Another Sale; Another Price Increase!

[Hlitner]

We have long posted about various booking strategies. Cruise lines have become increasingly sophisticated with their marketing and promotions. Consider that many consumers will drive a few extra miles to purchase an item for $9.99 rather then go 10 feet and pay $10.00 (this is Marketing 101). Tell somebody that they are getting a drink package valued at $59 per passenger day...and they simply accept that valuation. And yet, there are very few cruisers that will drink $59 per passenger/day. When comparing cruise pricing, simply value each promotion at its real worth to you. So, for example, in our case we value the Classic Drink package at $35 per passenger day (this is about the average DW and I spend on drinks). Concierge cabins are worth no more to us than a regular balcony cabin and arguably make less sense when you consider that you pay an extra 50cents per passenger/day for the same cabin cleaning you get in other cabins. Also consider that Aqua Class can often cost a lot more, and if you do not take advantage of the spa amenities it is likely not a good deal. A meal package purchased during a 20% Off sale will have you paying about $25 per meal in any alternative restaurant. Aqua Class, on the other hand, can cost many times that $25 amount and only gets you access to Blu which is not even in the same class as other restaurants such as Murano. Furthermore, most Aqua Class cabins (on S-Class) are in a lousy location right under the pool deck...in a huge shadow cast by the pool deck overhang.

 

Friends of ours have argued, for years, that the best deals on S Class ships are the regular balconies on decks 8-10. With the money saved over booking Aqua or Concierge one can than purchase numerous meals in alternative restaurants and still be ahead of the money game. On our recent 21 day Reflection cruise we dined 10 times in Murano, twice in Qsine and once each in the Tuscan and Lawn...all for far less than the cost of Aqua Class.

 

As for getting the truly amazing cruise deals.....those are generally last minute bookings (for those of us with the flexibility to get away on short notice). Our recent 10 days on the Regal Princess in a decent balcony cabin cost us $41 per passenger day...when adjusted for all the OBCs we received. This deal was only available to those of us who booked within a few weeks or days of the cruise. Many others were paying 3-5 times that cost for the same cabins. Booking early would not have helped since these deals were only available for new bookings inside the final payment period. While Celebrity does not always offer great last minute deals, other lines such as HAL, MSC, and Norwegian have fantastic deals for next month (Jan). The secret to grabbing the fantastic deals is being flexible as to the date, itinerary and cruise line.

 

Hank

[ChucktownSteve]

Hank,

 

One of the things you neglected to add when you pointed out they inflate the daily value of the drink package is that they inflated the drink cost to push people into the drinks perk because of Celebrity's low cost of goods on the bottles. Then they pushed all of the better brands out of the Classic package and allowed people with the lower package to pay actual cash for the inflated difference which generated more REVENUE. Voila! Double/Double.

[hcat]

On the Eclipse last week we received a flyer offering four perks on certain cruises, if we booked them by December 19; I spent considerable time searching for cruises that fit our needs, then checked their prices on line. Armed with that information, I asked the Future Cruise Person for her offer.

 

She gave me a price that included the four perks but was $700 over the base cost I had discovered on line. I asked her where was the benefit the flyer promised and she claimed we were benefitting by an $800 reduction on the cost of the cabin. Really?, I replied. I would get the same price if I booked on line or through an agent.

 

I then asked her to book the cabin for us at the base price with no perks, as we are Elite + and can do quite nicely with those benefits plus Michael's Club. She said she couldn't do that. I was amazed and left her office. When I reached my cabin, she had left a message that she was mistaken and could book the cabin at base price. No thanks.I had lost interest due to Celebrity's misleading antics.

 

Several days later I was told the same story by a second agent. So I left the ship with no future cruise booked and now I am researching other lines to see what they offer. I really resent how X is playing the old shell game with its customers. Keep your eye on the shells and maybe if you're really lucky, you'll find the one hiding the bean.

 

Those sales agents often do not have the best deals...they can't or won't access current bookings and sometimes play magic math to get you to book, but leave off extras that will cost more later on. We don't bother with them anymore....years ago we always booked with Melanie but after that it was really too hi pressure...

[papuchon]

How do we feel about it? When you couple constant price increases, numerous cut-backs in terms of cuisine, entertainment, etc, it does not add up to a good thing for some cruisers. We are Elite Plus and just returned (this Monday) from 21 days on the Reflection. For the first time in over a decade we have no future Celebrity cruises booked...despite cruising 70-100 days a year. Some have theorized that the Celebrity strategy is to drive away the older cruisers and, in our case, their strategy has been effective. The nice thing about the cruise industry is that there are many different cruise lines and options for those who enjoy variety.

 

 

 

Hank

 

 

 

Very sad to hear that! We are (only) Select. Just returned from 14 days with the Eclipse. On board we made 4 reservations for 2018-2019. I didn’t want to be disappointed.

 

 

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[BosoxI]

Hank,

 

One of the things you neglected to add when you pointed out they inflate the daily value of the drink package is that they inflated the drink cost to push people into the drinks perk because of Celebrity's low cost of goods on the bottles. Then they pushed all of the better brands out of the Classic package and allowed people with the lower package to pay actual cash for the inflated difference which generated more REVENUE. Voila! Double/Double.

 

Drinks in general have fascinated me. What authority checks to ensure the booze is actually what it is purported to be. Last week on the Eclipse I ordered a Sapphire Martini. The bartender definitely did not reach for the Bombay bottle on the shelf, but I couldn't see what he did use. What I do know is that the drink I was served was weak. An inferior gin? Excessive shaking melting the ice? A short pour? Watered down liquor? Maybe all four. I don't claim to be an expert on liquor but I have drunk enough over the years to know what a drink should be. And, yes, there is that outside chance that my taste buds were off that night. But then so were my wife's who had the same drink.

[Ontario Cruiser]

We are also on Royal Sernade April 20th. Even though we are Elite Plus we have being on 5 cruises with Royal as the prices are usually better

[Hlitner]

Drinks in general have fascinated me. What authority checks to ensure the booze is actually what it is purported to be. Last week on the Eclipse I ordered a Sapphire Martini. The bartender definitely did not reach for the Bombay bottle on the shelf, but I couldn't see what he did use. What I do know is that the drink I was served was weak. An inferior gin? Excessive shaking melting the ice? A short pour? Watered down liquor? Maybe all four. I don't claim to be an expert on liquor but I have drunk enough over the years to know what a drink should be. And, yes, there is that outside chance that my taste buds were off that night. But then so were my wife's who had the same drink.

 

We did our serious drinking in the Ensemble Bar (on the Reflection) where we grew to appreciate the skill and friendliness of the bar tenders. Since we had the Premium Drink Package there was lots of fun to be had...by trying different types of booze. The bar tenders always clearly showed what products they used, and even found me a few under-the-counter items that were kept out of eyesight and not listed on any bar menu (because there were no decent bar menus). At the pool bar I would often order a spicy Grey Goose Bloody Mary and all the bartenders did reach for the Grey Goose.

 

Hank

[Lastdance]

How dis one cruise thread turn into two? Wasn’t there before????

 

 

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[BosoxI]

We did our serious drinking in the Ensemble Bar (on the Reflection) where we grew to appreciate the skill and friendliness of the bar tenders. Since we had the Premium Drink Package there was lots of fun to be had...by trying different types of booze. The bar tenders always clearly showed what products they used, and even found me a few under-the-counter items that were kept out of eyesight and not listed on any bar menu (because there were no decent bar menus). At the pool bar I would often order a spicy Grey Goose Bloody Mary and all the bartenders did reach for the Grey Goose.

 

Hank

 

I am glad you were happy with your drinks but my original question goes unanswered. What authority checks to ensure that what is in the Grey Goose bottle is actually Grey Goose at full strength?