2015 Prices thru the roof !!!

[OBX-Cruisers]

Celebrity is truly pushing the $$$envelope............I booked a cruise on the Eclipse that sails over Christmas and New years 2014.........paid $2600 pp for a 1A Verandah that included the 123promotion (I got the beverage package Plus on board Gratuities from my TA)....................same cabin is now double that amount IF you could even get one.

Edited May 4, 2014 by OBX-Cruisers

[4cats4me]

The prices are ridiculous for almost every itinerary we've looked at, with the exception of inside cabins on some sailings. I think we'll go back to Princess for awhile. Example: ocean view cabin on Princess is 30% cheaper than an inside cabin on X for an Alaskan cruise this August. Celebrity's itinerary is lackluster compared to Princess's, also. Although we really enjoy the ambience of the Solstice ships, we don't know how we'd feel about dining in the MDR having heard such dispositive comments recently, even the inability to get a cocktail with dinner. We've only done aqua and dined in Blu and had nothing but the best service, so we're not wild about trying the MDR

[kelmac]

I have several cruises booked thru 2016. Some of these cruises are way above what I can afford, however, I think the price will soften with time. If we get close the final payment time and the price is holding firm, I will cancel some of these cruises and look for alternatives.

 

We travel 10 -- 12 weeks of the year, and that usually includes three or four cruises. Inside cabins are fine with us and I can usually tolerate prices between $100 -- $150 per person, per night. The cruise would have to be really special to warrant anything above that budget limit.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[curtdesilets]

We did the Westbound Panama Canal trip in March 2009 and the prices we finally paid after a series of price drops was $2,499 pp for a C2 stateroom. Prices for the comparable cruise in 2015, which is in April that year, is $3,099 pp almost a year in advance, with no price drops occurring this early. A $300 OBC is included, making that 2015 cruise actually $2,949 prior to any possible price drops in the next 11 months. That makes the cruise only $450 more pp at the moment. Not quite 3,200%! In fact, that is only a 15% increase, half of which is attributable to inflation! A far cry from a 3,200% increase, don't you think?? :confused:

 

Please don't get the inmates all excited! :D

 

 

 

The Panama Cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Valparaiso on April 28, 2015 published on the website - a 14 night cruise - is from $3,049 for C3 Concierge stateroom to $3,499 for a C1, which is only 15% more than it was in 2009. A lot less than the figures you are posting.

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/booking/getGuestCountReservationStep1.do?cabincls=C&sailDate=1150428&br=C&packageCode=IN17C006&destCode=T.PAN&shipCode=IN&source_page=search&embarcationPortCode=FLL&returnQuery=%23&fareCode=BESTRATE&selectedFareCode=A3014561

 

We did CC on a fairly new Summit several years ago, for about $1500 pp.

 

And that's when the food and service and guest lecturers were GREAT.

[curtdesilets]

The prices are ridiculous for almost every itinerary we've looked at, with the exception of inside cabins on some sailings. I think we'll go back to Princess for awhile. Example: ocean view cabin on Princess is 30% cheaper than an inside cabin on X for an Alaskan cruise this August. Celebrity's itinerary is lackluster compared to Princess's, also. Although we really enjoy the ambience of the Solstice ships, we don't know how we'd feel about dining in the MDR having heard such dispositive comments recently, even the inability to get a cocktail with dinner. We've only done aqua and dined in Blu and had nothing but the best service, so we're not wild about trying the MDR

 

It must be the "FREE" Perks...i.e. beverage packages, etc. The prices are quite a bit higher for the itineraries that we are interested in.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

There was a time when I would have automatically said "Celebrity or nothing." It was when they had the only smoking policy (except Oceania) that prohibited smoking on the balcony. This is a dealbreaker for us because of DW's health. But now that Princess, RCI, MSC and Costa have similar policies, we may have to look more carefully at the cost. Our first loyalty is to X because they were there for us when no one else was, but that only goes so far. If their price is double what one of the other lines mentioned are for essentially the same cruise, it would be very hard to justify.

[PTMary]

My husband and I were thinking of changing our Asia cruise to a South American cruise instead, but when we saw the prices for those cruises we changed our minds. I called Captains Club and they told me the majority of the South American cruises are nearly sold out, with some cruises having only a couple of dozen staterooms available across all categories. It's a supply and demand situation, with demand seemingly outstripping supply. So no South American cruise for us.

 

Out of curiosity, I compared prices for 2015 Baltic and Med cruises to the same cruises we did over the past three years and these are priced close to what they were when we first booked them, which was about a year in advance.

 

It appears that the South American cruises are the cruises that have much higher fares. The others seem to be comparable to previous years. That would indicate that 2015 prices haven't gone through the roof as a whole, but only those cruises that have little capacity remaining.

 

Not quite the "sky is falling" panic the OP, and some other posters, would want us to believe.

Edited May 7, 2014 by PTMary

[Waihekean]

Found that prices for the Med cruises this year with Celebrity were a lot higher then the last two years. So, when needed to make a quick decision in january for a weeks cruise this July, had to book an MSC cruise instead:o.

 

And even the MSC was pretty pricey taken in consideration it is only a 7 day cruise. Was hoping for buying an upgrade, but prices have only gone up since I booked.

[Big_G]

It seems that the prices are getting out of my league. I will have to back to Royal after my 2014 and 2015 cruises that I have booked or wait for a last minute price drop. I've enjoyed the product, but it seems that I will be getting less for more money.

 

Just checked Royal's pricing for Feb 2015- their 7 night in a D2 balcony is $2450 so not much different than Celebrity.

 

There were threads over on the Royal boards also about outrageous pricing but they're having a 'Buy One Get 50% off Second Passenger' sale for the whole month of May. Maybe this is where Celebrity is headed.

Edited May 7, 2014 by Big_G

[The_Big_M]

He also said that delivery of the first ship could be in 2017, and kept repeating that he expected X to make an announcement very soon. New ships cost money, so it is no wonder that prices are going up...

 

They buy the ships on credit - a lot of it - so don't need the funds upfront to buy for it.

 

Basically, it's just a big loan, with interest the cost, and then their operations cost has to cover that and their other costs. Thus, as long as the operations are cashflow positive, adding a ship isn't so much a financial burden.