What happens when ships is 1/4 empty??

[Napi's Mom]

Our 1/18/09 NZ/OZ cruise has been losing passengers in droves, even seems since final payment! I counted on a Cruise TA site that shows...at least MORE of available cabins than the 7 most do, and there are at least 123 empty cabins, the MOST they listed were 15 in any category,(and there were 5 such categories including SS ~CC) so that might be higher if that is just the Maximum they show! All the higher cabins.Both Penthouses,3 FV!!! Do you think they will be offering upgrades onboard??? They've already cut the prices on Guarantees to half what we all paid,but because we got such a good air price from them ($1,200pp, about 1/3 or more of the going rate for BAD flights right now) we can't change to one of these reduced fares...it would cost more. That's OK. planned on this fare so anything less would be gravy I wouldn't turn down, but would take a great cabin to change our minds as we have 7212 on aft and accessible. (Huge) But what about crew, do you just get even greater service because the ship is so empty, they have less people to care for, or do they go on vacation for a while?? (That's silly I know.):confused::confused:

[jannandjohn]

they will advertise it here in Australia soon as a special deal, and it will be snapped up!!

[Luv4dacruise]

There's normally less people on the ship would be my guess :p

 

Sorry, had to do it :p

[joyinam]

I would be interested in knowing how many cabins are booked....kind of like looking at available airline seats. I would also wonder how much a lighter load would impact the crew's tips; < # passengers = < $$ tips. :(

TIA for sharing that site.

[mferranti]

Some see the ship as 1/4 empty, I see it as 3/4 full.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

I agree with the poster who said that Celebrity will find a way to get passengers to join the sailing. To the OP, either way, it should have no effect on your sailing. I wouldnt worry about it. Enjoy your Cruise !

[cruiseyguy]

A completely full ship is no fun; 3/4 full sounds perfect.

[lucky white heather]

We're just off Summit (M class) last weekend..we thought they had had difficulty selling the cruise with all the upsets in the fuel surcharges and downturn in world economics.

In the course of the cruise I attended a Trivia which had questions on the ship....for example tonnage??, master's name ?? etc

The one that baffled me was how many crew aboard ??? I gave an answer of 1045 guessing that the ratio of roughly two to one pax/ crew was probably about right....wrong...875 was the correct answer.

Now was that the norm or was it because the ship was not sailing full??? anyone???

[Sky Sweet]

Under normal conditions, I would say that a ship that is 3/4 full is great for passengers but the cruise line will try to maximize its profitability for that sailing by trying to fill it completely.

 

However, it will be interesting to see what strategy Celebrity uses to be as profitable as possible in this economy, while considering the long term consequences, as well.

 

If they resort to fire sale prices to fill their ships, they will have to cut corners which will hurt them in the long run.

 

On the other hand, if they make the decision to only fill their ships with people who pay a reasonable cruise fare, those passengers will experience a better product. They also won't be resentful of the fact that people who booked at the last minute paid much less than they did.

 

Look at all the good publicity that Solstice has received so far for the quality of its food and service because it is only sailing with 2/3 of its maximum capacity.

[halbfl2]

Our 1/18/09 NZ/OZ cruise has been losing passengers in droves' date=' even seems since final payment! I counted on a Cruise TA site that shows...at least MORE of available cabins than the 7 most do, and there are at least 123 empty cabins, the MOST they listed were 15 in any category,(and there were [b']5[/b] such categories including SS ~CC) so that might be higher if that is just the Maximum they show! All the higher cabins.Both Penthouses,3 FV!!! Do you think they will be offering upgrades onboard??? They've already cut the prices on Guarantees to half what we all paid,but because we got such a good air price from them ($1,200pp, about 1/3 or more of the going rate for BAD flights right now) we can't change to one of these reduced fares...it would cost more. That's OK. planned on this fare so anything less would be gravy I wouldn't turn down, but would take a great cabin to change our minds as we have 7212 on aft and accessible. (Huge) But what about crew, do you just get even greater service because the ship is so empty, they have less people to care for, or do they go on vacation for a while?? (That's silly I know.):confused::confused:

 

Seems like the fair thing to do is to upgrade the passengers that made the earliest res. if they want an upgrade. Then sell off at a bargain price what's left after that.--If I had an outside room I would be upgraded to an available balcony and then they could sell my outside room for a bargain or give that to someone in an inside room and then sell those.

[rebeccaluvscruising]

It was wide open until about 4-5 weeks before departure and then almost magically filled up - with Aussies one of the other posters pointed out. They must have offered really good fares. It worked out well for us and we booked a suite guarantee at half the original concierge class fare and were upgraded to a Celebrity Suite! It was fantastic!! Have fun...

 

Rebecca

[ikelmay]

This is one i have on my watch list right now - the price started dropping about a week ago. If we get our passport renewals back in time and the RC group removes the fuel surcharges, we will probably bite.

 

So yes, the cruise line will certainly try to fill the cabins up any which way they can!!

[ccletzgo]

Our 1/18/09 NZ/OZ cruise has been losing passengers in droves' date=' even seems since final payment! I counted on a Cruise TA site that shows...at least MORE of available cabins than the 7 most do, and there are at least 123 empty cabins, the MOST they listed were 15 in any category,(and there were [b']5[/b] such categories including SS ~CC) so that might be higher if that is just the Maximum they show! All the higher cabins.Both Penthouses,3 FV!!! Do you think they will be offering upgrades onboard??? They've already cut the prices on Guarantees to half what we all paid,but because we got such a good air price from them ($1,200pp, about 1/3 or more of the going rate for BAD flights right now) we can't change to one of these reduced fares...it would cost more. That's OK. planned on this fare so anything less would be gravy I wouldn't turn down, but would take a great cabin to change our minds as we have 7212 on aft and accessible. (Huge) But what about crew, do you just get even greater service because the ship is so empty, they have less people to care for, or do they go on vacation for a while?? (That's silly I know.):confused::confused:

 

 

This cruise is offering interline rates now Best Available Price *:$699.00

+ $115.15 Tax

 

I think they will feel the ship this way.

[dabear]

The cruise lines sell the unsold cabins at firesale prices at the last minute. Itpermits the staff to still get their tips and the incremental cost to the cruise line is small. Post 9/11 we were on a cruise and I spoke to a last minute PAX who told me what he paid and it nearly floored me. Obviously, the sale is advertised only locally due to the ability to travel to the departure port. If you want to gamble and have available time, it's the way to go. What I thought was truly unfair is that some last minute PAX goe some of the best cabins and those who booked far in advance did not get upgrades. I guess life is not always fair

[hajekfam]

Our 1/18/09 NZ/OZ cruise has been losing passengers in droves' date=' even seems since final payment! I counted on a Cruise TA site that shows...at least MORE of available cabins than the 7 most do, and there are at least 123 empty cabins, the MOST they listed were 15 in any category,(and there were [b']5[/b] such categories including SS ~CC) so that might be higher if that is just the Maximum they show! All the higher cabins.Both Penthouses,3 FV!!! Do you think they will be offering upgrades onboard??? They've already cut the prices on Guarantees to half what we all paid,but because we got such a good air price from them ($1,200pp, about 1/3 or more of the going rate for BAD flights right now) we can't change to one of these reduced fares...it would cost more. That's OK. planned on this fare so anything less would be gravy I wouldn't turn down, but would take a great cabin to change our minds as we have 7212 on aft and accessible. (Huge) But what about crew, do you just get even greater service because the ship is so empty, they have less people to care for, or do they go on vacation for a while?? (That's silly I know.):confused::confused:

 

We did the Century Maiden Voyage in 1995. It left out of New York City in Dec. For the Maiden Voyage, you had your choice of boarding in New York for a 10 night cruise or boarding in FLL for a 7 night cruise. The ship was to have about 700 passengers boarding in New York, picking up the remaining passengers in FLL. Well, NYC and the east coast got hit with a blizzard and only about 300 people boarded in in NY. Very fortunately, we were booked on one of the first planes out of Chicago to NY and arrived shortly before they closed the east coast airports - even the trains weren't running. It was like walking around a ghost ship. Imagine only 300 passengers on a ship holding about 1700! Well, those three days were fabulous. At dinner, there was a waiter for every two people. The lounges were empty - even though the bands played like the place was packed. We got to know the staff and entertainment staff - in fact, for three nights we were the only passengers in the Crystal Room so the members of the band would talk to us during their breaks. They even introduced us to the party band members (Onyx). Imagine our suprise when we walked in the Crystal Room after the rest of the passengers (including those that couldn't make it into NY because of the weather) boarded and the band leader (on the stage) saw us and welcomed us by name and told us he reserved our table. Everyone was wondering who the celebrities were.

So if the ship is not full, I feel that you get even more personalized attention.

[PENGUIN67]

We also had the same experience of paying months ago only to find the same cabin class at substantially less, but were also told that airfare would increase. This linkage of airfare + cruise fare is nonsense (when you are already ticketed with the airline), and just a way for Celebrity to upcharge the discounted cabin fare.

[halbfl2]

We also had the same experience of paying months ago only to find the same cabin class at substantially less, but were also told that airfare would increase. This linkage of airfare + cruise fare is nonsense (when you are already ticketed with the airline), and just a way for Celebrity to upcharge the discounted cabin fare.

 

That's why you book your own air and usually save money doing it.

[BurgerBits]

That's why you book your own air and usually save money doing it.

 

Have to agree - we ALWAYS book our own air, and it's also never a problem to have it included in our independently-purchased travel insurance. Which is also always less than the polic(ies) available through the cruise line.

[Karynanne]

We sailed on Mercury 2 weeks after 9/11 out of Honolulu. Celebrity gave the passengers an option to cancel...with a penalty...or to cruise. The ship was 1/2 full, and had only 1 dinner seating. It was actually very nice. The service was outstanding!

[Luv4dacruise]

It was wide open until about 4-5 weeks before departure and then almost magically filled up - with Aussies one of the other posters pointed out. They must have offered really good fares. It worked out well for us and we booked a suite guarantee at half the original concierge class fare and were upgraded to a Celebrity Suite! It was fantastic!! Have fun...

 

Rebecca

 

Thats why Celebrity is cancelling there future seasons. RCI put the Jewel of the Seas out of Boston for 10 night Caribbean sailings for a few months in '05.

 

Myself, living just outside of Boston jumped on that, it was by far the best cruise and prettiest ship i had been on.

 

They had intended to run the same sailings in '06 so while onboard i had booked for exactly a year later, before the cruise was even over, RCI had re-deployed the ship for the following season.

 

Even though the ship was full, i guess they has to deeply dicount the sailing to get it to that point, thats why they cancelled the season for the following year.

 

There a business, there gonna do what is gonna give em the biggest bang for there buck......

[Holly2]

I understand that the poster couldn't say which agency lists ALL the available cabins. However, if you Google "cruise cabin availability" you will find the internet agency listed. I found that even the Xpedition (which only has about 90 passengers) has 15 cabins open for March!

[Napi's Mom]

That's why you book your own air and usually save money doing it.

Sorry but figuring out what with the reduced rate and airfare that hasn't decreased over the last few months, We're still better off with the orig. price, w/cruise air in this case for only $1,200pp (got fairly good flights, United, Air NZ, Qantas, and AA only the 1 stop at the coast!) as it would be about 600$ cheaper for our cabin, but airfare from LA (plus some 150$pp more from O'Hare)is about $2,000pp (even for TA's)which is $950pp more than we paid...so a savings on the cabin of $600 is...:confused: Now we could have done the GTY. which is much less. But lost our aft balcony!!

 

All of you who said they'd lower the fares to very reduced...were perfectly correct, just went to those "exciting deals" and they have price I quoted above but several more cheaper than before...new bookings only I guess. So the killer is airfare, which means these prices should appeal to the Aussie or Kiwi market pretty well.:rolleyes:

[turtlemichael]

these prices should appeal to the Aussie or Kiwi market pretty well.:rolleyes:

 

Like all things there are swings and roundabouts. North Americans will find being in New Zealand and Australia a lot cheaper than it was just a couple of months ago. The Kiwi and Aussie dollars have both gone through the floor losing 40% of their value making meals, hotels, gifts etc a lot cheaper than they otherwise would have been for foreigners. Locally sourced tours will now also be even better value than the Celebrity equivalent - always assuming that you haven't paid for them yet.

 

For Aussies and Kiwis there will be good savings for last minute bookings but not as much as would have been the case when the Aussie dollar was at recent high levels. Of course, all shipboard purchases including booze and tours will be more expensive because they are priced in US dollars. As most Australians like a drink :D, this will take away the gloss of a cheaper fare.

 

So my guestimate is that overall it will cost about as much as it otherwise would have for all of us.

[The_Big_M]

All of you who said they'd lower the fares to very reduced...were perfectly correct' date=' just went to those "exciting deals" and they have price I quoted above but several more cheaper than before...new bookings only I guess. So the killer is airfare, which means these prices [u']should[/u] appeal to the Aussie or Kiwi market pretty well.:rolleyes:

 

I tried to book an "exciting deal" earlier directly through Celebrity but it was refused saying those prices aren't available to us. The local Celebrity rep. didn't even know what I was referring to initially, until I sent it in.

 

We pay in USD at the US rate, but don't get the offers in US pricing (and don't get any offers of our own for that matter either). We just get the standard US cabin pricing. Any wonder Celebrity didn't do so well in this market (in addition to the lack of advertising/promotion)?

[signman]

If the ship is 1/4 empty, then you should increase your tips by 25% so the crew can still make the same amount as if the ship was full.