Go Stupid, Stupid-er, Stupid-est. My offer to you...

Rather than getting lost in the thread that is already nearing 1,000 posts, I thought I'd start this new one...

We've already discussed how little sense the cost of the perks makes...

And I've long ago opined on how much worse it is for those of us in "Elite Plus" who get free pre-dinner drinks, free specialty coffees and 200 minutes of free internet anyway--further diluting any value to those perks...

But here, I just want to say something about the gross stupidity of Celebrity's presentation of these "Great Deals". They are letting you know they are screwing you. It's right out there, blatantly on their web page.

I recently returned home from my Galapagos cruise on Xpedition...and they unrolled this thing while I was gone...So, I finally got the chance to sit down and check out whether my options are improved or not on the two Celebrity Cruises I have booked for the coming year...

So, I first went to my March Silhouette cruise--7-night Caribbean...

It shows a price of $1249 for a balcony cabin--same as when I booked with the 123Go...I originally took the Drink package as the slightly better option (remember, for me, it's only really covering drinks I have outside of my free pre-dinner drinks and free coffees)...So, for me, this is really no change...

So, I thought, what about those "Go Better options"? Well, here is where it gets a little silly--It states "Add Go Better for only $105 per person...They offer, for example, "Free Gratuities". Well, for this 7 night cruise, those gratuities are worth only $90.65! ($12.95 per day pp)...So, with much fanfare, they are telling me that, for a mere $105, they will give me a perk worth a whole $90.65???

Why would anyone ever take that option?

But, at least it's somewhat hidden--You have to do the math to see what you've been offered...

But, then, I went to my July Spain/Portugal cruise...

There, when you go through the same exercise, you get to that perks page and, plain as day, they give you THIS option:

"$150 pp to spend onboard

Upgrade for only $195"

They are not even hiding it there...

They flat-out say "Pay us $195 and we'll give you back $150 in on-board credit!"

That is incredibly audacious!

Picture a big sign in your local Department store advertising "$150 Gift card now on sale for only $195"...

For anyone who thinks they are getting a great deal on this promotion, I'm making this one-time offer: Send ME $195 and I will send you $150 back...No strings attached...

In fact, I will do this with no limit...You can send me $390 and I will give you $300...and on from there in whatever multiples you wish...

And this offer is not for any nonrefundable credit...I will give you your perk in perfectly legal US Cash--that you can spend anywhere and in any fashion you wish.

Great post. Since the new pricing first came out, I thought it sounded like a death knell to us.

nice one.......what was wrong with 123 go or pick your perk...I thought these were fine

I was not impressed by the new campaign or the offerings. They can't get their website and their customer service by phone right, and they think they need a new campaign?!

You can't use the website half the time.

You can't get a straight answer on the new pricing for the promotion.

You can't get the same answer on most things most of the time.

If you try to call them, half the time the phone service says there is a technical glitch and call back another time.

Once you are on the ships, it is nice. It is just trying to make reservations, place orders, and deal with the company beforehand that can make you crazy.

Hate to go negative on this pricing scheme/promo so quickly, but -- when I started running the numbers, all I could say was: "What rocket scientist came up with this?":rolleyes:

The BBB makes all of my current cruises (booked under 123Go) look like bargains, by comparison. And, that includes our 2017 Mardi Gras cruise -- the one I waited too long to book. I wasn't able to get a very good price, the cabin I wanted, or more than one perk, for that one. But, what I got is still a bargain, compared to the BBB pricing for the few cabins remaining! :eek:

As others have pointed out, I'll be keeping my 123GO bookings (through 2017) as they are. After that, we'll just have to wait and see. I don't plan to book any new cruises under BBB -- in its current format, anyway. :(

Well said, Steve!

Sadly, some folks are buying into this....literally.:rolleyes:

I agree. Have their bean counters lost the ability to count? Do they think we're stupid?

Here's an example of my recent experience with Celebrity:

When I got back from an Alaska cruise in May I got an e-mail saying as a thank you I could get $100 OBC on my next cruise. So my TA called Celebrity to see if it could be added to my booking for October. They said no (I already had three benefits attached to that booking). Makes perfect sense.

Well, the little darling she talked to was bound and determined to get me that $100. Whatever she did caused me to be re-fared for $800+ more and to lose $300 in OBC. So, to gain $100, I lost over $1100. Where do they find these people???

My TA was able to get it sorted, but really--how could anyone be that stupid?

I'm not seeing a lot of Celebrity cruises in my future except for the ones I have currently booked (prior to this BBB nonsense).

:D A smilie doesn't do your post justice - I laughed out loud, especially as I got closer to the end.

I've little experience with Celebrity yet (taking 2 cruises with them next month), but I can see that the price of one for 2017 cruise I have been tracking, has gone up considerably now that it comes with whistles and bells. In the UK, so different whistles and bells, but same principle ;)

Maybe X is trying to see how many people who cannot do or don't care to do a simple math will book... If they will see drop in booking - they will come up with some other scheme....I am glad I am booked thru 2016 and don't have to deal with this nonsense.

I know its not the greatest marketing promo but free drinks and a $300obc for $210 is a pretty good deal. And most of the 7 day cruises I looked at are the the same price as last year. $999 to $1099

RCCL is just $999 to $1099 with nada, zip, zilch, NOTHING! Just be careful what you wish for

Again, the premise at what they call it doesn't matter, it's what you get for your money. For $210 its a great deal to me

Great post. I checked for my upcoming Eastern Med cruise that I received group booking + all of the 123 go as I booked in CC. The new pricing is substantially higher. Duh !

I look at this as an opportunity. In three years the average Celebrity BBB cruiser will not be a rocket scientist... that's when I break out my timeshare sales pitch. I figure to cash in big time.

I agree completely.

We and elite and see little value in the drinks packages. We drink the tap water on the ship, don't buy $4 coffee or juice and get the free happy hour.

However, there is a type of cruiser that doesn't like to do the math on the drinks packages, because they find comfort in unlimited drinking, even if they haven't in the past spent what the drinks packages cost.

With any cabin OV or above, we have to choose one of the specials, even if we lose money on the deal. With 14 day cruises, the free grats might equalize the increase, we shall see.

Good post, I saw the same thing when I checked out a couple of my future cruises. I was shaking my head wondering if it was the "new" math or simple my being old :rolleyes:

The good is no different than 1,2,3 but the better and best is just smoke and mirrors. Hopefully this is just another example of X not being able to launch things (other than ships) correctly.

Celebrity's bean-counters continue to disappoint me. So I will dish out a little disappointment of my own, to THEM.

I have 3 Celebrity cruises booked between now and the Fall of 2016. I'm not booking any more cruises after that, unless I see Celebrity put something better on the table.

Being retired, I can always book last-minute deals, and am not a Celebrity-only cruiser.

:D A smilie doesn't do your post justice - I laughed out loud, especially as I got closer to the end.

 

 

 

I laughed out loud, and continue to chuckle just at the sight of the title of this new thread. Hope X take up the new branding...so catchy....and transparent [emoji14][emoji1][emoji14][emoji1][emoji14][emoji1][emoji14][emoji1][emoji14][emoji1][emoji14]

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I know its not the greatest marketing promo but free drinks and a $300obc for $210 is a pretty good deal. And most of the 7 day cruises I looked at are the the same price as last year. $999 to $1099

 

RCCL is just $999 to $1099 with nada, zip, zilch, NOTHING! Just be careful what you wish for

 

Again, the premise at what they call it doesn't matter, it's what you get for your money. For $210 its a great deal to me

What happens if you do a 14 night cruise? The $210 becomes $420 for which u get $300 back as obc!!!

Joining the list....

we have 3 Celebrity cruises booked into early 2017...all with triple perks (some with folks who have posted on this thread )

after those cruises, which they hopefully will not cancel or re-route, we'll be closely comparing prices and itins....before booking

seems Azamara might be a good move, unless Celeb pricing in AQ class makes up for the loss of two perks under "Big" , which for us is the OBC ($300) and grats...(going daily rate for AQ class )

we'll see how it goes....

What's really sad is that a very big percentage of those who book Celebrity cruises don't come here to read the truth, so they will think the BBB is a great idea, and don't realize they're getting ripped off. Lambs to the slaughter I say. We have three cruises booked up to December 2016, but we may go over to Oceania, where their fares are right up front---none of this silly crapola from the bean counters. I'm still wondering how they can do a BBB for RS and PH suites when they're already supposed to get all the perks from the stupid BBB promo.

The OBC is $300, not $150. It is per person. Same with the gratuities. So while it isn't a huge savings, it isn't quite as dumb as suggested. I just booked a 7 day cruise and for $325 received premium drink package, $150 OBC, Prepaid gratuities and unlimited internet. As this is only my second Celebrity cruise, I don't have perks that offset the value, so it is a pretty good deal for me.

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This past May, we booked our first Azamara cruise when they were offering their 50% off for second person promotionl. We've been wanting to move to Azamara, and the promotion and unique European itinerary were too good to pass up.

When Celebrity started their new promotion, I did a calulation for a 14 night European cruise in a CC cabin. Turns out if I added all three perks, Celebrity would be almost $1000 more per person. I then realized, even if we didn't get the Azamara promotion, Azamara would only have been $1000 more.

I agree - the bean counters didn't think this through. They will probably lose many of us who will just take our Elite Plus status over to Azamara.

Our upcoming Silhouette will most likely be the last with Celebrity unless they recognize that their loyal passengers know how a "shell game" is played.

The OBC is $300, not $150. It is per person. Same with the gratuities. So while it isn't a huge savings, it isn't quite as dumb as suggested. I just booked a 7 day cruise and for $325 received premium drink package, $150 OBC, Prepaid gratuities and unlimited internet. As this is only my second Celebrity cruise, I don't have perks that offset the value, so it is a pretty good deal for me.

 

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Not sure who/what you are replying to, but the OBC under the BBB program is $150 pp., not $300.

You then go on to say that you received $150 OBC for your 7 day cruise. I am now confused.:confused:

At first I was irritated to see another thread hashing out what's already been beaten to death on the other BBB thread.

But Bruin Steve was right. The simple way he presented his findings deserves it's own thread.

=X= isn't banking on winning us Elites, Elite+, etc, with the new BBB price structure. They're going after the market segment who likes things bundled and doesn't spend a moment's time crunching numbers.

=X= is just as happy getting $5,000 from a newbie as they are $5,000 from someone who's been loyal over the years. Airlines, cruise lines, etc have past passenger, frequent flier programs because it's expected of them, not because they want to.

I broke it down per person. The cost per person is $325. 2 people in cabin, each gets $150. The $325 gets me a $150 OBC, $91 in gratuities, a $70 upgrade from classic to premium, and free Internet. I would have spent at least that much anyway, so essentially I save $11 and get unlimited internet.

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The OBC is $300, not $150. It is per person. Same with the gratuities. So while it isn't a huge savings, it isn't quite as dumb as suggested.

Au contraire! The add-on to the price is ALSO per person...

So, yes, with double occupancy, you get $300 per cabin...but you pay $390 per cabin to get it!

On my 13 night Constellation cruise, for that "Go Better" promotion of a mere $195 PER PERSON or $390 per cabin, I can choose between $300 worth of OBC ($15x2) or $336.70 in prepaid gratuities ($12.95x13x2)...Do I want to lose $53.30 or $90?

EITHER is a BAD deal...

Either way, the perks aren't worth the added cost...