Prices too high

If you think that your cruise prices are too high watch out for the new Big Better Best promotion program .Those add on can cost you more than what you get:o .Do the math :eek:

There are at least 2 very long threads about the new pricing -with lots of examples of the math both good and no good.

I say, book early and ignore the additional cost promo games, RCI is toying with both their lines. Recently released itineraries are still fairly priced.

promotions come and promotions go. Close your eye, click your heels and before you know it they will be on to another strategy.;)

If you think you are getting good value book it.

If not don't.

The biggest difference we seem to be noticing is the difference in cost between the Med (generally higher per day costs) and the rest of the world...I guess it is down to supply and demand!

Snag in the Med if you wait until near the time to try and get a bargain on a cruise all the budget flights will be full and you will then pay a fortune to get to your cruise port.

The biggest difference we seem to be noticing is the difference in cost between the Med (generally higher per day costs) and the rest of the world...I guess it is down to supply and demand!

 

Snag in the Med if you wait until near the time to try and get a bargain on a cruise all the budget flights will be full and you will then pay a fortune to get to your cruise port.

Not necessarily. Choice Air has excellent last minute fares, I was just checking last night. . .

It is my understanding that that BBB is a change in pricing/packaging and it is not a promotion. Once things settle down I would expect promotions to be offered with the BBB.

I certainly miss the 123 all inclusive promotion, but to get a Best package for the Big package price for certain category of cabins would also be a great promotion IMO.

It is my understanding that that BBB is a change in pricing/packaging and it is not a promotion. Once things settle down I would expect promotions to be offered with the BBB.

I certainly miss the 123 all inclusive promotion, but to get a Best package for the Big package price for certain category of cabins would also be a great promotion IMO.

At least you had the choice of taking or not taking the 123 Go promotion ;)

.In our particular case & after taking many Celebrity cruises ,we want to sail mostly from the West coast where we live in the San Diego area;) . Because we are extremely limited to only Alaska & a occasional Panama Canal cruise on Celebrity,we are now booking HAL & Princess cruises;)

Just for comparison purposes we looked at todays price for our April 2016 Western Caribbean cruise on silhouette .

Back when we booked it the price for a D cat Veranda was $2453 with a $400 OBC by Celebrity & a $200 OBC by our TA . Today's price with the ppd gratuities(Big promo) it is $2570.90 for the same cabin .The ppd gratuities amount to $181,30 on the one Big promo. We must say that the new pricing is hardly a good deal compared to our orginal cost & OBCs.

Summation of the above is that is another reason to look at Celebrity's competition when we book cruises in the future .We did & got a 21 day Cruise in a Veranda with $500 OBC for a HAL cruise on their Noordam from SD to Sydney Australia sailing Oct 3rd .Cost for the Veranda cabin was $5895:D

Just for comparison purposes we looked at todays price for our April 2016 Western Caribbean cruise on silhouette .

 

Back when we booked it the price for a D cat Veranda was $2453 with a $400 OBC by Celebrity & a $200 OBC by our TA . Today's price with the ppd gratuities(Big promo) it is $2570.90 for the same cabin .The ppd gratuities amount to $181,30 on the one Big promo. We must say that the new pricing is hardly a good deal compared to our orginal cost & OBCs.

 

Summation of the above is that is another reason to look at Celebrity's competition when we book cruises in the future .We did & got a 21 day Cruise in a Veranda with $500 OBC for a HAL cruise on their Noordam from SD to Sydney Australia sailing Oct 3rd .Cost for the Veranda cabin was $5895:D

The increased prices have more to do with the improving economy than anything else. During the US recession cruise lines lowered their prices to fill their ships. Now that the recession is over there are more people with disposable income than the last few years, and prices are going up for almost everything - including cruises. EVERYTHING costs more today than a couple of years ago.

Celebrity's competition is doing the exact same thing. Their prices are also higher, so you gain no monetary advantage by going to a competitor.

Plus, comparing one region to another is not a good comparison. You must compare the competition for the same region to get the best idea of comparable cruise prices.

The increased prices have more to do with the improving economy than anything else. During the US recession cruise lines lowered their prices to fill their ships. Now that the recession is over there are more people with disposable income than the last few years, and prices are going up for almost everything - including cruises. EVERYTHING costs more today than a couple of years ago.

 

Celebrity's competition is doing the exact same thing. Their prices are also higher, so you gain no monetary advantage by going to a competitor.

 

Plus, comparing one region to another is not a good comparison. You must compare the competition for the same region to get the best idea of comparable cruise prices.

We were not comparing one region vs another region of the world .We were simply giving illustrations of how we booked cruises . Since Celebrity does not do west coast cruises we have decided to use local cruise lines to avoid flying when ever we can avoid to fly .

Celebrity does only Alaska & Panama canal cruises which are the closest . However ,in our case we have done 4 Alaska cruises & two Panama Canal cruises .Thus ,leaving us no Celebrity new options .:o

Cruising on local cruise lines like HAL & Princess for R/T LA or SD cruise piers then gives us a no flying cruise:D .Todays flights are over crowded with little room for carry ons & other related problems ,.Most people do not like to fly any longer because of those reasons & the very busy airports with long security check lines:eek:

PS the new Celebrity BBB is now increasing their prices across all cabins except inside cabins .It is not the pre post recession price points ,it is the BBB built in price increases . These are the real price increases . We prefer cruise lines who act more traditionally . We have that experience having done 66 cruises with a elite + level on Celebrity with over 30 cruises

The increased prices have more to do with the improving economy than anything else. During the US recession cruise lines lowered their prices to fill their ships. Now that the recession is over there are more people with disposable income than the last few years, and prices are going up for almost everything - including cruises. EVERYTHING costs more today than a couple of years ago.

 

Celebrity's competition is doing the exact same thing. Their prices are also higher, so you gain no monetary advantage by going to a competitor.

 

Plus, comparing one region to another is not a good comparison. You must compare the competition for the same region to get the best idea of comparable cruise prices.

Well RCI profits were down 2% 4th quarter, and they've been making drastic changes to prices and promotions to make up for it. Last minute deals are gone, opting for better savings to the early bird (which I consider still fair). Beverages on RCL for example, are up 50% this year, more expensive than Celebrity!

The CEO has said that empty cabins make for less congestion for the other passengers, so this is not supply and demand. Carnival and Norwegian brands are not following their lead, even though it has been publicly suggested that they should. In all fairness, hotels operate without needing to book every room, so that's fine with me if they want to adapt this model. I don't need to consistently reward it either.

But as far as Competition (last minute), Celebrity at best matches, but often comes in quite higher:

August in Alaska, northbound:

Celebrity Infinity $1049 Inside, $2199 Veranda

HAL Zaandam $519 Inside, $1399 Veranda

Grand Princess $529 Inside, $1969 Suite

10 night Southern Caribbean in October, from Ft. Lauderdale

Celebrity Infinity $1109 Inside, $1799 Veranda

HAL Oosterdam $919 Inside, $1249 Veranda

Royal Princess, $999 Inside, $1049 Veranda

7 night Western Caribbean in November, from Ft. Lauderdale

Celebrity Silhouette $649 Inside, $1049 Veranda

HAL Nieuw Amsterdam $519 Inside, $729 Veranda

Emerald Princess $539 Inside, $919 Veranda

The recession may be technically over, but salaries and wages have been pretty stagnant for most people in the middle class. These cruise price increases seem to be determined more by the desire of management to maximize per room revenue, than by the economic reality experienced by most people I know.

We all have the option of declining to book at these higher price points and hope that management will reevaluate the current pricing structure.

We all have the option of declining to book at these higher price points and hope that management will reevaluate the current pricing structure.

This ^^^^^^!

I am hoping that the BBB pricing promotion they are doing right now is just that a promotion and ends eventually and they can get back to making sense. On almost every 2016 sailing I have priced in the last week, there is a similar itinerary on another line that beats Celebrity significantly.

Have mentioned this previously and maybe we are lucky, but the pricing on the Silhouette for a balcony in Feb. 2016 with the Big promotion is almost identical to what we paid on the Eclipse in February 2014 with the 123. So I am pleased with what I have seen so far.

This ^^^^^^!

 

I am hoping that the BBB pricing promotion they are doing right now is just that a promotion and ends eventually and they can get back to making sense. On almost every 2016 sailing I have priced in the last week, there is a similar itinerary on another line that beats Celebrity significantly.

My current bookings with Celebrity & RCL were unique itineraries (plus the 123GO was a good deal), but generally I think we're going to be leaning away ourselves. RCI has some of the best port heavy transatlantic and transpacific cruises, so they may get more of our business there.

The OP is spot on.

The BBB brochure arrived in the mail yesterday - it went unopened straight to recycling.

As Elite due to my patronization since 1992, I do not want the drink package or internet. Further, my household only takes 2 + week cruises.

At this point, the new pricing is not working for us for all the reasons noted on other threads. Add in the price increase due to the low Canadian $, means that Celebrity will not have a booking from us for who knows when.

While the US economy is improved, that has not translated to significant salary increases for most Americans - enough to offset the very significant cost increases in daily living let alone a non necessity like vacations.

I suspect that all the cruise lines will have to do without many Canadians due to the low dollar which is bound to have an impact on bookings.

Celebrity is trying to significantly increase revenue with this price structure "bunding" while cutting the on board experience year after year.

Well time will tell.

Hopefully other cruisers can make the new pricing structure work for them.

Happy and safe sailing

ABoatNerd

The OP is spot on.

 

The BBB brochure arrived in the mail yesterday - it went unopened straight to recycling.

 

As Elite due to my patronization since 1992, I do not want the drink package or internet. Further, my household only takes 2 + week cruises.

 

At this point, the new pricing is not working for us for all the reasons noted on other threads. Add in the price increase due to the low Canadian $, means that Celebrity will not have a booking from us for who knows when.

 

While the US economy is improved, that has not translated to significant salary increases for most Americans - enough to offset the very significant cost increases in daily living let alone a non necessity like vacations.

 

I suspect that all the cruise lines will have to do without many Canadians due to the low dollar which is bound to have an impact on bookings.

 

Celebrity is trying to significantly increase revenue with this price structure "bunding" while cutting the on board experience year after year.

 

Well time will tell.

 

Hopefully other cruisers can make the new pricing structure work for them.

 

Happy and safe sailing

 

ABoatNerd

Was just reading a financial article about RCl - they are releasing Q2 numbers on July 31.

They are already noting international guests have cut WAY back on on board spending due to the currency fluctuation. It's partly why there attention is moving to Europe and Asia, and away from North America with new ships and redeployments (i.e. Century left fleet, Connie spending just 1 more winter in Caribbean before redeployment to MidEast, new big ships going to Asia). Although the China economy is also slowing, there are enough people there in that the market is much more attractive than the crowded Caribbean.

Canadians and US bookers are no longer the critical passengers. Asia is of primary importance now.

It is my understanding that that BBB is a change in pricing/packaging and it is not a promotion. Once things settle down I would expect promotions to be offered with the BBB.

I certainly miss the 123 all inclusive promotion, but to get a Best package for the Big package price for certain category of cabins would also be a great promotion IMO.

There already is a promotion on select cruises to book a verandah at OV rate including big perk choice.

Taking the BBB BS out of the equation, the EXACT same transatlantic cruise we took this year is currently priced $996 higher (per couple)!! Same ship, same cabin, no perks. I think that is an outrageous price increase! :eek:

Well RCI profits were down 2% 4th quarter, and they've been making drastic changes to prices and promotions to make up for it. Last minute deals are gone, opting for better savings to the early bird (which I consider still fair). Beverages on RCL for example, are up 50% this year, more expensive than Celebrity!

 

The CEO has said that empty cabins make for less congestion for the other passengers, so this is not supply and demand. Carnival and Norwegian brands are not following their lead, even though it has been publicly suggested that they should. In all fairness, hotels operate without needing to book every room, so that's fine with me if they want to adapt this model. I don't need to consistently reward it either.

 

But as far as Competition (last minute), Celebrity at best matches, but often comes in quite higher:

 

August in Alaska, northbound:

 

Celebrity Infinity $1049 Inside, $2199 Veranda

HAL Zaandam $519 Inside, $1399 Veranda

Grand Princess $529 Inside, $1969 Suite

 

 

10 night Southern Caribbean in October, from Ft. Lauderdale

 

Celebrity Infinity $1109 Inside, $1799 Veranda

HAL Oosterdam $919 Inside, $1249 Veranda

Royal Princess, $999 Inside, $1049 Veranda

 

 

7 night Western Caribbean in November, from Ft. Lauderdale

 

Celebrity Silhouette $649 Inside, $1049 Veranda

HAL Nieuw Amsterdam $519 Inside, $729 Veranda

Emerald Princess $539 Inside, $919 Veranda

I just checked this last one but don't forget that $1049 includes the Bev Pkg!

There already is a promotion on select cruises to book a verandah at OV rate including big perk choice.

Can you give more info on this?

If you think that your cruise prices are too high watch out for the new Big Better Best promotion program .Those add on can cost you more than what you get:o .Do the math :eek:

We always ignore the promos. Usually they just enhance the cruiseline's bottom line.If we want to do the specialty rest, we book them on board..often with 15-30% discounts.

"Too High" ultimately comes down to one thing. If Celebrity fills their ships at these prices, then it is not "too high". They may just be filling the ships with different passengers than they are filling the ships with today.