NC Pricing Compared to Other Lux Lines

[travelberlin]

22 minutes ago, TER777 said:

Explora single supplement starts at 15% and goes up to I think it is 85%. 

This is correct. It depends of the itineraries. But this applies to all cruise lines nowadays. Azamara has solo supplements either 25% or 50% or none. It depends of how good the cruise is selling. Since I cruise solo many times and I am not addicted to a certain cruise line, I do my homework, compare per diems and take the one, which I consider a good value for money.

I agree with Keith that it is good to have options. 
Ivi

[May B]

3 hours ago, Texas Tillie said:

Muriel,

 

Am I the Patty above?? I have no bookings on Explora. Won’t say never, but probably not if new Crystal is up to snuff. 
 

Patty

Hi Patty,

 

Yes, you, my treasured trivia teammate.

 

I meant, did you succeed in signing up for status-match on MSC?

Edited February 25, 2023 by May B

[May B]

3 hours ago, cruisr said:

The huge difference for me in choosing Explora over Crystal is the 15% single supplement.  I sometimes sail as a single and my choice of the IMO awful window cabins forward on Crystal or paying almost double if I want better is ridiculous.  Explora has larger suites and I like their itineraries.

One of our Crystal cruise mates always chose those cabins! She did that b/c she’s extremely thrifty. This plan was clearly designed for guests like her. It remains to be seen, if there will be enough of them to have been a 21st business plan.

 

Mr B and I, otoh, preferred to pay a few hundred $$$ more to be mid-ship. 

 

 

[KenzSailing]

More fun with numbers:

 

I got to thinking about how a truism about OC was "yeah, you give ups sqft in the standard cabins, but the tradeoff is a lot more public space."  Well, the ships are still the same size, now with fewer pax, that must mean a lotta lotta public space/pp.  How much?  I did a quick comparo, again using the other ship I compared to in my first post, RSSC Grandeur(no one complains that these new RSSC ships are cramped, so I thought that would be reasonable.)

 

Crystal Serenity:

 

740 pax(I pulled all these numbers off the internet, should be very close if not on the nose)

 

68,870 gross tons

 

93 gross tons/pp

 

RSSC Grandeur:

 

750 pax

 

55,254 gross tons

 

73.6 gross tons/pp

 

Now I'm not saying anyone chooses a cruise based on gross tonnage per passenger, but the size of that delta did surprise me.  It's quite possible Crystal could claim to be "the most spacious ships at sea."  I'd market that hard.

[PaulMCO]

37 minutes ago, CryptOkicker5 said:

 

They do market that hard. But not as hard as having nearly one staff member per guest!

 

 

Thought we beat that one---

 

[AtA]

5 hours ago, CryptOkicker5 said:

 

They do market that hard. But not as hard as having nearly one staff member per guest!

 

You do realize I hope that the majority of the crew you'll never, ever see? 

So you could have the same number of crew to pax on 2 different lines, where one line has more crew serving pax versus another line having more people working the ship that you'll never see.

[Stickman1990]

4 hours ago, AtA said:

You do realize I hope that the majority of the crew you'll never, ever see? 

But you do “see” the outcomes of those never seen crew manifest themself in things like laundry and cleaning of public areas and dining etc etc - if they weren’t there it would be a very different cruise experience 

[Keith1010]

12 hours ago, KenzSailing said:

More fun with numbers:

 

I got to thinking about how a truism about OC was "yeah, you give ups sqft in the standard cabins, but the tradeoff is a lot more public space."  Well, the ships are still the same size, now with fewer pax, that must mean a lotta lotta public space/pp.  How much?  I did a quick comparo, again using the other ship I compared to in my first post, RSSC Grandeur(no one complains that these new RSSC ships are cramped, so I thought that would be reasonable.)

 

Crystal Serenity:

 

740 pax(I pulled all these numbers off the internet, should be very close if not on the nose)

 

68,870 gross tons

 

93 gross tons/pp

 

RSSC Grandeur:

 

750 pax

 

55,254 gross tons

 

73.6 gross tons/pp

 

Now I'm not saying anyone chooses a cruise based on gross tonnage per passenger, but the size of that delta did surprise me.  It's quite possible Crystal could claim to be "the most spacious ships at sea."  I'd market that hard.

Yes. I think a key is to note that these ships were originally designed for x number of guests and although the number of guests have been reduced the public space remains the same.  I know on Serenity including this dry dock the ships passenger count has been reduced three times and believe for Symphony including this one two times. 

I believe Symphony Symphony overall passenger capacity was reduced 35% and Serenity over passenger capacity was reduced by 32%.

 

So to keep it simple the ships carry 33% less guests 

 

That says a lot IMHO.

 

Keith

[cruisr]

21 hours ago, travelberlin said:

There was an expiration date for the double upgrade plus the OBC at Explora if you are MSC diamond. I believe it was either February 23rd or 28th. There is no expiration date for matching status between others and MSC.

Ivi

Got status matched to Diamond status and picked a great Explora cruise with a 15% single supplement.  Thanks for the info on the MSC status match which would apply to Explora.  I expect prices to drop on Crystal and if they do, for singles and doubles I will revisit that choice.

[travelberlin]

36 minutes ago, cruisr said:

Got status matched to Diamond status and picked a great Explora cruise with a 15% single supplement.  Thanks for the info on the MSC status match which would apply to Explora.  I expect prices to drop on Crystal and if they do, for singles and doubles I will revisit that choice.

Great! You are welcome. I am glad it worked out. 
Ivi

[sasejm]

On 2/25/2023 at 11:57 AM, TER777 said:

I don’t see anything on their website suggesting there is an expiration date. Some may find this article helpful. https://thepointsguy.com/guide/status-match-msc-cruises/

Thank you for referring to the Points Guy article. I read the article yesterday and applied for a status match last night using my Hyatt Explorist card and got a response this morning. I now have Gold status with MSC and will provide my MSC membership # to my TA to see if there will be any benefits available for the 2 Explora Journeys cruises I booked. I got a solo rate of 14% on one cruise (Carribean) and 15% on the other cruise (Africa), over the double pp rate. We, DW & I always cruised in midship solo rooms on both Crystal Symphony & Serenity and that is why we picked midship solo on Explora I & II.

[May B]

I’ve tried twice but I get to the part where it asks for my membership card and I’m clueless as to what to provide.

 

I kind of doubt that we’ll ever do Explora, but I certainly will be frustrated,if I failed to do it but don’t get to enjoy the benefits.

[sasejm]

51 minutes ago, May B said:

I’ve tried twice but I get to the part where it asks for my membership card and I’m clueless as to what to provide.

 

I kind of doubt that we’ll ever do Explora, but I certainly will be frustrated,if I failed to do it but don’t get to enjoy the benefits.

May B

If you are referring to the World of Hyatt membership number, all you have to do is log into your Hyatt account and it will give you the membership number as well as the effective membership date. It will also show you your status such as Explorist, Globalist, etc. If you are using a Mac as I was, follow these directions to paste a screenshot of your membership to the MSC application form:

Press Shift-Command-4, then move the crosshair pointer to where you want to start the screenshot. Press the mouse or trackpad button, drag over the area you want to capture, then release the mouse or trackpad button.

Hope this helps.

Edited February 27, 2023 by sasejm

[May B]

15 hours ago, sasejm said:

May B

If you are referring to the World of Hyatt membership number, all you have to do is log into your Hyatt account and it will give you the membership number as well as the effective membership date. It will also show you your status such as Explorist, Globalist, etc. If you are using a Mac as I was, follow these directions to paste a screenshot of your membership to the MSC application form:

Press Shift-Command-4, then move the crosshair pointer to where you want to start the screenshot. Press the mouse or trackpad button, drag over the area you want to capture, then release the mouse or trackpad button.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for trying to guide me!

 

I actually wanted to request a match for my Celebrity Elite Plus status. I’ll try it again!

[ak1004]

Going back to the original subject of the topic, I looked at some 8-14 nights European sailings. All prices are in CAD (because this is what I see on SS and SB websites) for the entry level cabins.

 

Crystal:

https://www.crystalcruises.com/search?itineraries[page]=2&itineraries[refinementList][destination][0]=Europe %26 Mediterranean&itineraries[refinementList][destination][1]=Baltic %26 Northern Europe&itineraries[refinementList][duration][0]=8to14&itineraries[sortBy]=sort_price_asc

 

Price range: $675-810 CAD per night, with average being around $700 CAD

 

Seabourn:

https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/find-a-cruise.html#{!tag=destinationTag}destinationIds=EM,EN&{!tag=embarkTag}embarkPortCode=&{!tag=departTag}departDate=&{!tag=durationTag}duration=8-14&{!tag=shipsTag}shipId=&{!tag=cruisetypeTag}cruiseType=&{!tag=portsTag}portsOfCall=&sort=price_CAD_anonymous asc,departDate asc&group.sort=price_CAD_anonymous asc,departDate asc&start=0&soldOut=false

 

Price range: $530-700 CAD per night, with average being around $600 CAD

 

Silversea:

https://www.silversea.com/find-a-cruise.html?refinementList[destinationName][0]=Mediterranean&refinementList[destinationName][1]=Northern Europe %26 The British Isles&refinementList[dayGroup][0]=9-12&sortBy=prod_cruises_en__price-from-cad-asc

 

This one is more complicated to compare because it has 2 levels of pricing, but there are few P2P that are priced around $650 per night, and this price includes excursions.

 

So overall, SS and SB prices are 15-20% cheaper for entry level cabins, and entry level is 295-305sqft on SS and SB and 215sqft  on Crystal. If you take the more comparable AQUAMARINE suite on Crystal, the gap becomes 30-35% (around $1,000 CAD on Crystal vs. $650-700 on SB)

[bitob]

I really admire all of you doing the math to compare rates. 
 

I understand there are many cruisers for whom this calculation is critical.  Perhaps factor number 1

 

the crystal diehards don’t care.  The multiple could be tenfold and their bags are packed 

 

 

[sasejm]

1 hour ago, May B said:

Thank you for trying to guide me!

 

I actually wanted to request a match for my Celebrity Elite Plus status. I’ll try it again!

May B 

Since this discussion is off-topic, it could be better addressed on the Explora Journeys Forum and then go to the thread titled "MSC Status Match Program." Then, if you ask for assistance using your Celebrity Captain's Club Membership #, I or someone will respond to help you accomplish what you need. Don't put your membership # in the thread. I also have a Celebrity Captain's Club Membership so I think I know what you need.

Edited February 28, 2023 by sasejm

[AtA]

On 2/26/2023 at 4:22 AM, Stickman1990 said:

But you do “see” the outcomes of those never seen crew manifest themself in things like laundry and cleaning of public areas and dining etc etc - if they weren’t there it would be a very different cruise experience 

Absolutely!

[bitob]

On my last regent cruise (everyone gets free laundry) when they did the fun end of cruise tributes to the crew, the guys and gals in the laundry got the loudest cheers. Lol

[AtA]

On 2/28/2023 at 9:53 AM, ak1004 said:

Going back to the original subject of the topic, I looked at some 8-14 nights European sailings. All prices are in CAD (because this is what I see on SS and SB websites) for the entry level cabins.

 

Crystal:

https://www.crystalcruises.com/search?itineraries[page]=2&itineraries[refinementList][destination][0]=Europe %26 Mediterranean&itineraries[refinementList][destination][1]=Baltic %26 Northern Europe&itineraries[refinementList][duration][0]=8to14&itineraries[sortBy]=sort_price_asc

 

Price range: $675-810 CAD per night, with average being around $700 CAD

 

Seabourn:

https://www.seabourn.com/en_US/find-a-cruise.html#{!tag=destinationTag}destinationIds=EM,EN&{!tag=embarkTag}embarkPortCode=&{!tag=departTag}departDate=&{!tag=durationTag}duration=8-14&{!tag=shipsTag}shipId=&{!tag=cruisetypeTag}cruiseType=&{!tag=portsTag}portsOfCall=&sort=price_CAD_anonymous asc,departDate asc&group.sort=price_CAD_anonymous asc,departDate asc&start=0&soldOut=false

 

Price range: $530-700 CAD per night, with average being around $600 CAD

 

Silversea:

https://www.silversea.com/find-a-cruise.html?refinementList[destinationName][0]=Mediterranean&refinementList[destinationName][1]=Northern Europe %26 The British Isles&refinementList[dayGroup][0]=9-12&sortBy=prod_cruises_en__price-from-cad-asc

 

This one is more complicated to compare because it has 2 levels of pricing, but there are few P2P that are priced around $650 per night, and this price includes excursions.

 

So overall, SS and SB prices are 15-20% cheaper for entry level cabins, and entry level is 295-305sqft on SS and SB and 215sqft  on Crystal. If you take the more comparable AQUAMARINE suite on Crystal, the gap becomes 30-35% (around $1,000 CAD on Crystal vs. $650-700 on SB)

It is also more complicated to compare because of included things like entertainment, lectures and classes. For me, SB and SS don’t compare to OC (we of course have to see what NC brings) and Regent in terms of those three

[ak1004]

16 minutes ago, AtA said:

It is also more complicated to compare because of included things like entertainment, lectures and classes. For me, SB and SS don’t compare to OC (we of course have to see what NC brings) and Regent in terms of those three

 

I agree. In terms of entertainment and enrichment, OC was in class of its own. But SS and SB have other things that OC didn't have (larger cabins, newer ships, unlimited black caviar, butlers on SS etc). It's hard to put monetary value on those things, and it comes to what's important to you. But overall, I would still consider those 4 lines comparable in terms of overall experience.

[ak1004]

3 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

I agree. In terms of entertainment and enrichment, OC was in class of its own. But SS and SB have other things that OC didn't have (larger cabins, newer ships, unlimited black caviar, butlers on SS etc). It's hard to put monetary value on those things, and it comes to what's important to you. But overall, I would still consider those 4 lines comparable in terms of overall experience.

 

P.S. Actually on some things you CAN put a monetary value. One portion of black caviar is around $50. 2 portions per day on a 10 nights cruise = $1,000 per person.. 

[Jimmycruiser]

6 hours ago, ak1004 said:

 

P.S. Actually on some things you CAN put a monetary value. One portion of black caviar is around $50. 2 portions per day on a 10 nights cruise = $1,000 per person.. 

Maybe you can but it is definitely not worth a penny extra to me.

[ak1004]

19 minutes ago, Jimmycruiser said:

Maybe you can but it is definitely not worth a penny extra to me.

Things that matter to me don’t matter to you and vice versa. Kind of trivial Watson..

[vistaman]

On 2/25/2023 at 11:43 AM, travelberlin said:

Those of us who have sailed with MSC have more or less an idea about the cruising experience. I am assuming that it would be at least comparable to the Yacht Club experience. MSC owners have shown that they can offer a luxury experience with an Italian touch (which we love) in the Yacht Club.  MSC owners have also good financial means to support this undertaking and are willing to invest on Explora and make it successful. I have no fears that they could go bankrupt in the next 5 years . 
I am willing to try Explora the same way I am willing to try the new Crystal. We do not know how both will perform. We just have expectations. 
After Explora and New Crystal starts sailing we will see reviews. I am confident that some of those reviews will be honest. We will know more.

I will try to write a review once I cruise with Explora. 
Ivi

i did book 2 Explora cruises , the first last year  the second after I got the shock  by the single treatment on new C paired with the no single gesture of goodwill .