Has Celebrity Out Priced Their Cruises

[galensgrl]

This is your opinion and you are completely entitled to it. DW, many friends, and myself, still consider Celebrity a high quality vacation for the dollar paid, not an inflated price, as they are very much in line with the other mainstream lines.

I agree. I shopped around for the best price for a suite experience, and the S1 we booked was less than comparable suites on NCL and Holland America. After we booked I had second thoughts about leaving out of New Jersey, tried to find something out of Boston as it's a shorter drive from the house. That was a nope, what we paid on X was still considerably less than anything on NCL and HAL. So in my humble opinion, X has been the best deal so far. I hope it's worth it. Looking forward to trying something new with X.

[sanger727]

There are still some deals to be had but you have to look for them. We have a 12 day Hawaii cruise booked. We knew what itinerary and month we wanted and the only options were carnival, celebrity, and royal. Well, royal was the top price when we booked with no perks. We booked the celebrity one with the drinks package. We watched the prices and got a price drop a few months later that made our price the same as the carnival cruise + their drink package. So feel like we got a fantastic deal. Now, if you book the cruise through celebrity, then yes, it's waaaay over priced. But better prices are still available if you look for them.

 

 

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[Duanerice1]

In the last several years they've taken a wonderful time and turned into a frat party.

 

I've never heard this or thought it. Not sure what cruise you've been on but it must be nothing like ours. Heck, the last cruise we took in December, 10 night Eclipse, was the oldest average age of any cruise we've been on. Never seen so many walkers and wheelchairs. No issue with that but it and all the other Celebrity cruise we've been on are pretty laid back. And yea, we've not cruised as much as many of you guys but we've been sailing them for about 10 years now.

 

Back to the original comment, I think all cruise lines are a little expensive right now. And yes, there are deals to be had but just a "go check prices" cruise, well they are all creeping up there. I was going to book onboard in December but the prices were more than I was willing to pay. To some the price doesn't matter, to me it does. Actually it's more the value, not just the price. When a cruise with less OBC and perks is going to cost me $1,000 more than the one I am on, then that's not value.

[Cruise Junky]

I'm torn on the question to be honest. We have some great deals for our 2 2017 sailings, no price complaints from me at all. But looking at 2018/19...they're expensive. The Canadian dollar has a lot to do with that though. But whatever the reason it makes you look elsewhere. We have bookings on HAL and RCL and we have land trips booked but nothing on X.

[GUT2407]

Most cruise seem to sail full, or pretty close to it, so I guess the answer is NO.

[Cruise Junky]

Most cruise seem to sail full, or pretty close to it, so I guess the answer is NO.

 

Who knows at what price though. You never know how many cabins go at bargain basement prices.

[GUT2407]

Who knows at what price though. You never know how many cabins go at bargain basement prices.

 

 

Well if the cabins are going at bargain basement prices how can they be pricing themselves out.

 

Now that one is confusing.

[Cruise Junky]

Well if the cabins are going at bargain basement prices how can they be pricing themselves out.

 

Now that one is confusing.

 

Depends on when the bargain prices hit. I paid $1,499 for our Hawaii Solstice cruise. Current price is $3,799. I'm not saying you can't grab a deal. But how many booked at my price vs the current price, how many book after final payment these days, exciting deals. Just because they eventually sail full doesn't mean their current prices aren't turning people away. Would you pay $3,799 US pp for a balcony for a 10 day sailing? I wouldn't.

[GUT2407]

Depends on when the bargain prices hit. I paid $1,499 for our Hawaii Solstice cruise. Current price is $3,799. I'm not saying you can't grab a deal. But how many booked at my price vs the current price, how many book after final payment these days, exciting deals. Just because they eventually sail full doesn't mean their current prices aren't turning people away. Would you pay $3,799 US pp for a balcony for a 10 day sailing? I wouldn't.

 

 

Well if I don't like a price I don't pay it, my point is you can't say it's over priced if you paid $1,499, can you?

[Cruise Junky]

Well if I don't like a price I don't pay it, my point is you can't say it's over priced if you paid $1,499, can you?

 

No, I didn't say that. My post said I had some great deals for 2017. What I said was I wasn't seeing that for 2018 even with attempting to book without perks so I booked cruises elsewhere and a land trips instead of Aussie & Greek island cruises. I don't expect to find deals close to what we got for 2017 but what I am seeing is outside my comfort range.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Cruise Junky

[Destroyer Sailor]

All inclusive land based vacations are not cheap . Overall quality vacations are going up as the economy gets better. You just have to shop around and do your best getting the best deal.

[richsea]

Having taken well over 40 Celebrity Cruises ,we are now inclined to use other cruise lines ;because we feel that Celebrity has raised their prices far too high .

 

What is your opinion of this topic ?

 

Yes, I think they have raised their prices too high, and that includes specialty restaurants & drink prices as well. At the same time, they have come back to the pack in terms of food & service. In the past we have only fleetingly considered other lines, but after 28 Celebrity cruises, they are no longer our go to line. If we see a last minute deal that appeals pricewise, we consider it, but are always looking at other lines, particularly Princess, which provides us with a comparable experience, with moslty lower fares, lower priced specialty restaurants, & drink prices.

[varoo]

Who knows at what price though. You never know how many cabins go at bargain basement prices.

So true. As most people only see the posted prices for which they qualify, many are unaware that other passengers on the same cruise paid deeply discounted prices for the same category accommodations.

 

It is a great way for the cruise lines to fill remaining cabins without needing to lower the prices seen by the general public.

[Cruise Junky]

All inclusive land based vacations are not cheap . Overall quality vacations are going up as the economy gets better. You just have to shop around and do your best getting the best deal.

 

All inclusive might not be cheap, I have no idea I don't book them but a week on Crete with a private plunge pool was a lot cheaper than a seven day Greek island cruise.

[Can'tstopcruising]

Depends on when the bargain prices hit. I paid $1,499 for our Hawaii Solstice cruise. Current price is $3,799. I'm not saying you can't grab a deal. But how many booked at my price vs the current price, how many book after final payment these days, exciting deals. Just because they eventually sail full doesn't mean their current prices aren't turning people away. Would you pay $3,799 US pp for a balcony for a 10 day sailing? I wouldn't.

 

We will cruise in winter, 2018

 

We are booked b2b for 2019 but if the price doesn't go down, we will look for alternatives.Maybe Spain or Mexico.

Edited April 6, 2017 by Can'tstopcruising

[Can'tstopcruising]

All inclusive might not be cheap, I have no idea I don't book them but a week on Crete with a private plunge pool was a lot cheaper than a seven day Greek island cruise.

 

I just noticed that you are going to Crete in May.

 

We're going to Crete in May!!!!

 

Where are you staying?

[Cruise Junky]

I just noticed that you are going to Crete in May.

 

We're going to Crete in May!!!!

 

Where are you staying?

 

Small world :).

We have three nights at Domes in Chania

http://www.domesnoruz.com/

And four nights at the Blue Palace in Elounda

http://www.bluepalace.gr/

 

What about you?

[Can'tstopcruising]

Small world :).

We have three nights at Domes in Chania

http://www.domesnoruz.com/

And four nights at the Blue Palace in Elounda

http://www.bluepalace.gr/

 

What about you?

 

OMG! We are going to be at the Domez in Chania May14-24. Will you be there then?

[Cruise Raider]

Now that we are retired, we have so much more flexibility in our schedule to pick up some last minute deals. We also see a deal and discuss if it is an itinerary we'd like to do vs being set on a specific area and ship. Flexibility is key in finding a good travel deal.

Friends of ours asked if we wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise but the pricing scared us off. I've checked it every so often since then and found a great deal with 3 included perks for nearly $1000 pp less than what was being offered just a few months earlier. Then, the exciting deals came out and it was dirt cheap but included no perks. Since we do imbibe and it included 3 perks (bev pack, gratuities, obc) plus a little extra obc, we stayed with what we had.

Even that Mardi Gras cruise a couple of months ago was at $4300 pp for a balcony room but went way down to under $1700 pp a couple of months before the sail date....and it also included the perks.

So, there are still deals to be had but we've found that flexibility is key. Plus, we've not stayed in a suite before so don't know what we are missing. An oceanview or balcony is just fine with us. Heck, we'll even stay in an inside cabin if the price is right.

We were looking at a 15 night sailing through the Panama Canal for 2018 and the prices on Celebrity are much lower than those on Princess this far out. We were only looking at inside cabins as it is over budget for us to book a higher category ... and the difference was approx $600 more per person on Princess.

[Cruise Junky]

OMG! We are going to be at the Domez in Chania May14-24. Will you be there then?

 

No, we fly home on the 14th. That's wild though. I'll take care of it for you :halo:

[jelayne]

We have found a few good deals on 2018/2019 but they were when sailings were first announced.

 

We jumped on a Royal Suite on a repo & with the suite comes the Premium beverage package, Unlimited Internet and Unlimited Speciality dining. Within days Sky Suites,which have no perks on repo's, were selling for just $500 pp less. Now there are just 2 Celebrity Suites ( no perks) remaining and they are selling for 70% more than we are paying for a RS.

 

For 2018 we were able to find a TA that had group rates on the Asia itineraries we were interested in so we saved $6,000+ and got the Go Best perks. Prices on those sailings have continued to rise. Again we booked theses Asia sailings shortly after they were released.

[Can'tstopcruising]

No, we fly home on the 14th. That's wild though. I'll take care of it for you :halo:

 

Aw! We just miss eachother. You will be there before you know it! Enjoy!

[Cruise Junky]

Aw! We just miss eachother. You will be there before you know it! Enjoy!

 

Thanks, you too

[TommyD3]

Unfortunately Celebrity pricing varies widely from cruise to cruise and depending on time of day. Recently booked AQ on Equinox for under $100 per person per day. Invoice shows it as half price. Price came up at 11 PM EST. Personally feel suite prices are WAY too high.

 

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[villauk]

Now that we are retired, we have so much more flexibility in our schedule to pick up some last minute deals. We also see a deal and discuss if it is an itinerary we'd like to do vs being set on a specific area and ship. Flexibility is key in finding a good travel deal.

Friends of ours asked if we wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise but the pricing scared us off. I've checked it every so often since then and found a great deal with 3 included perks for nearly $1000 pp less than what was being offered just a few months earlier. Then, the exciting deals came out and it was dirt cheap but included no perks. Since we do imbibe and it included 3 perks (bev pack, gratuities, obc) plus a little extra obc, we stayed with what we had.

Even that Mardi Gras cruise a couple of months ago was at $4300 pp for a balcony room but went way down to under $1700 pp a couple of months before the sail date....and it also included the perks.

So, there are still deals to be had but we've found that flexibility is key. Plus, we've not stayed in a suite before so don't know what we are missing. An oceanview or balcony is just fine with us. Heck, we'll even stay in an inside cabin if the price is right.

We were looking at a 15 night sailing through the Panama Canal for 2018 and the prices on Celebrity are much lower than those on Princess this far out. We were only looking at inside cabins as it is over budget for us to book a higher category ... and the difference was approx $600 more per person on Princess.

 

Agree, flexibility is the name of the game. Our time will come :D.