On-line Price increase to Specialty Restaurants

[gizmodog]

when is Celebrity going to stop with all this price raising? As much as I love Celebrity, I really do need to start pricing other lines, I believe pretty soon Oceania with all the inclusive will be less then booking with Celebrity and paying individual. I am sad that they are raising prices so much for their line not being considered one of the more elegant cruise lines. I do guess though as long a people pay, they will continue with this madness.

[Redtravel]

As prices soar for the specialty restaurants, fewer people will choose to dine at them. My last cruise, 2 weeks ago, there were lots of discounts offered for all the specialty restaurants. And they were still empty.. Food in the MDR is very good. Menus at the specialty restaurants haven't changed in many years. Specialty restaurants need to revamp their prices and menus. For now, I will dine in MDR and save the $$$.

[Diver2014]

when is Celebrity going to stop with all this price raising? As much as I love Celebrity, I really do need to start pricing other lines, I believe pretty soon Oceania with all the inclusive will be less then booking with Celebrity and paying individual. I am sad that they are raising prices so much for their line not being considered one of the more elegant cruise lines. I do guess though as long a people pay, they will continue with this madness.

 

No need to price other lines, they are all doing the same things, an increase here, an increase there- you think the airlines are nickel & diming???. If it moves you from one place to another, the prices are going to continue to go up, regardless of the price of fuel (one of their excuses).

 

Food is not our prime objective for going on a cruise so we'll continue eating in the MDR. The specialty restaurants we have tried on various cruise lines did not impress us and did not warrant the fee. Prices on everything will continue to go up until the bubble bursts.....:eek:

[Christine Frances]

Did everyone read post #15? The on board price hasn't gone up!! It's just that the $5 pre-cruise reservation discount has gone away.

[I&J Cruisers]

IMO the cruise lines will continue to push the envelope until they feel the pushback from their customers. X continues to be our mass market line of choice. We cruise the"luxury" lines when we can but can't afford to do that as often as we like to cruise and it's always a wonderful experience. Very reminiscent of what cruising was like in the 80's and early 90's. While I'm not crazy about the. current model the mass market lines are using, X has a solid product and Aqua class suits us well. It is true however that if you usually book suites the difference between the cost of a regent cruise and X taking into account the money you spend on board for air etc. the price is close. So if you are always booking suites on. Or any other mass market line I urge you to try it. You'll think you died and went to heaven.

[kenevenpar]

Oops, price already went to 10, even without the move to deck 10

[ClaudiaB]

What I would love to know is how many people actually pay full price to dine in one of the specialty restaurants and how many people only dine when there is a discount offered.

 

We have done both. Typically we eat in every specialty restaurant at least once on every cruise. We consider it part of our cruising experience. Usually we get two free specialty meals (suite, longer cruise) and then go a couple more times and pay full price. My photo here is us in Murano.

Edited June 26, 2015 by ClaudiaB

[ghstudio]

What I would love to know is how many people actually pay full price to dine in one of the specialty restaurants and how many people only dine when there is a discount offered.

 

Count us in the discount only column....unless we were with close friends who wanted to celebrate something on a particular night. At 40-50% off, we'll certainly eat at Tuscan, Murano, or QSine (or equivalent on the M-class ships)...they are definitely worth $25 but not $40/50 to us.

[Nachosdelux]

Count us in the discount only column....unless we were with close friends who wanted to celebrate something on a particular night. At 40-50% off, we'll certainly eat at Tuscan, Murano, or QSine (or equivalent on the M-class ships)...they are definitely worth $25 but not $40/50 to us.

 

agreed.

 

Also, I cannot believe that Bistro on 5 is not being looked at for a change/fix. I never see more that 10 people in there at one time, an half of the patrons are staff.

[DYKWIA]

With supposedly so much OBC floating around they're probably trying to mop up some of that. Be interesting to see if individuals (those without OBC) are targetted with bespoke offers trying to get them to part with hard cash to dine in these restaurants.

[neverbeenhere]

Time to start wearing a sign: "I Have $ 800 OBC, Help me spend it!":p

[bEwAbG]

What I would love to know is how many people actually pay full price to dine in one of the specialty restaurants and how many people only dine when there is a discount offered.

 

I paid full price on my first cruise. Paid in advance on the website because I hadn't yet discovered Cruise Critic to know the difference. Also, when I got on board and was offered a discount almost every night, I figured out that I'd been had! :D

 

So the lesson Celebrity taught me is to wait until I'm on board the ship to book a restaurant. Seems counterintuitive to me.

Edited June 26, 2015 by bEwAbG

[ghstudio]

I paid full price on my first cruise. Paid in advance on the website because I hadn't yet discovered Cruise Critic to know the difference. Also, when I got on board and was offered a discount almost every night, I figured out that I'd been had! :D

 

So the lesson Celebrity taught me is to wait until I'm on board the ship to book a restaurant. Seems counterintuitive to me.

 

Even though you booked in advance, you could have cancelled and received a credit for the reservation...then you could have booked the discounted fare. Actually, if you ask, they generally will just refund you the difference between what you paid and the offered price.

[bEwAbG]

Even though you booked in advance, you could have cancelled and received a credit for the reservation...then you could have booked the discounted fare. Actually, if you ask, they generally will just refund you the difference between what you paid and the offered price.

 

Never even crossed my mind to ask. If you buy tickets to a show or a seat on a plane, you pay the price you paid, even if the person sitting beside you paid half or twice as much. Shouldn't have to beg to get the deal, but now I know better.

[blueboro]

Before long the prices will be more than what you pay for a popcorn and coke at the movies...and that is saying something:)

[HouseRulz]

One of two things is happening:

 

1) X has decided they can get more for the same experience.

2) X has to get more for the same experience, because the difference in food quality between specialty dining and MDR (which the guest has theoretically paid for) is widening.

 

If it's #2, then the difference in food quality means one of two things:

 

A) The quality of food in specialty restaurants is to improve, while MDR food quality stays constant.

B) The quality of food in specialty restaurants is to stay the same, while MDR food quality declines.

 

One has to hope the answer isn't 2B - but sadly, that's the most likely of the options IMO.

[ghstudio]

No...nothing is happening. Sales of individual specialty restaurant dinners prior to the cruise were obviously not high so they figure just charge the rugular (full) price on-board.

 

I don't think there is any motive behind this other than "it's not worth discounting $5 by allowing folks to book in advance". If someone wants to book and eat at a particular time on a particular day, they still can book...but it will be the same price as on-board.

 

This change just isn't a big deal.

Edited June 26, 2015 by ghstudio

[bEwAbG]

I received an email the other day that offered 20% off if you pre-book for the first night. The fine print says: "Specialty dining reservations must be booked four days prior to departure date. The full reservation fee must be paid when booking online before your cruise, and a 20% refund will be credited to your onboard account." Someone on another thread said they were told this when they called, too, so it appears to be a new (?) thing they're trying.

 

Probably trying to move traffic to the restaurants for the first night by offering a discount in advance and maybe using on-board discounts to fill the other nights on the ships?

[Beanb41]

I received an email the other day that offered 20% off if you pre-book for the first night. The fine print says: "Specialty dining reservations must be booked four days prior to departure date. The full reservation fee must be paid when booking online before your cruise, and a 20% refund will be credited to your onboard account." Someone on another thread said they were told this when they called, too, so it appears to be a new (?) thing they're trying.

 

Probably trying to move traffic to the restaurants for the first night by offering a discount in advance and maybe using on-board discounts to fill the other nights on the ships?

 

On my two previous cruises on the Solstice we were offered half price at Tuscan on the first night. There was a voucher in our cabin . It was available to all Classic members and above. There were many offers of half price dining throughout the cruise. I guess it just depends upon take up at the time. The only time we found the restaurants full were on Formal nights.

[purpletequila]

This isn't a price increase...it's just removing the discount for purchasing a specialty meal prior to the cruise. The price on-line is now the same as the "list price" you would pay on board. I say "list price" because on our last 5 cruises we have been offered between 20 and 50% off "list" to dine in a specialty restaurant.

 

I have always purchased the package before hand. Now, I will wait to board and try for a deal.

[Iamcruzin]

I received an email the other day that offered 20% off if you pre-book for the first night. The fine print says: "Specialty dining reservations must be booked four days prior to departure date. The full reservation fee must be paid when booking online before your cruise, and a 20% refund will be credited to your onboard account." Someone on another thread said they were told this when they called, too, so it appears to be a new (?) thing they're trying.

 

Probably trying to move traffic to the restaurants for the first night by offering a discount in advance and maybe using on-board discounts to fill the other nights on the ships?

 

20% sounds like a big deal but they will have to bait me with more than a $10 discount before I bite. Besides the first night Prime Rib is served in the MDR. On my last sailing that was the best meal the entire week.

[keithm]

Celebrity have recently increased their ON LINE specialty restaurant prices, almost totally negating the advantage of pre-booking.

Murano restaurant is now $50pp ( it was $45pp)

Tuscan Grill is now $40pp ( it was $35pp)

I just book on board. We made the online mistake before. Usually we can find 15-30% discounts quite readily. This is on the Eclipse. It may differ on other Celebrity ships.