Huge Price Increase!!!

[rickechambers1@aol.com]

I would bet my money that you are spot on when it comes to this topic. Over the years you are one of only a couple of cruise critics that truly does know understand the facts and gets them right on every issue. Even if they are sad but true...thank you !!!

 

Luvstosail

Boston Ma

 

Agree...also agree why would a cruise line want a $50/day rate chaser and low on board spend?

Edited August 28, 2016 by rickechambers1@aol.com

[grandgeezer]

Agree...also agree why would a cruise line want a $50/day rate chaser and low on board spend?

 

Maybe because they have to fill cabins and empty cabins bring in 0 revenue a day and no onboard spending. Beggers can't be choosers.

[insidecabin]

Interestingly, or maybe not :) , I think if the price doesn't go up at the end of a promotion under UK law (The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008) a company might be in trouble, specifically

 

"Falsely stating a product will only be available (or available on certain terms) for a very limited time to persuade the consumer to make an immediate decision." -

 

If you are offering the same product including extras but just changing the way you reach that price there could be an issue - i.e. You advertise a product as on sale for £2000 up to the end of August per couple when the sale will end, and then on the 1st of September you say there's a new sale where its £2000 and your partner goes free. In reality you have never really ended the sale.

 

I guess company's find there way around this by changing terms of the offer very very slightly

Different product if you change the structure ncl often have a month long promo with an extra incentive in the first week.

 

Interesting point though might be worth a bit of analysis and throwing it over to trading standards.

[insidecabin]

I don't know anything about the fake sale. However there is a website that monitors price changes and shows the price history from the time the itinerary is released until the sailing date. Unfortunately I can't mention this site due to CC rules. Google cruise price tracker. When ever there is a so called sale I go to this site and check the price history to see if it is indeed an actual sale or just an illusion.

 

All the cruise trackers fish plum and cruise critics own are now being manipulated by the lines.

also don't show the real deals only headline price they don't track perks.

 

They also fail to track senior and loyalty rates properly.

[Hlitner]

Agree...also agree why would a cruise line want a $50/day rate chaser and low on board spend?

 

We did try to explain this in basic economic terms..but will take another shot. In Econ we have a technical term called "Opportunity Lost Revenue." The concept is quite simple when it applies to any cruise line. An empty berth is lost revenue....that can never be recovered. An opportunity (for the cruise line) is lost forever and any revenue from that empty berth will never make it to the bottom line. So when there are empty berths, the lines use various strategies to get a body into that berth....one of which is a low price. On our recent back to back Zuiderdam cruises (in Northern Europe) last minute prices for balcony cabins dropped below $100 per passenger day. An inside cabin would have been less then $75 a day (possibly lower...but we did not explore this option). So HAL got money from us that would have been lost to them forever, plus we also spent around $2000 on drinks and an excursion...all items that generate profit.

 

HAL could have kept their prices higher...and then we know at least 1 cabin that would have been empty. :). As to even lower prices per day on HAL, we have often seen very low prices on Caribbean cruises (lots of competition in that market). It was not many years ago that we booked a 14 day Caribbean cruise on the Westerdam...and got a balcony for about 1/2 the price of a 14 day Celebrity Eclipse cruise (same dates). That being said, after that cruise both DW and I thought we should have spent the extra money on Celebrity (long story).

 

Hank

[insidecabin]

Celebrity have been selling ov cabins inc tax an classic beverage at <$50pppd to captain club.

 

Makes $100 for a balcony quite pricy.

[Iamcruzin]

All the cruise trackers fish plum and cruise critics own are now being manipulated by the lines.

 

also don't show the real deals only headline price they don't track perks.

 

 

 

They also fail to track senior and loyalty rates properly.

 

 

I realize this.However,it still shows a price history which for those who don't care for perks can get an idea what the real price would be without the 2 for or half off second passenger price would be. Also when they offer the perks which is an up sell in my opinion you can't get the senior or resident rate unless you book inside. Senior and resident rates seem to be offered as a last resort after final payment close to sail date.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[teecee60]

 

The new reality for Celebrity is that they no longer want the "bargain" cruiser. Their focus has been shifted to the high margin spender. The strategy appears at this time to be working well. Suite prices have been raised to very high levels and are still selling quite well. There appears to be particularly high demand for Royal and above.

 

My sources, usually very reliable, tell me that indeed there will be no inside cabins and the ship will be Suite heavy. I suspect that major design changes will be made to accommodate more passengers in larger cabins. Wonder what the public space will be?

 

Many long time passengers will leave as prices rise, but data must be telling Celebrity that there will be more than enough demand to replace those who leave. This is the new reality and I believe it will be at the center of the new builds. Guess we'll see if I'm right when pricing information for the first new build is released.

 

Agree completely... not that ANY business really "wants" bargain cruisers like me, :D but Celebrity does benefit when I occupy those otherwise empty last minute cabins that no one else wants. Of course I benefit from enjoying the same ship, food, drinks, service, entertainment and ports for 25 cents, or even 10 cents on the dollar that other people are paying. :)

 

I am also fairly certain that the vast majority of cruisers, (those not here on CC) don't even know that there ARE price drops, OR that they could save tons of cash by GETTING THOSE PRICE DROPS REFUNDED before final payment, or upgraded to better cabins afterwards. :(

 

It would not surprise me at all if the new ships have very few or even NO lowly priced inside cabins... if they think they can sell all suites, more power and profits too them... and me... as my stock price climbs and pays dividends.

 

 

 

 

Pricing of cruises follows the "demand pricing" formula where the company adjusts the price frequently to fill the ship as the sail date approaches. Their "inventory" ... the cabins ... is fixed and must sail along with the ship, empty or full. They cannot produce less inventory to meet slack demand, so they market the heck out of empty cabins.

 

BUT those sale prices come with several "gotchas" that may make you feel ripped off. You generally don't get the best cabin locations, like arriving at the movie theater late, you get what's left over. Often you don't get to choose the cabin and they assign you one. It might be over the late-night lounge with a band playing every night, or under the pool deck with 5 AM chair moving and pressure hose washing that will wake you up. Or far forward, with the noise of docking waking you up each morning. And, because you are in the penalty phase if you get buyer's remorse or want to change the cabin location, it will cost you 100% of the fare.

 

Enjoying a $6,000 cruise is better than being miserable for "only" $3,000.

 

We are very flexible and will book last minute cruises, but we take everything in stride. Air fares can be 3 to 4 times the price of a fare more than 45 days out, so when we do the math we often see it's no cheaper.

When we buy a cruise and get close to the final payment date we double check, to see if we can save money by cancelling and rebooking, but after that date we ignore the fire sale prices.

 

What some people don't realize until too late is that many of those more expensive CC and Aqua Class cabins ARE THOSE UNDESIREABLE CABINS right under the pool deck... it's just that they are slickly marketed as being more desirable.

 

Many people simply can NOT afford ANY $6,000 cruise. I would MUCH rather enjoy FOUR transatlantic cruises of 15 days each and $750pp... (most of mine are LESS than that) than ANY ONE cruise of $3000, let alone $6,000... even if it was in a Penthouse Suite.

 

Many (not all) flights available through Choice Air (especially one ways for transatlantic/transpacific cruises) are RIDICULOUSLY inexpensive... all the way down to the last week before flying.

Edited August 28, 2016 by teecee60

[Orator]

AQ and Blu have been very successful and I doubt it will disappear, in fact, I would expect it to be expanded. The word I'm hearing, only speculation, is that 20% of the cabins will be Suites. Guess we just need to wait to see the plans before we know for sure.

[floridatravelersforlife]

To me this looks like Celebrity copied a page from Disney Attractions playbook. Disney jacked the prices up and this thread looks like one of the Disney boards.

 

Time will tell if Disney's ploy will stick. Local Media reports Disney is experiencing softness, Orlando Airport travel is down and hotel bookings in the area are down. Living in the area I can confirm my own observations of traffic, etc back this up.

 

This Celebrity move is another reason not to book long term. If prices fall they will fall hard. There are are more cruise alternatives and cruisers are price sensitive.

 

Vote with your wallet and shrink the supply! This is not a life threatening purchase like a Epipen

[Jeremiah1212]

I think some have failed to glance over the previous 10 pages. This will not be a permanent pricing increase. They cannot price themselves this much higher than their competition. RCL has been taking this approach for years. Once the sale expires, unless another sale takes its place, prices will come back down to normal levels.

 

I don't think it's allowable to post a link to the sale info, but it will run $25 deposits Sept 1st through 5th, Sept 6th through Oct 2nd will be 50% off deposits, half off second guest with Go Big/'Free Drinks' or one other perk, included for select sailings from Dec 1st through April 30th 2018. Over 400 sailings are listed. Only applies to oceanview and higher cabins and excludes repo, trans atlantic/pacific and Galapagos cruises.

[Jeremiah1212]

Here are the sale details:

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/16052489_CEL_September_Offer_FAQ.pdf

 

Feel free to delete if posting that is against the rules.

[Drysil]

iandjm, I suspect you are correct. Pricing on our December cruise works out to exactly that. Still glad we booked early because we got a lower price and since we have to fly to the ports it makes it harder to wait for Tuesday Specials to book.

 

I can confirm that pricing on my March 2017 sailing now works out exactly the same if a 50% off promotion is applied to the second booking. Iandjim, you are a genius!

[ranchette]

Our February 2017 cruise on Reflection increased over 61% for a standard veranda cabin. It's now nearly $5000 for a regular veranda with go best. Crazy!

 

I saw that also we are on the Feb. 19th. cruise in 2017

[gimletgal]

....Also when they offer the perks which is an up sell in my opinion you can't get the senior or resident rate unless you book inside. Senior and resident rates seem to be offered as a last resort after final payment close to sail date.

 

All one needs to do to get a resident or senior rate (if available) is to click on "Want to see if you qualify for a different discount?" You can totally avoid the "up sells" (perks)! And, applies to all cabin categories, not just inside and can be before final payment. I just looked at a December 31 cruise and the option is there.

[grandgeezer]

Agree completely... not that ANY business really "wants" bargain cruisers like me, :D but Celebrity does benefit when I occupy those otherwise empty last minute cabins that no one else wants. Of course I benefit from enjoying the same ship, food, drinks, service, entertainment and ports for 25 cents, or even 10 cents on the dollar that other people are paying. :)

 

I am also fairly certain that the vast majority of cruisers, (those not here on CC) don't even know that there ARE price drops, OR that they could save tons of cash by GETTING THOSE PRICE DROPS REFUNDED before final payment, or upgraded to better cabins afterwards. :(

 

It would not surprise me at all if the new ships have very few or even NO lowly priced inside cabins... if they think they can sell all suites, more power and profits too them... and me... as my stock price climbs and pays dividends.

 

Don't tell anyone but your stock price is down 30+% for the year. That tells you what the financial world thinks of the future of RCL. Stock price is determined by what you are going to do in the future, not what you've done in the past.

[jabrown40]

My price in a sky suite for my March 2017 cruise also works out exactly the same. Its all smoke and mirrors. Just a little unsure of why they would have posted those prices before the sale date. I suppose they'll get a few people to book, not knowing the sale is coming, but if I were booking a cruise for the first time, I certainly wouldn't have booked with Celebrity when prices on Princess or other lines would be more economical. And I suppose many won't know to rebook when the sale begins.

[floridatravelersforlife]

My price in a sky suite for my March 2017 cruise also works out exactly the same. Its all smoke and mirrors. Just a little unsure of why they would have posted those prices before the sale date. I suppose they'll get a few people to book, not knowing the sale is coming, but if I were booking a cruise for the first time, I certainly wouldn't have booked with Celebrity when prices on Princess or other lines would be more economical. And I suppose many won't know to rebook when the sale begins.

 

that's on the mark. Maybe Celebrity trying to adapt the double the published price and offer sales at 50% off. Wouldn't be surprised , there isn't much original thought in the cruise industries' marketing departments.

[bookitdanno]

Don't tell anyone but your stock price is down 30+% for the year. That tells you what the financial world thinks of the future of RCL. Stock price is determined by what you are going to do in the future, not what you've done in the past.

 

Don't tell anyone, but Morningstar rates RCL as a strong BUY (4.8 out of 5.0), 4 stars.

 

This year to date is a correction. The stock is up 195% last 5 years. 90% last 3 years.

[Straughn]

My price in a sky suite for my March 2017 cruise also works out exactly the same. Its all smoke and mirrors. Just a little unsure of why they would have posted those prices before the sale date. I suppose they'll get a few people to book, not knowing the sale is coming, but if I were booking a cruise for the first time, I certainly wouldn't have booked with Celebrity when prices on Princess or other lines would be more economical. And I suppose many won't know to rebook when the sale begins.

 

We are in a Sky Suite for our Sept. Equinox cruise. I just ran the numbers and it comes out to exactly what we are paying now for the base cruise fare with all four perks included for suites. Not so creative accounting!

[richsea]

Here are the sale details:

 

http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/16052489_CEL_September_Offer_FAQ.pdf

 

Feel free to delete if posting that is against the rules.

 

Thanks for the link. So the price increase is as many have suspected.

 

So increase the price & 10 days later, run a sale so they can't say you raised prices because of the sale. Of course some will just call it marketing; I call it sleaze.

Edited August 28, 2016 by richsea

[Orator]

Don't tell anyone but your stock price is down 30+% for the year. That tells you what the financial world thinks of the future of RCL. Stock price is determined by what you are going to do in the future, not what you've done in the past.

 

All travel related stocks have been hit largely due to rising fuel costs and fears of terrorism in Europe. One reason why Celebrity is moving Equinox from Europe. I bought more on the dip and up a significant percentage. In their Conference Call Celebrity said that future bookings look strong. Time will tell.

[luv2cruisecats]

Don't tell anyone, but Morningstar rates RCL as a strong BUY (4.8 out of 5.0), 4 stars.

 

This year to date is a correction. The stock is up 195% last 5 years. 90% last 3 years.

 

The vote was on a Friday and on the following Monday we jumped on 100 shares at $66 and change. It dropped a bunch the previous Friday and pays a decent dividend. Stock price now around 70 but once the terror activity in Europe hopefully subsides next year it will be back up.

 

Better to own this rather than NCL Holdings these days!

 

Who knows we might even stumble onto a way to get the OBC this gets you in theory :)

 

Charlie

[Bo1953]

My price in a sky suite for my March 2017 cruise also works out exactly the same. Its all smoke and mirrors. Just a little unsure of why they would have posted those prices before the sale date. I suppose they'll get a few people to book, not knowing the sale is coming, but if I were booking a cruise for the first time, I certainly wouldn't have booked with Celebrity when prices on Princess or other lines would be more economical. And I suppose many won't know to rebook when the sale begins.

 

What is the reason to book 'more economical' when X is cruise line of choice? For us and our friends, more economical does not necessarily translate into better product and experience. It may for others though and I would not want to discount that for those who do so.. :)

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

Don't tell anyone, but Morningstar rates RCL as a strong BUY (4.8 out of 5.0), 4 stars.

 

This year to date is a correction. The stock is up 195% last 5 years. 90% last 3 years.

 

Thank you bid - then again, we allow for not looking at the long term, even though most cruises on X are seven (7) to 15 days... stock investments are usually for a few years, 7 - 10 days is pure speculation for the most part and cause for insider trading reporting... :)

 

Yet, we do not want to bring that to light, now...

 

bon voyage