Price Difference between Celebrity and Royal Caribbean??

[KazAllen]

A bit of background information first:- We did a cruise with Royal Caribbean last September - Hawaii to Sydney - booked on a group fare and had an E2 Balcony Cabin on Deck 8 - Price of $3,328pp - good price I know but it was with a large group.

 

My question is - why are Cruises with Celebrity cheaper than Royal Caribbean when Celebrity is said to be the "up market" version of the two?

 

I did an exercise (from their websites) on prices as we would like to do the cruise back from Hawaii again in September 2016 and the prices were:-

Royal Caribbean [/b](based on this year's fares as next year isn't out as yet) - cheapest Balcony is $4,096 (incl taxes, tips etc)

and Celebrity based on next year's prices (which are out) cheapest Balcony is $4,099?

Now given that RCL was this year's price I would expect it to go up a fair bit, it would make Celebrity a better deal - why I don't understand if it is "the better product".

Can anyone shed any light on this matter - seeing they are both owned by the same parent company! :confused:

Edited May 17, 2015 by KazAllen

[Paulxyz2004]

Who says it´s the better product ?

 

Why does it matter?

 

If you can get a better deal with Celebrity by all means go and grab it as Long as it´s there.

[KazAllen]

Who says it´s the better product ?

 

Why does it matter?

 

If you can get a better deal with Celebrity by all means go and grab it as Long as it´s there.

 

Have read lots about RCL being 4* and Celebrity being 5* and was curious as to why the former is more expensive.

It matters to me because, like most people, I would like the best deal.

Don't have a crystal ball to see what RCL prices will be next year but it is a pretty safe bet that they will rise, but prob too early to book yet so will wait and see.

Edited May 17, 2015 by KazAllen

[harz99]

KazAllen; why indeed. Welcome to the mysteries of cruise pricing ala RCCL!

 

I would always book Celebrity over Royal if the price and itinerary was the same, simply because the Elite perks suit us better than the Diamond ones, also the MDR food and general "vibe" suits us better.

 

That said we care more about the itineraries now; for example we sailed Radiance rather than Solstice from Sydney to Fremantle this year, simply because the port stop in Darwin was several hours longer and enabled us to explore much further away. When we booked, the RCL to X price difference was around £150 per person so not a huge amount less over 17 days.

Edited May 17, 2015 by harz99

[ColoradoGurl]

$3328 per person is NOT cheap. That's 3 times more expensive that what I've paid per person for my last two cruises, one of which was in a D1 balcony. Is the route you're taking more than 7 days? I don't feel like looking it up but maybe that's the missing piece of info.

 

As far as prices go, are you comparing the same exact sailing dates when you compare Royal and Celebrity? Looking into prices for September which is only 4 months away may not give you as accurate a comparison when you're comparing it to a price that is 16 months away. As someone said. There's really no way to know if Royal's price will go up or not. It may go up slightly, or a lot, or not at all. It depends on the sail date and the demand for that ship and date. Same for Celebrity. You probably have to look at more ships and more sail dates to get a feel if "overall," the price is higher or lower.

 

The sense I've gotten from people on here is not that celebrity is more expensive, but that it is more "luxury," higher quality, and more "adult." Those things are subjective for the most part and in the eye of the beholder. I wouldn't be surprised if reading the celebrity board on cruise critic was similar to reading this one, with a bunch of complaints. I don't think anyone has said that celebrity is necessarily more expensive though, at least not by much. Not that I've read anyway.

[harz99]

$3328 per person is NOT cheap. That's 3 times more expensive that what I've paid per person for my last two cruises, one of which was in a D1 balcony. Is the route you're taking more than 7 days? I don't feel like looking it up but maybe that's the missing piece of info.

 

As far as prices go, are you comparing the same exact sailing dates when you compare Royal and Celebrity? Looking into prices for September which is only 4 months away may not give you as accurate a comparison when you're comparing it to a price that is 16 months away. As someone said. There's really no way to know if Royal's price will go up or not. It may go up slightly, or a lot, or not at all. It depends on the sail date and the demand for that ship and date. Same for Celebrity. You probably have to look at more ships and more sail dates to get a feel if "overall," the price is higher or lower.

 

The sense I've gotten from people on here is not that celebrity is more expensive, but that it is more "luxury," higher quality, and more "adult." Those things are subjective for the most part and in the eye of the beholder. I wouldn't be surprised if reading the celebrity board on cruise critic was similar to reading this one, with a bunch of complaints. I don't think anyone has said that celebrity is necessarily more expensive though, at least not by much. Not that I've read anyway.

 

The OP said Hawaii to Sydney - that's a 17-19 day Transpacific cruise.

 

And as the OP is in Australia I guess that is a reasonable price from what I have seen.

[silentbob007]

They charge what the market will bear. While X may be a step up from Royal in some areas, they offer a little bit differing experiences overall.

[BekkaW]

Cruise prices are not fixed, they vary by different cabin types and by when you book. Te person in the cabin next to you likely paid a different fare than you did, so you can't assume that prices will always be higher the next year.

 

The pricing is driven by a supply and demand algorithm so, as someone else mentioned, Royal (and others) will charge what the market will bear. Popular routes and times of year are more expensive simply because more people want to book them.

[Aintnofun007]

Have read lots about RCL being 4* and Celebrity being 5* and was curious as to why the former is more expensive.

It matters to me because, like most people, I would like the best deal.

Don't have a crystal ball to see what RCL prices will be next year but it is a pretty safe bet that they will rise, but prob too early to book yet so will wait and see.

 

 

thats the best way i would put it would be a 4 for RCCL vs 5 for celebrity.. i didn't notice any huge things, but subtle things like more choices at the omelete station in the buffet. the towels/water when you get back on the ship all little stuff though..

[KazAllen]

$3328 per person is NOT cheap. That's 3 times more expensive that what I've paid per person for my last two cruises, one of which was in a D1 balcony. Is the route you're taking more than 7 days? I don't feel like looking it up but maybe that's the missing piece of info.

 

As far as prices go, are you comparing the same exact sailing dates when you compare Royal and Celebrity? Looking into prices for September which is only 4 months away may not give you as accurate a comparison when you're comparing it to a price that is 16 months away. As someone said. There's really no way to know if Royal's price will go up or not. It may go up slightly, or a lot, or not at all. It depends on the sail date and the demand for that ship and date. Same for Celebrity. You probably have to look at more ships and more sail dates to get a feel if "overall," the price is higher or lower.

 

The sense I've gotten from people on here is not that celebrity is more expensive, but that it is more "luxury," higher quality, and more "adult." Those things are subjective for the most part and in the eye of the beholder. I wouldn't be surprised if reading the celebrity board on cruise critic was similar to reading this one, with a bunch of complaints. I don't think anyone has said that celebrity is necessarily more expensive though, at least not by much. Not that I've read anyway.

 

The cruise that I was talking about home from Hawaii for $3328 was NOT a 7 day cruise - Hawaii to Sydney in 7 days?)- - I don't think so! It was a 18 day cruise and came home through Tahiti and New Zealand so the price was really good especially in a balcony.

Yes the sailing dates are VERY similar, about a day apart I think - and it is Celebrity that appears to be the cheaper one, as I said prices for their 2016 sailing are the same as Royal's for 2015 - same time of year and same ports (with the exception of the NZ ones which are a bit different but still the same number of ports and sea days)