Price increase!!

[chemmo]

7 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

We have booked a island holiday for 2020 going to the Maldives for 11 nights --a water villa with jaccuzzi and all inclusive incl air for £5000 total. Its one item off the bucket list and we have to think about future cruises after our Nov 2020 cruise. All our cruises from Oct 2019 to Nov 2020 are with friends so that is the reason for doing them.

 

We have done this twice and loved it! The snorkelling is fantastic and the best fish I have ever eaten. You have done right to book all inclusive, drink prices (including soft drinks) are really high.

[emmas gran]

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

We have done this twice and loved it! The snorkelling is fantastic and the best fish I have ever eaten. You have done right to book all inclusive, drink prices (including soft drinks) are really high.

We have booked a package with an airline so flying via Dubai (2 nights there visiting friends) them travelling on, it is supposedly 20% off the water villa prices so we are happy. Again we are travelling with friends so have 2 villas.

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, Mynki said:

 

I agree. Deals are certainly harder to find, particularly suites. But they do crop up from time to time. 

The fishy site appears to still be working to some extent. I'm monitoring aqua class and suites on one sailing and am receiving notifications when they become available and go again etc. Price changes don't seem to update for at least two days though sometimes they take a week from what I'm seeing. 

Yes and often price drops only last for one day or even less.

[amber1002]

We booked a cruise going to the Caribbean next January in March of this year. The cruise sails on 10 January 2020 on the Reflection. The cost for a C3 including drinks package and gratuities was £3500. Today it stands at £5878 for a C2.

 

how does Celebrity justify such an increase? We would love to book a Mediterranean cruise for June 2020 but will not do so as the price has gone up so much compared to this year.

 

We will now be looking at other cruise lines such as Oceania, after having been loyal to Celebrity for so many years. We don’t really want to do that but feel there is no alternative. 

 

Celebrity costs are now on a par with Oceania cruises ( we have taken 3 of these so far) but offer a much lower standard. As other people have said before, whilst people are paying the prices Celebrity are charging why would they drop them? 

 

The only way way to object to these ridiculous prices is not to pay them!!

 

 

[Mynki]

15 minutes ago, amber1002 said:

We booked a cruise going to the Caribbean next January in March of this year. The cruise sails on 10 January 2020 on the Reflection. The cost for a C3 including drinks package and gratuities was £3500. Today it stands at £5878 for a C2.

 

how does Celebrity justify such an increase? We would love to book a Mediterranean cruise for June 2020 but will not do so as the price has gone up so much compared to this year.

 

We will now be looking at other cruise lines such as Oceania, after having been loyal to Celebrity for so many years. We don’t really want to do that but feel there is no alternative. 

 

Celebrity costs are now on a par with Oceania cruises ( we have taken 3 of these so far) but offer a much lower standard. As other people have said before, whilst people are paying the prices Celebrity are charging why would they drop them? 

 

The only way way to object to these ridiculous prices is not to pay them!!

 

 

Are those prices per person or per stateroom?

 

[emmas gran]

11 minutes ago, Mynki said:

Are those prices per person or per stateroom?

 

 

The price now is £2889 pp for 10 nights in C3

[Mynki]

2 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

 

The price now is £2889 pp for 10 nights in C3

 

I was really asking about the historical figures because if they're per person, the cruise price has come down. 

 

[emmas gran]

No Mynki you are looking a $$ price so divide $3599 by 1.25 its about the same as our ££ rate

[Mynki]

18 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

No Mynki you are looking a $$ price so divide $3599 by 1.25 its about the same as our ££ rate

 

Hi, yep I get that. I mean I was looking at current pricing compared to that quoted by the other forum member. :)

[Miaminice]

Agree!

It might not be the case or that bad on Caribbean cruises. However, the cruises we are interested in (Asia, Med, South America etc.) are getting more and more expensive with Celebrity.

We usually book more than a year ahead which, until a year or two ago, always gave us reasonable prices. We were also willing to pay more than the standard rate and always booked Aqua.

 

This April we did a Cherry Blossom cruise in Japan. We booked with HAL because it was half the price and a had much better itinerary. We were happy with the quality and would book with HAL again. The differences, like less entertainment and older average age, didn’t matter to us. We had a great cruise.

 

It was our second cruise to Japan and we loved it so much again that we booked another cruise incl. Japan for 2021. Even that far out the price for the cruise we were looking at with Celebrity was hefty. Even for a regular balcony stateroom.

So by chance I stumbled across a cruise with Royal‘s Ovation with an even better itinerary. Yes, since we cruised Royal many times before we switched to Celebrity, I know it’s not as „classy“. However, Quantum class are fine ships and I could have booked the Grand Suite for less than a balcony stateroom on Celebrity (a regular balcony stateroom was 1700 vs almost 4000 Euro).

 

I am not going to be one of the people ranting about it on CC or FB. If Celebrity sell those cruises for those prices, good on them... However, although we love Celebrity and they will be our first choice, we‘ll be looking left and right more often

Edited July 14, 2019 by Miaminice

[Cruise Junky]

On 7/10/2019 at 10:39 PM, emmas gran said:

Just had to move an onboard booking for April 2020 to April 2021 on Connie Dubai through 

Suez canal --the price increase for Aqua is £2000 gone from £4812 to £6802, that is crazy.

I think we are paying for Revolution!!

This November just dropped to $1,400 before taxes for Aqua on this route pp. probably closer to $1,750 with taxes. This is not a cruise to get locked into early. It always drops. 

[Hlitner]

On ‎7‎/‎12‎/‎2019 at 10:07 AM, hubofhockey said:

 

Have you been on a Princess Royal Class ship?  I have and it's the reason I'm pretty much done with them.

 

The balconies are miniaturized and the elevators are like cattle cars because the central elevators don't go all the way up.   This is not my idea of a relaxing vacation.  I will say that I loved the previous class of ships with large balconies, central elevators, several distinct large pool area, and the set up of the clubs.  I would consider booking the Ruby Princess for Australia down the road, but not on Royal/Regal or any other Royal Class ships.  Oh, for what it's worth, their specialty restaurants are low quality.  

 

For some, I'm sure Princess is a better fit, but the grass isn't always greener.  

You are a bit out of date.  The issue with the central elevators has been rectified (even the Regal had its central elevator modified during a dry dock so it goes to the upper decks).  The postage stamp balconies are an issue although we accept that issue when we are cruising for about $100 per passenger day :).   I do agree that Princess specialty restaurants suck, but have you looked at the price of Murano lately?

 

We are going on a Seabourn cruise in a few days that actually cost us less then a comparable suite on a Celebrity cruise.  Will we return to X (where we have over 200 days)?  Yes, when we can snag a reasonable fare on an interesting itinerary.  But for now, there are many other lines (including several luxury lines) that offer much better value then X.

 

Hank

[isdoo]

Cruising has gone up. 

We are paying around £4,000 pp for a 12 night Christmas/New Year cruise on Silhouette in an Aqua A1 cabin. 

No idea if this is a good or bad price. It is what it is, I guess. 

The suites were silly money - I think for a sky suite (deck 6) it is twice this.

[Host Anne]

Cruise pricing, like anything else, is supply and demand.  I continuously watch pricing after we book (whether it's onboard or from home) as we typically book months to more than a year out.  I don't think Edge was selling well in Europe early this year because between the time we booked for August 2019 until final payment, pricing for our cabin went down twice and we were able to add the 4 perks.  All in all, we saved more than $1,000 per person from our initial booking.  So it pays to watch your cruises on a regular basis.

 

If a cruise is selling well, prices are not going to drop.  If they are sitting half empty, they will.  It did happen with Edge this year and I've seen it with other sailings as well.  My recommendation is book a cruise and amenities you are happy with and if pricing goes down, it's a plus.

 

HAPPY SAILING!

[zook50]

To add insult to injury, prepaid gratuities just went up too!

[ipeeinthepool]

Deleted

[Hlitner]

2 hours ago, Host Anne said:

Cruise pricing, like anything else, is supply and demand.  I continuously watch pricing after we book (whether it's onboard or from home) as we typically book months to more than a year out.  I don't think Edge was selling well in Europe early this year because between the time we booked for August 2019 until final payment, pricing for our cabin went down twice and we were able to add the 4 perks.  All in all, we saved more than $1,000 per person from our initial booking.  So it pays to watch your cruises on a regular basis.

 

If a cruise is selling well, prices are not going to drop.  If they are sitting half empty, they will.  It did happen with Edge this year and I've seen it with other sailings as well.  My recommendation is book a cruise and amenities you are happy with and if pricing goes down, it's a plus.

 

HAPPY SAILING!

One would expect pricing to have something to do with supply/demand but we are seeing many cases (especially with Celebrity) where this is not the case.  Some cruise lines will charge very high prices to those who book early (contrary to what many believe).  If the line errs and sets their prices too high (this seems to be the case with the Edge and some other X cruises) then the games will begin.  Deals may be sweetened with extra amenities or the cruise line might wait until after the final payment date and then offer huge discounts (we recently took a Summit cruise with a terrific last minute deal).  Over forty years as an avid cruiser (with many cruise lines) we have seen many changes in pricing strategy.  We are currently in the midst of a new revolution in cruise line marketing/pricing and we are closely watching to see the end result.  Free upgrades have, to a great degree, replaced by "upsells."  Celebrity has taken this to a new level with their bidding game.  We can imagine some cruisers actually paying more with their bids then if they had simply booked the desired category.....but those are probably the same folks who insist that slot machines have good odds 🙂  Consider that it took cruise lines over 100 years to realize that they could get more money for something they were giving away......upgrades!  Hmmm.  Maybe they are not as smart as they thought :).

 

Hank

[Host Anne]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

One would expect pricing to have something to do with supply/demand but we are seeing many cases (especially with Celebrity) where this is not the case.  Some cruise lines will charge very high prices to those who book early (contrary to what many believe).  If the line errs and sets their prices too high (this seems to be the case with the Edge and some other X cruises) then the games will begin.  Deals may be sweetened with extra amenities or the cruise line might wait until after the final payment date and then offer huge discounts (we recently took a Summit cruise with a terrific last minute deal).  Over forty years as an avid cruiser (with many cruise lines) we have seen many changes in pricing strategy.  We are currently in the midst of a new revolution in cruise line marketing/pricing and we are closely watching to see the end result.  Free upgrades have, to a great degree, replaced by "upsells."  Celebrity has taken this to a new level with their bidding game.  We can imagine some cruisers actually paying more with their bids then if they had simply booked the desired category.....but those are probably the same folks who insist that slot machines have good odds 🙂  Consider that it took cruise lines over 100 years to realize that they could get more money for something they were giving away......upgrades!  Hmmm.  Maybe they are not as smart as they thought :).

 

Hank

 

Hi Hank ~ this has not been our experience with Celebrity of late.  We booked Edge months ago for this summer.  I was appalled at the pricing but friends REALLY wanted to do it so we agreed.  First we had a small price drop and the added perks.  Then we had a big price drop before final payment.  I've had a similar experience recently with other Celebrity cruises we've got booked but never to the extent of the Edge price drops.  

 

I would never count on price drops....they are only going to happen if the ship is sitting with lots of inventory to fill.  As I mentioned, I book with what we are comfortable with if nothing changes before final payment (I don't even look at pricing after final payment is made).  

 

No question it is somewhat of a game these days but for the most part (with the exception of Edge pricing for the first year) I think cruise prices have remained relatively low for the vacation value over the years.  You can cruise pretty darn inexpensively these days if you want.  

 

Remember the $20 deposit and 2 perks promotion at the beginning of the year?  They don't offer these promotions out of the goodness of their hearts.  They offer them to fill their ships.  My main point was to be comfortable with the price of the cruise you book and then keep an eye on your cruise after that.  Nothing may change and that's OK but sometimes, it does.  Who knows what cruising will bring in the coming years.  It pays to be vigilant.  At least it as for our family.

[Hlitner]

1 minute ago, Host Anne said:

 

Hi Hank ~ this has not been our experience with Celebrity of late.  We booked Edge months ago for this summer.  I was appalled at the pricing but friends REALLY wanted to do it so we agreed.  First we had a small price drop and the added perks.  Then we had a big price drop before final payment.  I've had a similar experience recently with other Celebrity cruises we've got booked but never to the extent of the Edge price drops.  

 

I would never count on price drops....they are only going to happen if the ship is sitting with lots of inventory to fill.  As I mentioned, I book with what we are comfortable with if nothing changes before final payment (I don't even look at pricing after final payment is made).  

 

No question it is somewhat of a game these days but for the most part (with the exception of Edge pricing for the first year) I think cruise prices have remained relatively low for the vacation value over the years.  You can cruise pretty darn inexpensively these days if you want.  

 

Remember the $20 deposit and 2 perks promotion at the beginning of the year?  They don't offer these promotions out of the goodness of their hearts.  They offer them to fill their ships.  My main point was to be comfortable with the price of the cruise you book and then keep an eye on your cruise after that.  Nothing may change and that's OK but sometimes, it does.  Who knows what cruising will bring in the coming years.  It pays to be vigilant.  At least it as for our family.

I completely agree with you that supply/demand does generally drive the final pricing.  But the key is "final" pricing.  Some cruise lines will give pretty good deals to those who book far in advance, but recently we have seen relatively high pricing on long term Celebrity cruises.  If the cruise sells well then there may be few or no price drops and even some price increases.  But if they fail to sell the cruise then they  get somewhat desperate at the last minute (inside final payments).  They have several strategies such as "pushing" the cruise for those eligible of Interline rates.  But they will often create some good deals for certain high volume agencies who are able to sell many last minute berths without publicly advertising the lower rates.  These special deals are generally offered to those who have their e-mails registered with the "chosen" agencies or consortiums.   For example, our recent deal (about $100 a day for a nice balcony cabin) on the Summit was somewhat below the lowest price one would have found on Xs web site.   Of course the downside is that one must settle for a guarantee or choose from a limited cabin inventory.

 

We book our cruises with different strategies.  For us it means that some very desired (and often popular itineraries) will be booked far in advance.  But many of our other bookings are last minute things where we find some terrific deals.  Some of these last minute bargains are predictable (based on itinerary, time of year and experience) while others are just luck.  But we have received some interesting last minute offers on the Edge (we have no interest in that vessel) which would lead one to believe that X overpriced many of the X cabins.  Of course most cruisers cannot book at the last minute because of work/family obligations.   Much of this market seems to belong to retirees who are able to go anywhere with only a few days or weeks notice.

 

Hank

[excitedofharpenden]

Hank, you are spot on and the same is true for Azamara now too.  Recently, say over the last two years.  It takes watching and is such a game now.  My one rule at present is to only pay what I am happy paying.  I will not pay silly money, only for the pricing to be reduced or cabins handed over to consolidators or Interline agencies late on.

 

Phil

[Mynki]

24 minutes ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Hank, you are spot on and the same is true for Azamara now too.  Recently, say over the last two years.  It takes watching and is such a game now.  My one rule at present is to only pay what I am happy paying.  I will not pay silly money, only for the pricing to be reduced or cabins handed over to consolidators or Interline agencies late on.

 

Phil

 

I came up with what I consider a fair daily night rate for the two room types we tend to book for both M and S class ships. The day rate based on comparative cruise lines we've sailed on and land based hotel rates etc. If a cruise is in scope and if it's an itinerary we want to do at a convenient time I'll consider it. But I agree, it really is a game finding fares that we consider worthwhile compared to a few years ago. 

I'm very wary of the marketing ploys they're now using. Some really are very bad value. 

Whilst I think the loyalty program is good, we're not married to it and am happy to consider other lines which helps a lot in finding good value.