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More Celebrity cruisers may be looking at shifting cruises to Royal Caribbean

4774Papa

By 4774Papa,
in Royal Caribbean International

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4774Papa

4774Papa

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We are loyal Celebrity cruisers with 11 as well as 2 on Royal Caribbean and 7 on NCL.   We always compare all three as well as Princes prior to booking our cruises.  

Celebrity excels at dining and service and Royal at Entertainment.  Also, Royal's MDR dining is not far from Celebrity level.

 

Celebrity has shifted to all inclusive pricing which has reduced its competitiveness against Royal.   In comparing prices for a few cruises for 2022, we see significant price disparates that strongly favor Royal.     We are moderate drinkers and never buy beverage packages, also don't spent a lot of time on the internet while cruising.

The cruises that I compared showed Celebrity with prices double or more of Royal.  Yes, we get perks and gratuities covered, but the disparity is still huge.  Royal's Diamond Happy Hour is great and we usually don't every buy drinks because of the 5-8:30 HH.

 

Hopefully, Royal won't go all inclusive.  Looking forward to cruising with Royal more.

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Biker19

Biker19

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11 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

In comparing prices for a few cruises for 2022, we see significant price disparates that strongly favor Royal.

In general that has been true since RCCL acquired Celebrity. The issue of RCI going all inclusive has been debated in other threads recently.

Edited by Biker19
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compman9

compman9

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1 hour ago, Biker19 said:

In general that has been true since RCCL acquired Celebrity. The issue of RCI going all inclusive has been debated in other threads recently.

 

I would say, in general it has been true since they changed their policy this year

 

I had always found competitive Celebrity cruises until then - They have now priced me out

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Ashland

Ashland

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At this point with one X cruise and over 30 with RCI...I'm not happy that I decided to give X another try when I booked in Dec 2019 for a British Isles cruise for July 2021. I have no doubt this won't sail and X won't cancel before FP is due.

I made a big mistake in booking a NRD but at the time the price difference was huge and I had no thought I would want to cancel this cruise.

Playing the waiting game now but if it doesn't go my way I certainly won't try X again !!

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4774Papa

4774Papa

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3 hours ago, Ashland said:

At this point with one X cruise and over 30 with RCI...I'm not happy that I decided to give X another try when I booked in Dec 2019 for a British Isles cruise for July 2021. I have no doubt this won't sail and X won't cancel before FP is due.

I made a big mistake in booking a NRD but at the time the price difference was huge and I had no thought I would want to cancel this cruise.

Playing the waiting game now but if it doesn't go my way I certainly won't try X again !!

Ashland, I understand how you feel.  That cruise is only four months away and chances of it going are slim and none, even with the vaccination successes in the UK.  Once you pay the final payment and they do cancel, can you get a refund instead of a future cruise credit?

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la_croisiere_s'amuse

la_croisiere_s'amuse

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12 hours ago, compman9 said:

 

I would say, in general it has been true since they changed their policy this year

 

I had always found competitive Celebrity cruises until then - They have now priced me out

Me too, I'm sad to say. Some of my favorite cruises have been on Celebrity, but as a non-drinker, it just doesn't make sense for me anymore. 🙁

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Ashland

Ashland

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1 hour ago, 4774Papa said:

Ashland, I understand how you feel.  That cruise is only four months away and chances of it going are slim and none, even with the vaccination successes in the UK.  Once you pay the final payment and they do cancel, can you get a refund instead of a future cruise credit?

Yes..but we're talking about suite and business class air $$$'s. I certainly am not interested in giving them a loan. 

Hoping I can at least move my deposit to a 2023 cruise but am sure they'll charge a fee. 

Their sail by date of Sept 2022 with an FCC does me no good as I'm completely booked up for 2022 with RCI.

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Sunshine3601

Sunshine3601

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2 hours ago, Ashland said:

Yes..but we're talking about suite and business class air $$$'s. I certainly am not interested in giving them a loan. 

Hoping I can at least move my deposit to a 2023 cruise but am sure they'll charge a fee. 

Their sail by date of Sept 2022 with an FCC does me no good as I'm completely booked up for 2022 with RCI.

Can you do the trick of switching to cheapest cabin available and cancel their airfare before final payment?

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not-enough-cruising

not-enough-cruising

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8 hours ago, Ashland said:

At this point with one X cruise and over 30 with RCI...I'm not happy that I decided to give X another try when I booked in Dec 2019 for a British Isles cruise for July 2021. I have no doubt this won't sail and X won't cancel before FP is due.

I made a big mistake in booking a NRD but at the time the price difference was huge and I had no thought I would want to cancel this cruise.

Playing the waiting game now but if it doesn't go my way I certainly won't try X again !!

Exactly the same way RCI would handle it. 

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Ashland

Ashland

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39 minutes ago, Sunshine3601 said:

Can you do the trick of switching to cheapest cabin available and cancel their airfare before final payment?

That would have been a good idea but the cheapest cabin available is just 2k under what I got my suite for. These prices have sky rocketed since I booked, Yes I can easily cancel the air portion before final payment. 

 

Hate being in this wait-n-see with Celebrity.

 

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Tapi Great Review Rare

Tapi

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11 hours ago, Jingerwoppy said:

Royal will eventually go all inclusive. It's just a matter of time.  

Doubt it. As long as Royal’s biggest competitor is Carnival, I don’t see them creating an even wider price gap with Carnival by going all inclusive. They need to remain competitive in their market, which tends to be more price conscious than others.

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ace2542

ace2542

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On 3/25/2021 at 7:00 PM, 4774Papa said:

Celebrity has shifted to all inclusive pricing which has reduced its competitiveness against Royal

This question might be wrongly worded but if they are going to all inclusive does that mean they are doing with the free premium drinks package for zenith level loyalty customers? And if so will those customers see their prices increase now, or decrease?

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not-enough-cruising

not-enough-cruising

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9 minutes ago, ace2542 said:

This question might be wrongly worded but if they are going to all inclusive does that mean they are doing with the free premium drinks package for zenith level loyalty customers? And if so will those customers see their prices increase now, or decrease?

Prices at all all loyalty levels increased

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