Neptune suites pricing getting ridiculous....

[chill6x6]

Have any of you priced a NS lately?  I've got 11/28 booked aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam, 7-day. $6058, grats included.  Mainly just booked to keep an aft corner thinking the price will fall.  I'm not going to go at that.  Just checked CURRENTLY...$6828, me picking the cabin including grats and $300 OBC.  I can't imagine anyone in their right mind paying that.  Compare to Sky Suite aboard the Celebrity Apex @ $5328 including internet, grats, $300 OBC, and premium beverage pkg.  I'd really rather go on the Nieuw Amsterdam but I'm not stupid....

[Aquahound]

Not to mention, the suite perks on Celebrity blow HAL away.  It isn't even close.  The Retreat on Edge Class looks pretty awesome and I've heard great things about the suite restaurant, Luminae. 

 

Based on my recent Eurodam cruise and with all the cutbacks, especially in entertainment, the only way I would pick Nieuw Amsterdam over the brand new Apex is if NA is significantly cheaper.  

Edited February 6, 2020 by Aquahound

[canadianbear]

I agree with Aquahound-the perks in a suite on Celebrity blow HAL Neptune suites away.  Have only been on the Infinity but was very impressed with the way they treat suite guests-put HAL to shame.

 

 

[Cruzaholic41]

If you can get a suite on Apex for less than a Neptune on HAL, jump on it!  I agree with the last 2 posts. This isn’t even close. I’ve sailed Edge twice. The ship is amazing and the suite perks on HAL aren’t even in the same ballpark as Celebrity. 

[ski ww]

That's why we book the cheaper cabins, we can do two cruises for the price of a suite for the same or longer cruise. 

[Krazy Kruizers]

There was a discussion some time ago about how HAL was raising the prices of cabins to cover the costs of those "perks" you think you are getting free.

 

You were wise to go with Celebrity and save some money with perks.

[Mary229]

I have noticed the upper tier is higher priced but I also notice the upper tier usually sells out quickly.  Supply and demand, I assume

[3rdGenCunarder]

1 hour ago, Mary229 said:

I have noticed the upper tier is higher priced but I also notice the upper tier usually sells out quickly.  Supply and demand, I assume

 

The Pinnacle class ships have fewer Neptune suites. so there's a smaller supply. The Vista ships have more, so they aren't as expensive there. Not sure about NA, OP's ship. 

Edited February 6, 2020 by 3rdGenCunarder

[DaveOKC]

1 hour ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

The Pinnacle class ships have fewer Neptune suites. so there's a smaller supply. The Vista ships have more, so they aren't as expensive there. Not sure about NA, OP's ship. 

NA is the same class as Eurodam and a touch larger than the Vista (4) ships.  IMO, they all were built with too many Neptune and Signature Suites, thus the fares are lower than the smaller and the two newest HAL ships.  

 

Personally, I like to book a Signature Suite and then hope for an upsell (we seem to get them on most cruises on the above mentioned 6 ships. but not often on the others).  

 

Neptune suite pricing can REALLY vary depending on the itinerary also.  We are doing a 7 day Coastal and booked one for only $1599.  Other times we can get them for about $300 per day (pp).  Then on the more popular cruises we see pricing as the OP mentioned.  Supply and Demand - Econ 101 - is what it is all about.

 

[fatcat04]

3 hours ago, ski ww said:

That's why we book the cheaper cabins, we can do two cruises for the price of a suite for the same or longer cruise. 

Yep, we used to book suites but have moved to verandahs. There are so many, they are the best deal and we just don't miss the very minimal suite perks. The Neptune Lounge is nice but we really don't miss it. Only thing we miss is breakfast in the PG and that isn't even a thing on the newest ships so.. oh well. And now with Club Orange, you can even buy some of the suite perks. 

[3rdGenCunarder]

30 minutes ago, DaveOKC said:

NA is the same class as Eurodam and a touch larger than the Vista (4) ships.  IMO, they all were built with too many Neptune and Signature Suites, thus the fares are lower than the smaller and the two newest HAL ships.  

 

Personally, I like to book a Signature Suite and then hope for an upsell (we seem to get them on most cruises on the above mentioned 6 ships. but not often on the others).  

 

Neptune suite pricing can REALLY vary depending on the itinerary also.  We are doing a 7 day Coastal and booked one for only $1599.  Other times we can get them for about $300 per day (pp).  Then on the more popular cruises we see pricing as the OP mentioned.  Supply and Demand - Econ 101 - is what it is all about.

 

 

You're right about itinerary and demand. I see posts about how people got great last-minute bargains when fares dropped. I seem to choose popular itineraries and/or times and rarely see those price drops. 

[chill6x6]

Sooo..

What if I told you there were eleven NS still available on this sailing?  I also wonder how many of those that are booked are actually going to sail and pay the ~ $6000 price tag? Or are they just like me, have a deposit on a cabin to see if prices are going to go down. I enjoy the aft corner NS,.  It's one of my favorite cabins on any ship I've been on.

 

The Apex sails exactly the same date and both Eastern Caribbean itinerary.  When I saw the price of the Sky suite on the Apex I jumped all over it. The Retreat area looks to be a 10.  It looks as if it will be a notch better than NCL Haven which I just experienced aboard Getaway. BTW...that same $6000 also will get a Haven suite, similar itinerary.

[Mosaic]

Prices for Neptune SA are high.  At this point if you get a NS (per room) for under $1,000.00 per night your doing good...

 

The fact that there are less of them on the new ships tells me that HAL does not wish that clientele...same with only one Pinnacle Suite on a much larger ship.

[molemaui]

15 hours ago, chill6x6 said:

Have any of you priced a NS lately?  I've got 11/28 booked aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam, 7-day. $6058, grats included.  Mainly just booked to keep an aft corner thinking the price will fall.  I'm not going to go at that.  Just checked CURRENTLY...$6828, me picking the cabin including grats and $300 OBC.  I can't imagine anyone in their right mind paying that.  Compare to Sky Suite aboard the Celebrity Apex @ $5328 including internet, grats, $300 OBC, and premium beverage pkg.  I'd really rather go on the Nieuw Amsterdam but I'm not stupid....

 

A real timely post! In a week, we're sailing in a Neptune Suite on the NA and backing it up on the Celebrity Edge in a Sky Suite. When you average in the perks, pricing was pretty close on both. The NS is of course bigger but you don't have The Retreat or Luninea on HAL. 

 

It all be fun doing a direct comparison getting off one and getting on another the next day. 

 

To address your original comment, YES-NS pricing is getting ridiculous. If the cost of my cruise for 2 approaches $1000/day including perks, I will jump to Silversea or Seabourne. As much as I enjoy HAL, they are not at the same level. (Doing both cruises for less than $700/day for 2) 

[3rdGenCunarder]

27 minutes ago, Mosaic said:

Prices for Neptune SA are high.  At this point if you get a NS (per room) for under $1,000.00 per night your doing good...

 

The fact that there are less of them on the new ships tells me that HAL does not wish that clientele...same with only one Pinnacle Suite on a much larger ship.

 

I disagree. They want more cabins in the same space. If they've seen Neptunes not selling well, it makes sense to offer fewer. A regular balcony cabin is roughly half the size of the Neptune. I think a Signature has about 75% of the space a Neptune has. It varies from ship to ship and these are just estimates. But my point is they can get more people on the ship by increasing smaller cabins and decreasing larger ones.

 

[DaveOKC]

51 minutes ago, Mosaic said:

Prices for Neptune SA are high.  At this point if you get a NS (per room) for under $1,000.00 per night your doing good...

 

The fact that there are less of them on the new ships tells me that HAL does not wish that clientele...same with only one Pinnacle Suite on a much larger ship.

IMO, the reason there are fewer Neptunes on the newer HAL ships is that HAL has had a hard time selling them out on the Vista class ships (as I mentioned previously, thus the frequent upsells).

 

[Oregonhiker]

As a long time HAL cruiser just off Celebrity in a Sky Suite I agree with that Celebrity is a better deal. Also Neptune Lounge is usually just staffed by a concierge, where as Micheal's Club (Retreat on newer ships) has a concierge plus bar service, and a waiter circulating with snacks and on some nights entertainment. Plus Luminae is like eating in a private club, pictures I've seen  of Club Orange resturant on new Hal ships looks like the Pancake House with frosted glass so you can't see out. Not for us.

[chill6x6]

6 hours ago, molemaui said:

 

A real timely post! In a week, we're sailing in a Neptune Suite on the NA and backing it up on the Celebrity Edge in a Sky Suite. When you average in the perks, pricing was pretty close on both. The NS is of course bigger but you don't have The Retreat or Luninea on HAL. 

 

It all be fun doing a direct comparison getting off one and getting on another the next day. 

 

To address your original comment, YES-NS pricing is getting ridiculous. If the cost of my cruise for 2 approaches $1000/day including perks, I will jump to Silversea or Seabourne. As much as I enjoy HAL, they are not at the same level. (Doing both cruises for less than $700/day for 2) 

That should be a very interesting two weeks!  

Both cruise lines do some great things.  For sure I bet the NA will be less crowed...BUT...to date Luminae is the best cruise ship dining venue I've eaten at and from all accounts The Retreat is really nice.  I hope you will return with your comparion!

[keysey222]

HAL is beginning to lose us as customers after sailing on Celebrity. The suite class experience on Celebrity was exceptional and we felt they went out of their way to spoil us. Alcoholic drinks are included. All coffee drinks are included. Soda is included. Suites have butler service. The food and atmosphere at Luminae was the icing on the cake. We just booked a cruise on the Edge to take advantage of the private deck area. We won't experience Club Orange until our HAL cruise in June, but I have a hunch we'll be very underwhelmed. I have to agree with the other poster, I don't think HAL is trying to attract the suite guest crowd. We like HAL, but they don't hold a candle to what Celebrity offers suite passengers. And, it doesn't seem like they want to bother. 

[iancal]

It seems to me that Neptune suites are marketed to the most loyal HAL customers.  
 

I suspect that these are the only people who would pay over the odds for a product with far fewer amenities and benefits than those offered by competitive lines.

 

So my guess is they either sell them to those who won’t shop or to those who will only buy them at a substantially reduced price that matches their actual competitive value.

 

A TA told us that the suites and the low end cabins are typically the first to sell out on a ship.  The one exception to that is apparently HAL Neptune suites.  She advises her clients only to consider a buy when the price drops substantially inside the final payment window.

Edited February 7, 2020 by iancal

[molemaui]

2 minutes ago, iancal said:

It seems to me that Neptune suites are marketed to the most loyal HAL customers.  
 

I suspect that these are the only people who would pay over the odds for a product with far fewer amenities and benefits than is offered by competitive lines.

 

So my guess is they either sell them to those who won’t shop or to those who will only buy them at a substantially reduced price that matches their actual competitive value.

 

There appears to be occasional  "sweet spots" in NS pricing that likely based on account of ship occupancy, etc. We're about to take our 2nd HAL cruise in a Neptune Suite and felt $630/day wasn't too bad. I looked at another cruise later in the year and pricing exceeded $1000/day. The HAL product (NS) is not at all worth it when the daily cost exceeds $650-700/day in my opinion. 

 

Last minute-less than 90 day bookings, seem to obviously offer the best pricing. 

 

As many before me have said, the Celebrity pricing model (with the 4 perks) seem to offer a suite experience that is much better than simply a bigger cabin. The lower entry Sky Suite is approx. 400 ft/2 vs. 500-600 ft/2 on HAL. Trying BOTH in February. Celebrity cost including 4 perks is $668/day. 

[DivotMaker]

All this talk about Celebrity v. HAL has me now reconsidering our first cruise on HAL (Eurodam in a NS) and very carefully comparing the two.  If the price is right, I might just have to jump ship (no pun intended).  

[zelker]

Ironically we see Celebrity's suite prices increasing from what we used to pay for them, especially for the Celebrity and Royal suites.  For us, HAL's itineraries FAR exceed X's and that's the first thing we look at when picking a cruise.  And doubtful X will ever offer anything that will entice us to try one of those sensory-overload Edge-class ships either.  Thankfully there are lots of options for everyone. 🙂 

 

[DivotMaker]

11 minutes ago, zelker said:

Ironically we see Celebrity's suite prices increasing from what we used to pay for them, especially for the Celebrity and Royal suites.  For us, HAL's itineraries FAR exceed X's and that's the first thing we look at when picking a cruise.  And doubtful X will ever offer anything that will entice us to try one of those sensory-overload Edge-class ships either.  Thankfully there are lots of options for everyone. 🙂 

 

 

Exactly.   I just spent quite a bit of time on Celebrity's website.  I might be in the minority here, but I just wasn't all that impressed with all the "cool features" they advertised.  I agree, it seemed like sensory overload to me, almost like a carnival.  We chose HAL because we just want to unwind and relax, and the more I compare the two the more I believe giving HAL a shot for this particular itinerary (Alaska) is a better fit for us.  YMMV.

[zelker]

We've sailed Alaska 6 times - 5 on HAL and once on Seabourn.  There are so many reasons to pick HAL over X up there - after all, HAL and Princess "invented" cruising to Alaska to begin with.  Have you checked out the 14 night itinerary, RT out of Vancouver this year I think (vs has been out of Seattle)?  If not, highly recommend it - nobody else offers anything close.  🙂  Enjoy!!! 🙂