Shame on you Celebrity

[westcoastcruiser]

These transatlantic price increases are no joke. The person who originated this discussion was serious and deserves respect from those participating in this forum. As someone who enjoys transatlantics, I too share his concern about the excessive price increases for all stateroom categories. Celebrity has recently shortened most transatlantics offering fewer days and fewer port stops. The Reflection April crossings are now the only ones that are 16 days.

There may be some downside for Celebrity as a result of this higher price structure. For example, fewer cruisers may choose to book the cruise just before or just after the transatlantic. Past transatlantic passengers aware of the previous years cost for the same itineraries may be annoyed and choose to spend far less on board because of the new higher prices. Some cruisers will seek out alternative cruise lines and/or more port intensive itineraries.

I am glad the original poster spoke his mind and I agree with him that the 2017 pricing is too high, especially since you have to add on transatlantic airfare to the cost of the cruise.

 

Well said. I was thinking the same thing as I was reading some of these responses. We just completed the "last" Mediterranean of the season followed by the TA and are glad we did it this year vs looking forward to 2017. We love the sea days and the option of one European flight vs two. And relaxing after a port intensive itinerary for the first half of B2B is appealing, however, the draw for us was the "bargain" price for the TA cruise. If it no longer is a bargain by our measuring stick, then we will spend our vacation money in a different manner. For others, the cost may not be a deciding factor. Each person will make their own decision and it will be interesting to see how this affects Celebrity's pricing.

[TxnAquarian]

These transatlantic price increases are no joke. The person who originated this discussion was serious and deserves respect from those participating in this forum. As someone who enjoys transatlantics, I too share his concern about the excessive price increases for all stateroom categories. Celebrity has recently shortened most transatlantics offering fewer days and fewer port stops. The Reflection April crossings are now the only ones that are 16 days.

There may be some downside for Celebrity as a result of this higher price structure. For example, fewer cruisers may choose to book the cruise just before or just after the transatlantic. Past transatlantic passengers aware of the previous years cost for the same itineraries may be annoyed and choose to spend far less on board because of the new higher prices. Some cruisers will seek out alternative cruise lines and/or more port intensive itineraries.

I am glad the original poster spoke his mind and I agree with him that the 2017 pricing is too high, especially since you have to add on transatlantic airfare to the cost of the cruise.

 

 

 

No one on this forum is being disrespectful to the original poster - people are just being realistic that pricing is based on supply & demand, and Celebrity isn't here to cater to people's individual ability to afford a cruise or not - they are a company whose goal it is to make money. If they can fill those rooms at higher prices, then good for them. If not, they will lower the prices, and then good for the people looking for a bargain. Celebrity shouldn't be blamed because they are pricing cruises at their optimal revenue goal. I fully support cruise fares going up, because that is a necessity to maintain or increase quality - but my issue with X lately is that the pricing is going up, but the quality is going down. As others have said, TAs are typically less expensive, but they are becoming increasingly popular which means fares will be on the upswing. You're right that many people need to add airfare to the cost of a cruise, but many people (like us) just use miles and therefore the cost is not a factor. I hope Celebrity is able to fill rooms at these prices - I also hope they are able to improve the quality of the product instead of continuing this steady decline.

 

 

 

Michael

Edited December 9, 2015 by TxnAquarian

[upwarduk]

UK cruisers beware, you will loose your deposit if you cancel your cruise.

However, recently Celebrity have allowed you to transfer your booking to another cruise ( in line with US customers)

 

In the days when I used to go to a travel agent for a brochure, the printed prices were ALWAYS inflated. By the time I was ready to book ( about 6-9 months prior to sailing)they had always come down.

One good example is our Eclipse March 2013 sailing. I booked a 2B cabin in Sept 2012. When I rang to pay 60 days before (direct to Celebrity) I asked for a reduction, as I had seen a 2A cabin advertised, cheaper than our booking. I was told those were for new bookings only. When I told the agent that no 2A's were available when I booked, she said 'I can do better than that' and quoted me a REDUCED PRICE for 1A. I grabbed it, as we saved £496 for the cabin and we also retained the 55+ Senior reduction on the original booking.

[sandancer]

Celebrity are offering a special deal to UK guests booking certain cruises in 2017. If the cruise booked has a price drop or a change of benefits before 31st Dec 16, you can change to the new price/benefits without penalty and keeping your existing cabin. Never seen this before in the UK.

[BosoxI]

There oughta be a law against it!!!

 

 

There will be if certain politicians get their way

[laslomas]

Celebrity are offering a special deal to UK guests booking certain cruises in 2017. If the cruise booked has a price drop or a change of benefits before 31st Dec 16, you can change to the new price/benefits without penalty and keeping your existing cabin. Never seen this before in the UK.

 

I saw that and then read the small print - "Only one re-booking with no loss of deposit is available." So you really need to get the timing right!!!!

[Gracie115]

I'm in business..... I get the whole "in business to make a profit" idea.... I think those bashing (purposely or not) the OP for making a statement about the cost of the new TA's are minimizing the point that person was making.

 

I like TA's too, I also like Celebrity....but I have now watched the cost of TA's sky rocket in less than 2 years. Suites have nearly doubled and in some case HAVE doubled in price. An AQUA room that went for $1,400 when first available for a 2015 spring TA now $2400.... a CS for a 2016 Spring TA on Reflection that opened at $3,800 now selling for $6,200 in 2017.....

 

There is "profit" and then there is price gouging.....I see this as gouging....but hey....if they can get it ....they can get it.... I GET THAT....

 

But it's too bad because we like the Celebrity product but those prices will not get our business...... if there are enough people to fill the ships at those prices then so be it.... we will spend our money more wisely than tossing it away on an overpriced product....

 

Good luck Celebrity....I suspect you will need to target a new audience because there are many of us that just can't rationalize a 50-70% increase in pricing in a year or two.....

 

We have a cruise on the Reflection TA this coming spring that we booked a year ago..... it will be our last TA with Celebrity ..... we WILL enjoy that last one though ..... :)

[shipshape sam]

Celebrity is pricing towards the market.

 

They must believe that the target customer for TA's will pay the higher pricing. I would assume that the target customer for a TA is a little older than the younger 'modern luxury' market segment as I would think most younger cruisers would not want so many sea days.

 

So......time will tell if they have to discount the fares. Even if they do, they will most likely raise their total revenues as the first wave of bookings will be at the higher pricing point.

Edited December 9, 2015 by shipshape sam

[vkb2751]

Some info for you cruisers:

 

April 2016 Eclipse 13 night TA veranda cabins starting a $969

April 2017 Eclipse 13 night TA veranda cabins starting at 1,549. Same cruise almost 60% increase in price in 1 year!!!!

 

April 2016 Equinox 14 night TA veranda cabins starting at $1,249

April 2017 Equinox 14 night TA veranda starting at $1,799. A 44% increase in price in 1 year!!!!!

[biker1972]

A number of interesting comments have been made about pricing of re-positioning cruises. Thinking of X and their costs, it would seem that operating several days without a port call would be more expensive than sitting still for 10 hours every day. I would think that is one reason why they are willing to raise prices for these cruises. We know that those of us who consume alcoholic beverages are not able to get packages for these cruises because X is aware that there is more opportunity to drink thus lowering their profit on a drinks package. No one seems bent out of shape over this cruise cost yet as soon as anything else goes up in price, people notice and remark about it. With the "Go Better; Go Best" promotion X is making pricing far less transparent so that it will become more difficult to compare prices now and in the future. Looking at what I paid in the past, while interesting, does not change what I am willing to pay today or the value that I get from something.

[casper106]

The way I see it is that Celebrity offers all of these so-called "perks" to get passengers.But really,they have build all of this into the prices they charge. For sure they have and will see a big drop off in Canadian passengers in the foreseeable future. Our dollar right now is hovering around the 73 cent level against the US buck. That really adds up quickly by the time you pay for the cruise and all of the expenses on top of that. Good for Celebrity if they think they can get enough passengers to fill their ships at the new prices that have been announced but I'm willing to bet in the long run, they will need to adjust prices. We cancelled our cruises for 2016 due to the dollar and in the future,we will be shopping around for better pricing on HAL or Princess.

[Bo1953]

I'm in business..... I get the whole "in business to make a profit" idea.... I think those bashing (purposely or not) the OP for making a statement about the cost of the new TA's are minimizing the point that person was making.

 

I like TA's too, I also like Celebrity....but I have now watched the cost of TA's sky rocket in less than 2 years. Suites have nearly doubled and in some case HAVE doubled in price. An AQUA room that went for $1,400 when first available for a 2015 spring TA now $2400.... a CS for a 2016 Spring TA on Reflection that opened at $3,800 now selling for $6,200 in 2017.....

 

There is "profit" and then there is price gouging.....I see this as gouging....but hey....if they can get it ....they can get it.... I GET THAT....

 

But it's too bad because we like the Celebrity product but those prices will not get our business...... if there are enough people to fill the ships at those prices then so be it.... we will spend our money more wisely than tossing it away on an overpriced product....

 

Good luck Celebrity....I suspect you will need to target a new audience because there are many of us that just can't rationalize a 50-70% increase in pricing in a year or two.....

 

We have a cruise on the Reflection TA this coming spring that we booked a year ago..... it will be our last TA with Celebrity ..... we WILL enjoy that last one though ..... :)

 

G - it is only gouging when there are no other options for the product/commodity which you NEED to purchase.

 

It is not in this case, supply and demand and as you may or may not know the prices of cabins on any particular sailing is subject to fluctuation up or down.

 

bon voyage

[Gracie115]

G - it is only gouging when there are no other options for the product/commodity which you NEED to purchase.

 

It is not in this case, supply and demand and as you may or may not know the prices of cabins on any particular sailing is subject to fluctuation up or down.

 

bon voyage

 

I watch the pricing go "up and down" pretty much on a daily basis on ANY cruise we book on any line. For the Reflection TA this coming April the price has gone nowhere but up, we booked the day it came available last November. Hopefully with the new pricing structure the reverse will happen for the 2017 sailings....but I doubt it....

 

More power to Celebrity if they can fill them at these prices..... but a TA in a CS is NOT worth $12,000 for a couple.....no matter what the perks........

 

As I said we like the X product very much, but not enough to throw our money at them with no thought to the value of the product we are purchasing.......especially having done the same trip for half the cost..... so someone else who has FAR more cash they can burn can book that stateroom next year..... I'm sure they will have a wonderful time....

 

We will too on the Reflection in April.....:)

[WpgCruise]

For the Reflection TA this coming April the price has gone nowhere but up, we booked the day it came available last November.

 

What this tells me is that the sailing is in demand, and accordingly the price will increase.

 

More power to Celebrity if they can fill them at these prices..... but a TA in a CS is NOT worth $12,000 for a couple.....no matter what the perks........

 

While it may not be "worth" it to you, obviously it is to some.

 

 

 

I think Celebrity wouldn't be in business for long if they didn't get the most that they could for every cabin on every sailing. The cruise business is just that a business.

 

As with every discretionary consumer purchase, if the product, pricing, service, or value isn't there, people will not buy it.

Edited December 9, 2015 by WpgCruise

[Gracie115]

For the Reflection TA this coming April the price has gone nowhere but up, we booked the day it came available last November.

 

What this tells me is that the sailing is in demand, and accordingly the price will increase.

 

More power to Celebrity if they can fill them at these prices..... but a TA in a CS is NOT worth $12,000 for a couple.....no matter what the perks........

 

While it may not be "worth" it to you, obviously it is to some.

 

 

I think Celebrity wouldn't be in business for long if they didn't get the most that they could for every cabin on every sailing. The cruise business is just that a business.

 

As with every discretionary consumer purchase, if the product, pricing, service, or value isn't there, people will not buy it.

 

No one can know if the "sailing is demand" since it has only been available to book for less than 48 hours.....

 

 

Well only time will tell if their new strategy of pricing high to begin with will work..... if it does well more power to them and ALL those wealthy enough to pay those prices....

Edited December 9, 2015 by Gracie115

[sollan]

What really kills is the high exchange rate... When I compare the prices between our TA 2014 and the same TA 2017 in usd the difference is about 27%.

 

When I'm taking into account the exchange rate - the price is almost 75 % higher...:eek:

[BrendaJ]

I think Celebrity has simply made note of the fact that, in the past, transatlantic cruises have had a flurry of bookings as soon as the itineraries were released. I remember a TA we booked in 2009 had some cabin categories sold out just a few weeks after the itineraries were available.

 

Celebrity is now testing how dedicated those usual TA passengers are, and if those people are still willing to book early at the high prices, there will be no reason for them to lower the prices until after final payment; if they don't get the volume of bookings they expect, the will have to lower their prices or offer some of the perks.

 

I must say I enjoyed the TA's I went on, but if the price per day is the same as a Med cruise, I'll just take the Med cruise and stay on the ship at ports I've been to multiple times. I can turn any port day into a sea day - it's all about the price per day.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Some info for you cruisers:

 

April 2016 Eclipse 13 night TA veranda cabins starting a $969

April 2017 Eclipse 13 night TA veranda cabins starting at 1,549. Same cruise almost 60% increase in price in 1 year!!!!

 

April 2016 Equinox 14 night TA veranda cabins starting at $1,249

April 2017 Equinox 14 night TA veranda starting at $1,799. A 44% increase in price in 1 year!!!!!

 

Prices are up 60%, based on what? 2016 TA sailings should already be sold out by now, or priced far higher, due to the limited number of cabins available from charging too cheap. For instance, if this were the scenario:

 

April 2016 Equinox 14 night TA veranda cabins originally started at $1,249

April 2016 Equinox 14 night TA veranda cabins NOW starting at $2,249

April 2017 Equinox 14 night TA veranda starting at $1,799. A 44% increase in price in 1 year!!!!!

 

For instance, if I were to charge $70 instead of $120 at my Hampton Inn in for 2016, I would have so few rooms left that it would be INSANE to keep charging $70... or even $120 at this point. How about $180 per night? The next year I would learn from the mistake, and charge $120 again.

Edited December 10, 2015 by Stateroom_Sailor

[vkb2751]

Prices are up 60%, based on what? 2016 TA sailings should already be sold out by now, or priced far higher, due to the limited number of cabins available from charging too cheap. For instance, if this were the scenario:

 

April 2016 Equinox 14 night TA veranda cabins originally started at $1,249

April 2016 Equinox 14 night TA veranda cabins NOW starting at $2,249

April 2017 Equinox 14 night TA veranda starting at $1,799. A 44% increase in price in 1 year!!!!!

 

For instance, if I were to charge $70 instead of $120 at my Hampton Inn in for 2016, I would have so few rooms left that it would be INSANE to keep charging $70... or even $120 at this point. How about $180 per night? The next year I would learn from the mistake, and charge $120 again.

 

The prices are as of today. April 2016 TA are selling at the reduced prices and are not sold out!!!!!!

Edited December 10, 2015 by vkb2751

[Gracie115]

The prices are as of today. April 2016 TA are selling at the reduced prices and are not sold out!!!!!!

 

Reflection TA in Spring 2016 are NOT reduced at all......and NOT sold out.... Aqua rooms now listed at $3,300 PER PERSON....... which is nearly double what it was when the cruise first opened....

 

I'm betting those rooms sit there unbooked until after final payment when they will be steadily reduced to a more reasonable price in order to fill them....

 

X is playing a game to see if they can convince the public to pay 60-80% more for their product..... .... they haven't convinced me.... we're on that Reflection TA but we booked when it opened and at prices for our stateroom category that are less than half of what they are now..... :eek::)

[MicCanberra]

All your April 2017 TA's are now out and they are the most expensive ever, especially the Reflection 4/22/17. Double 2016 prices for inside and ocean view. Insane. Never should have booked the future cruise on board the Silhouette last month.

 

They get you hooked and then bleed you dry.:rolleyes:

[MicCanberra]

What really kills is the high exchange rate... When I compare the prices between our TA 2014 and the same TA 2017 in usd the difference is about 27%.

 

When I'm taking into account the exchange rate - the price is almost 75 % higher...:eek:

 

I feel your pain also.

[MicCanberra]

I think some of these higher prices are due to all the perks they seem to be offering as well, they have just built it into the price. There is also the supply and demand, set a price, if they do not sell, the prices will drop and then they can market it as 50% off and still make money as people flock towards the bargain cruise. Either way, the ships will sail full, and for 2017 they have plenty of time to play with the prices to get them full.

[chemmo]

At the end of the day you have to book a cruise if you are comfortable with the price you book it for. If it goes down then it is a bonus!

 

If you are not comfortable then you have to risk waiting to see what happens and also perhaps consider other cruises, cruise lines or land based vacations.

 

We were looking at September 2016 cruises from Southampton as they came out. We were not happy with the prices, the destinations were already seen ones so we waited. The U.K. Deal 2nd person half price came out, we were then happy with the price and booked.

 

In contrast we wanted a specific room on a specific Asian itinerary Spring 2017, thought it was expensive but equally cared enough not to risk missing it. We booked, suites are totally sold out so no chance of a price reduction but we are OK with that, we were happy with the price we booked at and very glad we did not risk waiting.

 

TA cruises are no different, if you can live with the price you book it for fine, if not consider other options or wait to see if offers, deals, reductions appear.

[Gracie115]

I think some of these higher prices are due to all the perks they seem to be offering as well, they have just built it into the price. There is also the supply and demand, set a price, if they do not sell, the prices will drop and then they can market it as 50% off and still make money as people flock towards the bargain cruise. Either way, the ships will sail full, and for 2017 they have plenty of time to play with the prices to get them full.

 

At the end of the day you have to book a cruise if you are comfortable with the price you book it for. If it goes down then it is a bonus!

 

If you are not comfortable then you have to risk waiting to see what happens and also perhaps consider other cruises, cruise lines or land based vacations.

 

We were looking at September 2016 cruises from Southampton as they came out. We were not happy with the prices, the destinations were already seen ones so we waited. The U.K. Deal 2nd person half price came out, we were then happy with the price and booked.

 

In contrast we wanted a specific room on a specific Asian itinerary Spring 2017, thought it was expensive but equally cared enough not to risk missing it. We booked, suites are totally sold out so no chance of a price reduction but we are OK with that, we were happy with the price we booked at and very glad we did not risk waiting.

 

TA cruises are no different, if you can live with the price you book it for fine, if not consider other options or wait to see if offers, deals, reductions appear.

 

True enough on book posts....although TA's offer no perks most of the time...

 

But still sad to see X price rise so much that most likely before any reductions happen we will have made plans with other lines.... I guess that's ONE way to build your points on another lines loyalty program....:)