Wonder how Future Cruise Booking are Doing

[miched]

With all of the negative threads about  cutbacks I wonder how the Future Cruise Bookings are doing?

 

In the past I would book  1 or 2  cruises or just open certificate early in the cruise to avoid the the rush at the end of the cruise.   People would decide to book another cruise while on board for the extra perks because they had a fantastic experience.   This would be the last few days  and there were long lines to do that.   
 

Reading the negatives threads I doubt if many are booking another cruise while on board.   
 

I have 8 more cruises booked. Depending on my experience on our next cruise that is in a Sky Suite I may bite the bullet and cancel the others when final payment is due  and lose the $100 because they are all non refundable.   A small price to pay compared to the thousands it would cost for a inferior product if the current policy continues

 

I doubt if they will miss me as there are a lot of first time cruisers that don’t know any better and I think that is the market they are after.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

 

[1Virgo]

Would be interesting to know if Future bookings are down.  We have 2 FCC but are holding off booking til we see what other surprises X has

[Reel Love]

Interesting (and good) question! 

 

We were on the Equinox in June 2023 (thankfully the sailing directly before they started the new "test" of reduced options in the MDR).  Reading the title of your thread made me recall that walking past the Future Cruise Bookings room I thought to myself "wow, no line up to book and only one agent has someone sitting in front of them to book a future cruise."  And this was not just once, but seems like every time I walked by there was very little business/bookings happening. 

 

When on the Edge maiden voyage, totally opposite....all booking agents had a customer in front of them and several people lined up waiting to book a future cruise (including myself).  Same scenario when sailed the Silhouette just before the world shut down.  Future Cruise Bookings on Equinox a couple of months ago was like a ghost town in comparison to my last two cruises before that.  Who knows, maybe I just didn't happen to walk by when the line-ups were there?

[markeb]

Straight from the RCG 10-Q:

 

"Net cash provided by operating activities was $2.7 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to cash used of $0.1 billion for the same period in 2022. The increase of $2.8 billion was primarily attributable to higher bookings, and occupancy in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022." (Emphasis added.)

 

That's RCG as Celebrity is not a reporting entity to the SEC. 

 

Doesn't directly answer the question as those are likely bookings before the recent changes, but if the next 10-Q looks the same, I'd suggest the gnashing of teeth on Cruise Critic isn't actually representative of the corporate health of RCG. And since Celebrity is essentially a subsidiary, there's no way to answer the question.

[Boatharbour]

We were on the Apex in July and the FC desk was very busy on sea days and extremely busy on the last day. 

 

We purchased a FCC for the first time and then used it while on board to book Antarctica 2025. The low deposit and OBC were the draw cards. Barely three weeks later, all these cruises were cancelled yet bookings were still being taken right up until the announcement. 
 

Unless we can apply the credit to a previously booked NZ cruise in 2024, we’ll probably  let it go. All of this uncertainty has led us to try another line , another destination in 2025. 

[sunpsyche]

We have no plans to book future cruises onboard. Usually we would book several along with our dear traveling companions. First of all, we’re no longer sure what the future has in store for our cruising experience. In the past we always knew what the Celebrity experience would provide, now we really have no clue. Secondly, combine that with the 10% non refundable suite pricing, in lieu of the $200 onboard deposit which has been standard…why would we? It it really a sad day for long time Celebrity loyalists. I really don’t know what we’ll do in the future, probably more land travel. We’ll surely miss the golden days of X, the spectacular service and the many friends we’ve met along the way. 

[lv2cruisgrl]

We have only 3 cruises booked between now and Sept 2024.  It is a wait and see attitude for us. If our next cruise is not up to our standards for Celebrity we will choose either another line or land vacations. Which is sad, as we are retired and can go when and where we want. However if newbies are filling the ships, so be it!

[Ex-Airbalancer]

“I have 8 more cruises booked. Depending on my experience on our next cruise that is in a Sky Suite I may bite the bullet and cancel the others when final payment is due  and lose the $100 because they are all non refundable”

why wait until final payment to cancel your cruises , if you don’t like like your next cruise ? 

[bnurick]

My thoughts are the higher suite deposits will slowly reduce bookings in 2025. Once X gets through 2024, we see announcements of things being brought back.

[deliver42]

With their current pricing, I'm not even looking at celebrity anymore. Now I'm looking more at Princess and HAL. 

[Duanerice1]

We went in while on the Equinox to check out a couple of cruises.  The prices were twice what we were paying for that cruise. 
 

needless to say we didn’t stay long. Oh and we were the only ones in there. 

[Ex-Airbalancer]

In a balcony , Princess and Hal appear to have about same price as Celebrity 

With the cruises I have checked 

But they have some more interesting cruises

 

[kywildcatfanone]

Cruises are sailing at capacity.  If loyal cruisers don't like changes being made, there are plenty of people to take their place.

[ymncruise]

I didn’t book on board since you can find group rates with an agent that end up being a better deal than booking on board. 

[wrk2cruise]

5 minutes ago, ymncruise said:

I didn’t book on board since you can find group rates with an agent that end up being a better deal than booking on board. 

 

You can book onboard then transfer to the TA with the group rate and still get the bonus book onboard OBC.   You do have to increase to full deposit to be put in the group though (Celebrity Rule).

[CulverCityCruisers]

Have 3 future cruise bookings that have an 18 month usage.  When we bought them about a year ago they offered the 18 months to use policy, but not anymore.  After a Summit sailing earlier this year and a few future bookings (which we might cancel) I do not plan to use them at all and just run out the clock and get it refunded back to my credit card.  Nothing gained, nothing lost

[TeeRick]

10 hours ago, markeb said:

Straight from the RCG 10-Q:

 

"Net cash provided by operating activities was $2.7 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2023, compared to cash used of $0.1 billion for the same period in 2022. The increase of $2.8 billion was primarily attributable to higher bookings, and occupancy in 2023 compared to the same period in 2022." (Emphasis added.)

 

That's RCG as Celebrity is not a reporting entity to the SEC. 

 

Doesn't directly answer the question as those are likely bookings before the recent changes, but if the next 10-Q looks the same, I'd suggest the gnashing of teeth on Cruise Critic isn't actually representative of the corporate health of RCG. And since Celebrity is essentially a subsidiary, there's no way to answer the question.

Yes the bottom line is what counts.

So RCG sailings are running full and bookings are continuously increasing.

And by comments here, they (Celebrity) are driving away us loyal and older passengers and replacing us with fresh (younger) blood.  These new passengers, who have decades of cruising and spending ahead of them.  And for whom Edge Class ships were built.  And who pay the higher prices, without sucking up Loyalty benefits.  People here hate the truth, but it seems to be working for them as a business.

[PTC DAWG]

31 minutes ago, kywildcatfanone said:

Cruises are sailing at capacity.  If loyal cruisers don't like changes being made, there are plenty of people to take their place.

Agree, the whiners here don’t really have much of a say. 

[ymncruise]

29 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

You can book onboard then transfer to the TA with the group rate and still get the bonus book onboard OBC.   You do have to increase to full deposit to be put in the group though (Celebrity Rule).

Good to know!

[tfred]

2 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Yes the bottom line is what counts.

So RCG sailings are running full and bookings are continuously increasing.

And by comments here, they (Celebrity) are driving away us loyal and older passengers and replacing us with fresh (younger) blood.  These new passengers, who have decades of cruising and spending ahead of them.  And for whom Edge Class ships were built.  And who pay the higher prices, without sucking up Loyalty benefits.  People here hate the truth, but it seems to be working for them as a business.

true, but every hospitality business is like that though. Prime example is HAL that has the reputation of being an "senior" cruise line. No one wants that as a business

 

The loyalty program is really bogus   You really dont get anything value as you would in hotels or airlines.  No upgrades, some free 2 day laundry, not much else 

 

I am not so sure that "driving away " is the right phrase as it isnt either or   

[bnurick]

57 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

You can book onboard then transfer to the TA with the group rate and still get the bonus book onboard OBC.   You do have to increase to full deposit to be put in the group though (Celebrity Rule).

If you use a TA can you still login and make your dining reservations, etc?

 

Also, where is a good place to go to find a Celebrity TA specialist that knows RCL inside and out?

 

Being mindful of the CC rules. 

[Jeremiah1212]

57 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Yes the bottom line is what counts.

So RCG sailings are running full and bookings are continuously increasing.

And by comments here, they (Celebrity) are driving away us loyal and older passengers and replacing us with fresh (younger) blood.  These new passengers, who have decades of cruising and spending ahead of them.  And for whom Edge Class ships were built.  And who pay the higher prices, without sucking up Loyalty benefits.  People here hate the truth, but it seems to be working for them as a business.

Interestingly, Michael Bayley recently commented that RCI’s top tiers population has grown over 30% in the past year. That’s without an equivalent to Power Up Points artificially inflating the population. Celebrity hasn’t mentioned anything similar but I can’t imagine they are too far off. I’m not sure the loyalty argument holds a lot of weight outside of the 20-30 active posters here. 

Edited August 20, 2023 by Jeremiah1212

[Jeremiah1212]

1 minute ago, bnurick said:

If you use a TA can you still login and make your dining reservations, etc?

 

Also, where is a good place to go to find a Celebrity TA specialist that knows RCL inside and out?

 

Being mindful of the CC rules. 

Yes you can. Your other questions, even in answers vaguely, will get the thread closed. Ask on Facebook.

[Ken the cruiser]

We have two Caribbean "place holder" cruises booked for April 2025. Once we see the prices start to go down on those Beyond Aqua cabin bookings, which are currently at $400+ pp/day, then we'll start to feel like the prices may start heading in the other direction. But for us right now, other than those 2 place holder bookings, only 1 (to the Galapagos) of the 16 future cruises we have booked through the summer of 2025 are with Celebrity.

 

And we're happy for Celebrity, don't get me wrong, as we always have a great time on our cruises with them.

[chemmo]

12 hours ago, miched said:

With all of the negative threads about  cutbacks I wonder how the Future Cruise Bookings are doing?

 

In the past I would book  1 or 2  cruises or just open certificate early in the cruise to avoid the the rush at the end of the cruise.   People would decide to book another cruise while on board for the extra perks because they had a fantastic experience.   This would be the last few days  and there were long lines to do that.   
 

Reading the negatives threads I doubt if many are booking another cruise while on board.   
 

I have 8 more cruises booked. Depending on my experience on our next cruise that is in a Sky Suite I may bite the bullet and cancel the others when final payment is due  and lose the $100 because they are all non refundable.   A small price to pay compared to the thousands it would cost for a inferior product if the current policy continues

 

I doubt if they will miss me as there are a lot of first time cruisers that don’t know any better and I think that is the market they are after.  

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

 

 

 

What a good question!
 

In earlier years we have usually booked two cruises a year…Whilst unique circumstances have made us skip a year I am now almost grateful…Hopefully by the time we cruise things should have settled down.

 

We decide a few days ago we can’t manage the winter without a break. Surprisingly cruising wasn’t even considered as an option. We simply wanted a cheerful crash out with lots of facilities and not too expensive…We have gone for an AI resort…What Celebrity needs to take on board is that many guests may stay loyal to Celebrity when they cruise but they may decide to cruise less often. This choice being made after looking at pricing…