Edge Overpriced???

[cruiserchuck]

2 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

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.

 

We usually sail on Celebrity in Aqua, but did a recent HAL cruise in a verandah.  We also thought it was just as good if not better than our recent Celebrity experiences.  I am real picky about getting my meals served hot, and the waiter on HAL was the first one ever who seemed concerned whether the food was hot.  I would never pay a lot more to sail on Celebrity.  For most cruises I price out, Celebrity is usually cheaper than HAL.  

[RDC1]

1 hour ago, villauk said:

 

 

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?

A well run company always tries to increase margin, if they have pricing power to do so.  They were initially successful in setting a much higher price point with Epic.  The addition of the 4 perks would be the logical step to try and continue to defend and maintain the higher price point.  Since this is a new ship, with a substantially different market focus then Celebrity has had traditionally, there will be some testing of both price points and demographics.  The current price point with perks models out to be more profitable with a much higher margin then the pre-epic price points without perks.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

47 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

We usually sail on Celebrity in Aqua, but did a recent HAL cruise in a verandah.  We also thought it was just as good if not better than our recent Celebrity experiences.  I am real picky about getting my meals served hot, and the waiter on HAL was the first one ever who seemed concerned whether the food was hot.  I would never pay a lot more to sail on Celebrity.  For most cruises I price out, Celebrity is usually cheaper than HAL.  

 

We lean towards reposition cruises in Aqua, which X can be very reasonable on.  Hal can be very competitive as well, depending on the region.  Canada / New England, or a Pacific Coastal, X is far more expensive.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

1 hour ago, Pennstateman said:

The supply always meets the demand 

 

Supply meets demand, when a ship with a consistent price, sells out right before sailing.  If it sells out 3 months prior, it was priced a little too low.  If the ship sails with 10% emty cabins, it was priced too high.

 

There is a landfield in NM full of Atari E.T. video games, supply does not always meet demand.

[BPCW]

I posted this in another thread but is relevant to the discussions here. 

 

We just booked our January 2020 cruise on Summit (7 night southern) for $850pp (with all port fees and taxes) for an Oceanview - reduced deposit and two free perks (or full deposit and 3 perks).  We paid about $1,000pp for a balcony room on Equinox for the cruise we just got off of 2 weeks ago.  

 

Looking at Edge for January 2020, an inside stateroom is $1,700pp, oceanview is $2,500pp, and a veranda room is $2,900pp.  To each their own but that is almost 3x "normal" Celebrity cruises. 

 

Obviously many people out there will pay those prices but I wonder how demand will be when the newness wears off. 

[The_Big_M]

9 hours ago, Pennstateman said:

Supply, meet demand 

 

Market, meet unrealistic vendor expectations.

[Pennstateman]

4 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

Supply meets demand, when a ship with a consistent price, sells out right before sailing.  If it sells out 3 months prior, it was priced a little too low.  If the ship sails with 10% emty cabins, it was priced too high.

 

There is a landfield in NM full of Atari E.T. video games, supply does not always meet demand.

That’s exactly supply meeting demand.  Thanks for making my point 

[Pennstateman]

2 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

Market, meet unrealistic vendor expectations.

Celebrity profits meet record highs

[Stateroom_Sailor]

3 hours ago, Pennstateman said:

That’s exactly supply meeting demand.  Thanks for making my point 

 

Can you point to an official definition of "supply meeting demand"?  How does "Celebrity profits meet record highs", play into this term?

[JOVERNITE]

Good day all!

 

The only thing I'm interested in on Edge would be an Infinite Verandah cabin. It would be amazing. Out of our price range right now. I'll wait until prices come down just like most have opined.

 

We normally book concierge on the hump for the larger balcony. In looking at Edge deck plans the hump doesn't gradually curve out. It's squared and juts out so cabins immediately on either side are listed as obstructed view. For an extra $100/pp you can move further away for a cabin w/o obstruction. 

 

By the way of this forum many are discussing a full ship is 100%. I thought so too. Their goal is actually 120%. They are taking into consideration cabins withmore than 2 pax. 

[Luvcrusn]

The choice between 1 week on Edge vs 2 weeks on any other X ship is a no brainer for us! To each their own.

[Pennstateman]

4 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

The choice between 1 week on Edge vs 2 weeks on any other X ship is a no brainer for us! To each their own.

Or both!

to each his own, indeed!

[Luvcrusn]

12 minutes ago, Pennstateman said:

Or both!

to each his own, indeed!

I'll leave Edge to you. Not a fan of IV or inflated pricing structure. 2 weeks on any other ship is preferable for us. We also like a verandah where you are actually outside and the room doesn't get hot when you're sitting out. Choice is a wonderful thing to have.

[PROCRUISE]

10 minutes ago, Luvcrusn said:

I'll leave Edge to you. Not a fan of IV or inflated pricing structure. 2 weeks on any other ship is preferable for us. We also like a verandah where you are actually outside and the room doesn't get hot when you're sitting out. Choice is a wonderful thing to have.

Agree! Looking forward to being on the Reflection on 2/18 in a "regular, normal" balcony. Traveling solo, so it costs a bit but worth it to me and as you stated, choice is wonderful.

I've read through this whole thread about the Edge cost. Again, it all comes down to choice. After the Reflection next month I'll actually be going with RCCL and then HAL. However, I went ahead and booked the Edge for 12/2020. Again, as a solo traveler, for just an ocean view cabin the price came out to $2656. That included a $250 military discount on the price, paid gratuities and $400 OBC. It's still my choice to actually go, really just to see the vessel since the itinerary is not exciting, or to cancel before final payment and spend my money elsewhere. Love the many choices that cruise lines offer. Thank you too, to the many previous responses that provoked my thought processes with regards to the Edge and cruising in general.

[The Retiree]

6 hours ago, Pennstateman said:

Ummm, ok then 

 

I have read that their are 29 new cruise ships being christened in 2019. The Flora is special since she was built specifically for the Galapagos.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

4 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

I'll leave Edge to you. Not a fan of IV or inflated pricing structure. 2 weeks on any other ship is preferable for us. We also like a verandah where you are actually outside and the room doesn't get hot when you're sitting out. Choice is a wonderful thing to have.

 

If people want to subsidize the cruise line for us, it's to all our favor.  It's called taking one for the team.  Personally, I'll dine and dash, and pay Oceania those prices instead. 😂

[deliver42]

I'll stick to my upcoming cruise on the Equinox, thank you. with a $2000.00 price difference.

[taylortime05]

I’ve only cruised on Celebrity twice on Eclipse and the Reflection.  Enjoyed both cruises very much.  I recently booked E3 on Edge sailing in Dec for 7 night Eastern.  I don’t think the price was too bad.  We booked with TA for total 3400.  We got go best so all 4 perks.  We got total of 900 obc (300 go best + 100 mlk bonus + 150 booking onboard bonus + 300 from TA + 50 from TA for loyalty).  I hope we like it as much as the other 2 cruises.

 

I hope I haven’t already posted this info in earlier thread.

Edited January 24, 2019 by taylortime05

[Lastdance]

On 1/23/2019 at 5:48 AM, cruisefam38 said:

 

<An embarrassment of riches, and if a certain young firebrand politician from New York has her way, immoral people are going to be paying their fair share (more, much more) to soothe their embarrassment. 

 

 

Political opinions are not allowed on Cruise Critic...period!  Now you know.

[bkbarrym]

Just put down a $25 pp deposit for May 2020 Rome 11 night Italy, Croatia, Montenegro cruise. Total cost for 2 with 2 perks for SV $8300. Found similar itinerary  this summer on HAL Konigsdam (a newer ship) from a T/A for balcony, return Airfare, 2 nights pre cruise hotel in Rome, $100 OBC for $6400. BIG difference when considering we have to also factor in airfare and pre cruise hotel to the Edge cruise (probably another $2500-3000). So approximately a $4500-5000 difference for the trip.

 

While I would prefer to sail Celebrity having reached Elite,  it's really hard to justify this difference.

[cruiserchuck]

16 minutes ago, bkbarrym said:

Just put down a $25 pp deposit for May 2020 Rome 11 night Italy, Croatia, Montenegro cruise. Total cost for 2 with 2 perks for SV $8300. Found similar itinerary  this summer on HAL Konigsdam (a newer ship) from a T/A for balcony, return Airfare, 2 nights pre cruise hotel in Rome, $100 OBC for $6400. BIG difference when considering we have to also factor in airfare and pre cruise hotel to the Edge cruise (probably another $2500-3000). So approximately a $4500-5000 difference for the trip.

 

While I would prefer to sail Celebrity having reached Elite,  it's really hard to justify this difference.

 

For several cruises we looked at this summer on S class ships, Celebrity was priced less than similar HAL cruises.  If you prefer Celebrity, you might want to look at the S class ships.  The benefits of Elite have a lot of value to us.  We especially like the internet minutes and the free laundry.  The free specialty coffee in the morning at the Elite breakfast was also nice, but we usually now get a beverage package as a perk, so we get our coffee covered anyway.   

[bkbarrym]

41 minutes ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

For several cruises we looked at this summer on S class ships, Celebrity was priced less than similar HAL cruises.  If you prefer Celebrity, you might want to look at the S class ships.  The benefits of Elite have a lot of value to us.  We especially like the internet minutes and the free laundry.  The free specialty coffee in the morning at the Elite breakfast was also nice, but we usually now get a beverage package as a perk, so we get our coffee covered anyway.   

Really like the Elite benefits as well and if this same itinerary was offered for a more reasonable cost on an S class ship I would be all over it! Huge premium to do it on the Edge.

[DaCruiseBug]

Just got off the Edge 2 days ago. It's a beautiful ship and even tho we were in an inside cabin (Casino comp) it was probably one of my favorite cruises.

 

The food in the main dining rooms was BETTER then the food served in the Yacht Club on the MSC Seaside last October. Yes, just my opinion. The singers on the ship were top notch, probably the best i've seen on a ship and the dancers/production was above average. The size of our "deluxe inside" cabin was about the same size as a balcony room (minus the balcony) on NCL...very spacious.

 

The one concept I thought was a complete waste was Eden. We heard the restaurant and drinks were good but the rest of the space seems like a complete waste especially since it's so expansive and the location is prime for another entertainment venue. We stayed for a little over an hour one night to watch the Eden show and came away thinking you would probably only enjoy it if you were high out of your mind. I'm in my 30s and my girlfriend in her 40s so...if we don't get it it's safe to assume that 99% of those in their 50s+ didn't either.

 

The ship seems to be oriented towards our age group. The 30s and 40s crowd BUT i'd say the average age on our cruise was probably late 60s with 60-70% being 70 and above. Very few people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

 

The ship was NOT sold out. A few days before the sailing they still showed inside, oceanview, and veranda rooms available and on our sailing the room next to ours was empty. It really comes down the the prices Celebrity is charging.

 

While the ship is at high occupancy at the moment, they shouldn't expect that to continue. Every person we talked to on the ship said they preferred one of the classic Celebrity ship over the Edge. So you have all these people in their 60s and 70s on the ship that are the normal Celebrity customer saying they prefer the other Celebrity ships. They're on the Edge now because it's brand new and couldn't cancel their cruise even after the initial reviews came out but i'm willing to bet Celebrity will have a hard time filling it up come the Fall. Looking at prices you're already seeing a drop with some sailings dropping below $1,000 per person for inside.

 

It's a great ship and i'd go on her again. The food and the service were just amazing in my opinion. Celebrity needs to figure out what they want to do with the Edge. Do they want to keep catering to a younger demographic? If so, fares need to come down. If they want to cater to their standard Celebrity customer they need to change the entertainment on-board and take out Eden.

 

We arrived at the pier at 11:55am on the 20th and were in our cabin at 12:05pm. Yes, that quick! Got our keys and rooms were ready at 1pm and our luggage was already there.

 

I'd love to do the Eastern Caribbean (we did Western this time) in November or December but...prices need to come down by another $300-400 per person for us to consider it. Are you listening Celebrity?

 

Dining: We had the 6:00pm set dining but every night we dined at a different restaurant and showed up anytime between 6:00pm and 7:30pm and never had to wait. Checked in with the host and always got a table right away (usually by a window).

 

Feel free to ask any questions -

[villauk]

Interesting comments DaCruiseBug - definitely food for thought. What I’m more shocked about is the amount of reviews that say they have a free cruise (casino comp) and yet the ship is still not sailing full, especially this early into a new ship’s sailings. No wonder X are throwing all the perks to try and entice pax to book. But as you state, ‘if they don’t drop the prices’ how are they going to get their intended demographic (millennials) to bite, as it’s not working presently 🤔?

 

All the recent photos on the various reviews also highlight the age range that are currently sailing on her....I don’t see many under 40s (which I am not, in case anyone thinks, being ageist - far from it as I’m over 40 - just pointing out that it’s not filled with the millennials they have targeted).

[nednrom]

12 minutes ago, DaCruiseBug said:

Just got off the Edge 2 days ago. It's a beautiful ship and even tho we were in an inside cabin (Casino comp) it was probably one of my favorite cruises.

 

The food in the main dining rooms was BETTER then the food served in the Yacht Club on the MSC Seaside last October. Yes, just my opinion. The singers on the ship were top notch, probably the best i've seen on a ship and the dancers/production was above average. The size of our "deluxe inside" cabin was about the same size as a balcony room (minus the balcony) on NCL...very spacious.

 

The one concept I thought was a complete waste was Eden. We heard the restaurant and drinks were good but the rest of the space seems like a complete waste especially since it's so expansive and the location is prime for another entertainment venue. We stayed for a little over an hour one night to watch the Eden show and came away thinking you would probably only enjoy it if you were high out of your mind. I'm in my 30s and my girlfriend in her 40s so...if we don't get it it's safe to assume that 99% of those in their 50s+ didn't either.

 

The ship seems to be oriented towards our age group. The 30s and 40s crowd BUT i'd say the average age on our cruise was probably late 60s with 60-70% being 70 and above. Very few people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

 

The ship was NOT sold out. A few days before the sailing they still showed inside, oceanview, and veranda rooms available and on our sailing the room next to ours was empty. It really comes down the the prices Celebrity is charging.

 

While the ship is at high occupancy at the moment, they shouldn't expect that to continue. Every person we talked to on the ship said they preferred one of the classic Celebrity ship over the Edge. So you have all these people in their 60s and 70s on the ship that are the normal Celebrity customer saying they prefer the other Celebrity ships. They're on the Edge now because it's brand new and couldn't cancel their cruise even after the initial reviews came out but i'm willing to bet Celebrity will have a hard time filling it up come the Fall. Looking at prices you're already seeing a drop with some sailings dropping below $1,000 per person for inside.

 

It's a great ship and i'd go on her again. The food and the service were just amazing in my opinion. Celebrity needs to figure out what they want to do with the Edge. Do they want to keep catering to a younger demographic? If so, fares need to come down. If they want to cater to their standard Celebrity customer they need to change the entertainment on-board and take out Eden.

 

We arrived at the pier at 11:55am on the 20th and were in our cabin at 12:05pm. Yes, that quick! Got our keys and rooms were ready at 1pm and our luggage was already there.

 

I'd love to do the Eastern Caribbean (we did Western this time) in November or December but...prices need to come down by another $300-400 per person for us to consider it. Are you listening Celebrity?

 

Dining: We had the 6:00pm set dining but every night we dined at a different restaurant and showed up anytime between 6:00pm and 7:30pm and never had to wait. Checked in with the host and always got a table right away (usually by a window).

 

Feel free to ask any questions -

 

We were on the same cruise and agree on the age group that you describe at our sailing.  There were a lot of unhappy faces and most of the loungers in the solarium were full with guests that just wanted to sleep.  However, we actually liked Eden, it's a calmer place to sit during the day and they do have daily activities there - nice for drinks during happy hour for those who to just listen to a live band.  I watched an awesome sailaway along with a sunset when it was too cool to be out on the Sunset Bar.  It was used for some night activities - we went Silent Disco there.

 

The chairs in Eden are a different story - I sank into one of the couches and thought I cannot get up from here, there were some high back chairs along side the expansive windows on Deck 6 and benches facing the wall instead of the ocean.  So there are some things that are odd. The show is something that we are not used to since it was a story told with a combination of interpretive dancing/cirque de solei format and I suggested that it needed some intro about the story in the beginning or a playlist like you get in the theater.

The price - currently too high for us as well - we can take 2 cruises for the same price so although we would like to go on the Apex, we have not booked.