Possible Sanity on Journey Pricing

[Dolphins]

I previously questioned what Celebrity was offering for their absurdly high prices on their Cape Liberty/Bermuda Journey cruises. Specials are now begining to appear with prices more in line with reality and hinting as to some of the amenities Celebrity will provide for what they describe as a "luxury experience." Hopefully, a preview of things to come.

[cabo de hornos]

Please elaborate as to where and for which sailings.

 

Thanks.

 

Cabo

[FranYAlice]

Where!! I've been checking a lot of cruise sites and the outside cabins (deck 3) are the same everywhere -- $1749 plus tax.

 

Would LOVE to pay less!

 

 

:)FRAN

[Captain Cosmo]

I think they will get the higher fares for the new ships for several reasons. The ships have great passenger/space and crew to passenger ratios, there are only 700+ passengers (About 1/3 of what the M-class ships carry), they've abandoned the silly formal nights, all cabins will have Concierge Class service/amenities and they will offer open dining. This is a good move for X. I think there are a lot of people who would try cruising but don't like some of the traditional aspects that appeal to an older age group - like assigned dining partners, assigned dining times, and the "let's dress up like rich folks" formal nights. Also, these ships are sailing a lot of new itineraries that may interest X cruisers who are either tired of X's current routes, want a more intimate cruising experience than the M-Classes can offer, and last but most important, these ships don't appear to have the reliability problems of the M-Class ships. As the cost of cruising increases it becomes more important to many of us who cruise to see new places that the ship actually gets those places. While the new Solstice class and the mega ships of other lines will continue to appeal to many, X is right to recognize that a portion of their customers want a less crowded experience.

[Captain Cosmo]

duplicate

[Dolphins]

Please elaborate as to where and for which sailings.

 

Thanks.

 

Cabo

 

I received an E-mail from (news@cruisecritic.com) yesterday from a cruise outlet offering Journey balcony cabins at $1,499pp on Bermuda cruises on the Journey from Cape Liberty from 9/08/07 to 10/20/07. Higher prices were quoted from 7/14/07 to 9/01/07. Included in the above prices was free air from Miami or Fort Lauderdale and a bonus of your choice of a casino credit or a spa credit. They said the offer was limited to only 20 cabins per sailing and the promotion expires on 1/12/07.

I expect this will be the first of many future Journey promos.

[Sheik]

...

 

Bravo, well said :)

[ocngypz]

I received an E-mail from (news@cruisecritic.com) yesterday from a cruise outlet offering Journey balcony cabins at $1,499pp on Bermuda cruises on the Journey from Cape Liberty from 9/08/07 to 10/20/07. Higher prices were quoted from 7/14/07 to 9/01/07. Included in the above prices was free air from Miami or Fort Lauderdale and a bonus of your choice of a casino credit or a spa credit. They said the offer was limited to only 20 cabins per sailing and the promotion expires on 1/12/07.

I expect this will be the first of many future Journey promos.

 

 

The fall pricing was lower to start with. There are no promotional rates. These rates are just plain FIT rates.

[hajekfam]

The Bermuda prices may be a bit higher because of the switch from the Zenith. Zenith already had bookings for Bermuda prior to the announcement and the bookings were switched to the Journey. That leaves less cabins available for sale as Journey bookings. With the laws of supply and demand, less cabins available mean higher prices.

[blackbird71]

This is a good move for X. I think there are a lot of people who would try cruising but don't like some of the traditional aspects that appeal to an older age group - like assigned dining partners, assigned dining times, and the "let's dress up like rich folks" formal nights.

I pay to go on Seabourn/RSSC because of the open seating and less passengers. But both lines have formal nights and most ppl like them.

 

Also, these ships are sailing a lot of new itineraries that may interest X cruisers who are either tired of X's current routes,

right there are more than just the East/West Caribbean.

 

While the new Solstice class and the mega ships of other lines will continue to appeal to many, X is right to recognize that a portion of their customers want a less crowded experience.

Princess is doing the same with their R-Ships. IMHO I would not be surprised to see a couple more R-Ships built. There just some markets they fit into very well.

 

I am looking forward to Seabourn's new ships, not for going on the ships, but because Seabourn plans to open up new itineraries with their current sisters.

[Baltic Express]

I think there are a lot of people who would try cruising but don't like some of the traditional aspects that appeal to an older age group - like assigned dining partners, assigned dining times, and the "let's dress up like rich folks" formal nights. Also, these ships are sailing a lot of new itineraries that may interest X cruisers who are either tired of X's current routes, want a more intimate cruising experience than the M-Classes can offer, and last but most important, these ships don't appear to have the reliability problems of the M-Class ships. As the cost of cruising increases it becomes more important to many of us who cruise to see new places that the ship actually gets to those places.

 

I couldn't agree with you more. I have said it before and I will say it again - Oceania has found a niche in the cruising industry and filled it very nicely. Celebrity will do their utmost best to mimic the success of Oceania with their two "R" class ships. The one thing they will need to do to compete successfully would be to improve their pre and post cruise customer service.

 

You will undoubtedly see resistance from many on the dress up issue and it is not just the older folks who want it but from the sounds of the Celebrity boards some younger folks do as well. The trend on all cruise lines is away from requiring dress up nights. With Celebrity coming out with their three mega ships they will have to be much more family oriented to fill them and that will tend to an automatic relaxing of all this formal wear. I wear a dark suit five days a week and the last thing I want to do is wear one each night on my vacation.

[Dolphins]

The fall pricing was lower to start with. There are no promotional rates. These rates are just plain FIT rates.

 

Really? How come they are asking FRANYALICE $1749. for an outside non-balcony cabin? As far as "low fall pricing," Celebrity was asking over $4,000.per person for a penthouse on the 9/28/07 fall cruise. I have booked a penthouse for the same week on Norwegian Crown for less than half that price? I suggest that Journey has a way to go to reach competitive low fall pricing but $1,499. for a fall balcony cabin is a step in the right direction. Had I received this promo before my NCL booking, I would have seriously considered it.

 

Finally, I consider a special price for a limited number of cabins to be a "promotion." The ad I receive even stated "Promotion expires 1/12/07."