Celebrity prices DECREASE yet AGAIN?!?

[fielddreamer]

I thought it was RCL's CEO that made that statement. Could be wrong though. X may have said it too

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6311

Thanks for that article! It turned out to be a lot of hot air. X did say it too!

[fielddreamer]

I have learned the same lesson. They claim they are no longer doing last minute sales yet the fare on my upcoming cruise declined about $800 after my final payment. They won't offer anything. At the same time people on the sailing are bragging about the deal they just got booking and making their final payment the same day. We booked about a year ago. I won't be doing any more advanced bookings on Celebrity, only last minute, and when we do our small group we will go back to the two cruise lines the group has sailed on in the past that gave us something after final payment when there were price drops. Sorry now that I convinced the group to try Celebrity.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

You are not alone ! Going back to other cruise lines after this !

[teecee60]

 

And to add, you have to be quick on the draw. We booked ours a week ago Friday night...so about 11 days ago, there's already been 4 price increases. Only about $70 each time, but 4 in 11 days. When we got the $1,000 drop on our Hawaii cruise, that price lasted for one day.

 

 

I'm glad and sad you posted this deal. I would have loved to take advantage of something like this!

 

Hopefully I will love our Silhouette sailing without thinking of what could have been instead - though 22 nights will probably haunt me LOL

 

With instantaneous communication you get instantaneous bookings and instantaneous price changes! ;)

 

An inside cabin on the second leg (12 nights on 21 December) just went up from $749pp to $949pp... and the agency OBC went from $250 to ZERO! :eek: :( :rolleyes:

 

If ya snooze ya looze! :o

Edited October 27, 2016 by teecee60

[The_Big_M]

Thanks for that article! It turned out to be a lot of hot air. X did say it too!

 

They did what they said.

 

The only issue was that some made a bigger deal out of what they said then what it actually was.

[bottomfeeder]

Every time I read these posts from people who say they will never sail Celebrity again due to these price cuts that they are not able to opt into, I just shake my head. ALL cruise lines do this, so if they switch to another cruise line it will also happen with that cruise line--maybe not on their first cruise with the line, because it doesn't happen on EVERY cruise, but it will happen. And eventually there won't be any cruise lines to switch to, because they'll have refused to sail on them all due to price cuts for new bookings only.

 

Or maybe, at some point they will realize that what they were told here is true and that all cruise lines do this. :)

[ISABELLA]

Early Dec. cruises are not very popular that is why prices decrease.

 

I travel November - December for the past 20 years - never seen such price drops- lesson to be learned.

[ISABELLA]

Perhaps my senior brain is no longer functioning properly, but wasn't it Celebrity's current CEO that said she was going to stop allowing last minute booking discounts (inside the final payment period)? At the time I think I had posted something to the effect that any cruise line CEO who decided to cruise with empty berths rather then filling those berths with discounted fares, would not be CEO for too long.

 

Hank

 

That is why she is still CEO - prices are dropping left and right and on even popular Holiday sailings - Xmas and New Year.:rolleyes:

[insidecabin]

The industry is showing signs of cartel behaviour(there are only 3 members)

 

That have all announced new pricing policies in one way or another to try and push prices up and reset expectations and early bookings, with threatof reduced late discounts.

 

Becoming clear that it has backfired as even the holiday sailings are seeing reduced demand and a rush to capture this that have not made alternative arrangement.

 

When I say backfired they will probably have made enough from those that paid to cover the discounts and the community that price watches/wait will benefit and the fallout will be limited as the majority just pay and forget.

 

The message is there will be more deals not less when they try to price fix at higher levels.

[Cruise Junky]

There are 3 major players but a lot more in the market.

[awhcruiser]

What cruise line offers deals after final payment?

I have learned the same lesson. They claim they are no longer doing last minute sales yet the fare on my upcoming cruise declined about $800 after my final payment. They won't offer anything. At the same time people on the sailing are bragging about the deal they just got booking and making their final payment the same day. We booked about a year ago. I won't be doing any more advanced bookings on Celebrity, only last minute, and when we do our small group we will go back to the two cruise lines the group has sailed on in the past that gave us something after final payment when there were price drops. Sorry now that I convinced the group to try Celebrity.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[insidecabin]

There are 3 major players but a lot more in the market.

 

Carnival corp, RCCL, NCLH

 

Cover so much you can ignore the rest.

 

MSC are yet to play games they price to sell.

[AnOnymously]

Every time I read these posts from people who say they will never sail Celebrity again due to these price cuts that they are not able to opt into, I just shake my head. ALL cruise lines do this, so if they switch to another cruise line it will also happen with that cruise line--maybe not on their first cruise with the line, because it doesn't happen on EVERY cruise, but it will happen. And eventually there won't be any cruise lines to switch to, because they'll have refused to sail on them all due to price cuts for new bookings only.

 

Or maybe, at some point they will realize that what they were told here is true and that all cruise lines do this. :)

 

Glad to say my cruising days will be over before I can run out of different lines. Sad to see that the US and Canada have also been infected with this odious disease. But perhaps customers realistically turning away will wake Celebrity up to the fact they are cutting off their nose to spite their face.

 

But believe we are locked in from payment of deposit not just after FP.

[iancal]

I do not understand the issue. Airline price structures are exactly the same.

 

We buy when the price is acceptable to us. We know that when we travel by air, cruise, stay in a hotel, do an AI that there will be those who paid more than us and those who paid less.

Edited October 27, 2016 by iancal

[grandgeezer]

What cruise line offers deals after final payment?

 

About all of them if they have a lot of empty cabins. Last Monday I booked a B2B on the Silhouette, for the first two cruises in December. I paid about $1500 p.p., including taxes and fees but no perks. I booked Aqua guarantees and was assigned A1s the next day. I contacted my online travel agent and she took the time and found me a cabin where we wouldn't have to change rooms. The $400 obc, total for both cruises paid for the gratuities. This was well after final payment. Air was about $100 p.p. more than we paid in April.

[awhcruiser]

Maybe it was my TA? The one I used told me no upgrades and/or price reduction after final payment. Im using a different TA this time..We will see how it goes....

About all of them if they have a lot of empty cabins. Last Monday I booked a B2B on the Silhouette, for the first two cruises in December. I paid about $1500 p.p., including taxes and fees but no perks. I booked Aqua guarantees and was assigned A1s the next day. I contacted my online travel agent and she took the time and found me a cabin where we wouldn't have to change rooms. The $400 obc, total for both cruises paid for the gratuities. This was well after final payment. Air was about $100 p.p. more than we paid in April.

[grandgeezer]

Maybe it was my TA? The one I used told me no upgrades and/or price reduction after final payment. Im using a different TA this time..We will see how it goes....

 

Your chance of getting a reduced price or obc, after final payment, are slim and none. What you could get if there is a higher level category cabin, selling for less than you paid, you should be able to move up to that. One thing to keep in mind though, if you currently have any perks, they might not move with you if they aren't part of the new pricing.

[ISABELLA]

Your chance of getting a reduced price or obc, after final payment, are slim and none. What you could get if there is a higher level category cabin, selling for less than you paid, you should be able to move up to that. One thing to keep in mind though, if you currently have any perks, they might not move with you if they aren't part of the new pricing.

 

That is exactly right. Last year we got an upgrade from 2D to AQ2 after FP , giving up OBC, being AQ at the price we paid for 2D over 12 months on advance. This year, when our price dropped about 30% after FP- no upgrade was available and nothing else was offered. Live and learn.....

[billyblaze]

While I completely understand why Celebrity would not want to return any money after final payment, it makes no sense to me why they would not offer an upgrade to a customer who booked a year out and paid more for an Ocean View then they are charging for a balcony.

[grandgeezer]

While I completely understand why Celebrity would not want to return any money after final payment, it makes no sense to me why they would not offer an upgrade to a customer who booked a year out and paid more for an Ocean View then they are charging for a balcony.

 

If available, they normally do, but you have to ask, they won't contact you.

[richsea]

That is exactly right. Last year we got an upgrade from 2D to AQ2 after FP , giving up OBC, being AQ at the price we paid for 2D over 12 months on advance. This year, when our price dropped about 30% after FP- no upgrade was available and nothing else was offered. Live and learn.....

 

So true. Sometimes you win & sometimes you lose. The trick is to book a room at a price you are comfortable with, & keep an eye peeled for an upgrade at a favorable price. Regardless, you're still on a cruise!

[caribill]

I know, these are great prices. I guess when you don't get all those "free" perks, the price reflects the true cost of the cruise. They will fill the ships with these prices.

 

Looking at one cruise on a TA's web site for one type cabin:

 

Book with one perk (OBC or beverage package or WiFi or tips): $1724

 

Book with two perks: $1859

 

Book with all four perks: $2129

 

So, each perk is worth $135 to Celebrity

[caribill]

What agency can afford to give $250 OBC for $1500 cabin? Math doesn't make sense.

 

I believe the OBC actually comes from Celebrity and is part of the pricing package.

 

Travel Agents like to use wording that implies the OBC comes from the TA or is special for that TA when it really comes from the cruise line.

 

Examples on invoice or web site:

 

"TAname Discount $xxxx." (Actually same pricing direct from Celebrity or any other TA)

 

"Celebrity offers our customers......" (actually offered to ciustomers of any TA or even directly booked with Celebrity)

[ISABELLA]

I believe the OBC actually comes from Celebrity and is part of the pricing package.

 

Travel Agents like to use wording that implies the OBC comes from the TA or is special for that TA when it really comes from the cruise line.

 

Examples on invoice or web site:

 

"TAname Discount $xxxx." (Actually same pricing direct from Celebrity or any other TA)

 

"Celebrity offers our customers......" (actually offered to ciustomers of any TA or even directly booked with Celebrity)

Not exactly. I have booked Eqiunox with 4 perks for next October (instead of TA we had booked last December and it was cancelled in July). In addition to 4 perks, $200 from Celebrity for cancelling our TA, we got an OBC from the agency.

[The_Big_M]

Looking at one cruise on a TA's web site for one type cabin:

 

Book with one perk (OBC or beverage package or WiFi or tips): $1724

 

Book with two perks: $1859

 

Book with all four perks: $2129

 

So, each perk is worth $135 to Celebrity

 

Pricing for perks is done per day. As I recall from the original announcement, it was US$20/day.

 

I'm therefore guessing the above would be a 7 day cruise; not sure why there's a $5 difference, except if the currency has changed, or the per day value calculation has changed (or my memory is faulty!).

[caribill]

Pricing for perks is done per day. As I recall from the original announcement, it was US$20/day.

 

I'm therefore guessing the above would be a 7 day cruise; not sure why there's a $5 difference, except if the currency has changed, or the per day value calculation has changed (or my memory is faulty!).

 

It is for a 12 day cruise which works out to $11.25/day.

Edited October 31, 2016 by caribill