Pricing after the introduction of the Edge Class

[Jane2357]

I'm wondering if some of you long time cruisers can offer some insight to some questions. 1) Once the first Edge Class ship is introduced, and knowing that there will be high demand to sail on the new design from many cruisers - is there any projected dip in pricing on the older ships? I'm guessing that those who were seasoned cruisers back when the Solstice class first came out - may have seen a trend.

 

2) Have never done an inaugural cruise - but I'm guessing there is a price premium for them, is that correct? Are there special events or other things that would be specific only to that first cruise? If you've sailed an inaugural before was it worth it and why?

 

I know that we are so FAR aways from the first Edge class ship but I am trying to work out my cruising strategy into 2018/19. :D

[ShawninFL]

I would say when the Edge class comes into the fleet, these ships will command a premium. I'm not exactly sure the cruise fares for the existing fleet will necessarily come down. Maybe if there were overlapping itineraries. As for an inaugural cruise, I'd say tread carefully. My parents were on the third sailing of the Infinity and there were still many hicups that hadn't been worked out. In fact, I'm not sure if they still do immediate inaugural cruises anymore. I think they do Travel Agent cruises before the ship goes into general public usage to sell the new features and try to work through any problems. I myself would not choose to take an inaugural sailing.

[Hlitner]

Funny thing about new ship designs is that sometimes they are popular and other times NOT. For example, the two new Princess ships (Regal and Royal) are controversial because of some design issues. We recently paid a total (including all taxes and fees) of $1300 (this is the total cost for two persons) to cruise for 10 days on the new Regal Princess in a high category balcony...and we were given $400 of OBC. Many long time Princess cruisers (and we would be in that class) would prefer to go on the older "Grand Class" ships then then newer Regal and Royal. New does not necessarily mean better and in the case of Princess it means smaller balconies, lack of a center stairway, smaller mini-suite cabins, etc. Hope this does not happen with X, but one never knows until the ships are actually built and subject to passenger reviews/comments.

 

And we should also mention that the oldest HAL ship (Prinsendam) which is 27 years old...actually demands the highest prices of all the HAL ships. And that old ship has the highest percentage of repeaters. Go figure.

 

Hank

Edited November 9, 2015 by Hlitner

[eandj]

The new series of X ships will be much more premium than what is offered now. Cost will be closer to the luxury lines. I don't see them dropping the S class fares as those will be for the mainstream cruisers.

[DZalumni]

I sailed inaugural Galaxy. Only issue was stabalizers weren't in use (captain's choice). Great trip. You would have never guessed it was an inaugural voyage.

[Andy]

Interesting question Jane. I don't know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow :)... so I'm not sure any of us can predict what pricing will be for the Edge Class ships. There's tons of variables, including where the economy will be in 2018 & 2020, when the ships are scheduled to debut.

 

If you are asking me to use the old Crystal ball, it's probable that pricing will be higher that what we know today, mostly due to the ship being a new Celebrity experience, and demand should be strong. IIRC, Solstice commanded a higher price over the M-Class, when she made her debut.

 

As to whether it will affect pricing on Celebrity's other ships ? My guess is the S-Class won't see any significant decline. As long as the economy is doing well, I suspect it will all bode well for Celebrity, presuming the Edge class ships are everything we hope they will be. I'm unsure whether the same will be the case for the M-Class, as they will be around 18-20 years of age at that point. We love the M-Class ships. As long as they are well maintained, pricing should remain solid, but I doubt they will gather the same pricing as Edge Class & Solstice class ships.

 

Regarding pricing on Inaugural sailings ? They often sell out quickly, and pricing tends to jump as the ship fills... so if you want to sail on an Inaugural, I highly recommend booking on Day 1 of it's availability.

 

I was on both Solstice's naming sailing (which was by invite), and the first public sailing which was sold as the Inaugural. The naming sailing & ceremony was incredible, and one of the most exciting cruises of my life. I will always cherish the many great memories.

 

As for the Inagural sailing - other than a tote bag, and two leather (?) luggage tags, you would have not known it was an Inaugural sailing. While that was a minor disappointment, it's important to note that there's many new folks at Celebrity since 2008, and they will probably do things much differently than Solstice, when the Edge class are ready to sail.

 

Hope this is helpful !

[Host Jazzbeau]

Celebrity has a good track record so we can hope the Edge class ships will be hitting on all cylinders for the inaugural cruises, but to see what can go wrong look at the Viking Oceans forum for the continuing series of problems from the inaugural cruise through most of the first season. Lots of people love new and shiny, so these early cruises will command a premium -- me, I prefer to let others be the guinea pigs and wait to sail until the early glitches are ironed out. [i never install software ending in .0 either]

[Jane2357]

Interesting insights and thanks to those that responded.

 

Andy as you know - I've recently discovered that due to a congenital heart defect - I am looking at very serious surgery - hopefully several years for now, but it may put an end to my cruising :( will have to wait and see. So my extended cruise planning is due to me wanting to make my cruise dreams come true sooner rather than later. :D

 

I did sail on Solstice on her 2nd week sailing - we felt lucky as we didn't see any major hiccups during that but I am also the person that doesn't rush to the newest restaurant for the same reasons.

 

[kitty9]

When you book a maiden voyage, you run the risk of having that cruise cancelled if the building process is behind. I remember back a few years when a number of new ships from many of the lines were coming out sometimes more than a month late. It really messed with a lot of cruise plans. Back in 2003, I had a cruise booked on Crystal Serenity's maiden voyage, and about two weeks before, everyone got a Fed Ex-delivered letter saying that the ship wasn't quite ready due to delays in France, and we had the choice of canceling the cruise and receiving a full refund, or staying on board, knowing that some things might not be up to standards, and STILL getting a full refund. Well, that was an easy decision to get a free 2 week cruise on Crystal. And the only things that weren't ready was that not all the glasses, tableware and bar set ups weren't there. Big deal that we had to drink red wine in white wine glasses.

[Big Beer Gut]

For my money, unless it is a really interesting itinerary I would stay away from the new ships for the first year. As others have indicated, there usually isn't any real WOW factor to the sailings on new ships and the is a high risk of things not going excatly the way things were planned. We were on the 3rd sailing on the Independence of the Seas and we lost propulsion for a few hours. It wasn't a problem to float around the Med for a few hours, but it does illustrate the potential issues that could occur. Celebrity will be charging a premium for the new ships, so save your money and continue to enjoy the S class ships for another year.

[kenevenpar]

The new series of X ships will be much more premium than what is offered now. Cost will be closer to the luxury lines. I don't see them dropping the S class fares as those will be for the mainstream cruisers.

 

What is the source of this (premium/luxury).

 

As to the S class fares, they are determined by supply and demand. So it is not an issue of Celebrity raising or dropping the fares, it is what the market will bear.

[JohnSnowGOT]

For my money, unless it is a really interesting itinerary I would stay away from the new ships for the first year. As others have indicated, there usually isn't any real WOW factor to the sailings on new ships and the is a high risk of things not going excatly the way things were planned. We were on the 3rd sailing on the Independence of the Seas and we lost propulsion for a few hours. It wasn't a problem to float around the Med for a few hours, but it does illustrate the potential issues that could occur. Celebrity will be charging a premium for the new ships, so save your money and continue to enjoy the S class ships for another year.

 

Yes we are always leary of a new class of ship and wait a year to check it out

[compman9]

Interesting question Jane. I don't know what I'm having for breakfast tomorrow :)... so I'm not sure any of us can predict what pricing will be for the Edge Class ships. There's tons of variables, including where the economy will be in 2018 & 2020, when the ships are scheduled to debut.

 

If you are asking me to use the old Crystal ball, it's probable that pricing will be higher that what we know today, mostly due to the ship being a new Celebrity experience, and demand should be strong. IIRC, Solstice commanded a higher price over the M-Class, when she made her debut.

 

As to whether it will affect pricing on Celebrity's other ships ? My guess is the S-Class won't see any significant decline. As long as the economy is doing well, I suspect it will all bode well for Celebrity, presuming the Edge class ships are everything we hope they will be. I'm unsure whether the same will be the case for the M-Class, as they will be around 18-20 years of age at that point. We love the M-Class ships. As long as they are well maintained, pricing should remain solid, but I doubt they will gather the same pricing as Edge Class & Solstice class ships.

 

Regarding pricing on Inaugural sailings ? They often sell out quickly, and pricing tends to jump as the ship fills... so if you want to sail on an Inaugural, I highly recommend booking on Day 1 of it's availability.

 

I was on both Solstice's naming sailing (which was by invite), and the first public sailing which was sold as the Inaugural. The naming sailing & ceremony was incredible, and one of the most exciting cruises of my life. I will always cherish the many great memories.

 

As for the Inagural sailing - other than a tote bag, and two leather (?) luggage tags, you would have not known it was an Inaugural sailing. While that was a minor disappointment, it's important to note that there's many new folks at Celebrity since 2008, and they will probably do things much differently than Solstice, when the Edge class are ready to sail.

 

Hope this is helpful !

 

Although I would ordinarily bow to your superior knowledge on such matters, I have three potential spanners in the works of that hypothesis

 

Since the launch of the Solstice, Celebrity's product has maintained rather than improved, and in some cases they have just crammed on more paid for dining options

 

During this period many rival companies are improving their product. Whether it be food, general experience, entertainment or whatever, they are all improving the look of their new ships. RCI's Harmony is scheduled to look pretty fancy and not glitzy or blingy like some earlier ships

 

We are still two or three years away - even more new ships and designs will be out to compare by then

 

You may of course be right, but I believe Celebrity will need to improve their product in line with their peers if it wants to maintain its current position as the classiest affordable cruise line

[QE2_Fan]

Has there been any further News in general of the new Project Edge ships? I would've expected as the first ship is slated for launch in 2018 that some further details since the initial announcement may have been doing the rounds?

 

 

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[cruza]

I'm wondering if some of you long time cruisers can offer some insight to some questions. 1) Once the first Edge Class ship is introduced, and knowing that there will be high demand to sail on the new design from many cruisers - is there any projected dip in pricing on the older ships? I'm guessing that those who were seasoned cruisers back when the Solstice class first came out - may have seen a trend.

 

2) Have never done an inaugural cruise - but I'm guessing there is a price premium for them, is that correct? Are there special events or other things that would be specific only to that first cruise? If you've sailed an inaugural before was it worth it and why?

 

I know that we are so FAR aways from the first Edge class ship but I am trying to work out my cruising strategy into 2018/19. :D

 

As a reference point, you can compare the price of new Anthem of the Seas vs regular RCCCL ship.

[BrendaJ]

We sailed on the Solstice during its inaugural season (booked as soon as itineraries came out) and I recall the price being high in comparison to other Caribbean itineraries at the time.

 

We sailed on the second Infinity sailing. The delivery of the ship was delayed by a month; fortunately, we were able to reschedule and our cruise was half price as a result. Not to mention, we booked an inside and they upgraded us to a verandah when we checked in. That was our first Celebrity cruise and we were hooked from that moment on.

 

Unfortunately, as new ships attract a lot of passengers, the itineraries for new builds are often rather humdrum. Still, the moment they release the Edge itineraries, I'm sure we'll book one.

 

I'm very eager for information on the new Edge class and wonder what they'll be like. If I had to guess, I would expect to see:

 

• dedicated suite area, which will include Luminae, Michael's Club and perhaps even a small dedicated pool
  
• more specialty restaurants
  
• no lawn
  
• some type of outdoor screen for movies and sporting events (not necessarily pool-side)
  
• larger variety of suites
  

 

What I'm hoping for:

 

• three sets of stairs/elevators (as opposed to the S-class)
  
• bathroom sink designed in a way that I don't get water all over the floor when washing my face
  
• S-class version of showers
  
• M-class version of storage in cabins
  
• connecting balconies
  
• foot rests on all balconies
  
• cold fridge in all cabins
  
• sufficient electrical outlets to plug in all our gadgets
  
• sound dock/charger for iPhones
  
• dedicated comedy club
  

 

Well, I can dream. ;)