Is Celebrity Loosing The Plot With Prices?

[ISABELLA]

Celebrity definitely wants new blood... But from observation on past few cruises, most of the cruisers are repeated. So, nothing like " free" drinking package;)

[purpletequila]

Pricing has sent me to another line for my 2016 cruise. I saw their new alleged promotion of getting 2 perks, so I booted back to the site to check it out only to see ridiculous and obviously inflated rates. It's laughable really. It must be aimed at new cruisers who are unfamiliar with what a normal/average price is.

[purpletequila]

I think most understand the concept and some probably do the same type of pricing in their business. I sense that we are seeing real frustration by some who really enjoy Celebrity, but seeing prices rising to the point where they can no longer afford what they want. So long as the demand for cruising remains strong prices will continue to rise. The danger for Celebrity in raising prices, cutting costs and rethinking itineraries is that once passengers decide for whatever reason to leave, it will be very difficult to lure them back. That I see as the risk in the Celebrity strategy.

Watch what happens in 2020 when Virgin Cruises cruise from Port of Miami. Celebrity has a target on their back and Virgin is taking aim.

 

I can not wait to try Virgin Cruises. But unless X brings their prices back to reality, I've already committed to another line. Having gone on the Reflection a couple of months ago for the 2nd time, I just don't see the value v their pricing anymore. So, I'm already 3/4 out the door and probably don't matter. Lol but yeah, I'll be booking Virgin as soon as it opens

[purpletequila]

Not sure where you looking but an inside is showing on the X web site at $3161 with tax. An OV with 2 perks is $3640 pp. I'm not suggesting the prices are reasonable just saying not as high as you indicated and 2 perks for an OV!

 

 

And with that price in an OV, those perks are costly....as I'm sure you know.

[kelmac]

Not sure where you looking but an inside is showing on the X web site at $3161 with tax. An OV with 2 perks is $3640 pp. I'm not suggesting the prices are reasonable just saying not as high as you indicated and 2 perks for an OV!

 

jelayne,

 

You're right! I just looked it up and the prices have really dropped. Perhaps they didn't get the onboard bookings they thought they might. It was over $4,000 last week for a CAT 11 inside. I did mention it (high prices) on my post-cruise survey. Still, $226 per person, per night in an inside cabin is now out of my league.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[TrulyBlonde]

Greetings Portofinoitaly,

 

It looks like we have the same values.

 

I sincerely hope your cruise does happen, I am aware of recent cancellations. I think this worries us more than price at the moment....If X does cancel one of our cruises, after early planning and commitment it will probably be too late to find exactly what we want on an alternative cruise line.

 

Our cruises in Asia do not have the history of cancellations that yours does but with the Asia market really opening up I think it is something we are going to have to learn to live with!

 

Hope it all goes OK.

 

Thanks Chemo.

That is exactly the problem if they cancel because we plan well in advance to obtain the best cabins. It is a very nice itinerary but 2018 is a long way off :)

[cmalagngl]

We cruise for itinerary first and timing. We typically prefer smaller ships, but if the itinerary is right, we enjoy X.

 

Cabin selection is important for us and yesterday just booked Japan April 2018 in a CS. With the GO BEST package it makes it totally inclusive and easy. The ships are lovely, clean, great staff, and we book early for all of this. I find it one of the best, premium cruise lines out there and willing to pay a bit more for what makes us happy. Now, if they don't charter that Japan trip we will be very happy ;-)

 

See you in Japan, we are also booked on that cruise in an Veranda. With the Go Best package we are also very excited about this opportunity to see Japan. It was not on our bucket list but the price was just to good. I learned about the charter issue after I put my deposit down. I really hope that does not happen.

[4774Papa]

In response to the question raised by ghstudio

 

I feel the current pricing structure is not offering fair value for the dollars being charged. As I am eligible for the elite benefits, the perks being offered are not of any interest to me, and I do not appreciate being charged excessively high prices to support the BBB pricing scheme. The perks are not free and I do not wish to pay for something I never wanted in the first place.

 

As gordylad said above, the loyal Celebrity cruiser looses out with this pricing structure. I agree with him that we should be able to buy the stateroom category we wish without the gimmicks.

 

I believe in voting with my dollars in a situation like this, and I will not pay these higher cruise prices when I do not believe I am receiving good value for my cruise dollars.[/quote

 

 

The saddest part is Celebrity don't care if loyalists are going away.

 

Well said

[Cruise Junky]

A comparison on pricing. My family goes to Hawaii a minimum of once every two years flying from Los Angeles. Ten years ago we could fly at $400 per ticket for a coach seat. The specials sometimes were as low as $250. The cost for a room was over $400 a night for a major resort. This coming summer, rooms can be found at major resorts sometimes lower than $200 but airfare is now over $800 for a coach ticket. Best airfare in the last 90 days sometimes around $470. That is a huge risk if you are going in the summer because of school age children. The airfare rise was caused by the demise of Aloha Airlines which greatly reduced competition. The hotel prices have gone down because people are not rushing to go to Hawaii anymore because the airfare has gone up so much. The bottom line is they are still selling out hotels and planes during peak weeks and the summer. The money is just being distributed to the airlines and hotels differently.

.

 

Ouch on that $800. Even in Canadian I can get Honolulu for under $400. Must be an LA thing, that's painful. $370 out of the US just over the border and West Jet and Air Canada were having $395 specials. $800 from LA is nuts

[floatplan]

An oddly high priced cruise is Solstice March 21, 2018 Sydney 9 days RT to New Caledonia, Lifou and Vanuatu.

 

9 days in

CS is 12,100 = $1340/day

RS is 19,800 = $2200/day

PH is 29,600 = $3290/day

 

I think those are the highest prices I have seen. Either it's a mistake or those are the best ports ever or it is some kind of special cruise?

 

The same cruise a year earlier March 25, 2017 is half price or less!

 

9 days in the

CS is 6,500 = $720/day

RS is 7,900 = $880/day

PH is 9,900 = $1100/day

[wwcruisers]

The danger for Celebrity in raising prices, cutting costs and rethinking itineraries is that once passengers decide for whatever reason to leave, it will be very difficult to lure them back. That I see as the risk in the Celebrity strategy.

Watch what happens in 2020 when Virgin Cruises cruise from Port of Miami. Celebrity has a target on their back and Virgin is taking aim.

 

BINGO -- Couldn't have said it any better, Charles! ;)

 

Sir Richard certainly has a knack for knowing what his customers want -- and, providing it at a reasonable price. I've only flown Virgin America once, but I LOVED it! Don't know why the other airlines still insist on that clunky cart for food/beverage service. VA makes coach feel like business class. So, even though we're older than his "target" demographic, I'll be very interested to see what's featured on Branson's new cruise line. :cool:

Edited January 6, 2016 by wwcruisers

[richstowe]

I think most understand the concept and some probably do the same type of pricing in their business. I sense that we are seeing real frustration by some who really enjoy Celebrity, but seeing prices rising to the point where they can no longer afford what they want. So long as the demand for cruising remains strong prices will continue to rise. The danger for Celebrity in raising prices, cutting costs and rethinking itineraries is that once passengers decide for whatever reason to leave, it will be very difficult to lure them back. That I see as the risk in the Celebrity strategy.

Watch what happens in 2020 when Virgin Cruises cruise from Port of Miami. Celebrity has a target on their back and Virgin is taking aim.

And amazingly they put the target on their own back. :confused:

[Host Jazzbeau]

Watch what happens in 2020 when Virgin Cruises cruise from Port of Miami. Celebrity has a target on their back and Virgin is taking aim.

 

Can't argue with this, except for this caveat: you might want to wait until the 2nd year of operation. Viking Oceans debuted this year with beautiful ships and terrific pricing/inclusiveness -- but lots of teething problems. Hopefully next year they will have it sorted out, and then Celebrity already has a big problem in Europe!

[TrulyBlonde]

See you in Japan, we are also booked on that cruise in an Veranda. With the Go Best package we are also very excited about this opportunity to see Japan. It was not on our bucket list but the price was just to good. I learned about the charter issue after I put my deposit down. I really hope that does not happen.

 

I hope we all get to enjoy this cruise. With the China market opening up with so many other cruise lines planning on sailing that area, we may possibly have other choices in the event they do charter. Must keep an eye on this one!

[cmalagngl]

I hope we all get to enjoy this cruise. With the China market opening up with so many other cruise lines planning on sailing that area, we may possibly have other choices in the event they do charter. Must keep an eye on this one!

 

I agree. We really are interested in the Japan focus of this cruise and others we know are also looking at this. Hopefully at the current pricing it sells and Celebrity won't want to charter it. It is the only cruise with Celebrity with that itinerary.

[brfan]

jelayne,

 

You're right! I just looked it up and the prices have really dropped. Perhaps they didn't get the onboard bookings they thought they might. It was over $4,000 last week for a CAT 11 inside. I did mention it (high prices) on my post-cruise survey. Still, $226 per person, per night in an inside cabin is now out of my league.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

I also checked that cruise last week and it was over $8000 CAD for the cheapest inside (that's with the single supplement).

[Bo1953]

Why should Celebrity care about its long time cruisers? New cruisers won't be complaining about how much the quality of the food has declined, the dumbing down of the dress code, the lack of daily water in Aqua class, and all the other cost cutting/revenue enhancements lately. New cruisers have no basis for comparison. They just accept it and are content.

 

New cruisers aren't high level Captain's Club members and therefore aren't eligible for the perks that come with those levels and the associated costs. They aren't complaining about what some other cruise lines give in their loyalty program that =X= doesn't, nor are they complaining about any changes Celebrity makes.

 

Primarily, it is all about the bottom line and loyalty is not a factor in the decision making.

 

S - your concerns, but as a long time cruiser, solo, now with spouse in tow, we have sailed a few lines over the last five (5) years and have never given much thought to 'Loyalty' rewards on any line, not even airline. If we hit a level which gives us a perk, great, if not, we go with the flow. Perks are always ever evolving, even on airlines, visit flyer talk sometime to read the angst long time frequent flyers have to say about the programs which they have been a member of for such a long time and its' overall current value....

 

As far as 'service' changes go, I usually do not think about it as long as it does not affect my sailing (safety is paramount of course). We usually book no higher than veranda and have tried AQ and C levels on X and enjoyed them, but found that veranda is a good enough 'value' for us, for now.

 

I admit we are not all that loyal to anyone line, yet, but after retirement we may be. Since that is a few years off, we will continue to 'sail' around until we find the one(s) which suit us best. Some of these lines currently include X, Crystal, Seabourn, Windstar, SeaDream and HAL.

 

If the pricing is right for us and itinerary is great, we will jump on it for sure.

 

Thank you again and bon voyage

Edited January 6, 2016 by Bo1953
Added words/modification of thought.

[Alsmez]

We just booked a 7 night Caribbean cruise on Reflection in a 2C balcony and paid about $100 more than we did for the same cruise (same ship, same time of year, both cruises eligible for the "free" drink package) in AQ two years ago. Frustrating. We booked in advance in 2013, though (about a year out) and were able to take advantage of a couple of price drops and a good deal on AQ.

 

Celebrity's pricing on this 2016 cruise was approximately the same as Princess for comparable cruises during the same time period, and the itinerary was more to our liking than anything Princess had to offer. Still, for our next vacation, we may start looking at resorts or other alternatives. $200pp per night is a bit hard to swallow when you're in a 2C and eating in the MDR.

[Little Nell]

We are only in a 1A Verandah cabin, however for our 14 night Baltic cruise in July 2016 we are paying $185 pppn which includes pre-paid gratuities, 14 nights parking at Southampton and Classic drinks package. I am happy with that and the upgrade to Premium Drinks is to us a no- brainier.

 

May I ask who you booked through?