Pricing - one has to wonder about the value of upgrades

[ghstudio]

I know prices vary all over the lot depending on availability, etc....but I'm looking at sneaking in a cruise after Thanksgiving and this one really makes me think about value.

 

S Class ship - all prices include classic drink package and gratuities which is probably why they are quite a bit higher than last year.

 

2A $1629

1C $1649

1B $1669

1A $1689

 

C3 $2299

A2 $2349

 

Sky Suite $3799

 

Of course...keep in mind that a veranda and concierge cabin are exactly the same size on these ships...comparing a hump balcony to a C3 is $610 per passenger. That's just crazy to me.

 

A2 is $100 more than C3....that makes sense...essentially it's the same as a C2 so you are picking your dining room (I'd pick Aqua)

 

Finally the sky suite price....without Michael's Club access an additional $1450 over a C3 on a 10 day cruise. Luminae better be really special at that upgrade price.

 

From my perspective, I think sanity will prevail and we'll take a 1A cabin just off the hump with the larger balcony...one of the better balcony cabin locations on the ship. I'm not sure why anyone would book a 2A when a 1A is only $6 a day more...location, location, location....I mean do $20 increments really make sense to anyone?

 

Would you pay the premiums to move to concierge/aqua or suite?

Edited April 24, 2015 by ghstudio

[phoenix_dream]

Are you talking a seven day cruise in the Caribbean? A few years ago, we were sailing those for less than $1000 pp the week after Thanksgiving. And some on these boards say prices have not risen substantially the past few years to cover the costs of the 'free' perks. These amounts are WAY more than simple inflation or a small increase in profit:rolleyes:

[ghstudio]

Are you talking a seven day cruise in the Caribbean? A few years ago, we were sailing those for less than $1000 pp the week after Thanksgiving. And some on these boards say prices have not risen substantially the past few years to cover the costs of the 'free' perks. These amounts are WAY more than simple inflation or a small increase in profit:rolleyes:

 

10 day cruise...but yes, prices are up by about $65 a day.....funny how that roughly equals the price of the classic drink package and daily gratuities....probably just an accident :rolleyes:

[kenevenpar]

For me, no way.

 

Last cruise was concierge, ONLY because of the perks which were not available in veranda. The CC benefits on their own are not worth much if anything to me.

 

Next cruise we are in a Sky suite with all 3 perks and a ton of OBC, at a per day rate less than the 2a you quoted.

 

We also look at the overall value and make our decision on that basis.

[wallie5446]

10 day sailing,

[miched]

if you get the same perks for 1A and CC or Aq I would also take the 1A. The different for AQ is too much and not worth it for me.

 

You could probably also book the 1B and get upgraded to 1A thru the Captain Club.

 

I have looked into upgrading to a suite from AQ on cruises that I have booked and the cheapest upgrade is over $100/day pp for a Sky Suite. I also don't feel that the new suite benefits are worth it.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

Edited April 24, 2015 by miched

[killsport]

Are you looking at the 11/30 Equinox? If so, are these the prices from the X website? Because I see lower prices from TAs.

[Mr. Click]

Pricing in general is beyond me.. we have a Baltic cruise coming up the end of May. When we booked it last summer we paid for a 1B and it was about $2900 pp all in for 12 nights, got two of the 1-2-3GO perks and our TA paid the grats...A few months later it dropped a bit, TA re-booked us for a $150 savings.. Late in September the price dropped another $1500, $750pp. TA again re-booked us but this time we only got 1 free grat from them so it was a net savings of $1200. Total cost then was around $4400... right now I can book AX for about $4200 with $75 of OBC and pre-paid grats from the TA.... Is your head spinning? Mine is.....oh the W class---is now around $5200 per couple...less than we paid originally. To top it off, we had the same cruise booked in CC last year on an M class and the cost was just under $6000 with just a few hundred in OBC. We had to cancel that one last minute....bottom line right now is despite what they are saying, there is a lot of last minute discounting if they have empty cabins...

[ghstudio]

Are you looking at the 11/30 Equinox? If so, are these the prices from the X website? Because I see lower prices from TAs.

 

11/30 is an 11 night western itinerary...and it is less expensive than the 12/11 10 night eastern one...but we've done the 11 night twice...that's enough :)

[Muushka]

Would you pay the premiums to move to concierge/aqua or suite?

 

No, not at the prices you have listed.

[killsport]

Those look like X rates. If you look around you can find much better pricing on the concierge cabins. I saw a C2 for under $1500/pp on that itinerary. Agreed that at the prices you gave I wouldn't upgrade. I find that shopping around I can get concierge for about $100/pp more than a decent balcony. Not always, but recently. For me it's worth the money... Others might not find the value. Whatever you decide, enjoy your vacation!

[ghstudio]

Those look like X rates. If you look around you can find much better pricing on the concierge cabins. I saw a C2 for under $1500/pp on that itinerary. Agreed that at the prices you gave I wouldn't upgrade. I find that shopping around I can get concierge for about $100/pp more than a decent balcony. Not always, but recently. For me it's worth the money... Others might not find the value. Whatever you decide, enjoy your vacation!

 

I shopped what I consider to be the 7 largest internet cruise TA's (can't mention them). Certainly this may not be the optimum day to book even though I got the drink package, gratuities and a small OBC, but those are today's prices. One of the TA's is about $100 less on all of the prices, but the cost to upgrade is the same (can you guess where I booked).

 

BTW...that cruise has gobs of balcony cabins unsold (most balcony categories show the maximum 25 cabins available but when it's every other cabin in a hallway, you can bet the number is much much higher). I have every confidence that the cruise will be on a Tuesday Special or whatever they want to call it soon. I booked the 1A because of the cabin location and we'll see if I can finagle a price decrease, when the offer comes.

Edited April 24, 2015 by ghstudio

[hulamoon]

I bet you can. I have followed all those post thanksgiving cruises for a few years now and they do seem to drop consistently. Although last year they stayed excessively high for a long time, if they had not I would have moved to the 14 day and left the b2b summit. Which in the end was the same per day cost. But not before final payment.

 

I like your strategy. It makes sense to me.

[kovhanperl]

These amounts are WAY more than simple inflation or a small increase in profit

[alcpa1]

Interesting....

Compare your 10/11 day sailings to the Summit's 7 nighter out of San Juan on Nov. 28th. Concierge, Aqua and Sky Suites are already sold out. We've sailed this itinerary many times, and are doing it again this year. We've never had those classes sell out so early. If you could have gotten an Aqua cabin last week, the X rate was $1,649.

You are getting a far better deal per day on your newer S class ship in those class cabins without the expense of sailing out of San Juan.

That's just another way to look at it!