Edge Overpriced???

[kelmac]

7 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

I think it may go deeper than that.  The basic mass-market cruise lines sell their cabins cheaply and make their profits with onboard nickel and diming.  While Celebrity has been accused of N&D lately, they are really operating on a different business plan because so many folks get free beverage packages.  So I wonder if they have done the math and calculated that sailing at 80% full without discounting is actually more profitable than 100% at any price?  I know that in 2016 our Med cruise on Connie allowed us to upgrade from AQ all the way to CS and still pay less than the initial AQ fare.  They announced after that that they were getting out of that game, and I think that's what we are now seeing.

The reason ships try to sail at 100% capacity is to fill the gratuity pool so all the service workers get paid a living wage.  "Good news, and bad news, Mr Cabin Steward -- you have three less cabins to clean this voyage, but you will get 20% less pay."  

 

Next November I wanted to sail a couple of newer ships;  inside cabin on the Celebrity Edge = $1,257 per person with no perks; the next week we move over to Holland America's Nieuw Statendam = $644 per person with no perks.  We decided to add MSC's Meraviglia in an inside Yacht Club cabin at $1,564 per person all inclusive.  All of these cruises are 7 nights long. 

(PS -- Crystal Symphony is cruising 7 nights that week at $1,782 per person all inclusive in an OV cabin.)  Which one does not belong in the "good deal" section?

 

As always, Enjoy!

Kel😀

 

--Full disclosure -- I have a booking on all four of these ships.  Nov 10th -- Dec 8th and none of these cruises include pre-paid gratuities.  All four cruises leave out of south Florida to the Caribbean.

 

Edited January 10, 2019 by kelmac
add additional info

[hcat]

On 1/8/2019 at 11:13 AM, New Hampshire said:

I booked an E4 Cabin #6160, 11/15/19 nine night to ABC islands for $2189 per person in late November. This includes Classic drink pkg, pre-paid gratuities and OBC from my TA.  This price is still available for this category through my TA.  They do great volume with Celebrity and frequently have a block of cabins in a specific category for a reduced price.  If I had booked this cabin through Celebrity on the same day I made my booking, I would have paid an additional $110 pp.  I think CC rules are that I cannot mention the name of my agent.  However, it is a large internet cruise booking agency with the same initials as the site you are reading.

 

We  booked  this  cruise in an SV directly with X. .We did not reserve  very early  on so we will be paying more than we normally would agree to. ( do not have my res papers handy for pricing) only perk for us is the Classic alc so you did well with the perks...although some E cabins do have obstructed views..lifeboats or davits.

 

 I  like the itin and want to try the new MDR select plan;   and dh wants the SV with outdor balc .( hope no noise from Eden below!)  So we  accept the high pricing. 

See you on the roll call! !

[kelmac]

On 1/9/2019 at 6:06 PM, Bo1953 said:

Well, yes, there are better deals on other ships/lines out there... no doubt.

 

My thoughts include, better deals do not always mean a better product or better experience.

 

Enjoy your sailing and look forward to your review...

 

bon voyage

 

Hi Bo,

 

I agree 100%.  I think we are both booked on the same cruise next November and I'm looking forward to my first Edge experience.  Expensive, yes, but perhaps the price will drop in the coming months?

 

Enjoy!

Kel😀

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, kelmac said:

Hi Bo,

 

I agree 100%.  I think we are both booked on the same cruise next November and I'm looking forward to my first Edge experience.  Expensive, yes, but perhaps the price will drop in the coming months?

 

Enjoy!

Kel😀

K -  We are on the Thanksgiving Sailing!

 

I look forward to meeting you and introducing you to our Clan of 22.. some new to X some new to sailing.

 

Our pricing happened to be no more than up to $200 p/p than sailing on one of the other X sailings at the same time at the time we booked.

 

We all knew that cruise pricing is a moving target so we went for it and happy we did. Yes, the sailing does cost more, currently, than I would have most of my family and friends pay.

 

We are all still excited and cannot wait!! Many of the review are teases for us, but I Am happy for those who have the opportunity to sail in the mean time..

 

I wish I could join you on all of your sailings....

 

Take care and see you on the RC and on-board.

 

bon voyage

Edited January 11, 2019 by Bo1953

[cruiserchuck]

From the cruises I have looked at, Edge is way overpriced.  Celebrity seems to have acknowledged it is overpriced, since they rolled out the free four perks for all cabins promotion today. 

[The Retiree]

On 11/6/2018 at 5:33 PM, Duanerice1 said:

Holy crap, I thought the $4,600 was a lot so I guess the Edge is out for me.  Just off the 10 night Equinox ABC cruise, only in an 1A but it was $3010 total with $350 OBC and the drink package.  You guys are all out of my price range.  lol  I'll never get on the Edge, just not worth it to me, way to many other options for vacation. 

I think that when all four Edge-Class ships are in n operation (2023?), the “innovation” will have worn off and pricing will come down. Each o these four ships is costing $1 billion to build, so, Celebrity have to recover from this before they are making a profit. 

[BPCW]

 

I think Celebrity has priced Edge, at least initially to be priced so they don't sell all their cabins.  I think they would be happy to be 80% capaciity which you don't normally see on other ships.  The reason why they have priced the fares so high is to work out the kinks while at the same time let people who want to be one of the early cruisers on the latest ships pay accordingly.  Apple to  a certain degree uses the same pricing philosophy when they introduce the latest iPhone.  The newest iPhones are priced high and they decrease the price of older models.  

I checked the prices on the Edge sailing this Sunday and the fares are still where they were over a month ago.  No discounts to fill the remaining cabins.  There are 5 of the 6 Edge Villas still available...$35K each.....No discount to sell out the Villas.

 

Its possible.  Edge sailings are consistently 2.5-3x of "normal" Celebrity sailings.  So quite a premium placed on Edge...

[Pennstateman]

 

 

Its possible.  Edge sailings are consistently 2.5-3x of "normal" Celebrity sailings.  So quite a premium placed on Edge...

Supply, meet demand 

[Wine-O]

10 minutes ago, Pennstateman said:

Supply, meet demand 

For what they are asking, some of us don't have any demand.  

[Stateroom_Sailor]

32 minutes ago, Wine-O said:

For what they are asking, some of us don't have any demand.  

 

If there is consistent overstock, supply and demand have not met market equilibrium.  One solution is to lower prices.  Or, maybe they should have built a smaller ship?

[kearney]

This will be interesting to watch. There must be enough demand that they are getting enough to buy at these prices.... so 10-15% of cabins go unsold.... if their costs are lower (given significant savings on their #1 cost item fuel).... and they do get double on cabins sold... they are ahead of the game. They may not be able to keep this up long term....but in the short term... toss in a few perks... which cost little (except opportunity cost)... still say they are ahead... Actually my bigger concern are what seems to be higher prices on the rest of the fleet. A year ago I got a last minute 11 day SCaribbean cruise veranda cabin for $2000 all in... for two with taxes... granted it was last minute... but I have not found anything even close to that deal this past fall...

[TFLG]

On ‎1‎/‎20‎/‎2019 at 1:24 PM, The Retiree said:

 Each o these four ships is costing $1 billion to build, so, Celebrity have to recover from this before they are making a profit. 

 

Not quite,  they only have to make more than the payment on that billion dollar loan to turn a profit. And you can be sure they are making money from day 1.

[ghstudio]

I think one problem that has emerged is embodied on this cruise critic forum.....there are both good and bad points about the ship.....and some find the bad significant enough not to book.  We fall into that group....we have had french balcony cabins on river cruises and we just don't like them...they are not balcony cabins...they are just cabins with big windows that open (to us). I recently asked if there were any non suite, non IV cabins and apparently there are only a very few on the stern in one category....and that's not even aqua or concierge (may be wrong, but that's what I was told here). We'll just stay on those old M and S class ships and certainly not pay a premium for what we view as potentially not as good an experience.

 

(note: all info in this post is second hand....but I tend to believe reports on cruise critic)

[BPCW]

3 hours ago, Pennstateman said:

Supply, meet demand 

 

I think the argument is there is NOT sufficient demand with X giving special deals (4 perks) to only Edge sailings.

 

To me, we will really see how response to high Edge prices happens once the newness wears off.  I get high prices for a new ship, that's always happened.  But they are asking for 2.5-3x normal X cruises well in Jan 2020 when I looked - we will see if those hold. 

[villauk]

3 hours ago, Pennstateman said:

Supply, meet demand 

 

 

Obviously the demand isn’t as great as they thought, otherwise they wouldn’t now be offering 4 perks and a low deposit to entice people to book.

[villauk]

1 hour ago, ghstudio said:

I think one problem that has emerged is embodied on this cruise critic forum.....there are both good and bad points about the ship.....and some find the bad significant enough not to book.  We fall into that group....we have had french balcony cabins on river cruises and we just don't like them...they are not balcony cabins...they are just cabins with big windows that open (to us). I recently asked if there were any non suite, non IV cabins and apparently there are only a very few on the stern in one category....and that's not even aqua or concierge (may be wrong, but that's what I was told here). We'll just stay on those old M and S class ships and certainly not pay a premium for what we view as potentially not as good an experience.

 

(note: all info in this post is second hand....but I tend to believe reports on cruise critic)

 

 

And do I think that’s what will deter pax from booking: those very high prices for what is a basically an OV cabin. I would like to experience the ship, but in a proper balcony cabin (and not at an extortionate rate).

 

From the reviews on CC, quite a few who have experienced the IV said they wouldn’t book one again (HostAnne included). The suites appear to be more on a par with previous X suites now they are starting to add features that should have been included from the outset i.e. loungers etc. Having to take curtains, hooks and blow-up stools on a cruise is hardly conducive to ‘Modern Luxury’ on a brand new ship - obviously OMHO.

[The Retiree]

1 hour ago, ghstudio said:

I think one problem that has emerged is embodied on this cruise critic forum.....there are both good and bad points about the ship.....and some find the bad significant enough not to book.  We fall into that group....we have had french balcony cabins on river cruises and we just don't like them...they are not balcony cabins...they are just cabins with big windows that open (to us). I recently asked if there were any non suite, non IV cabins and apparently there are only a very few on the stern in one category....and that's not even aqua or concierge (may be wrong, but that's what I was told here). We'll just stay on those old M and S class ships and certainly not pay a premium for what we view as potentially not as good an experience.

 

(note: all info in this post is second hand....but I tend to believe reports on cruise critic)

You are mostly right - the Full Verandas are at the stern of the ship. Across all decks, there are 48 in total. Of these, 12 of them are suites. I hope this helps....

[kelmac]

18 minutes ago, BPCW said:

 

I think the argument is there is NOT sufficient demand with X giving special deals (4 perks) to only Edge sailings.

 

To me, we will really see how response to high Edge prices happens once the newness wears off.  I get high prices for a new ship, that's always happened.  But they are asking for 2.5-3x normal X cruises well in Jan 2020 when I looked - we will see if those hold. 

 

Two new ships and their prices:

Dec 1st, 7 night cruise on Celebrity Edge, inside CAT 10 cabin w/$175 OBC = total price with all taxes $1,435.74 per person.

 

Dec 1st, 7 night cruise on HAL's Nieuw Statendam, inside CAT K w/no perks = total price with all taxes $640.00 per person.

 

I like Celebrity a bit more than I like Holland America, but they are both head-to-head competitors.  Is the Edge worth twice as much as the Nieuw Statendam?

 

Enjoy!

Kel

[Stateroom_Sailor]

1 hour ago, kelmac said:

 

 

I like Celebrity a bit more than I like Holland America, but they are both head-to-head competitors.  Is the Edge worth twice as much as the Nieuw Statendam?

 

Enjoy!

Kel

 

I see that they're both the first in a new class of ship, even.  Edge may have been more hyped up, results more polarizing. If prices were reversed, Nieuw Statendam would sail more than half empty IMO.

 

We were on a recently renovated ship, so that could play a factor in our opinion, plus we didn't have the negative experience with their old smoking policy.  The MDR food, service, and decor quality was every bit as good as X.  I thought the cabins, buffet, and spa area were superior.  I prefer X's classic ambiance a bit better, reposition pricing, and perks.

 

Paying more than double for Eden?  I'll pass.

Edited January 22, 2019 by Stateroom_Sailor

[deliver42]

Nieuw Statendam is the 2nd of it's class. The Koningsdam was the first.

[Pennstateman]

2 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

Obviously the demand isn’t as great as they thought, otherwise they wouldn’t now be offering 4 perks and a low deposit to entice people to book.

Hence “supply, meet demand.”

[Pennstateman]

2 hours ago, BPCW said:

 

I think the argument is there is NOT sufficient demand with X giving special deals (4 perks) to only Edge sailings.

 

To me, we will really see how response to high Edge prices happens once the newness wears off.  I get high prices for a new ship, that's always happened.  But they are asking for 2.5-3x normal X cruises well in Jan 2020 when I looked - we will see if those hold. 

The supply always meets the demand 

[Hlitner]

Also consider the Caribbean market is really become a lot more competitive with Virgin soon to enter the market and MSC adding a third ship later this year.  With Celebrity constantly cutting-back on various onboard amenities we wonder if they will still be able to carve out a special segment of the market.  For years, X had a reputation as a line with very good cuisine and pretty decent entertainment.  Now, they are playing the RCI game by simply marketing new as better.  We do not see them filling their ships unless they are price competitive.

 

Hank

[RDC1]

2 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

Obviously the demand isn’t as great as they thought, otherwise they wouldn’t now be offering 4 perks and a low deposit to entice people to book.

 

The 4 perks might be Celebrity doing a market test to see if they can do more of an inclusive pricing policy with their new direction.  The 4 perks provides them with a way to see if they can maintain a higher base price by including them, without actually actually changing their pricing policy.

Edited January 22, 2019 by RDC1

[villauk]

1 minute ago, RDC1 said:

 

The 4 perks might be Celebrity doing a market test to see if they can do more of an inclusive pricing policy with their new direction.  The 4 perks provides them with a way to see if they can maintain a higher base price by including them, without actually actually changing their pricing policy.

 

 

They wouldn’t have to do the market test if the ship was running full, especially after all the hype. I read that Host Anne was able to upgrade onboard at a reduced cost to a suite after asking at GS. Tell me the last time someone was able to do that on X recently (there’s always the sign stating not to bother asking)? Keep those prices high for the controversial IVs and pax will keep walking to the alternatives.

 

Supply is far outweighing the demand, according to the amount of available cabins that keeps being reported here. Currently, you’ve got the pax who want to say they’ve been on a brand new ship and will pay the premium, will they continue to do that when they now see these offers appearing and also after hearing the amount of free cruises being handed out for a brand new ship?