Sail of the Year pricing increase?

[Isr45]

48 minutes ago, Sunprince said:

This is good to know. Thanks for mentioning it. I didn’t realize that some new releases were priced lower initially.  May I ask how you monitor this? Via notification from your TA, Seabourn email or through your own search?

Unfortunately it is the time consuming task of deciding areas/ship you like and checking each itinerary.

Occasionally it is on this board ie when the 25 day Istanbul to Dubai November 25 was mentioned and the November 25 transatlantic crossing on Ovation.

[Isr45]

Just now, Isr45 said:

Unfortunately it is the time consuming task of deciding areas/ship you like and checking each itinerary.

Occasionally it is on this board ie when the 25 day Istanbul to Dubai November 25 was mentioned and the November 25 transatlantic crossing on Ovation.

Assuming you do realise these are error fares and are eventually picked up and corrected online by Seabourn - good thing is if you have booked it you are fine 😀

[markandjie]

On 3/24/2024 at 8:53 AM, jdk-atlga said:

I'm reminded of the story of the "Goose that lay the golden egg," with the significant price increases across the "luxury" lines. At this rate (or rates), I believe that they are jeopardizing a significant portion of their customers. While we can probably afford the increases, the new higher prices are raising the "value equation" to where alternatives ("premium" cruise lines, land ventures, etc.) look more appealing

 

Might be an unpopular opinion, but I have to say that I find the price increases to be reassuring as it means that Seabourn is (presumably) experiencing sufficient demand that they can raise prices. With all of the capacity coming on the market it will not be surprising to me that we could see a shakeout and several bankruptcies. Would prefer that not happen to my preferred line. And while we'll continue to seek out deals where we can, slightly higher prices in my mind are a healthy indicator for Seabourn's long term viability.

 

Then again, in the US alone there will be huge growth in the over-65 population during the 2020's that I'd imagine is mirrored world-wide...so lots of incremental retirees to take cruises...

[Nops]

Pricing can work both ways, we booked a cruise for winter 2023 which about four months prior to sailing reduced by about 20% (due presumably to low numbers), our TA secured us a slightly better reduction than that. While on the Sojourn Trans-Atlantic in November we booked for Greenland in August 2024 even our TA commented on the great fare. Indeed it was, it is now 50% more expensive. 

 

My conclusion, first look at the itinerary, no good booking a bargain to somewhere you don't want to go, then examine the offerings. After booking keep watching the fares, it is always possible to rebook.

[Isr45]

1 hour ago, Nops said:

Pricing can work both ways, we booked a cruise for winter 2023 which about four months prior to sailing reduced by about 20% (due presumably to low numbers), our TA secured us a slightly better reduction than that. While on the Sojourn Trans-Atlantic in November we booked for Greenland in August 2024 even our TA commented on the great fare. Indeed it was, it is now 50% more expensive. 

 

My conclusion, first look at the itinerary, no good booking a bargain to somewhere you don't want to go, then examine the offerings. After booking keep watching the fares, it is always possible to rebook.

Not simple to rebook if live in UK as lose deposit.

[Vineyard View]

The trip we had booked to sail next month, and had to cancel due to medical, is 28% higher than we booked it for if we were to sail it next year at the same time. In my mind, that is not a small increase. The other itineraries we are looking at for next year are not small % increases either, just since pricing offered in February this year. 
I guess cheers to SB if they keep filling the ships with these increases. 

[Nops]

14 hours ago, Isr45 said:

Not simple to rebook if live in UK as lose deposit.

I am in UK and managed to rebook via TA without penalty. Seabourn and agent were very flexible about this. I think in their T & Cs they indeed give you the ability to take advantage of any reduction in fares.

[Isr45]

42 minutes ago, Nops said:

I am in UK and managed to rebook via TA without penalty. Seabourn and agent were very flexible about this. I think in their T & Cs they indeed give you the ability to take advantage of any reduction in fares.

That is not true re T & C, they state Seabourn may allow you to rebook to another cruise of higher value.

Many examples on this board where Seabourn has refused a rebooking of same cruise and not offered a reprice.

 

[Nops]

2 hours ago, Isr45 said:

That is not true re T & C, they state Seabourn may allow you to rebook to another cruise of higher value.

Many examples on this board where Seabourn has refused a rebooking of same cruise and not offered a reprice.

 

Just relating my experience!

[Isr45]

13 minutes ago, Nops said:

Just relating my experience!

Just stating this is not in T&Cs as you stated 😀

[Vineyard View]

I had an interesting dialogue with the TA we have used for years. I sent details on the price increases that I posted earlier on this thread, including dollar and percentage (ie:28% next vs this year same itinerary/cabin category). I suggested that future pricing more resembles luxury lines which are including excursions (which are no interest to us).  They are big sellers of SB, and they are noticing the same, but apparently the new direction from SB is that this year’s January sales event will represent the best sale/price of the year. 
I sincerely hope that this turns out not to be the case (after all we just started April). Clearly I have no influence, but since we could not book in January, we may have missed out. 
If anyone hears differently, please let us know!  We were sincerely hoping to rebook Seabourn post medical for next year. 

[PrincessTraveller]

I have not heard any specifics from industry professionals but agree that the new price structure resembles other luxury cruise lines that are even more inclusive than SB. We also looked at two similar itineraries on Regent recently.  I used Regent air credit pricing for the comparison.  One was almost the identical price of SB while the second was less than SB.  Was quite surprised.  And, as you point out, other luxury cruise lines include excursions.

 

Last week we booked the lengthier (just shy of 2 months long) cruise we had been researching since December.  Didn't choose SB but we are thrilled with what our TA found both Itinerary and price wise.  We'll look at SB for other cruises down the road, just not now.

[Vineyard View]

18 hours ago, PrincessTraveller said:

I have not heard any specifics from industry professionals but agree that the new price structure resembles other luxury cruise lines that are even more inclusive than SB. We also looked at two similar itineraries on Regent recently.  I used Regent air credit pricing for the comparison.  One was almost the identical price of SB while the second was less than SB.  Was quite surprised.  And, as you point out, other luxury cruise lines include excursions.

 

Last week we booked the lengthier (just shy of 2 months long) cruise we had been researching since December.  Didn't choose SB but we are thrilled with what our TA found both Itinerary and price wise.  We'll look at SB for other cruises down the road, just not now.

I haven’t looked at Regent or SS lately because their pricing does include ship excursions- which we really do not engage with. We chose SB last year because the price point was below those two, but offered luxury without the price of excursions. It was a great fit for us. 
I guess I am not totally surprised that Regent was about the same with these latest price jumps. Excursions are just not our deal. Thank you for sharing this.