Cruise pricing based on passenger residence

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , Jean O'Boyle
wrote:

Charles, they did not have that type of waffle station where you could
watch
them make them like they did on other Celebrity ships...They were at the
breakfast food counter with the pancakes, very thick wedged french toast
and
all other breakfast foods such as scrambled eggs and such...They did have
a
blueberry and strawberry syrupy sauce that you could put on them.

That is disappointing. Other cruise lines toss waffles out on the steam
table where they sit too long. The waffle stations where you watched
them make them were a Celebrity feature and the waffles made at the
stations were fresh and outstanding.

The Emerald Princess converts its Pizza station to a waffle station from
6-11 AM. Nice fresh waffles each day.

Charles wrote:
Yes, but not really. This really is waffling. I have a Solstice sailing
booked as a placeholder in 2010 to keep an onboard booking credit
active that I made a few years ago but I don't expect to go on the
booked sailing. I would like to go on Solstice or the following ship in
it's class when the right sailing opportunity arises.


The Solstice was my most relaxing, enjoyable cruise. I was pleased that
I never heard anyone else's toilet flush. There were no noises in the
hallway or from the other cabins. The only thing I did not like, that I
can recall, is the hot tubs. You sit on the bottom of the hot tub,
almost. There is a 2" drop beneath you, so there is no place to put your
legs.

Charles, I hope you cruise on the Solstice or on one of the sister ships.

Becca

I think the original question was basically related to why cruise rates seem
to vary from agency, cruise line, ship, itinerary, etc. There are obviously
many factors that govern this. In fact, just today, I was checking on exact
prices for either a 3/4/5- day cruise to Baja from Long Beach or San Diego
for Carnival, or a 7- day cruise to the Mexican Riviera on either Carnival
or Royal Caribbean International from Long Beach/San Pedro for a number of
clients.

The agency agreements and affiliations with each cruise line are we need to
establish first, then the cruise line itself, then the date(s), and so
forth. However, many times, the cruise lines themselves have special
promotions which can be a deciding factor. If one wants to compare prices
themselves, they obviously need to compare apples to apples. Other things
need to be considered as well, such as... cruise line, date of sailing,
season, whether cruise only, past passenger(s), military discounts, seniors,
local residents, etc. If one simply gets on one of these generic search
engines, comparing apples to oranges, they may come away with information
that is not actually the bottom line. If you use this source for more than a
general guideline and ballpark information/pricing, than a personal contact
with a cruise-only agency can fine-tune this for you.

Happy sailing...
John Sisker - SHIP-TO-SHORE CRUISE AGENCY®
(714) 536-3850 or toll-free at (800) 724-6644 & (Agency ID: 714.536.3850)
www.shiptoshorecruise.com

Becca wrote:
Charles wrote:
Yes, but not really. This really is waffling. I have a Solstice sailing
booked as a placeholder in 2010 to keep an onboard booking credit
active that I made a few years ago but I don't expect to go on the
booked sailing. I would like to go on Solstice or the following ship in
it's class when the right sailing opportunity arises.


The Solstice was my most relaxing, enjoyable cruise. I was pleased that
I never heard anyone else's toilet flush.

In consideration of our fellow travelers, Becca, we NEVER flush until
the day of disembarkation. The toilets aboard ship are large and have a
generous capacity, so there's no need.


--
Nonny
Elected officials should wear
uniforms like NASCAR drivers.
That way it would be easier to
identify their corporate sponsors.

On 3/4/09 3:35 AM, in article
, "John Sisker"
wrote:

I think the original question was basically related to why cruise rates seem
to vary from agency, cruise line, ship, itinerary, etc.

Not at all. The original question was why rates on cruise line websites
differ for identical cruises depending what country the site thinks you live
in and whether U.S. agents are allowed to sell cruises to foreign residents
applying U.S. rates. I found the (or an) answer on vacationstogo.com.

Nonnymus wrote:
Becca wrote:
Charles wrote:
Yes, but not really. This really is waffling. I have a Solstice sailing
booked as a placeholder in 2010 to keep an onboard booking credit
active that I made a few years ago but I don't expect to go on the
booked sailing. I would like to go on Solstice or the following ship in
it's class when the right sailing opportunity arises.


The Solstice was my most relaxing, enjoyable cruise. I was pleased
that I never heard anyone else's toilet flush.

In consideration of our fellow travelers, Becca, we NEVER flush until
the day of disembarkation. The toilets aboard ship are large and have
a generous capacity, so there's no need.

That was so thoughtful of you, Nonny. LOL

Becca

On Mar 1, 6:21*pm, Charles wrote:

Never the less despite your doubts it is true that the often the cruise
lines have different prices for those who live in different states.


I'm a perfect example of this. We're booked on Solstice to Greece this
spring. The fare kept dropping in general and we kept upgrading
(while still lowering our fare from the original booking). My TA even
managed to get Celebrity to give us a bigger OBC when they ran a sale
that was supposed to only apply to new bookings (we've been booked for
nearly a year).

Then about 2-3 weeks ago Celebrity offered a regional special for the
sailing. Same cabin and we were able to keep our OBC. The fare dropped
by $600 per person! As an experiment I went through the reservation
process on Celebrity's website and my TA's website. In both instances
if I chose a state outside of the NY metro area the fare was higher
than if I chose NY.

My TA happened to be checking something else for me and noticed the
special. The special didn't last long and was no longer available
when I made final payment a couple of days ago. She re-checks the
fares any time she needs to do something with one of my bookings, and
also periodically as a business practice whether I've called her or
not.

We gradually upgraded all the way to an Aqua Class balcony cabin from
the lowest category standard outside balcony and our final fare was
about $1000 per person lower than our original booking!

This would never have happend if we booked via the cruise line website
or one of the mega-agency websites. I have a terrific agent - the best
I have ever dealt with.

Warren

"peter" wrote in message
...

The original question was why rates on cruise line websites
differ for identical cruises depending what country the site thinks you
live
in and whether U.S. agents are allowed to sell cruises to foreign
residents
applying U.S. rates. I found the (or an) answer on vacationstogo.com.



and... that answer was?

On 3/4/09 6:22 PM, in article
, "John Sisker"
wrote:


"peter" wrote in message
...

The original question was why rates on cruise line websites
differ for identical cruises depending what country the site thinks you
live
in and whether U.S. agents are allowed to sell cruises to foreign
residents
applying U.S. rates. I found the (or an) answer on vacationstogo.com.



and... that answer was?

That Oceania and six other lines don't allow agents to do that. Didn't you
know?

"Nonnymus" wrote in message
...
In consideration of our fellow travelers, Becca, we NEVER flush until the
day of disembarkation. The toilets aboard ship are large and have a
generous capacity, so there's no need.
--
Nonny

The toilets flush? I've never seen a handle.

--
Greg