Celebrity prices are TRULY OUTRAGEOUS!

[4774Papa]

On 2/10/2019 at 2:48 PM, NantahalaCruiser said:

Yeah, inside cabin, repositioning cruises. But what about the non-repositioning, cheapest balcony cruises with bundled prices at well over $200 pp per night?

Right and these are close to last minute bookings.  Apparently, their darn prices are so high that they aren't selling out, so they have to bet people now.

How about lowering prices in the beginning with non-bundling.

 

Comparing a 2020 TA from Rome, I find the Royal C cruise for the same cruise as X is 60% lower than X.  This is one with no price bundling.

[cruiserchuck]

11 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

Holland's final payment date is 75 days which means any cruise leaving April 28 or earlier is past due. Princess is 90 days and NCL is 120 days. Google is your friend. I don't know of any of the pricing I found includes any perks up front. They are usually scarcer than hen's teeth on transAtlantics. I'm going with a straight supply and demand. That's the argument given when the prices are really high.

 

My friend Google tells me that Princess still has a 75 day final payment for cruises through September 2019, so for the spring TAs, it would be 75 days.  I suspect prices will fall after the 75 day date passes.  Celebrity's prices have gone down (especially on Edge) after the 90 day final payment date. 

[Nebr.cruiser]

4 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

Checked all the spring transAtlantics for all carriers. Used the balcony category as that's what we would have booked. Sorted them based on price per person, per day, low to high. #1 Silhouette, #3 Reflection, and #9 Infinity. All most all of Holland, Princess, and yes even Norwegian are more expensive, Wonder why??

 

At least in the case of the Silhouette, not many ports, plus, for us, we were not too fond of the Silhouette cruise we took in November.  And not many perks, even though TA's often don't have too many perks.

[fstuff1]

On 2/10/2019 at 2:23 PM, teecee60 said:

13 nights on Silhouette, 14 April for $499pp!

 

14 nights on Millennium, 27 April for $399pp!

 

14 nights on Reflection, 22 April for $699pp!

 

14 nights on Infinity, 22 April for $749pp!

 

15 nights on Constellation, 17 April for $544pp!

 

22 nights on Eclipse, 17 April for  $1338pp!

 

When will those greedy corporate hucksters EVER give the cruising public a break???

 

prices not for solos 😞
13 nights on Silhouette, 14 April for $499pp! -> $1,778 for me 

 

why is it TWICE as much for a solo?

Edited February 11, 2019 by fstuff1

[Jesseslola]

I have not seen Aug 19 2019 Amalfi go down.  We are crossing out fingers it will!!!!!!!

[cruiserchuck]

1 minute ago, Jesseslola said:

I have not seen Aug 19 2019 Amalfi go down.  We are crossing out fingers it will!!!!!!!

 

You may need to wait until about 80 days before the cruise for the prices to go down.  Cruises to Europe during the summer usually have high demand, so price cuts are not as common as on transatlantic cruises.  Plus, for most of the last minute specials, free perks are not offered by Celebrity.

[cruising cockroach]

I wonder if the TPAC repo market is getting weak, or Celebrity priced too high and not enough punters bit.   In 2017, the Millennium autumn westbound was sold cheap early and was fully booked a few weeks before sailing.  Last year, same cruise was selling for a higher rate and ended up still selling all cabins in the week before departure.

 

Didn't keep track of the eastbound prices.  HAL's Westerdam (leaves a day later) is selling for a higher rate, but will probably drop after tomorrow. 

[NantahalaCruiser]

4 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

With all the different perks being offered by cruse lines, it is getting harder to compare prices apples to apples.  NCL is now advertising up to 6 free perks on some cruises.

And is NCL still charging a per drink gratuity even when you have the package as a perk?

[pd7277]

5 minutes ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

And is NCL still charging a per drink gratuity even when you have the package as a perk?

Is that what's going to happen?  I recently booked a 3 night NCL Bahama cruise as a diversion during a two week Florida vacation.  We received 4 perks: 

1. One free speciality dining - We had to pay gratuities upfront.

2. Free excursions - $50/cabin/day towards excursions- will cost much more to go.

3. Free internet package - but only for 100 minutes.

4. Open bar - I guess this is another catch....?

 

[AL3XCruise]

4 hours ago, NantahalaCruiser said:

And is NCL still charging a per drink gratuity even when you have the package as a perk?

NCL applies a service charge that is 20% of the beverage package price if you were to purchase it.  There is no per drink charge.  Worked out to about $20/day/person last time I cruised.

 

Like most promotions, you just need to do your math to see if it makes sense for you.

[Captain-John]

I am dithering as to whether to book Reflection for next April - 11 nts Southern Caribbean, including drinks package, cat 1C - for £2650 all in. Equates to about £120 pp/pn  which including drinks is fairly good in my book. It won't be 'Revolutionised' but trying to balance that against a more interesting itinerary compared to Equinox (similar price/dates and would be 'Revolutionised')

 

Compared to NCL's pricing (we are Platinum with NCL and generally have been happy with the pricing over the years), they want close to £1100 pp. for a week!!! In that context, trying X is a no-brainer. Even MSC want £1400 for a 10 nighter in Aurea  class (with incl. drinks).

[ipeeinthepool]

24 minutes ago, Captain-John said:

I am dithering as to whether to book Reflection for next April - 11 nts Southern Caribbean, including drinks package, cat 1C - for £2650 all in. Equates to about £120 pp/pn  which including drinks is fairly good in my book. It won't be 'Revolutionised' but trying to balance that against a more interesting itinerary compared to Equinox (similar price/dates and would be 'Revolutionised')

 

Compared to NCL's pricing (we are Platinum with NCL and generally have been happy with the pricing over the years), they want close to £1100 pp. for a week!!! In that context, trying X is a no-brainer. Even MSC want £1400 for a 10 nighter in Aurea  class (with incl. drinks).

 

That still sounds a little high to me, $200pp seems to be a good target for a balcony cabin for cruise fare only

Edited February 12, 2019 by ipeeinthepool

[Captain-John]

21 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

That still sounds a little high to me, $200pp seems to be a good target for a balcony cabin for cruise fare only

 

Yep, £120 works out at around $155 p.p. - cruise only but as I say with included Classic drinks package.

[jody75]

We left Celebrity due to their ridiculous prices and for their declining standards.   Looking back we are now so glad that they raised they prices otherwise we would probably never tried MSC Yacht club.   Wow...... what a difference !   

Edited February 12, 2019 by jody75

[ipeeinthepool]

35 minutes ago, jody75 said:

We left Celebrity due to their ridiculous prices and for their declining standards.   Looking back we are now so glad that they raised they prices otherwise we would probably never tried MSC Yacht club.   Wow...... what a difference !   

Glad you like MSC. 

 

Goodbye

[ABoatNerd]

Jody75, excellent work as a consumer, you evaluated the offerings and chose the best value for you.

 

It is necessary to evaluate all cruise product offerings before purchase because the products change - that is the incredible value of CC to the consumer, you get excellent analysis - far better than a TA, because CC is almost real time.

 

But it is the supply/demand reality that influences prices and product offering.

 

Our household, and our travel group, will not travel Celebrity for the same reasons Jody75 you mention. However, we monitor sources to determine if Celebrity has adjusted before we book a cruise.

[Aralim]

16 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

Comparing a 2020 TA from Rome, I find the Royal C cruise for the same cruise as X is 60% lower than X.  This is one with no price bundling.

 

Meanwhile, I compared a Royal TA on a Brilliance class from Copenhagen to Boston in April, 2020 that visits nearly all the same ports in Iceland, Greenland, and Canada as the Celebrity TA on Summit (post Revolutionization) from NJ to Dublin in August, 2020. Even though the Royal itinerary is in shoulder season and the X itinerary is in peak, X's prices were the same or slightly lower, depending on cabin class (I only looked at interior, OV, and balcony since that's what my budget would allow). Since X lined up much better with my timetable for doing a full family sailing, and was also sailing out of my home port (only one flight to buy instead of two), booking with them was a no-brainer for such a killer itinerary.

 

Is it higher than I'm used to? Yup! (list price at time of booking was $160 pp pn for an inside cabin)

 

Is it still a price I'm willing to pay to experience these ports and this new cruise line? Yeah, I'm OK with it. Especially since my TA was able to save me some money when I chose to replace getting any OBC from him with a lower up-front price.

 

Do I consider it exorbitant or out of line? Ummm, no. This is a higher-tier line that's pricing this itinerary the same as the lower mass-market sister line with a near-identical itinerary, so I actually feel like I'm getting a bargain.

 

It's just going to vary from sailing to sailing and line to line. Like @ABoatNerd said, just need to do your research and find what's on offer that works for (a) the price you're willing to pay, (b) the experience level you expect, and (c) what works for your time and travel capability. I'd love to try MSC, their pricing is seriously competitive and the experience looks pretty good as long as I go in with eyes wide open that it's not going to be the same as a typical American cruise; but they only offer a tiny handful of sailings out of NJ (seems limited to fall foliage sailings) and for the time being, that's where I have to sail from (my home port) so that my vacation budget doesn't get blown out of the water every time by airfare.

[Chardonnay Char]

23 hours ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

With all the different perks being offered by cruse lines, it is getting harder to compare prices apples to apples.  NCL is now advertising up to 6 free perks on some cruises.

Note, however:  When NCL offers a drink package, you still have to pay an 18 percent gratuity PER drink.

 

[AL3XCruise]

5 hours ago, Chardonnay Char said:

Note, however:  When NCL offers a drink package, you still have to pay an 18 percent gratuity PER drink.

 

 

That is incorrect.  It is a flat charge per day per person as I noted previously.  Well I agree it is important for folks to know there is a gratuity despite the perk being "free", please make sure you understand how it works before giving people incorrect information.

[K12Guy]

On 2/10/2019 at 12:48 PM, NantahalaCruiser said:

Yeah, inside cabin, repositioning cruises. But what about the non-repositioning, cheapest balcony cruises with bundled prices at well over $200 pp per night?

Where else can you get a hotel room with all meals included for $200 per night? Waffle Motel? Seriously....

[grandgeezer]

54 minutes ago, K12Guy said:

Where else can you get a hotel room with all meals included for $200 per night? Waffle Motel? Seriously....

To compare apples to apples your hotel room has to be the size of a walk in closet. The post you quoted says $200 per person per day. That’s a total of $400 per day. Where can’t you get a room and meals for that? Seriously....

 

 

[K12Guy]

1 minute ago, grandgeezer said:

To compare apples to apples your hotel room has to be the size of a walk in closet. The post you quoted says $200 per person per day. That’s a total of $400 per day. Where can’t you get a room and meals for that? Seriously....

 

 

Well, locally most decent hotel rooms are running $300 to $500 a night. And if you kick in three meals for the day at the hotel restaurant that will bring it up to another $300 each day. Make it $800 daily. And that's not the concierge level or penthouse. So, if we could get a decent stateroom with no other perks for $200 each ($400) per day, that would be great. Add another $200 for grats and such and it's still a decent stay.

[movie buff]

I always wait until after final payment time to see price drops. They don't on popular itineraries. On repositioning cruise they drop every time.  You have to love lots of sea days and few port stops, which is fine with me personally.  The April transpacific on the millennium in April is about the lowest I have seen.$399 for a inside. I love it. If you are a elite plus member, which I happen to be, free cocktails and coffee drinks. They are even selling the drink packages for half off at the moment.  I have tons of air miles so I can get business class flight to Tokyo for free.   But as I said lots of sea days and in April so the weather can be very iffy.   Still tons of cabins available, balcony for $599.  I think the ship will probably sail half empty. I know some who would not do it even in a sky suite for free.   I am a sucker who would, but I am paying. LOL

LOL

[yorky]

Personally we still find Celebrity prices ok if we sail the Caribbean, ours works out at £122 pp per night. A good 4/5 star  hotel with all meals and drinks is at least double that and nearer three times as you move up to a true 5 star. Add in the entertainment and it’s still good value in our view.

[villauk]

8 minutes ago, yorky said:

Personally we still find Celebrity prices ok if we sail the Caribbean, ours works out at £122 pp per night. A good 4/5 star  hotel with all meals and drinks is at least double that and nearer three times as you move up to a true 5 star. Add in the entertainment and it’s still good value in our view.

 

 

Itinerary does make a huge difference. Unfortunately, we then have the higher airfare on top of those lower Caribbean prices as our local (European cruises where air is far less) usually are much higher in pricing - Edge has been way higher in Europe, even from the initial release. 

 

TAs don’t interest us at this point in our lives and we still have to keep to work/school schedules which mean peak sailing times.