First perk $50 on Equinox 8/18 sailing

[grandgeezer]

Celebrity Equinox seven day Caribbean sailing August 18, 2018

 

Balcony $799 with first perk being $50. This has been the going rate for at least the last three weeks. Since the perks include tips that means your gratuities are $7.14 per day, about 50% lower than normal. Classic drink package $7.14 per day which breaks down to $6.05 for the drinks and $1.09 for tip. If, like many state, you can get your money's worth by drinking alcohol, wine, soda, specialty coffee, and bottled water. For easy math, say you drink ten drinks per day, that means for every drink you get, the bar staff gets $.11. If he sells a domestic beer for $6 to someone who doesn't have a packages he gets $1.08.

If the uk website is accurate, as of 1/2 hour ago there were over 280 balcony s available. I didn't examine closely but it appears to be openings in every category. All dining times are available also. Last minute airfare comes into play also.

Maybe we'll get to see if the comments made awhile back about sailing with empty cabins rather than heavy discounting will come into play.

More importantly, if things stay like it is, what are they going to do for the staff to make sure they make a living, supplement their income or nothing? Celebrity has stated that their gratuities are set so they can make a livable wage and extra tips should be based on superior performance. Keywords that don't include always smiling or remembers my name. If I were to take this cruise, I would following the cruise line guideline.

Maybe they don't care anymore for the crew which actually makes them money or the customer who foots the bill.

Flame away but at least do it with facts that disprove my facts, not just that Celebrity can do no wrong.

[paulh84]

I'm not sure I'm following your math on your gratuities breakdown, but you're looking at a Caribbean sailing in the middle of August. I would assume many people have no desire to be in Florida or the Caribbean during that time. It's also the end of the summer vacation rush and back to school time for most people with kids. I'm sure Celebrity is prepared for soft bookings during that time period.

[Duanerice1]

The gratuity/drink package prices are built into the overall price. Don't worry, they will make it OK, same with the crew. You put a lot of effort into that too.....

 

With my latest booking the drink package came to about $15 per day and the gratuities were "free". I think the crew still gets their share.

[Chardonnay Char]

Also there is the risk of a hurricane in August.

[jelayne]

Can’t follow your math but we are booked on that sailing & yes it is hurricane season- so is September, October & November. The current offer we see is $799 for a balcony with 1 perk. The best option is the beverage package package followed by the OBC. When we booked we got both. The prices ha e been holding steady for a couple of months and it is well after final payment so not expecting much change.

 

 

We are looking forward to a relaxing 7 days and don’t plan to get off the ship.