How's The New Perk Pricing Working For You?

[hcat]

On 10/11/2019 at 9:36 AM, TeeRick said:

New cars are are often sold with options in packages.  Like the sport package or luxury package or whatever.  Its funny but I did not buy my Toyota with "free" perks but instead I paid for the package I wanted which was clearly explained to me.  I could also buy options individually and add to base price.  I could see what was a better deal and decide.  I could also decide if I wanted the factory rebate (same as OBC) to apply to offset the cost of whatever I decided to include.   I just want Celebrity or any other cruise line to give me base sticker price and then a simple list of options which I could add based on what I desire.  No need to hide these in fancy schemes and call them free perks.

We literally bought a car with much  less math involved.  Saw it on the dealer 's website..Certified pre-owned.  Called the dealer and completed the transaction in a day including insurance and plates!

 

Pricing and booking a cruise on X has become a tedious exercise.,.People will start to  walk away,

Edited October 15, 2019 by hcat

[wwwfla]

I think you need to mock book through Celebrity or a TA to get the accurate numbers.

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

On 10/10/2019 at 11:04 AM, snyniew said:

Solo passengers get screwed by this since it still charges them the full $196 instead of just $98 as we are only using one beverage package. 

OTOH, I got OBC as if there were two in the cabin. So there’s that...

[AuntMom]

Let me preface this by saying we always prepay our gratuities and tip individual staff for excellent service, but I do have a question/observation.  The 20% prepaid gratuities included a percentage to bar staff.  With the addition of yet another 20% gratuity on beverage packages, who exactly is benefiting?  Is Celebrity double dipping?  Interested to hear your thoughts.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

8 minutes ago, AuntMom said:

Let me preface this by saying we always prepay our gratuities and tip individual staff for excellent service, but I do have a question/observation.  The 20% prepaid gratuities included a percentage to bar staff.  With the addition of yet another 20% gratuity on beverage packages, who exactly is benefiting?  Is Celebrity double dipping?  Interested to hear your thoughts.

As I understood it, the additional charge is only if you choose the package as a perk. NOT if you buy it.

[2Long2NxtCrz]

17 hours ago, killsport said:

Being a nerd, I created a spreadsheet to calculate the "net" cost of the cabin, given a variety of options/perks. It takes into account the different configuration pieces that I'm aware of -- number of passengers, number of nights, cabin type, which perks/types, and your ability to determine what value the perk has to YOU.

 

I've attached it below. If people find any missing pieces (or corrections) please let me know. If you don't find it useful, don't use it. 🙂

If you do find it useful, buy me a drink on a cruise.... no wait, I'll have the beverage package on my only remaining X cruises.

X Price Comparison.xlsx 14.58 kB · 23 downloads

Nerds unite! 

 

Thank you for the spreadsheet.  Like someone provided for the drink package on Royal, I love these kinds of things as it really does make it so much easier to do the math (and not have to keep track of a trillion variables in my head!).

 

We just started cruising with Celebrity last November and have our 2nd upcoming in a few weeks and have booked one for May 2021.  With our reciprocal status from Royal and what used to be an included drink package, it was often a wash to book Celebrity over Royal so I doubt that the increased cost will be a deal breaker for us.  But, again, I have to do the cost comparison of the total cost of the cruise (I don't calculate Excursions into my equation because I usually book those away from the cruiselines).

[vtcruising]

18 hours ago, killsport said:

Being a nerd, I created a spreadsheet to calculate the "net" cost of the cabin, given a variety of options/perks. It takes into account the different configuration pieces that I'm aware of -- number of passengers, number of nights, cabin type, which perks/types, and your ability to determine what value the perk has to YOU.

 

I've attached it below. If people find any missing pieces (or corrections) please let me know. If you don't find it useful, don't use it. 🙂

If you do find it useful, buy me a drink on a cruise.... no wait, I'll have the beverage package on my only remaining X cruises.

X Price Comparison.xlsx 14.58 kB · 30 downloads

Thanks! I was going to do this before booking another cruise - I appreciate the effort!

 

I am now hoping someone will do a Celebrity beverages spreadsheet, where you can enter the number of waters, coffees, sodas, cocktails, beers, etc. that you average daily (with average prices for beverages) and come up with a breakeven point for the Classic and Premium packages, to see if it is worthwhile for you. There was one many years ago, but the prices would be out of date now (or maybe someone did a recent one and I missed it).

[4cats4me]

On 10/10/2019 at 7:35 AM, Cruise Junky said:

I booked two on Princess, that's how it's working for me 🙂

 

Same here.  We actually pulled our  Equinox Oct 4 booking in June for a Princess departing the same day. 

Edited October 16, 2019 by 4cats4me

[NantahalaCruiser]

On 10/10/2019 at 11:04 AM, snyniew said:

Solo passengers get screwed by this since it still charges them the full $196 instead of just $98 as we are only using one beverage package. 

Guess you'll have to drink twice as much 🙄

[Iamcruzin]

On 10/10/2019 at 8:55 AM, vtcruising said:

Very true - I was actually speaking to those who chose an X cruise and were trying to see what they received for their money with each choice (with the caveat that the value depends on the individual - many wouldn't consider the Wi-Fi being worth $398, for example). I think people realize that they always have the choice to not take any of the options and move on....

The wifi is way overpriced a nearly $400. I only cost me $10 a day for one device unlimited surf and stream on Royal Caribbean. Anyone could sign on to a device but it could only be accessed one person at a time. We didn't need more than that.  Even Princess has entered the 21st century with their new wifi system. The daily price is on par with Royal Caribbean.

 

Celebrity needs to get a grip with their pricing perks or no perks they are still the most expensive now for a similar itinerary.  They are now my 3rd or 4th choice when searching for a cruise

[4cats4me]

1 hour ago, Iamcruzin said:

The wifi is way overpriced a nearly $400. I only cost me $10 a day for one device unlimited surf and stream on Royal Caribbean. Anyone could sign on to a device but it could only be accessed one person at a time. We didn't need more than that.  Even Princess has entered the 21st century with their new wifi system. The daily price is on par with Royal Caribbean.

 

Celebrity needs to get a grip with their pricing perks or no perks they are still the most expensive now for a similar itinerary.  They are now my 3rd or 4th choice when searching for a cruise

 

On the Princess cruise   I just disembarked, the very speedy Medallion Net Internet was only $6.30 per day for my 10 day cruise.  We got a discount due to platinum (6+) Elite (16+ cruises) status,  even at full price it is still way cheaper than on X 

Edited October 17, 2019 by 4cats4me

[villauk]

1 hour ago, 4cats4me said:

 

On the Princess cruise   I just disembarked, the very speedy Medallion Net Internet was only $6.30 per day for my 10 day cruise.  We got a discount due to platinum (6+) Elite (16+ cruises) status,  even at full price it is still way cheaper than on X 

 

Yes, we paid full price - $99 for 13 nights - still much cheaper.

[Iamcruzin]

6 hours ago, 4cats4me said:

 

On the Princess cruise   I just disembarked, the very speedy Medallion Net Internet was only $6.30 per day for my 10 day cruise.  We got a discount due to platinum (6+) Elite (16+ cruises) status,  even at full price it is still way cheaper than on X 

Nice deal for a Platinum. I'm also Platinum.

[vtcruising]

8 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

The wifi is way overpriced a nearly $400. I only cost me $10 a day for one device unlimited surf and stream on Royal Caribbean. Anyone could sign on to a device but it could only be accessed one person at a time. We didn't need more than that.  Even Princess has entered the 21st century with their new wifi system. The daily price is on par with Royal Caribbean.

 

Celebrity needs to get a grip with their pricing perks or no perks they are still the most expensive now for a similar itinerary.  They are now my 3rd or 4th choice when searching for a cruise

Totally agree that WiFi is overpriced on X - I think the pendulum will swing, as it has for hotels. I used to pay for hotel WiFi and haven't paid a cent for a few years now (I either book hotels with free WiFi or free with loyalty program). My guess is that X will drop the prices, if they want to attract the younger generation. The Surf package was a good step and to see some even better deals over the next couple of years.

 

BTW, before the Surf package was available, I paid for the WiFi (minus Elite+ discount) for the Infinity and it was so bad that I was barely able to use it. There is a router in Cafe al Bacio and I would sit there and have decent service, but couldn't find many other places where it worked well. The Edge has routers in every cabin, hallways and venues - always good service and never cut out. If they want to charge for WiFi, they need to provide good service.