

Yes, at time of booking you will get something. They compare all you possible discounts and you get up to 200 per cabin. It is not combinable with other discounts. It is up to them. 

[Sigyn]

1 minute ago, Pennstatedj said:

Yes, at time of booking you will get something. They compare all you possible discounts and you get up to 200 per cabin. It is not combinable with other discounts. It is up to them. 

I didn't know this discount existed when I booked. Should I call and mention it now? 

[cw2go]

2 minutes ago, njsmom said:

I didn't know this discount existed when I booked. Should I call and mention it now? 

If you call now it will most likely reprice your sailing. My DH is retired US Navy and to be honest the resident discounts are usually better for us. 

 

Patty 

[mahdnc]

4 minutes ago, njsmom said:

I didn't know this discount existed when I booked. Should I call and mention it now? 

 

Since you acquired your suite so recently, prices likely haven't changed.  It is worth a call.

[Pennstatedj]

cannot hurt to call, but probably will not get anything.  Every call is different, sometime I get a value and sometime we do not. When pricing on ship it always seems to work. When call and thru TA it does not seem to get anything. 

[markeb]

Did you book with a TA? If so, call them. If not, I’m inclined to forget about $200. They might do exactly what you ask and apply the discount, and overwrite something else on the booking. Like OBC for instance. A good TA is more likely to look at the pros and cons of a seemingly minor change. 
 

Had something similar happen on my very first Celebrity cruise where our drink packages somehow dropped off the booking. We got them back, but not easily. It may be doable, but make sure NOTHING else changes if you do it. 

[Sigyn]

I just called and the first person on the phone said I would have had to do it at the time of booking and before final payment and she wouldn't give me the discount, but I asked to speak to a supervisor and when he came onto the line, he was super helpful and gave me a $200 discount credited back to my credit card. He said my husband will just need to show proof of his military service when we check in at the pier. 

[mahdnc]

10 minutes ago, njsmom said:

I just called and the first person on the phone said I would have had to do it at the time of booking and before final payment and she wouldn't give me the discount, but I asked to speak to a supervisor and when he came onto the line, he was super helpful and gave me a $200 discount credited back to my credit card. He said my husband will just need to show proof of his military service when we check in at the pier. 

 

Congratulations.  It appears that you are getting very good at not accepting "no" as an answer.  You are either persistent or charming or both.  With the savings, you can now go to LPC and Tuscan Grille when you tire of Luminae.  Oh, the choices....

Edited April 24, 2023 by mahdnc

[Sigyn]

6 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Congratulations.  It appears that you are getting very good at not accepting "no" as an answer.  You are either persistent or charming or both.  With the savings, you can now go to LPC and Tuscan Grille when you tire of Luminae.  Oh, the choices....

I'll go with a combo of both. I am never rude on the phone, but I do explain what I want and ask for it in clear terms and why I think it's a fair thing to provide it. Good point about the restaurants!

[markeb]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

I just called and the first person on the phone said I would have had to do it at the time of booking and before final payment and she wouldn't give me the discount, but I asked to speak to a supervisor and when he came onto the line, he was super helpful and gave me a $200 discount credited back to my credit card. He said my husband will just need to show proof of his military service when we check in at the pier. 

That’s the best possible outcome. Sounds like he didn’t touch your booking, so no opportunity to mess something up!

[Mr. Click]

While we are on the topic of military discounts I have a related question.  What kind of documentation do they require?   My service time was cut very short when old knee injuries flared up again and I was given a medical discharge.  I was in the Army reserves and never saw a day of active duty, just some monthly meetings and 2 weeks of summer camp so when I asked about getting a DD214 all they sent me were copies of my enlistment contract, discharge orders and my Honorable Discharge.  I have never asked about this discount in the past but now you have me wondering....

[davekathy]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

I just called and the first person on the phone said I would have had to do it at the time of booking and before final payment and she wouldn't give me the discount, but I asked to speak to a supervisor and when he came onto the line, he was super helpful and gave me a $200 discount credited back to my credit card. He said my husband will just need to show proof of his military service when we check in at the pier. 

I always have a copy of my DD214 but I have never ever had to show mine even when booking onboard. 

[Sigyn]

1 hour ago, Mr. Click said:

While we are on the topic of military discounts I have a related question.  What kind of documentation do they require?  

My husband took his DD214 into the DMV and had his veteran status added to his ID when he renewed his driver's license and got a Real ID. 

 

People in the reserves also get DD214's. You should be able to get one. 

Edited April 24, 2023 by njsmom

[Mr. Click]

18 minutes ago, njsmom said:

My husband took his DD214 into the DMV and had his veteran status added to his ID when he renewed his driver's license and got a Real ID. 

 

People in the reserves also get DD214's. You should be able to get one. 

Here in NV I cannot get veterans status added to my real ID because they require 90 days of active duty because you also get a discount on your annual registration.   As I said before, I applied for a DD214 and all I got was the paperwork.  Since I never made it to basic let alone AIT  there is nothing to put on a DD214.  "He showed up, his knew blew up and we sent him home before we had to pay him"?   Oh, they did try to draft me again after I was discharged. That was a lot of fun sorting it out with the draft board....

[markeb]

1 hour ago, njsmom said:

My husband took his DD214 into the DMV and had his veteran status added to his ID when he renewed his driver's license and got a Real ID. 

 

People in the reserves also get DD214's. You should be able to get one. 

Without going too deep here, a DD214 is a release from active duty. If you were never on active duty, you won’t get a DD214. If you were called up multiple times you could have multiple DD214s. 
 

Timelines come into play for various veterans benefits, but that’s well beyond the scope of a  cruise discount…

[Sigyn]

33 minutes ago, markeb said:

Without going too deep here, a DD214 is a release from active duty. If you were never on active duty, you won’t get a DD214. If you were called up multiple times you could have multiple DD214s. 
 

Timelines come into play for various veterans benefits, but that’s well beyond the scope of a  cruise discount…

ah, okay. I know my husband's brother has a DD214 and he was army national guard and didn't get called up to active duty. but he went through basic training and spent time doing a stint for the army overseas on a short "project" of some sort during one of his summer two-week stints. 

 

Edited to say since I've never been in the military I clearly don't know what active duty means. 

 

Edited April 24, 2023 by njsmom

[DaKahuna]

3 hours ago, Mr. Click said:

While we are on the topic of military discounts I have a related question.  What kind of documentation do they require?   My service time was cut very short when old knee injuries flared up again and I was given a medical discharge.  I was in the Army reserves and never saw a day of active duty, just some monthly meetings and 2 weeks of summer camp so when I asked about getting a DD214 all they sent me were copies of my enlistment contract, discharge orders and my Honorable Discharge.  I have never asked about this discount in the past but now you have me wondering....

Do you receive benefits from the Veterans Administration?  If you are eligible for veterans benefits then you are a veteran

 

[Mr. Click]

55 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Do you receive benefits from the Veterans Administration?  If you are eligible for veterans benefits then you are a veteran

 

No VA benefits.  Had I actually gone to basic I would have been eligible but I enlisted for a highly specialized MOS with only one school in the country so I went to meeting and went to summer camp where the knee said no more and after a few more physicals the army agreed.  My orders for basic and AIT came through 2 weeks after they started my discharge process.   

[DaKahuna]

Just now, Mr. Click said:

No VA benefits.  Had I actually gone to basic I would have been eligible but I enlisted for a highly specialized MOS with only one school in the country so I went to meeting and went to summer camp where the knee said no more and after a few more physicals the army agreed.  My orders for basic and AIT came through 2 weeks after they started my discharge process.   

Unfortunately, I think you are going to be considered a non-veteran. Unless you were sworn in and then formally discharged, I do not think you qualify as a veteran.  But I am not a lawyer or an expert in this matter.  
 

The only sure way would be to take all your paperwork to the VA for a determination. 
 

[Mr. Click]

44 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Unfortunately, I think you are going to be considered a non-veteran. Unless you were sworn in and then formally discharged, I do not think you qualify as a veteran.  But I am not a lawyer or an expert in this matter.  
 

The only sure way would be to take all your paperwork to the VA for a determination. 
 

I did take the oath, I did sign an enlistment contract.  I do have discharge orders and my Honorable Discharge  papers so officially I am a veteran in the eyes of military.  Lowes considers me a vet, Home Depot does not. The state of Nevada says I need 90 days of active duty to qualify for veterans' benefits with the DMV.....it really goes state my  state, situation by situation.  When I attend an event where they ask all veterans to stand and be recognized and honored, I never stand because I would consider it an affront to those who really served.   The only question I was asking here is where do I stand with Celebrity. 

[indy406]

I did four years active duty U.S. Air Force, honorable discharge confirmed by my DD-214 and have a military service-connected lifetime disability. I was told by Celebrity to get lost when I asked about a veteran's price discount. I won't ask again. 

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, njsmom said:

My husband took his DD214 into the DMV and had his veteran status added to his ID when he renewed his driver's license and got a Real ID. 

 

People in the reserves also get DD214's. You should be able to get one. 

I also have "veteran" on my DL. I also have a VA medical card for a service connected injury. 

[davekathy]

21 minutes ago, indy406 said:

I did four years active duty U.S. Air Force, honorable discharge confirmed by my DD-214 and have a military service-connected lifetime disability. I was told by Celebrity to get lost when I asked about a veteran's price discount. I won't ask again. 

You were told wrong and you should request the veteran discount again when booking your next cruise. Whether it's directly with Celebrity or a TA. Being recognized for my service by Celebrity goes beyond the monetary amount. 

Edited April 25, 2023 by davekathy

[davekathy]

35 minutes ago, Mr. Click said:

I did take the oath, I did sign an enlistment contract.  I do have discharge orders and my Honorable Discharge  papers so officially I am a veteran in the eyes of military.  Lowes considers me a vet, Home Depot does not. The state of Nevada says I need 90 days of active duty to qualify for veterans' benefits with the DMV.....it really goes state my  state, situation by situation.  When I attend an event where they ask all veterans to stand and be recognized and honored, I never stand because I would consider it an affront to those who really served.   The only question I was asking here is where do I stand with Celebrity. 

Since you were honorably discharged do you have the honorable discharge certificate and a  DD214 from that branch of service? You should request the military/veteran discount when booking your next cruise. Being recognized for my service by Celebrity goes beyond the monetary amount. 

Edited April 25, 2023 by davekathy