Cruise Discount

[JoeyandDavid]

I have question for any of the TA's on Crazies....<]

I know there was a discount available on a cruise another passenger on the same cruise got the same discount .. yet others are being told no discount is available..

Why would a cruise TA not want to issue a discounted fare to a client?

Is there any way that a consumer can verify whether a discount is in fact available?

[zebra]

I am very interested in the answer too..........

[cruisingfun]

Hi Joey:

I will try to answer your question to the best of my knowledge. Other TA's may have different answers.

There could be many reasons why a discount was given to one person and not to another:

1) May be a regional promotion and only available to select areas

2) May be a 55 or older special rate (hate saying Senior citizen rate since I can qualify). At least one passenger in the cabin has to be 55 or older to qualify

3) Could be a group rate and once the TA sells out their blocked inventory, any new bookings could have a higher rate

4) Could be a special promotion only available to new bookings

You can always check the cruise line website to verify rates. Though I will say the sites don't always show the government fees until later in the booking process. Port charges are usually shown upfront as the cost of the cruise: for instance, a un-named cruise line has a 3-day Pacific coast cruise starting at $249 per person but there is an additional $44.94 per person in government fees that needs to be added in.

I know my customers that travel together compare rates and they compare the rates they received with other passengers. But it is very difficult to please everyone.

I don't know whether I have answered your question. If not, let me know.

Terry

[JoeyandDavid]

Thank you Terry..

Yes and no as far as answering questions..

I booked the cruise in question cruise in May of 05 and continue to get any and every discount I find...I paid off this cruise a few months ago... others on this cruise are getting the 55 and over discount... and others that are on as equal footing (age.. etc)are not... thats why i am confused..

[cruisingfun]

Hi Joey:

Without knowing the specifics of your cruise, I can tell you Royal Caribbean (and most likely Celebrity Cruise Lines since they are part of the same company) will adjust the price of your cruise even if you have paid in full.

Please check with your travel agent

Terry

[sailingrose]

Do they live in the same area too Joey? From what I've been told by an agent it could also have to do with the state as well as their age.

[JoeyandDavid]

Thank you Terry I got the discount......our cruise is Millie 10/29/06..

I was the one who told everyone the discount was available :smiley:

Thanks for your attention to this... I still am looking into why others aren't receiving the discounts ..

thanks again.. and its Terrific to see you posting here ..

[JoeyandDavid]

no ma'am i live in Cali and Zebra lives in FL Rose I know that they have resident discounts and age discounts and coupon discounts thru captains club ..

I guess it could have a situation where a discount was valid for only 72 hours or so and only us two out of our group got the request in in time.. I guess that is a possibility, I just don't know the correct answer.. and that drives me nuts....but I am trying to get an answer because ..Well I just want to know.. :smiley:

joey

[cruisingfun]

Hi Joey:

There was a Concierge Level discount available, but not any longer. There is still a Senior (over age 55) discount available. As far I can tell, there are not regional promotions available. Other specials available are for the Deluxe category and Inside staterooms.

As the ship fills, the specials are discontinued that is why it is important that you as consumer and your travel agent need to be vigilant.

Have a great afternoon. We are finally getting some rain here in North Texas.

Terry

[JohnG]

Just to clarify, if one person in the cabin is eligible for the senior or regional discount, if available, the others in the same cabin are also eligible. Sometimes there is a rate that is better than the senior or regional rate, often for short periods, as Terry said, if they are trying to nudge occupancy in certain categories. RCCL and Celebrity offer "Happy Hour Specials" for 1 day periodically.

But cruiseline prices are like air line prices: they change at any time for no explainable reason, other than some mathematical passenger load algorithm. What could have been available to one passenger last week may not be available this week, and so on.

Bottom line is book early and then you and the agent can look for better rates if they come up. Unfortunately, rates usually go up as the ship fills up.