Comparing "Big" "Better" "Best" promotion to booking without using the promotion

[Peggy Sue]

We recently booked a 14 night cruise on the Eclipse. Prior to booking, I decided to try and sort through all the various “discounts” that impact cruise pricing. The Big, Better, and Best promotion presented the most inconsistent pricing, so I put together a spread sheet to try and figure out which offered the best pricing.

I first priced “without” any Go, Better, Best promotion. We are senior citizens, and past passengers so the celebrity discount applied to the final cruise price was $900.

I then priced the Go “BIG” promotion, selecting the Classic Beverage package. ALL pricing (per person, taxes, fees, etc) remained the same, however the 900 celebrity discount offered on the “without promotion" pricing dropped to $200 with the "Big" promotion. The final cruise price with the “Big”promotion classic beverage package was $700 MORE than the "without promotion" price.

Note: When adding the "Big" promotion it displayed a per person price of $350, however when getting to the final pricing screen the "Extra" (promotions) was $0 with the drink package noted and the Celebrity Discount was now $200. Bottom line, they DO charge $350 per person for this perk.

I then added the classic drink package for 2, with 18% gratuity ($1,817.20) to the cost of the ”without” promotion cruise. When comparing the “Without” final price that included adding the drink package to the “Big” promotion final price that includes the drink package the “Big” final price was now $1117.20 LESS than the “Without promotion" price. (Note the classic drink add on price $1,817.20 vs the actual difference in pricing $1,117.20 is the $700)

“Without Promotion"

$4798 - Cruise base price

+$247.48 - Fees/port

-$900. Celebrity Discount

=$4145.48 - Total without any promotions

+$1817.20 - Classic Drink package added

=$5962.68 - Final cruise price

With “Big” promotion Classic Drink Package

$4798 - Cruise base price

+$247.48 - Fees/Port

-$200 - Celebrity Discount

=$4845.48 - Final cruise price ($1117.20 Less)

Bottom line? In this example I am paying $700 for the “Big” “FREE” Classic Drink Package. Still a bargain, but NOT Free as the promotion suggests. I’m sure Celebrity will say they cannot “stack” discounts. (Senior/past passenger $900 discount vs $200 discount and “free drink package”)

This is where the discounts END … I went forward and added in all the perks that are offered in the “Best” package .. bottom line? Final discount between “Without” adding the 4 perks individually compared to pricing with “Best” which includes all 4 perks the difference remained $1117.20 LESS with the promotion package.

One other thing I noted .. when comparing BIG to BETTER and BETTER to BEST by adding the the 3 additional perks to Big and 2 additional perks to Best (so each one had the 4 perks) The difference between the promotion levels was $42 MORE. (Example — Big promotion with drinks I added tips and compared it to the Better promotion that included drink and tips and the Better was $42 MORE)

So…what did I learn? We booked with the Big promotion with the drink package .. and we added the Tips to the final cost. We’ll decide on internet minutes once we’re on board and our TA gave us a $350 OBC …

Hope this wasn’t too confusing and it helps others break down the actual discounts received!

 

[KCalla]

Thanks so much for sharing this information and your process. It is really, really helpful (and an education!)

[sanger727]

What further complicates it is the fact that discounts aren't always available. My next cruise is April 2018. We have been booked since sept 2016 and they have never offered a discount. So no matter what boxes you check, 'go big' is still the best price offered.

 

 

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[Host Jazzbeau]

When you were figuring the prices around the 'Best' package, did you count the Premium Beverage cost? Best isn't just 'all four' it is all four with premium.

[Toofarfromthesea]

We recently booked a 14 night cruise on the Eclipse. Prior to booking, I decided to try and sort through all the various “discounts” that impact cruise pricing. The Big, Better, and Best promotion presented the most inconsistent pricing, so I put together a spread sheet to try and figure out which offered the best pricing.

I first priced “without” any Go, Better, Best promotion. We are senior citizens, and past passengers so the celebrity discount applied to the final cruise price was $900.

I then priced the Go “BIG” promotion, selecting the Classic Beverage package. ALL pricing (per person, taxes, fees, etc) remained the same, however the 900 celebrity discount offered on the “without promotion" pricing dropped to $200 with the "Big" promotion. The final cruise price with the “Big”promotion classic beverage package was $700 MORE than the "without promotion" price.

Note: When adding the "Big" promotion it displayed a per person price of $350, however when getting to the final pricing screen the "Extra" (promotions) was $0 with the drink package noted and the Celebrity Discount was now $200. Bottom line, they DO charge $350 per person for this perk.

 

I then added the classic drink package for 2, with 18% gratuity ($1,817.20) to the cost of the ”without” promotion cruise. When comparing the “Without” final price that included adding the drink package to the “Big” promotion final price that includes the drink package the “Big” final price was now $1117.20 LESS than the “Without promotion" price. (Note the classic drink add on price $1,817.20 vs the actual difference in pricing $1,117.20 is the $700)

“Without Promotion"

$4798 - Cruise base price

+$247.48 - Fees/port

-$900. Celebrity Discount

=$4145.48 - Total without any promotions

+$1817.20 - Classic Drink package added

=$5962.68 - Final cruise price

With “Big” promotion Classic Drink Package

$4798 - Cruise base price

+$247.48 - Fees/Port

-$200 - Celebrity Discount

=$4845.48 - Final cruise price ($1117.20 Less)

Bottom line? In this example I am paying $700 for the “Big” “FREE” Classic Drink Package. Still a bargain, but NOT Free as the promotion suggests. I’m sure Celebrity will say they cannot “stack” discounts. (Senior/past passenger $900 discount vs $200 discount and “free drink package”)

This is where the discounts END … I went forward and added in all the perks that are offered in the “Best” package .. bottom line? Final discount between “Without” adding the 4 perks individually compared to pricing with “Best” which includes all 4 perks the difference remained $1117.20 LESS with the promotion package.

One other thing I noted .. when comparing BIG to BETTER and BETTER to BEST by adding the the 3 additional perks to Big and 2 additional perks to Best (so each one had the 4 perks) The difference between the promotion levels was $42 MORE. (Example — Big promotion with drinks I added tips and compared it to the Better promotion that included drink and tips and the Better was $42 MORE)

So…what did I learn? We booked with the Big promotion with the drink package .. and we added the Tips to the final cost. We’ll decide on internet minutes once we’re on board and our TA gave us a $350 OBC …

Hope this wasn’t too confusing and it helps others break down the actual discounts received!

 

 

Nice job. I did a similar analysis when I booked on Equinox. My rule of thumb is, NEVER listen to the words (only a child would believe that Free! really means free) and ALWAYS do the numbers.

 

Getting a good price on a cruise, IMO, is a matter of opportunism and arbitrage. Yous is an excellent example of the arbitrage aspect.

 

In my case the difference between no perks and Go Best was $415 pp, or $830 for the two of us. For that I looked at the 'hard' savings as the $300 total OBC and the $189 grats. Which meant that the balance of $341 (830 - 300 - 189) was the cost for the premiums drinks package for 2 and unlimited internet for 2. The value of these 2 perks was far higher, to us, than the 170 ppm they were costing, so it was a no brainer for us.

[cruisin lady ca]

Nice job. I did a similar analysis when I booked on Equinox. My rule of thumb is, NEVER listen to the words (only a child would believe that Free! really means free) and ALWAYS do the numbers.

 

Getting a good price on a cruise, IMO, is a matter of opportunism and arbitrage. Yous is an excellent example of the arbitrage aspect.

 

In my case the difference between no perks and Go Best was $415 pp, or $830 for the two of us. For that I looked at the 'hard' savings as the $300 total OBC and the $189 grats. Which meant that the balance of $341 (830 - 300 - 189) was the cost for the premiums drinks package for 2 and unlimited internet for 2. The value of these 2 perks was far higher, to us, than the 170 ppm they were costing, so it was a no brainer for us.

 

I always run the numbers, like you, I have generally booked "go big" but we have found the unlimited internet to be important for my DH and me so "go better" is my starting point for future bookings. The additional $180 to get to "go better" for our upcoming 12 nt cruise was a no-brainer since the unlimited internet cost was more than that ($269 pp vs $180 pp). The additional cost of "go better" doesn't make any sense with either the OBC ($150 pp vs $180 pp cost) or the gratuities ($168 pp vs $180 pp cost). In the past, I didn't consider the "go best" because we were perfectly content with the classic beverage package. Recently, we have enjoyed the premium beverage package and that is made me reexamine the benefit of "go best" vs "go big" and paying for the addtiional items on "a la carte" basis. Of course, you have to also consider the OBC to be a benefit for this to make sense. If you wouldn't spend the $300 OBC on something - in the spa, shops, or on excursions, there is no value to nonrefundable OBC.

 

In light of a number of price drops, I was able to upgrade from a 2A to a 1A, then to a C2 with "go best" and finally to a A2 with "go best" for less than what the original booking was for a 2A with "go better". The difference of $1080 ($540 pp) between "go big" and "go best" covers unlimited internet for 2 (2 x $269 = $538), gratuities (12 x 2 x $14.00 = $336) , $300 OBC and upgrade to premium beverage package (2 x 12 x $11.80 = $283.20), for a total value of $1,457.20 at a cost of $1,080. So, my calculations show me coming out ahead $377.20. I am pretty pleased with this outcome. If additional price drops can be captured before the final payment date, so much the better.

 

Bottom line, I always do the math and decide what I want to spend on the cruise. Once my budget is set, I keep a close eye on fares, promotions, and ways to get the biggest bang for my buck. I also believe there is a big benefit from booking early and booking while onboard. Worst case scenario, you can always cancel your original reservation and move the OBC to a new reservation. It's a win-win in my book.

 

Happy cruising!

Edited September 1, 2017 by cruisin' lady

[39august]

How do you get "discounts" on Celebrity, please? We get balcony discounts on RCI, but none on X. We are Elite. So how do we get "dscounts"?

[cruisin lady ca]

How do you get "discounts" on Celebrity, please? We get balcony discounts on RCI, but none on X. We are Elite. So how do we get "dscounts"?

 

I believe you should qualify for a one category upgrade, given your status. I would call the captain's club phone number and talk to someone about that.

[cruisin lady ca]

How do you get "discounts" on Celebrity, please? We get balcony discounts on RCI, but none on X. We are Elite. So how do we get "dscounts"?

 

I would also recommend checking the fare on the Celebrity website or another website that actually lists the cabins by category you can easily see the fare for the category below your (assuming you qualify the one category upgrade) or your category - as well other categories. I check pricing regularly- at least 2-3 times per week since fares may only be there for one day - or could remain in place for a week of more. If I see a drop, I call my TA and they call Celebrity to get the fare adjustment. This works so long as you are: (1) in the USA, (2) not in a group and (3) before final payment.

 

 

Happy cruising!

[Peggy Sue]

When you were figuring the prices around the 'Best' package, did you count the Premium Beverage cost? Best isn't just 'all four' it is all four with premium.

 

Yes, I calculated the diff between classic and premium and added that into the comparison for big and better when comparing to best

[cruiserchuck]

How do you get "discounts" on Celebrity, please? We get balcony discounts on RCI, but none on X. We are Elite. So how do we get "dscounts"?

 

I do not believe you can get discounts on cabins on Celebrity simply due to your Celebrity Club status. I believe the discounts being referred to are senior or resident rates or other similar promotions. Those discounts are generally not combinable with the "free" perks offers, so you need to compare the value to you of the perks vs. the discount you receive under the special promotions. When you can get at least two perks, the perks have generally been more valuable to us than the discount.

[39august]

chuck- That makes sense. I wondered how the OP could have a $900 "discount". So, special rate is what we are talking about probably. I know about Elite upgrades.

[cruisin lady ca]

I do not believe you can get discounts on cabins on Celebrity simply due to your Celebrity Club status. I believe the discounts being referred to are senior or resident rates or other similar promotions. Those discounts are generally not combinable with the "free" perks offers, so you need to compare the value to you of the perks vs. the discount you receive under the special promotions. When you can get at least two perks, the perks have generally been more valuable to us than the discount.

 

The "discounts" the OP refers to - "go big", "go better" and "go best" are not really discounts but promotions which add on to your fare.

 

There are actual discounts like the "senior" and "resident" discounts. I have not seen those options very often and believe those discounts cannot be combined with any other offers and no perks are included in the fare.

Edited September 1, 2017 by cruisin' lady

[Pushka]

A complicating factor for Aussies is the currency fluctuation. The exchange rate on the website is not in our favour so it's 'cheaper' for us to buy it onboard unless our currency drops again to the USD.

[miched]

It all depends on what your level is in the Captain Club, length of cruise and what your needs are. Many times we get one perk so we choose the drink pack. If the cruise is under 10 days we pay the $15 extra per day for two perks and then add the $150 SBC pp. That covers the upgrade to premium if we want and also the gratuities. Don't care about the internet minutes as we aren't that important to anyone that we need to keep in touch. If they want us they can call he ship and chances are we aren't going to rush home as it usually turns into a real cluster fluster trying to leave in the middle of the cruise.

 

Everyone has to evaluate their own circumstance, what they value and it also depends on number of days.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[cherburt]

It all depends on what your level is in the Captain Club, length of cruise and what your needs are. Many times we get one perk so we choose the drink pack. If the cruise is under 10 days we pay the $15 extra per day for two perks and then add the $150 SBC pp. That covers the upgrade to premium if we want and also the gratuities. Don't care about the internet minutes as we aren't that important to anyone that we need to keep in touch. If they want us they can call he ship and chances are we aren't going to rush home as it usually turns into a real cluster fluster trying to leave in the middle of the cruise.

 

Everyone has to evaluate their own circumstance, what they value and it also depends on number of days.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

Love your attitude on why you dont get the internet.

 

 

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[Peggy Sue]

I do not believe you can get discounts on cabins on Celebrity simply due to your Celebrity Club status. I believe the discounts being referred to are senior or resident rates or other similar promotions. Those discounts are generally not combinable with the "free" perks offers, so you need to compare the value to you of the perks vs. the discount you receive under the special promotions. When you can get at least two perks, the perks have generally been more valuable to us than the discount.

 

 

Correct .. our $900 discount without adding the big/better/best promotion was based upon our state of MA and Senior. I do not know why when we added the Big we were allowed to keep 200 of the 900 discount. This value is actually displayed as "discount" on the final price on line screen.

[cruisin lady ca]

Correct .. our $900 discount without adding the big/better/best promotion was based upon our state of MA and Senior. I do not know why when we added the Big we were allowed to keep 200 of the 900 discount. This value is actually displayed as "discount" on the final price on line screen.

 

The current summer sale shows a discount when the final fare is displayed on the Celebrity website. If you were just recently looking at the fares, that would probably account for the $200 discount.

[Jade13]

We recently booked a 14 night cruise on the Eclipse. Prior to booking, I decided to try and sort through all the various “discounts” that impact cruise pricing. The Big, Better, and Best promotion presented the most inconsistent pricing, so I put together a spread sheet to try and figure out which offered the best pricing.

 

 

 

I first priced “without” any Go, Better, Best promotion. We are senior citizens, and past passengers so the celebrity discount applied to the final cruise price was $900.

 

 

 

I then priced the Go “BIG” promotion, selecting the Classic Beverage package. ALL pricing (per person, taxes, fees, etc) remained the same, however the 900 celebrity discount offered on the “without promotion" pricing dropped to $200 with the "Big" promotion. The final cruise price with the “Big”promotion classic beverage package was $700 MORE than the "without promotion" price.

 

 

 

Note: When adding the "Big" promotion it displayed a per person price of $350, however when getting to the final pricing screen the "Extra" (promotions) was $0 with the drink package noted and the Celebrity Discount was now $200. Bottom line, they DO charge $350 per person for this perk.

 

 

 

 

I then added the classic drink package for 2, with 18% gratuity ($1,817.20) to the cost of the ”without” promotion cruise. When comparing the “Without” final price that included adding the drink package to the “Big” promotion final price that includes the drink package the “Big” final price was now $1117.20 LESS than the “Without promotion" price. (Note the classic drink add on price $1,817.20 vs the actual difference in pricing $1,117.20 is the $700)

 

 

 

“Without Promotion"

 

$4798 - Cruise base price

 

+$247.48 - Fees/port

 

-$900. Celebrity Discount

 

=$4145.48 - Total without any promotions

 

+$1817.20 - Classic Drink package added

 

=$5962.68 - Final cruise price

 

 

 

With “Big” promotion Classic Drink Package

 

$4798 - Cruise base price

 

+$247.48 - Fees/Port

 

-$200 - Celebrity Discount

 

=$4845.48 - Final cruise price ($1117.20 Less)

 

 

 

Bottom line? In this example I am paying $700 for the “Big” “FREE” Classic Drink Package. Still a bargain, but NOT Free as the promotion suggests. I’m sure Celebrity will say they cannot “stack” discounts. (Senior/past passenger $900 discount vs $200 discount and “free drink package”)

 

 

 

This is where the discounts END … I went forward and added in all the perks that are offered in the “Best” package .. bottom line? Final discount between “Without” adding the 4 perks individually compared to pricing with “Best” which includes all 4 perks the difference remained $1117.20 LESS with the promotion package.

 

 

 

One other thing I noted .. when comparing BIG to BETTER and BETTER to BEST by adding the the 3 additional perks to Big and 2 additional perks to Best (so each one had the 4 perks) The difference between the promotion levels was $42 MORE. (Example — Big promotion with drinks I added tips and compared it to the Better promotion that included drink and tips and the Better was $42 MORE)

 

 

 

So…what did I learn? We booked with the Big promotion with the drink package .. and we added the Tips to the final cost. We’ll decide on internet minutes once we’re on board and our TA gave us a $350 OBC …

 

 

 

Hope this wasn’t too confusing and it helps others break down the actual discounts received!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On a 7 night cruise that we booked with a group rate, we asked our agent to break out the pricing. One perk was included with no discount for not taking it. We could take a senior rate with a $200.00 discount for two but we would loose the perk plus a $50.00 OBC from the group booking, which is addition to the group price and our onboard booking OBC. Ok, so we were interested the the second perk (go better), because we have to pay gratuities. So for $210.00 we get $300.00 0BC (which is a better deal than the gratuities on a 7 night cruise), so a no brainer. We have no interest in the 3rd perk and numbers don't work for us.

 

 

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[Jade13]

On a 7 night cruise that we booked with a group rate, we asked our agent to break out the pricing. One perk was included with no discount for not taking it. We could take a senior rate with a $200.00 discount for two but we would lose the perk plus lose a $50.00 OBC from the group booking (which was in addition to the group price and our onboard booking OBC. Ok, so we were interested the the second perk (go better), because we have to pay gratuities. So for $210.00 we get $300.00 0BC (which is a better deal than the gratuities on a 7 night cruise), so a no brainer. We have no interest in the 3rd perk and numbers don't work for us.

 

 

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[niccikatie]

I actually created a spreadsheet to do just this math and to do it quickly.

 

Here's a link if anyone is interested:

Celebrity Cruise Comparison Tool Excel Link

[niccikatie]

I actually created a spreadsheet to do just this math and to do it quickly.

 

Here's a link if anyone is interested:

Celebrity Cruise Comparison Tool Excel Link

Here's a screenshot of the tool in action:

[prmetime]

I actually created a spreadsheet to do just this math and to do it quickly.

 

Here's a link if anyone is interested:

Celebrity Cruise Comparison Tool Excel Link

 

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing :)

[niccikatie]

This is awesome! Thanks for sharing :)

You're welcome! I'm happy to share it!

[NantahalaCruiser]

chuck- That makes sense. I wondered how the OP could have a $900 "discount". So, special rate is what we are talking about probably. I know about Elite upgrades.

When Celebrity has something like the current "Summer Sales Event" and you look at the detailed price breakdown on the website page right before making the final purchase, you will usually see the supposed "original" price, and a negative "discount" which is equal to the "original" price minus the "sale" price. This "discount" is available to all and independent of loyalty status.