Celebrity Ex Dublin Season, price drops. Not popular?

[kevinyork]

Celebrity Eclipse is home ported in Dublin for the first time this spring/summer and when released the prices were very high, higher than Eclipse prices when she was sailing ex Southampton.

 

Looked today and the prices for the early cruises from Dublin have dropped considerably. Apr/May has Sky Suites for the 10 day cruises at under £2000 pp. Nearly half the starting prices and lots of availability. Some Suites are only £100 more than Aqua Class.

 

I wonder if this is evidence that there isn’t the attraction to start a cruise from Dublin and given the high availability of Suites that not many traditional US Celebrity guests are excited about cruising from there. On most European cruises I check the Suites sell pretty well.

 

Those Iceland/Norway cruises were always popular for UK cruisers from Southampton UK, but having to take a 60 minute flight to Dublin from the UK is an added inconvenience.

 

I hope that Celebrity reconsider and reintroduce a better mix of ex U.k cruises rather than the Baltic heavy itineraries that the Silhouette sticks to.

 

 

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[Wine-O]

There are only 5 cruises sailing out of Dublin beginning on 30 April, and they are all early in the season. I think the S2's are still a bit pricey for an 8-10 night cruise.

[chemmo]

Very interesting!

 

Iceland is on our bucket list and when the Dublin cruise 2018 first came out we looked at it but we dismissed it as far too expensive....just checked now following your post and RS are well down in price and still two left. We are finding more and more that RS are often the first category of room to sell out. Very unusual to see them available so near to sailing.

 

If we had any slack left in our cruising calendar this year we would be in one of them!

 

Just checked for 2019 when Reflection will be sailing on a similar cruise in May....the RS is presently over £22,000 for three of us! Certainly not booking at present at that price but we will be watching carefully....interesting that all 8 RS rooms are still available, perhaps it isn’t just us that considers that price way over the top! With relatively cheap flights and around Iceland tours and cruises available perhaps X hasn’t realised they have competition from other holiday types/options. For many sea nights in the North Sea are a turn off because of risks of high seas too.

 

Thanks, very interesting observations....

[govanguy]

I suspect that this was a ploy by Celebrity to attract USA guests to travel via Ireland to circumvent the perceived terror threat in UK.

 

In addition, the Irish Heritage angle that may have attracted some from across the pond.

 

Also, it may have been the case that incentives were offered to Celebrity to sail from the Republic of Ireland.

 

A ploy that may not have taken off as planned

[jkgourmet]

Huh? We're booked on the May 20 departure of the Eclipse from Dublin. There are only a few inside, OV and balconies left. I don't have a clue about Suites, Aqua, royal suites and all that high end stuff because I never look.

 

Maybe the residents of the UK and other Europeans are like us - perfectly happy to save a lot of money and cruise in the cheap seats. And go on vacation more frequently with that money we've saved.

[chemmo]

Huh? We're booked on the May 20 departure of the Eclipse from Dublin. There are only a few inside, OV and balconies left. I don't have a clue about Suites, Aqua, royal suites and all that high end stuff because I never look.

 

Maybe the residents of the UK and other Europeans are like us - perfectly happy to save a lot of money and cruise in the cheap seats. And go on vacation more frequently with that money we've saved.

 

 

All about personal choices....hope you love your Norwegian Cruise, we did it last year, it was fabulous!

 

If I was you though, I would check the pricing of the next category up...no point turning down an upgrade if one became available...I would also be pretty miffed (old English word for angry/upset) if I found out that just by making a phone call I could have secured a better cabin.

[anniegb]

Huh? We're booked on the May 20 departure of the Eclipse from Dublin. There are only a few inside, OV and balconies left. I don't have a clue about Suites, Aqua, royal suites and all that high end stuff because I never look.

 

Maybe the residents of the UK and other Europeans are like us - perfectly happy to save a lot of money and cruise in the cheap seats. And go on vacation more frequently with that money we've saved.

 

I agree

 

For my last two Celebrity cruises, I sailed in an Aqua and an inside cabin. Next cruise is an inside.

 

The price differential for Aqua cannot be justified.

 

Annie

[anniegb]

Celebrity Eclipse is home ported in Dublin for the first time this spring/summer and when released the prices were very high, higher than Eclipse prices when she was sailing ex Southampton.

 

Looked today and the prices for the early cruises from Dublin have dropped considerably. Apr/May has Sky Suites for the 10 day cruises at under £2000 pp. Nearly half the starting prices and lots of availability. Some Suites are only £100 more than Aqua Class.

 

I wonder if this is evidence that there isn’t the attraction to start a cruise from Dublin and given the high availability of Suites that not many traditional US Celebrity guests are excited about cruising from there. On most European cruises I check the Suites sell pretty well.

 

Those Iceland/Norway cruises were always popular for UK cruisers from Southampton UK, but having to take a 60 minute flight to Dublin from the UK is an added inconvenience.

 

I hope that Celebrity reconsider and reintroduce a better mix of ex U.k cruises rather than the Baltic heavy itineraries that the Silhouette sticks to.

 

 

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A 60 minute flight from Glasgow to Dublin is preferable to the drive to SOTON. Maybe Celebrity prices are too high ??

 

Annie

[jkgourmet]

All about personal choices....hope you love your Norwegian Cruise, we did it last year, it was fabulous!

 

If I was you though, I would check the pricing of the next category up...no point turning down an upgrade if one became available...I would also be pretty miffed (old English word for angry/upset) if I found out that just by making a phone call I could have secured a better cabin.

 

We booked a GTY balcony (all the OV's were sold out when we booked, and we had to book at least an OV to get the incentives). They assigned our cabin and it's one of the larger balconies at the very end of the ship. We're quite pleased with that assignment, but would have been more pleased with any OV and saving some money. :)

 

There really isn't much availability left on this sailing, except maybe at the very top end.

 

 

But I agree, the price for these Fjord and Iceland cruises IS higher than typical. I'm sure there must be some business reason for it, but I don't know what. Regardless, it's not just Celebrity - it's all the cruise lines that go to that area.

[Ashland]

I've been booked on the May 28th 2018 Ireland, Iceland & Scotland cruise since November 2017...at that time I booked an Veranda balcony (1B) for what I considered a great price...This past week I was able to upgrade to Veranda balcony (1A) no cost...then a couple of days later I was offered an upgrade to Concierge (didn't like the few locations they had left)...no cost, or an upgrade to Aqua class (A1) for $460.00 great location on the slant.

 

I'm a long time loyal cruiser (25+ cruise's) on RCI and this was the perfect opportunity to finally try Celebrity...RCI doesn't offer this amazing itinerary...and I'm so excited to try Eclipse...so "yes" X definitely "enticed" this cruiser all the way from across the pond....I think a good move on their part.

[12thAggie]

I chose this cruise because it was out of Dublin. I wan't extra days there.

[Pavovsky]

There is some amazing value with Celebrity at the moment. I wondered whether it is the cost cutting and changes over the last few years catching up with them. Many loyalists are looking to other lines or land trips.

 

We have just booked because of that value.

 

 

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[Tiggertastic]

A 60 minute flight from Glasgow to Dublin is preferable to the drive to SOTON. Maybe Celebrity prices are too high ??

 

 

 

Annie

 

 

 

I agree, even with the time hanging around the airport before the flight. I’d much rather fly 40mins from Manchester than drive 5-6 hours to Southampton

 

 

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[anniegb]

There is some amazing value with Celebrity at the moment. I wondered whether it is the cost cutting and changes over the last few years catching up with them. Many loyalists are looking to other lines or land trips.

 

We have just booked because of that value.

 

 

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I agree. People are now not just comparing cruise lines but a cruise v another vacation choice.

 

I have just booked an April cruise after monitoring prices for months. The differential between an inside and aqua cabin was 250% - nuts JMO. A verandah is nice but not essential.

 

I know my upper price point and won't book any cruise if it costs more than that.

 

Annie

[mek]

I suspect that this was a ploy by Celebrity to attract USA guests to travel via Ireland to circumvent the perceived terror threat in UK.

 

In addition, the Irish Heritage angle that may have attracted some from across the pond.

 

Also, it may have been the case that incentives were offered to Celebrity to sail from the Republic of Ireland.

 

A ploy that may not have taken off as planned

 

Or it might be that it's so much easier to get on/off the ship in Dublin and go to the airport than Southampton to Heathrow or Gatwick. It was a deciding factor for us, but I can see where it might not be as convenient for other's.

[anniegb]

Or it might be that it's so much easier to get on/off the ship in Dublin and get to the airport than Southampton to Heathrow or Gatwick. It was a deciding factor for us.

 

Remember US nationals can clear US Immigration in Dublin/Shannon but not at the London airports. Add to that the bonus of not flying via London airports. I call that a win/win.

 

The itineraries ex Dublin were, for me, repetitive and expensive.

 

Annie

[kevinyork]

There are only 5 cruises sailing out of Dublin beginning on 30 April, and they are all early in the season. I think the S2's are still a bit pricey for an 8-10 night cruise.

 

 

 

Compared to the Reflection 2019 Cruise at the same time of year, same itinerary where the S2s are £4950pp.

 

 

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[Wine-O]

Compared to the Reflection 2019 Cruise at the same time of year, same itinerary where the S2s are £4950pp.

 

That price is ridiculous. I wouldn't pay 1/2 that much for a 10-night cruise.

[Iamthesea]

I've been booked on the May 28th 2018 Ireland, Iceland & Scotland cruise since November 2017...at that time I booked an Veranda balcony (1B) for what I considered a great price...This past week I was able to upgrade to Veranda balcony (1A) no cost...then a couple of days later I was offered an upgrade to Concierge (didn't like the few locations they had left)...no cost, or an upgrade to Aqua class (A1) for $460.00 great location on the slant.

 

I'm a long time loyal cruiser (25+ cruise's) on RCI and this was the perfect opportunity to finally try Celebrity...RCI doesn't offer this amazing itinerary...and I'm so excited to try Eclipse...so "yes" X definitely "enticed" this cruiser all the way from across the pond....I think a good move on their part.

 

When we booked in July of 2017. Booked a GTY AQ for $2849pp. Upgraded to A1 using the Captains Club perk. At the time, we felt that the rates were reasonable. Then prices went up and we were very happy we had booked when we did. Was a bit peeved that after final payment, our AQ went down in price by about $300 pp. :loudcry:

 

Yesterday, we were alerted to a rate reduction in the Sky Suite category. Upgraded to S1 for $500 more total! But also picked up another $300 OBC from TA. So the cost was really only $200 total. We can use the credit for things that we had intended on spending money on...an excursion, specialty dining and spa. We feel it's a win/win!

 

Or it might be that it's so much easier to get on/off the ship in Dublin and go to the airport than Southampton to Heathrow or Gatwick. It was a deciding factor for us, but I can see where it might not be as convenient for other's.

 

As 12thAggie stated, we were interested in this cruise because it did go out of Dublin. We are also spending some extra time in Scotland, pre-cruise. Easy to fly in and out of Dublin. Getting to and from Southampton was not fun for us.

 

I think another reason that the ship is not filling up with passengers from the U.S. is because airfare is so darn high. At least where we have to fly out of in the south. By booking early, we were lucky to get some reasonable direct fares. But now they are terribly high!

[BEAV]

I tend to believe Celebrity has lofty goals when it comes to pricing on itineraries they sail only a few times. We experienced this last year on Infinity's Spring reposition from San Diego to Vancouver (11 nights). We waited until after final payment to book because the prices had been ridiculous. Same thing again now this year with the same sailing. Also, the Honolulu-Vancouver Solstice reposition. We had been watching pricing (ridiculously high) and like last year waited until after final payment to book once prices were dramatically reduced.

[kathynorth]

Very interesting!

 

Iceland is on our bucket list and when the Dublin cruise 2018 first came out we looked at it but we dismissed it as far too expensive....just checked now following your post and RS are well down in price and still two left. We are finding more and more that RS are often the first category of room to sell out. Very unusual to see them available so near to sailing.

 

If we had any slack left in our cruising calendar this year we would be in one of them!

 

Just checked for 2019 when Reflection will be sailing on a similar cruise in May....the RS is presently over £22,000 for three of us! Certainly not booking at present at that price but we will be watching carefully....interesting that all 8 RS rooms are still available, perhaps it isn’t just us that considers that price way over the top! With relatively cheap flights and around Iceland tours and cruises available perhaps X hasn’t realised they have competition from other holiday types/options. For many sea nights in the North Sea are a turn off because of risks of high seas too.

 

Thanks, very interesting observations....

 

We were very excited to see this itinerary, but then realized the cost was out of our price range when we explored our booking options. We passed on this and booked a different cruise. If this itinerary was available at the current price point last spring then we would have booked without hesitation. I think Celebrity initially over priced the itinerary with the hope that the novelty would bring in extra $.

[Karynanne]

I tend to believe Celebrity has lofty goals when it comes to pricing on itineraries they sail only a few times. We experienced this last year on Infinity's Spring reposition from San Diego to Vancouver (11 nights). We waited until after final payment to book because the prices had been ridiculous. Same thing again now this year with the same sailing. Also, the Honolulu-Vancouver Solstice reposition. We had been watching pricing (ridiculously high) and like last year waited until after final payment to book once prices were dramatically reduced.

 

 

 

Beav, are you booked in the April 29th Hawaii-Vancouver-Solstice?

 

Karyn

 

 

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