Anyone notice some sudden surges in pricing this week?

We were going to move a booking to preserve our OBC to an Asian cruise on March 2nd, earlier this week. Seemed fair for a total of $5000 Canadian for an oceanview with two perks for two weeks on the Millie and it appeared to be fresh from a renovation, though Asian cruises have always seemed moderately priced anyway. I went to book at the end of this week and BOOM $7000 for the same level! We think that the announcement on the 17th of the 'Revolutionizing' has sent the prices beyond our bracket...will they ever drop down to a reasonable level again?

That price took a drastic jump that when I called to cancel, even the Celebrity agent seemed a bit surprised on doublechecking the pricing. Maybe we should have held on to it and hoped the pricing would drop but we are noticing less drops in the last year too. So as much as we love this cruise line, there's a market that accepts the push upwards and will fill the cabins and we have to broaden our horizons on brands if we want to cruise as we approach retirement.

Anyone else feeling the pinch to have to look elsewhere?

I can tell you about my two experiences, both were early bookings. 1) The Silhouette B2B for the Caribbean in March 2019, the first leg has raised $2,000 and the second $1,200, The totally opposite side in the Eclipse B2B2B for Hawaii and Pacific Coastal in October 2019 the 1st and 2nd legs have gone down $1,550 and $1,450. The movements have been frequent until reaching the current level, I have never seen such a strong increase in such a short time.

I just did a mock booking for the Edge for Dec 1, 2019 and the price for a an Infinity balcony on 7 forward was $5200.00 with go better and pre paid grats. Ridiculous, even for a totally new ship.That's $2000.00 more then the equinox, for similar days.

It is all about their feelings about supply and demand. We have seen prices go up and down and up and down on our cruises. We got off Summit this morning, a trip we booked 94 days out and what I thought was a fair price. Booked a 2A and by the time we sailed you could get a AquaX for less money than out 2A booking. Celebrity was nice and moved us to Aqua a month out. In October we are on the Reflection in the Eastern Med, same 1A cabin is about $2600 higher than what we booked at while on board the Connie last year....up and down, up and down. Find a price you can deal with and go with it. I know I could not afford the $8800 my Reflection cabin is going for today.

I am also wondering about this. Was looking at the Caribbean for Jan, Feb, or March and the prices were out of sight. I can’t figure out who would pay $3000 per person for a balcony for a 7 day cruise!

We were going to move a booking to preserve our OBC to an Asian cruise on March 2nd, earlier this week. Seemed fair for a total of $5000 Canadian for an oceanview with two perks for two weeks on the Millie and it appeared to be fresh from a renovation, though Asian cruises have always seemed moderately priced anyway. I went to book at the end of this week and BOOM $7000 for the same level! We think that the announcement on the 17th of the 'Revolutionizing' has sent the prices beyond our bracket...will they ever drop down to a reasonable level again?

 

That price took a drastic jump that when I called to cancel, even the Celebrity agent seemed a bit surprised on doublechecking the pricing. Maybe we should have held on to it and hoped the pricing would drop but we are noticing less drops in the last year too. So as much as we love this cruise line, there's a market that accepts the push upwards and will fill the cabins and we have to broaden our horizons on brands if we want to cruise as we approach retirement.

 

Anyone else feeling the pinch to have to look elsewhere?

I saw this also posted on EDGE threads...I agree about escalating prices on all the X ships but mostly on EDGE..it will be brand new. We have one booking in AQ but were priced out after that..took a Sunset balc cabin for a second cruise.

To OP....I did not understand why you did not pick any cruise to preserve your OBC and perks...can you explain your strategy on this thanks

Yes, my apologies for posting accidentally on the Edge post. I thought I'd backed out into the main thread.

In response to HCat, we had a double booking for the same cruise for which, beyond the 60 day transfer date but before the 90 day final payment, we'd found a better deal at an agent than from the original Celebrity purchase onboard. For weeks, we tried to agree upon a cruise for the future to park our OBC so were really frustrated when we decided to book the Asian itinerary I liked, two days later, and found the $2000 jump (yes, in the future, lesson learned that pushing that 24 hour hold button might have helped).... we didn't have the mental energy to find another cruise. All of them seem so expensive these days and the prices don't drop as much to an agreeable level.

There was only one perk and a $200 OBC so not major and we are going cruising in the fall so will take our chances to find something and get the ghost booking. The original date on the cruise booking was 2016 and we've had a couple of cruises since then. We didn't want to end up convincing and selling ourselves on any old cruise! Hope that makes sense.

I've been cruising on various cruise lines for over forty years and we've done our last three major cruises on Celebrity and love them as we feel we'd found our niche but beyond the fall cruise, we may be taking our friends' advice and looking at the cruise line they enjoy to see if it indeed is less expensive. I'm also not fond of what I see with the Edge... too modern and sterile for me and I don't like the increase in segregation of the suite owners etc. I'm only in my young 60s but the new look reminds me of trendy restaurants catering to 20 and 30 year olds. I just don't feel like I fit into those pictures. Who knows... on the fall cruise, maybe I'll change my mind.

For some it's a hobby and you have time to check but I'm getting tired of whittling away to get an affordable holiday by constantly checking cruise prices lowering and raising unpredictably and spending time on a phone readjusting. By final payment, you tend to have committed yourself for all the time invested and finally focus on it being your holiday as you accept whatever price you've managed.

Greetings OP from Ontario too and paying in Cdn $ like you.

Some supply and demand info and options analysis.

We have a Asia trip booked for March 2020 on Oceania on a route similar to Millie. Even in 2020, the Oceania price is only a bit more than what Celebrity just quoted you - and our booking is with a balcony and concierge. Further the Oceania cruise has 3 more ports than the Celebrity Millie regular route and with Oceania, the smaller ship goes right into the cities to dock versus many hour long bus trips for the Millie and other larger vessels.

For us, obsession with getting the lowest price is not our primary goal - it is to acquire the best value.

I compared the Millie route to the Oceania and it was clear that Oceania provided a much better itinerary (important given the distance of travel from North America) as well as higher quality food and service and an inclusive country club casual environment where all guests mingle and eat in the same restaurants!

For your consideration.

Happy and safe cruising.

We were going to move a booking to preserve our OBC to an Asian cruise on March 2nd, earlier this week. Seemed fair for a total of $5000 Canadian for an oceanview with two perks for two weeks on the Millie and it appeared to be fresh from a renovation, though Asian cruises have always seemed moderately priced anyway. I went to book at the end of this week and BOOM $7000 for the same level! We think that the announcement on the 17th of the 'Revolutionizing' has sent the prices beyond our bracket...will they ever drop down to a reasonable level again?

 

That price took a drastic jump that when I called to cancel, even the Celebrity agent seemed a bit surprised on doublechecking the pricing. Maybe we should have held on to it and hoped the pricing would drop but we are noticing less drops in the last year too. So as much as we love this cruise line, there's a market that accepts the push upwards and will fill the cabins and we have to broaden our horizons on brands if we want to cruise as we approach retirement.

 

Anyone else feeling the pinch to have to look elsewhere?

Do not let this fool you.

Please look at - Ship: Celebrity Solstice

- Cruise: 18 Night Tahitian Treasures Cruise

- Saildate: 2018-10-01

within 75 days before sailing.

That is the reason why I never chase the prices when going up.

BTW I got this pricing from the fishy site.

It is all about their feelings about supply and demand. We have seen prices go up and down and up and down on our cruises. We got off Summit this morning, a trip we booked 94 days out and what I thought was a fair price. Booked a 2A and by the time we sailed you could get a AquaX for less money than out 2A booking. Celebrity was nice and moved us to Aqua a month out. In October we are on the Reflection in the Eastern Med, same 1A cabin is about $2600 higher than what we booked at while on board the Connie last year....up and down, up and down. Find a price you can deal with and go with it. I know I could not afford the $8800 my Reflection cabin is going for today.

Thank you... Rated: AAA

I called Celebrity to get my balcony storeroom changed. While doing so, I asked if there were ny price changes. The price on my balcony storeroom dropped in my upcoming cruise in July of 2019 on the Equinox, by $100.00 per person, and there was a military discount increase. At the time of booking, the discount was $50 per person, when the agent checked, the discount went up to $150 per person. Total price decrease was $200 per person, or $400 for the storeroom.

Prices today, at least for,he caribbean, have gone back to typical compared to,yesterday. Maybe it was a website glitch.

We were going to move a booking to preserve our OBC to an Asian cruise on March 2nd, earlier this week. Seemed fair for a total of $5000 Canadian for an oceanview with two perks for two weeks on the Millie and it appeared to be fresh from a renovation, though Asian cruises have always seemed moderately priced anyway. I went to book at the end of this week and BOOM $7000 for the same level! We think that the announcement on the 17th of the 'Revolutionizing' has sent the prices beyond our bracket...will they ever drop down to a reasonable level again?

 

That price took a drastic jump that when I called to cancel, even the Celebrity agent seemed a bit surprised on doublechecking the pricing. Maybe we should have held on to it and hoped the pricing would drop but we are noticing less drops in the last year too. So as much as we love this cruise line, there's a market that accepts the push upwards and will fill the cabins and we have to broaden our horizons on brands if we want to cruise as we approach retirement.

 

Anyone else feeling the pinch to have to look elsewhere?

I've seen huge price jumps on a Milliw Asian cruise I booked in the past. In that instance it appeared that a travel agency had made a large block booking.

It could also be that Celebrity are about to feature this sailing in one of their bogus 'buy one get one half price' offers. They'll jack up the price significantly, leave it a few days, launch the 'special offer' with the end price for 2 people being exactly the same price it was before the bogus offer.

Alternatively it could simply be that they've sold a lot of cabins in a particular class and the computer algorithms have adjusted the pricing accordingly.

You'd really need to have been using one of the third party price monitoring websites that monitors historical price changes and available inventory to have a good idea. Assuming the third party pricing website was working that is! :)

One of my future cruises just dropped so I can move up from a cat 6 OV to a C2 for $76 pp.

Some cruises go up, some go down. I suspect they will continue to trend upward as the rebuilds come on line. P

The price increase might be do to the jump in oil price's, that's the fuel they use. I know that air fares have jumped.

J.

I think that’s what veteran cruisers do, booked a lower category at the beginning and then move up to higher category for little money after final payment.

The price increase might be do to the jump in oil price's, that's the fuel they use. I know that air fares have jumped.

J.

Its not 100 % true.

The main reason is still based on supply and demand.

I think that’s what veteran cruisers do, booked a lower category at the beginning and then move up to higher category for little money after final payment.

That's what I do unless I'm doing a B2B and want the same cabin.

That's what I do unless I'm doing a B2B and want the same cabin.

Interesting, Orator..... so do you do say an oceanview and then historically, after final payment, ask to move up to a better level of oceanview or veranda and pay the difference? Have you ever been stuck unable to move because the ship is full or were you happy to stay put if you couldn't?

To earlier posters, I'm fine with taking a cruise and being happy with $100 or $200 savings later if the price drops but I was going to book on what I felt was a fair price for the Asian cruise. The cruise jumped $2000... I wasn't going to see if the price dropped that much... I'd be dreaming or it would be past final payment in their desperation to sell rooms if it did! To be stuck with the new increased price would be too much for my two week vacation budget.

The price increase might be do to the jump in oil price's, that's the fuel they use. I know that air fares have jumped.

J.

Aircraft use proper fuel whilst Cruise Ships use crap fuel (Residual Fuel). That’s the stuff the refineries can’t sell to anyone else and has over 1000 times the pollutants of normal fuels, not good for your health so I doubt they have an increased fuel bill.

Aircraft use proper fuel whilst Cruise Ships use crap fuel (Residual Fuel). That’s the stuff the refineries can’t sell to anyone else and has over 1000 times the pollutants of normal fuels, not good for your health so I doubt they have an increased fuel bill.

Celebrity's fuel cost supplement is based on the price of West Texas Intermediate Fuel with $65 per barrel being the trigger point if they decide to implement it. This is the crap fuel, what's the good stuff? The last time I remember them doing it was 2012, oil was $100 a barrel, and it only lasted a short time

Ditto... this exactly.

I am also wondering about this. Was looking at the Caribbean for Jan, Feb, or March and the prices were out of sight. I can’t figure out who would pay $3000 per person for a balcony for a 7 day cruise!

Celebrity's fuel cost supplement is based on the price of West Texas Intermediate Fuel with $65 per barrel being the trigger point if they decide to implement it. This is the crap fuel, what's the good stuff? The last time I remember them doing it was 2012, oil was $100 a barrel, and it only lasted a short time

Ask the question why the high fall-out of particulates and why they installed exhaust scrubbers in the fertile attempt to reduce the soot contamination. Believe what you like they use residue oil commonly called bunker fuel which is a 1000 times more polluting than your car’s exhaust fumes.

Our cruise in Feb. doubled in price for balcony cabins one week after we booked last spring. I keep check the prices daily and they have not moved at all, which is disappointing because my sister and her DH would love to join us, but not at these prices....even the inside cabins almost doubled! And they don’t offer the 2 perks to choose anymore...just one.

Ask the question why the high fall-out of particulates and why they installed exhaust scrubbers in the fertile attempt to reduce the soot contamination. Believe what you like they use residue oil commonly called bunker fuel which is a 1000 times more polluting than your car’s exhaust fumes.

Ask the question why all the world's governments accepts it if it's so bad?