New pricing strategy fleetwide starting April 4, 2019

[hcat]

50 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

Do it.  If the prices go down- rebook. 

We did it !  Could not get through to X so we did it online for first time....Hope we can confirm later when phones are accessible.

 

Booked APEX ( hate that name)

Nov 2020, from FLL, to St Kitts, San Juan , St Thomas. 7 days.

 

Price for the Sunset Veranda was lower than the reg Inf Veranda...odd? Got OBC  classic bev , $200 discount.. maybe we can get more when I call???

 

We'll see if prices are better when the new plan is rolled out...ours is a refundable fare

[bikerunner]

Makes sense have a no frills cabin only price.  The inconsistency that Celebrity keeps doing is crazy.  But it is also watching the prices and seeing them fluctuate so much.  For example the cruise I am going in Nov this year on the Reflection is around 1700 more than I paid for it back in November last year. If there is consistency in the pkgs year round, ie no frills 2 perks, then all it is better for the consumer.  Instead of now just seems a hodgepodge over the last few months for rates.

[luv2cruise0611]

1 hour ago, mikkelhansen said:

Starting April 4, 2019, Celebrity Cruises will implement a new pricing strategy, effectively replacing the "Go Big/Better/Best" perk system. The new pricing strategy is called "Sail Your Way" (very clever, newly-invented name, never heard before in connection with Celebrity....), and will introduce three new price tiers:

-Tier 1 called "Sail" - Cruise-only fares (no perks included) for all cruises, seemingly only available with non-refundable deposit

-Tier 2 called "Sail Plus" - Includes 2 perks (choose from the usual four; Unlimited High-Speed Internet / Classic Beverage Package / Prepaid Tips / $300 to spend onboard), now ALSO available for inside staterooms

-Tier 3 called "Sail All Included" - Includes all four perks for all stateroom categories including inside - suites get all four perks plus upgrade to premium beverage package with Sail Plus and Sail All Included.

 

Furthermore, TA and TP cruises are now also applicable for Sail Plus/Sail All Inclusive, but Galapagos cruises are not.

Individual perks will still be available to buy via the Cruise Planner website.

 

It will definitely be interesting to see how much the prices change compared to the current pricing strategy. Personally, I would definitely be interested in the Sail Plus tier for our inside stateroom for the January 2, 2021 Equinox sailing, but it would depend on how much the price changes from my current booking.

 

FAQ available here: http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Sail_Your_Way_Elements_FAQs_internal.pdf

Info flyer available here: http://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/SailYourWay_AprilOffer_Flyer.pdf

 

Thanks for sharing.    So that means now only the Tier 1 "Sail" has a non-refundable deposit, correct?  Previously they were all 'refundable' unless you took the promotion with 3 Perks ... that was the only non-refundable one.   

I have one question.  What are ... TA and TP cruises?  TIA.

[kenevenpar]

I notice that the words "FREE Perks" are not part of this.  I wonder about that?

[kenevenpar]

1 minute ago, srfoxymom said:

 

Thanks for sharing.    So that means now only the Tier 1 "Sail" has a non-refundable deposit, correct?  Previously they were all 'refundable' unless you took the promotion with 3 Perks ... that was the only non-refundable one.   

I have one question.  What are ... TA and TP cruises?  TIA.

Trans-Atlantic and Trans-Paciffic

[mikkelhansen]

7 minutes ago, srfoxymom said:

 

So that means now only the Tier 1 "Sail" has a non-refundable deposit, correct?

I read the terms/FAQ like that, yes.

[cruiserchuck]

1 hour ago, kenevenpar said:

I notice that the words "FREE Perks" are not part of this.  I wonder about that?

 

As others really like to point out, the perks are really never free.  Celebrity now seems to be accurately advertising this fact.  

[C-Dragons]

1 hour ago, hcat said:

We did it !  Could not get through to X so we did it online for first time....Hope we can confirm later when phones are accessible.

 

Booked APEX ( hate that name)

Nov 2020, from FLL, to St Kitts, San Juan , St Thomas. 7 days.

 

Price for the Sunset Veranda was lower than the reg Inf Veranda...odd? Got OBC  classic bev , $200 discount.. maybe we can get more when I call???

 

We'll see if prices are better when the new plan is rolled out...ours is a refundable fare

We're already booked Nov 7 and 14 on Apex. 😊

[Cruise it or lose it]

You can get this offer and pricing now? You don't have to wait till the 4th?

[jagoffee]

I think it is about time.  I have always believed  the BBB bundles were very confusing to a lot of people.  You had to have certain knowledge to find any prices without a perk.  People sometimes thought they were getting free perks when booking on board, when it was really just one of the BBB bundles. (The flyers on board were very misleading)

Also customers misunderstood and they thought some of the “perks” were coming from their TravelAgent.  

 

Except  for the nonrefundable deposit with the “no perk” option, I do not see any potential downside for customers.  

 

Repositioning cruises being added is also a major major improvement IMO.

 

It should be easier to understand.

 

Let us hope.

Edited April 1, 2019 by jagoffee

[villauk]

1 hour ago, srfoxymom said:

 

Thanks for sharing.    So that means now only the Tier 1 "Sail" has a non-refundable deposit, correct?  Previously they were all 'refundable' unless you took the promotion with 3 Perks ... that was the only non-refundable one.   

I have one question.  What are ... TA and TP cruises?  TIA.

 

That was the point I was making above. So if you book two cabins (a balcony and an inside without the perks for the kids), as we do, then we may have one refundable reservation and one non-refundable 🤷‍♀️.

 

[paulh84]

3 hours ago, kenevenpar said:

I notice that the words "FREE Perks" are not part of this.  I wonder about that?

 

Did they ever advertise the perks as free? I think that term got thrown around a lot but I can't ever recall seeing them propositioned as free. The TA I have used most often will occasionally take Celebrity's price of $315/pp for a 7nt cruise for the Go Best upgrade and discount it by 50% and then often knock another $100. I paid $215 total to upgrade to all 4 perks for a 9 night cruise. It will be interesting to see how they handle that since it has typically been a substantial savings paired with their group rates. 

 

People frequently complain about not having a base/bare bones fare. Here is your answer...

 

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by paulh84

[kenevenpar]

1 hour ago, cruiserchuck said:

 

As others really like to point out, the perks are really never free.  Celebrity now seems to be accurately advertising this fact.  

 

Exactly.  I wonder about the motivation.

[kenevenpar]

5 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

 

Did they ever advertise the perks as free? I think that term got thrown around a lot but I can't ever recall seeing them propositioned as free.

 

Absolutely!  There were constant adds with "Free Perks".

[kenevenpar]

8 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

 

Did they ever advertise the perks as free? I think that term got thrown around a lot but I can't ever recall seeing them propositioned as free.

 

 

Do a search on Celebrity Free Perks ...

 

Here is one of the many ...

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/blog/west-coast/book-a-cruise-now-for-the-best-deal/

[villauk]

1 hour ago, paulh84 said:

 

Did they ever advertise the perks as free? I think that term got thrown around a lot but I can't ever recall seeing them propositioned as free. 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, kenevenpar said:

 

Do a search on Celebrity Free Perks ...

 

Here is one of the many ...

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/blog/west-coast/book-a-cruise-now-for-the-best-deal/

 

You mean like this one:

 

Edited April 1, 2019 by villauk

[kenevenpar]

9 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

You mean like this one:

 

 

Yup

[villauk]

Just now, kenevenpar said:

 

Yup

 

 

There are plenty of ‘frees’ there 😉.

[Baron Barracuda]

Believe that today many customers passively accept X's pricing, believing  they're getting two percs for "free".   After the switch they will see the cost of those two percs and need to make a value judgement whether to spend the money.  Can't help but believe many will decline, leaving X with lower revenue.  

[villauk]

4 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

Believe that today many customers passively accept X's pricing, believing  they're getting two percs for "free".   After the switch they will see the cost of those two percs and need to make a value judgement whether to spend the money.  Can't help but believe many will decline, leaving X with lower revenue.  

 

 

They will increase the base fare without the perks so that when pax compare how much the difference is between the two options, the perception will be that it’s worth paying slightly more to obtain 2 perks. No lower revenue then. Unless of course they price themselves totally out of the market.

Edited April 1, 2019 by villauk

[Cruise Junky]

It will be very interesting to see what happens to Transatlantic and Transpacific prices when this is applied later this week. 

[Aralim]

1 hour ago, Cruise Junky said:

It will be very interesting to see what happens to Transatlantic and Transpacific prices when this is applied later this week. 

 

Forget about later this week. The Aug 2, 2020 transatlantic on Summit to Iceland and Greenland had a $500 per person bump in the price of inside cabins over this past weekend - insides had been starting at $1,950 per person since I booked in mid-Jan, and when I checking pricing with the current promo that started yesterday, the price shot up to just under $2,450.

 

I think they’re prepping the fares now so that when they make the announcement they can leave them as-is for the 2 included perks rate, and they’ll be back to $1,950 for the bare-bones rate.

[hcat]

5 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

We're already booked Nov 7 and 14 on Apex. 😊

Guess we'll meet you onboard.  !  

B2b is appealing but so far just the one for us with St Kitts..have not been there in awhile...

[Cruise Junky]

32 minutes ago, Aralim said:

 

Forget about later this week. The Aug 2, 2020 transatlantic on Summit to Iceland and Greenland had a $500 per person bump in the price of inside cabins over this past weekend - insides had been starting at $1,950 per person since I booked in mid-Jan, and when I checking pricing with the current promo that started yesterday, the price shot up to just under $2,450.

 

I think they’re prepping the fares now so that when they make the announcement they can leave them as-is for the 2 included perks rate, and they’ll be back to $1,950 for the bare-bones rate.

Yes, you’re right. The Transpacific we were eyeing went up $1,000 cdn per person on March 29th.   Which puts a hump balcony at $12,500 vs $8,500 were paying on HAL for an aft balcony also with drinks. That ain’t happening. 

Edited April 2, 2019 by Cruise Junky

[Jim_Iain]

4 hours ago, jagoffee said:

I think it is about time.  I have always believed  the BBB bundles were very confusing to a lot of people.  You had to have certain knowledge to find any prices without a perk.  People sometimes thought they were getting free perks when booking on board, when it was really just one of the BBB bundles. (The flyers on board were very misleading)

Also customers misunderstood and they thought some of the “perks” were coming from their TravelAgent.  

 

Except  for the nonrefundable deposit with the “no perk” option, I do not see any potential downside for customers.  

 

Repositioning cruises being added is also a major major improvement IMO.

 

It should be easier to understand.

 

Let us hope.

 

Haven't tried a mock booking but assuming that you could book a Senior or State Discount refundable with no perks.