New Accessible Categories on Celebrity

Hi Everyone,

I've mentioned this on the Celebrity Forum, but I thought it would be helpful to advise that Celebrity has created new Categories for Accessible Staterooms. This is an excellent addition !

Here's the details :

Celebrity Cruises® is re-categorizing accessible staterooms to provide consistency across the fleet and better visibility for our accessible inventory. The new accessible stateroom categories go into effect for each ship’s first sailing for the 2012-2013 deployment.

How it works:

Accessible staterooms will be re-categorized into their own unique categories:

• AW Accessible Suite

• AX Accessible Veranda

• AY Accessible Ocean View

• AZ Accessible Inside

Some specialty accessible staterooms will get their own categories:

• AA Accessible AquaClass®

• AC Accessible Concierge Class

Category Conversion Chart :

===================

S1 & S2 - Sky Suite - Accessible Suite - Cat AW

A1 & A2 - AquaClass® - Accessible AquaClass® - Cat AA

C1, C2, C3 - Concierge Class - Accessible Concierge Class - Cat AC

2A & 2B - Deluxe Ocean View Veranda - Accessibe Veranda - Cat AX

5, 6, 8 - Ocean View - Accessible Ocean View - Cat AY

9, 10, 11 - Inside - Accessible Inside - Cat AZ

Sorry, I do not think this is "an excellent" addition. On sister line RCL, our accessible cabins were the E3 category. Now an AX. On future cruises, all the AX cabins are booked, but there are E3 cabins, and they are getting price drops. We no longer qualify. One price drop we missed was $400 p/p. :(

Unberwood,

I noticed they added the HC cabin dimensions to the website but just saw the new deck plans. I didn't notice that you had to click on a link to see the ones with the new categories. On the current RC deck plans they have the cabins listed as "E3 Accessible" or "I Accessible" through Apr. 15th. After that, E3 Accessible becomes AX and I Accessible becomes AY. It doesn't seem fair to penalize those who need the HC cabins from getting price drops. It makes me wonder what RC is thinking.

I had not realized that one could't get the reduced rates now.....bad idea!

Every body always likes a price reduction but I never book a cruise hoping to get the price reduced later, I book what I'm comfortable paying at that point in time just to have the cabin and location needed.

On the other hand think about this ...... when an able person books an HC and laters finds that the price reduction is not applicable to their cabin, I'm betting in most cases they will rebook into a regular cabin to get the price break. Thus making HC cabins less desirable to those that don't really need them in the first place.

xxoocruiser,

I have never booked a cruise expecting a price drop, but it's nice when one comes along. If I continue your logic, then RC can charge a premium price for HC cabins. I'm not saying they do, I'm just saying it's possible. Currently an outside HC cabin on deck 2 of Adventure of the Seas is considered a category "I" cabin. RC charges the same price for all category "I" cabins, whether standard or HC. By reclassifying the "I" HC cabin as "AY", they can charge a different (higher) price for that cabin because there are fewer of them than the "I" even though they are essentially the same cabin. I'll be watching for that next time I book a cruise with my mom.

xxoocruiser,

 

I have never booked a cruise expecting a price drop, but it's nice when one comes along. If I continue your logic, then RC can charge a premium price for HC cabins. I'm not saying they do, I'm just saying it's possible. Currently an outside HC cabin on deck 2 of Adventure of the Seas is considered a category "I" cabin. RC charges the same price for all category "I" cabins, whether standard or HC. By reclassifying the "I" HC cabin as "AY", they can charge a different (higher) price for that cabin because there are fewer of them than the "I" even though they are essentially the same cabin. I'll be watching for that next time I book a cruise with my mom.

For what it's worth, I still plan to call RCCL anyway when this occurs to me and explain the situation as you never know what if any thing RCCL will . Also if people call enough times and stress to the RCCl that it's against ADA law to charge a premium rate for a HC accessible room and that by changing the catagories does not indemify RCCL fro this practice than perhaps things might change.

I might be wrong, but the way the pricing looks on Celebrity's site is that the new changes are actually making the accessible rooms more affordable.

An example is the new AC (concierge class accessible room) is priced at a C3 room.

On the M class ships the accessible rooms in CC are actually C1's.

Cat. AC: Concierge Class, wheelchair accessible stateroom (proof of handicap required) 8176 $1600.00

Cat. C1: 8185 $1,931

Is the new category system an attempt to ensure that AB don't book the cabins? Are they kept out of the general inventory, so you have to specifically ask about them?

Anyone can book one simply by checking the box that says "I need an accessible cabin." It's like most hotel reservation systems - no verification. The old system did not show HC cabins online. You had to call reservations and specifically ask about them.