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Virgin fires a shot across Celebrity’s bow

kk20

By kk20,
in Celebrity Cruises

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QuestionEverything

QuestionEverything

Posted
Posted
19 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

I tend to agree but we shall see. I picked four random cruises and have been tracking prices since the beginning of September --- not every day, just on Fridays. I'll keep it up through about October 20th or 27th. Also will check on 10/3 and 10/4.  Here is what one looks like so far. 

 

   Celebrity Ascent - 2/2/2025 - 7N Eastern Caribbean     
               
Category 9/1/2023 9/8/2023 9/15/2023 9/22/2023 9/29/2023 10/3/2023 10/4/2023
E2  $    4,457  $    4,542  $    4,667  $    4,467      
               
Aqua - A1  $    5,856  $    6,131  $    6,256  $    6,131      
               
Sky Suite  $   11,094  $  10,939  $   11,094  $   10,969

 

   

Thanks for the analysis, most interesting.

Do people actually pay the sky suite prices for a 7 day, I find that amazing.

I just completed a 17 day Oceania Insignia cruise from Iceland to NYC. Oceania is essentially suite "class" for everyone. I had a large balcony.

I paid less than the prices above, even in Cdn $ no less, for 17 days with far higher levels of service and food and $2,900 OBC which paid for my excursions and booze.

Good grief people.

Further example, at the same time period, I have a Jan 2025 Oceania cruise on Riviera, far East, 15 days, A1 balcony. Even in Cdn $ no less, I am paying only $9,100 Cdn, again for Oceania's far higher levels of service and food.

Good grief people.

My far east cruise is 2x longer, in a more exotic location, visiting exotic ports like Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok vs the above in the Caribbean.

Truly, I am appalled at Celebrities suite prices.

 

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bnurick "Live from...." Rare

bnurick

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, bnurick said:

Boarding the Disney Fantasy today for a 7 night eastern carribean cruise. Have a live review started on the DCL page. It should be a magical cruise. Cheers!


I’m sorry, but these DCL MDR scallops put X to shame. If you ordered the one’s in Luminae you know what I mean.

   

IMG_8704.jpeg

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bnurick "Live from...." Rare

bnurick

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, hcat said:

huge scallops.. we find the smaller ones sweeter   but these look tasty..not chewy!


Hcat, really good. We commented on the sea bass being at a perfect hot temperature too. The staff said twice it was Chilean sea bass as if they wanted to make a point about the quality.

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Jeremiah1212

Jeremiah1212

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, QuestionEverything said:

Thanks for the analysis, most interesting.

Do people actually pay the sky suite prices for a 7 day, I find that amazing.

I just completed a 17 day Oceania Insignia cruise from Iceland to NYC. Oceania is essentially suite "class" for everyone. I had a large balcony.

I paid less than the prices above, even in Cdn $ no less, for 17 days with far higher levels of service and food and $2,900 OBC which paid for my excursions and booze.

Good grief people.

Further example, at the same time period, I have a Jan 2025 Oceania cruise on Riviera, far East, 15 days, A1 balcony. Even in Cdn $ no less, I am paying only $9,100 Cdn, again for Oceania's far higher levels of service and food.

Good grief people.

My far east cruise is 2x longer, in a more exotic location, visiting exotic ports like Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok vs the above in the Caribbean.

Truly, I am appalled at Celebrities suite prices.

 

 

They pay it on Celebrity, on Royal Caribbean, on NCL.... Your comparison isn't really even a comparison though. Totally, totally different markets. Look at winter prices for resorts in St. Marteen, Los Cabos, Turks and Caicos, etc. there isn't a shortage of people willing to spend $25k (as an entry price point!) for a week in the Caribbean. The $10k cruise becomes the bargain.

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mac_tlc "Live from...." Rare

mac_tlc

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, QuestionEverything said:

Thanks for the analysis, most interesting.

Do people actually pay the sky suite prices for a 7 day, I find that amazing.

I just completed a 17 day Oceania Insignia cruise from Iceland to NYC. Oceania is essentially suite "class" for everyone. I had a large balcony.

I paid less than the prices above, even in Cdn $ no less, for 17 days with far higher levels of service and food and $2,900 OBC which paid for my excursions and booze.

Good grief people.

Further example, at the same time period, I have a Jan 2025 Oceania cruise on Riviera, far East, 15 days, A1 balcony. Even in Cdn $ no less, I am paying only $9,100 Cdn, again for Oceania's far higher levels of service and food.

Good grief people.

My far east cruise is 2x longer, in a more exotic location, visiting exotic ports like Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok vs the above in the Caribbean.

Truly, I am appalled at Celebrities suite prices.

 

I certainly do not pay that price for a SS. We are on the Ascent in January in a SS and, although it was a great deal that didn't last very long, it is about $5,200 for 2. 

 

mac_tlc

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Dolebludger

Dolebludger

Posted
Posted

This position by Virgin surprised me, because earlier in its existence NOTHING was included. Now, some things are. Drink packages weren’t even available for a price. But a number of cruise lines have gotten on the inclusive bandwagon, and it seems that Virgin is moving in that direction too. But, like others, I don’t like Virgin’s itineraries and small rooms. 

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rmedistro

rmedistro

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

This position by Virgin surprised me, because earlier in its existence NOTHING was included. Now, some things are. Drink packages weren’t even available for a price. But a number of cruise lines have gotten on the inclusive bandwagon, and it seems that Virgin is moving in that direction too. But, like others, I don’t like Virgin’s itineraries and small rooms. 

Well, they won't miss you running at near capacity. These posts are so redundant. Nobody cares. If I based my booking decisions on CC forums, I wouldn't be crushing.

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bnurick "Live from...." Rare

bnurick

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, doghog said:

Thanks. Saw that before. We'll wait until we are onboard the Eclipse to see if it's fleetwide. Not in an aqua class. 


We are in a CS. Just feel it’s petty by X for the money we all spend while others are not doing this. Cheers.

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Cruising89143

Cruising89143

Posted
Posted

I have been cruising for many years and I can tell by VV’s current marketing and itinerary choices that VV is not for us. Their standard staterooms look like they made a huge shopping trip to IKEA to dress a college dorm. Suites look nice but nothing else makes me want to board their ships. I’m glad that many like them and I read that they were looking to provide more interesting itineraries. They seemed to have found their niche. Celebrity on the other hand seems to still be confused as to where they belong. The pandemic certainly did not help. 

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doghog

doghog

Posted
Posted
29 minutes ago, bnurick said:


We are in a CS. Just feel it’s petty by X for the money we all spend while others are not doing this. Cheers.

Could be worse no matter the stateroom category. RC discontinued pillow chocolates in 2009. But we still cruise with them. 

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bnurick "Live from...." Rare

bnurick

Posted
Posted
33 minutes ago, doghog said:

Could be worse no matter the stateroom category. RC discontinued pillow chocolates in 2009. But we still cruise with them. 


To each their own. On DCL now and October 2024. X in January, July, September, December and January 2025. After that it’s up in the air.

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