Goodbye last minute fare drops

[Iamcruzin]

I think the all-in 123 promotion definitely helped fill ships sooner, I've noticed many sailings with no suites or concierge cabins available almost a year and some more than a year out.

 

I couldn't agree more. I have been tracking Bermuda 2015 and have been comparing it to what I have booked in 2016. I am appalled at the last minute prices for 3 weeks out. It makes my all inclusive in CC look like a real bargain. A basic veranda for May 10th is only $100 less than what I'm paying for a C2 with all of the perks for the same sailing next year. I did receive some exciting deals for Bermuda but in my opinion they weren't all that exciting. Now would I pay the price that I paid without the AI or a perk? No, I would just book an ocean view which we have always been happy with.

[Iamcruzin]

We'll see how it goes. Just booked Bermuda and got a Cat 9 Inside for $499 per person.

 

Other earlier Bermuda cruises were down to $399 and $429 pp, so we shall see.

 

Also one of the Bermuda cruises we were looking at had tons of Aqua Class cabins available after final payment, right now they are $1,199 pp, not sure how low they will go to sell them.

There seems to be many insides available probably due to the fact that you had to book ocean view or higher to get any of the perks. At the time there really wasn't much difference in price between an interior and an ocean view. Same applied to standard veranda and CC. I booked a CC because it actually was a better value than a veranda. I would have booked Aqua but the rooms are in such a bad location it wasn't worth the risk for me. We like mid ship and there is no way that I would book anything under the buffet or pool deck.

[Champagne Cruiser]

We always book one cruise at least one year out on Celebrity, and then book our other cruises as last minute bargains. Last year that meant cruising Princess and HAL for our bargain cruises. We prefer to cruise Celebrity, but for our "extra" cruises we go for the bargain. After all, there is no such thing as a bad cruise.

[shipshape sam]

We always book one cruise at least one year out on Celebrity, and then book our other cruises as last minute bargains. Last year that meant cruising Princess and HAL for our bargain cruises. We prefer to cruise Celebrity, but for our "extra" cruises we go for the bargain. After all, there is no such thing as a bad cruise.

 

 

Good way to think about cruising. We have lots of funny stories after the fact, but no bad cruises.

[midwestchick]

There are discounts for many things...and yes, there are senior discounts offered on some cabins on some cruises. I'm not sure I've seen them on Celebrity's site, but they show up on the internet cruise TA sites....in fact one of the majors allows you to quickly look only at cruises that offer a senior discount on some cabin. I believe you can even sign up for newletters on cruises with senior fares (which includes celebrity, of course).

 

I've seen discounts for

different things but nor for senior rates.

I think I know which TA website you are possibly referring to. If it's the one I have in mind, I did get a verbal quote from a very popular website and when I called, I was told that price was not what I had been quoted.

Excuse me...I take very good notes. And if you have a really good TA, this popular website I'm referring to is not as good as it proclaims to be.

Edited April 24, 2015 by midwestchick

[c-legs]

Goodbye last minute fare drops

 

Hello Employee Pricing......Cash Back deals......etc. etc.

 

I'm from Missouri on this one.;)

 

Bang on !!!

 

Same ol' same ol' ..

 

A leopard by any other name and without its spots is still a leopard .

 

All lines talk this topic up....and if you revisit that 9 months later, guess what....Same ol' same ol' .....with a bit of disguizing.

 

Cheers

[Cruise Junky]

Richard Fain again discusses the end of deep discount last minute fares to eliminate the last minute bookers and attempt to hold fares high during the earnings call.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6311

 

It was reported last fall as well, but didn't really cause much of a stir when it was announced then either.

 

Curious to see how it works out. I love how it's disguised as a way to make the ships more comfortable with less passengers... LOL.

 

I'm definitely one of those last minute bookers looking for great deals. Will absolutely affect how often I cruise I think. But on the other hand, they needed to do something, there was a cruise I was on last year that at final payment was only 37% sold out, by the time we sailed, we sailed full. So they booked over 60% of cabins within those last weeks, at great discount (caribbean).

 

I think the all-in 123 promotion definitely helped fill ships sooner, I've noticed many sailings with no suites or concierge cabins available almost a year and some more than a year out.

 

Did he say anything about it applying to Celebrity? Everything I've read said RCL which you don't seem to cruise.

[LabGuy64]

You say profit like it is a dirty word.....Profit is the ONLY reason ANY buisness exists

 

 

I don't know why X doesn't utilize the unsold cabins to upgrade people who booked early and paid higher price first, then discount fare on the left-overs. Yes, I know why - PROFIT.

[upwarduk]

Wish those of us in the UK got 'Exciting Deals'....

 

They do sometimes do the Senior Rate- 55+. We've booked it a couple of times.:)

[purpletequila]

We'll see how it goes. Just booked Bermuda and got a Cat 9 Inside for $499 per person.

 

Other earlier Bermuda cruises were down to $399 and $429 pp, so we shall see.

 

Also one of the Bermuda cruises we were looking at had tons of Aqua Class cabins available after final payment, right now they are $1,199 pp, not sure how low they will go to sell them.

 

And this is precisely what ticks people off. They artificially inflate prices, people book them and then get aggravated after the line drops it by sometimes hundreds of dollars.

[CruisingChick]

And this is precisely what ticks people off. They artificially inflate prices, people book them and then get aggravated after the line drops it by sometimes hundreds of dollars.

 

The prices are inflated to cover the price of all the "perks" they offer.

 

I just received an email from NCL that states starting in 2016 the NCL Sky will be all inclusive. If I don't drink alcohol why would I want to automatically pay for drinks in my cruise price? Not sure what their pricing will be.

Edited April 24, 2015 by CruisingChick

[terigo]

From my observations, prices have gone up as time went on. Our last two cruises on Celebrity sold out of suites and aqua class and the verandah cabins went up several hundred dollars from our early booking price.

 

Right now we are booked on a transatlantic leaving this October. When we booked it (a year in advance) the price was quite reasonable. It is now $300 more per person than we paid and the category left is lower than what we booked. Our category (along with 5 other categories) is sold out.

 

Will inventory open up after final? Maybe. But I'm content with what we paid for what we got with an early booking.

[shipshape sam]

From my observations, prices have gone up as time went on. Our last two cruises on Celebrity sold out of suites and aqua class and the verandah cabins went up several hundred dollars from our early booking price.

 

Right now we are booked on a transatlantic leaving this October. When we booked it (a year in advance) the price was quite reasonable. It is now $300 more per person than we paid and the category left is lower than what we booked. Our category (along with 5 other categories) is sold out.

 

Will inventory open up after final? Maybe. But I'm content with what we paid for what we got with an early booking.

 

I think that is Celebrity's hope in that suites sell out quickly and then they raise prices of the next highest cabin category like AQ and CC.

[shipshape sam]

The prices are inflated to cover the price of all the "perks" they offer.

 

I just received an email from NCL that states starting in 2016 the NCL Sky will be all inclusive. If I don't drink alcohol why would I want to automatically pay for drinks in my cruise price? Not sure what their pricing will be.

 

I am with you on the all inclusive concept to a degree. Packaging up all kinds of services/products as 'perks', raising prices means all of us pay more as I would think it rare the passenger that uses every possible perk.

 

The opposite has also been happening where they remove a benefit(perk) and then create an alternative and charge for it.

[BEAV]

I've seen discounts for

different things but nor for senior rates.

I think I know which TA website you are possibly referring to. If it's the one I have in mind, I did get a verbal quote from a very popular website and when I called, I was told that price was not what I had been quoted.

Excuse me...I take very good notes. And if you have a really good TA, this popular website I'm referring to is not as good as it proclaims to be.

 

IF a sailing you're looking at has a senior rate, it will display the rate as long as you include in your initial search that you are 55 or older. This is the case whether viewing Celebrity's website or a TA site. Generally, senior rates appear after final payment date, and are offered on select categories only vs every category on the ship.

[shoreham01]

Whenever I think 'that is a terrific deal' I price it up and find it works out the same as any other deal they have offered. By saying $400 on board spend and free drink package (a new 5 day offer in UK for balcony and above 2015 cruises) it looks like a good deal. Still always seems to work out more or less the same when I price it all up.

[phoenix_dream]

We have also booked senior rates once or twice (as well as resident rates). We have not done so recently as they are not able to be combined with other offers like 1-2-3 go and the like, so for the cabins we sailed they were anything but a bargain. Years ago we saved a few $$ using them.

[Hlitner]

Mr. Fain's comments are very interesting. But having followed the industry for over forty years we remain somewhat skeptical. The bottom line is that an empty berth on a ship is what economists call "opportunity lost" revenue. That unfilled berth is money lost forever to the cruise line which is why all lines pursue various strategies to sell empty berths. As to RCI, we have noticed a trend on their Celebrity brand (for the past 2-3 years) to move away from the traditional last minute price drops. But there are still some amazing deals at the last minute. They sometimes will hold the prices but enhance he bookings with larger OBCs, pre paid gratuities, etc. Celebrity also will use "targeted marketing" where they will have special last minute prices for various groups such as veterans, seniors, teachers, etc.

 

But as an active cruiser (we average over 70 days a year on ships) we use a combination of early booking and last minute bookings. We view the cruise industry as a large multi-company industry and, if doing a last minute cruise, we simply look at just about every cruise line (we have cruised on 14 lines). If Celebrity does not have a good deal, perhaps HAL will have something. And then there are often some excellent last minute specials on the ultra-luxury lines. So time will tell if Mr. Fain holds the line on pricing...but we expect that even RCI will use lower pricing (or extra amenity) strategies to keep their occupancy at close to 100%.

 

Hank

[RDC1]

As to the end of distress pricing, I'll believe it when I see it!

 

But if Fain actually does follow through with his promise (or shall we say threat?!?), it will be interesting how they handle on board upgrades. If a sailing goes out 80 percent full due to no distress discounting, will they offer some reduced rate upgrades at embarkation? They'd still have a ship sailing at 80 percent capacity, but could generate some extra revenue with upsells.

 

The occupancy numbers across all of the RCL lines was 105% last quarter (occupancy is # passengers/Lower berth capacity (2 passengers per cabin)). If they dropped occupancy by just 1 percent, without a corresponding increase in per day per passenger revenue it would have cost them 17 million dollars most of which would drop to impact net income and drop it from 45 million to around 28 million for the quarter. So any decrease in occupancy must be offset by increased per passenger revenue.

Edited April 24, 2015 by RDC1

[CruisingChick]

So any decrease in occupancy must be offset by increased per passenger revenue.

 

They get less on board revenue from us because they keep raising prices. We loved Bistro on 5 for $5 and even $7 wasn't bad, but now that it's $10 we probably won't go. We have not eaten a a specialty restaurant since they were $35.

 

If they want us to spend money on board they need to lower prices of things on board. They have gotten out of hand.

Edited April 24, 2015 by CruisingChick

[ghstudio]

I wonder how well Celebrity financials will look when the ships sail with empty cabins? Presumably, Celebrity will raise their prices by 10% or so to cover the "fixed expenses" from those empty cabins and of course they'll have to raise the prices on board to cover the lost revenue from those empty cabins....so maybe those will go up 10% as well.

 

Is everyone ready for that 5-10% price increase across the board?

 

(of course I'm just guessing at numbers...but you get the drift)

[Terpnut]

The occupancy numbers across all of the RCL lines was 105% last quarter (occupancy is # passengers/Lower berth capacity (2 passengers per cabin)). If they dropped occupancy by just 1 percent, without a corresponding increase in per day per passenger revenue it would have cost them 17 million dollars most of which would drop to impact net income and drop it from 45 million to around 28 million for the quarter. So any decrease in occupancy must be offset by increased per passenger revenue.

This makes sense if you look at things purely from a financial perspective, but there are other intangibles in play such as customer good will. I think what Fain is saying is that the current model of generating incremental additional passenger revenue using heavily-discounted stateroom bargains for last-minute bookers (like me) may not be worth the negative feelings to loyal, early-booking customers. The implication is that either loyal early bookers might no longer patronize your line (or at least as much) or that early bookers will stop booking early and wait for discounts before booking -- thereby perpetuating the current problem. IOW, chasing maximum occupancy may not be optimal to the bottom line. Only time will tell... Edited April 24, 2015 by Terpnut

[hcat]

I don't know why X doesn't utilize the unsold cabins to upgrade people who booked early and paid higher price first, then discount fare on the left-overs. Yes, I know why - PROFIT.

 

They seemed to do this on Royal quite a bit for awhile....mostly for Diamond +....

 

one of our roll calls for a Royal C Mex Riviera cruise was often consumed by this topic...."when would the call come for a better cabin?".......even at the roll call get together the night before the cruise...that was the main topic...more than one got the lucky call

 

for us it was as tedious as all the current alcohol package discussions...if last minute bookers a bargain, it does not offend us who prefer to plan ahead for best cabin availability.

[RDC1]

This makes sense if you look at things purely from a financial perspective, but there are other intangibles in play such as customer good will. I think what Fain is saying is that the current model of generating incremental additional passenger revenue using heavily-discounted stateroom bargains for last-minute bookers (like me) may not be worth the negative feelings to loyal, early-booking customers. The implication is that either loyal early bookers might no longer patronize your line (or at least as much) or that early bookers will stop booking early and wait for discounts before booking -- thereby perpetuating the current problem. IOW, chasing maximum occupancy may not be optimal to the bottom line. Only time will tell...

 

You can have all of the good well you want, but unless you maintain the occupancy rate you have to make up the difference with price increases.

 

No if he can raise prices to offset the occupancy difference then no issue. But of course they have not demonstrated the ability to do so up to this point.

 

So the question is can your goodwill be converted to higher prices and still maintain the customer base.

[RDC1]

The cruise lines have trained their customer base to expect last minute discounts. For RCL to be successful in eliminating the last minute discounts they have to break that training (expectation). So in some cases it comes down to who blinks first. The cruise line in how much revenue they might be prepared to write off to break that training, or the passengers who normally wait to book late looking for the discount.

 

It really is going to come down to the question of will those that book at the last minute still book if those discounts do not occur. Are they committed to a given trip? or are they flexible and just looking to take a cruise if the price is right and willing to forego the trip if they don't get the price they are looking for?

 

That will determine how successful they are and if they will need to accept a lower occupancy rate with the corresponding price increases.