Celebrity price controls

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lysolqn

Guest
It's my understanding that Celebrity recently imposed price controls and no longer permits travel agents to discount cruises below published brochure rates. Word has it you will pay the same price for a Celebrity cruise whether you book through the cruiseline directly or through any agency. If that's the case, how is it that in "shopping" a future cruise, I've gotten varying quotes (including quotes that are lower than on Celebrity's website) from different agencies (online and off) for the identical category cabin and same sailing date?
 
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Ted_D

Guest
You should check the quotes very carefully. Something is different between them.

The Celebrity pricing policy doesnot hold to the brochure rate. Celebrity itself will sell you a cruise that is discounted well below that price. The policy actually is that whatever the price being charged by Celebrity itself is exactly the price that all TAs will also charge. None of them have the authority to vary on the cruise itself.

So, while you think the quotes are different, it is probably due to the fact that the various agencies are stating it in different ways. For example, perhaps one isn't including the taxes (which you will most assuredly pay). Perhaps one is not including the port charges. If they were exactly "apples to apples" you would get exactly the same price for the cruise itself.

Their are other add-ons -- like air travel to the port city and home, cruise insurance, hotel add-ons, land excursions, etc -- which are not covered by the Celebrity pricing policy. So, different TA's can price them (or give them away) any way they want. So, if your price comparisons included any of these, that is where the price difference is.

If you have actually found a TA that is pricing cruises lower than Celebrity, we'd all like to know who it is!

Ted
 
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lysolqn

Guest
Price quotes I've gotten are definitely "apples to apples" - all include port, taxes and government fees, none include air or any other charges, and all are for the same category cabin on the same sail date. Several of the quotes are about $300 less than what Celebrity is offering on their own website. Either all of these agents bought up group space prior to the imposition of the new price policy or discounting of sorts is still going on.
 
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viet630

Guest
I know I would like more info. WE have been lolal Celebrity passengers for the last 4-5 years. The prices I have been getting are all the same.I have to say I think way to high,We are loking at alternatives because the pricing is so high. I will not be sailing Celebrity unless I get some better pricing than I have been getting.We can do 3 cruises on NCL or Princess for what it will be on Celebrity. While Celebrity is superior I can not justify the HUGE DIFFERENCE IN PRICE. JMHO. Viet
 
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Frank Black

Guest
I have been looking at a Mercury cruise in January. I checked with them and 5 Cruise agencies. They all had the exact same prices.
 
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Ted_D

Guest
Well, it appears fairly obvious that Lysolgn isn't going to share the secret with us, or perhaps there really isn't a secret to share. . . . . . .

Ted
 
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Parrot Mom

Guest
Isn't this considered "price fixing"!! Then again, when we booked our cruise in January we had prices from three TA. Once we got to a travel show there was all sorts of "extras" tossed in between Celebrity and the travel agency sponsoring the show. In reality I would have prefered to give the busininess to a local TA whose original price was the same, but I couldn't turn down the extras that amounted to $$...
 
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Ted_D

Guest
Parrot Mom,

No this isn't price fixing. Celebrity has every right to control the price of its product. On the other hand, if two competeing cruise lines got together -- say Celebrity and Princess -- and jointly agreed to set the price of their cruises at a certain point, THAT would be price fixing. Two competitors cannot collude to establish prices secretly.

Ted
 
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cruisindarryl

Guest
Hi All,

All that Celebrity said was that agencies are not to discount their commission. This was to help the small agencies compete with the huge internet agencies. Small volume gets you smaller commisions of 10-12%. Wereas the agency I use gets 16% from most of the CLs. They could take 5% off your rate and still be making the same money as the small agency who can't really afford to discount.

As y'all know, this is how TA's get us "the best deal" with CLs, by cutting their own money. But like "Ted D" said, there are ways around it by cutting their commission on air, hotels, excursions etc.... I booked the 15 night Summit to Hawaii for Dec 05 and my TA gave us on board credit. I worked for this cruise agency for 4 years, so she gave us a better than average deal. I know they receive 16% commish on the cruise fare (less port fees/taxes). Well she took, about 10% of the cruise fare and put it on our onboard account to use. So instead of getting the disount up front, we get it on the "back end".

And as several posters said....If someone has advertised or quoted a price below RCCL/Cel I am sure everyone (incl RCCL/Cel) would like to know :)

One directed to "viet630"..... Princess maybe but NCL? I am a foodie and though NCL was inducted into Chaine des Rotisseurs in 2002, I have not experienced or heard much good about the food. It's personal choice though and I'll go on any ship for the right price! lol

Every take care,

CruisinD
 
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Parrot Mom

Guest
I'll go on almostany ship IF it's going where I want to go..lol... Even the old Dolphin, Ocean breeze and Seabreeze..
 
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BSeabob

Guest
I understand the different prices come from the actual Pricing that different agencies get for volume.
eg. Agency (a) blocks 100 rooms and sells them for X$ -minus their volume break FROM Celebrity
(b) blocks and sells only 20 and sells them for X$ minus their smaller volume break From X

that make sense to anyone??
 
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Ted_D

Guest
That is exactly how it works with most cruise lines and their TA network, and it used to work that way with Celebrity and Royal Caribbean. Not anymore, though. The stated policy of both lines is that the price of their cruise product will be the same regardless where you buy it. That fixed price does not apply to extras like air transportation to and from the cruise, insurance, etc. The change in pricing policy has been very controversial, but nobody so far has been able to provide any documented proof that they have found a source for discounted cruises from RCCL or X. We'd all love one though.

Ted
 
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lysolqn

Guest
Ted_D Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Well, it appears fairly obvious that Lysolgn isn't
> going to share the secret with us, or perhaps
> there really isn't a secret to share. . . . . . .
>
>
Ted, there is no secret to share - just a statement of fact. I received quotes from several popular online agencies that were significantly less than Celebrity offered on its own website for the same ship, same category cabin, same sail date, same taxes and fees, no air, no extras, no hidden charges. Can't explain it and that's why I posted my original inquiry.
 
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Ted_D

Guest
When? Name of the TA? Telephone Number? If true, we want to send this TA a lot of business. Nobody else has been able to duplicate this. Just a statement of fact.
 
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Solution

Guest
I agree with Ted. When doing price comparison, one needs to compare the exact same sailing dates, the same cabin class, and for cruise only.

I do find that some TA's will release the sales much sooner than the other. This may be one factor that contribute to the pricing differential.

For my upcoming cruise to Alaska, I contacted Vacation to Go, check the Celebrity website, Travelocity, as well as my usual TA, all quotes were identical.
 
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viet630

Guest
One solution I found to Celebrity's very high prices was to book on another cruise line.It's an option all of you have available to you. It might help bring X back in line.If everyone continues to pay these high prices they will continue to charge them.Supply and demand.Viet
 
A

Art printer

Guest
Hi!

Price control...

Celebrity have a cruise only price plus add-ons such as flights, transfers, hotels etc.
They provide a quote for the day...this varies day by day.
They then discount the prices to the travel agent.
The travel agent can then share the commission with you.
The maxium you are likely to get from the agent is 12% off the direct quote from Celebrity.
However, some agents may get a rebate for the size of annual business and they may share this with you, (in anticipation) I've just got 13.16% off the travel agent.

The alternative method is 'dynamic packaging' or consolidation as it was known.
The travel agent buys on a cruise only basis and adds the airfare, transfers and hotels from their own supply source. This can reduce the cost by about 18.5%.
Or...if the cruise only offer is a 'special' such as an upgrade to balcony the price will be lower by more than 18.5%

There are lots of these offers, but they are usually for cruises and cabins that are not popular...Cruises in the Caribbean during Thanksgiving dates are often discounted...and a bargain for people from the UK . We've been a couple of times on consolidated packages at discounts of circa 40% - with 900 UK citizens on the ship! (as well as 300 Canadians and some Australians.) The price made us wonder who won the Revolutionary War!

If you want a special ship, cabin and date...you'll probably have to pay more.
 
A

Art printer

Guest
Hi!

Price management by the supplier isn't permitted in the UK (EEC).
The retailer can sell at below cost if they wish...or at cost.
What has it to do with the supplier. The retailer knows their business best.
 
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