Too High Celebrity Cruise Prices

[mcrcruiser]

We are Elete + & sailed over 40 of our 79 cruises with Celebrity ;which is a really good cruise line . However , for retirees we find Celebrity prices much higher than even their parent Royal Caribbean or Holland America .

 

We may look at the specials that are published in the future ;but ,for 2018 we have 2 cruises booked on Royal Caribbean & one booked on Holland America . All these cruises are ocean balcony cabins including the Oasis of the Seas cruises :D

 

When we can get ocean balcony cabins for one week cruises for $1600 to $1800 (total cost not per person ) we must go with the above lines :D

 

We may cruise once more to or from Rome or Barcelona trans Atlantic ; because we want to take a Danube River cruise . The trans Atlantic cruises are reasonably priced & we will check them out when we are ready to decide :)

[leaveitallbehind]

As a Diamond+ cruiser with RCI who has recently switched loyalties to Celebrity, I can only say that RCI prices are not necessarily cheaper and - as with most cruises - is based on season, ship, itinerary, and supply and demand. It also seams that with a number of changes being made with RCI that their pricing is trending upwards recently and more restrictive in terms of flexibility than Celebrity. Guess it just matters which side of the fence from which you are looking at the greener grass.....

Edited October 9, 2017 by leaveitallbehind

[ChucktownSteve]

This mantra appears to be heard on many of the cruise line boards. The fact is the economy is too good. The cruise line stocks are at 52 week highs. Thus they can demand and get the higher cabin prices. Only when the occupancy rate drops will you be able to find good deals.

 

So the question I have to ask myself is do I want the economy to continue strongly with our investment portfolio soaring to almost record gains or do I want the economy to tank so I can take a cheaper cruise?

[shipshape sam]

This mantra appears to be heard on many of the cruise line boards. The fact is the economy is too good. The cruise line stocks are at 52 week highs. Thus they can demand and get the higher cabin prices. Only when the occupancy rate drops will you be able to find good deals.

 

So the question I have to ask myself is do I want the economy to continue strongly with our stock portfolio soaring to almost record gains or do I want the economy to tank so I can take a cheaper cruise?

 

 

I would root for a strong stock performance and then take some for the higher cruise costs, pocketing the rest for other things.

[Orator]

The Market determines prices. Why would any business sell their product for less than the market would dictate?

[PhD-iva]

Oh! To be retired like the OP and therefore able to book last minute cruises! I long for the day.

As an academic, I cannot sail before 1 June, or later given our practice to arrive before day of embarkation. Never mind Holiday sailing prices in December! Sigh! [emoji17]

 

 

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[easyboy]

The Market determines prices. Why would any business sell their product for less than the market would dictate?

Exactly! It's how the market operates.

[CruisingUS]

Oh! To be retired like the OP and therefore able to book last minute cruises! I long for the day.

As an academic, I cannot sail before 1 June, or later given our practice to arrive before day of embarkation. Never mind Holiday sailing prices in December! Sigh! [emoji17]

 

 

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right? that's what i am thinking. woo is me...i have cannot relax the way i want to ;p:D

[GUT2407]

Oh! To be retired like the OP and therefore able to book last minute cruises! I long for the day.

As an academic, I cannot sail before 1 June, or later given our practice to arrive before day of embarkation. Never mind Holiday sailing prices in December! Sigh! [emoji17]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

 

Yep and when our busy/slow seasons are opposite it’s even harder. But you fit them in when you can at a price you can live with or don’t cruise for a while.

[grandgeezer]

I would root for a strong stock performance and then take some for the higher cruise costs, pocketing the rest for other things.

 

I’ll take the strong stock performance and spend some of it on things I see value in, of which cruising isn’t one of them.

[Cruise Junky]

I've actually found some great price drops lately. Six months ago they were stupidly high.

[miched]

Prices on everything keep creeping up. The only way to keep prices down is cut into the quality or make the work force more efficient and even with doing that the price still increases.

 

Everyone wants to earn more but pay less. The economy can’t work that way.

 

There are many cruise lines and cruises that cost more than I am willing to pay. I am happy that I have a choice of sailing or not sailing and there are still many to choose within my price range.

 

Enjoy your cruises.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🛳🇺🇸🌅

[shipshape sam]

The Market determines prices. Why would any business sell their product for less than the market would dictate?

 

Overall you are correct, but there are times when you want to build market share and one way is to discount. Don't think Celebrity needs to do that and I agree they should, in general, price their product at market value. What they could avoid is the 'bad will' by a scheme of moving to ala carte pricing and then systematically raising prices till customers say "enough"

 

I do wish they would take some of the abundant profits they are making and FIX the website experience!

[shipshape sam]

I’ll take the strong stock performance and spend some of it on things I see value in, of which cruising isn’t one of them.

 

I would agree you should not sail if you do not see the value in cruising at the current prices. It should always be a value proposition that you get adequate value for your purchase. There are plenty of people who do apparently.

[shipshape sam]

Prices on everything keep creeping up. The only way to keep prices down is cut into the quality or make the work force more efficient and even with doing that the price still increases.

 

Everyone wants to earn more but pay less. The economy can’t work that way.

 

There are many cruise lines and cruises that cost more than I am willing to pay. I am happy that I have a choice of sailing or not sailing and there are still many to choose within my price range.

 

Enjoy your cruises.

 

Happy cruising

 

 

Actually being more effective and efficient is a way. Basically increasing productivity, in theory, gives/earns you more while paying less. It is not always a manpower issue either.

 

Installing a ill conceived website is an example of the opposite. Cannot image how much time customer support is spending on dealing with customers frustrated in trying to SPEND MONEY with Celebrity and are having a hard time doing it, so much so, they have to call the company to get help in spending/booking things.

 

As to choosing to sail or not sail, I agree with you 100%. We have choices and if, as I call it, the value proposition is not there, I do not sail or sail with that cruise line.

 

We are actually doing a lot more land based trips over the last 3-4 years and will continue to do so in the short term for sure.

[chemmo]

Oh! To be retired like the OP and therefore able to book last minute cruises! I long for the day.

As an academic, I cannot sail before 1 June, or later given our practice to arrive before day of embarkation. Never mind Holiday sailing prices in December! Sigh! [emoji17]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

We thought the same until we retired....Last minute bargains are few and far between! If we want to cruise from a port which is flying distance from where we live (which cruises inevitably are) the odd gain we may make from the cruise will disappear by paying for a more expensive flight. Likewise overnight hotel costs can be more rather than less expensive nearer the time and choices can be more restricted too.

 

We have also discovered we are quite room and itinerary picky! One has to balance any price gain against making compromises on other things...

 

We do now enjoy booking outside peak times and enjoy the benefits of quieter destinations and the wider range of cruises on offer but we have returned to booking well ahead of time! Financially for us this has worked out well as on recent cruises our preferred category has either become more expensive nearer the time or sold out.

[CruisingUS]

We thought the same until we retired....Last minute bargains are few and far between! If we want to cruise from a port which is flying distance from where we live (which cruises inevitably are) the odd gain we may make from the cruise will disappear by paying for a more expensive flight. Likewise overnight hotel costs can be more rather than less expensive nearer the time and choices can be more restricted too.

 

We have also discovered we are quite room and itinerary picky! One has to balance any price gain against making compromises on other things...

We do now enjoy booking outside peak times and enjoy the benefits of quieter destinations and the wider range of cruises on offer but we have returned to booking well ahead of time! Financially for us this has worked out well as on recent cruises our preferred category has either become more expensive nearer the time or sold out.

price, quality, speed - at most you can only pick 2.

[miched]

price, quality, speed - at most you can only pick 2.

 

I worked in the construction industry and we would always tell the customer that a job can be good, fast, or cheap but you can only have two, it is impossible to have all three.

 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🛳🇺🇸🌅

[DinaS]

We have another Celebrity cruise booked for April. While the prices are somewhat higher than other lines doing the same itinerary, we are getting a beverage package and some OBC, where the other lines don't have the same perks. On NCL, while they may offer the beverage package, you still have to pay gratuities on the free package - not so on Celebrity. Celebrity beverage package is more inclusive - including bottled water and specialty coffees - not so on NCL.

 

We also get to save money on transportation to and from the port, since this ship leaves from the closest, most convenient port possible - about 25 minutes from our home. The next closest port is double the time and double the price.

 

We weighed the price/convenience, and decided that Celebrity, while a bit more costly, was overall a much better value for us.

[CruisingUS]

I worked in the construction industry and we would always tell the customer that a job can be good, fast, or cheap but you can only have two, it is impossible to have all three.

 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🛳🇺🇸🌅

there should be a like button.

 

I did construction too when I was younger. Exactly where I got the phrase too.

[Redtravel]

Supply and demand determines prices. If you are looking for less expensive cruises, book close to or in the off season. Caribbean cruises are usually high in January and February. Sail in November, December and March can be less expensive. This year, after the hurricanes, there are huge price drops for November and December cruises. Avoid the obvious destroyed islands like St. Martin, Dominica, and Puerto Rico. Southern islands are a good choice this year.

[CruisingUS]

Supply and demand determines prices. If you are looking for less expensive cruises, book close to or in the off season. Caribbean cruises are usually high in January and February. Sail in November, December and March can be less expensive. This year, after the hurricanes, there are huge price drops for November and December cruises. Avoid the obvious destroyed islands like St. Martin, Dominica, and Puerto Rico. Southern islands are a good choice this year.

i literally schedule my vacations around these discounted prices lol

[Azulann]

LOL, glad the OPs are retired, have sailed over 70 times and found two 7 day cruises for 2018 for around $800 pp.

Bragging rights are in order and and the Celebrity current prices are just an aside.;)

[nini]

Yes, it is about supply and demand. The Baby Boomers are currently a big part of this- I think that is why cruises are booking up quickly so far in advance. We are able to plan ahead.

[mcrcruiser]

Yes we shop a lot to get great prices & they are out there . No they are not in the prime seasons & because we are retired we don't need to do on any cruise in high seasons . We wait to get good value & patience & looking pays off

 

When we aren't cruising we use our time share weeks & or take land trips using Hilton honor points for free hotel rooms

 

Dec 2018 we booked B2B on Oasis of the Seas Eatern & Western Caribbean from Port Canaveral . Yes we fly in from San Diego to Orlando & use our land time to see St Augustine ,visit friends & relatives for one weeks time & do the 2 7 night cruises . We were able to book those 2 cruises on Oasi for the $1700 to $1800 range for Ocean balcony cabin with ppd gratuities & OBCs . That imo is a great deal .so the deals are out there if any one is flexible enough to take advantage of them

 

Right now Avalon Waterways has a Danube cruise for May 2018 at about $1549 pp ,That river cruise ) the Trans Atlantic form Miami to Dublin for 15 nights on Celebrity at also great prices for ocean balcony . Adding them together along with the inexpensive air fares back from Europe to San Diego & in Europe airfares (Dublin to Vienna ) we can do that whole trip under $9000 :D:D:D