New Celebrity Bundle Pricing (Go! Big, Go! Better, Go! Best)

[CathyCruises]

The web site is currently completely messed up.....if you look at a cruise and it shows a category available, you can't book any cabins....tried with multiple cruises.

 

I hate to pick on the same guys...but wouldn't you think that IT would actually test their system BEFORE the day of announcement. If I were LISA and about to talk to CC...I'd be furious.

 

I got all the way to the the payment page on a cruise I am considering--didn't enter my CC # so I can't tell you if it would have worked, but it sure looked like it would.

 

I've been following this cruise for a few weeks now. It's the same price as it was yesterday (without the senior discount) but includes one perk instead of two under the 123Go Offer. I also could have booked under last week's firecracker sale and gotten a lot of OBC with the senior discount, but I'm waiting til after final payment as I'm guessing yhis one may end up on the Tuesday Special page later this month. Playing the game. . .

[UniPac]

 

Thanks for the screenshot. The "Go Better" thing makes no sense to me if you plan to choose the $150 OBC or Predpaid tips, and the Go!Best is not better at all in this example... The bev package could easily be worth the $150 and I don't know about the unlimited internet.

[joanne2]

I booked an Oct. 2016 Panama Canal cruise on the Infinity a few weeks ago. Obviously I was interested in whether the new Good/Better/Best would be better. CC speculation was that the prices would go up. We booked a Concierge room because you got all 3 of the 1-2-3. The new Concierge rate is the same but with only 1 of the 3. So I guess most of us "already booked" people won't feel cheated or be scrambling to cancel and rebook. One difference is that the 1-2-3 was only available for Concierge and above. I didn't record what the old Verandah price was.

[QE2_Fan]

The web site is currently completely messed up.....if you look at a cruise and it shows a category available, you can't book any cabins....tried with multiple cruises.

 

 

 

I hate to pick on the same guys...but wouldn't you think that IT would actually test their system BEFORE the day of announcement. If I were LISA and about to talk to CC...I'd be furious.

 

 

I'm getting similar also. I was able to correctly price and make a mock booking on the US site, but i was advised the the Australain site was remaining on the 'original' pricing model for now....but when I try to book a cruise by selecting number of passengers and cabin grade it seems to default to the U.S. Site and mentions the GO BIG! Options.

 

It won't let me change passenger count or cabin type and if I hit BOOK, it says 'oops we don't have any cabins left'. Tried this on various cruises and same issue occurs.

 

Hopefully it will be fixed, as I said the main U.S. Site and selection of new pricing options worked well. Really well, I was quite expecting it to fall in a heap bases on previous major changes to the website.

 

Pricing wise, I found the base pricing to be the same, but based on a concierge cabin yesterday I would've got the all inclusive offer of 3 perks included in that base price. Today I'm paying the extra $45 per day to secure similar. Will keep an eye on things as the dust settles before making judgement.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[JaneStarr]

Thanks for the screenshot. The "Go Better" thing makes no sense to me if you plan to choose the $150 OBC or Predpaid tips, and the Go!Best is not better at all in this example... The bev package could easily be worth the $150 and I don't know about the unlimited internet.

 

From the marketing flyer, they are showing savings based on you electing Bev pack for Go Big and unlimited internet for GO Better. This is in fine print on flyer that was posted yesterday (or maybe the day before).

 

On a cruise of 10 nights or longer, the $15 pp/day "Better" upgrade makes no sense for a $150 pp OBC. As far as choosing gratuities, value depends on your cabin type. Worth it for Suite gratuities of $16.45 pp/night. Not worth it for other categories.

Jane

Edited July 6, 2015 by JaneStarr
suppress signature

[cruisinnorth]

Hi All,

 

Just did a mock booking for a 14 day Caribbean Cruise in November '15 on the Eclipse. Here are the numbers I came up with.

 

4798.00 Base for Verandah Cabin

248.96 Taxes, Fees, and Port Charges for 2

5046.96 Total for 2 passengers

1260.00 Additional for "Go Best"

6306.96 New total with "Go Best"

362.60 Gratuities = 12.95 x 2 x 14 days

349.00 Unlimited Internet Package

300.00 On Board Credit 150.00 x 2

1820.00 Premium Beverage Package 65.00 x 2 x 14

3475.36 Total cost of cruise less the costs of the "Go Best" Perks.

 

This doesn't account for any additional perks, such as discount on the fare or OBC, that come from your TA.

 

It seems to me that in our case we would pay the Gratuities and buy an Internet Package and we would use the OBC. We would not get the full value of the Beverage Package.

 

So, where does my math leak and if you got full value from all the perks would that be a good deal. Consider you would otherwise have to buy them on top of the cost of the cruise.

 

A mock booking I did on the 4th, not going into all the perks, came to a total for the cruise (Fare and Fees) 4246.96. Which seems to me I would be paying 925.00 and 1260.00 or 2185.00 for the "Go Best" package. The perks purchased separately on the X web site would cost 2831.60. Or, on paper, I save 646.60.

 

So, please, tell me where I am going wrong in this situation. Be kind!

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

 

 

 

[gordylad]

just checked a big ta and they show the following details:

 

Go Big – Choose 1 of 4 amenities either Classic Beverage Package, Free Gratuities, Unlimited Internet or $150 Onboard Credit

Go Better – Choose 2 of 4 amenities for $15 cruise fare increase per person / per day

Go Best – Get all four amenities with free upgrade to premium beverage package for a $45 cruise fare increase per person / per day

[JaneStarr]

Hi All,

 

Just did a mock booking for a 14 day Caribbean Cruise in November '15 on the Eclipse. Here are the numbers I came up with.

 

4798.00 Base for Verandah Cabin

248.96 Taxes, Fees, and Port Charges for 2

5046.96 Total for 2 passengers

1260.00 Additional for "Go Best"

6306.96 New total with "Go Best"

362.60 Gratuities = 12.95 x 2 x 14 days

349.00 Unlimited Internet Package

300.00 On Board Credit 150.00 x 2

1820.00 Premium Beverage Package 65.00 x 2 x 14

3475.36 Total cost of cruise less the costs of the "Go Best" Perks.

 

This doesn't account for any additional perks, such as discount on the fare or OBC, that come from your TA.

 

It seems to me that in our case we would pay the Gratuities and buy an Internet Package and we would use the OBC. We would not get the full value of the Beverage Package.

 

So, where does my math leak and if you got full value from all the perks would that be a good deal. Consider you would otherwise have to buy them on top of the cost of the cruise.

 

A mock booking I did on the 4th, not going into all the perks, came to a total for the cruise (Fare and Fees) 4246.96. Which seems to me I would be paying 925.00 and 1260.00 or 2185.00 for the "Go Best" package. The perks purchased separately on the X web site would cost 2831.60. Or, on paper, I save 646.60.

 

So, please, tell me where I am going wrong in this situation. Be kind!

 

Cheers,

 

Dave

 

I always try to be kind :D This certainly is complicated to follow!

We would also need to know which, if any, 123 perks are in your original quote.

 

No time to try and follow all your calculations right now, but my gut tells me you're better off with your original booking because you don't value the unlimited Bev package. *If* you highly value the internet package (which is likely to be even less useable and slower than before they offered this perk), then it might make sense to switch to Go Big and choose internet. You'll need to run the numbers to check that out, but it makes more sense to include the value of the package *to you* rather than the "rack" rate. You are able to purchase smaller internet packages and may even get a discount or free minutes, based on you CC level.

 

The $150 OBC option for a $15 p.p. surcharge costs you $210 p.p more than the $150 value on a 12 night cruise! The same can be said for gratuities, unless you are in a suite.

 

Jane

===================================

 

PS I just re-read your original post. I misunderstood by thinking that you already had the booking from 7/4, but it was just a "mock" booking for comparison.

 

What cabin category are you considering? That affects whether gratuities are worth adding to cruise fare package. OBC of $150 would never appear to be a good "Go Big"value on a 14 night cruise, as far as I can figure. Maybe I'm missing an angle, but if you're only choosing 1 perk (under Go Big) for a 14 night cruise, grats would be worth more than the $150.

Edited July 6, 2015 by JaneStarr
Correction

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

Some insights. Hope they are helpful ! :

 

1. I checked 3 of our Caribbean Cruises. Today's pricing is the same as a few days ago, under the "Go Big" offer.

 

2. I'm having no problems seeing all pricing options... so for those who want to use this as a gripe session for Celebrity's IT team ? At first glance, it looks like they've done a very good job. I certainly understand that there's a lot of work ahead to improve Celebrity's website - but let's give credit where it's due.

 

3. There's an option to bypass Go Big, Better, Best, and look for resident/senior/military rates, so that's very nice to see.

 

4. While I still feel this program may work well for some.... as we rarely if ever drink, and receive 200 Internet minutes each for Internet as Elite Plus.... I cannot see any scenario where the Go Better or Best would make sense for us. I suspected this would be the case when this new structure was first announced - but now that I can see the actual numbers, my initial thoughts are confirmed.

 

5. Go Better and Best : I'm not seeing the logic of paying 15.00 (better)/45.00 (best) per person per day, for gratuities and/or OBC, for sailings over 9 nights, as it becomes of little to no value at that point. IMO, they should bump up the OBC on 10+ night sailings, to make Go Better and Best more attractive on the longer sailings.

 

For us, as we always book onboard and received generous OBC, reduced deposits, and (I believe) 1 other perk on some of our bookings... I'm keeping our existing booking as is.

[bertrande]

I booked 2 cabins on a Feb 2017 cruise on Connie just 5 days ago, a triple-pax Concierge Class under the all inclusive promotion (classic beverage package for 2, grats for 2 and US$300 OBC), and a quad Verandah room.

 

My total Concierge fare was USD6,861.43 and my total Verandah fare was USD7215.24. With the new pricing, the Concierge fare with 2 of the three perks is a whopping USD7281.43 while the Verandah fare is unchanged but with a new perk. I will therefore be asking my TA if I can rebook my Verandah fare under the new deal. But I am certainly glad I booked my Concierge stateroom before the new pricing structure kicked in.

[Glendakayself]

Wondering what additional perks will be offered to book on board?

 

For now, the three cruises I checked yesterday are the same price today for the "Go Big," and offer the option to add a perk that was not offered yesterday.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Glendakayself

[Iamcruzin]

The price of my CC room for Bermuda stayed the same as I paid with the 123 go and 3 perks back in Nov of 2014. However if I booked today it would cost $105pp more if I wanted 2 perks and $315pp more for 4 perks

 

I don't see this pricing lasting as you would be losing money if you choose go better and going best is a huge difference in price. For us it works out since we would purchase the drink package. However I'm not loyal to one line and if there is a better base price for a similar itinerary I will choose that line. Everyone complained that the 123 go promotions inflated the price. This is worse. I hope that passengers are smart enough to do the math and figure out that if you pick the free gratuities or $150 OBC in option #2 that you are losing money. The $15 extra per day costs more than the daily gratuities.

[Cindy]

It's hard to tell because the way the prices are structured is so different now, but at first glance these prices seem considerably higher than they were before.

 

I'm currently booked in AQ on the Equinox for March of next year. I booked during the 1-2-3 Go! all inclusive at a very good rate. Prices had already gone up $1,000/person, and now it looks like the Go!Big fare, which doesn't include anywhere near what we're getting, is an additional $250. To come close to what we have we would have to select the Go!Best fare, which comes in at an additional $1,747 per person more than we paid!:eek:

 

If I was going to spend an additional $3,500 for a cruise, that money would be spent booking a premium line! Even if I look at it by comparing the price yesterday with the price today instead of the lower fare when I booked, it would still cost my husband and I an additional $1,500 if we were to book today.

 

When all is said and done, I don't think I can justify these prices when I consider how many other options there are. I loved the product on my one Celebrity cruise so far, but I think the prices that are posted today are beyond what I'm willing to pay for a mass market cruise, even if it's a very nice mass market cruise. I was looking at some Azamara and Oceania cruises the other day, and I think they are a better value than the prices I saw on the Celebrity site this morning. Hopefully the dust will settle, and prices will come back down to earth too!:)

[Scrappytraveller]

The Go Better option makes zero sense. What a bunch of morons at corporate. The additional cost is more than the value of tips or OBC you get. Yeah sure, sign me up, duh... :rolleyes:

[jagoffee]

My December 2016 cruise in Aqua was $1649 with beverage, grats and $300 obc. New pricing today brings it to $2049 each, $800 more total per cabin to get the same plus internet.

 

My November 2015 cruise which I got a 1A with beverage and $100 obc was $1049 per. Now, with choosing 2, it's $1239 each or about $400 more total.

 

I appreciate their desire to change things up/increase revenue, but so far, for me, the new pricing raises my cost so I'm going to take a break, try another line, and see how that works out.

 

Is your comparison based on what you paid when you booked or the most recent price before the change? Or are they the same? I like your real life comparison.

 

Since both of my non TA cruise bookings include the 123 all inclusive and either my category is already sold out or the prices previously increased it is impossible for me to tell the impact on my cruises. I suspect the 123 all inclusive deal will be hard to beat under any scenario.

 

I always compare my bookings to the competition, so it will be interesting to see if Celebrity remains competitive as they have been in the past for my future bookings.

[Andy]

The Go Better option makes zero sense. What a bunch of morons at corporate. The additional cost is more than the value of tips or OBC you get. Yeah sure, sign me up, duh... :rolleyes:

 

Actually, it may make sense on sailings under 10 nights. Let's say you want the drink package, and the OBC. if you are on a 7 night sailing. It would cost you $210 for Go Better and have both amenities (drinks and $300 OBC). Yes, you are only up $90 under this scenario, but the math works. It makes even more sense on the 4/5 night sailings.

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think the breakpoint is 10 nights or more, where the OBC and/or grats perk is of no value vs what you'd have to pay for it.

[neverbeenhere]

The Go Better option makes zero sense. What a bunch of morons at corporate. The additional cost is more than the value of tips or OBC you get. Yeah sure, sign me up, duh... :rolleyes:

 

 

Makes cents for one bunch!:rolleyes:

[bertrande]

Is your comparison based on what you paid when you booked or the most recent price before the change? Or are they the same? I like your real life comparison.

 

Since both of my non TA cruise bookings include the 123 all inclusive and either my category is already sold out or the prices previously increased it is impossible for me to tell the impact on my cruises. I suspect the 123 all inclusive deal will be hard to beat under any scenario.

 

I always compare my bookings to the competition, so it will be interesting to see if Celebrity remains competitive as they have been in the past for my future bookings.

 

jagoffee, I booked my Feb 2017 cruise under the 123 all inclusive on 1 July and both categories I booked are still available. The Concierge class cabin for 3 showed a USD400 increase under the Go Better (so 2 perks instead of the 3) but the Verandah cabin for 4, which was not under any promotion, showed no change with price but allowed me to include 1 additional perk. So it looks like there is no clear cut answer whether they have become less competitive as it very much depends on the cabin category one is trying to use to make the comparison.

[Loujul]

I've been looking at my Spain trip scheduled for next September. The cost of a 1B cabin has gone up $200 since I booked, but now there's a perk. So if I ask my TA to rebook, it will save me $100 What baffles me the most is that I paid $130 in taxes and now the taxes are only $118, so I'll also be saving an additional $24. It's giving me a headache! LOL. I can't even think of my other two trips!!:D

[grandgeezer]

We are booked on a B2B on the Silhouette in December. The difference in price between the lowest inside cabin to the lowest outside cabin is $350p.p. On one and $450p.p. on the other. Under this promotion, I think the inside cabins are going to sell fast, driving the price up. Win for Celebrity.

[Tangocherie]

Actually, it may make sense on sailings under 10 nights. Let's say you want the drink package, and the OBC. if you are on a 7 night sailing. It would cost you $210 for Go Better and have both amenities (drinks and $300 OBC). Yes, you are only up $90 under this scenario, but the math works. It makes even more sense on the 4/5 night sailings.

 

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think the breakpoint is 10 nights or more, where the OBC and/or grats perk is of no value vs what you'd have to pay for it.

 

I sure hope this will be addressed with Ms Lutoff Perlo on this noon's forum...

Edited July 6, 2015 by Tangocherie

[Andy]

I sure hope this will be addressed with Ms Lutoff Perlo on this noon's forum...

 

Hi Tangocherie,

 

I will try my best to ask, but I figure there will be tons of questions on numerous topics. I have zero say on what questions will be presented to Ms Lutoff-Perlo.

 

Should anything be answered relative to Go Big, Go Better, Go Best, I will post the replies on this thread.

Edited July 6, 2015 by Host Andy

[TourDeCruise]

Oh I am. Sorry if I wasn't clear. I grab dummy bookings to see if future cruises were going to be comparable or considerably more for basically the same options. I love Celebrity and am definitely keeping my bookings but will check other lines in the future.

 

Good! Just didn't want you to cancel bookings where you would get your perks by not canceling. You probably mentioned about doing dummy bookings earlier and I was just not following your entire "threaded" discussion.

[rvlandandsea]

The new program does not suit us. We prefer to order our wine by the bottle at dinner. We only sail OV and above now so inside pricing is not an option. Senior and resident rates are not options as I checked the reductions and they are still to expensive compared to the past. I now have 4 passages to use up before we move on to another company. Any suggestions on a good b2b2b2b to use these up without taking a second mortgage. Do you think exciting deals will still exist.

Johanne

[JaneStarr]

Hi Everyone,

 

Some insights. Hope they are helpful ! :

 

1. I checked 3 of our Caribbean Cruises. Today's pricing is the same as a few days ago, under the "Go Big" offer.

 

2. I'm having no problems seeing all pricing options... so for those who want to use this as a gripe session for Celebrity's IT team ? At first glance, it looks like they've done a very good job. I certainly understand that there's a lot of work ahead to improve Celebrity's website - but let's give credit where it's due.

 

3. There's an option to bypass Go Big, Better, Best, and look for resident/senior/military rates, so that's very nice to see.

 

4. While I still feel this program may work well for some.... as we rarely if ever drink, and receive 200 Internet minutes each for Internet as Elite Plus.... I cannot see any scenario where the Go Better or Best would make sense for us. I suspected this would be the case when this new structure was first announced - but now that I can see the actual numbers, my initial thoughts are confirmed.

 

5. Go Better and Best : I'm not seeing the logic of paying 15.00 (better)/45.00 (best) per person per day, for gratuities and/or OBC, for sailings over 9 nights, as it becomes of little to no value at that point. IMO, they should bump up the OBC on 10+ night sailings, to make Go Better and Best more attractive on the longer sailings.

 

For us, as we always book onboard and received generous OBC, reduced deposits, and (I believe) 1 other perk on some of our bookings... I'm keeping our existing booking as is.

 

Thanks for the valuable input, Andy!

 

Questions/Comments:

1) What 123 Go perks do your existing bookings include? Would be apple-to-apples comparison if they include 1 perk (Guessing Evergreen 123 Go with 1 perk?)

[No need to include your likely OBC for on-board booking because we will hopefully still be offered that]

 

2) I actually agree to have been pleasantly surprised by the IT web-site implementation so far. Let's hope it also filters down into booking confirmations that promptly & clearly reflect all perks.

 

2) A)I do have a little issue with viewing Suite pricing because you have to choose which Go Big option price in order to see which suite categories are even available. Doesn't make sense to choose Bev or Internet for higher suites, but Bev option holds the greatest value for us on other suites. This is mostly just a nuisance because you can usually go back & chose a different perk before getting back to the cabin availability & pricing screen. [Plus my wonderful TA handles the actual booking for us.]

 

2) B) Not sure if Single pricing is how Celebrity intended it or if it's an IT problem.

Booking for a single *does* reflect only 1 set of "Taxes & fees", but the rate includes the PP surcharge for GO! options (if I tested this properly), Don't find this fair, but I've yet to travel as a single.

 

3) Great that there is an option that clearly lets you bypass the GO! pricing to see other rates that are not eligible for Go! perks. Some seem to be having problems getting the website not to default to this alternate pricing, it seems.

 

4) Agree that we will each have to carefully review options to see what works best for us personally.

 

5) Mostly agree with you on this. The exception would be paying $15 pp/night for Suite gratuities. Since they are $16.45 pp/night, that would always come out to a small savings. The OBC will never make sense for us because we try not to book short cruises. Not sure why this doesn't vary by length of cruise like it has in past offers.

 

We are also very interested in hearing about what enhancements will be offered for on-board bookings. It needs to be more than a lower deposit to be worthwhile to us.

 

One big concern of mine is that I often need some internet access for work. By incentivizing cruisers into unlimited internet package, I see no way our internet won't be further degraded.

 

Guess I will have to hope my cell phone carrier (Verizon's) global data options will suffice.

Happy Belated Birthday!

Jane

Please excuse typos and possibly confusing thoughts. Need to get back to work to pay for our next cruise:D