Cruise Fare dropped after final payment

[mrogerswha]

We have a May 1st cruise booked on the EDGE. Final payment was Feb 1st and now the price on the Sky Suite has dropped over $2,000.00.

Has anyone had success on getting a credit or adjustment after final payment on Celebrity?

Thanks for any advice or ideas.

[mom says]

Final payment. Just about says it all. You could try for an upgrade if a higher level suite now falls within the amount you paid. (And one is still available)

[Georgia_Peaches]

Unfortunately, after final payment there's not much that you can do.  @mom says has a good suggestion.  If a higher category of SS or even a CS is in line with the price you paid, you might be able to upgrade.  Did you use a TA?  If so, have them reach out and see if you can get some OBC, doubtful but worth a try.  

 

Not this this helps you in any way but I used to track the price of my cruise after final payment until I found myself in a similar situation as you.  After that, I stopped checking the prices once final payment was made...

[Liao]

1 hour ago, mrogerswha said:

We have a May 1st cruise booked on the EDGE. Final payment was Feb 1st and now the price on the Sky Suite has dropped over $2,000.00.

Has anyone had success on getting a credit or adjustment after final payment on Celebrity?

Thanks for any advice or ideas.

Wouldn't hurt to at least make call, you just never know. Good luck!

[Mr. Click]

Pre-COVID was had pretty good success in getting upgraded when prices dropped after final payment.  They won't offer it, you have to call and ask and push a little bit.  Post COVID we have only been on two cruise and both were pretty full so no price drops.

[kruzgal]

Thanks for this as you answered my question. We are looking to return to Celebrity having not sailed with them for 7 years. We are interested in a trip on Apex from Southampton this summer but the prices are horrendous so we are going to wait until after final payment and take our chances. I can see there is plenty of availability at the moment, no doubt because of the price compared to similar cruises also departing from Southampton. I wasn’t sure if the price drops still happened, but clearly they do, so we will wait and see. There are other sailings we could go on so not fixed on Celebrity Apex but would like to give it a try. 

[upwarduk]

20 minutes ago, kruzgal said:

I can see there is plenty of availability at the moment, no doubt because of the price compared to similar cruises also departing from Southampton.

Speaks volumes about Apex sailing from Southampton, obviously not as popular as Silhouette was. Last  year we booked on Silhouette 6 months before sailing and only had one choice of a balcony cabin.

[gerelmx]

It is common bad practice for Celebrity to lower prices after final payment to try to fill the ship.

It is not fair that the last to book have a better price than those who booked years in advance, Celebrity should change its policy so as not to affect the early birds.

[ggo85]

Waiting until after final payment is risky, if you really want the trip. Prices ebb and flow based on occupancy and probably other factors of which we’re not aware and have no control.  In my experience, most of the time, there isn’t a huge price drop across all cabins after final payment.  Pre and post COVID, of course.  If it were a frequent occurrence, more people would wait until the last minute- and cruise lines don’t want that.  

 

They also use Move Up to fill empty cabins.  Cheaper than the atmospherics of dropping the price.  
 

First, you’ve got to pick a cruise that isn’t extremely popular.  I suggest developing a price point for the cabin category(ies) you want and having a trusted TA check regularly. If your price hits, book and then check back until final payment.  Then stop looking.  Or wait until the last minute (by when you personally need to book something) and see what cruises are available at your price point.  

[Ex-Airbalancer]

8 minutes ago, gerelmx said:

It is common bad practice for Celebrity to lower prices after final payment to try to fill the ship.

It is not fair that the last to book have a better price than those who booked years in advance, Celebrity should change its policy so as not to affect the early birds.

Do you ever buy things that are on clearance sales ? 
This is the same thing , book early and get the cabin you want , book late get the leftovers 

Book at a price you think is fair , 

 

[cruisestitch]

2 hours ago, gerelmx said:

It is common bad practice for Celebrity to lower prices after final payment to try to fill the ship.

It is not fair that the last to book have a better price than those who booked years in advance, Celebrity should change its policy so as not to affect the early birds.

That isn’t bad practice at all.  It is just good business.  Just like buying remaining inventory at a department store.  You can buy a new coat when they are first put out on the sales floor and the selection is good and you will pay full price. Or you can wait to the end of the season when the selection is limited and pay a sale price.

[jelayne]

2 hours ago, gerelmx said:

It is common bad practice for Celebrity to lower prices after final payment to try to fill the ship.

It is not fair that the last to book have a better price than those who booked years in advance, Celebrity should change its policy so as not to affect the early birds.

We have an upcoming cruise that is now past final payment and wasn’t selling well. Over the course of 12 months there were 3 price drops.  Then just before final payment another drop.  Final payment came still almost half the cabins  most profitable cabins unsold.   So prices have been reduced again. 
 

What would you do if this was your business?  
-Keep prices up to be fair and lose money on the cruise?
-Reduce prices and offer reasonable Move Up pricing to fill the most profitable cabins?
-Or something else.

 

 

[gold1953]

3 hours ago, ggo85 said:

Waiting until after final payment is risky, if you really want the trip. Prices ebb and flow based on occupancy and probably other factors of which we’re not aware and have no control.  In my experience, most of the time, there isn’t a huge price drop across all cabins after final payment.  Pre and post COVID, of course.  If it were a frequent occurrence, more people would wait until the last minute- and cruise lines don’t want that.  

 

They also use Move Up to fill empty cabins.  Cheaper than the atmospherics of dropping the price.  
 

First, you’ve got to pick a cruise that isn’t extremely popular.  I suggest developing a price point for the cabin category(ies) you want and having a trusted TA check regularly. If your price hits, book and then check back until final payment.  Then stop looking.  Or wait until the last minute (by when you personally need to book something) and see what cruises are available at your price point.  

Move up does not fill cabins . It just shifts people around and leaves others vacant

[Lastdance]

9 hours ago, upwarduk said:

Speaks volumes about Apex sailing from Southampton, obviously not as popular as Silhouette was. Last  year we booked on Silhouette 6 months before sailing and only had one choice of a balcony cabin.

I booked Apex for 2025, along with the cruise before it.  I was also on this Edge cruise, but my DH nixed that with a skiing accident.  I booked both Apex cruises while onboard Beyond in the Caribbean.  Edge was not doing Lahaina due to the fire; many did cancel due to that, so prices did go down after final payment.  We had 2,200 OBC...we also were not allowed any price drops, even before payment!  I also loved my cruise on Silly, so only time will tell, along with cruise prices, as time goes by.  Life can change in an instant, but one just modifies and adjusts.  Only time will tell about pricing, price drops and what happens.  We wanted a certain cabin(SV) and suite, so for us it was worth it.  I plan to do a MoveUp, but that plan may change...TBD.  We loved our prior two Apex cruises, as Israel was open and Zakynthos was gorgeous!

Edited February 12 by Lastdance

[skatelady]

I have thought a few times that there was a price drop and then realized I was comparing an ad for base price to the all in price I had paid.  Just something to keep in mind.

[Nachosdelux]

2 hours ago, gold1953 said:

Move up does not fill cabins . It just shifts people around and leaves others vacant

 

actually it does fill cabins because the lower-priced (newly vacant) cabins are easier to sell, especially late in the game

[PTC DAWG]

7 hours ago, gerelmx said:

It is common bad practice for Celebrity to lower prices after final payment to try to fill the ship.

It is not fair that the last to book have a better price than those who booked years in advance, Celebrity should change its policy so as not to affect the early birds.

Happens all the time with most lines..

[gold1953]

1 hour ago, Nachosdelux said:

 

actually it does fill cabins because the lower-priced (newly vacant) cabins are easier to sell, especially late in the game

not unless they get booked

[jelayne]

4 hours ago, Lastdance said:

I booked Apex for 2025, along with the cruise before it.  I was also on this Edge cruise, but my DH nixed that with a skiing accident.  I booked both Apex cruises while onboard Beyond in the Caribbean.  Edge was not doing Lahaina due to the fire; many did cancel due to that, so prices did go down after final payment.  We had 2,200 OBC...we also were not allowed any price drops, even before payment!  I also loved my cruise on Silly, so only time will tell, along with cruise prices, as time goes by.  Life can change in an instant, but one just modifies and adjusts.  Only time will tell about pricing, price drops and what happens.  We wanted a certain cabin(SV) and suite, so for us it was worth it.  I plan to do a MoveUp, but that plan may change...TBD.  We loved our prior two Apex cruises, as Israel was open and Zakynthos was gorgeous!

Curious why you were not allowed price drops before final payment.  We got 3 prices drops before final payment on our upcoming cruise.  I have never had a price drop not honored.

[mrogerswha]

Price Drop Thread UPDATE:...........Thanks for all the posts with suggestions and ideas. We didn't get the price adjustment that I requested from our planner.  Celebrity did however move us from from a Sky Suite to the higher category Aqua Sky Suite. Unfortunately we do not typically use the spa so we did not gain much with this upgrade.        

I would not have been really surprised if the difference was $400.00 -  $500.00 but to miss $2,200.00 by a few days is a lot more than I would expected.

I will chalk it up as a learning experience and we will go and have a great cruise..........after all we do have a "bartending class" booked on board and the premium drink passage. 😃

[upwarduk]

38 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Curious why you were not allowed price drops before final payment.  We got 3 prices drops before final payment on our upcoming cruise.  I have never had a price drop not honored.

UK passengers don’t get the perks that US passengers do.

[jelayne]

37 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

UK passengers don’t get the perks that US passengers do.

I know .  But @Lastdance is showing as being in Nevada and said they were not allowed price drops.

[Georgia_Peaches]

9 hours ago, gerelmx said:

It is common bad practice for Celebrity to lower prices after final payment to try to fill the ship.

It is not fair that the last to book have a better price than those who booked years in advance, Celebrity should change its policy so as not to affect the early birds.

While those last minute bookings may be cheaper, the inventory of rooms is often in undesirable categories or locations. I do think some of the best prices can be had far in advance of sail date but if Celebrity wants to sail with a full ship in order to be cost effective, it makes sense for them to lower prices if they still have vacant cabins...kinda lie a clearance sale...JMO.

[wrk2cruise]

The AQ Suites are generally the better location or have some desirable attribute so you did benefit.

[Dolebludger]

It seems to be a rather standard policy among cruise lines to honor price reductions until (but not after) final payment. But, as mentioned above, there may be “strings” on the reduced price that make the original deal a better deal. Like, once (on another line) the original deal had a two cat. suite upgrade and the new “reduction” did not. Even though we saw the “reduction” before final payment, it wasn’t a reduction for us. It takes a Philadelphia lawyer or a good TA to sort this stuff out. I am only a Colorado lawyer, so I had our TA sort it out.