We just completed our first cruise on X, the Mercury and we couldn't be happier with the quality and service. We sailed for 11 nights for 68 each incl port and taxes. A quick look at some on line cruise sites show that similar deals are available on the Mercury in the next 60-90 days.
We booked 2 future cruises on the Summit last summer , before the price increases, even though we did not know at that time if we would like X. Both of these oceanview cabins sailing to Alaska and Hawaii respectively, cost us less than 100 p/p per day(all tax in).
Given the fact that many of the other mainstream lines have hiked their prices in the past 6 months ( Carnival, HAL, NCL etc) with some following the no advertised discounting policy of Celebrity, I still that Celebrity has the best product in this price range (80-125 a day p/p) I have experienced 7 cruise lines at this time so I have some experience to draw upon.
Not sure what all the fuss is about not having a ship in the Caribbean during the summer. I can't imagine going there at anytime other than the winter, far too hot!! So many other great places to explore in summer, like Alaska and Can/NE and yes Europe too. They are sending the ships where they can charge the most, purely economics. When that changes, they will be back in the Caribbean in the summer.
Inevitably the economy will continue to be cyclical and in time pricing will once again fall , and then go up once again as supply and demand changes. We are experiencing a huge interest in cruising and the lines are capitalizing. There will be a time again when they will have to discount to fill ships. Most of us will still be here to reap the benefits. In the meantime I will go inside/Oceanview instead of Verandah, so I can continue to cruise 2-3 times a year.
