Over Paying For X's Cruises???

[Bo1953]

Hello all, on a few posts (or even more as of late) a constant comment/issue that arises is "over priced, over paying, etc...:

 

I have asked before without ANY real definitive response, what is the price point one believes that they are 'over paying' for ANY sailing on X.

 

I Am wanting input for ANY class of service which you, as a passenger, will accept normally and not at any level for which is not even a consideration as a rule.

i.e. as a Verandah passenger, The Suite Life has not yet appeared on our radar for consideration as we are very happy at that cabin level and service, as such for us to pay for a suite would be crazy and need not be included by me, or others, for consideration of the question.

 

Thank you for your input and contribution to my understanding of the markers and perspective that each on this forum may have on this.

 

bon voyage

[d9704011]

I think this is the sort of response you are soliciting:

 

We want a verandah cabin on a deck with cabins above and below us located midship or forward of midship but not quite up to the furthest forward.  Our price point is CAD 300 (about USD 230) per day per person with all perks included.  Otherwise, CAD 220 (about USD 165) per day per person cabin only.  We are non drinkers so an adult beverage package is no great value to us.

[Valentin53]

I guess you realize that opinions on how much we would pay for a cruise (including the price beverage package, gratuities and Wi-Fi) will be very diverse and will depend on what the future client of Celebrity Cruises can afford it. It is very difficult to determine what an "over priced" is, so there must be several booking options, as is the case with the Norwegian Cruise Line. There are passengers who do not drink at all - why will they be forced to pay for something they will not use - OK they will just redirect to other cruise companies. I can say for myself that when I am on a cruise I do not use Wi-Fi (it is enough for me to check my mail at the port), so the inclusion of such a price would not be acceptable to me, as it would increase the price of the cabin . And what an "over priced" is will be determined by the market. When the prices for the cruises are announced under the new conditions and you see how the free cabins are sold, you will be able to make your own analysis.

[RickT]

Maybe not the response you are looking for but overpaying to me means the Price of a cruise is significantly higher than a land based vacation.  When traveling I look at cruise prices (Veranda) and compare them to land based vacations that are of interest to me.  I will pay a premium (approx 20%) for a cruise however if a trip to Europe, California, Canadian Rockies or any place of interest to me is a better price I’ll do that instead.

 

At this point I find cruises remain a competitive option.  

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Lately we have been willing to pay $1,000 PP/PN exclusive of taxes and fees for a Villa or Penthouse Suite. This is our only splurge and we live simply the rest of the year. We are not interested in land vacations or driving so a cruise is perfect for us.  Of course, we are not one of the targeted guests Celebrity is looking for now.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

54 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

 

 

I have asked before without ANY real definitive response, what is the price point one believes that they are 'over paying' for ANY sailing on X.

 

I Am wanting input for ANY class of service which you, as a passenger, will accept normally and not at any level for which is not even a consideration as a rule.

i.e. as a Verandah passenger, The Suite Life has not yet appeared on our radar for consideration as we are very happy at that cabin level and service, as such for us to pay for a suite would be crazy and need not be included by me, or others, for consideration of the question.

 

 

bon voyage

Now Bo, what is your price point?

[Velvetwater]

We expect certain price hikes as we cruise in the summer holidays (UK)

 

However, we will not cruise on any line for over £100 per person, per day and only sail in ocean views or above.

 

This is the price without any perks. We don't consider drinks packages unless part of an offer or less than £20 per person per day. We also take grats into account as part of offers.

 

We are VERY tempted with the Equinox's 12 day Caribbean in August next year with perks.

 

Edited November 14, 2020 by Velvetwater

[TeeRick]

Bo- I understand why you are asking given the constant posts on costs and value.  But here is my response which does not really get to a specific price point.  Sorry.

 

Paying or overpaying just matters only to the cruise customers doing it.  Why should anybody actually worry about what I feel comfortable paying for whatever class of service I want on my vacation?  Cruising is a simple product choice.  Not a right.  Not a necessity. A personal choice for a luxury vacation that most of the world can not afford.  And up until recently, the selection of ships, cruise lines and buying choices on them were across a huge price spectrum.  If you were not happy with your choices on Celebrity or any other cruise line- just move to the next one.  Why come here on CC and grumble about prices- and then continue to sail anyway.  Then come back again and do the same again?  How many times have we seen "I will never sail X again"- but these same posters are still on the Celebrity board and continue to sail Celebrity.

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Now Bo, what is your price point?

Mine, typically, is about 15% - 20% below the 'published' rack rate, including any Perks desired, as we usually travel during the high season.

 

If a fare lower than that can be secured, great, if not and we want to go, I pay and we go.

 

I have once secured a rate of 30% below the published rack rate (The Edge Nov 2019) not including Perks and was very happy for that. There was an opportunity to hit 45%, but it was turning out to be a scam or so I believed and had to have X intervene on our behalf.

 

How about for yourself?

 

bon voyage

 

[Bo1953]

1 minute ago, TeeRick said:

Bo- I understand why you are asking given the constant posts on costs and value.  But here is my response which does not really get to a specific price point.  Sorry.

 

Paying or overpaying just matters only to the cruise customers doing it.  Why should anybody actually worry about what I feel comfortable paying for whatever class of service I want on my vacation?  Cruising is a simple product choice.  Not a right.  Not a necessity. A personal choice for a luxury vacation that most of the world can not afford.  And up until recently, the selection of ships, cruise lines and buying choices on them were across a huge price spectrum.  If you were not happy with your choices on Celebrity or any other cruise line- just move to the next one.  Why come here on CC and grumble about prices- and then continue to sail anyway.  Then come back again and do the same again?  How many times have we seen "I will never sail X again"- but these same posters are still on the Celebrity board and continue to sail Celebrity.

Thank you t - thus, really, the main thrust of the post is for those 'never again or possibly never again' passengers can tell us what they are thinking is fair vs not-fair or gouging or ??? in relation to fares.

 

Most of us here, I believe, are quite reasonable in terms of approaching purchasing a passage. Either it is in our budget or desire or it is not.

 

I agree with your input regardless...

 

Thank you again and bon voyage

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Lately we have been willing to pay $1,000 PP/PN exclusive of taxes and fees for a Villa or Penthouse Suite. This is our only splurge and we live simply the rest of the year. We are not interested in land vacations or driving so a cruise is perfect for us.  Of course, we are not one of the targeted guests Celebrity is looking for now.

cml - I think you are the targeted guest(s) which X is seeking, for sure...

 

Thank you and bon voyage

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Too late to edit my post but want to add we only cruise once a year for no more than 14 days, usually less. This is our choice and it factors into what we are willing to pay.

[dani negreanu]

Assuming we'll cruise.....

 

We're paying 7100$ (couple, tax + fees included) for a 12 days cruise on Apex, September 2021. Concierge C2 (for the rate of C3 being repeat customers). Classic BP, 300$ OBC and free grats included.

 

It's a new ship with an amazing itinerary. Our preferred time of the year for cruising the Med.

 

It is way over what we usually prefer to pay (~4000$, but we're not young and don't know how many years we'll cruise -- that's a HUGE consideration in our part.....)

 

And usually we cruise once a year, another factor...

[Fouremco]

Our cabin choices are generally in the 1A - Concierge - Sunset Veranda range with a nightly per person cost of $300 CAD maximum, inclusive of beverage package and gratuities. Our next booked Celebrity cruise is in a Concierge cabin with a nightly pp cost of $289 CAD. I priced the cabin again this morning with identical perks, and the pppn price has jumped from $289 to $415 CAD, just shy of a 50% increase. And that's the pre-AI price! IMO, the current booking fee is definitely overpriced and will likely be worse come the implementation of AI. 

[Ken the cruiser]

For us it comes down to 3 types of cabins, SV, AQ or SS, depending on the price per person per day. But to maximize our potential cost savings we also book when the itineraries first come out to allow for refaring just in case the price goes down. But to answer you question, if the rate is under $300 pp/day, we will usually go with a SS. If not, then AQ is our next choice, if the cruise is not on an Edge class ship. If it is, then we'll go with SV cabin as long as we can get early seating table for 2 in all 4 MDRs.

[LGW59]

We cruise once per year, always 10-14 days.  Med, Europe being our preferred destinations.  Because COVID cancelled our 2020 cruise, we have also now cancelled our May 2021 cruise.  As a result we have splurged on a RS on APEX in August 2021.  Cost breakdown is $1100/pp/pd, all perks included.  Now in "normal" times we'd not of done this and would have stayed in a Sky Suite which would average $500/pp/pd all perks included.  So I guess my first answer is an outlier for us and the second answer is our more realistic way to travel.  Hope this helps Bo.

[iancal]

Celebrity is one of our preferred cruise lines however we certainly would not pay over the odds.  We see more difference between cruise ships that we do between cruise lines. 

 

So, would we pay ten percent more for a Celebrity cruise?  It would depend on the ship.  Would we pay 25 percent more if we considered the values to be equal or close. NO.

[cantstopingcruising]

Wow What a question!

 

We usually book inside cabins. We usually take 2 three week (plus)  vacations. One in the winter and one in the spring or fall.

 

Most of our winter vacations in the past twenty odd years have been cruising. We spend a few days in Florida at a good hotel and then take a b2b in an inside cabin. This used to be a really cheap vacation. Now that hotels are so expensive and cruises have gone up, it's not so cheap!

 

Our spring or fall trip usually is to Europe. We go to one or two place for a total of 3 weeks. Sometimes we throw in a cruise. May /21 we are booked in an inside on Apex. .12 nights for $4678 incl. grats. That's a good deal, but who knows if we will be able to go! We can't even book many hotels in Europe because they are closed. 

 

At the moment, the Apex cruise, inside is over $8000. I would not pay that. I don't see the value.

 

We spend a certain amount on travel every year. (ballpark figure). Of course, cancelling so many cruises, we are not spending that this year. So, what I would like to do with the extra money is take my entire family on a wonderful trip when this is over. I would rather do that than spend more $$$on a suite on a Celebrity ship.

 

Now, we just have to stay healthy and then we have to get our kids to agree on a time and a place!

(Not so easy, you can be sure!)

[C-Dragons]

We normally cruise only 2 times in a physical year and it's our only form of recreation. The past several years these cruises have been TA's of at least 14 days, though previously we were doing  B2B's combining a TA with another cruise around Europe for a total of 28 days.
We never book anything lower than a Sky Suite, but if the price is right, will book a CS or a RS. We are happy that X developed the Retreat as it fits our cruising preferences.

In the past we sailed on many different cruise lines, but now sail only on X.

I don’t think it's important to share monetary amounts spent on cruises, because everyone has different lifestyles, different values, and differing amounts of funds to spend.

No reason to compare apples🍎 to oranges 🍊. 😎

Edited November 14, 2020 by C-Dragons

[kathynorth]

3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

Our cabin choices are generally in the 1A - Concierge - Sunset Veranda range with a nightly per person cost of $300 CAD maximum, inclusive of beverage package and gratuities. Our next booked Celebrity cruise is in a Concierge cabin with a nightly pp cost of $289 CAD. I priced the cabin again this morning with identical perks, and the pppn price has jumped from $289 to $415 CAD, just shy of a 50% increase. And that's the pre-AI price! IMO, the current booking fee is definitely overpriced and will likely be worse come the implementation of AI. 

I’ve been monitoring the rates for our Oct 2021 cruise. The price jumped last month and has stayed steady since. I’m wondering if Celebrity has already raised the prices so the increase isn’t too obvious on date of AI implementation 

Edited November 14, 2020 by kathynorth

[jelayne]

Overpaying or getting a great deal depends on each persons priorities.   

We rarely do land trips, live in a rural area so don't have high end restaurants, bars, malls, theatres, concerts to spend money on.  We normally take 3 - 5 cruises a year preferring to bundle them as B2Bs when possible.

Our current bookings are:

Edge 7 N  Caribbean in a SS2 with all 4 perks @ $345pppn

Infinity 10N Europe in a AQ1 with CBP, Tips & WiFi @ $301pppn

Infinity 15N TA in a AQ1 with CBP, Tips , $300 OBC @$140pppn

Reflection 7N Caribbean in a CS with all 4 perks @ $390pppn

Edge 11N Panama Canal in a SV with CBP, Tips, WiFi  @ $254pppn

 

This does not include the OBC we receive from our TA.

 

Some of these were booked recently when all 5 of our 2020 cruises were cancelled so the prices are higher than what we might have paid if we booked earlier.  Normally we book when the itineraries are first released

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[BigAl94]

9 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Overpaying or getting a great deal depends on each persons priorities.   

We rarely do land trips, live in a rural area so don't have high end restaurants, bars, malls, theatres, concerts to spend money on.  We normally take 3 - 5 cruises a year preferring to bundle them as B2Bs when possible.

Our current bookings are:

Edge 7 N  Caribbean in a SS2 with all 4 perks @ $345pppn

Infinity 10N Europe in a AQ1 with CBP, Tips & WiFi @ $301pppn

Infinity 15N TA in a AQ1 with CBP, Tips , $300 OBC @$140pppn

Reflection 7N Caribbean in a CS with all 4 perks @ $390pppn

Edge 11N Panama Canal in a SV with CBP, Tips, WiFi  @ $254pppn

 

This does not include the OBC we receive from our TA.

 

Some of these were booked recently when all 5 of our 2020 cruises were cancelled so the prices are higher than what we might have paid if we booked earlier.  Normally we book when the itineraries are first released

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If that's 2021 at least three are non starters.

[jelayne]

4 minutes ago, BigAl94 said:

If that's 2021 at least three are non starters.

2021 & early 2022.  We expect that some will be cancelled.  We have already had 2 bookings for 2021cancelled in addition to those above.

[Fouremco]

2 hours ago, kathynorth said:

I’ve been monitoring the rates for our Oct 2021 cruise. The price jumped last month and has stayed steady since. I’m wondering if Celebrity has already raised the prices so the increase isn’t too obvious on date of AI implementation 

That's an interesting thought, but even if true, it still an outrageous increase. We would be paying an extra $126 pppn just for the privilege of adding WIFI that we normally don't bother with when cruising. So our 12 night cruise goes up over $3000 just to have WIFI? Crazy...

[LGW59]

16 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

That's an interesting thought, but even if true, it still an outrageous increase. We would be paying an extra $126 pppn just for the privilege of adding WIFI that we normally don't bother with when cruising. So our 12 night cruise goes up over $3000 just to have WIFI? Crazy...

I just do not understand why they won't offer a menu choice, let the customer decide what they need/want!  The same way (if not in a suite) we get to select the best beverage package for ourselves.