twentyknots Posted April 3, 2018 #1 Share Posted April 3, 2018 We interested in booking the Edge for the Transatlantic in April, 2019. My TA and I looked at the available cabins and most were just guarantee. Plus, no early or anytime dining options available. No way I’ll spend almost $10,000 for a balcony and not know my cabin number and have to eat dinner at 8:30. She thinks it’s unlikely that most of the ship is booked that far in advance especially since the pricing is so high. She thinks they haven’t released all of the cabins yet for some reason. Does this sound reasonable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orator Posted April 3, 2018 #2 Share Posted April 3, 2018 We interested in booking the Edge for the Transatlantic in April, 2019. My TA and I looked at the available cabins and most were just guarantee. Plus, no early or anytime dining options available. No way I’ll spend almost $10,000 for a balcony and not know my cabin number and have to eat dinner at 8:30. She thinks it’s unlikely that most of the ship is booked that far in advance especially since the pricing is so high. She thinks they haven’t released all of the cabins yet for some reason. Does this sound reasonable? I was on a Century cruise that was sold out in a week. I'm not surprised that Edge would have filled very quickly for its first TA from FL. Personally I'm waiting for all the hype to die down before booking Edge. Might need to wait for the hype for Beyond to start, but I will wait. Keep an eye out for cancellations as some may have booked based on hype and emotions and might rethink the value and cancel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bookitdanno Posted April 3, 2018 #3 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Your TA should be able to call Celebrity and get the straight scoop on which cabins are available. JMHO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xport Posted April 3, 2018 #4 Share Posted April 3, 2018 We interested in booking the Edge for the Transatlantic in April, 2019. My TA and I looked at the available cabins and most were just guarantee. Plus, no early or anytime dining options available. No way I’ll spend almost $10,000 for a balcony and not know my cabin number and have to eat dinner at 8:30. She thinks it’s unlikely that most of the ship is booked that far in advance especially since the pricing is so high. She thinks they haven’t released all of the cabins yet for some reason. Does this sound reasonable? I booked AquaClass 1 last 18 October [first thing the morning after the Transatlantic was opened for booking via the website the night before]; at the time, there were exactly two cabins available for selection and--after my booking--the last AQ1 cabin was reserved later that day... All AquaClass staterooms--AQ1 and AQ2--have been continuously marked as "Sold Out" since the end of October! Other stateroom categories--particularly the Sky Suites as I recall--quickly followed suit... I have no reason to believe that Celebrity withheld release of any cabins--and I spent hours looking at availability across categories via the website overnight before I wrote to my Travel Agent at 7:00 AM with request to reserve--for initial sale... By my best estimate, pricing--which has always carried a substantive premium--has gone up by at least a third in all stateroom categories since the cruise was initially opened for sale... And the Roll Call already has about 600 posts... Final payment is due on 19 January 2019... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lastdance Posted April 3, 2018 #5 Share Posted April 3, 2018 My DH and I paid 10,000 total for an S1 corner aft. Now the prices are over 17,000 for two. We also booked early the first morning! All I can say is that people were booking their dinner times in the three restaurants, but I know for some it was very difficult. I agree to have your TA find out what is happening on times and cabins or wait and find another cruise... Sent from my iPhone using Forums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Cruise Junky Posted April 3, 2018 #6 Share Posted April 3, 2018 If you don't want to overpay I'm afraid you're way too late for this cruise. Prices were overpriced for a TA to begin with and now have gone crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HS2BS Posted April 3, 2018 #7 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Yes it could be almost sold out! But way before final payment - wait for it. That big box agency in NH that has the same initials as cruise critic is doing their President's cruise on the transatlantic. They had amazing pricing just prior to the release to the public and sold many, many cabins. We booked a cabin that is now almost 3X the price. Hal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silkroad Posted April 3, 2018 #8 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Yes it could be almost sold out! But way before final payment - wait for it. That big box agency in NH that has the same initials as cruise critic is doing their President's cruise on the transatlantic. They had amazing pricing just prior to the release to the public and sold many, many cabins. We booked a cabin that is now almost 3X the price. Hal Perhaps prior to the release to the public, but after the release to Captain’s Club members. Like Lastdance, and many others, I booked on the first possible Captain’s Club member day and many cabins were already booked or on hold. I later spoke to your TA to see if they could beat my fare or my cabin location. They couldn’t beat the fare, but they were close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
COMBOY Posted April 3, 2018 #9 Share Posted April 3, 2018 We interested in booking the Edge for the Transatlantic in April, 2019. My TA and I looked at the available cabins and most were just guarantee. Plus, no early or anytime dining options available. No way I’ll spend almost $10,000 for a balcony and not know my cabin number and have to eat dinner at 8:30. She thinks it’s unlikely that most of the ship is booked that far in advance especially since the pricing is so high. She thinks they haven’t released all of the cabins yet for some reason. Does this sound reasonable? Since this cruise is pretty far out I'd just keep checking inventory periodically. People cancel all the time and it could be that several large TA are holding group space. TA will release space back to the cruise line what they don't sell. Given this is the first Transatlantic sailing of a new ship it will undoubtedly be popular; but I really don't think you ultimately have a problem get on board at some point if you keep your travel agent on top of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happy 2 b cruising Posted April 3, 2018 #10 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Since this cruise is pretty far out I'd just keep checking inventory periodically. People cancel all the time and it could be that several large TA are holding group space. TA will release space back to the cruise line what they don't sell. Given this is the first Transatlantic sailing of a new ship it will undoubtedly be popular; but I really don't think you ultimately have a problem get on board at some point if you keep your travel agent on top of it. The President’s Cruise for this TA from that big Online agency lead to immediate inflated prices for Aqua & Suite Cabins. Don’t think the prices were so inflated on other class cabins. I was reallly surprised that Celebrity allowed them to hold a large amount of space that they knew would be very popular and easy if just booked directly with Celebrity. It will be very interesting to see how many cabins will be dumped back into inventory around final payment time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beanb41 Posted April 4, 2018 #11 Share Posted April 4, 2018 There are two answers to your questions. 1. The cabins are booked out by passengers wanting to be the first on the first 2. Some of the larger on line Travel agents in the USA have taken block bookings with the prospect of on selling them as part of their own tour packages. Some of these TA's do a lot of business with the different cruise line hence they get good deals. Any cabins not on sold will be released at final payment. I have noticed that Trans Pacific and Trans Atlantic cruises are not as attractive as they once were from a pricing perspective as compared to some other cruises of similar length. They are often more expensive and don't come with the perks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wine-O Posted April 4, 2018 #12 Share Posted April 4, 2018 I find their prices for this TA a bit high -- maybe a little high -- maybe really high -- maybe insanely high!!! LOL. Not for me, but I'm sure there are lots of people out there who will pay this ridiculous price. :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sittin'OnTheDock Posted April 4, 2018 #13 Share Posted April 4, 2018 I just looked at this cruise on a discount cruise site and the cheapest balcony is showing $4565 pp. Oceanview is $3013 pp. It doesn't look good pricewise...sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted April 4, 2018 #14 Share Posted April 4, 2018 My DH and I paid 10,000 total for an S1 corner aft. Now the prices are over 17,000 for two. We also booked early the first morning! All I can say is that people were booking their dinner times in the three restaurants, but I know for some it was very difficult. I agree to have your TA find out what is happening on times and cabins or wait and find another cruise... Sent from my iPhone using Forums We are learning, as you noted, that booking early can be a wise move, especially on popular itineraries. For example we booked a S1 cabin on a Jan 2019 B2B Caribbean cruise on the Reflection when it first came out and it has already jump $1,000 pp for each leg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted April 4, 2018 #15 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Perhaps prior to the release to the public, but after the release to Captain’s Club members. Like Lastdance, and many others, I booked on the first possible Captain’s Club member day and many cabins were already booked or on hold. I later spoke to your TA to see if they could beat my fare or my cabin location. They couldn’t beat the fare, but they were close. If I might ask, at what loyalty level do you have to be to be notified when new cruises are released and once you reach that level, how do you get on that notification list? We currently are at the Elite level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow9612 Posted April 4, 2018 #16 Share Posted April 4, 2018 All I can say is that people were booking their dinner times in the three restaurants, but I know for some it was very difficult. Are you referring to specialty restaurants or different MDRs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wine-O Posted April 4, 2018 #17 Share Posted April 4, 2018 We are learning, as you noted, that booking early can be a wise move, especially on popular itineraries. For example we booked a S1 cabin on a Jan 2019 B2B Caribbean cruise on the Reflection when it first came out and it has already jump $1,000 pp for each leg. Edge is certainly not going to popular ports. These are the same ports that Silhouette & Reflection have been going to since back in 2014. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted April 4, 2018 #18 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Edge is certainly not going to popular ports. These are the same ports that Silhouette & Reflection have been going to since back in 2014. But it is a brand new ship with a brand new design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bo1953 Posted April 4, 2018 #19 Share Posted April 4, 2018 But it is a brand new ship with a brand new design. Yes, that is a reason we signed up right away to sail at Thanksgiving 2019 and just barely got cabins we wanted. Some cabin pricing has gone up since we booked as well. Looking forward to it big time! Hoopla and all... :D bon voayge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ISABELLA Posted April 4, 2018 #20 Share Posted April 4, 2018 My DH and I paid 10,000 total for an S1 corner aft. Now the prices are over 17,000 for two. We also booked early the first morning! All I can say is that people were booking their dinner times in the three restaurants, but I know for some it was very difficult. I agree to have your TA find out what is happening on times and cabins or wait and find another cruise... Sent from my iPhone using Forums $17000 - $1200/ day -WOW! I can't imagine what experience Celebrity can offer for such price tag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ISABELLA Posted April 4, 2018 #21 Share Posted April 4, 2018 We are learning, as you noted, that booking early can be a wise move, especially on popular itineraries. For example we booked a S1 cabin on a Jan 2019 B2B Caribbean cruise on the Reflection when it first came out and it has already jump $1,000 pp for each leg. You will be surprised to see pricing after final payment. I have learned my lesson few years ago. Our last TA on Silhouette in 2015 - we booked the first day schedule was opened. Got our AQ cabins. Prices were somewhat high. We watched pricing climbing over next 12 months and after final payment - almost 40% price drop. Going on Reflection TA next week. I booked 2D large balcony a year ago. After final payment for $500 total got upgraded to AQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silkroad Posted April 4, 2018 #22 Share Posted April 4, 2018 If I might ask, at what loyalty level do you have to be to be notified when new cruises are released and once you reach that level, how do you get on that notification list? We currently are at the Elite level. Supposedly all Captain’s Club members are sent emails in advance of releases, but we haven’t received said emails for years (despite my repeated attempts to get the issue sorted). Like many others, I rely on the helpful Cruise Critic posts by people who do receive the Celebrity emails:). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Ken the cruiser Posted April 4, 2018 #23 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Supposedly all Captain’s Club members are sent emails in advance of releases, but we haven’t received said emails for years (despite my repeated attempts to get the issue sorted). Like many others, I rely on the helpful Cruise Critic posts by people who do receive the Celebrity emails:). HAL said the same thing, but we never got those emails either. No problem. We check everyday anyway as "the hunt" is all part of the fun of the cruising adventure. ;p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silkroad Posted April 4, 2018 #24 Share Posted April 4, 2018 You will be surprised to see pricing after final payment. I have learned my lesson few years ago. Our last TA on Silhouette in 2015 - we booked the first day schedule was opened. Got our AQ cabins. Prices were somewhat high. We watched pricing climbing over next 12 months and after final payment - almost 40% price drop. Going on Reflection TA next week. I booked 2D large balcony a year ago. After final payment for $500 total got upgraded to AQ. This strategy sometimes works, but sometimes the early booking strategy is best. IMO if one must still consider work schedules, and cabin type and location matter, it’s best to book early. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silkroad Posted April 4, 2018 #25 Share Posted April 4, 2018 HAL said the same thing, but we never got those emails either. No problem. We check everyday anyway as "the hunt" is all part of the fun of the cruising adventure. ;p I agree lol. I begin watching this board more carefully in early October, because the new schedules have been rolled out between late October and late November for the past couple years. I also keep an eye on my roll calls, if any, and watch for press releases. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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