Whats going on with celebrity pricing

[SevenSeas70]

Agreed, last minute deals are beckoning and being able to jump on these when they arise will be awesome.:D

 

That's been my experience too.

Edited February 17, 2016 by SevenSeas70
Clarification

[Cruise Junky]

And this line is the most important factor in any of your low cost cruise deals. Many working pax can't leave it until the last minute as they have to prebook holiday leave months in advance. If you are a family and need more than one cabin close together, again you need to ensure the location of the cabins so can't guarantee what is left is suitable. Flexibility is vital, but unfortunately not available for everyone :(.

 

.

 

When we were able to jump on a last minute cruise we had a Europe Land Trip booked so we already had three weeks booked off work and we had the air. Then cruise prices started dropping reallllllly low. We started eyeballing about 4 cruises that would work in our time frame and waited to see how low they would go. We ended up with an S Class being $999 for an oversized balcony or Ruby Princess Grand Med. for $1,199. We went with Ruby as we had a Future Cruise Certificate for OBC. We ended up with $550 OBC that cruise. It was such a help that we already had air and we had a back up plan incase prices didn't reach a point that we were looking for.

[SevenSeas70]

Agreed, last minute deals are beckoning and being able to jump on these when they arise will be awesome.:D

 

That's been my experience too.

[4774Papa]

We've almost always booked as soon as an itinerary has been opened up and we have never seen a price drop below our initial price. Perhaps it's been our choice of cruises, or just plain dumb luck, but we will continue to book as far in advance as possible.

 

That has largely been our experience for 9 cruises on Celebrity.

 

We don't cruise the Caribbean and have done cruises that tend to be popular. For the couple of cruises where the price dropped, we called and got the lowest price, except for one cruise where the price dropped a bit after final payment and we were able to up grade to Aqua.

 

Celebrity's pricing his really disappointed me recently with the GoBBB that has led to higher prices for the bottom line. We did book a TA for 2017 that did not involve the GoBBB.

 

Regarding the drop in pricing, there are things going on in the World that may discourage cruisers.

 

First, the stock market has dropped a bit in the USA and many financial experts are predicting a recession.

Second, China's economy and stock market both seem to be on the way down. That will affect the World economy.

Third, the turmoil in Syria/Iraq has affected Turkey and with so many refugees in Europe, popular ports like Istanbul are out and others may be on hold for travel to some areas.

Fourth, the Zita virus in South and Central America may cause some to defer travel there. Not that many Celebrity cruisers are likely to get pregnant, but the virus being there many be a factor.

Fifth, Celebrity's high prices may be deterring bookings.

[cjmayes51]

That has largely been our experience for 9 cruises on Celebrity.

 

We don't cruise the Caribbean and have done cruises that tend to be popular. For the couple of cruises where the price dropped, we called and got the lowest price, except for one cruise where the price dropped a bit after final payment and we were able to up grade to Aqua.

 

Celebrity's pricing his really disappointed me recently with the GoBBB that has led to higher prices for the bottom line. We did book a TA for 2017 that did not involve the GoBBB.

 

Regarding the drop in pricing, there are things going on in the World that may discourage cruisers.

 

First, the stock market has dropped a bit in the USA and many financial experts are predicting a recession.

Second, China's economy and stock market both seem to be on the way down. That will affect the World economy.

Third, the turmoil in Syria/Iraq has affected Turkey and with so many refugees in Europe, popular ports like Istanbul are out and others may be on hold for travel to some areas.

Fourth, the Zita virus in South and Central America may cause some to defer travel there. Not that many Celebrity cruisers are likely to get pregnant, but the virus being there many be a factor.

Fifth, Celebrity's high prices may be deterring bookings.

 

Your post is spot on! :)

 

Charlie

[Michidoeme]

Celebrity is making it difficult for Europeans to book these Mediterranean cruises this year as most of them do not start and end in same place * Therefore airline tickets are very expensive - 2 one-way tickets, instead of cheap return fares. Booking via a European TA or even if we book with Celebrity direct (where we need to go over Celebrity in Europe) we can not book flights with Choice Air directly and benefit from cheap one way fares.

The flights that Celebrity Europe offers are twice as expensive as exactly same flights through Choice Air or with the airlines (I have made this experience last year).

 

This has been holding me back from booking a cruise for this year, even if cruise prices went down.

 

* I am mainly referring to the S-class ships Silhouette, Equinox, as the M-class do not hold the same attraction for us

[MicCanberra]

When we were able to jump on a last minute cruise we had a Europe Land Trip booked so we already had three weeks booked off work and we had the air. Then cruise prices started dropping reallllllly low. We started eyeballing about 4 cruises that would work in our time frame and waited to see how low they would go. We ended up with an S Class being $999 for an oversized balcony or Ruby Princess Grand Med. for $1,199. We went with Ruby as we had a Future Cruise Certificate for OBC. We ended up with $550 OBC that cruise. It was such a help that we already had air and we had a back up plan incase prices didn't reach a point that we were looking for.

 

Wow, I would like to be able to do that one day as well. We sort of did it with our upcoming trip where a 3 day cruise slotted in nicely and works out much cheaper than the accommodation would have been (let alone the food and such). however, to do a longer cruise would be much better.:D

[MicCanberra]

That has largely been our experience for 9 cruises on Celebrity.

 

We don't cruise the Caribbean and have done cruises that tend to be popular. For the couple of cruises where the price dropped, we called and got the lowest price, except for one cruise where the price dropped a bit after final payment and we were able to up grade to Aqua.

 

Celebrity's pricing his really disappointed me recently with the GoBBB that has led to higher prices for the bottom line. We did book a TA for 2017 that did not involve the GoBBB.

 

Regarding the drop in pricing, there are things going on in the World that may discourage cruisers.

 

First, the stock market has dropped a bit in the USA and many financial experts are predicting a recession.

Second, China's economy and stock market both seem to be on the way down. That will affect the World economy.

Third, the turmoil in Syria/Iraq has affected Turkey and with so many refugees in Europe, popular ports like Istanbul are out and others may be on hold for travel to some areas.

Fourth, the Zita virus in South and Central America may cause some to defer travel there. Not that many Celebrity cruisers are likely to get pregnant, but the virus being there many be a factor.

Fifth, Celebrity's high prices may be deterring bookings.

 

That has been the case for us to except for two of the cruises where the prices dropped and we were able to upgrade for no cost (or little cost) and no loss of perks.

 

I think those factors are certainly affecting some cruises for the various reasons. Hopefully the last reason will go away and the prices will be better, I blame the BBB sales.

[Swampduck]

We have a cruise booked for this August on Reflection, i'm watching weekly as prices are tumbling :eek:

 

Problem for us we booked in UK and cannot change booking without losing our deposit.

 

so it needs to drop below £300 before i am in profit.

 

Next time i will not be booking early and will wait .

 

Out of interest i looked for a similar cruise on reflection in August 2017 and the price is twice as much now without any offers ( drinks etc)

 

Why do they do this when i know it will be half that price this time next year.

I know prices will drop as they have for the last 3 years we have booked this time of year.

 

Only this time they seem to be knocking off £100 per week, from what looked like the low point ( when we booked)

 

I wish they would post the actual price they want us to pay and let us book as early or as late as we like.

 

OR

 

change the uk booking so we can change bookings without losing deposits, or make the deposit low enough to not bother about.

 

I was under the impression that the TA could get the discount until your final payment. You should contact your TA and check that out.

[grayjay]

Celebrity is making it difficult for Europeans to book these Mediterranean cruises this year as most of them do not start and end in same place * Therefore airline tickets are very expensive - 2 one-way tickets, instead of cheap return fares. Booking via a European TA or even if we book with Celebrity direct (where we need to go over Celebrity in Europe) we can not book flights with Choice Air directly and benefit from cheap one way fares.

The flights that Celebrity Europe offers are twice as expensive as exactly same flights through Choice Air or with the airlines (I have made this experience last year).

 

This has been holding me back from booking a cruise for this year, even if cruise prices went down.

 

* I am mainly referring to the S-class ships Silhouette, Equinox, as the M-class do not hold the same attraction for us

 

(bolding by me)

It is not necessary to book two expensive one-way tickets. Go for an open jaw flight and quite often the prices are quite reasonable if both airports are in Europe . It's more complicated when you have to switch continents - for example when booking a transatlantic.

Some cruiselines offer quite good prices and/or flight packages for their European customers (Holland America for example) - unfortunately Celebrity is really expensive even for their "special deals" when offered here!

[ghstudio]

New Florida rates for a December cruise. for 2 people in a 1B with two perks (OBC and classic drink) the cost is $3554 tax/port fees included. Take those away and there is a Florida rate of $3154 for the same cabin. Clearly, the value of the two perks $300 plus 2 classic drink packages is $400.

 

I have real trouble with that pricing....even for non drinkers, the $3554 would include free gratuites ($240) and $300 OBC....vs saving $400.

 

I guess if you plan to do nothing that costs money on the cruise....no drinks, no specialty dining, no anything else, the Florida rate makes sense....but to me, it seems like a false offering.

 

You really have to be careful with fares these days...there are so many ways to make things sound better than they are.

[MicCanberra]

New Florida rates for a December cruise. for 2 people in a 1B with two perks (OBC and classic drink) the cost is $3554 tax/port fees included. Take those away and there is a Florida rate of $3154 for the same cabin. Clearly, the value of the two perks $300 plus 2 classic drink packages is $400.

 

I have real trouble with that pricing....even for non drinkers, the $3554 would include free gratuites ($240) and $300 OBC....vs saving $400.

 

I guess if you plan to do nothing that costs money on the cruise....no drinks, no specialty dining, no anything else, the Florida rate makes sense....but to me, it seems like a false offering.

 

You really have to be careful with fares these days...there are so many ways to make things sound better than they are.

They have made it so you cannot compare cruise fares easily. It is no longer apples to apples but more like apples to oranges.

[Robbo61]

Have to agree with bogofman as this is a UK problem only (poss EU and Aus/NZ as well) as we don't have the advantage of the US system of if lower pricing you can simply get the new pricing/perks

 

Don't give me all the usual EU/UK protection stuff either as this is completely undermined compared to the rip off of future pricing offered in the UK

 

QUOTE]

 

Hi Barneymag

 

Can confirm we don't have that problem from NZ, as we use (or at least I do) a US agent. Latest OV booked at US$1449 has dropped several times and now down to US$1069, with free drinks, grats and $300 OBC. Lost a small OBC along the drops but with free drinks who needs it?

 

Perhaps they fill up with as many British at high prices and then drop rates for the rest of the world :D...sorry, couldn't help it.

[MicCanberra]

Hi Barneymag

 

Can confirm we don't have that problem from NZ, as we use (or at least I do) a US agent. Latest OV booked at US$1449 has dropped several times and now down to US$1069, with free drinks, grats and $300 OBC. Lost a small OBC along the drops but with free drinks who needs it?

 

Perhaps they fill up with as many British at high prices and then drop rates for the rest of the world :D...sorry, couldn't help it.

 

Not sure if it is correct, but I like that idea.:cool:

[bogofman]

Do any UK cruises have experience of upgrading cabins to a cabin that is now equal or less than has already been paid, due to price drops?

 

do we lose the deposit or will they upgrade us? if i phone up

 

What about if an offer has changed, would we keep the offer and just upgrade the cabin category, or would we need to cancel and start again with the current offer 9 and lose deposit).

[Project_gal]

Do any UK cruises have experience of upgrading cabins to a cabin that is now equal or less than has already been paid, due to price drops?

 

do we lose the deposit or will they upgrade us? if i phone up

 

What about if an offer has changed, would we keep the offer and just upgrade the cabin category, or would we need to cancel and start again with the current offer 9 and lose deposit).

 

The prices have not dropped on any of our cruises since Celebrity in the UK stopped honouring price so I cannot answer about upgrades but you would definitely loose any benefits from you original booking if you could upgrade and the offer has changed.

[fantasy51]

I am new to the Celebrity pages. Can you please explain to me what you mean about Celebrity in the UK not honouring prices? (I am trying to work out the best time to book a cruise, so understanding the pricing variations is a real help.)

[elbowroom]

Although it's true that supply and demand is the major player in pricing, it's certainly not the only one. Here's an example.

 

Celebrity.com offers one price, and the national offices in Europe offer others; there's not just co.uk, but also France, Germany, Italy, Spain...etc. If you look at the .com webpage you will see a "two perks" offer, which in other places doesn't exist. In fact, in some places you'd have to pay for them! The conditions (the small print) for this offer state clearly that it's open to residents of the USA and Canada only.

Likewise, Princess offers certain things, but if you are accessing from outside North America, a banner appears telling you the company doesn't have special offers for your "region" – it's nice to know that Europe is a region!

Conclusion: the US and Canadian market is highly competitive, outside that region, the Cruise company uses clearly protective policies, yielding much higher profits per sale, currently the equivalent of up to two perks.

Consequence: North American customers pay a lot less than others if they hunt around, whereas for others, hunting around will produce disappointing results and envy.

[arsenalboy]

I have been following this thread with interest which seems at odds with the following link

 

https://secure.celebritycruises.com/best-price-guarantee

 

this relates to price drops pre and post final payment.

[DYKWIA]

I have been following this thread with interest which seems at odds with the following link

 

https://secure.celebritycruises.com/best-price-guarantee

 

this relates to price drops pre and post final payment.

 

This is the US Website

 

The UK web site from what I can see does not offer a best price guarantee

https://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/booking-conditions#booking-seven

 

 

However, I notice that in the 2017 on the UK website on some cruises there is an Early Booking Promise.

https://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/cruise-deals/terms-and-conditions.html

[arsenalboy]

This is the US Website

 

The UK web site from what I can see does not offer a best price guarantee

https://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/booking-conditions#booking-seven

 

 

However, I notice that in the 2017 on the UK website on some cruises there is an Early Booking Promise.

https://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/cruise-deals/terms-and-conditions.html

 

I am well aware that your cousins this side of the pond don't get the preferential booking terms as you do. But my question wasn't related to UK bookings and sorry if I didn't make that clear!

 

In the thread there are references to not being able to benefit from price reductions after final payment. I had posted the link because it states OBC will be given after this date. Thought that might help those that thought otherwise.

[Fogfog]

I was looking at the website and there OBC for the same class of room has gone up since I paid in full...and it appears there are plenty of staterooms available.

 

When my TA inquired about the better OBC (plus the other perks) for new purchases vs my current one...X said they don't honor that as promotions change...

 

It does make me wonder why they have the ability to book on board when you might get a great rate closer to sailing...

 

What is the best strategy? idk

[Fogfog]

I have been following this thread with interest which seems at odds with the following link

 

https://secure.celebritycruises.com/best-price-guarantee

 

this relates to price drops pre and post final payment.

 

Good point

I just had my TA call because the OBC went up to $400 and they wouldn't honor it

despite that my stateroom category, etc is all the same and the same fare.

 

According to this--the extra promotion SHOULD be added...

[4774Papa]

Do the cruise lines have different prices for different countries because some countries have extensive consumer protection laws?

 

Perhaps some of you Brits could enlighten us on what consumer protections you have that the USA and Canada do not have?

[arsenalboy]

Do the cruise lines have different prices for different countries because some countries have extensive consumer protection laws?

 

Perhaps some of you Brits could enlighten us on what consumer protections you have that the USA and Canada do not have?

 

My feeling is that it is not about consumer protection because airfares go up and down after booking and are not subject to debate like cruise deals.

 

I think it is down to the US and Canadian market making up the biggest proportion of bookings and you are always aware of the price sensitivities of your largest market?