Celebrity rolls out hotel program ​🏨​ -- will Royal follow?

[livingonthebeach]

This is good news for people that have to fly and book hotels before and after their cruises. 

 

"From press release by Celebrity:

MIAMI, Feb. 3, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, new-luxury cruise brand Celebrity Cruises^® announced a new program designed to offer confidence and ease when guests sailing want to add a pre- and post-cruise land experience.

 

Hotels by Celebrity

 

The newly launched Hotels by Celebrity℠ offers guests sailing with Celebrity a curated list of 4- and 5-star hotels at exclusive rates, creating a streamlined and stress-free experience when planning cruise vacations.

Hotels by Celebrity will go beyond simply helping guests book a place to stay before or after their sailings, with a seamless experience providing access to some of the world's best hotels at attractive rates in the world's most beautiful cities and ports Celebrity visits.

 

"We're so excited to offer this new service to all of our guests. Travel is meant to eliminate the stress in our lives, and Hotels by Celebrity makes finding the perfect accommodations easy and luxurious," said Brian Abel, Celebrity's Senior Vice President of Hotel Operations. "Now, guests will be assured of comfortable stays that meet their needs as they prepare for their cruise or extend their vacation a little longer."

 

In addition to access to some of the world's most trusted hotel brands, the new service will provide guests with intricate details about the properties they book, including hotel amenities and services, breath-taking accommodations visuals, and previous guest reviews.

 

When booking a sailing with Celebrity Cruises, North American guests will then be presented with an option to book

pre- or post-cruise accommodations. This new, dynamic service will offer the most suitable accommodations to fit a variety of needs: from proximity to local attractions to the number of guests in the traveling party.

 

For Celebrity's full door-to-door booking experience, guests can also use Flights by Celebrity℠, Celebrity Cruises' air program, which supports guests by booking their air travel at the best rates and with around the clock support.

The service allows guests to earn points with their favorite airline, and choose the days and times they want to fly, while simultaneously offering 24/7 travel monitoring and support from Flights by Celebrity Specialists. Should a guest's journey be impacted by delays or cancellations, the brand's specialists ensure they are on the next available flight to get to their destination."

 

[coaster]

The days before the internet, this might of been something of value. Too easy to research hotel prices, read reviews and book online now. Like going backwards in time to me when you had to call to book a cruise and prices were not posted online

Edited February 3, 2022 by coaster

[neverbeenhere]

Motel 6 is already currently conveniently located. 😝

[ONECRUISER]

Didn't Royal Caribbean use to do Hotel stays those flying in Decades ago?

[coaster]

I hope I never get too old and feel the need to book hotels with a cruise line. You know they are taking a large cut like their shore excursions. Celebrity advertising this puts them on the same level as Holland America. Really thought Celebrity was trying to embrace a slightly younger crowd than Holland America, but I guess I was wrong.

Edited February 3, 2022 by coaster

[livingonthebeach]

I think what they are touting is competitive pricing.  It would be interesting to see what price you can book the same hotel online versus what Celebrity offers.  I'm thinking convenience wise, especially if the price is lower than what you can book online, it's an interesting proposition, especially when combined with airfare.  That requires just one booking or cancellation for airfare, hotel and cruise -- not bad if the price is right. 

[Chiliburn]

I think it’s a great idea in these times especially if there’s transfers and Covid tests.

Who cares if it’s a little expensive as long as it’s convenient after a long haul flight.

[gkbiiii]

1 hour ago, Chiliburn said:

I think it’s a great idea in these times especially if there’s transfers and Covid tests.

Who cares if it’s a little expensive as long as it’s convenient after a long haul flight.

And has safe guarantees, if your ship is late or if you have Covid/health related concerns.

[smokeybandit]

Unless prices are quite discounted, I don't see the point of it.

[Missusdubbya]

3 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

When booking a sailing with Celebrity Cruises, North American guests will then be presented with an option to book

 

guess everyone else is fending for themselves 😁
 

 

2 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Unless prices are quite discounted, I don't see the point of it.

me neither

 

[livingonthebeach]

6 minutes ago, smokeybandit said:

Unless prices are quite discounted, I don't see the point of it.

 

I think they are trying to be price competitive...we'll see.

[Jasukkie]

I could see this being advantageous if it included early check-in and all you had to do at the port was go through the bag screening and get scanned in onboard. Doubt the logistics team is ready for that though.

[livingonthebeach]

3 minutes ago, Missusdubbya said:

guess everyone else is fending for themselves 😁

 

I see exactly what you mean. Wonder if it will expand to other countries? Hopefully so!

[livingonthebeach]

3 minutes ago, Jasukkie said:

I could see this being advantageous if it included early check-in and all you had to do at the port was go through the bag screening and get scanned in onboard. Doubt the logistics team is ready for that though.

 

Sounds like a great plan! Early check-in and late check-out plus extra priority perks at pier. Win-Win situation.

[smokeybandit]

Now if they made it a package, as in have it include airport and pier transportation, now you're onto something

[twangster]

Some people want a complete turn key vacation.  Not everyone enjoys planning every little piece.  Some people want to book it and just be told where and when to fly, hotel and cruise.  
 

X offers pier transfers so in a world where airlines and hotels are giving travel agents the cold shoulder this represents a way for a travel agent or Celebrity themselves to offer a complete solution.    
 

[twangster]

I’d also add that X has more unique destinations compared to mass market Royal Caribbean International.  
 

For example if going on a Galapagos cruise, booking it all through X makes a lot of sense.
 

For many people looking at far flung cruises from distant areas turning to X for a safe hotel booking is very appealing.   That’s not using the word safe in a sense of personal safety, but safe from a worry free hotel that doesn't require massive research in a foreign city.   How many “looking for a hotel in  XYZ” threads do we see weekly for example.  

[ONECRUISER]

7 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

I think what they are touting is competitive pricing.  It would be interesting to see what price you can book the same hotel online versus what Celebrity offers.  I'm thinking convenience wise, especially if the price is lower than what you can book online, it's an interesting proposition, especially when combined with airfare.  That requires just one booking or cancellation for airfare, hotel and cruise -- not bad if the price is right. 

Agree. Traveled 3 Decades for and while in the US Military and Govt...and with 3 Kids. Was surprising when making reservations, calling on Phone, online and even walking in off street the many different Rates you could get for same room/dates. At times saved a ton doing all the above and keeping one with the best price

Edited February 4, 2022 by ONECRUISER

[Ashland]

Many years ago when RCI was doing this I compared...booking directly with the hotel was always cheaper.

[nelblu]

12 hours ago, ONECRUISER said:

Didn't Royal Caribbean use to do Hotel stays those flying in Decades ago?

Yes, they used to list some half dozen hotels to select from.  Can't recall how it was communicated as this was before the explosion of the internet.

[Starry Eyes]

Some people in some situations may find this worthwhile.  Most of us likely will not and will continue to book as usual.  All good.

[Janet524]

Royal used to do this years ago.  We always found that booking the hotels ourselves was much less expensive than doing it through the cruise line.

[little britain]

RCI always used to do this - there were options for 1-2-3 night stays both pre and post cruise in most ports.

For those flying in from UK they were always put up in a hotel over night too in the US (other countries too).

 

If you were doing B2B on different ships that left a day apart I also recall you could get a hotel for that night too! 

[lhsail]

Looked at pricing for an upcoming Celebrity cruise. I was not impressed. 

[jacobtsf]

Royal definitely did this, at least back in 2017 when we did our Mediterranean cruise. 
 

while it was definitely more expensive two book through the cruise line we found the packaging the hotel with Air2Sea actually ended up working really great for us. It included a private transfer to the hotel and a bus from the hotel to the port. 
 

Our flight to Barcelona ended up being over 12 hours late due to weather, And just like they took care of figuring out our flights they also took care of making sure our driver knew when to actually meet us, and communicated with the hotel to let them know about the extremely late check-in.
 

we were originally supposed to meet a friend who lived in Barcelona to hang out, and we decided to meet him for breakfast the next day instead and just walk to the port. When I went downstairs in the morning to tell the Royal Caribbean staff members that we would not be on the shuttle bus he asked if we still wanted to check in all of our luggage so that we could walk around the city with just our carry-ons, a wonderful offer which we gladly accepted. 

 

i’m not sure my wife and I would book a hotel through the cruise line again, but at least this one time it really was worth it.