Celebrity pricing

[spendless]

Been on 5 Celebrity cruises and off again this Oct but looking at 2018 cruises the cost has gone up considerably. Appreciate the £/dollar rate is not good but think I now need to look at say P & O. Any other thoughts out there?

[Wiltonian]

Been on 5 Celebrity cruises and off again this Oct but looking at 2018 cruises the cost has gone up considerably. Appreciate the £/dollar rate is not good but think I now need to look at say P & O. Any other thoughts out there?

 

Might also be worth looking at Cunard's early booking fares. Seeing Celebrity's prices for Europe in 2018, we're trying Cunard to the Canaries, albeit without a drinks package, but a more relaxed policy re. taking own wine on board for cabin consumption!

 

Stuart

[teecee60]

I sailed Celebrity almost exclusively for five years...when I got good deals. Panama Canal, transpacific, eight transatlantic cruises. Only done one cruise with them in the last two years as they have priced me out of their market. I really do miss the beauty of S class ships, "Elite" status, the martini bar and the great food... but Celebrity is getting only 14 days out of the 87 days I will be cruising this year. Royal, Princess and even Carnival are getting the rest.

 

As long as they can fill their ships at higher prices... they will do so. They are trying to sell two of their M class ships to maintain current cabin supply (and pricing) as they look towards adding the Edge class ships.

 

I will happily take 13 nights in an ocean view cabin on RCCL in November for only $541pp before paying current Celebrity prices.

Edited September 1, 2017 by teecee60

[villauk]

I sailed Celebrity almost exclusively for five years...when I got good deals. Panama Canal, transpacific, eight transatlantic cruises. Only done one cruise with them in the last two years as they have priced me out of their market. I really do miss the beauty of S class ships, "Elite" status, the martini bar and the great food... but Celebrity is getting only 14 days out of the 87 days I will be cruising this year. Royal, Princess and even Carnival are getting the rest.

 

As long as they can fill their ships at higher prices... they will do so. They are trying to sell two of their M class ships to maintain current cabin supply (and pricing) as they look towards adding the Edge class ships.

 

I will happily take 13 nights in an ocean view cabin on RCCL in November for only $541pp before paying crrent celebrity for X.

 

I was just wondering, after seeing your name of another post regarding the Aqua cabins, how your deals were going as I hadn't seen you on the X boards for awhile. We're also considering a Princess cruise next year instead of one of our X sailings. We've only been on one Princess cruise previously, but we're proposing giving them another try.

[jonnyenglish1]

I would be interested to hear from UK colleagues on what they think is a good price point compared to recent history.

 

I have booked a 14 day baltics cruise from Southampton balcony with drinks package for circa £1900 in July for 14 days. I thought that was an ok deal. Prices currently similar to Princess, P&O which did not include a drinks package. I enjoy a drink and would either run up a large drinks bill on a competitor or have a $805 charge for a drinks package on Princess.

[Tiggertastic]

It's about timing and the right deal and the time we go. We once got 12 nights for £800 inc drinks package by booking with a week to go. Never repeated anything like that and we accepted it as a strike of immense luck.

 

Here's how Christmas changed over the last few years for us based on a balcony or concierge for 2. 2014 we paid £3300 and it's slowly risen to £5400 for 2017.

 

For Xmas 2018 when we looked last Christmas, they wanted £6600 and that ruled us out. yesterday they wanted £4400, 50% less for the same cruise.

 

I booked one yesterday for 2019 and today it's £900 less and celebrity honoured the drop without losing the deposit. It worked well on this one. So we've got 14 nights inc drinks for 2 for £3100.

 

Keep checking prices, current offer is 50% off 2nd but the price today when that offer started is only £70 less than it was yesterday to book an August 2018 cruise at full price each.

 

We also sail ncl and Royal and have done 4 ncl this year rather than celebrity as we got such better deals and prices. Ncl give you a full drinks package even on an inside cabin.

[laslomas]

I think the Celebrity prices have risen really high for European cruises but remain reasonable for Caribbean ones. I struggle to get my head around why the cost for example 14 nights on Silhouette, in a balcony cabin, can be listed as £3330 pp in Europe / Mediterranean, whereas in the Caribbean 11/12 nights it is just a few pounds over £1000 pp. Same ship, same staff, same food, same entertainment, why??? By the way I am quoting the price as listed by Celebrity for the first guest, the second one is half price, but it is not an offer if both were not originally over £3000 is it?

 

This is based on the new offers starting in UK today. A Mediterranean cruise I am interested in on Silhouette in September 2018 is part of the new offer in UK, 'buy 1 get 1 half price' and includes a drink package. I was quite excited as I thought I would find cheaper prices under an 'offer'. The total cost per stateroom with this 'offer' is from £5040 for a balcony and from £6450 for Concierge class. The same ship in the Caribbean in early December 2018, including the drink package, is £2352 total price for a Balcony, and £2572 for Concierge. Less than half. (The first one is 14 nights the second is 12 nights).

 

The huge disparity cannot be due to supply and demand as both sailings have a good availability, nor to do with exchange rates as the difference should not be that much. It is also not cheaper to book through a U.S. agent as the prices are very similar. Why the heck is it so much cheaper to cruise in the Caribbean than closer to home?

[jonnyenglish1]

The increased base price for today's offer (previously there was a £400 discount per person) compared to the previous offer means the total cabin price I booked remains the same either way.

 

For the 2nd cabin i booked which included a 3rd person gave some further benefits for 3rd person of $150, non alcohol drinks package and some internet so hence marginally a better deal overall.

 

The silhouette UK 2018 season, seems to have 14 day balcony cabins start points ranging from 1850 to £2600 for 14 days depending on specific cruise. I was suprised that the 21st July one was the least expensive.

[4774Papa]

Celebrity's prices have become very inflated, to some degree because of the price bundling with promos. Not everyone want a promo.

When I priced two cruises out of Sydney for 2018, I compared Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and NCL. NCL did not have a TP cruise and its NZ cruse was not at the right time. Royal's price were not bundled and Celebrity's price for the NZ cruise was almost double the Royal price. Of course, X's price include the drinks packages, but that is of little benefit to us, we are moderate drinkers and drink mostly at the Elite happy hour. The TP cruise was not double, but still a good bit higher.

 

Celebrity still doesn't bundle its TransAtlantic cruises and we may be just taking one of those every year in conjunction with a European land trip.

[Scotraveller]

On a similar subject, I have Silhouette booked for December and I see today it is £400 pp cheaper than when I booked. Now I've been in this situation before and it's usually too bad, but, I could easily cancel and book again, but what do you think Celebrity would say if my agent called to ask if they could do anything? Happy to cancel and book again to be honest but just wondering if others have had any joy asking for some obc or upgrade maybe? Also, I'm just off Royal Princess, I wouldn't do it again - I can't put my finger on it, but it's just not as good as Celebrity for various reasons.

[RickT]

I too have found some Celebrity pricing a little high (Canadian$) but find if I pay attention and am willing to be patient I am able to book a cruise for similar prices to what I have paid in the past. Depending on when in 2018 you are looking at, Celebrity may be starting out high and will adjust the price (usually downward) based on sales forecasts.

 

Another option is to check out the prices from a US TA and see how they compare. Depending on the Canadian $ exchange rate it is worth me booking in US $ to save money (even factoring in my bank fees to convert to US $).

 

This forum also has a Price Drop feature (https://www.cruisecritic.com/price-drop/) that I find very useful when I'm not in a rush to book. It pointed out a nice price drop on a HAL cruise I have been looking at and may have missed.

[2theship]

On a similar subject, I have Silhouette booked for December and I see today it is £400 pp cheaper than when I booked. Now I've been in this situation before and it's usually too bad, but, I could easily cancel and book again, but what do you think Celebrity would say if my agent called to ask if they could do anything? Happy to cancel and book again to be honest but just wondering if others have had any joy asking for some obc or upgrade maybe? Also, I'm just off Royal Princess, I wouldn't do it again - I can't put my finger on it, but it's just not as good as Celebrity for various reasons.

Being in the US, we might play by different rules but if we find a price drop, our travel agent has always been able to get the reduction for us. We've done it several times over the years, most recently this past summer.

 

I'm not a fan of the Royal Princess either. There are other Princess ships I like a lot but definitely not the Royal and I won't bother with the Regal.

[Scotraveller]

Being in the US, we might play by different rules but if we find a price drop, our travel agent has always been able to get the reduction for us. We've done it several times over the years, most recently this past summer.

 

I'm not a fan of the Royal Princess either. There are other Princess ships I like a lot but definitely not the Royal and I won't bother with the Regal.

 

Yes, you are lucky in the US, your bookings are much more flexible.

I've just cancelled and booked again through a different agent and saved about £550 including the lost deposit. A small victory - for me anyway.

[jagoffee]

I sailed Celebrity almost exclusively for five years...when I got good deals. Panama Canal, transpacific, eight transatlantic cruises. Only done one cruise with them in the last two years as they have priced me out of their market. I really do miss the beauty of S class ships, "Elite" status, the martini bar and the great food... but Celebrity is getting only 14 days out of the 87 days I will be cruising this year. Royal, Princess and even Carnival are getting the rest.

 

As long as they can fill their ships at higher prices... they will do so. They are trying to sell two of their M class ships to maintain current cabin supply (and pricing) as they look towards adding the Edge class ships.

 

I will happily take 13 nights in an ocean view cabin on RCCL in November for only $541pp before paying current Celebrity prices.

 

I have also noticed that you have not posted much on the Celebrity threads and now I understand why.

I know that you frequently get really good deals on inside cabins and are very focused on the lowest price. Do you think that Celebrity is getting an higher average price for their inside cabins or are they just sailing with them empty? Perhaps they are only offering the really great deals at the last minute. It seems like the ships are sold out, but I assume you might know have a better idea of the reason.

 

I still cruise mostly Celebrity, but I recently did a Disney cruise with my Grandkids and I know you will not find great deals on Disney. Nor would you IMO want to do a Disney Cruise without kids. Priceless cruise for the kids, but controlled chaos.

 

I am also cruising on a RT from LA South Pacific Princess cruise this fall instead of our normal Celebrity TA. I have found the Deals for the Celebrity TAs, especially the suites are not as good. But I am cruising on Princess for the itinerary and not the price. I am also booked on the Solstice South Pacific cruise for the fall of 2018 as well as my annual Celebrity Southern Caribbean cruise each January.

 

We hope to see you on another cruise someday.

 

Jim

[teecee60]

I was just wondering, after seeing your name of another post regarding the Aqua cabins, how your deals were going as I hadn't seen you on the X boards for awhile. We're also considering a Princess cruise next year instead of one of our X sailings. We've only been on one Princess cruise previously, but we're proposing giving them another try.

 

Cruised to Hawaii and back out of LA on Star Princess less than a year ago...15 nights in an OV for $929pp with $500 OBC. (they treat military and shareholders very nicely) The ship was beautiful... service was as good as Celebrity, saw some really great shows, very reasonable drink prices, and the food was fine, just not as good as X. Did a 14 night cruise to Alaska on Diamond Princess a few years back as well... absolutely NO complaints and will most definitely book with Princess in the future. If you've got the flexibility, they sometimes offer some really enticing last minute deals. (from 6 weeks prior down to 2 weeks prior)

 

 

I have also noticed that you have not posted much on the Celebrity threads and now I understand why.

 

I know that you frequently get really good deals on inside cabins and are very focused on the lowest price. Do you think that Celebrity is getting an higher average price for their inside cabins or are they just sailing with them empty? Perhaps they are only offering the really great deals at the last minute. It seems like the ships are sold out, but I assume you might know have a better idea of the reason.

 

I still cruise mostly Celebrity, but I recently did a Disney cruise with my Grandkids and I know you will not find great deals on Disney. Nor would you IMO want to do a Disney Cruise without kids. Priceless cruise for the kids, but controlled chaos.

 

I am also cruising on a RT from LA South Pacific Princess cruise this fall instead of our normal Celebrity TA. I have found the Deals for the Celebrity TAs, especially the suites are not as good. But I am cruising on Princess for the itinerary and not the price. I am also booked on the Solstice South Pacific cruise for the fall of 2018 as well as my annual Celebrity Southern Caribbean cruise each January.

 

We hope to see you on another cruise someday. Jim

 

They will ALWAYS try to fill every single cabin at ALMOST any price... in spite of any CEO statements to the contrary. But someone who paid twice, triple or quadruple the price for the same cabin, is going to be fairly upset if/when they discover the price paid by bargain hunters who know the system. On Century's last transpacific of 23 nights, I had dinner and drinks several times with a guy from Scotland who had paid 8,000 pounds!!! for the same cruise that I had paid 800 dollars!

 

Are you on Emerald Princess this fall? (VERY cool Itinerary!) Agree with you about Disney... just not interested.

 

Here's why I haven't been on the Celebrity boards as of late...

 

Did a B2B New Zealand and Transpacific on RCCL's Explorer OTS last spring... 35 nights for $1667pp with $875 OBC... AND free drinks from 5:00 to 8:30 every single night in their Diamond(Elite) Lounge. I can't live THAT well at home for those prices... so I did a 13 night transatlantic on Jewel OTS last fall... a 26 night B2B on Brilliance OTS this spring... another 25 night B2B on Jewel OTS this fall... then back to Australia for another 23 nights on Explorer OTS in April. (with a couple of shorter cruises mixed in)

 

I was always able to get an inside cabin on X for UNDER $50pp/night. Now I get that price for an OV on Royal. (and a better happy hour!)

 

Flights to Europe and back through Choice Air/ AIR2SEA are so ridiculously cheap it's just insane. I am flying from Tucson to Zurich for $297, a friend just flew from LAX to Copenhagen for $281.

 

The cruise lines just keep building more and more cabins that will have to be filled! Prices CAN"T go up... or cabins will go empty.

Edited September 1, 2017 by teecee60

[Solon]

Yes, you are lucky in the US, your bookings are much more flexible.

I've just cancelled and booked again through a different agent and saved about £550 including the lost deposit. A small victory - for me anyway.

 

Why don't you use an American TA and avoid this problem?

 

We use either a British or American TA depending on the price/deal.

[jagoffee]

Cruised to Hawaii and back out of LA on Star Princess less than a year ago...15 nights in an OV for $929pp with $500 OBC. (they treat military and shareholders very nicely) The ship was beautiful... service was as good as Celebrity, saw some really great shows, very reasonable drink prices, and the food was fine, just not as good as X. Did a 14 night cruise to Alaska on Diamond Princess a few years back as well... absolutely NO complaints and will most definitely book with Princess in the future. If you've got the flexibility, they sometimes offer some really enticing last minute deals. (from 6 weeks prior down to 2 weeks prior)

 

 

 

They will ALWAYS try to fill every single cabin at ALMOST any price... in spite of any CEO statements to the contrary. But someone who paid twice, triple or quadruple the price for the same cabin, is going to be fairly upset if/when they discover the price paid by bargain hunters who know the system. On Century's last transpacific of 23 nights, I had dinner and drinks several times with a guy from Scotland who had paid 8,000 pounds!!! for the same cruise that I had paid 800 dollars!

 

Are you on Emerald Princess this fall? (VERY cool Itinerary!) Agree with you about Disney... just not interested.

 

Here's why I haven't been on the Celebrity boards as of late...

 

Did a B2B New Zealand and Transpacific on RCCL's Explorer OTS last spring... 35 nights for $1667pp with $875 OBC... AND free drinks from 5:00 to 8:30 every single night in their Diamond(Elite) Lounge. I can't live THAT well at home for those prices... so I did a 13 night transatlantic on Jewel OTS last fall... a 26 night B2B on Brilliance OTS this spring... another 25 night B2B on Jewel OTS this fall... then back to Australia for another 23 nights on Explorer OTS in April. (with a couple of shorter cruises mixed in)

 

I was always able to get an inside cabin on X for UNDER $50pp/night. Now I get that price for an OV on Royal. (and a better happy hour!)

 

Flights to Europe and back through Choice Air/ AIR2SEA are so ridiculously cheap it's just insane. I am flying from Tucson to Zurich for $297, a friend just flew from LAX to Copenhagen for $281.

 

The cruise lines just keep building more and more cabins that will have to be filled! Prices CAN"T go up... or cabins will go empty.

 

Yes, the October 8 Emerald Princess cruise.

[CruisingUS]

I sailed Celebrity almost exclusively for five years...when I got good deals. Panama Canal, transpacific, eight transatlantic cruises. Only done one cruise with them in the last two years as they have priced me out of their market. I really do miss the beauty of S class ships, "Elite" status, the martini bar and the great food... but Celebrity is getting only 14 days out of the 87 days I will be cruising this year. Royal, Princess and even Carnival are getting the rest.

 

As long as they can fill their ships at higher prices... they will do so. They are trying to sell two of their M class ships to maintain current cabin supply (and pricing) as they look towards adding the Edge class ships.

 

I will happily take 13 nights in an ocean view cabin on RCCL in November for only $541pp before paying current Celebrity prices.

:hearteyes: wow what great prices :hearteyes:

[CruisingUS]

Cruised to Hawaii and back out of LA on Star Princess less than a year ago...15 nights in an OV for $929pp with $500 OBC. (they treat military and shareholders very nicely) The ship was beautiful... service was as good as Celebrity, saw some really great shows, very reasonable drink prices, and the food was fine, just not as good as X. Did a 14 night cruise to Alaska on Diamond Princess a few years back as well... absolutely NO complaints and will most definitely book with Princess in the future. If you've got the flexibility, they sometimes offer some really enticing last minute deals. (from 6 weeks prior down to 2 weeks prior)

 

 

 

They will ALWAYS try to fill every single cabin at ALMOST any price... in spite of any CEO statements to the contrary. But someone who paid twice, triple or quadruple the price for the same cabin, is going to be fairly upset if/when they discover the price paid by bargain hunters who know the system. On Century's last transpacific of 23 nights, I had dinner and drinks several times with a guy from Scotland who had paid 8,000 pounds!!! for the same cruise that I had paid 800 dollars!

 

Are you on Emerald Princess this fall? (VERY cool Itinerary!) Agree with you about Disney... just not interested.

 

Here's why I haven't been on the Celebrity boards as of late...

 

Did a B2B New Zealand and Transpacific on RCCL's Explorer OTS last spring... 35 nights for $1667pp with $875 OBC... AND free drinks from 5:00 to 8:30 every single night in their Diamond(Elite) Lounge. I can't live THAT well at home for those prices... so I did a 13 night transatlantic on Jewel OTS last fall... a 26 night B2B on Brilliance OTS this spring... another 25 night B2B on Jewel OTS this fall... then back to Australia for another 23 nights on Explorer OTS in April. (with a couple of shorter cruises mixed in)

 

I was always able to get an inside cabin on X for UNDER $50pp/night. Now I get that price for an OV on Royal. (and a better happy hour!)

 

Flights to Europe and back through Choice Air/ AIR2SEA are so ridiculously cheap it's just insane. I am flying from Tucson to Zurich for $297, a friend just flew from LAX to Copenhagen for $281.

 

The cruise lines just keep building more and more cabins that will have to be filled! Prices CAN"T go up... or cabins will go empty.

teach me master. how do u get these amazing prices?

[mrsgoggins]

Yes, you are lucky in the US, your bookings are much more flexible.

I've just cancelled and booked again through a different agent and saved about £550 including the lost deposit. A small victory - for me anyway.

 

I was really annoyed when there was an £800 (more than $1000) price drop on a booking I had made only a couple of months earlier for a cruise more than a year out. Fortunately, the original booking had been made on board ship and as part of the small print and 'Cruise now' booking t&cs for the UK, I can switch this booking as often as I like up to final payment! Just not to the same sailing. So I did just that. Actually found another itinerary I liked better and changed the booking and saving myself ££££s into the bargain.

 

These wildly fluctuating prices so far out, will most definitely make me think very carefully about how much I will cruise in the future.

 

Compared with American cruisers, we are definitely given the least-favoured 'step-child' treatment.

[CruisingUS]

I was really annoyed when there was an £800 (more than $1000) price drop on a booking I had made only a couple of months earlier for a cruise more than a year out. Fortunately, the original booking had been made on board ship and as part of the small print and 'Cruise now' booking t&cs for the UK, I can switch this booking as often as I like up to final payment! Just not to the same sailing. So I did just that. Actually found another itinerary I liked better and changed the booking and saving myself ££££s into the bargain.

 

These wildly fluctuating prices so far out, will most definitely make me think very carefully about how much I will cruise in the future.

 

Compared with American cruisers, we are definitely given the least-favoured 'step-child' treatment.

I'd take your situation any day over ours....orange isn't my favorite color

[Wiltonian]

I'd take your situation any day over ours....orange isn't my favorite color

 

But that's temporary phenomenon - we're just jumping out of the frying pan into the fire!

 

Stuart

[spendless]

Yes, you are lucky in the US, your bookings are much more flexible.

I've just cancelled and booked again through a different agent and saved about £550 including the lost deposit. A small victory - for me anyway.

I was in similar situation last year but Celebrity let me cancel and rebook same cabin and cruise with lower price and got OBC. Did not lose deposit as it was shifted to a "dummy" cruise which we have now used for a cruise to Canaries thisOct.

[jonnyenglish1]

Spendless -what would be the daily price you would consider an acceptable amount?

[bogofman]

Have taken a med cruise since 2012 until this year, just got back from a land based holiday, the celebritys prices this year were almost double what we paid in 2016 for a similar cruise and time of year, hence we declined.

 

Someone must be paying and filling the berths, we waited until last minute expecting some bargains but nothing appeared.

 

We do have a caribean cruise booked in December for an aceptable price,