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15 Day TA - Scarlet Lady v Celebrity Ascent


Liao
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Recently booked solo for May 2025, 15 day TA on VV.  I've been looking for an apples to apples comparison on Celebrity and I found it, well almost.  Anyway, here goes:

 

Scarlet Lady

- May 2025

- 15 days

- XL Sea Terrace

- I added $300 + $50 bar tab

- Total cost: $6173 (cruise, tax, WiFi, grats, all dining...basically everything)

 

Celebrity Ascent

- April 2025

- 15 days

- Sky Suite 

- Total cost: $13,589 (cruise, tax, WiFi, grats, Luminae, no specialty dining, premium drink package)

 

I can't say I am "shocked" having sailed my last two cruises on Celebrity, but damn a $7,416 difference!  I have not even had my first sailing on VV and I already know it's see ya Celebrity, at these prices and I can take two cruises a year on VV.

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Sorry you couldn't get a travel agent who had some of the MNVV with the $600 loot tab left.
Your Sky Suite would have been larger, but you wouldn't have the hammock (which I love)
If you haven't already done so, sign up for the status match.  You'll get the Blue Extras package which isn't much, but every little bit helps, right?  And on the 15 nights, you'll definitely appreciate the laundry. The match and the benefits are per person, not per cabin....so be sure that both of you sign up.

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35 minutes ago, cantgetin said:

Sorry you couldn't get a travel agent who had some of the MNVV with the $600 loot tab left.
Your Sky Suite would have been larger, but you wouldn't have the hammock (which I love)
If you haven't already done so, sign up for the status match.  You'll get the Blue Extras package which isn't much, but every little bit helps, right?  And on the 15 nights, you'll definitely appreciate the laundry. The match and the benefits are per person, not per cabin....so be sure that both of you sign up.

I am Elite on Celebrity so yes that makes sense.  I have made a few attempts to get the link uploaded but no luck so far.  Haven’t tried in a week or so, I’ll try again.  Thanks for the travel agent reminder, I think I still have until Saturday to do that, assuming VV gives the same 30 days window?

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I'm not an agent and I can't swear that I remember all the rules, but I believe you have 30 days after the deposit is paid to transfer to an agent.  Look for a gold tier agent. Wish we could recommend, but site rule here prohibit it.

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Big difference between those is the drink package on Celebrity of course, I think that adds over $100 a day plus tip. Not sure how much you drink but we’ve got through over $1000 between two people on a transatlantic on VV. While that isn’t as much as the package would have cost, if you aren’t drinking at least that much you wouldn’t need the package on Celebrity anyway.

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1 hour ago, cantgetin said:

We ended up with $900 free bar tab on 14 night cruise, and only used about half of it.  Everyone is different. 

And therefore that $13k celebrity price that includes the drinks package would probably be even less relevant to your needs!

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5 hours ago, jon81uk said:

Big difference between those is the drink package on Celebrity of course, I think that adds over $100 a day plus tip. Not sure how much you drink but we’ve got through over $1000 between two people on a transatlantic on VV. While that isn’t as much as the package would have cost, if you aren’t drinking at least that much you wouldn’t need the package on Celebrity anyway.

I don’t drink alcohol at all.  I do drink a lot of premium coffee, iced lattes, cappuccino, 5 or 6 day, that’s why I purchased the VV beverage package.  I think that will be enough.  

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2 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

I would do the VV in a heartbeat over that Celebrity price. I would like to the see the price comparison with a Celebrity regular ocean view veranda. 

Are you referring to the infinite veranda?

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32 minutes ago, Liao said:

I don’t drink alcohol at all.  I do drink a lot of premium coffee, iced lattes, cappuccino, 5 or 6 day, that’s why I purchased the VV beverage package.  I think that will be enough.  

I think that will be enough on VV, but you listed the $13k price for Celebrity as including the premium drinks package. I think that is worth $100+ a night so is a big part of the reason that cruise is more expensive.

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1 hour ago, WanderingTravels said:

Apples to oranges comparison?  Comparing a "suite" with a drink package to just a regular balcony cabin?  Doesn't sound right to me.  A regular balcony cabin on the Ascent for that voyage is like $3500 per couple.  

Suites on Celebrity are very expensive. I have never booked a suite for that reason but people who do book them often say they find them worth the money.  But, yes, its an apples to oranges comparison.

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23 hours ago, Liao said:

Recently booked solo for May 2025, 15 day TA on VV.  I've been looking for an apples to apples comparison on Celebrity and I found it, well almost.  Anyway, here goes:

 

Scarlet Lady

- May 2025

- 15 days

- XL Sea Terrace

- I added $300 + $50 bar tab

- Total cost: $6173 (cruise, tax, WiFi, grats, all dining...basically everything)

 

Celebrity Ascent

- April 2025

- 15 days

- Sky Suite 

- Total cost: $13,589 (cruise, tax, WiFi, grats, Luminae, no specialty dining, premium drink package)

 

I can't say I am "shocked" having sailed my last two cruises on Celebrity, but damn a $7,416 difference!  I have not even had my first sailing on VV and I already know it's see ya Celebrity, at these prices and I can take two cruises a year on VV.

I have been in both of these ships and room types as well, it’s not really a fair comparison to do a sky suite versus the XL terrace!  A true compassion would be the xl terrace to a sunset verandah on ascent or the sky suite to the sweet aft suite in Scarlett lady ! 

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I agree with others that this isn't a true comparison and leaves out a lot of what is included in Celebrity in a suite.  

1. Priority boarding

2. Suite lounge in terminal 

3. Butler

4. Access to a suite lounge  

5. Separate pool and lounge area 

6. Larger stateroom

7. Shower/tub in bathroom 

8. Vanity makeup area 

9. Upgraded amenities (shower gel, hair products and lotion) 

10. Reserved seating as shows

11. Complimentary room service 

12. Priority disembarkation 

 

I don't think these things are worth $7k but value is different for everyone. 

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On 7/23/2024 at 8:19 AM, Liao said:

I don’t drink alcohol at all.  I do drink a lot of premium coffee, iced lattes, cappuccino, 5 or 6 day, that’s why I purchased the VV beverage package.  I think that will be enough.  

Blue Extras will give each person with that status one free beverage daily at The Grounds Club. 

 

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Looking at the VV sailing to compare a rock star suite with the retreat on X, the brilliant suite is the only thing available. That prices out to $12,306. Still less than the sky suite, but more in line.

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4 hours ago, Tierun said:

Looking at the VV sailing to compare a rock star suite with the retreat on X, the brilliant suite is the only thing available. That prices out to $12,306. Still less than the sky suite, but more in line.

IMHO, the suite benefits on VV are a lot less than on other lines.  But part of that is that the benefits that everyone on VV gets are better than other lines.  I'm not saying that the suite experience isn't good, just that there don't seem to be as many extras  as other lines offer.

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On 7/22/2024 at 8:38 PM, Liao said:

Recently booked solo for May 2025, 15 day TA on VV.  I've been looking for an apples to apples comparison on Celebrity and I found it, well almost.  Anyway, here goes:

 

Scarlet Lady

- May 2025

- 15 days

- XL Sea Terrace

- I added $300 + $50 bar tab

- Total cost: $6173 (cruise, tax, WiFi, grats, all dining...basically everything)

 

Celebrity Ascent

- April 2025

- 15 days

- Sky Suite 

- Total cost: $13,589 (cruise, tax, WiFi, grats, Luminae, no specialty dining, premium drink package)

 

I can't say I am "shocked" having sailed my last two cruises on Celebrity, but damn a $7,416 difference!  I have not even had my first sailing on VV and I already know it's see ya Celebrity, at these prices and I can take two cruises a year on VV.

OK...while I realize you are comparing "all in" on both ships, it really isn't comparable for a regular balcony vs a suite on Ascent.

It would be a better comparison to a Rock Star suite--gives you premium wifi (if that's important), some drinks (Ascent include unlimited premium) Luminae is specialty dining in essence, but your only choice; Ascent includes the Retreat only lounge, pool & sun deck (sort of like the deck for Rock Star, but no pool there). And Sky Suite 300 sq. ft compared to 225 sea terrace & much larger balcony.

I have done Retreat on Beyond. We got a hell of a deal so we tried it. Nice only if we can get that deal again (doubtful)

You aren't comparing equivalent experiences. You need to compare to Rock Star for a more closely alike experiences.

Seems Rock Star accommodations are tough to get on TAs...but I found the basic ones on one.

VV is probably still a bit less...you don't get premium wifi, unlimited drinks, a larger room & terrace or a private lounge/pool. But you do get more dining choices. (tho Suite guests can eat at Blu--a specialty restaurant for Aqua guest--if there is space, and Ascent has 4 main dining room, each with it's own menu as well as the changing daily menu. And they are quite good. 

 

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