Does Celebrity think we're stupid?

[D C]

6 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

I just booked a cruise on Eclipse for December...

 

Now, when they first started offering "all-inclusive", there wasn't a "cruise only" choice.  We really didn't know how much we were paying for drinks, tips and wifi since it was just packaged into the price. Mostly because of this, every Celebrity cruise we've done since the pandemic has been all-inclusive.

 

But, now, there's an option.

 

So, when booking this December cruise, I noticed the best price seemed to be a veranda guarantee.  It's a short cruise, I'll take my chances...it won't be the worst thing to get a lifeboat in front of our balcony...but not a bad gamble as they only have one unassigned obstructed view cabin showing right now...and lots of unobstructed.  So, we go to the next step--the "cruise only" vs. "all-included" choice...and here's what comes up:

Cruise-Only

 

Enjoy dining, entertainment, daily activities and more; tailor your add-ons later.

/content/dam/celebrity/new-images/promotions/banners/upgrade_best_price.png

$429 USD*

avg per person

CONFIRM & CONTINUE

All Included

Get our most popular amenities—drinks, Wi-Fi, and tips—prepackaged when you add All Included. Save $200-$800, only when you complete your booking now.Learn More

/content/dam/celebrity/new-images/promotions/banners/upgrade_best_value_orange.png

$1,449 USD*

avg per person

CONTINUE WITH ALL INCLUDED

 

Okay--$1020 per person for the "perks"...Remember, it's a SIX-night cruise.  Gratuities are $18 per day--$108 pp for the cruise...Right now, they are selling the classic drink package for $70.99 per person per day...add 20% gratuity, that's $511.08 per person for the cruise (at least that's the math they use on the X app).  Wifi--$23.99 per day per person.  So, $143.94.  Okay, forgetting that, for us, we're Diamond Plus, so buying these seperately, we have discounts as well...but, lets ignore those for now...

 

$108 PLUS $511.08 PLUS $143.94...Equals...$763.02!!!

Celebrity wants to sell us All Inclusive...because we'd be paying them $2,040 for $1526 in extras!!!

You give them an extra $514...WHY???

And I am sure lots of people are paying that....

 

 

 

Is that a guarantee room for $429?

[Pizzasteve]

For me it is annoying that the AI fares are 'averaging' in the costs of heavy users.  The 20 drinks a day passengers force drink packages higher for those of us who would enjoy the freedom of a cost free drink package, but might average 3-4 drinks in a day.  

 

Would love a package that was something like 'up to 4 free drinks per day' at a lower price point.

Edited August 1, 2023 by Pizzasteve

[RichYak]

2 hours ago, neverlaysup said:

After the last 50% off sale on drink packages that had the prices raised by 50% on day 2. They clearly think we are clueless and stupid.

There was another 50% off sale on drink packages that lasted for days a few weeks ago.

[Bruin Steve]

1 hour ago, D C said:

Is that a guarantee room for $429?

Yeah...It's a Veranda Guarantee for a cruise only base of $429...6 nights with only two ports--Cabo and San Diego, so taxes low, price with taxes and fees around $1200 for two.  No idea what eventual assignmeb=nt could be...could be obstructed though, right now, only one obstructed cabin left unassigned,

[jagoffee]

8 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

I just booked a cruise on Eclipse for December...

 

Now, when they first started offering "all-inclusive", there wasn't a "cruise only" choice.  We really didn't know how much we were paying for drinks, tips and wifi since it was just packaged into the price. Mostly because of this, every Celebrity cruise we've done since the pandemic has been all-inclusive.

 

But, now, there's an option.

 

So, when booking this December cruise, I noticed the best price seemed to be a veranda guarantee.  It's a short cruise, I'll take my chances...it won't be the worst thing to get a lifeboat in front of our balcony...but not a bad gamble as they only have one unassigned obstructed view cabin showing right now...and lots of unobstructed.  So, we go to the next step--the "cruise only" vs. "all-included" choice...and here's what comes up:

Cruise-Only

 

Enjoy dining, entertainment, daily activities and more; tailor your add-ons later.

/content/dam/celebrity/new-images/promotions/banners/upgrade_best_price.png

$429 USD*

avg per person

CONFIRM & CONTINUE

All Included

Get our most popular amenities—drinks, Wi-Fi, and tips—prepackaged when you add All Included. Save $200-$800, only when you complete your booking now.Learn More

/content/dam/celebrity/new-images/promotions/banners/upgrade_best_value_orange.png

$1,449 USD*

avg per person

CONTINUE WITH ALL INCLUDED

 

Okay--$1020 per person for the "perks"...Remember, it's a SIX-night cruise.  Gratuities are $18 per day--$108 pp for the cruise...Right now, they are selling the classic drink package for $70.99 per person per day...add 20% gratuity, that's $511.08 per person for the cruise (at least that's the math they use on the X app).  Wifi--$23.99 per day per person.  So, $143.94.  Okay, forgetting that, for us, we're Diamond Plus, so buying these seperately, we have discounts as well...but, lets ignore those for now...

 

$108 PLUS $511.08 PLUS $143.94...Equals...$763.02!!!

Celebrity wants to sell us All Inclusive...because we'd be paying them $2,040 for $1526 in extras!!!

You give them an extra $514...WHY???

And I am sure lots of people are paying that....

 

 

 

Seems simple to me.  The GTY Cruise Only Veranda is on sale with a great price.  The GTY AI Veranda is not on sale.

 

$72 a day per person for a GTY Cruise only veranda is an excellent deal especially when you consider what is included for that price even without the AI. Much less than an Oceanfront hotel and includes much more.

 

 

[Baggy178]

We're comfortably well-off but, frankly, there is no way we would cruise unless the price we got for a Cruise Only was an absolute bargain.

Although we don't mind cruising at a decent price we're not that enamoured to pay thousands for an AI then pay extra for fancy schmanzy dining and all the other add-ons they try to catch you with.

Just horses for courses I suppose.

£100 a day each would be the maximum we'd pay for a Cruise Only - good value considering the endless food, facilities on board and entertainment.

I doubt we spend more than £50 a day in total on booze and stuff.

Mostly we see cruising as a good-natured battle between an organisation trying to extract as much moolah as they can from you and us resisting their entreaties.

[Fly and Sail]

They have a bunch of "offers" that don't make any financial or mathematical sense whatsoever.

 

And I bet many unsuspecting customers even take them up on it.

[Whinenowine]

12 hours ago, OysterD said:

You're right, sometimes the pricing just makes NO sense.

 

I've done mock bookings on a bunch of cruises before and sometimes found that booking in AQ (which has all included by default) has worked out cheaper than a veranda cabin with either then adding on the all included or sometimes even just adding on drinks tips and wifi separately. 

 

Indeed!  I priced up a cruise last month for 2 Concierge cabins vs 2 AQ cabins vs 2 Sky Suite Guarantees. Believe it or not the SS GTY was by far the best deal when you take into account AI plus OBC.  It was actually cheaper than the AQ option and only marginally more expensive than the two CC cabins.  I was shocked, as this didn't even take into account Luminae, Retreat Lounge/Sundeck access or a cabin that's 50% larger. True, it was a Suite GTY so there is cabin assignment risk, but....wow....This is the first time I've done this analysis, so I've no idea if it was a pricing fluke that was just there at that one moment in time...but I was pretty damned surprised.

 

 

[TeeRick]

16 hours ago, CaroleSS said:

"Does Celebrity think we're stupid?"

Short answer......yes

Or maybe "you can fool all of the people all of the time"?

[MamaFej]

7 hours ago, Whinenowine said:

Indeed!  I priced up a cruise last month for 2 Concierge cabins vs 2 AQ cabins vs 2 Sky Suite Guarantees. Believe it or not the SS GTY was by far the best deal when you take into account AI plus OBC.  It was actually cheaper than the AQ option and only marginally more expensive than the two CC cabins.  I was shocked, as this didn't even take into account Luminae, Retreat Lounge/Sundeck access or a cabin that's 50% larger. True, it was a Suite GTY so there is cabin assignment risk, but....wow....This is the first time I've done this analysis, so I've no idea if it was a pricing fluke that was just there at that one moment in time...but I was pretty damned surprised.

 

 

I refer to those as: algorithms be trippin' moments. 

 

We lucked into Aqua at less than Oceanview once that way. I'm guessing that one of the big TAs had just dumped a bunch of unsold Aquas, but it's nothing more than a guess. 

[Bruin Steve]

...and today, we got assigned a cabin...AND Celebrity posted a Concierge class Guarantee...at the same $429 pp price cruise only.  BUT, the AI price is $1756!!!

[NMTraveller]

When Celebrity put their excursions on sale for 30% off,  some were priced 10x higher and others were priced for 70% off.  Celebrity's outsourcing of computer services has not been a winner.  Too many pricings errors for a corporation of their size.

Edited August 2, 2023 by NMTraveller

[dianef]

4 hours ago, Bruin Steve said:

...and today, we got assigned a cabin...AND Celebrity posted a Concierge class Guarantee...at the same $429 pp price cruise only.  BUT, the AI price is $1756!!!

What category did they give you?I booked a veranda guarantee and so did some friends for same cruise in October and we all got category V2 on deck 7.Happy with location.We all got assigned shortly after booking.

[Bruin Steve]

1 hour ago, dianef said:

What category did they give you?I booked a veranda guarantee and so did some friends for same cruise in October and we all got category V2 on deck 7.Happy with location.We all got assigned shortly after booking.

V2...Deck 8 ...#8320

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’ve been noticing the huge cost of the included packages for years. We always price out the gratuities, what we’d spend on drinks, and then consider whether we’d even want/need internet to determine whether the package is worth it. It’s usually not. 

[Bruin Steve]

This morning, we upgraded to Concierge Class (and back into the "waiting for assignment" pot) for that $429 pp price...NOT for $1756.

 

If you deduct the $108 for gratuities, paid either way...that would have been an extra $1219 per person.

BUT, the wifi really means nothing to us either...We're Elite Plus, so we get 240 minutes each of free wifi--40 minutes per day, easily enough for our needs checking email from time to time...not to mention all the ports being within our coverage area on our unlimited AT&T plan.  So, let's discount the Wifi completely.

 

That leaves this:  We'd be paying $1219 for unlimited $10 or less drinks.  Six days, that's a bit OVER $200 per person per day.  At $10/drink, we would need to drink MORE than TWENTY drinks per day each--not including the free Elite drinks we get from 5-7 each night.....Just to make it "worth it"!  Imagine that--20 drinks each every night after 7:00 pm!!!  You think one would just buy a drink package before buying 20 drinks...Oh wait, you've already bought that drink package--for over $200 per night!

Edited August 2, 2023 by Bruin Steve

[bnurick]

8 minutes ago, Bruin Steve said:

This morning, we upgraded to Concierge Class (and back into the "waiting for assignment" pot) for that $429 pp price...NOT for $1756.

 

If you deduct the $108 for gratuities, paid either way...that would have been an extra $1219 per person.

BUT, the wifi really means nothing to us either...We're Elite Plus, so we get 240 minutes each of free wifi--40 minutes per day, easily enough for our needs checking email from time to time...not to mention all the ports being within our coverage area on our unlimited AT&T plan.  So, let's discount the Wifi completely.

 

That leaves this:  We'd be paying $1219 for unlimited $10 or less drinks.  Six days, that's a bit OVER $200 per person per day.  At $10/drink, we would need to drink MORE than TWENTY drinks per day each--not including the free Elite drinks we get from 5-7 each night.....Just to make it "worth it"!  Imagine that--20 drinks each every night after 7:00 pm!!!  You think one would just buy a drink package before buying 20 drinks...Oh wait, you've already bought that drink package--for over $200 per night!

Check AT&T Cellular at Sea packages too.  Was on a cruise with poor Wi-Fi and used.  I had forgotten it existed.  I did my first cruise without a drink package and saved a lot.