There’s no feeling like having a cruise booked and spending the next few months getting ready for it. For most people, it would have to be a pretty enticing offer to get them to change those plans.But a recent email sent to some future cruisers on Celebrity Millennium is revealing just how enticing these offers can be.
What if you were offered a deal to cancel your future cruise and, in return, receive a 200% future cruise credit? Or perhaps move your trip to a similar sailing a year later, get half your money back, and score an extra onboard credit?
This is exactly the offer some passengers are now finding in their inboxes from Celebrity Cruises, under the heading, “Are Your Plans Flexible?”.
This message and seemingly too-good-to-be-true offer has prompted some to figure out what it actually means and what could have caused such an email to be sent.
One Reddit user recently posted about getting one of these emails for their March 2026 Japan honeymoon cruise. They’ve already booked flights and sorted out a bunch of time off work, so they naturally had some questions.
“I’m worried now that the cruise will get cancelled leaving us in a difficult position closer to the time,” they wrote in a popular cruise related subreddit.
But, as the email states, there are no worries for cruise guests who don’t want to change their plans. Their cruise is not getting canceled and they can just ignore the email if they want to proceed with their original sailing.
So, what’s the deal with these “flexible plans” offers? Most experienced cruisers and people who know the industry agree on one main reason for these types of messages: the ship might have been overbooked.
“They oversold and need some people to not go,” commented one Reddit user,” comparing it to when airlines ask for volunteers to give up their seat for money.
The offers themselves are definitely attention-grabbing. In this cruiser’s specific case, Celebrity gave them two choices:
- Option 1: Switch to a similar Celebrity Millennium cruise in March 2027. They’d get half their money back from their current booking, plus a $200 non-refundable Onboard Credit (OBC) for their room. Just a heads up: if they’d already paid for the whole trip, that 50% refund on the original fare basically turns into a 50% discount on the new cruise.
- Option 2: Get a full refund for their current booking AND a huge 200% Future Cruise Credit (FCC) to use on another Celebrity cruise. This means they get all their money back, and then double that amount in credit for a future trip.
I would have a very hard time passing up on option 2, personally.
“Full refund AND 200% FCC? So get all your money back and double the money in credit? That is a slamming deal and I bet people are going to jump on it,” stated one comment.
But for the OP who posted the email, the situation was a little different. This cruise is for their honeymoon—kind of a big deal. And while the balance has not yet been paid in full, flights have already been booked and over 4 weeks have been taken off of work.
“You don’t have anything to worry about though. The offers are sweet enough that people with flexibility will take them,” assured one comment. “There’s nothing for you to be concerned about if you aren’t interested in changing.”
These “move over offers,” as they’re called in the cruise world, are a normal way for cruise lines to manage how many people are on board.
Several Reddit users guessed why they might be overbooked. “Cherry blossom season, high demand,” suggested one, pointing to how popular Japan cruises are during certain times.
Sometimes, big group events can be booked on a cruise as well, meaning cruise lines have to free up some cabins.
In this case, the cruise is far enough in the future to allow plenty of time for any necessary changes.
Here’s the key thing: saying yes to these offers is totally up to the individual.
So, for those who receive an email titled “Are Your Plans Flexible?”, there’s no need to panic. In fact, it might be cause for some celebration if you want to be rewarded for your flexibility while the rest of us get jealous at the chance for 200% future cruise credit.
Appeared first on: Cruisefever.net
