Celebrity Cruise around Japan Questions

[Tiki]

I'm eyeing a Celebrity Cruise for March 2028 on the Solstice around Japan and have a few questions.

1. If you book on Celebrity Australia site, are gratuities included?
2. Deposit is huge-$900 non-refundable for both. Any way to avoid so much payment upfront? Who knows what will be going on in the world or with our health that far ahead? I've seen travel agents offering $25 deposits but the fares are like $500pp higher which defeats the purpose.
3. Do they do any good deals on Black Friday or Boxing Day? We only need an el-cheapo interior unless there is a good deal going on with minimal increase for better cabin. Its pretty port intensive so minimal cabin time.
4. My husband's 70th birthday would be during the cruise. We would fly to Tokyo a few days ahead to get acclimated and have a pre-cruise buffer in case of flight delays. How does travel insurance work when you have a milestone birthday mid trip? I think 70 is one of those birthdays that triggers an increase in insurance and he also has pre-existing conditions. He will technically be 69 when he leaves Australia.

 

[Pushka]

1. Yes.
2. No.
3. Yes. Any every other day.
4. Insurance looks at date of birth when entered and they go from there. Don't stress that one.

5. Tell Celebrity there's a milestone event. They go all out to make it good.

 

[Tiki]

1. Yes.
2. No.
3. Yes. Any every other day.
4. Insurance looks at date of birth when entered and they go from there. Don't stress that one.

5. Tell Celebrity there's a milestone event. They go all out to make it good.

Thanks, that helps a lot. I might hold off until Black Friday because of cashflow. Next month we are doing a huge road trip around southern Australia. Do you buy insurance when you book the cruise? Worried about protecting the deposit. I'm not used to forking out nonrefundable $900 now for something that is 18 months away. Cruise is in March 2028.

 

[Pushka]

Thanks, that helps a lot. I might hold off until Black Friday because of cashflow. Next month we are doing a huge road trip around southern Australia. Do you buy insurance when you book the cruise? Worried about protecting the deposit. I'm not used to forking out nonrefundable $900 now for something that is 18 months away. Cruise is in March 2028.

I buy as soon as I feel the non refundable costs are significant.

We cruised on Millenium around Japan. It was a fabulous cruise. Equinox is larger and maybe even new to Japan but access to ports should be similar. Don't waste too much time, Japan cruises can sell out fast depending on time of the year, especially Spring which is simply stunning, and Autumn. Middle June - mid August = HOT. March will be off peak, colder, which won't be an issue. Just dress for it. And I'd suggest with the cold weather the balcony will not get used.

 

[drron]

I would book through a Travel Agent particularly a Virtuoso agent. 2 major reasons.
first you will get through Virtuoso a $US120 On Board Credit per cabin.
Secondly March/April is absolutely prime cruising time for Cherry blossom time. Our 2013 cruise at that time was fully booked 18 months out. A TA who specialises in cruising can keep a check on how fast the cabins are selling

However after paying your deposit you have a lot of time before full payment is due. For Celebrity I believe it is 60 - 90 days before sailing.

I would no pin my hopes on a discounted price on sale as cruise lines know the chance of many empty cabins on cruises at cherry blossom time is minimal.
A good piece from the Celebrity website.

Managing Your Cruise

From managing your reservation to reserving onboard activities and add-ons, discover the essentials of managing and planning your Celebrity cruise.

www.celebritycruises.com

 

[Pushka]

I would book through a Travel Agent particularly a Virtuoso agent. 2 major reasons.
first you will get through Virtuoso a $US120 On Board Credit per cabin.
Secondly March/April is absolutely prime cruising time for Cherry blossom time. Our 2013 cruise at that time was fully booked 18 months out. A TA who specialises in cruising can keep a check on how fast the cabins are selling

However after paying your deposit you have a lot of time before full payment is due. For Celebrity I believe it is 60 - 90 days before sailing.

I would no pin my hopes on a discounted price on sale as cruise lines know the chance of many empty cabins on cruises at cherry blossom time is minimal.
A good piece from the Celebrity website.

Managing Your Cruise

From managing your reservation to reserving onboard activities and add-ons, discover the essentials of managing and planning your Celebrity cruise.

www.celebritycruises.com

Late March maybe.

 

[RooFlyer]

Deposit is huge-$900 non-refundable for both.

What % is that of total per person fare?

 

[drron]

Cherry Blossom time in. Tokyo started March 21 this year. In 2020/22 and 23 it began in Tokyo on March 14. Over the past two hundred years it has moved from mid April to mid March.

 

[Tiki]

We'd be in Kyoto on 14 March and back to Tokyo on the 16th so could possibly get the beginning of some cherry blossoms. There are plenty of inside cabins still available. I will monitor them and if I see sales picking up I can push forward the booking but if I do I can't pay the credit card in full and would incur interest.

@drron Virtuoso only gives OBC for high level cabins, not the poor peasants in inside cabins.
No travel agent seems to be offering OBC and their deposits are over $1000 so nothing to gain from using one.

I do have kind of a loophole on further investigation. I have USA credit cards from Citi and Chase which offer trip cancellation insurance (not medical). We would need a proper full cruise insurance policy down the road but until mid December it's only the $900 deposit at risk. US credit cards are my secret weapon in this game! I can also use USA online TA's but then would have to pay for gratuities so I think it's cheaper to use Celebrity Australia direct.

@RooFlyer
Full cruise is around $5800 but it's not a percentage I think it's based on cabin category. Some TA's offer $25 deposits but the final price is around $6600.

My new USA Citi card now transfers to JAL so we have a good chance at J class on the return which is an overnight flight to SYD, then just get a separate ticket to BNE. I'll also be well supplied with Avios but seems hard to get J on QF or JL to Tokyo. At least those are daytime flights so can make do with QF in Y and pay for extra legroom seats. Bookings for BNE-TYO (either airport) would open late March 2027.

 

[RooFlyer]

Full cruise is around $5800 but it's not a percentage I think it's based on cabin category. Some TA's offer $25 deposits but the final price is around $6600.

Ponant takes a 25% deposit but if you cancel before one year out there’s only $250 cancellation fee. From a year out to sailing day the amount of deposit forfeited decreases in stages as you get closer to the cruise.

 

[Pushka]

Ponant takes a 25% deposit but if you cancel before one year out there’s only $250 cancellation fee. From a year out to sailing day the amount of deposit forfeited decreases in stages as you get closer to the cruise.

But way more expensive than an inside on Celebrity.

Also, if you change your mind after booking, for $100pp you can switch the deposit to a different cruise.

 

[Quickstatus]

March will be off peak

Early march off peak?

Late March maybe.

Late March peak?

Ponant takes a 25% deposit but if you cancel before one year out there’s only $250 cancellation fee

Can the deposit be switched to another cruise?

 

[Pushka]

Early march off peak?

Late March peak?


Can the deposit be switched to another cruise?

April is absolute peak and balcony cabins are booked over a year in advance. Late March similar but a bit less so. Yes. Deposit can be switched as I just posted a fraction before your post.

 

[Quickstatus]

Yes. Deposit can be switched

Yes I saw it thanks but the Q was for Ponant bookings.

 

[RooFlyer]

Yes I saw it thanks but the Q was for Ponant bookings.

My travel travel agent certainly can get it switched and I’ve actually done that but I’m not sure whether Joe Public can. But let’s not get this thread further off topic of Celebrity.

 

[SYD]

I'm eyeing a Celebrity Cruise for March 2028 on the Solstice around Japan and have a few questions.

2. Deposit is huge-$900 non-refundable for both. Any way to avoid so much payment upfront?

Yes, book onboard during a prior cruise! The Deposit is ~$100 pp!

We did a Pacific repos cruise earlier this year on the Celebrity Edge and while onboard decided to book a similar cruise next on the Celebrity Solstice (it looks fab after the refit).

There was one of the regular Sales eg 75% of 2nd PAX etc but we’d thought we ask at the Future Cruise desk and it turned out cheaper! They recognised our status so one category uplift (highest Aqua Class), onboard credit and only $100 deposit!

3. Do they do any good deals on Black Friday or Boxing Day? We only need an el-cheapo interior unless there is a good deal going on with minimal increase for better cabin. Its pretty port intensive so minimal cabin time.

As above, there are regular promos but Black Friday is often the best.

For the cruise we booked above, we took the basic drinks and wifi package (it’s generally cheaper to do that at the time of booking). You can then upgrade to Premium Drunks and wifi at any time prior - just chose a Sale. I’ve already “upgraded” with 39% off but I’m expecting Black Friday to be 40% to 50% off, so will cancel and rebook the package upgrade.

Shore excursions can also be heavily discounted during the Sales and makes them vaguely affordable.