Cost of Celebrity cruises

[Ex-vogue model]

Crikey Villauk I nearly dropped my bowl of cornflakes when you just quoted $45,000 per person!!!!! I'm in total shock and doubt if I would pay that amount even if I won the lottery. Crazy pricing!  🙄

[Stateroom_Sailor]

14 hours ago, Chiefdog said:

Yes, what exactly are they giving you as a perk? If you calculate everything you are paying for those perks. You might come ahead by $100. I recall sailing to Bermuda when they gave you the perks, didn’t charge a penny, to get you to sail. We used the OBC to buy a spa membership and use towards some of the drinks. If you are not a big drinker, you are better off just paying for each drink. Things sure have changed! 

 

I calculate perks based on their value to me, or what I would pay cash for that perk.  A drink package is worth no more than $12 per day (in which I'll get a glass of wine, a coffee, and a tee).  Without a package, I would just order 1 or 2 cafe drinks, and bring my own wine.

 

21 minutes ago, Ex-vogue model said:

Crikey Villauk I nearly dropped my bowl of cornflakes when you just quoted $45,000 per person!!!!! I'm in total shock and doubt if I would pay that amount even if I won the lottery. Crazy pricing!  🙄

 

Ridiculous.  Probably only a lottery winner would blow money like that so carelessly and egotistically.  You can sail in a suite on Crystal for a fraction of that, with much better food, entertainment, and general luxury.

Edited April 16, 2019 by Stateroom_Sailor

[villauk]

46 minutes ago, Ex-vogue model said:

Crikey Villauk I nearly dropped my bowl of cornflakes when you just quoted $45,000 per person!!!!! I'm in total shock and doubt if I would pay that amount even if I won the lottery. Crazy pricing!  🙄

 

 

We’ve booked a B2B2B2 - couldn’t miss a bargain like that 😏 🤭.

[myjillian]

On 3/7/2019 at 10:32 PM, bkbarrym said:

Generally, I have found pricing to be higher than I have experienced in the past and not just for Edge sailings. For our upcoming Summit cruise we wound up booking an OV instead of our usual balcony to keep costs in line with our budget. 

 

I have been monitoring pricing ahead of our final payment date for our June cruise which is due the end of March.  I checked pricing today and found a price for "exciting deal" with no perks that worked out less than what I had booked at (Sail Beyond) with 2 perks and additional $100 OBC. Adding back in the gratuities and excursions that I had booked using the OBC I had, I still caome in over $300 cheaper. Will keep monitoring with hope of getting it down even lower or perhaps upgrading to a balcony. 

I agree.  We had , for years,  a concierge cabin on a 🤗floor nearest the library.  That way I can sneak out an find the book someone just turned in etc.  We are now booking our newest found ..secret ...an indoor cabin ....at a place that is sooooo cool that you would have to pull my fingernails out ...and i still wouldn't give it away😎

Edited April 16, 2019 by myjillian

[myjillian]

On 3/9/2019 at 8:07 AM, Islandbuoy said:

In the end , supply & demand prevails. Royal & X  have pretty elaborate algorithms used to sense them.

Also in the end they have to be competitive. I'm sure that they don't see themselves competing with Royal. I bet they do monitor Hal & Princess very closely . Not sure how MSC fits in with new ships entering the market--seems like supply is increasing,even with X's own ships.

Pricing model seems to be  a decent price a year out , then higher price at the six month out point-thru final pay. Then whack the hell out of prices ,and add perks as neccessary.

 

I 'm a florida senior which generally rules out perks. I like to book on board--but that causes me not to be able to cancel and rebook after final pay date. From now on going to do open passage so I can wait. This will work unless going with friends , when have to have a certain date.

Didn't know that😗

[villauk]

2 minutes ago, myjillian said:

Didn't know that😗

 

 

Didn’t think X did open passages anymore? Thought it was only ‘book a specific sailing’ and then move the booking to an alternative sailing?

[myjillian]

On 4/13/2019 at 1:25 AM, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

Our next two are on HAL as well.  I honestly believe it is at least a slightly better product, with a significantly better direction as far as music entertainment, and destinations experience.  Given that we prefer reposition cruises, I can actually still get perks on HAL, plus shareholder credit.  For the first time, suites are affordable (even only if for 50% more space and double loyalty points).

 

We're also eyeballing Azamara, Windstar, and Oceania.  Given these crazy X prices, I would rather chase a deal from the next market up.

 

Don't forget HAL has bath tubs in ov cabins and above....that is a great selling pt😊

[ak1004]

4 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

Are you considering an OV as the balcony prices are showing higher on Edge than you quoted above for a Sept sailing? Prices have dropped, but I believe the difference is due to the lowest non-refundable rate being quoted in every instance with no perks. The iconic suite is a steal at $45,000 pp 🙄.

 

My quoted prices were for the inside cabins. Personally this is what we book as we use the cabin for sleep only and consider paying for higher priced cabins a waste of money (just a personal preference). I would assume that higher priced cabins are priced accordingly on other lines as well. For example, balcony on Enchanted Princess is around $5,200 CAD which seems comparable to Edge prices.

[myjillian]

4 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

Didn’t think X did open passages anymore? Thought it was only ‘book a specific sailing’ and then move the booking to an alternative sailing?

No, I didn't know that Fla Sr fares ruled out perks LOL...I wasn't referring to open passages

[villauk]

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

 

My quoted prices were for the inside cabins. Personally this is what we book as we use the cabin for sleep only and consider paying for higher priced cabins a waste of money (just a personal preference). I would assume that higher priced cabins are priced accordingly on other lines as well. For example, balcony on Enchanted Princess is around $5,200 CAD which seems comparable to Edge prices.

 

 

I haven’t checked other pricing but I do know the Edge prices quoted will be the lowest on the now non-refundable rate. I think you have to decide what works best for you. You may be able to get a group rate which is slightly cheaper, but not too sure how much of a saving that would be on an inside. We have found that with Princess, our TA gives us a nice discount on the quoted prices and if you book during their Sip ‘n Sail promotion or 3 for three, it can make a difference. You are also able to get the refundable deposits for the inside cabin on Princess, which obviously isn’t the case with X now unless you take the perks included option.

 

HAL appears to be a far lower rate (looking at what you quoted) and perhaps it’s worth giving them a try? Are the itineraries comparable? You will do far more sightseeing on a European cruise and spend less time on the ship itself. I can only say that I’d never sail Reflection again in the Med during peak season (unless it was an outstanding itinerary) as it was very overcrowded - literally, bodies everywhere on a sea day. I think Edge would be more about the ship and, therefore, best explored in the Caribbean or on a TA where you’d get chance to use all the different facilities. The Med, if you haven’t sailed it previously (notice you’ve only done a Western itinerary), is a totally different experience to those Caribbean cruises (obviously, only my opinion and we’ve been to mainland Europe a good few times - both cruises and land trips over the years as it’s so close for us).

[jagoffee]

6 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

I calculate perks based on their value to me, or what I would pay cash for that perk.  A drink package is worth no more than $12 per day (in which I'll get a glass of wine, a coffee, and a tee).  Without a package, I would just order 1 or 2 cafe drinks, and bring my own wine.

 

 

Exaggerating a little?

[ak1004]

53 minutes ago, villauk said:

HAL appears to be a far lower rate (looking at what you quoted) and perhaps it’s worth giving them a try? Are the itineraries comparable? You will do far more sightseeing on a European cruise and spend less time on the ship itself. I can only say that I’d never sail Reflection again in the Med during peak season (unless it was an outstanding itinerary) as it was very overcrowded - literally, bodies everywhere on a sea day. I think Edge would be more about the ship and, therefore, best explored in the Caribbean or on a TA where you’d get chance to use all the different facilities. The Med, if you haven’t sailed it previously (notice you’ve only done a Western itinerary), is a totally different experience to those Caribbean cruises (obviously, only my opinion and we’ve been to mainland Europe a good few times - both cruises and land trips over the years as it’s so close for us).

 

We sailed with HAL new ship (Koningsdam) to the Caribbean and enjoyed it very much. It was comparable experience to X, the food was actually better. We sailed last September on Oceania Riviera to Western Mediterranean and it was outstanding! The price for inside cabin was actually lower than Edge prices now..

 

How Reflection experience is different on Caribbean and Mediterranean? Isn't it crowded on sea days on both itineraries?

[Luvcrusn]

On 3/9/2019 at 8:07 AM, Islandbuoy said:

In the end , supply & demand prevails. Royal & X  have pretty elaborate algorithms used to sense them.

Also in the end they have to be competitive. I'm sure that they don't see themselves competing with Royal. I bet they do monitor Hal & Princess very closely . Not sure how MSC fits in with new ships entering the market--seems like supply is increasing,even with X's own ships.

Pricing model seems to be  a decent price a year out , then higher price at the six month out point-thru final pay. Then whack the hell out of prices ,and add perks as neccessary.

 

I 'm a florida senior which generally rules out perks. I like to book on board--but that causes me not to be able to cancel and rebook after final pay date. From now on going to do open passage so I can wait. This will work unless going with friends , when have to have a certain date.

Beware of Open Passages. Take it from someone who tried using one for 5 years unsuccessfully.  Each time we were told it wasn't combinable with whatever we tried to book. They wouldn't even apply our Open Passages dollar for dollar with no added benefit.  I don't know if they still offer them but if they do the only thing you'll get from Open Passages is a goodbye to your money.

[villauk]

21 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

We sailed with HAL new ship (Koningsdam) to the Caribbean and enjoyed it very much. It was comparable experience to X, the food was actually better. We sailed last September on Oceania Riviera to Western Mediterranean and it was outstanding! The price for inside cabin was actually lower than Edge prices now..

 

How Reflection experience is different on Caribbean and Mediterranean? Isn't it crowded on sea days on both itineraries?

 

 

Glad you enjoyed HAL, another option for us to consider on our list. 

 

Sorry, I meant that I’d never sail Reflection in the peak season again; once was enough in the Med (not sailed it in the Caribbean). The overcrowding was so noticeably different from Silhouette and any other S class ship (and we’ve sailed them all 😉). I would like to try a more upscale experience like Azamara, Oceania etc., but need to wait until the kids don’t want to sail with us any longer.

[ak1004]

3 minutes ago, villauk said:

 

 

Glad you enjoyed HAL, another option for us to consider on our list. 

 

Sorry, I meant that I’d never sail Reflection in the peak season again; once was enough in the Med (not sailed it in the Caribbean). The overcrowding was so noticeably different from Silhouette and any other S class ship (and we’ve sailed them all 😉). I would like to try a more upscale experience like Azamara, Oceania etc., but need to wait until the kids don’t want to sail with us any longer.

 

So you are saying that Reflection is more crowded than other S class ships? How do you explain it? Aren't they sister ships, with similar capacity?

 

And yes, there is no point to take kids on Azamara or Oceania. But I would definitely give Princess a try. We enjoyed the Regal very much last year. Went with our 27 years old daughter.

[villauk]

5 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

So you are saying that Reflection is more crowded than other S class ships? How do you explain it? Aren't they sister ships, with similar capacity?

 

And yes, there is no point to take kids on Azamara or Oceania. But I would definitely give Princess a try. We enjoyed the Regal very much last year. Went with our 27 years old daughter.

 

 

Went to Alaska on Princess last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that we booked another cruise with them this year as it was less expensive for 13 nights than 7 nights on X. 

 

Reflection has a whole deck more of cabins than any other S class ship. I believe, Reflection’s capacity is 3,609 compared to 2850 on Eclipse and it’s definitely noticeable.

Edited April 16, 2019 by villauk

[Ex-vogue model]

23 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

We’ve booked a B2B2B2 - couldn’t miss a bargain like that 😏 🤭.

🤣🤣 I'll let you know how we get on with MSC Yacht Club in September. Too good a price to miss for the Baltics. Definitely looking at alternative cruise lines now.  We were looking at a week in the Med in June with Celebrity and it was hideously priced at something around £8k for the two of us.  I remember our first cruise 10 years ago when all four of us went for two weeks at Christmas with Royal Caribbean on the Jewel of the Seas in a balcony stateroom, flights included with an overnight in Miami for just on £5k and we thought that was expensive!  How times have changed 🙄

[villauk]

8 minutes ago, Ex-vogue model said:

🤣🤣 I'll let you know how we get on with MSC Yacht Club in September. Too good a price to miss for the Baltics. Definitely looking at alternative cruise lines now.  We were looking at a week in the Med in June with Celebrity and it was hideously priced at something around £8k for the two of us.  I remember our first cruise 10 years ago when all four of us went for two weeks at Christmas with Royal Caribbean on the Jewel of the Seas in a balcony stateroom, flights included with an overnight in Miami for just on £5k and we thought that was expensive!  How times have changed 🙄

 

 

Please do let me know how it goes with MSC. We are considering alternatives too. Unsure about next year as both boys will be at university by next autumn 😮.  Prices in the Med have definitely risen; we may even take a land holiday during next summer and then sail later in the year. Our first cruise was Brilliance of the Seas and around the same price - how time flies, our youngest celebrated his 5th birthday onboard.

[chemmo]

17 hours ago, villauk said:

 

 

...... but need to wait until the kids don’t want to sail with us any longer.

 

It doesn’t happen!

 

They hit 18 and take holidays with their friends as well but still come on the cruise with you...

 

Then they get the GF and have holidays with her, several long weekends with friends but somehow still manage to come with you!!!

 

I have a sneaky feeling in another year or two we will just be adding another passenger to our list, not taking one off!

 

Seriously, not complaining! There is something about cruising that just makes it perfect for ‘connecting’ with young kids as they move from childhood into adulthood...Long dinners, balcony chats, shared adventures and lots of laughter....

 

[villauk]

10 minutes ago, chemmo said:

 

It doesn’t happen!

 

They hit 18 and take holidays with their friends as well but still come on the cruise with you...

 

Then they get the GF and have holidays with her, several long weekends with friends but somehow still manage to come with you!!!

 

I have a sneaky feeling in another year or two we will just be adding another passenger to our list, not taking one off!

 

Seriously, not complaining! There is something about cruising that just makes it perfect for ‘connecting’ with young kids as they move from childhood into adulthood...Long dinners, balcony chats, shared adventures and lots of laughter....

 

 

 

😃 yes, we thought our eldest wouldn’t want to cruise with us this year but when he knew where we going, he wanted to come too. Being at university, we thought he’d ‘ditch’ us for his friends - not happening yet . On the plus side, we have managed to have a few wonderful weekends in Durham, which is a beautiful city. We love travelling as a family and it will feel strange next month when we go on a short cruise without him 😥. 

[Tourist1292]

On 4/16/2019 at 4:26 AM, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

I calculate perks based on their value to me, or what I would pay cash for that perk.  A drink package is worth no more than $12 per day (in which I'll get a glass of wine, a coffee, and a tee).  Without a package, I would just order 1 or 2 cafe drinks, and bring my own wine

Our actual cost for the classic beverage package is around $12 or less per day on a 7 night cruise. We paid $500 to get the two perks including the $300 OBC and two classic package while getting some money back from the TA and credit card. The good thing is the package perk includes gratuity already.

[Denny01]

On 4/16/2019 at 10:33 AM, villauk said:

 

 

Went to Alaska on Princess last year and thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that we booked another cruise with them this year as it was less expensive for 13 nights than 7 nights on X. 

 

Reflection has a whole deck more of cabins than any other S class ship. I believe, Reflection’s capacity is 3,609 compared to 2850 on Eclipse and it’s definitely noticeable.

You are right about the other S-Class ships being 2850, but the Reflection doesn’t have a whole deck more of cabins, it added suites to the bow area, cutting down on the Sky Lounge, and a few other areas added cabins, and the capacity is 3046, not 3609. 

 

I personally don’t think an additional 200 people is going to make it noticeable, except the loss of area in the Sky Observation Lounge, which I think is not good. 

 

I’ve seen a lot of comparisons of Luxury Lines with Celebrity-style Lines and the price comparisons try to show that the Luxury pricing is comparable due to their all exclusives. My opinion is, the comparisons are more then a bit off. They usually list 1st Class Flights as all inclusive to Europe and then compare a 1 week luxury LIne cruise with a 1 week Celebrity cruise. The problem is, many of us don’t need all the ‘all inclusives’’, we don't fly 1st class and when we go to Europe for a cruise, we normally don’t pick a 1 week cruise, which few Lines have except as a ‘try us’ for our UK and Euro friends who already live in the area. And when you compare a more lengthy cruise of 12+ days, the difference between Luxury and Standard skyrockets.  

 

So make sure you are comparing ‘apples-to-apples’ of what you actually want and use. We are Elite Plus so a drink package and Unlimited Internet isn’t needed, and Celebrity has many 2 or 3 and even 4 added ‘benefits’ added on their sales which make it very close to all-inclusive. So just be cautious of those “Luxury all Inclusive” comparisons which show they are very similar price.

 

Den

Edited April 17, 2019 by Denny01

[Cruise Junky]

9 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

 

I’ve seen a lot of comparisons of Luxury Lines with Celebrity-style Lines and the price comparisons try to show that the Luxury pricing is comparable due to their all exclusives. My opinion is, the comparisons are more then a bit off. They usually list 1st Class Flights as all inclusive to Europe and then compare a 1 week luxury LIne cruise with a 1 week Celebrity cruise. The problem is, many of us don’t need all the ‘all inclusives’’, we don't fly 1st class and when we go to Europe for a cruise, we normally don’t pick a 1 week cruise, which few Lines have except as a ‘try us’ for our UK and Euro friends who already live in the area. 

 

Den

I just booked Regent this week and would be happy to provide all the details of a comparison. It works out quite favourably with Princess on the same itinerary.

[villauk]

7 minutes ago, Denny01 said:

You are right about the other S-Class ships being 2850, but the Reflection doesn’t have a whole deck more of cabins, it added suites to the bow area, cutting down on the Sky Lounge, and a few other areas added cabins, and the capacity is 3046, not 3609. 

 

I personally don’t think an additional 200 people is going to make it noticeable, except the loss of area in the Sky Observation Lounge, which I think is not good. 

 

I’ve seen a lot of comparisons of Luxury Lines with Celebrity-style Lines and the price comparisons try to show that the Luxury pricing is comparable due to their all exclusives. My opinion is, the comparisons are more then a bit off. They usually list 1st Class Flights as all inclusive to Europe and then compare a 1 week luxury LIne cruise with a 1 week Celebrity cruise. The problem is, many of us don’t need all the ‘all inclusives’’, we don't fly 1st class and when we go to Europe for a cruise, we normally don’t pick a 1 week cruise, which few Lines have except as a ‘try us’ for our UK and Euro friends who already live in the area. 

 

So make sure you are comparing ‘apples-to-apples’ of what you actually want and use. We are Elite Plus so a drink package and Unlimited Internet isn’t needed, and Celebrity has many 2 or 3 and even 4 added ‘benefits’ added on their sales which make it very close to all-inclusive. So just be cautious of those “Luxury all Inclusive” comparisons which show they are very similar price.

 

Den

 

 

I can confirm that the difference in bodies was definitely noticeable in peak season on Reflection in the Med. There were bodies everywhere, not an inch of the lawn was visible - literally towel after towel as all the sunloungers were taken on every deck. I posted at the time and there were others who were on the same sailing and agreed. Hence me saying, at the time, that it would have to be a very special itinerary for us to consider sailing her again at this time of year.

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, Denny01 said:

I’ve seen a lot of comparisons of Luxury Lines with Celebrity-style Lines and the price comparisons try to show that the Luxury pricing is comparable due to their all exclusives. My opinion is, the comparisons are more then a bit off. They usually list 1st Class Flights as all inclusive to Europe and then compare a 1 week luxury LIne cruise with a 1 week Celebrity cruise. The problem is, many of us don’t need all the ‘all inclusives’’, we don't fly 1st class and when we go to Europe for a cruise, we normally don’t pick a 1 week cruise, which few Lines have except as a ‘try us’ for our UK and Euro friends who already live in the area. And when you compare a more lengthy cruise of 12+ days, the difference between Luxury and Standard skyrockets.  

 

So make sure you are comparing ‘apples-to-apples’ of what you actually want and use. We are Elite Plus so a drink package and Unlimited Internet isn’t needed, and Celebrity has many 2 or 3 and even 4 added ‘benefits’ added on their sales which make it very close to all-inclusive. So just be cautious of those “Luxury all Inclusive” comparisons which show they are very similar price.

 

Den

 

The difference could be fairly small if you are willing to sail in inside cabin.

 

We sailed on Oceania 10 nights to Mediterranean in inside cabin at $4,400 CAD including flight and $300 OBC. If you remove the credit, that comes to around $3,000 CAD. If you consider it includes free internet, all non alcoholic drinks, all specialty restaurants etc, it is pretty close to sailings on X.

 

Another example: Azamara 11 nights to South America at $3,300 CAD. That included free internet, $250 OBC per person, premium beverage package and more.

 

Just booked 14 nights on Oceania for Dec. 2020 Miami-Lima for $3,200 CAD.

 

Those prices are very comparable to X and Princess. 

 

However, when you book a veranda, the difference is bigger.