Why is this cruise sooo cheap compared to my trip?

[cruise4parents]

Sun Feb 7 Houston (Bayport), TX 4:00pm

Mon Feb 8 At Sea

Tue Feb 9 At Sea

Wed Feb 10 Roatan, Honduras 9:00am 6:00pm

Thu Feb 11 Belize City, Belize 7:00am 5:00pm

Fri Feb 12 Cozumel, Mexico 7:00am 4:00pm

Sat Feb 13 At Sea

Sun Feb 14 Houston (Bayport), TX 7:00am

 

Princess' Caribbean Princess

 

750 for Balcony!

 

I have a cruise thats costing me 1700 per person on Celebrity Equinox. Is it that much of a difference in islands and ship quality (Islands like st. martaan, st kitts. st thomas)?

 

Please help me wrap my head around this. Thanks!

[perditax]

Sun Feb 7 Houston (Bayport), TX 4:00pm

Mon Feb 8 At Sea

Tue Feb 9 At Sea

Wed Feb 10 Roatan, Honduras 9:00am 6:00pm

Thu Feb 11 Belize City, Belize 7:00am 5:00pm

Fri Feb 12 Cozumel, Mexico 7:00am 4:00pm

Sat Feb 13 At Sea

Sun Feb 14 Houston (Bayport), TX 7:00am

 

Princess' Caribbean Princess

 

750 for Balcony!

 

I have a cruise thats costing me 1700 per person on Celebrity Equinox. Is it that much of a difference in islands and ship quality (Islands like st. martaan, st kitts. st thomas)?

 

Please help me wrap my head around this. Thanks!

 

Are you saying the dates AND the room category AND the itinerary are identical on your X cruise?

 

EDIT: I can't find any proof that Celebrity even sails from Houston in Feb 2016, so I suspect you're comparing apples to oranges. :)

Edited December 7, 2015 by perditax

[SuiteTraveler]

Roatan and Belize are less developed places. We just did this itinerary last July. It is AWESOME! If you like beautiful beaches and having a nice time, I think you will love this cruise! On Roatan, we did Mahogany Beach private A/C cabana - WONDERFUL! Mr. Sanchos on Cozumel and skipped Belize - we're going back in a few months and will see it then. Roatan is mostly developed by the cruise lines. It has your typical cruise line shops - Diamonds International - that sort of thing - but the beach there is stunning and you ride a ski lift over to it and we just loved the private cabana with the TV, refrigerator, safe, 2 loungers on the front porch, hammock and 2 loungers down by the ocean, plus bar and food service (not included.) There is a bar nearby with live entertainment which we could easily hear and the performer was really good! There are only a handful of these cabanas, and we had our part of the beach to ourselves. It was also close to a good area for snorkeling. Just a lovely and very special day. Would go again and get the cabana again in a heartbeat.

[Langley Cruisers]

Here is OP's cruise in another thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48407866&postcount=1

 

And you are comparing apples to oranges, as perditax suggested. Your Celebrity cruise is on a more upscale line and is 10 nights. This Princess cruise is 7 nights. Huge difference right there.

.

[CanadianDee]

Roatan and Belize are less developed places. We just did this itinerary last July. It is AWESOME! If you like beautiful beaches and having a nice time, I think you will love this cruise! On Roatan, we did Mahogany Beach private A/C cabana - WONDERFUL! Mr. Sanchos on Cozumel and skipped Belize - we're going back in a few months and will see it then. Roatan is mostly developed by the cruise lines. It has your typical cruise line shops - Diamonds International - that sort of thing - but the beach there is stunning and you ride a ski lift over to it and we just loved the private cabana with the TV, refrigerator, safe, 2 loungers on the front porch, hammock and 2 loungers down by the ocean, plus bar and food service (not included.) There is a bar nearby with live entertainment which we could easily hear and the performer was really good! There are only a handful of these cabanas, and we had our part of the beach to ourselves. It was also close to a good area for snorkeling. Just a lovely and very special day. Would go again and get the cabana again in a heartbeat.

 

Another vote for the Mahogany Beach cabanas. We did this in January this year and it was one of our all-time favourite excursions. The hammock was nested in a shaded area with misters ... omigosh it was awesome.

[cruise4parents]

Here is OP's cruise in another thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48407866&postcount=1

 

And you are comparing apples to oranges, as perditax suggested. Your Celebrity cruise is on a more upscale line and is 10 nights. This Princess cruise is 7 nights. Huge difference right there.

.

 

Yes, i know the 10 vs 7 days. I didn't know mine was more upscale. I thought princess and celebrity were fairly even. Didn't know if the islands and travel area were a big differentiation.

Edited December 7, 2015 by cruise4parents

[lisajm]

Another vote for the Mahogany Beach cabanas. We did this in January this year and it was one of our all-time favourite excursions. The hammock was nested in a shaded area with misters ... omigosh it was awesome.

 

Are the misters scantily dressed hotties that wait on you hand and foot?

[navybankerteacher]

Here is OP's cruise in another thread:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=48407866&postcount=1

 

And you are comparing apples to oranges, as perditax suggested. Your Celebrity cruise is on a more upscale line and is 10 nights. This Princess cruise is 7 nights. Huge difference right there.

.

 

Not precisely apples to oranges - more like turnips to peaches. Celebrity is more upscale than Princess as to comfort, service and food quality. Ten days is longer than seven days. Western Caribbean ports are dismal in comparison to Eastern.

 

Beyond those details, I share OP's wonder at price differential.

[taglovestocruise]

It also has a lot to due with the week you are sailing, the same ship with similar ports sailing on Feb. 21st has balcony's on sale for cyber week starting at 1299.00. sometimes even comparing apples to apples make a big difference..

[Keith1010]

Two different lines. Two different itineraries. 10 vs 7 days?

 

Apples vs Oranges.

 

Keith

[Alter Ego]

I don't know the particular ships, but is there a significant difference in age and activities between the two? I know the same itinerary on Oasis/Allure will cost more than one of Royal's smaller ships.

 

So, apart from the different number of days and different islands, is there simply just less offered on the Princess ship vs Celebrity? Is the Promcess shop one of their older? I don't know, but wanted to comment as I see this when comparing Oasis class at Royal.

[Lerin]

Celebrity is not nicer than Princess.

There are 2 reasons for the price difference:

 

1) The cruise is over Valentines Day which always has higher prices on all lines. The cheaper option has the cruise disembarking on the 14th. Spending Valentines in a customs line and lining up for TSA agents isn't exactly romantic. A sea day on a cruise ship=romantic and in high demand.

 

2) It is 10 days

[SPacificbound]

Your Equinox cruise is worth more IMHO.

 

Whatever you decide have a great trip. :)

[cruise4parents]

Your Equinox cruise is worth more IMHO.

 

Whatever you decide have a great trip. :)

 

thanks just wanted reassurance i guess that I made the right decision.

[Langley Cruisers]

thanks just wanted reassurance i guess that I made the right decision.

 

Okay then, my advice would be to stop researching other cruises and concentrate on this fabulous one you have coming up. We can lose focus and spend so much wasted time and energy wishing we had done "something different" in our lives - just relax and be happy knowing that this cruise will be amazing. :)

.

[taglovestocruise]

Okay then, my advice would be to stop researching other cruises and concentrate on this fabulous one you have coming up. We can lose focus and spend so much wasted time and energy wishing we had done "something different" in our lives - just relax and be happy knowing that this cruise will be amazing. :)

.

 

DITTO, this nail has been hit directly on the head..

[ronandannette]

Are you saying the dates AND the room category AND the itinerary are identical on your X cruise?

 

EDIT: I can't find any proof that Celebrity even sails from Houston in Feb 2016, so I suspect you're comparing apples to oranges. :)

No, that wasn't what the OP was saying. S/he is apparently a fairly new cruiser and just pulled a random cruise s/he'd seen advertised to juxtapose against the one that's already booked.

 

OP - regardless of the cruiseline/ship/itinerary/sail date; cruises are all priced based on demand. And the prices fluctuate substantially, even sometimes from day to day, based on how well any particular sailing is selling. There is really no accurate way to compare prices as even the reasons you've been given for which ship/cruiseline is "better" are all completely subjective.

 

thanks just wanted reassurance i guess that I made the right decision.

How could anybody here ever help you decide that? It would totally depend what your priorities are/were in booking the cruise you did. :confused:

[BlueRiband]

..Princess' Caribbean Princess...750 for Balcony!

 

I have a cruise thats costing me 1700 per person on Celebrity Equinox...

Please help me wrap my head around this. Thanks!

 

Cruise lines differ in service and ammenies just as hotels differ. 10 nights at a mainstream business hotel such as a Hyatt will certainly cost more than double compared to 7 nights at a bargain chain like Motel 6. As others pointed out Celebrity is more upscale than Princess so you pay for better food, better entertainment, better crew to passenger ratio, and in room ammenities. As with many things in life you get what you pay for and you have to pay for what you get.

 

Supply and demand are the main drivers for pricing. The same ship and the same itinerary can cost a lot more during peak vacation times. Want to try a 7-day transatlantic on January 10th? You can for $599pp for a balcony. Same ship, same crossing next August is more like $1949pp for a balcony.

Edited December 11, 2015 by BlueRiband

[Karysa]

Celebrity is not nicer than Princess.

There are 2 reasons for the price difference:

 

1) The cruise is over Valentines Day which always has higher prices on all lines. The cheaper option has the cruise disembarking on the 14th. Spending Valentines in a customs line and lining up for TSA agents isn't exactly romantic. A sea day on a cruise ship=romantic and in high demand.

 

2) It is 10 days

 

Celebrity is usually more expensive for a similar itinerary and ship as Princess.

[Karysa]

I'm glad you booked a 10 day cruise for your folks on Celebrity in February instead of a 7 day on Carnival, NCl or RCL. Don't second guess it. You did well:)

[Aquahound]

Princess' Caribbean Princess

 

750 for Balcony!

 

I have a cruise thats costing me 1700 per person on Celebrity Equinox. Is it that much of a difference in islands and ship quality (Islands like st. martaan, st kitts. st thomas)?

 

Please help me wrap my head around this. Thanks!

 

I'll say it in pictures. Celebrity Solstice Class ships are much more beautiful and the staterooms are much roomier than Caribbean Princess.

 

That balcony room on Caribbean Princess:

 

 

Your balcony room on Equinox:

 

 

The actual balcony on Caribbean Princess:

 

 

The balcony on Equinox (ignore the metallic stuff on the balcony glass...that's something unique to certain rooms on Solstice only):

 

Edited December 11, 2015 by Aquahound