Price comparisons between a few cruiselines

[Silkroad]

But then the question is why Princess suite is only 2/3 of X? [emoji50]

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I didn’t comment on Sabbycat’s Princess quote because I’ve neither sailed Princess, nor researched their perks or add-ons.

 

Another point is that Sabbycat did not state the duration of each cruise quoted. This, as well as number of sea days and embarkation/debarkation ports can affect the cost.

[daisy-mae]

As everyone correctly states, "your mileage my vary." I think two factors might have brought Celebrity's price down for our specific circumstance:

1. The Celebrity cruise is out of San Juan, Puerto Rico. I suspect the hurricane might be scaring some people away from that embarkation port, resulting in a discount.
   

We considered a cruise out of San Juan long before there was any hurricane damage; however, arranging a flight to the departure port proved to be both costly and convoluted, which may be another reason to make the cruise more attractive from a financial standpoint.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Understand (have never been on Princess). Then a question arises - if you get a suite on Princess and pay for specialty dining you probably still better off? (Not sure if Princess offers free (perk) drinks package)?

 

I don't find the prospect of dining exclusively in the specialty restaurants interesting. We generally find one or two entrees that appeal, and our experience going back to any restaurant (on land or sea) too quickly is that the second visit never lives up to the first. The main dining room has a different menu every night (up to 14 on Celebrity). We like that variety – as long as the food is consistently good (which it is on Azamara and in Luminae and, based on reports, also in Blu).

[docmark]

As you say, I’m sure that specialty dining wouldn’t cost an extra $5000 (approx). Princess do offer a Sip’n Sail promotion that includes a beverage package (unsure if it’s included in the above example). Even if it wasn’t included, the cost would still be less than the $5000 extra for the X cabin (remember all the cabins are the same size on S class ships, so Aqua is the same as a regular balcony).

 

I have mentioned on other threads about the cost of Europe next year on X. Edge was running at a higher rate in the summer for 7 nights than going on her over the Christmas holiday period :o. Prices will have to start dropping if they want those ships to be full - may be worth sitting and waiting for 2019 to see how far they fall, especially if the Russian issues continue and you are considering a Baltics cruise.

 

Ditto cost of Europe NEXT YEAR:

 

We (my wife and I) had a Signature Suite on Reflection,in February (2 months ago),11 nights ultimate Caribbean, it cost us total $11000. Exact same Suite is listed for over $28000 for 2 on British Isle cruise ,12 nights , August 2019 .......I think Celebrity needs to wake up to reality , or we do !!! this is ridiculous

[Irish Eyes Are Sailing]

OP: Did you do any comparisons with Holland America, or did you leave them out of the comparison for some reason?

[neverbeenhere]

Navel, Mandarin, Blood, Satsuma, Clementine... They are all oranges. They cost different at different times of the year. Some are better than others at different times. But, they are all oranges. :evilsmile:

[Silkroad]

Ditto cost of Europe NEXT YEAR:

 

We (my wife and I) had a Signature Suite on Reflection,in February (2 months ago),11 nights ultimate Caribbean, it cost us total $11000. Exact same Suite is listed for over $28000 for 2 on British Isle cruise ,12 nights , August 2019 .......I think Celebrity needs to wake up to reality , or we do !!! this is ridiculous

Celebrity definitely increased prices for 2019, but prices have always varied by region and season. I’ve not priced a Signature suite, but I have found prices consistently higher for cruises in the UK and Northern Europe, especially in summer. For example, the fare for our 14 night Baltic cruise this summer will cost 25% more than our 14 night Southern Caribbean cruise in early December. Both are in Concierge cabins, and both include one perk. This isn’t as eye opening as your comparison, but it’s still noticeable to us. I had hoped for a miracle price drop after final payment, so I could upgrade us to a Sky Suite. No such luck lol.

[docmark]

Celebrity definitely increased prices for 2019, but prices have always varied by region and season. I’ve not priced a Signature suite, but I have found prices consistently higher for cruises in the UK and Northern Europe, especially in summer. For example, the fare for our 14 night Baltic cruise this summer will cost 25% more than our 14 night Southern Caribbean cruise in early December. Both are in Concierge cabins, and both include one perk. This isn’t as eye opening as your comparison, but it’s still noticeable to us. I had hoped for a miracle price drop after final payment, so I could upgrade us to a Sky Suite. No such luck lol.

 

I DO expect to pay around 25% more for Europe, such as Baltic or British Isle over Caribbean ; but over 2.5 times higher ?? NO WAY!!

[Silkroad]

I DO expect to pay around 25% more for Europe, such as Baltic or British Isle over Caribbean ; but over 2.5 times higher ?? NO WAY!!

Did you miss the part in which I said your comparison was eye opening? I’m not setting or defending those prices, so why am I the target of your vehemence? Supply and demand. They’ll charge what they can. We can pay up or walk away.

[Sabbycat]

I didn’t comment on Sabbycat’s Princess quote because I’ve neither sailed Princess, nor researched their perks or add-ons.

 

Another point is that Sabbycat did not state the duration of each cruise quoted. This, as well as number of sea days and embarkation/debarkation ports can affect the cost.

The X and princess are 14 days and AZ is 12. The AZ is missing sea days, leaves from different port so hits same ports.

 

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[Sabbycat]

I don't find the prospect of dining exclusively in the specialty restaurants interesting. We generally find one or two entrees that appeal, and our experience going back to any restaurant (on land or sea) too quickly is that the second visit never lives up to the first. The main dining room has a different menu every night (up to 14 on Celebrity). We like that variety – as long as the food is consistently good (which it is on Azamara and in Luminae and, based on reports, also in Blu).

I can get a club class mini-suit for 10k on the same princess cruise. Still 5k cheaper than both X and AZ.

 

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[Host Jazzbeau]

I can get a club class mini-suit for 10k on the same princess cruise. Still 5k cheaper than both X and AZ.

 

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And still dining in the Main Dining Room. Is the difference worth 5K? I have decided that at this stage in life the thing I have least of is time, so I won't sail on cruises where the food is less than excellent. That's my answer for me. Nobody but you can answer that for you.

[grandgeezer]

And still dining in the Main Dining Room. Is the difference worth 5K? I have decided that at this stage in life the thing I have least of is time, so I won't sail on cruises where the food is less than excellent. That's my answer for me. Nobody but you can answer that for you.

 

That's our feeling also. That is one of the reasons we stopped cruising, you shouldn't have to go to specialty restaurants to get an excellent meal. That is one of the reasons we are going to give the suite life a try, this October, on the Allure of the Seas so we can see if the suite dining room can meet our high expectations. It's not all about the cost but it's all about the enjoyment. If the suite life doesn't work out, we'll limit our dining out options to the restaurants, locally, that we found serve excellent food every time.

[chemmo]

Ditto cost of Europe NEXT YEAR:

 

We (my wife and I) had a Signature Suite on Reflection,in February (2 months ago),11 nights ultimate Caribbean, it cost us total $11000. Exact same Suite is listed for over $28000 for 2 on British Isle cruise ,12 nights , August 2019 .......I think Celebrity needs to wake up to reality , or we do !!! this is ridiculous

 

Like others we compare cruise costs as price per night. We had two RS booked this year one in the Caribbean and one in the Mediterranean. Mediterranean one, as expected, more expensive but not ridiculously so.....We have a Caribbean one booked for 2020, price per night comparable to this year. However, we simply can’t find a European cruise at a reasonable price for 2019!

 

Rather than ‘jumping cruise lines’ we are considering a year off cruising. There are small boat trips in Croatia and around Iceland at a decent price....a totally different cruise experience. Or we could book a villa in a couple of Greek islands for a week each or hire a car and tour Spain. Then we could book an Italian rail ticket and stay in ‘historic buildings’.....The list of holiday types that are relatively easy to organise in Europe is stunning! Cruising is certainly not the only way to enjoy Europe!

 

If prices drop we will look at booking another Med cruise for 2019 but we will not pay more than we think it is worth!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I have a sky suite booked this fall in the Caribbean with full single supplement. Over $8,000. Just got an offer from MSC for a Yacht Club balcony suite with NO single supplement for $2,000. Yacht Club will match my status with Celebrity and features the full ship within a ship concept. Guess which one I'm going to do!

[mgatc]

The only thing you didn’t take into account was itinerary, just mentioned generally. Sometimes this will incur a higher price.

 

 

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[villauk]

I have a sky suite booked this fall in the Caribbean with full single supplement. Over $8,000. Just got an offer from MSC for a Yacht Club balcony suite with NO single supplement for $2,000. Yacht Club will match my status with Celebrity and features the full ship within a ship concept. Guess which one I'm going to do!

 

 

Wow, that it a difference, but I’m not surprised after seeing some of X’s 2019 prices. Please do let us know what you think of MSC and the Yacht Club. We too are considering different options for 2019 ;).

[Cruise Junky]

We were pricing a Transpacific for April 2020. Compared Radiance at 18 days vs Solstice at 16 days. Radiance has Moorea, and Solstice Lahaina. Solstice is about $1,400 pp more for two less days. No perks on either. That’s a no brainer.

[villauk]

We were pricing a Transpacific for April 2020. Compared Radiance at 18 days vs Solstice at 16 days. Radiance has Moorea, and Solstice Lahaina. Solstice is about $1,400 pp more for two less days. No perks on either. That’s a no brainer.

 

We really like Radiance class ships. It’s been interesting to read some of the price differences being highlighted on this thread ;).

[NCHPcruiser]

I priced out a Russia and Scandinavia cruise on AZ and X for June 2019. X in an Aqua (A2) and Az in a balcony. Az was $14,440 and X was $14,890 and that was only one perk.

 

I could not believe the price of X. AZ includes drinks, grats, specialty dining.

 

We are now looking at a suite on Princess for $9,980

 

No idea why X is so expensive!

 

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Perhaps it's different in Canada, but I just did dummy bookings for four Baltics cruises with X in June 2019 and all priced much lower in Aqua than $14,440 US. I was curious because we are doing a 14 day Baltics cruise this June leaving from Southampton in a Sky Suite for this price with all perks and I was surprised that they had gone up that much. You could get a Sky Suite for next June for about $15,000 depending on the sailing. AQ cabins priced at just under $11,000 with one perk.

[rmalbers]

Ditto cost of Europe NEXT YEAR:

 

We (my wife and I) had a Signature Suite on Reflection,in February (2 months ago),11 nights ultimate Caribbean, it cost us total $11000. Exact same Suite is listed for over $28000 for 2 on British Isle cruise ,12 nights , August 2019 .......I think Celebrity needs to wake up to reality , or we do !!! this is ridiculous

Is that the British Isle cruise during 'The Open' golf tournament, if so that explains it, that cruise is always more $ and fills up quicker so the prices go up.

[rmalbers]

It really does seem like the suite prices have/are really going up. I think they will continue to go up until demand and supply start equaling out. As long as X can sell out the prices will go up, it's a business and right now there is a lot of disposable income in the US as people retire, there are people that have saved money, enough to fill cruise ships anyway!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

The only thing you didn’t take into account was itinerary, just mentioned generally. Sometimes this will incur a higher price.

 

I did take that into account. Both Caribbean itineraries. Been there, done that, many times in the Caribbean. Don't care about the itinerary. Do care about saving $6,000.