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Why are Retreat prices so outrageously high since removing gratuities and onboard credit?


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Why are Retreat prices so outrageously high since removing gratuities and onboard credit?  Seems like Retreat prices should have gone down a little.  

 

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Thank you so much for your question.  We do our best to price The Retreat competitively for the elevated and personalized service we provide. Pricing for The Retreat is inclusive of Premium WiFi, Premium Drinks, dedicated butler service, Luminae restaurant, and an exclusive sundeck and lounge that make you feel like you have the ship to yourself. We’ve also recently added more perks and amenities to The Retreat than ever before. 

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6 hours ago, Laura Hodges Bethge said:

We’ve also recently added more perks and amenities to The Retreat than ever before.

 
 I would really like to know what these are.  I sailed in the Retreat in May on Millennium and was provided fewer perks and amenities that I had on Millennium the year before, e.g. no butler service, no shoe shines, up charges for wines that had previously been covered by the premium package but were no longer, i.e. Conundrum.  

 

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A 16-night sky suite on Summit (2001 build) for April 17, 2025 Panama Canal transit is $16,986 for two + $736 gratuities ($1604 non refundable deposit).  That's $1108/night.

 

Same cruise (April 1st), 18-night veranda suite on Silver Moon (2020 build), includes gratuities and excursions, is $18,800 or $1044/night ($2820 refundable deposit).  If you're Captain's Club Elite or above, the price is $16,920 or $940/night ($2538 refundable deposit).

 

Twenty year older ship, mediocre food, nonrefundable deposit, no excursions.  Hmmm.

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Posted (edited)

With all due respect to Laura, so many of these responses are coming across as patronizingly empty.  I know it's obviously not an option to answer a question like this one with something more direct like "because we need to focus on our bottom line and we are betting on enough people still paying the outrageous prices regardless".  Sadly, I have been one of them...but with a typical 7 day standard Caribbean cruise in a Celebrity Suite now coming out to around $14,000 for a couple, plus gratuities and in person tips...we are re-evaluating our future plans rather than continuing our 2 or 3 such cruises a year.

 

Many of us are just hoping the "because we can" business mentality will hopefully have a reasonably short shelf-life, and the cruise line will realize the pricing is short-sighted.  That's my hope, anyway.

Edited by CruisinShips
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I am,personally and with my group cruises, now steering away from Celebrity for these reasons.  The 'all included' which is NOT all included is no longer enough to justify the price.

And we can go to other lines, enjoy their suite class with REAL all included, dining, for a much lower price point and many more perks.

We will be in Retreat on Ascent in two months that was booked before they 'raided' the perks and I could justify the pricing but with the new model enacted when Ms. Hodges came onboard, it cannot be justified.

So many other choices in this price point that give so much more!

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We are finding luxury lines to be a better deal.  X used to position Retreat as more upscale than RCCL suites or mainline X but a cheaper alternative to luxury lines (e.g., SS, Crystal, Regent).  There was definitely a market that we were part of.  

 

We had a near-disastrous X cruise in Retreat pre-COVID (to be fair, on non-renovated ship).  Went to luxury lines and enjoyed the smaller ships, more personalized service and true "all inclusive" experience.

 

Came back to X for 2 cruises (both Retreat RS).  We still had gratuities comped (b/c we booked a long time ago) and had so much OBC that most of the excursions were "free."  And with an RS, you do get unlimited specialty dining, which IMO is the biggest perk.  Reflection cruise was a disaster.  Silhouette was very good (though, due to the weather, did not get to experience Retreat sundeck even once) which doesn't have it's own pool.

 

At this point, no plans to return to X.  #1 reason -- loungers (yes, it's that important to us).  #2 -- we don't like the Edge class and the other ships are either un-revolutionalized or the Retreat experience is less than that on Edge.  #3 -- in the end, you pay more and get less on X as compared to SS and Crystal (the ones we've sailed).    

 

I see zero benefit in paying for a high-end suite on X.  It's kind of sad, b/c the crews are great; our issue is with corporate decisions, not the experience the crew provides.  As Ms. Bethge says, we all have choices.

 

 

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On 7/22/2024 at 8:02 AM, Laura Hodges Bethge said:

Thank you so much for your question.  We do our best to price The Retreat competitively for the elevated and personalized service we provide. Pricing for The Retreat is inclusive of Premium WiFi, Premium Drinks, dedicated butler service, Luminae restaurant, and an exclusive sundeck and lounge that make you feel like you have the ship to yourself. We’ve also recently added more perks and amenities to The Retreat than ever before. 

Because there are people able and willing to Pay for them. 

 Same thing for First Class air travel.

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On 7/22/2024 at 11:02 AM, Laura Hodges Bethge said:

Thank you so much for your question.  We do our best to price The Retreat competitively for the elevated and personalized service we provide. Pricing for The Retreat is inclusive of Premium WiFi, Premium Drinks, dedicated butler service, Luminae restaurant, and an exclusive sundeck and lounge that make you feel like you have the ship to yourself. We’ve also recently added more perks and amenities to The Retreat than ever before. 

Another false canned response.  Downgraded everything in the Retreat. Not every ship offers a  sundeck for Retreat passengers and those that do are far overcrowded and oversold.  Don't even mention that most drinks offered carry a sur-charge as being over the ridiculous $17 limit.

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Bottom line, comparing to other luxury cruise lines or the most exclusive resorts world wide the Retreat is to expensive for what it is, especially when looking at the pricing of RS and above. If they charge those prices they need to deliver much more in therms of quality and they don't.

 

Not sure if this was changed in the meanwhile, but you don't even receive anymore the Frete slipers, or better soap from Le Labo etc, only the same Bigelow products you get in every other cabin as well.

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As long as people are willing to pay for a inferior product such a premium nothing will change.

 

If they want to run it properly the Retreat has to be treated as a ship within a ship experience from all angles. This includes also the food offering when it comes to freshness, by loading fresh products at every port offering the freshes fruits, veggies and fish where premium products can be received meeting hygiene standards.

 

The Spa is another thing, absolutely overpriced and the quality you get is so poor. For the prices they charge you would expect quality you would find at Six Senses, Banyan Tree etc.

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