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Over Paying For X's Cruises???


Bo1953
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8 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Thank you everyone for your perspective on the topic...

 

There is a variety of positions for this and all are valid for those who implement/use them.

 

I keep thinking back to 'trying other lines' and am quite reticent to do so as I know X best and its' offering, staff, crew and 'laid back feel' best.

 

We tried RCL and it was not a good fit, then moved to X and have been happy for the last 10+ years or so, as has been our friends and guests.

 

X's ships have offered a nice mix of size, passengers and food that appeals to us. While I would enjoy a smaller ship, I do not think, could be erroneous thought, would offer similar 'informal' presentation we have come to enjoy.

 

While all lines will have a great passenger demographic established for them, are there any similar to X out there that I may need to consider in the same rack rate (not discounted) range?

 

TIA and bon voyage

 

9 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Thank you everyone for your perspective on the topic...

 

There is a variety of positions for this and all are valid for those who implement/use them.

 

I keep thinking back to 'trying other lines' and am quite reticent to do so as I know X best and its' offering, staff, crew and 'laid back feel' best.

 

We tried RCL and it was not a good fit, then moved to X and have been happy for the last 10+ years or so, as has been our friends and guests.

 

X's ships have offered a nice mix of size, passengers and food that appeals to us. While I would enjoy a smaller ship, I do not think, could be erroneous thought, would offer similar 'informal' presentation we have come to enjoy.

 

While all lines will have a great passenger demographic established for them, are there any similar to X out there that I may need to consider in the same rack rate (not discounted) range?

 

TIA and bon voyage

Unfortunately, I can't offer any alternatives because, like you, we have also been with X for over 10 years and haven’t found a reason to look elsewhere. And I totally agree with your thoughts about the X brand.

We've never tried Azamara because we sailed once before on one of their ships when they belonged to Renaissance and decided that the ships were just too small for us.

 

X has become like a favorite pair of loafers. They fit perfectly when we first bought them, and over the years despite a little aging, they’re still comfortable, we're quite happy with them and can’t see a reason to replace them. 😎

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1 hour ago, Bo1953 said:

I keep thinking back to 'trying other lines' and am quite reticent to do so as I know X best and its' offering, staff, crew and 'laid back feel' best.

We are exactly the same. Never had a bad cruise with them . 

However, as I've mentioned in other threads , if Celebrity goes to only AI sailings,  it will greatly affect our decision to continue supporting them as we would by paying for services and inclusions that we don't use. Again,  I do think they should include Gratuities in their pricing with absolutely no possibility to remove on board . ( Boy, that bothers me when I see people doing that ) !!

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, C-Dragons said:

 

Unfortunately, I can't offer any alternatives because, like you, we have also been with X for over 10 years and haven’t found a reason to look elsewhere. And I totally agree with your thoughts about the X brand.

We've never tried Azamara because we sailed once before on one of their ships when they belonged to Renaissance and decided that the ships were just too small for us.

 

X has become like a favorite pair of loafers. They fit perfectly when we first bought them, and over the years despite a little aging, they’re still comfortable, we're quite happy with them and can’t see a reason to replace them. 😎

LOL, that is right!

 

I just get mine re-soled and then happy all over again like the first time...

 

Thank you and bon voyage

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23 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

We are exactly the same. Never had a bad cruise with them . 

However, as I've mentioned in other threads , if Celebrity goes to only AI sailings,  it will greatly affect our decision to continue supporting them as we would by paying for services and inclusions that we don't use. Again,  I do think they should include Gratuities in their pricing with absolutely no possibility to remove on board . ( Boy, that bothers me when I see people doing that ) !!

I understand, yet now when I sail there are things included the fare which I do not use, such as the swimming pools and certain other activities which do not or conflicts with other things I want to do, like work, take photos etc... LOL

 

As long as there is a possibility of getting a discount on the rack rate, I may be willing to live with it... then again, I will live with it and figure out a way to use what I did not want to purchase before... LOL

 

Thank you and bon voyage

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1 hour ago, C-Dragons said:

X has become like a favorite pair of loafers. They fit perfectly when we first bought them, and over the years despite a little aging, they’re still comfortable, we're quite happy with them and can’t see a reason to replace them. 😎

 

I think this comment sums up our feelings as well.  Our first cruise with Celebrity was almost 20 years ago, we did our research up front and found -X- to be exactly what we were looking for, and have never considered another line .....until recently.  Haven't acted upon it; however, if prices spike as I think they might, then the crossover to a true luxury line is not a big step.

 

Since I have nothing better to do this morning, I look through some old "stuff" and found a cruise invoice from 2005.  It was a 7 night out of San Juan C1 (and was priced in US$ so there is no impact on currency fluctuation) and was $212 pppn, adjusted for inflation it would be $283 pppn, the current price for a similar cruise out of San Juan is $313 pppn with no perks, so I am comparing apples to apples.  The current price is 14% higher than the inflation adjusted price over 15 years.  In my opinion not a significant difference.

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3 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

While I would enjoy a smaller ship, I do not think, could be erroneous thought, would offer similar 'informal' presentation we have come to enjoy.

Not exactly sure what you're saying, can you expand a little. 

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The only time I would think that I overpaid for something is if I could not afford it but bought it anyway. Otherwise, it is just a matter of some things being more expensive than others. I have never overpaid for a Celebrity cruise, why, because I have always been comfortable in my mind and in my wallet that the purchase was worth the expenditure.

 

No matter my cost, there will always be those who paid less and those who paid more. My concern is not the price I pay but the value I get in return. Don't misunderstand, I look for bargains and I appreciate discounts, however, those are not the determining factors. If it's what I want, I'll get on the X boat at any price, but only if I can afford it. With that mindset, in over 60 years of travel I have never overpaid for any vacation, land or sea.   

 

P.S. Has the editing feature changed? I can't get to it.    

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34 minutes ago, ORV said:

Not exactly sure what you're saying, can you expand a little. 

o - sorry about that, what I Am writing about is, specifically, how for most dinners many people will dine in the MDR(s) in Country Club Casual as it were.

 

Thank you and bon voyage

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2 minutes ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

The only time I would think that I overpaid for something is if I could not afford it but bought it anyway. Otherwise, it is just a matter of some things being more expensive than others. I have never overpaid for a Celebrity cruise, why, because I have always been comfortable in my mind and in my wallet that the purchase was worth the expenditure.

 

No matter my cost, there will always be those who paid less and those who paid more. My concern is not the price I pay but the value I get in return. Don't misunderstand, I look for bargains and I appreciate discounts, however, those are not the determining factors. If it's what I want, I'll get on the X boat at any price, but only if I can afford it. With that mindset, in over 60 years of travel I have never overpaid for any vacation, land or sea.   

 

P.S. Has the editing feature changed? I can't get to it.    

sb - thank you and on upper right side of the post, there are three (3) dots click there to edit...

 

bon voyage

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2 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

o - sorry about that, what I Am writing about is, specifically, how for most dinners many people will dine in the MDR(s) in Country Club Casual as it were.

 

Thank you and bon voyage

Just in case you didn't know, Oceania is Country Club Casual all the time and always has been. I cruise on them more than I do Celebrity, but like them both quite well. 

Edited by ORV
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Interesting question Bo1953 thank you made us think.

 

We are in a different position to most as we are newbies we've done 8 cruises, 6 on Celebrity with another 3 booked. Our first cruise was part of a mixed deal where the land part was more important but we discovered we loved cruising. That was with NCL and we had a gut feeing that as much as loved it we could do better. so we asked around Celebrity got recommended but not knowing what we were doing we booked an inside room and then bought a drinks package. We soon learnt that a balcony with a package was much better.

 

Celebrity just felt right we loved it and have only sailed with them since why change what feels right. It's interesting though how we have changed our Celebrity experience . At first we went to the Theatre every night and didn't see the point of specialist restaurants and last cruise (Feb 2020 India and Dubai) we went to Theatre twice in 15 nights and ate in speciality restaurants 8 times.

 

So whatever our value point is we haven't hit it yet. The new system brought in today suits us as we always take premium drinks, like wifi and the OBC can go towards the restaurants. We are working out at about £215 ppn and happy with that and would go higher. Having previously bought a drinks package and being an accountant I keep a tally of our spend and know the packages work for us. Plus my DW likes the idea of not having to worry about what she is spending!

 

 

 

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We like Celebrity however we are certainly not married to them.   We have never had a bad cruise on any line...HAL, Crystal, Celebrity, RCI, Carnival, Princess, and NCL.  Some differences between them for certain but we enjoy those differences.  

 

We find that the mass market cruise lines like Celebrity are becoming more homogeneous.  Who knows what direction they will take post covid.  One standout for Celebrity is their loyalty program and the fact that we can use our status on RCI.

 

We have not been on Edge.  We have cruised on a number of the Solstice class ships.  They are far and away our favorite ships of any cruise line.

 

 

Edited by iancal
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