What's going on with Celebrity pricing for 2021?

[edgekid]

We booked an October 2021 cruise to Europe a few weeks ago through our T/A, which at the time was $800 less than Celebrity's pricing..  That same booking today through Celebrity directly is now $2,000 more than we paid..

Careful out there... You must monitor pricing continually....

 

 

 

[bikerunner]

Nothing unusual.  One of my cruises I have repriced 4 times since booking because of deals. Im pretty sure I am as low as I can get for my back to back.  

[Bruin Steve]

Pricing continually goes up and down based on supply and demand, special "sales" and what perk package is being offered. ALWAYS keep monitoring your prices.  If they go down, you can often renegotiate your deal--especially those of us in the US with refundable deposits before the final payment date. (BTW, same thing happens on other cruise lines as well...we seem to always reprice our Princess cruises over time too).

 

I just looked at my Summer 2021 Europe cruises and my Apex cruise went way up...but it doesn't really matter to me--I took it on a "Lift and Shift" deal as a substitute for my much lower priced 2020 cruise.

 

BTW, Summer 2021 will possibly get real interesting since they can't be too sure what the demand will be...but also don't know if they may have to restrict the passenger capacity.

Edited June 3, 2020 by Bruin Steve

[JonnyCT81]

2 hours ago, edgekid said:

We booked an October 2021 cruise to Europe a few weeks ago through our T/A, which at the time was $800 less than Celebrity's pricing..  That same booking today through Celebrity directly is now $2,000 more than we paid..

Careful out there... You must monitor pricing continually....

 

 

 

 

Hi there, TA here - part of this might be that your travel agency booked a "group rate", meaning they block off a group of rooms at a set price when the schedules first come out.   As time goes by, Celebrity can change their rates, however these rates stay the same until about 4-6 months prior to sailing, when they are released back into general inventory.  Going through a TA is a great way to save money off of published fares, provided they have the space available.  Anytime you are working with a TA, make sure to ask if they have any group rates available. 🙂

 

[mnocket]

I have no doubt that price increases will be the norm and will be substantial. 

 

Just considering two factors it's obvious that price increases are unavoidable....

1)  Cruise lines have taken on massive debt to survive the shutdown.  These increased debt payments must be covered by increased fares.

 2) In order to achieve even the appearance of social distancing, and meet almost certain government requirements, cruise lines will have to reduce occupancy.  With high fixed costs, cruise lines cannot be profitable with reduced occupancy unless they increase fares.

 

These price increases  may alter the "value" proposition for many cruisers.  Hopefully over time prices may relax somewhat, but cruise lines will face crushing debt for the foreseeable future.

[edgekid]

Thanks for your post.

It definitely was a group rate.. I am aware of that philosophy and always ask my t/a because if he does not have a group rate for a cruise I am looking at,  I have to "shop elsewhere".

[gerelmx]

I have 8 cruises booked, all Inside CAT 9. Today in all cruises the cabin rate rise  around $200 each.

[bigbenboys]

30 minutes ago, edgekid said:

Thanks for your post.

It definitely was a group rate.. I am aware of that philosophy and always ask my t/a because if he does not have a group rate for a cruise I am looking at,  I have to "shop elsewhere".

I thought a TA only need 2 cabins to form a group rate?

[paulh84]

With the mount of rebooking occurring from Lift and Shift and the additional FCC credits, I wouldn't expect prices to lower anytime soon. 

[Arizona Wildcat]

4 hours ago, JonnyCT81 said:

 

 

Hi there, TA here - part of this might be that your travel agency booked a "group rate", meaning they block off a group of rooms at a set price when the schedules first come out.   As time goes by, Celebrity can change their rates, however these rates stay the same until about 4-6 months prior to sailing, when they are released back into general inventory.  Going through a TA is a great way to save money off of published fares, provided they have the space available.  Anytime you are working with a TA, make sure to ask if they have any group rates available. 🙂

 

Completely agree.  Had a 14 day Med cruise where we booked group space through a TA.  About $400 less than X price plus 3 perks.  Price had numerous increases - totalling $1500pp - until just before final payment date when the price was reduced to $1000 less than our original booking.

Bruins Steve correct that 2021 will be crazy as you have thousands of FCCs and possibly COVID still out there.  Could mean huge demand and high prices or the exact opposite.

A good reason to book with refundable deposit and watch prices.

[terrydtx]

My TA got us better deals for both of our 2021 cruises on the Infinity in Europe than we found online. I have always used a TA and always will for several reasons, the main one being she works for me and not the cruise line. I have seen prices for 2021 cruises going up as more people who had 2020 canceled cruises are rebooking for next year.

[HappyCamper49]

On 6/3/2020 at 12:07 PM, edgekid said:

We booked an October 2021 cruise to Europe a few weeks ago through our T/A, which at the time was $800 less than Celebrity's pricing..  That same booking today through Celebrity directly is now $2,000 more than we paid..

Careful out there... You must monitor pricing continually....

 

 

 

We transferred our Celebrity Silhouette September 2020 Northern European Capital Cities cruise to September 2021.  The cruise ended up being $124 per person less!  We thought about just canceling and rebooking, then noticed we did not get the two of four perks choices!  Called and made sure if we transferred that our OBC, Free Wifi, and Pre-paid gratuities would come with us.  They did!

[Fly and Sail]

Not only prices go up but also availability disappears in thin air. Good luck trying to secure a Veranda cabin to Alaska in May/June 2021.

 

Had to go on May 30th now as all previous sailings were already gone.

[ipeeinthepool]

Wishful thinking by Celebrity.  These prices will drop dramatically for most cruises in 2021.

[Fly and Sail]

It's called inflation or did people seriously think all these 25% bonuses of their FCC would be easy "cash in pocket"!?

[Fly and Sail]

2 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Wishful thinking by Celebrity.  These prices will drop dramatically for most cruises in 2021.

 

I wouldn't bet on that. Maybe for your odd Caribbean/Mexico cruise but definitely not for the rest.

[TeeRick]

2021 is experiencing pent up demand.  All pricing will be higher.  So that extra 25% in FCC might not really help you in booking future cruises now with the much higher prices.

[Iamcruzin]

On 6/3/2020 at 2:40 PM, JonnyCT81 said:

 

 

Hi there, TA here - part of this might be that your travel agency booked a "group rate", meaning they block off a group of rooms at a set price when the schedules first come out.   As time goes by, Celebrity can change their rates, however these rates stay the same until about 4-6 months prior to sailing, when they are released back into general inventory.  Going through a TA is a great way to save money off of published fares, provided they have the space available.  Anytime you are working with a TA, make sure to ask if they have any group rates available. 🙂

 

Is there a rhyme or reason for group rates?  Do some agencies specialize in group rates? Are there certain itineraries to look for or cruise lines that are prone to have group rates?  I book directly with the cruise line and then call agencies for a better price and ask about group rates but have not come across any. I'm not interested in $50 from the TA's commission or a free dinner or a bottle of wine for booking with travel agent. The best offer I received was $250 obc from my big box warehouse club. That was a special deal they were running. They usually give a $250 gift card for the store which I'm not interested in either. We sail with Princess, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and I can never find group rates or better prices for the itineraries I book. We book ocean view or balcony statrooms.

[ipeeinthepool]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

2021 is experiencing pent up demand.  All pricing will be higher.  So that extra 25% in FCC might not really help you in booking future cruises now with the much higher prices.

 

I think one of Celebrity's recent sales indicated how they will deal with all of the FCC's.  They may maintain the high prices for people with FCC's but have much lower price sales that aren't combinable with FCC's so that they attract the true "new" bookings.

[ipeeinthepool]

1 hour ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

I wouldn't bet on that. Maybe for your odd Caribbean/Mexico cruise but definitely not for the rest.

 

I'd take that bet, but I already have all of my cruises already booked for 2021.  I will be looking forward to more sales that aren't available to people with FCC's and possibly rebooking my trips at lower prices.  But who knows if the price right I might even add another cruise or two.  One of the benefits of no fixed schedule in retirement. 

[edgekid]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

Is there a rhyme or reason for group rates?  Do some agencies specialize in group rates? Are there certain itineraries to look for or cruise lines that are prone to have group rates?  I book directly with the cruise line and then call agencies for a better price and ask about group rates but have not come across any. I'm not interested in $50 from the TA's commission or a free dinner or a bottle of wine for booking with travel agent. The best offer I received was $250 obc from my big box warehouse club. That was a special deal they were running. They usually give a $250 gift card for the store which I'm not interested in either. We sail with Princess, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and I can never find group rates or better prices for the itineraries I book. We book ocean view or balcony statrooms. 

My experience has been that with the exception of one time out of the 15 or so cruises that we've taken, the cruise line pricing has been considerably more then pricing found through my t/a when the t/a had a group rate; when there was no group rate available my t/a was always able to give me a better deal whether it was through pricing or onboard credit or combination of both.. by the way the cruise I referenced in my original post is for a European Cruise in September, 2021 and I booked it through a travel agent right here on Long Island.

Edited June 5, 2020 by edgekid

[VitaminSea53]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

Is there a rhyme or reason for group rates?  Do some agencies specialize in group rates? Are there certain itineraries to look for or cruise lines that are prone to have group rates?  I book directly with the cruise line and then call agencies for a better price and ask about group rates but have not come across any. I'm not interested in $50 from the TA's commission or a free dinner or a bottle of wine for booking with travel agent. The best offer I received was $250 obc from my big box warehouse club. That was a special deal they were running. They usually give a $250 gift card for the store which I'm not interested in either. We sail with Princess, Celebrity and Royal Caribbean and I can never find group rates or better prices for the itineraries I book. We book ocean view or balcony statrooms.

I just booked yesterday for late summer 2021 in Europe and got $1200 discount using the Group rate with a Big Box TA.  I was shocked because I am used to the piddly $50 dining credit as the benefit for booking at the Group rate. Don’t let the TA discourage you. They often say we don’t have a Group rate for that sailing but I insist that they check with Celebrity and most times they do. 

[Iamcruzin]

Just now, VitaminSea53 said:

I just booked yesterday for late summer 2021 in Europe and got $1200 discount using the Group rate with a Big Box TA.  I was shocked because I am used to the piddly $50 dining credit as the benefit for booking at the Group rate. Don’t let the TA discourage you. They often say we don’t have a Group rate for that sailing but I insist that they check with Celebrity and most times they do. 

Thank you. I always take their word for it.

[Fouremco]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

I book directly with the cruise line and then call agencies for a better price and ask about group rates but have not come across any.

Next time, call around to ask about group rates before booking with Celebrity. When you transfer a booking, they can still add whatever perks they might be offering, but AFAIK they can't change the price that you established when booking with Celebrity.

[Iamcruzin]

4 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

Next time, call around to ask about group rates before booking with Celebrity. When you transfer a booking, they can still add whatever perks they might be offering, but AFAIK they can't change the price that you established when booking with Celebrity.

I know I must be doing something wrong. I guess I should follow the same rule for Princess and Royal Caribbean.