Just heard

[billc23]

11 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

How about this:

Celebrity Ascent, transatlantic,

Oct 31, 2025. 
13 nights,

Sky Suite = $12,458 for two

Celebrity Suite = $25,511 for two 

 

Oceania Vista,

14 night transatlantic

Nov 19,2025

PH2 = $9,180 for two

 

Wow, that is eyeopening! I will have to look into Oceania. Less expensive than Business class air.

 

I started booking Silversea and for Sky suite prices they provide all of Celebrities "upper suite" benefits - and more. For example, the Silversea ships I have sailed on have 4 sit-down restaurants open for lunch every day. 

 

Repositioning cruises, like the TA above, have typically been less expensive per day but now it looks like Celebrity has really upped the prices. 

[insidecabin]

13 hours ago, 2chiefs said:

Not quite. I don't see anywhere for adding drink packages or wifi after checking "simply sail". You have to buy them at published prices in the app. Much more than what they are charging now up front. I can purchase the all inclusive package which includes wifi (which I don't use) cheaper than simply sail and then adding the drink package. At least that's what I'm seeing on all the mock bookings I've been doing.

Most lines went down this route, they created the bundles then to make them look attractive they inflated the stand alone package elements(for alcohol also the drinks prices).

 

Now they are trying to put the bundle prices up Celebrity by removing grats, others have adding new premium levels then moving stuff from the lower level to the higher level.

 

We have tried a couple of cruises just taking the basic fare then PAYG  it's worked, cruise more drink less,

One Celebrity we are looking at the base fare is £450, drinks wifi +£390 tempted to B2B for the extra £60 and drop the package, then hope for an offer on the ship or stick to happy hour(s).

 

[paulh84]

13 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

How about this:

Celebrity Ascent, transatlantic,

Oct 31, 2025. 
13 nights,

Sky Suite = $12,458 for two

Celebrity Suite = $25,511 for two 

 

Oceania Vista,

14 night transatlantic

Nov 19,2025

PH2 = $9,180 for two

 

I’ll let you decide if the PH2 is more comparable to a CS than an SS. Given the size of the cabin and the removal of individual butlers from the SS, I would say it’s more comparable

to a CS. 
 

Both ships are currently the newest for each line, and each line has another similar ship debuting in 2025. 
 

Neither one includes gratuities, Oceania includes all specialty dining. Celebrity includes premium drink package. Add another $750 or so to the Oceania price to make it comparable. 
 

So, $25,511 is a lot more than $9,930. And it’s one day longer.
 

There are many more examples. 
 

 

mac_tlc

 

Personally would consider the PH much more similar to Sky Suite than Celebrity Suite based on cabin size and layout i.e. no separate sleeping area, sq/ft is nearly the same and so on. The price I'm seeing is on the PH is $10,980 plus your quoted $750 versus $12,583 for the Sky Suite for a difference of $853. I realize the CS creates a more shocking disparity in price for your purpose but these comparisons always seem to take some logical cartwheels. I'm not sure how Oceania handles OBC but I would be confident ins getting $1,200+ in OBC on the Celebrity booking as well. 

[mac_tlc]

19 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

 

Personally would consider the PH much more similar to Sky Suite than Celebrity Suite based on cabin size and layout i.e. no separate sleeping area, sq/ft is nearly the same and so on. The price I'm seeing is on the PH is $10,980 plus your quoted $750 versus $12,583 for the Sky Suite for a difference of $853. I realize the CS creates a more shocking disparity in price for your purpose but these comparisons always seem to take some logical cartwheels. I'm not sure how Oceania handles OBC but I would be confident ins getting $1,200+ in OBC on the Celebrity booking as well. 

Well, the price you quoted of $10,980 includes airfare I believe, my quoted number does not —— nor do the Celebrity prices. Sounds like a “logical cartwheel” to me. That brings your calculated $853 to $2,653, or roughly 20%. 

 

The size of a PH2 (420 sq ft) is closer to a CS than an SS (300 sq ft). 
 

Not sure of the relevance of the $1200 OBC is, I included none on either. And I did intentionally leave out the $1000 excursion credit on O. 
 

I have no “purpose” here, other than to provide an example as you were looking for. 
 

I also did not mention the true butler on O, versus whatever X calls their current SS approach. The CS has a butler. 
 

I also didn’t mention the minibar differences, tough to put a dollar figure on that.

 

My only point here is that Celebrity’s current retreat prices are no longer guaranteed to be cheaper than a higher level cruise line. The comparison I have shown is a specific one that we have done. We chose O, and have a PH2 — even with an extended huge balcony. 
 

Enjoy whatever choice you make, but there are alternatives. 
 

 

mac_tlc

Edited December 19, 2023 by mac_tlc

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Oceania Vista is a much smaller ship , a better chance for rocking and rolling on a TA 

I notice a big difference in rocking  between a Mclass and S class ships 

This November we were rocking on the Connie and and usually with the same sea conditions the SClass would be smooth sailing 

Ascent is twice the size of the Vista and you never know what kind of seas you get in the Atlantic 

 

 

[Whinenowine]

28 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

Well, the price you quoted of $10,980 includes airfare I believe, my quoted number does not —— nor do the Celebrity prices. Sounds like a “logical cartwheel” to me. That brings your calculated $853 to $2,653, or roughly 20%. 

 

The size of a PH2 (420 sq ft) is closer to a CS than an SS (300 sq ft). 
 

Not sure of the relevance of the $1200 OBC is, I included none on either. And I did intentionally leave out the $1000 excursion credit on O. 
 

I have no “purpose” here, other than to provide an example as you were looking for. 
 

I also did not mention the true butler on O, versus whatever X calls their current SS approach. The CS has a butler. 
 

I also didn’t mention the minibar differences, tough to put a dollar figure on that.

 

My only point here is that Celebrity’s current retreat prices are no longer guaranteed to be cheaper than a higher level cruise line. The comparison I have shown is a specific one that we have done. We chose O, and have a PH2 — even with an extended huge balcony. 
 

Enjoy whatever choice you make, but there are alternatives. 
 

 

mac_tlc

Agreed.  As I mentioned earlier, it'll be itinerary-dependent.  But, for example, when I looked at a Caribbean cruise for next year I looked at X, Regent, SilverSea and Oceania...and oddly enough the Celebrity SS3 was the most expensive option. I'd have to drop to an unrevolutionized Celebrity ship to beat the lux line prices.  Clearly this isn't the case for all cruises, but in the Caribbean, Alaska and the Med I've found this to be true too often to be a coincidence. 

 

But I get some want larger ships, more people, a greater variety of eating/drinking venues, bigger shows, more stable cruising, etc etc.  It's a personal decision for sure and I don't think there is a generic right or wrong answer.  I'm just quite surprised at the current pricing and booked that Regent cruise to take advantage of it.  For me I think it's the right decision.

[m8zenblue]

I would never ever consider not paying gratuities.

With that said, would your cabin attendant know if you did not pay gratuities ?

[PTC DAWG]

4 minutes ago, m8zenblue said:

I would never ever consider not paying gratuities.

With that said, would your cabin attendant know if you did not pay gratuities ?

Yes..

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, paulh84 said:

The price I'm seeing is on the PH is $10,980

Try again. I see $9,180, same as @mac_tlc