Insulting Consumer with Black Friday/Cyber Week Deals

[pzsdd6]

FWIW - Another data point.

We had a casino offer for the Summit, premium inside deck 11, tips, classic, Wi-Fi. Dec 16th

Decided to check the Black Friday sale just to compare. Not sure how it came to this….

Upgraded to premium Aqua class, same deck, all current benefits move across, Captains points go up.

ding ding ding…..net, $25 per person. $99 cost but they give back $50 OBC. Go figure!

Take the time to check any of your already booked cruises…..just might find a duck!

[pzsdd6]

P.S.

Was able to upgrade classic to premium drink for $80 for entire cruise.

Hope others can find a break, take anything we can get. 
Happy Sunday!

[Pinboy]

1 hour ago, mlink87 said:

immediately look for things wrong to complain about and get money back as well

" immediately " or during the cruise.

Who do you think is in line at GR removing Gratuities on Day 1 ( " I'll tip those who I feel deserve to be tipped " )? That's a " good one "!!

Who do you think is in line at GR on the last night removing Gratuities because of some BS complaint(s) ?  Always about food !!

LOL--We were on a cruise years ago when the Cruise Director "bounced out" to introduce the show but first announced:

" A wallet was just found with $600 in it--- Would the owner of the wallet please form a line right over here " ?

[cruisingaussies]

On 11/12/2023 at 4:00 AM, mlink87 said:

Royal Caribbean Group overall need to respect their consumers and not act like the consumers are absolute idiots. 

Absolutely.

 

I’ve been following the prices on the Edge 21 December departure from Sydney in available suites.  Sky suites have consistently been priced at AU$12,000 and a bit per person = $24,000 and a bit for two. 

 

With the latest promo and Black Friday ‘sale’, the prices are AU$19,045 per person = $38,090 for two.  Less the Black Friday savings of $226 and the 75% off second guest promo, the price for two is …………$24,049.

 

Celebrity, this stinks

 

I just hope that no-one gets sucked into booking, thinking what a great bargain they’re getting.  (Although the original price was excessive, IMO, and maybe why there are still 28 suites up to Celebrity suite still available, at just over 5 weeks to departure on a Holiday cruise).

[buncosquad]

21 minutes ago, cruisingaussies said:

Absolutely.

 

I’ve been following the prices on the Edge 21 December departure from Sydney in available suites.  Sky suites have consistently been priced at AU$12,000 and a bit per person = $24,000 and a bit for two. 

 

With the latest promo and Black Friday ‘sale’, the prices are AU$19,045 per person = $38,090 for two.  Less the Black Friday savings of $226 and the 75% off second guest promo, the price for two is …………$24,049.

 

Celebrity, this stinks

 

I just hope that no-one gets sucked into booking, thinking what a great bargain they’re getting.  (Although the original price was excessive, IMO, and maybe why there are still 28 suites up to Celebrity suite still available, at just over 5 weeks to departure on a Holiday cruise).

These are reasonable prices.

 

Try pricing a Silversea itinerary (granted, these come with more/different inclusions), but still can be far more in cost.

 

Celebrity is doing what airlines do. If everyone could afford UA Polaris or AA Transoceanic First, everyone would buy it.

 

They know the demographic they are going for. More power to them to work on being a viable enterprise. I'd like to see them around a while.

 

I love their product (at least on their newest ships, where I sail).

Edited November 12, 2023 by buncosquad

[cruisingaussies]

19 minutes ago, buncosquad said:

These are reasonable prices.

 

Try pricing a Silversea itinerary (granted, these come with more/different inclusions), but still can be far more in cost.

 

Celebrity is doing what airlines do. If everyone could afford UA Polaris or AA Transoceanic First, everyone would buy it.

 

They know the demographic they are going for. More power to them to work on being a viable enterprise. I'd like to see them around a while.

 

I love their product (at least on their newest ships, where I sail).

I really don't think you can compare Celebrity to Silversea!  They are totally different products.

[buncosquad]

12 minutes ago, cruisingaussies said:

I really don't think you can compare Celebrity to Silversea!  They are totally different products.

I'm not comparing the two, rather indicating that pricing (for any brand) usually settles where a business expects their demographic buy.

 

 

[HUNKY]

Hey Google!

 

How about creating a Google Cruise app like the Google Flights app?

 

It would be great to be able to easily see a "price history" for a specific cruise/cabin.

[Cap_D]

4 hours ago, HUNKY said:

Hey Google!

 

How about creating a Google Cruise app like the Google Flights app?

 

It would be great to be able to easily see a "price history" for a specific cruise/cabin.

I believe cruiseplum has tracking, but it may possibly only presents data for rooms that are available.  

 

Also, note that since the first week in October 2023 new Retreat bookings do not come with OBC or gratuities, and since August the sky suites do not have butler service.  So, price comparisons should factor in those reductions. 

 

Edited November 13, 2023 by Cap_D

[villauk]

8 hours ago, HUNKY said:

Hey Google!

 

How about creating a Google Cruise app like the Google Flights app?

 

It would be great to be able to easily see a "price history" for a specific cruise/cabin.

 

Cruise fish (may be blocked) used to do just that. Don’t think it’s been around since the pandemic.

Edited November 13, 2023 by villauk

[Pushka]

Same in Australia. Repricing our cabin involved an extra $1000 Aud. Absolutely fraudulent advertising. 

[ChucktownSteve]

I've always ignored the hyperbole of cruise line sales.  If you save money, it means you initially paid more than you should have anyway.  I usually book our cruises when the cruise line first releases the itinerary.  The prices are the lowest when the ship is nearly empty!  As they fill, the prices rise.  Then just before a "sale" the prices increase again (as pointed out earlier) so you're really not saving much if anything.

On any "sale" I've checked for repricing a booked cabin, I have NEVER been able to find a lower price than I initially booked at.  I don't look at how much off.  I look at cost pp/pn to determine whether I want to book or not. That's the bottom line for me along with what's included in that cost.

[rodndonna]

4 hours ago, villauk said:

 

Cruise fish (may be blocked) used to do just that. Don’t think it’s been around since the pandemic.

 

Cruiseplum will do that - it provides a graph with the history of the price of a cruise over time where each line on the graph (different colours) are different categories of cabins.

[sanger727]

Should the sale be phrased as - "Cruise prices were better a month ago, but you can't get that price anymore, so you already lost out on the best prices of the year."?

 

That may be more honest, but doubt it would sell any cruises.

Edited November 13, 2023 by sanger727

[Arzeena]

On 11/11/2023 at 12:00 PM, mlink87 said:

Royal Caribbean Group overall need to respect their consumers and not act like the consumers are absolute idiots.  I monitor pricing and noticed that prices last night went up...conveniently right before the launch of Black Friday...about $880 total above what we paid a month ago.  Today's price, with 75% off the second guest and $300 discount, took $80 off yesterday's total, but still $800 above what I paid a month ago. 

 

Just don't do a sale if you're going to treat the consumer like idiots laughing from your revenue computers in corporate offices.  It's insulting and such a disgusting money grab to literally charge more during one of your "biggest sales of the year" than during a normal time period.  I work in travel myself for a large travel company and have worked in revenue for a large hotel brand and know the game, but this seems egregious.  At least when we'd do sales they were real sales off the purchase price.  I never noticed manipulation of pricing on our rates before a sale to keep the revenue the same if not higher than normal times.

 

Maybe I'm just incensed and it's just me...but I just wish they would respect the consumer.  I know...I know...it's a huge ask in today's capitalist world. 

The BF Sale is more like a BS Sale!🤣🤣

[CNSfromHI]

For what it's worth, I add my thoughts here. Agree, disagree, flame away, or ignore as you wish.

 

First, criticizing a for-profit company for not helping its customers always buy its product/service at the lowest cost? 🤔 As I posted earlier, caveat emptor.

 

Second, I do think Celebrity, as well as many other businesses in many other industries, may validly be criticized for "obfuscation" -- perhaps better expressed as the "marketing shell game" or a basic lack of transparency -- via promos that don't actually amount to significant savings regardless of which "deal" floats your boat. Trying to track costs today vs. yesterday and/or comparing one deal to another makes my head spin. "40% off both vs. 75% off the second?" 🤕 That's just the world we live in these days and, again, caveat emptor.

 

Cruising represents a discretionary expense, unlike a mortgage, food, etc. Some might consider the cruise cost a trifle, others, significant. At the end of the day, and always trying to find the "best" price before committing, my wife and I just feel happy cruising is an option for us at all. If the margin of what we spent was so narrow that inevitable fluctuations might potentially spoil the whole thing, we'd just chuck cruising altogether. 🙃

 

cjr

[ldubs]

17 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

I've always ignored the hyperbole of cruise line sales.  If you save money, it means you initially paid more than you should have anyway.  I usually book our cruises when the cruise line first releases the itinerary.  The prices are the lowest when the ship is nearly empty!  As they fill, the prices rise.  Then just before a "sale" the prices increase again (as pointed out earlier) so you're really not saving much if anything.

On any "sale" I've checked for repricing a booked cabin, I have NEVER been able to find a lower price than I initially booked at.  I don't look at how much off.  I look at cost pp/pn to determine whether I want to book or not. That's the bottom line for me along with what's included in that cost.

  

We also focus on the price and not the sales hype.   However, unlike your experience, we have experienced several times when we were able to rebook at a lower fare.  I'm surprised you have never encountered this.  

[mfs2k]

On 11/11/2023 at 1:11 PM, PTC DAWG said:

Good grief…do you like the price or not? Cruise prices are obviously fluid. 

I get it. 
if I walked into a store on Tuesday and saw something was $4,000 and I went back on Thursday for a huge advertised sale and the price was $5,000 with 20% off, I’d feel ripped off. 

[RedIguana]

3 hours ago, mfs2k said:

I get it. 
if I walked into a store on Tuesday and saw something was $4,000 and I went back on Thursday for a huge advertised sale and the price was $5,000 with 20% off, I’d feel ripped off. 

In the case of a cruise I am tracking, it was $2700 the week before the sale, and is $3500 during the sale so far. I expect it will drop back down after the sale, or will get back to that price on the final black friday/cyber Monday offerings. 

[sanger727]

8 hours ago, mfs2k said:

I get it. 
if I walked into a store on Tuesday and saw something was $4,000 and I went back on Thursday for a huge advertised sale and the price was $5,000 with 20% off, I’d feel ripped off. 

 

Not sure how you can feel ripped off if you don't buy anything. In this case you are investing your time and gas into going to the store, so I can see being miffed. Cruise sales are more like Amazon prime day or cyber monday. Enough advertisement to get you to spend 5 minutes looking at prices. There may be a small amount of very good deals on things you don't really want or need. Very small time investment so no reason to feel ripped off by it. 

[Hellgren]

Why do some of you feel it necessary to shame or insult people who complain or criticize cruise lines or cruise line policies?  Isn’t that the original purpose of this forum?  Aren’t we supposed to alert others to issues and pass along bad AND good things that happened to help others.  If I see a post that I don’t agree with, I don’t feel the need to bash and bully that person.  I just don’t respond to that post.  Just because their situation doesn’t affect me, doesn’t mean it’s still not valid to them.

 

I’m happy that you have been so successful in your life that you no longer care how much cruising costs.  I’m happy that you can stay in the suites and eat at the best restaurants every night.  I truly am.  However, there are some of us who have to watch for sales and discounts.  Rising prices and diminishing amenities are issues troubling for a lot of cruisers. 

 

Show the same patience and kindness to others that you would want for yourself.  Would you respond in the same manner if that post was written by your grandmother?

[Whinenowine]

I've found that 19 out of twenty "sales" at X are marketing nonsense.  But occasionally--a couple of times per year--they'll run something special that I just can't say no to.  I guess it's an individual viewpoint, but on both cruises and shore excursions you just have to keep on looking to get what you want (or what I want, anyway) and then jump quickly.  This is how I booked our cruise on the Edge a few months ago (lucked into a phenomenal deal on 2 cabins), and then again a month later when there was a 40% off shore excursion sale.  All-in I saved several thousand dollars off of what I had already booked and accepted that I'd have to pay.  It's luck of the draw.

 

[kirtihk]

7 hours ago, Hellgren said:

Why do some of you feel it necessary to shame or insult people who complain or criticize cruise lines or cruise line policies?  Isn’t that the original purpose of this forum?  Aren’t we supposed to alert others to issues and pass along bad AND good things that happened to help others.  If I see a post that I don’t agree with, I don’t feel the need to bash and bully that person.  I just don’t respond to that post.  Just because their situation doesn’t affect me, doesn’t mean it’s still not valid to them.

 

I’m happy that you have been so successful in your life that you no longer care how much cruising costs.  I’m happy that you can stay in the suites and eat at the best restaurants every night.  I truly am.  However, there are some of us who have to watch for sales and discounts.  Rising prices and diminishing amenities are issues troubling for a lot of cruisers. 

 

Show the same patience and kindness to others that you would want for yourself.  Would you respond in the same manner if that post was written by your grandmother?

You cannot imagine how many individuals will simply dismiss you just for a fact that you attempted dualism in process of thinking.