Price/PerkComparison 2015-2017

in 2014 we booked a 11 day ultimate caribbean 2015 cruise but had to cancel. We have the same cruise booked this month & I will compare prices & perks. We used the same TA both times & both were veranda cabins, similar categories. Thought others would be interested in comparison.

The 2017 cruise was $345 more.

2015 cruise perks were prepaid gratuities.

2017 cruise perks were prepaid gratuities, classic beverage pkg, $100 OBC

So for paying $345 more we got the beverage package & $100 OBC extra compared to the 2015 cruise. I think the OBC came from the TA but not positive. So I calculate we paid $245 for the beverage package.

Oil/fuel price was about same as now.

Now I read that some other things on X have degraded but hard to put a value on that.

Comments?

I accept the figures as your experience... I do not keep track of these types of things truth be known.

Although I do keep track of the photos, some of the business calls I had to make while away, and some of the great times aboard and in port... the rest of it I do not. Once paid, it is paid and done. I Am sure I can try to figure all the financial stuff out if I dig deep enough into receipts and et. al.

Since I do not use any of it for tax deductions, I did not keep that 'stuff' organized, if at all. I can ball park it, possibly though if pressed.. :)

Thanks for your post and pointing out your costs and a comparison have you tried to factor in 2015 and 2016 hypothetical costs as well to see if there is/was a linear cost increase/decrease including these years as well?

Interesting that X's hard cost increases are not factored in or addressed or considered or is it?

bon voyage

in 2014 we booked a 11 day ultimate caribbean 2015 cruise but had to cancel. We have the same cruise booked this month & I will compare prices & perks. We used the same TA both times & both were veranda cabins, similar categories. Thought others would be interested in comparison.

 

The 2017 cruise was $345 more.

 

2015 cruise perks were prepaid gratuities.

2017 cruise perks were prepaid gratuities, classic beverage pkg, $100 OBC

 

So for paying $345 more we got the beverage package & $100 OBC extra compared to the 2015 cruise. I think the OBC came from the TA but not positive. So I calculate we paid $245 for the beverage package.

 

Oil/fuel price was about same as now.

 

Now I read that some other things on X have degraded but hard to put a value on that.

 

Comments?

Exactly why I smile when people say that OBC is 'free'. There is no such thing as free, it is just included in the price!!

We took TA cruise in November 2013 - 15 days in AQ for $3500/ cabin with ppd gratuities and $200 OBC - $233/day

Another TA we took in November 2015 in AQ - 13 or 14 days - $3850 / cabin with $100 OBC only.- $303/day

We had booked TA on Equinox for 2017 ( it got cancelled by Celebrity) - 13 days in AQ for $4100/cabin with $100 OBC and prepaid gratuity. -$315/day

I see pricing are climbing up.....

The problem with one off examples like both of those above is that they can lead you in either direction.

I could find cruises today and tomorrow that both suggest prices are rising and that they are falling just due to the volatility of cruise pricing. It would take a pretty in depth study to see the true results.

My instinctive thought however is that they're not going up as much as inflation is.

My cruise costs are but that's because each time I go I want more. More days, more excursions, more perks... just more! :D

our first cruise with Celebrity was Rome to Rome for 10 nights, with one stop in Turkey, 3 Greece and then Malta, Naples, few others. This was our first trip to the area. We paid $899 pp for Veranda and received drink package and I believe $100 per cabin OBC. We flew around trip from LAX to Rome $999 pp - we made the arrangements for that. We stayed two nights in Rome ahead of cruise and used Romecabs for a limo service to pick us up at airport, take us to the cruise ship and take us back to airport at the end. Euro at the time was around $1.35 to U.S. $.100 - total cost for trip was under $6,000. In May we are doing a 7 night Alaska out of Seattle for $1,499 pp. I am always looking for a bargain, but I am seeing the prices going up, up, up. Any future cruises with be last minute to take advantage of huge discounts.

The problem with one off examples like both of those above is that they can lead you in either direction.

 

I could find cruises today and tomorrow that both suggest prices are rising and that they are falling just due to the volatility of cruise pricing. It would take a pretty in depth study to see the true results.

 

My instinctive thought however is that they're not going up as much as inflation is.

 

My cruise costs are but that's because each time I go I want more. More days, more excursions, more perks... just more! :D

I think the reason for this thread is not to compare " last minute deals" as much as a general rule pricing. They are up..How is wanting more days, more excursions effect pricing per day? More perks will cost you more. I always prefer lower base price without perks.

I've done the Hawaii to west coast 3 years in a row. And the price increase is significant over that 3 year span

2014 Veranda Cabin with free grats $1050 (10 days)

2015 Outside Cabin with Bev and grats $1400 (11 days)

2016 Veranda gty with Bev and grats (last minute deal) $1900 (10 days)

The 2015 and 2016 would have been about the same price if cabin category was the same however the 2016 booking was a last minute deal so they prices should have been less. The difference between the first year with no bev package and the 2nd year with the bev package was $700pp if I would have booked the same cabin. So, yes, the free stuff isn't! :rolleyes:

I understand that and I'm ok with it. I'd rather pay upfront and know what I'm spending rather than getting a $2k bill at the end of my cruise.

A cruise we booked in Dec 2014 for December 2016 was $3,421 with Celebrity paying $300 deposit, $300 OBC, Classic Beverage Packager and Gratuities. We got additional OBC from the TA but that doesn't figure in. This was an A1 cabin (A2 price).

I can't come close to that right now. With just the OBC and drinks it costs $4,297 for similar cruise. So I am not getting the $300 deposit or gratuities and am paying $876 more. Add in the gratuities and deposit and I'd be paying $1,446 for basically the exact same cruise. Looking at 10 night Caribbean in early December.

This is why I didn't book anything yet.

And yea, I can get an inside, last minute, yada yada yada. Not what we want.

Exactly why I smile when people say that OBC is 'free'. There is no such thing as free, it is just included in the price!!

It is a great deal for the cruise line though.

First it incentivizes passengers to book a cruise at a higher price than we would otherwise be willing to pay, and then once on board, to buy a lot of stuff that we really do not want or need, which we never would have bought at all if we had to pay for it with real money.

Time and again we see people posting how the only reason they booked the ship's excursion, or bought the photo package, or logo jacket, or bingo cards, or jewelry, or cruise DVD, or (___ fill in the blank) was to use up non-refundable OBC.

OP here. Both cruises were bought ~6 months before cruise.

As other posters have said nothing is for free.

As to X costs, that is why I mentioned oil price. Other costs probably increased ~3% (a guess).

My purpose was to present the data since I had it & found it interesting.