Huge price increases

[clskinsfan]

I am having a hard time understanding the pricing complaints in this thread. I just booked an 11 nighter on Equinox for this October at $1789 PP with 1 perk and $200 OBC. That is before the perks my travel agent will add on top which include pre paid gratuities. And I got a slant bump cabin/veranda for that price. And will be hitting 2 islands we have never been too before.

 

 During that same period there is an 11 nighter on, Grandeur of the Seas, Royal out of Baltimore for $1574 PP. Of course that does not include unlimited beverages and the ports are not as good as the Celebrity cruise and you are stuck on a cramped older ship. Granduer was our first cruise back in 1997. And she is no where close to an S class ship.

 

 There is also an 11 nighter on HAL Zuiderdam for $1899 PP for a Panama Canal cruise. No included perks at all. And it is going to ports that we have no interest in at all. Besides the fact that it is more expensive than the Celebrity cruise we have done one HAL cruise in the past and didnt like it. I dont know if they have changed but on our HAL cruise the ship was completely dead after 10 PM. Absolutely no night life at all. 

 

The last cruise that would fit our schedule is on NCL Breakaway for a 14 nighter out of NY to the southern Carib for $2239 PP. While seeing the ABC's is a nice cruise. It is also $1000 more than our Celebrity cruise and has SIX sea days. We are not big sea day fans. And we have also cruised on Escape in the past, the sister ship to Breakaway and felt like sardines. We had fun with NCL but the elevator situation on those ships is ridiculous. The nightlife is better than Celebrity for sure. But there are just way too many people on the Breakaway for us. 

 

As you can see. For our needs Celebrity fits us perfectly. We only have one Celebrity cruise on the books, last may on Eclipse in Alaska. But to us Celebrity is the best line we have ever sailed. We have done Carnival, Royal, NCL and HAL in the past. And in our opinion Celebrity is a FAR superior product to any of them. Maybe we just got a great cruise back in May and our opinion is jaded from a small sample size. But if Equinox can live up to 3/4 of what we experienced on Eclipse we will be perfectly happy.

[DYKWIA]

 

Equinox October 2020, Caribbean?

Aren't the Caribbean prices generally softer for all cruise lines? This is also Hurricane season isn't it?

 

Prices in the Med, for example, in September are significantly up - when comparing previous years with more inclusions.

 

Edited December 1, 2019 by DYKWIA

[clskinsfan]

3 minutes ago, DYKWIA said:

 

Equinox October 2020, Caribbean?

Aren't the Caribbean prices generally softer for all cruise lines? This is also Hurricane season isn't it?

 

Prices in the Med, for example, in September are significantly up - when comparing previous years with more inclusions.

 

Yes prices are softer in October which is why we cruise then. We have 6 October cruises in the past, including ones during hurricanes, and have only had one port cancelled in all of them. That was Grand Turk when the waves were just too big for the captain to dock safely. I just dont sweat cruising in October. The captain and company are not going to put their ships in any danger at all. And the financial gains from cruising then far outweigh the risks in our opinion.

[downsmead]

In the UK, for the cruise you mention, the cruise only price is dearer than your $1789pp for a (non-obstructed) veranda cabin. 
If you add a perk and $150 OBC, the price is then over £1990pp. In past years we had paid this for two people for a Caribbean cruise. In addition, although HostAnne suggests price watching and re-pricing if a better price becomes available, we are generally unable to do this in the UK unless we forfeit our deposit. Occasionally it has been worth doing this if it means we get a better deal (cheaper price / better deal even after losing the £300 deposit).

[yorky]

1 hour ago, clskinsfan said:

I am having a hard time understanding the pricing complaints in this thread. I just booked an 11 nighter on Equinox for this October at $1789 PP with 1 perk and $200 OBC. That is before the perks my travel agent will add on top which include pre paid gratuities. And I got a slant bump cabin/veranda for that price. And will be hitting 2 islands we have never been too before.

 

 During that same period there is an 11 nighter on, Grandeur of the Seas, Royal out of Baltimore for $1574 PP. Of course that does not include unlimited beverages and the ports are not as good as the Celebrity cruise and you are stuck on a cramped older ship. Granduer was our first cruise back in 1997. And she is no where close to an S class ship.

 

 There is also an 11 nighter on HAL Zuiderdam for $1899 PP for a Panama Canal cruise. No included perks at all. And it is going to ports that we have no interest in at all. Besides the fact that it is more expensive than the Celebrity cruise we have done one HAL cruise in the past and didnt like it. I dont know if they have changed but on our HAL cruise the ship was completely dead after 10 PM. Absolutely no night life at all. 

 

The last cruise that would fit our schedule is on NCL Breakaway for a 14 nighter out of NY to the southern Carib for $2239 PP. While seeing the ABC's is a nice cruise. It is also $1000 more than our Celebrity cruise and has SIX sea days. We are not big sea day fans. And we have also cruised on Escape in the past, the sister ship to Breakaway and felt like sardines. We had fun with NCL but the elevator situation on those ships is ridiculous. The nightlife is better than Celebrity for sure. But there are just way too many people on the Breakaway for us. 

 

As you can see. For our needs Celebrity fits us perfectly. We only have one Celebrity cruise on the books, last may on Eclipse in Alaska. But to us Celebrity is the best line we have ever sailed. We have done Carnival, Royal, NCL and HAL in the past. And in our opinion Celebrity is a FAR superior product to any of them. Maybe we just got a great cruise back in May and our opinion is jaded from a small sample size. But if Equinox can live up to 3/4 of what we experienced on Eclipse we will be perfectly happy.

Prices are up around 30% in the UK for many cruises after they introduced the perks offers.

[DYKWIA]

1 hour ago, downsmead said:

In the UK, for the cruise you mention, the cruise only price is dearer than your $1789pp for a (non-obstructed) veranda cabin. 
If you add a perk and $150 OBC, the price is then over £1990pp. In past years we had paid this for two people for a Caribbean cruise. In addition, although HostAnne suggests price watching and re-pricing if a better price becomes available, we are generally unable to do this in the UK unless we forfeit our deposit. Occasionally it has been worth doing this if it means we get a better deal (cheaper price / better deal even after losing the £300 deposit).

 

We are reluctant to play the price watching game for too long, we did that one year and ended up not having a holiday as prices on the cruises we were interested never dropped and then it was too late and work got in the way.  We will give it a bit and then look elsewhere either at another cruise line or another sort of holiday.  We are as loyal to Celebrity as they are to us.

Edited December 1, 2019 by DYKWIA

[Stateroom_Sailor]

Are ships sailing to capacity?  Even if so, prices should increase incrementally, not 30%+.  I can't help but wonder if passenger loyalty is being exploited for short term solvency.  In 2 years maybe these ships will sail 2/3 full at triple price, still looking good to shareholders, see how long this lasts.

[bengaltiger1]

4 hours ago, downsmead said:

In the UK, for the cruise you mention, the cruise only price is dearer than your $1789pp for a (non-obstructed) veranda cabin. 
If you add a perk and $150 OBC, the price is then over £1990pp. In past years we had paid this for two people for a Caribbean cruise. In addition, although HostAnne suggests price watching and re-pricing if a better price becomes available, we are generally unable to do this in the UK unless we forfeit our deposit. Occasionally it has been worth doing this if it means we get a better deal (cheaper price / better deal even after losing the £300 deposit).

Celebrity U.K. have started to honour price drops before final payment.  

[mrsgoggins]

10 hours ago, bengaltiger1 said:

Celebrity U.K. have started to honour price drops before final payment.  

 

Is this an official policy?  If so, where have you seen it written down? Thanks.

[chemmo]

23 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

Is this an official policy?  If so, where have you seen it written down? Thanks.

 

I am also very interested in this. I am not aware of any change either and I recently asked our Celebrity agent and he said they weren’t...

 

They have usually allowed upgrades but not price drops...unless it was on a specific offer and for a limited time period...

Edited December 2, 2019 by chemmo

[bengaltiger1]

25 minutes ago, mrsgoggins said:

 

Is this an official policy?  If so, where have you seen it written down? Thanks.

 

2 minutes ago, chemmo said:

 

I am also very interested in this. I am not aware of any change either and I recently asked our Celebrity agent and he said they weren’t...

 

They have usually allowed upgrades but not price drops...unless it was on a specific offer and for a limited time period...

My personal experience is this:

On previous cruises the cost of my cruise prior to final payment has never dropped lower than the amount I paid. Except for 2012, when I booked a cruise and the next day Costa Concordia ran aground and the bottom dropped out of cruise prices. On that occasion, we had to cancel, lose our deposit and rebook. 
 

I have a B2B booked. One cruise was booked August 18 ( that was the month I changed the cruise from one originally booked In the April). The next one was booked onboard in November 18. We book booked the original cruise through Celebrity UK. I have only used a TA once back in 2012. 
 

The price dropped on both cruises in May 19.  After reading other social media that Celebrity UK were honouring price drops, I thought I would ask. I wasn’t expecting a yes.  I got the price drop on both cruises. The offers were still the same and remained the same. They both dropped again and this time they gave me some OBC to reflect the price drop.  Then the offer changed and the price dropped again.  I had to accept the new offer, which replaced WiFi with OBC. It was still worth it to us.  All in all on both cruises I have saved £1904 and gained $400 OBC. That does not take in to account the OBC given as part of the offer. Of course, the UK has switched to the US model now with perks and prices have gone up to reflect that.  
 

I have not seen it reflected in written policy, but others from the UK have reported obtaining price drops from Celebrity UK when their booking has been directly with them.  I am not allowed to mention other social media platforms. 

[mrsgoggins]

5 minutes ago, bengaltiger1 said:

 

I have not seen it reflected in written policy, but others from the UK have reported obtaining price drops from Celebrity UK when their booking has been directly with them.  I am not allowed to mention other social media platforms. 

Thanks for the clarification.  I too have received ‘generous’ OBC treatment on the one occasion I was miffed at a price drop, and at other times I have moved an onboard booking to another cruise and paid the ‘new’ reduced cash price - and that can be like trying to catch a falling knife!
 

I doubt this ‘honouring price drops’ in the UK would ever be made official. After all, we can see the moves to try to bring the US more in line with our non-refundable deposits, so they are not going to (officially) do anything for the UK market that hits their bottom line.  Understandable, but I’m pretty sure that my bookings with Celebrity (and other lines) will be reduced going forward without me feeling I have value for money/a level playing field, which is very difficult to see with the current UK/European pricing.

 

[chemmo]

2 hours ago, bengaltiger1 said:

 

My personal experience is this:

On previous cruises the cost of my cruise prior to final payment has never dropped lower than the amount I paid. Except for 2012, when I booked a cruise and the next day Costa Concordia ran aground and the bottom dropped out of cruise prices. On that occasion, we had to cancel, lose our deposit and rebook. 
 

I have a B2B booked. One cruise was booked August 18 ( that was the month I changed the cruise from one originally booked In the April). The next one was booked onboard in November 18. We book booked the original cruise through Celebrity UK. I have only used a TA once back in 2012. 
 

The price dropped on both cruises in May 19.  After reading other social media that Celebrity UK were honouring price drops, I thought I would ask. I wasn’t expecting a yes.  I got the price drop on both cruises. The offers were still the same and remained the same. They both dropped again and this time they gave me some OBC to reflect the price drop.  Then the offer changed and the price dropped again.  I had to accept the new offer, which replaced WiFi with OBC. It was still worth it to us.  All in all on both cruises I have saved £1904 and gained $400 OBC. That does not take in to account the OBC given as part of the offer. Of course, the UK has switched to the US model now with perks and prices have gone up to reflect that.  
 

I have not seen it reflected in written policy, but others from the UK have reported obtaining price drops from Celebrity UK when their booking has been directly with them.  I am not allowed to mention other social media platforms. 

 

Thanks, if we do see prices drop for our cruises I may do some pushing! 

 

I think the snag for us is that we tend to book RS or PH and rather than drop the prices of those they are left high and then others simply bid to upgrade...

[bengaltiger1]

12 minutes ago, chemmo said:

 

Thanks, if we do see prices drop for our cruises I may do some pushing! 

 

I think the snag for us is that we tend to book RS or PH and rather than drop the prices of those they are left high and then others simply bid to upgrade...

The two cruises are the first that we haven’t been in a suite or aqua. Though prices on aqua and a Sky Suite did drop. The GBR cruise did not sell very well at first and there was a PH available on either that one or the NZ one last week. Yes, you are  in the fortunate position of being in a RS or PH with the unfortunate position of not seeing any price drops.  We have friends who have cruised in both and they are fabulous, but out of our budget. We can dream though 😄 come on ERNIE you know you want me to win the million pounds prize.  
The MDR will be a new experience for us and there seems to be very mixed reviews. We have quite a lot of OBC, so do have the option of speciality dining or even the OV which seems to get quite good comments for the evening choices. We have never gone there in an evening either. 
we have had the same agent for our Celebrity cruises for the last six years. During one conversation I commented on the fact that we didn’t get price drops in the U.K. and I couldn’t see why they wouldn’t do for us what they do in other countries. That was about a month before I asked for the first price drop.  As I have got older I am more inclined to be upfront and ask for things or comment on things that I wouldn’t have done ten years ago. 

Edited December 2, 2019 by bengaltiger1

[downsmead]

Thanks for the clarification. I usually book very early on, and generally the prices have gone up not down, apart from the one I mentioned which had a massive drop. That was a good few years ago though. I will bear this in mind for future cruises. The two we have booked have gone up with the new scheme 😒. 
I have also booked a cruise elsewhere, which I haven’t done for a couple of years, plus we are going back for a land stay to a couple of ports / areas visited whilst cruising 😁.

[4774Papa]

When the new transatlantic cruises from Rome in the Fall of 2021came out, we compared Royal C., Princess and Celebrity.  NCL didn't have such a cruise.

 

Celebrity had three and two of them beat Royal and Princess by $100 per person.  This was booking WITHOUT PERKS that we don't want.

[Lastdance]

I got almost 1,000 deduction on Apex for October 10, 2020, plus an extra perk for free added to my other two that I paid for... it is just too hard to compare cruises unless they have quite a few of the same attributes.  I book the first day, if I can, then watch and wait for priced deductions.  I want certain cabins...so that is my strategy.

[villauk]

21 hours ago, bengaltiger1 said:

 

My personal experience is this:

On previous cruises the cost of my cruise prior to final payment has never dropped lower than the amount I paid. Except for 2012, when I booked a cruise and the next day Costa Concordia ran aground and the bottom dropped out of cruise prices. On that occasion, we had to cancel, lose our deposit and rebook. 
 

I have a B2B booked. One cruise was booked August 18 ( that was the month I changed the cruise from one originally booked In the April). The next one was booked onboard in November 18. We book booked the original cruise through Celebrity UK. I have only used a TA once back in 2012. 
 

The price dropped on both cruises in May 19.  After reading other social media that Celebrity UK were honouring price drops, I thought I would ask. I wasn’t expecting a yes.  I got the price drop on both cruises. The offers were still the same and remained the same. They both dropped again and this time they gave me some OBC to reflect the price drop.  Then the offer changed and the price dropped again.  I had to accept the new offer, which replaced WiFi with OBC. It was still worth it to us.  All in all on both cruises I have saved £1904 and gained $400 OBC. That does not take in to account the OBC given as part of the offer. Of course, the UK has switched to the US model now with perks and prices have gone up to reflect that.  
 

I have not seen it reflected in written policy, but others from the UK have reported obtaining price drops from Celebrity UK when their booking has been directly with them.  I am not allowed to mention other social media platforms. 

 

 

I just wonder how long they are going to honour them for this time? They used to years ago but then suddenly stopped, without warning (annoying when it had previously been happening). I may contact my U.K. TA and enquire what the policy is now, according to the current X T&Cs.

[DYKWIA]

How I see this playing out over the next couple of years - fictitious cruise of X nights

 

Price last months including drinks package and OBC - £1500

Price now  - £1400 (+ £400 for the OBC and Drinks package) = £1800

Price in 18 months time when they reintroduce all inclusive (drinks package and OBC) - £2100 - but cruise now x-2 nights.

Edited December 3, 2019 by DYKWIA