Celebrity price fluctuations - a newbie question

[Sozjot]

Hello all,

My wife and I are booked on the Solstice from Sydney to Hawaii in April are we are looking forward to it. My question is about pricing and maybe being new to cruising I am not understanding something. We were looking at balcony pricing last week at around AUD2500 each and when I came to book on Feb 14 the prices had increased into the 4K bracket overnight. I spotted a Guaranty cabin in Aqua Class at about 3.2K each and thought we had better grab what we could while we could. Come Monday, the GTY in Aqua was 2.5K and the price has remained in that region all week apart from Tuesday (I think) when the entire ship was "sold out".

Is this sort of price fluctuation normal and is it just a case of buyer beware? It has left a sour taste and has us rethinking future holidays as we feel we've been ripped off to the tune of $1500.

Appreciate your thoughts and advice before tackling the agent.:confused:

Cheers,

Sozjot

[Project_gal]

I am not watching the cruises you are watching but my experience [for the cruises I am watching and at UK prices] is that the prices have been very stable for the past few months.

 

You say you are a newbie. Each country has different regulations so you need to understand what you are seeing on the website. Until fairly recently, in the UK, prices were shown "per person" throughout and now are shown "per stateroom" once you click on a particular cruise but the change was explained at the time and I only worked it out becasue the prices I was watching exactly doubled! The price you are shown on the initial search is probably the preice per person and excluding gratuities, taxes and fees got the lowest priced cruise departure date and lowest priced stateroom. Selecting a different departure date and stateroom category may result in a higher price as will adding gratuities [if they add then at this stage in Aus], taxes and fees. Taxes and fees are at least the port charges. In the UK, we do not pay VAT on crusies but you may have some form of state tax to pay in Aus.

 

Beyond that, I cannot help and you may need to wait until another area of the world wakes up!

[Biker19]

Prices are usually stable until around final payment time - usually 75 days before sailing. Then, there can be lots of fluctuations depending on cabin availability.

[terrierjohn]

Celebrity do, sometimes, allow you to take advantage of a price drop and amend your booking, it depends on the country and the type of offer. It can't hurt to check back with them and see if they will reduce your price.

[Adammara]

Welcome to the world of cruising! You will find the prices are just like the airlines these days, and you never know when the best time to book is. The price varies depending on demand, the route and the time of year, and can change overnight.

 

We have been on cruises with P&O and Celebrity, where the price has dropped over £1000 after final payment, and it leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Conversely, we have seen them rise as much on other occasions, it really is a gamble. The terms and conditions of the bookings always seem to favour the cruise company!

 

Have a go at where you booked your cruise, you might get a reduction or some OBC, you never know.

[Sozjot]

Thanks for the advice. A call to the TA on Monday would seem in order. Should be a terrific trip either way but you'd have to think the various cruise lines would understand their pricing policies (luck of the draw on the day) might just put people off in the future - once bitten twice shy. Thanks for taking the time guys.

Cheers,

Sozjot

[Biker19]

Welcome to the world of cruising! You will find the prices are just like the airlines these days, and you never know when the best time to book is.

 

The difference from the airlines however, is that the cruise lines (in the US) have this practice of allowing cancellations before final payment. That makes for even more volatile pricing around that time. And even if cancellations aren't offered in other countries, this practice makes prices vary elsewhere as well.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Is this sort of price fluctuation normal and is it just a case of buyer beware? It has left a sour taste and has us rethinking future holidays as we feel we've been ripped off to the tune of $1500.

 

I understand the frustration of missing out on a good price, but how would you be feeling if the price went up $1500 right after you booked? The attitude I take is that if I felt the price was fair and agreeable to me at the time I purchased the cruise, I have no grounds for complaint if the price goes down and I can't take advantage.

 

I'm not sure about the rules for Australia, but you may be able to at least upgrade to a cabin selling for the same or lesser price, or pay the difference to upgrade to a cabin selling for a bit more. My strategy is to look for price drops before final payment, where (for North Americans, at least) they will honor the lower price upon notification, and afterwards to look for possible upgrades.

[wallie5446]

Some of it has to do with Agency's that release a block back to the cruise line just before final is due, because they have not sold them. We are 260 days out from our next sailing, the web site is showing all the ocean view are sold out, yet you can call 4-5 different TA's and they have cabins.

[phoenix_dream]

I don't know about other country's laws so can't comment on specifics. But changing pricing is so common with travel, I don't see how cruises are any different. Airline prices change. Hotel room prices change. I do agree it can be frustrating, but it is just as common that it works to your advantage rather than against it. I have been on many cruises where had I waited I would have been paying a lot more money. Conversely, had I waited on my upcoming cruise I would have saved a bit of money by getting senior discount had I waited (even considering losing 1-2-3 and TA benefits). Unfortunately the suite prices were not discounted so I can't upgrade there, which would have been the next possible level for me (I have CC, and three to a room).

[Sozjot]

Bad news unfortunately. Celebrity says there is nothing they can (read want) to do about it. To my simple mind, it borders on price gouging to up the price by 35% and then drop it back down a couple of days later. A bit like fishing I suppose - through out the net and see what you catch. You live and learn.

Thanks for all your inputs.

Sozjot

[neenee61]

sozjot, I'm in Melb and always book my cruises thru an online USA TA. I have enjoyed substantial price drops and the latest was for Solstice last March. Got approx $1500 reduction. The gamble with booking thru USA TA is the $$. Hopefully our dollar will go back up. Have a cruise coming up in weeks and there were no reductions as it sold out pretty much straight away. You will love the Solstice and make sure you try Bistro 5 on embarkation. Costs $5 and it is nice and quiet as the buffet is crazy on the first day. Ceck out some online TA's for future cruises. I can be contacted on denise_rick at hotmail dot com if you need any help. Cheers

Edited February 28, 2014 by neenee61

[Sozjot]

Thanks kindly Neenee.

[MaisonRose]

Getting the best fare is like throwing at a moving dartboard. I am going to tell my recent story so that anyone pondering this situation might learn one person's lesson, which is that I will never book again prior to final payment.

I watched cabin inventory on the biggest travel website and panicked about 90 days out, getting an OV for 1299 USD. I USED AN ON LINE WELL KNOWN AGENCY and got 150 OBC. I was disappointed but wanted to be on that transatlantic. Then I saw on my roll call that there were considerable price drops and I started watching the X website and after final payment even the balconies were lower than my price (but on Sundays when I couldn't reach my travel agency) By Mon they not only didn't see the lower rate, X denied that the balcony price was lower over the weekend....etc..this happened 2 weekends in a row but on the 3rd I copied and pasted the new prices into an email..that Mon the booking agency called to say that I was being upgraded to a midship balcony. I didn't get any money back, but I paid no more, had no change fees and kept my OBC.

But next Fall I am definitely waiting. I hope this helps someone.

[Sozjot]

Sounds quite similar to my experience - prices all over the place to frighten the inexperienced into a quick booking is what I think is going on. I understand a bit about yield management but it should not be that obvious that customers can plainly see they are being played (imho). I reckon there is a PhD in this for the person who works it all out and millions for the successful app developer.

Determined to enjoy the trip nonetheless :)

[buzzybuzzbuzz]

Sozjot

 

We share your frustration, the policy of allowing pax in parts of the world to cancel without penalty just adds to the pricing volatility.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise

Edited March 1, 2014 by buzzybuzzbuzz

[Sozjot]

Depending on how the referendum goes you might get some decent consumer protection laws yourself Buzzy!

[sollan]

Celebrity do, sometimes, allow you to take advantage of a price drop and amend your booking, it depends on the country and the type of offer. It can't hurt to check back with them and see if they will reduce your price.

If you mean the "Best Price Guarante" is that for US/Canadians only.... But you never know, if you find the right person on Celebrity it might work...

[Us Two]

We booked a European cruise in Oct 2013 for Oct 2014, paid $1,560 Can. Have been watching the prices and last week it jumped to $200 mor pp.

Imajine my surprise when 2days ago it jumped another $100 pp , making the fare for that inside cabin $1,880 :eek:. In one way I'm glad our price is fixed, would never pay the new now price. Hoping that there will be some price drops from ship not filling, and we can pay a little more for a window :rolleyes: .

[cruisinsusin]

Hi Sozjot, we did the same Solstice Sydney to Hawaii cruise April 2013. Since this particular itinerary only occurs once per year, ours "sold out" very early as well. It remained essentially sold out even after the final payment date. It was an amazing cruise, so in spite of the sour taste right now because of the price issues, I am sure that you will really enjoy it. Lots of sea days and some gorgeous ports of call!

Susan

[Wastegirl]

Sozjot, our top end cruise dropped by $1500 and I rang celebrity Australia and asked for a price drop, something I have done successfully several times with Holland America. Was flatly told NO. I was very surprised at this because it was still within the promo period and I had only booked the week before.

 

What I did was told my TA to state absolutely flatly that if I did not get the price drop I would cancel. Already had another HAL cruise lined up to replace it. Celebrity did come to the party over this but got quite snarky about it and told me not to ask for anymore drops. It left a bad taste in my mouth but as my TA said it will only take a couple of cocktails to wash it out :)

 

Moral of this story, I was prepared to cancel to get the price I wanted.

 

Oh and another thing, they told me if I cancelled I could not rebook at the lower price for the same cruise and they kept records of this. So I couldn't go that route.