New Perks package = overpriced?

[little britain]

It seems to me that spending £688 ($1100) to get one free dinner and some Wi-fi and $150 worth of shore excursion....seems a little pricey. I can buy each individual element cheaper.... 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2019 by little britain

[tallnthensome]

It's gotten beyond stupid anymore with these types of offers on Celebrity ...... Celebrity will probably find a few suckers who are too blind or lazy to see that a la carte pricing is cheaper. 

[cinnamon]

I agree, it seems crazy. 

However,  at this morning’s rate, £688 is $836, not the $1,100  you quoted. 

[4774Papa]

Perks= ripoff for Celebrity

[prim8keeper]

Azamara has similar packages that you can buy and it seems like X is now trying them out. I think the only way it is useful is if you plan to use all of them or are a new cruiser. On Azamara they take some percentage off compared to if you had bought everything a la carte. Then the discount grows as they include more. The unfortunate part is that usually by the time you get to the ones with any real discount it probably includes things you don't want or need. I think it would be far more popular if they made it so you could pick from a variety of options and build your own package. They could then just take a percentage off based on overall price.

[little britain]

2 hours ago, cinnamon said:

I agree, it seems crazy. 

However,  at this morning’s rate, £688 is $836, not the $1,100  you quoted. 

Sorry didn't have glasses on and must have been looking at different rate on my app.  You are quite correct.

Still stupid money at $836 !!

[ShawninFL]

Sometimes I just shake my head at the offers and think, "Who falls for this?".

[ECCruise]

1 hour ago, ShawninFL said:

Sometimes I just shake my head at the offers and think, "Who falls for this?".

LOTS of people.

Lots of people still think their perks are "FREE!"

Lots of people still think Specialty Restaurants at $50 or $55 per are a "great bargain."

Lots of people think that paying $2000+ per day for a suite (below PH level) is realistic.

[bikerunner]

I am wondering if Celebrity is just testing the waters on these and looking to replace the 2 - 4 Perk offers when booking.  Instead of adding it to the cruise fare have it as a separate charge which it was years ago.  I noticed them in my Cruise Planner last night and they have no value to me.  Don't need the laundry or internet, and already set for excursions.  like someone mentioned for new cruisers to the line they might make sense.  I don't fault Celebrity in trying these out, its all about maximizing revenue with Customer happiness.  The cost/benefits from Celebrity still out weighs many other vacations for me so I am okay.  Change happens. 

[ECCruise]

3 hours ago, prim8keeper said:

Azamara has similar packages that you can buy and it seems like X is now trying them out. I think the only way it is useful is if you plan to use all of them or are a new cruiser. On Azamara they take some percentage off compared to if you had bought everything a la carte. Then the discount grows as they include more. The unfortunate part is that usually by the time you get to the ones with any real discount it probably includes things you don't want or need. I think it would be far more popular if they made it so you could pick from a variety of options and build your own package. They could then just take a percentage off based on overall price.

We've always found the basic package "Experience More" at $599 a pretty good value.  Virtually all of our Azamara cruises are 14-30 days, so to get $300 in shore excursion credit, unlimited wifi (1 device) and the premium beverage package for the length of the cruise isn't earth shattering but not too bad,   The more expensive packages start to include spa credit and 2 device wifi which we wouldn't use so no deal for us at all.

[Gordoncruickshank]

22 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

We've always found the basic package "Experience More" at $599 a pretty good value.  Virtually all of our Azamara cruises are 14-30 days, so to get $300 in shore excursion credit, unlimited wifi (1 device) and the premium beverage package for the length of the cruise isn't earth shattering but not too bad,   The more expensive packages start to include spa credit and 2 device wifi which we wouldn't use so no deal for us at all.

I had been looking at the top Azamara package for our cruise next year as we have lots of OBC but looking at the individual items that we would buy anyway - internet (we are in a suite and get the suite credit) and ultimate drinks - we get 20% of this due to Celebrity status. By the time I discounts the bits we really want I am giving Azamara around $650 (the difference between the discounted things we want and the $1399 cost of the package) to get $700 in shore excursions, a chef's table and spa credit. We (or rather my wife) stopped using the spa on ships years ago so there does not seem a huge benefit.

 

I suspect I will not do it and use the extra obc for excursions. If we feel up to it we can just pay for the chef's table.

[miched]

It is always cheaper when you can get a bundle or package price.  🙄

 

Many people just assume because it is packaged together it is discounted.   When it is brought to their attention that they paid more they will justify it by saying that it was more for convenance and worth the extra cost instead of admitting that they overpaid. 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🚢

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, ECCruise said:

LOTS of people.

Lots of people still think their perks are "FREE!"

Lots of people still think Specialty Restaurants at $50 or $55 per are a "great bargain."

Lots of people think that paying $2000+ per day for a suite (below PH level) is realistic.

Yes, you are correct, yet some of us do not think in those terms, we think in terms of what we are willing to spend for THAT experience on OUR vacation.

 

What others think is ridiculous is fine, we have not asked or requested anyone to cover this for us. 

 

As such, what others may think, passengers or land lubbers alike, on how we may want to spend our money is really no ones concern, rather we understand or not others thoughts on this.

 

LOTS of people.

Lots of people still think that cruising is only for the rich.

Lots of people still think that only snobs cruise.

Lots of people still think it is crazy to get on a ship and leave land behind.

 

Yet, that is okay, but who is monitoring us on this???

 

bon voyage

Edited August 16, 2019 by Bo1953

[ECCruise]

2 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Yes, you are correct, yet some of us do not think in those terms, we think in terms of what we are willing to spend for THAT experience on OUR vacation.

 

What others think is ridiculous is fine, we have not asked or requested anyone to cover this for us. 

 

As such, what others may think, passengers or land lubbers alike, on how we may want to spend our money is really no ones concern, rather we understand or not others thoughts on this.

 

LOTS of people.

Lots of people still think that cruising is only for the rich.

Lots of people still think that only snobs cruise.

Lots of people still think it is crazy to get on a ship and leave land behind.

 

bon voyage

I get what you are saying.  But what I am saying is when "what we are willing to spend for THAT experience on OUR vacation" is way more than what I pay for the exact same experience is my point.

[Bo1953]

3 minutes ago, ECCruise said:

I get what you are saying.  But what I am saying is when "what we are willing to spend for THAT experience on OUR vacation" is way more than what I pay for the exact same experience is my point.

Okay, I stand corrected for not understanding that.

 

Thank you for the clarification and my apologies.

 

bon voyage

Edited August 16, 2019 by Bo1953

[Hlitner]

We have rarely found an amenity package that was worth the price (to us).   Consider that paying in advance to get a "credit" for excursions is generally a waste of money for us as we tend to avoid cruise ship excursions (we often find the plague a better alternative).  As to pre-paying for an alternative restaurant meal, Celebrity offers various dining packages which can be an OK deal if you buy them when Celebrity has one of their 20% off sales (you have to keep your eyes open for these infrequent events).  DW and I do enjoy Murano (on ships that have this venue) and prefer to dine in Murano more then any other venue.  We used to also dine in Qsine (once or twice) on our cruises but that venue has now been eliminated.  On many cruises we are able to quietly negotiate a decent discount (usually about 30% although at times we have been able to get 50% off) for meals in alternative restaurants.   Since using the alternative restaurants is not overly important we prefer to take our chances on negotiating a good deal once aboard the ship.  Getting negotiated discounts is primarily based on supply/demand and using some charm with the Maitre'd or his/her representatives.  Since we are willing (and actually prefer) to dine late (after 8pm) our chances of getting a discount is usually better then cruisers trying to get a deal for the prime early hours.

 

Hank

[citronella]

7 hours ago, tallnthensome said:

It's gotten beyond stupid anymore with these types of offers on Celebrity ...... Celebrity will probably find a few suckers who are too blind or lazy to see that a la carte pricing is cheaper. 

 

I must be missing something here. Just checked a European cruise on Edge for 11 nights. The cost of 4 perks is $941 Cdn per person. The cost of Premium Beverage package alone would be $1001 Cdn per person for 11 days.  

[tallnthensome]

3 minutes ago, citronella said:

 

I must be missing something here. Just checked a European cruise on Edge for 11 nights. The cost of 4 perks is $941 Cdn per person. The cost of Premium Beverage package alone would be $1001 Cdn per person for 11 days.  

The original post is referring to a “deal” that does not include a beverage package. 

[citronella]

You referred to a la carte pricing being cheaper - that was my point.