Is the current sale of 75% off second guest unusual?

[CanadianKLM]

We've cruised NCL so I am accustomed to their "special" free at sea constantly being offered, but their website is constantly promising it ends tonight or tomorrow.

 

I'm now looking at other lines and when I price out some Celebrity cruises for March 2025 I am pleasantly surprised at the fare - but they're offering 75% off second guest right now. Is it actually time-limited or is it likely to be offered for a stretch of time? (Or some other 'special' that works out about the same).

 

 

[dreamer321]

No, it will be extended or a similar promo will replace this sale.

[cruisetonowhere10]

24 minutes ago, CanadianKLM said:

We've cruised NCL so I am accustomed to their "special" free at sea constantly being offered, but their website is constantly promising it ends tonight or tomorrow.

 

I'm now looking at other lines and when I price out some Celebrity cruises for March 2025 I am pleasantly surprised at the fare - but they're offering 75% off second guest right now. Is it actually time-limited or is it likely to be offered for a stretch of time? (Or some other 'special' that works out about the same).

 

 

Nope, from what I can tell pricing despite the latest promotion is fairly consistent.

[Liao]

33 minutes ago, CanadianKLM said:

We've cruised NCL so I am accustomed to their "special" free at sea constantly being offered, but their website is constantly promising it ends tonight or tomorrow.

 

I'm now looking at other lines and when I price out some Celebrity cruises for March 2025 I am pleasantly surprised at the fare - but they're offering 75% off second guest right now. Is it actually time-limited or is it likely to be offered for a stretch of time? (Or some other 'special' that works out about the same).

 

 

It's like a new car "sale" hurry before it ends, until it doesn't and the next "sale" comes along.

[jcroc]

I was wondering about Celebrity's 75% off sales when I saw one going on and then after it finished, prices were cheaper.

 

Fake sales are actually illegal in Australia at least (misleading and deceptive conduct which includes having fake sales that mislead consumers into thinking there's a discount) and there can be huge corporate fines if people complain.

 

A lot of jewellery stores have been caught/fined doing it e.g. pretending things are 50% off but just raising the prices right before the sale. The regulator looks at their average prices over time.

 

It's probably also illegal in a lot of other countries with strong consumer laws. Celebrity probably needs to be careful doing this as fines can be huge.

Edited March 30 by jcroc

[Jim_Iain]

Not unusual at all.   It's the same old Shell Game celebrity has played for years.   The same day the put it on sale they Up the fare and the 75% off is either the same as the day before with a 50% off sale.    Best to price a cruise Prior to a Sale and after -    If booking prior to final it really doesn't matter.    Just book when you want and after each sale check the price and  if it drops call in and get a price adjustment.

[snohorules]

They've been running the sale since at least before Black Friday. there is a slight variation in how much additional off per cabin, and there's a specific pattern to it given the day of the week although I don't recall the pattern.

[Arizona Wildcat]

Yawn

[CanadianKLM]

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Not unusual at all.   It's the same old Shell Game celebrity has played for years.   The same day the put it on sale they Up the fare and the 75% off is either the same as the day before with a 50% off sale.    Best to price a cruise Prior to a Sale and after -    If booking prior to final it really doesn't matter.    Just book when you want and after each sale check the price and  if it drops call in and get a price adjustment.

Does Celebrity adjust prices prior to final payment?

[BOB999]

Mind you, the fare that is shown on the website is the blended average fare for 2 people, it's not like the first person is the price on the website and the second person is 75% off of that. 

 

So for example on a random cruise I pulled up, the Celebrity website shows $1,079 per person. In reality, when you go to book you see:

 

Guest 1:  $1,786

Guest 2:  $371

 

So the total is $2,157 or an average of $1,079 per person.

[Cruise till you drop]

It’s not bad but we usually wait until they offer the 40% off each passenger with lower deposit (and sometimes maybe some onboard credit)

 

The 40% per passenger is a little better than the 75% off 2nd guest

[keesar]

Keep in mind that the 75% off is usually  for nonrefundable fares.  It is usually 50% off for refundable fares.  And sometimes, they will have the same offer with up to an additional $200 off.

[LB_NJ]

Regardless of the advertisement Celebrity seems to do some type of dynamic pricing like the airlines where prices can change day to day.

 

They might even charge hourly but I have not checked.

 

Because of Celebrity’s best price guarantee I don’t think they really ever go down before final payment because of all the money they would have to refund.

[Oceangoer2]

3 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

Because of Celebrity’s best price guarantee I don’t think they really ever go down before final payment because of all the money they would have to refund.

We often have a refund (for a refundable cruise) due to reduction in the cost of our cruise prior to final payment.  As recently as March 1st, prior to that it was Feb. 28th...this year.  Depends on your cruise and how it's selling.  There are websites which will give you an alert when your cruise changes price, so that helps.  Not everyone has the time to check themselves.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

The next promo comes out April 8 

probably different wording with the prices staying the same 🤣

[Cruiser-123]

We just booked a S1 Sky Suite New Year's Eve cruise on Ascent last night with the "latest" Celebrity sale and wanted to share our experience. 

 

We were on the Apex New Year's Eve cruise last year and visited the future cruise desk to check on fares for another cruise for NYE 2024. As usual, they were running a promotion for booking onboard.  In the past (especially pre-COVID) we have been able to find some amazing deals onboard with very generous onboard credits.  We were stunned to get a quote for a S1 sky suite on the Ascent 7 night holiday cruise for $14,163 (2 person occupancy). We decided not to book onboard and take our chances.  So, last night we took the plunge and booked a S1 sky suite with the latest promotion and got a price of $9261/cabin.  I happened to save the quote from the Future Cruise Desk and couldn't believe my eyes.  I was under the impression that you could get the best deals onboard...not necessarily!

 

Perhaps you cruise pros know this already but I was amazed at the difference in price!

 

Edited April 4 by Cruiser-123
detail

[Orator]

All lines get what they want for the cabin. Pricing specials are just smoke and mirrors.

Edited April 4 by Orator

[cheeseheads4ever]

I agree with BOB999. Do a mock booking and they inflate the price of cruiser #1 then it’s 75% off of that for cruiser #2.

Just a numbers thing. Celebrity’s good at that.. Flash Sale! Flash Sale…
 

[mac_tlc]

The current pricing scheme ( note I didn’t say sale) ends 4/7 and will be immediately replaced by essentially the same thing on 4/8 and run through 6/3. Still says “75% off second guest for non-refundable and 50% for refundable”. The “bonus savings” will again vary by day of week 🙄. Monday-Friday is highest, Tuesday-Wednesday a little less, Thursday none. 
 

3rd/4th/5th guests free on selected sailings for “no-perks” rate.

 

After all this, it doesn’t matter. Just look at the bottom line, if it’s acceptable then book it. Prior to final payment you can reprice if it makes sense. 
 

 

mac_tlc

[mac_tlc]

19 hours ago, Cruiser-123 said:

We just booked a S1 Sky Suite New Year's Eve cruise on Ascent last night with the "latest" Celebrity sale and wanted to share our experience. 

 

We were on the Apex New Year's Eve cruise last year and visited the future cruise desk to check on fares for another cruise for NYE 2024. As usual, they were running a promotion for booking onboard.  In the past (especially pre-COVID) we have been able to find some amazing deals onboard with very generous onboard credits.  We were stunned to get a quote for a S1 sky suite on the Ascent 7 night holiday cruise for $14,163 (2 person occupancy). We decided not to book onboard and take our chances.  So, last night we took the plunge and booked a S1 sky suite with the latest promotion and got a price of $9261/cabin.  I happened to save the quote from the Future Cruise Desk and couldn't believe my eyes.  I was under the impression that you could get the best deals onboard...not necessarily!

 

Perhaps you cruise pros know this already but I was amazed at the difference in price!

 

IMHO, the only benefit to an onboard booking is any OBC that it may include. The underlying pricing is no different. For a cabin lower than a Suite, the deposit requirements are more attractive too. 
 

 

mac_tlc

[TwinMamainMN]

On 3/31/2024 at 8:30 AM, keesar said:

Keep in mind that the 75% off is usually  for nonrefundable fares.  It is usually 50% off for refundable fares.  And sometimes, they will have the same offer with up to an additional $200 off.

That first sentence is important. We always book refundable fares. 75% off the second guest would be lovely, but the refundable fare is important for us.