What is going on with Celebrity pricing for next year ??

[leehal]

We are trying P&O next year, we have decided we cannot justify paying the Celebrity price increases.

[TeeRick]

Caribbean vs European (or Australian, or even Alaskan) are not good comparisons for price or anything else for that matter. Caribbean cruising is about relaxing, beaches, bars, water activities, and rarely about actual site seeing (unless you have not been there before). European or other longer destination cruises are highly enjoyable as site seeing and culture experiences but at least for me not very relaxing. Too much to see and do. Caribbean cruises' lower prices reflect a lot of ship-to-ship and line-to-line competition and overall lower ship expenses (less sailing distances, less fuel, lower port fees).

[ggo85]

I agree with the poster who suggested Celebrity is testing the market with the higher prices.

 

I do wonder, however, if they are straying out of their niche. Based on what I've heard -- Celebrity is trying to position itself as more adult-friendly and more up-market than RCCL, but a better value than the luxury lines (especially, if you can take advantage of the Go Best promotion).

 

However, having cruised on a luxury line, there are intangibles that make luxury lines appealing, such as lack of constant announcements and continuous efforts to separate you from your money, better staff to passenger ratio, etc. So, if Celebrity isn't price competitive, folks at the higher end are definitely going to be considering luxury lines and folks at the lower end will likely try RCCL or another main-stream line where they can get a lot more for their money.

 

Only time will tell if Celebrity's gambit works . . .

[Wine-O]

We have a B2B reserved on Millennium next summer to Alaska. With refundable fares, the difference in pricing for our OV with the beverage package is $2000.00 more for their cheapest balcony for the first leg, and over $2200.00 for the second leg. For the price difference I'm now sailing in OV. I'm already Elite+, so don't really need the extra points.

 

Lisa (what's her face) is pricing me out of their market, so I'm looking for other alternatives.

[Can'tstopcruising]

We usually book b2b for about 21 days in the winter.

 

Prices have been increasing, while quality has been eroding.

 

We are on for this winter, even though our Florida hotel is a fortune. (I think hotel prices are through the roof).

 

We are booked for 2020, but if prices don't decrease, we may look elsewhere.

 

We enjoy going to Europe in the winter and maybe we can find a venue that is not too cold!

 

Europeans..any suggestions for Feb-Mar?

 

We have done Andalucia a few times and did the Algarve once in the summer and froze one March in Malta!

[John182]

 

We enjoy going to Europe in the winter and maybe we can find a venue that is not too cold!

 

Europeans..any suggestions for Feb-Mar?

 

We have done Andalucia a few times and did the Algarve once in the summer and froze one March in Malta!

 

The warmest options are, based on historical averages, the Canary Islands and Madeira. Crete and Cyprus can be OK temperature wise as well. Without knowing what your interests are it's difficult to make recommendations.

 

We get away for some winter golf to the Canary Islands. Each of them has a different character. Our favourite is La Gomera (small island of Tenerife). Very quiet, great walking and not touristy at all, and the one golf course is great.

[Can'tstopcruising]

The warmest options are, based on historical averages, the Canary Islands and Madeira. Crete and Cyprus can be OK temperature wise as well. Without knowing what your interests are it's difficult to make recommendations.

 

We get away for some winter golf to the Canary Islands. Each of them has a different character. Our favourite is La Gomera (small island of Tenerife). Very quiet, great walking and not touristy at all, and the one golf course is great.

 

Thank you for your suggestions.

 

We haven't been to Madeira or Cyprus. We like to do sight-seeing in comfortable weather. We like to walk (not hike!), visit interesting venues, including museums. Bus tours are out!

[grandgeezer]

The experts tell you to book now, as you can always get a reduction if the price drops before final payment. What if the price doesn't drop, will you still be happy with the price you paid? We have friends that tried that a few years ago and the price didn't drop. Never again, they went back to booking at a price they would be happy with if it doesn't change.

[yorky]

Agree on the prices , but the Caribbean is no match for the European destinations if you enjoy exploring history, architecture etc.

 

when we have been to the caribbean ( on TA's) there is nothing to do if you don't do a tour,

 

unless sitting on a beach or buying diamonds is your preferred option.

 

no sooner did we get off , we were back on again and hammering the included drinks packages, along with most others

:halo:

 

It’s a different holiday to the med but that does not make it inferior. The beaches, snorkelling, diving, food, boating, wildlife, floats and fauna, people are all on offer on a Caribbean cruise and are still special to us. We value that above the architecture which we already have close to where we live. We can do Europe on a fraction of the price Celebrity want these days taking a cheap flight.

[Orator]

Just saw a piece on CNBC where they analyzed Carnival downgrades.Said that the rising dollar and increased oil prices may have a negative impact on cruise stocks. RCL is down about 5% todays and has been going down steadily since they hit their high. I believe that this might be the time for Celebrity, as well as other lines, to evaluate their pricing and loyalty strategies. None of the analysts on the CNBC segment would recommend any of the cruise stocks at this time.

[Bo1953]

The experts tell you to book now, as you can always get a reduction if the price drops before final payment. What if the price doesn't drop, will you still be happy with the price you paid? We have friends that tried that a few years ago and the price didn't drop. Never again, they went back to booking at a price they would be happy with if it doesn't change.

 

I Am surprized that ANYONE would book travel at a price, initially, that they were not happy paying.

 

Doing it the way your friends tried is like playing options on the stock market or playing in a casino.

 

Sorry they were dis-appointed with the gamble, we usually book way early and hope for prices to go lower and they never have for the sailings we select.

 

bon voyage

Edited June 5, 2018 by Bo1953

[ISABELLA]

I agree with the poster who suggested Celebrity is testing the market with the higher prices.

 

I do wonder, however, if they are straying out of their niche. Based on what I've heard -- Celebrity is trying to position itself as more adult-friendly and more up-market than RCCL, but a better value than the luxury lines (especially, if you can take advantage of the Go Best promotion).

 

However, having cruised on a luxury line, there are intangibles that make luxury lines appealing, such as lack of constant announcements and continuous efforts to separate you from your money, better staff to passenger ratio, etc. So, if Celebrity isn't price competitive, folks at the higher end are definitely going to be considering luxury lines and folks at the lower end will likely try RCCL or another main-stream line where they can get a lot more for their money.

 

Only time will tell if Celebrity's gambit works . . .

Most definitely X is testing ....We booked 12 days on Silhouette -December sailing- over a year ago. Prices came down about $1000/ cabin since we booked. I am sure they will be coming down even more.

Last year 11 days Caribbean cruise cost us $200/pp more for AQ over 2D we booked originally. Yes, it was after final payment.

Celebrity want to see how many people will jump to pay over $5000/pp for least expensive balcony on TA cruise.

[Can'tstopcruising]

When we first booked our b2b for 2019, it was higher.

 

We always book early and usually there is a window when the rates dip for a while after.

 

Maybe the same will happen for 2020.

 

So far, nada.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Maybe the

[Cruise Junky]

I Am surprized that ANYONE would book travel at a price, initially, that they were not happy paying.

 

Doing it the way your friends tried is like playing options on the stock market or playing in a casino.

 

Sorry they were dis-appointed with the gamble, we usually book way early and hope for prices to go lower and they never have for the sailings we select.

 

bon voyage

 

And, you're basically telling Celebrity that you're ok with the price. If everyone did that prices would never drop.

[Orator]

Price is based largely on the "pseudo" perks they are offering to make a potential new customer believe that they are getting something as a bonus. I'm still surprised at the posters who believe that they are getting something for nothing when they see a "promotion". Price goes down as perks are eliminated. They are now offering a "Move Up" program to entice people to upgrade. The bid price that some actually make is higher than what they would pay with a new booking. I just saw this on my upcoming Summit cruise. All smoke and mirrors! Personally, I believe that cruising is still a good value and I book when I believe that the price is right for me. On very high demand cruises it's usually the first day that bookings open.

[RocketMan275]

Price is based largely on the "pseudo" perks they are offering to make a potential new customer believe that they are getting something as a bonus. I'm still surprised at the posters who believe that they are getting something for nothing when they see a "promotion". Price goes down as perks are eliminated. They are now offering a "Move Up" program to entice people to upgrade. The bid price that some actually make is higher than what they would pay with a new booking. I just saw this on my upcoming Summit cruise. All smoke and mirrors! Personally, I believe that cruising is still a good value and I book when I believe that the price is right for me. On very high demand cruises it's usually the first day that bookings open.

 

Any marketing or advertising professional will tell you the best way to make a deal is to convince someone they're getting something for 'free'. Quite a conversation on another forum where someone insisted that as long as an item wasn't specifically listed on their bill, it was 'free'. Some folks do not understand that 'included' is not the same as 'free'.

[gordylad]

I think they are shooting themselves in the foot as many people will either move to another cruise company or [if they can] wait until nearer the sail date to try and get a better deal..............crazy prices.

[laslomas]

The experts tell you to book now, as you can always get a reduction if the price drops before final payment. What if the price doesn't drop, will you still be happy with the price you paid? We have friends that tried that a few years ago and the price didn't drop. Never again, they went back to booking at a price they would be happy with if it doesn't change.

 

In the UK and the rest of the world outside N. America we cannot get price reductions after booking, so we are not going to book unless we are happy with the price!!

[terry99]

Celebrity have taken a big risk raising prices so much. I think this will backfire. We have been in the habit of booking Celebrity every year, but we are now making decisions for 2019, and I'm afraid that Celebrity are no longer in the frame. Shame because we really love the product.

[suekay]

We recently wanted a last minute cruise in the Med but prices on Celebrity and Royal were eye watering. We finished up getting a great deal on P&O out of Malta. The only thing we felt was greatly inferior to Celebrity was the food in both the buffet and mdr. All things being equal we'd much prefer Celebrity, but not at the prices they are now asking

 

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[NantahalaCruiser]

On our 9/6/19 12N Reflection Iberian cruise - since December 2017 the price of a 1B has increased by 10% while the price of an A2 has increased by 32%!

 

I know it's supply and demand, but personally I would never pay the current $100 pp per night price difference between a 1B and an A2.

[81Zoomie]

On our 9/6/19 12N Reflection Iberian cruise - since December 2017 the price of a 1B has increased by 10% while the price of an A2 has increased by 32%!

 

I know it's supply and demand, but personally I would never pay the current $100 pp per night price difference between a 1B and an A2.

 

The price increases may be RCI wide. If you think Celebrity’s prices have increased, Azamara’s have skyrocketed.

 

I read an article today where Morgan Stanley downgraded the cruise lines because although bookings were up, pricing was flat. Perhaps the author has not tried to book a cruise recently :)

https://finance.yahoo.com/m/c8f54770-9af4-3fae-8248-1132e903a039/cruise-ship-stocks-are-the.html?.tsrc=applewf

[DanL]

we did a 7 night Equinox cruise out of Miami last December ( week before Christmas) in Aqua cabin with drinks package included for just over £1000

 

all in

In general the cheapest time to cruise is between Thanksgiving and Christmas for United States Cruisers. We looked at South American cruises while on board a recent eclipse cruise and they were all 4000 per person for a basic veranda. Once we got back we realized that a cruise from Buenos Aires to Buenos Aires between Thanksgiving and Christmas was much cheaper just over $100 per day per person They still have a lot of cabins empty so hoping to get below that magic hundred dollars per day time will tell.

 

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[TeeRick]

And, you're basically telling Celebrity that you're ok with the price. If everyone did that prices would never drop.

 

yes that is true but ships are full.

[TeeRick]

Each cruise purchase decision is based upon among other things perceived value by the individual making the purchase. There are a lot of people out there paying Celebrity's higher prices so they like the product for the money and presumably can afford it. The ships are sailing full and new higher priced ships like Edge are already filling up. That is the financial equation that Celebrity banks on (literally).. Unless ship's start sailing half-empty (unlikely) the prices will continue to be pushed higher. Where does that leave some of the long time Celebrity cruisers used to perhaps a better value? They will by their own purchasing choice either pay more or find something else that matches their individual perceived value. They will make decisions best for them but Celebrity will march on with full ships of customers willing to pay. Hard pill to swallow? Some perhaps can find the value they are seeking on older ships with less popular itineraries. It is a purchasing choice. If you wait to get the cabin you want on a highly popular ship and itinerary, you will likely not get it very long after release date. That's why a lot of us book early.