Is the 1,2,3 Go Promo for me?

[RickT]

I love Celebrity (especially the S-Class ships) but am questioning the wisdom of booking something under the 1,2,3 Go promo when Princess and Holland are offering similar itinerary's for much less.

 

I just looked at some March 15th/16th Caribbean cruises using the lowest category balcony (prices in Canadian $):

- Celebrity Silhouette - $2,300 with choice of 1,2,3 Go

- Royal Princess - $1,600 with $100 shipboard credit

- HAL Westerdam - $1,800 with $100 shipboard credit

 

DW and I do enjoy a nice glass of wine and the odd Martini but I cannot see how I would cover the $500-700 price increase over the others. I know the Alcohol package is worth $88 a day which covers $500 but I just don't see me drinking that much.

 

I'm Elite on X and Platinum on Princess (and just a lowly 1 star Mariner on HAL) so the onboard perks are similar.

 

I haven't made a decision about which cruise I will book but wanted to see if other Celebrity fans have noticed the same thing. There are lots of variables which may make the pricing differences larger or smaller but I think you get the picture.

[Johnny Heedless]

The Princess cruise seems like a really good deal, but with only getting 63% on Cruise Critic (vs 89% for the Silhouette), I'd be worried about their product.

 

As for HAL, I will never go on their cruises again until they change their smoking policy. I went once and my balcony neighbors on both sides seemingly smoked 24/7 for the whole cruise. We were unable to use the balcony for the whole cruise.

[jagoffee]

I love Celebrity (especially the S-Class ships) but am questioning the wisdom of booking something under the 1,2,3 Go promo when Princess and Holland are offering similar itinerary's for much less.

 

I just looked at some March 15th/16th Caribbean cruises using the lowest category balcony (prices in Canadian $):

- Celebrity Silhouette - $2,300 with choice of 1,2,3 Go

- Royal Princess - $1,600 with $100 shipboard credit

- HAL Westerdam - $1,800 with $100 shipboard credit

 

DW and I do enjoy a nice glass of wine and the odd Martini but I cannot see how I would cover the $500-700 price increase over the others. I know the Alcohol package is worth $88 a day which covers $500 but I just don't see me drinking that much.

 

I'm Elite on X and Platinum on Princess (and just a lowly 1 star Mariner on HAL) so the onboard perks are similar.

 

I haven't made a decision about which cruise I will book but wanted to see if other Celebrity fans have noticed the same thing. There are lots of variables which may make the pricing differences larger or smaller but I think you get the picture.

 

I am not convinced that the low level balcony on the Royal Princess is the same as Celebrity's lowest level balcony. It is probably a equal comparison to the Royal Deluxe Balcony (and the balcony will be smaller)

 

Also $2300 for a one week cruise at the lowest level is too high. I would think you could do better. I have. 14 day cruise at the highest level regular balcony at the same price with the 123 promo.

 

Bottom line is that I would not pay $2300 for the lowest level balcony for a seven day cruise.

[Sandy1975]

Remember that the beverage package is not limited to just alcohol. It includes bottled water, fresh juices, all coffees and teas at Cage Il Bacio (except those on page 6). So if you enjoy fresh squeezed juice every morning, drink lots of water and like to indulge on espresso drinks and the wonderful teas the cafe offers then it might be worth getting it. I can't comment on the other line but I love the service I get on Celebrity.

 

Sorry for any spelling mistakes :)

[bigbenboys]

We booked a cruise for May 30th 2014 awhile back. We had already booked A1 rooms. I did the math and it would cost us a extra $576 per cabin with this new promo. Richard

[4774Papa]

Celebrity's pricing can be frustrating. First, it jacks up prices, then offers the 123.

I prefer to book early when prices are generally low, however the 123 usually is not available.

[Sandy1975]

Celebrity's pricing can be frustrating. First, it jacks up prices, then offers the 123.

I prefer to book early when prices are generally low, however the 123 usually is not available.

 

They are frustrating. The increase in prices depends on the itinerary in my opinion. We usually book late right before final payment and sometimes after final payment. We always manage to get great pricing and if it is too high we just look for other itineraries / dates. The one we booked last week has been pretty much the same price since May / June. It might go down a little more but no much for the cabin we got. We are OK with the price we paid and believe the 123 makes it a fantastic deal.

[insidecabin]

I think we will just continue to look for the great late GTY rates.

 

ok no packages but they get a lot cheaper so you can add you packages to suite your own drinking, we only need one premium.

[Us Two]

for us it actually is not worth it!

Our Med cruise oct 2014 12 days inside , cost $1,539 pp. Next Cat with window is $600 pp :eek:.

 

So $1,200 is not worth the offer even of 2 perks, and we cannot afford to pay that much for an already expensive cruise. We drink very little , so it would be choice of OBC and free gratuities which nean financially we lose .

[attilamom1217]

It depends on what you are looking for. If you are looking for total price of the cruise including what you will spend on board for soda, drinks, specialty coffees, etc. and nothing else - then go with the one that is the cheapest.

 

If your decision is based on not just the price, but the oerall ship and cruse line - whch do you prefer and would enjoy more, then pick that one and if there are 'free' perks - great!!!!

 

I have never sailed but with their smoking policy, I don't know if I will. I have cruised Carnival which has a liberal (smoking on the balconies, casinos) smoking policy and was bothered by the smoke.

 

Royal Princess is not getting the best of reviews, but if you like Princess, then why not see for yourself? And, if price is the primary decision maker, then go with Princess.

 

However, I personally prefer Celebrity and booked my upcoming cruise way in advance when the price was down AND got the 123Go promo. So i guess timing is everything.

 

Keep in mind, that sometimes you do get what you pay for. Celebrity has wonderful service, beautiful ships, and some intangibles that cannot be explained but cause me to say "WOW" whenever I'm on one. Princess also has beautiful ships, but I personally don't think they are as nice as Celebrity.

 

Enjoy whichever one you choose.