Celebrity's new promo -- Sail, Sail Plus, Sail All Included

[JLMoran]

So Celebrity has always had the occasional Go Big, Go Better, Go Best promo that pops up here and there, and lets you bundle up to four add-on perks with your booking (for an added fee, of course). Well, now they have replaced that program with "Sail, Sail Plus, Sail All Included". The nutshell version is that X is now pricing the baseline refundable rate for all sailings in all but interior cabins so that they include the choice of two perks (Sail Plus), with the usual four choices -- $150 OBC, Complimentary high-speed internet, pre-paid gratuities, or Classic Beverage Package. You can opt to get all four for an upcharge, which is the "Sail All Included" option.

But wait, then what is Sail?

Sail is the bare-bones, no perks included price. But where the old promo would start at the base price and then let you pick two perks for a small upcharge or all four for a bigger one, now the only way to get the lowest possible price... is to go NRD booking.

I did a mock booking where I selected both NRD and refundable, and the only time perks were offered was when I chose the (much) higher refundable price. And while the perks selection has a "no thanks" checkbox that would let you skip choosing any perks, doing so gave no reduction in the price of my booking when I went to the final review screen.

The pricing gap on a per-night basis isn't that big. My mock booking was for a category 2C Verandah on deck 6 on Summit (one of the "Sweet 16" cabins) for the same Aug 2, 2020 sailing I have booked in a couple of inside cabins. The refundable rate price (Sail Plus) was $4,249 per person, vs. $3,717 NRD. That's a $532 difference per person across 14 nights, or $38 more per night to get two perks. So they're clearly pushing for people to get the perks, and taking the beverage package option at that daily rate is a no-brainer; even if you don't drink alcohol, the premium non-alcoholic package typically goes for $22 pp / pd, so if you get the Classic package plus pre-paid gratuities you're already at break-even at the absolute worst. I don't think it's as good a deal if you replace the drink package with one of the other two options, especially the Internet (where a multi-device package for one is much less on a per-day basis than getting the equivalent number of individual 1-device plans).

But there's the matter of when you're sailing in an inside cabin, which offers no perks at all. On this same sailing, the price of insides is just as jacked up with refundable deposit as the cabins that do offer perks. A cat 9 inside (same category as I have booked) is $2,601 per person refundable, $2,069 NRD. The exact same $532 difference, with no perks offered at any point during the booking process! Makes me very glad I booked in January for several hundred dollars less than the current pricing. To be fair, this particular sailing is the only one where I've been tracking prices and is soooo popular / attractive that the ship is already almost sold out; that's been driving the prices for remaining cabins into the stratosphere, so it's really tough to get a proper sense of things. But I will say that just yesterday, before this new pricing / promo went into effect, the price for interior and verandah cabins was still $50 and $100 pp lower respectively than what I see today, so it does seem like X is bumping the rates further to pay for the perks.

And there's one more caveat, which is with the drink package:

On the old Big / Better / Best promo, if you chose the Classic Drink Package you had a chance to upgrade to the premium package for the difference in regular nightly price. With this new promo, I was given no such option. From some other posts I saw on "the other place", upgrading the beverage package is now only an option for suite guests, who start off with all four perks automatically as part of the suite price. There's a pretty big difference in what you can purchase on the Classic package versus Premium, especially with wines and craft beers, so that's a potentially big "gotcha".

I'm definitely conflicted about this program; now, if you just want the lowest possible booking price, you're forced into using NRD. If the price gap stays at the current $38 pp / pd (a value I think is a better measure as it can potentially be applied to any sailing), it's hard to get two perks that cover that gap or better unless you take the Classic Beverage Package as one of them. For those who don't drink alcohol, it might still be OK as noted above if they take that package plus another high-price perk so they can get the benefits of the Premium non-alcoholic package. For those who don't even drink anything more than the complimentary beverage options, there's no real pair of perks that fully covers the price gap vs. NRD bottom-line rate.

Anyway, I've gotta get back to work. Wanted to note this and see what others think, and if anyone else with bookings on X is finding that they're getting a better deal now than when they first booked.

[twangster]

I wonder if there will be any changes to Elite level nightly drinks.  For some those may take the drink package out of the equation changing the math.

When I sailed in a suite in 2017 the included "Best" package included the premium drink package.  There was nothing to upgrade.  Is that no longer the case for suites?

[JLMoran]

43 minutes ago, twangster said:

When I sailed in a suite in 2017 the included "Best" package included the premium drink package.  There was nothing to upgrade.  Is that no longer the case for suites?

I did another mock booking and picked a Sky Suite. First, the good news -- The beverage package is indeed the Premium and not the Classic; here's a copy of the text after selecting the room and confirming refundable with perks (emphasis added)

Quote

Packages

4-Perks Package                                                                                         Complimentary

• $150 Onboard Credit for 2
• Unlimited High-Speed Internet for 2
• Prepaid Tips for 2
• Premium Beverage Package for 2

The bad news? Even with suites, NRD gives you no perks. It's either go NRD and get rock-bottom price with no perks, or refundable with perks; I imagine very few at this level actually want to give up the perks, but if you're willing to commit to the sailing then why can't you get NRD with a (smaller) discount AND the perks??

Oh, and the current pricing for that Sky Suite on this sailing? $8,949 per person for refundable with perks, vs $8,417 NRD. Exact same $532 difference, so at least they're being consistent in that regard for suites as well as "steerage". But holy moly is that expensive for the lowest-tier suite class!! Granted, there's only eight of them left on the ship for this sailing, but that's a monstrous markup over what I was seeing back in January. 

[twangster]

X Sky Suites aren't bad, definitely more than a JS on Royal.  Luminae restaurant access for example.  On a revolutionized ship a sky suite is pretty sweet.  

[JLMoran]

1 hour ago, twangster said:

X Sky Suites aren't bad, definitely more than a JS on Royal.  Luminae restaurant access for example.  On a revolutionized ship a sky suite is pretty sweet.  

Won't argue that. Based on your earlier comments / review of the SS and some other comments I've read, I would have happily booked one if I was a party of two instead of four for this trip! But they only hold two people, a few allow a third; with my older daughter over 18 I'd have to get two of those rooms to get all of us into Luminae and have suite benefits for all.

And I don't care how good the cabins are, when the regular price for an SS is about half that current price, maybe even a bit less, that crosses way over the line into price gouging! Supply and demand only justifies so much IMO.

<side-rant>
I know itineraries like this one are always crazy popular and often sell out really fast, but I still can't help but think that some decent number of the current bookings are just placeholders from people who aren't really committed to going yet. With X not requiring an NRD for suite bookings like Royal does, I'm sure they still have a lot of those shenanigans. And that would definitely be a big contributor to the supply dry-up as demand keeps going up.

I'm going to be watching like a hawk close to / just after final payment. I still doubt I could afford a pair of SS cabins even on fire sale rates, but if a Family Verandah opened up that would be fan-freaking-tastic!
</side-rant>

[AGSLC5]

19 hours ago, JLMoran said:

So Celebrity has always had the occasional Go Big, Go Better, Go Best promo that pops up here and there, and lets you bundle up to four add-on perks with your booking (for an added fee, of course). Well, now they have replaced that program with "Sail, Sail Plus, Sail All Included". The nutshell version is that X is now pricing the baseline refundable rate for all sailings in all but interior cabins so that they include the choice of two perks (Sail Plus), with the usual four choices -- $150 OBC, Complimentary high-speed internet, pre-paid gratuities, or Classic Beverage Package. You can opt to get all four for an upcharge, which is the "Sail All Included" option.

But wait, then what is Sail?

Sail is the bare-bones, no perks included price. But where the old promo would start at the base price and then let you pick two perks for a small upcharge or all four for a bigger one, now the only way to get the lowest possible price... is to go NRD booking.

I did a mock booking where I selected both NRD and refundable, and the only time perks were offered was when I chose the (much) higher refundable price. And while the perks selection has a "no thanks" checkbox that would let you skip choosing any perks, doing so gave no reduction in the price of my booking when I went to the final review screen.

The pricing gap on a per-night basis isn't that big. My mock booking was for a category 2C Verandah on deck 6 on Summit (one of the "Sweet 16" cabins) for the same Aug 2, 2020 sailing I have booked in a couple of inside cabins. The refundable rate price (Sail Plus) was $4,249 per person, vs. $3,717 NRD. That's a $532 difference per person across 14 nights, or $38 more per night to get two perks. So they're clearly pushing for people to get the perks, and taking the beverage package option at that daily rate is a no-brainer; even if you don't drink alcohol, the premium non-alcoholic package typically goes for $22 pp / pd, so if you get the Classic package plus pre-paid gratuities you're already at break-even at the absolute worst. I don't think it's as good a deal if you replace the drink package with one of the other two options, especially the Internet (where a multi-device package for one is much less on a per-day basis than getting the equivalent number of individual 1-device plans).

But there's the matter of when you're sailing in an inside cabin, which offers no perks at all. On this same sailing, the price of insides is just as jacked up with refundable deposit as the cabins that do offer perks. A cat 9 inside (same category as I have booked) is $2,601 per person refundable, $2,069 NRD. The exact same $532 difference, with no perks offered at any point during the booking process! Makes me very glad I booked in January for several hundred dollars less than the current pricing. To be fair, this particular sailing is the only one where I've been tracking prices and is soooo popular / attractive that the ship is already almost sold out; that's been driving the prices for remaining cabins into the stratosphere, so it's really tough to get a proper sense of things. But I will say that just yesterday, before this new pricing / promo went into effect, the price for interior and verandah cabins was still $50 and $100 pp lower respectively than what I see today, so it does seem like X is bumping the rates further to pay for the perks.

And there's one more caveat, which is with the drink package:

On the old Big / Better / Best promo, if you chose the Classic Drink Package you had a chance to upgrade to the premium package for the difference in regular nightly price. With this new promo, I was given no such option. From some other posts I saw on "the other place", upgrading the beverage package is now only an option for suite guests, who start off with all four perks automatically as part of the suite price. There's a pretty big difference in what you can purchase on the Classic package versus Premium, especially with wines and craft beers, so that's a potentially big "gotcha".

I'm definitely conflicted about this program; now, if you just want the lowest possible booking price, you're forced into using NRD. If the price gap stays at the current $38 pp / pd (a value I think is a better measure as it can potentially be applied to any sailing), it's hard to get two perks that cover that gap or better unless you take the Classic Beverage Package as one of them. For those who don't drink alcohol, it might still be OK as noted above if they take that package plus another high-price perk so they can get the benefits of the Premium non-alcoholic package. For those who don't even drink anything more than the complimentary beverage options, there's no real pair of perks that fully covers the price gap vs. NRD bottom-line rate.

Anyway, I've gotta get back to work. Wanted to note this and see what others think, and if anyone else with bookings on X is finding that they're getting a better deal now than when they first booked.

Only thing I noticed different from what you found is I was able to select an inside room and still pick the perk option.. Now I am a travel agent and I am using the travel agent software so I am not sure if that makes a difference? But I did a mock booking last night on Equinox and I was absolutely able to pick an inside room for the 2 perk and 4 perk option.. 

[JLMoran]

5 hours ago, AGSLC5 said:

Only thing I noticed different from what you found is I was able to select an inside room and still pick the perk option.. Now I am a travel agent and I am using the travel agent software so I am not sure if that makes a difference? But I did a mock booking last night on Equinox and I was absolutely able to pick an inside room for the 2 perk and 4 perk option.. 

Well that's weird. Yesterday I did not have that option presented to me. But today I totally do. Guess I'll have to call my agent now and see what the price difference will be to update it to include the perks.

EDIT -- Or not. I'm forgetting that even inside cabins have gone up ridiculously in price for this cruise since I booked. Price jump to get the perks would be far more than the value of the perks themselves, especially since I wouldn't be taking the drink package for either cabin.

[Jedi Jason]

Thanks for all the great info here @JLMoran 

My wife and I started cruising on Celebrity when we were going without the kids.  We still go on Royal with the family.  We have taken one cruise and have a second one booked.  We tend to take the shorter cruises (week or less) because we don't want someone to have to take care of our 7 and 9 year old for too long.  We usually book balcony rooms in part due to the price difference not being too much due to the transferred loyalty status of Diamond and they have offered more perks for non inside rooms.  We like the perks that have been offered in some of the past sales.  It would be disappointing if you can't get the premium drink package which had been upgraded in our past bookings when we paid to go from two to four perks.  It's definitely worth keeping an eye on the situation.  We don't usually purchase these upgrades on Royal when going with family.

[twangster]

Here is the pretty marketing summary of the new promo:

(this version for the Caribbean/Bermuda)