Has CL pricing gone crazy?

[Birdie dog]

I know there are a lot of complaint threads right now regarding DCL and pricing. This isn't really a complaint. I just feel like I'm confused or CL pricing has increased a lot. And really fast.

I know, for example, that we sailed the Fantasy over my b'day in August with 4 in our cabin a few years back and I paid $10000. The same week is now $17000.

Also, I seem (and may be confused here) to remember that CL was about twice the cost of the cruise and usually hundreds to $1000 more than a verandah. Now, I'm seeing pricing where CL is 3x higher than a verandah...

I love DCL and love CL. And I may just be confused but is anyone else seeing the jack up of pricing for CL even crazy more than the general DCL pricing?

 

[DCLDVC1]

I've noticed it's gone up a lot. When we sailed for the first time in Concierge on the Dream in February 2014, our Category 00V room was only $600 more than a Category 04a. I recently checked prices for the same dates in 2017 and it's $2100 more than a Category 04a. It's also $2400 more than the Category 00V in 2014.

 

[bumbershoot]

"Has CL pricing gone crazy?"

Yes.

 

[SonicGuy]

And yet they are almost always sold

 

[cgolf]

Sorry but have to ask, is CL Cunard? Isn't that a luxury line like Crystal, or are they supposed to be lumped in with DCL, RCCL, etc?

 

[Lesverts]

CL = Concierge Level

 

[saxguy71]

It's supply and demand, pure and simple. As long as people want the service and amenities, and they keep booking it fully, the prices will keep going up. Once DCL reaches a point where there are unsold cabins in CL, they'll adjust to reach the point where they are consistently just selling out.

FWIW, I was looking to book CL early July on the Fantasy. On the morning I was looking the available room was around $10K. By the time I had asked my wife if it was ok to book and returned to the site (probably about a 3 hour time period) the cheapest CL rate was $19K. Couldn't do it. I'm sure they'll sell out with no issues.

 

[Sir William]

1. Cruising is the most popular vacation at present.

2. Most cruises are completely or nearly sold out.

3. Supply and demand: cruise lines, like airlines, can and will pretty much charge whatever the market will bear. Popular itineraries and cabin categories sell out faster so can demand a higher price.

4. Operating costs overall continue to increase, and those increases are passed off to the consumer.

 

[cgolf]

Got it and I can answer that one. It happened for the 2015 season. In 2014 we payed roughly 4400 for our cat v room. When we got on board the CL hosts were complaining about the prices and how very few were rebooking. When it came time for us to rebook, I almost fell out of my chair when the same cruise and room went from the 4400 number to over 7000. Needless to say we went back home to the Magic

 

[Ofinn]

I figure they are pricing it to the 1%'s that have huge amount of disposable income. I can't imagine a normal middle, upper middle class family spending 17k for a room...not if you have kids to put through college. Some of the European cruises are as high as 45k for a family of four in concierge.

 

[Bear3412]

All Cat T Fantasy

2012 2A 2K 7, 10 ... $9500 Late Fall
2013 2A 2K 8, 11 ... $10500 Late Fall
2014 2A 2K 9, 12.... $ 12500 Early Fall
2015 2A 2K 10, 13 .. $15-20 ??? Peak Summer
2016 2A 2K 11, 14 .. $ 17400 Late Summer

Just for giggles, price quote now, for late fall 2016, same ship, 2A 2K 12, 16 .... $12.5 - 13K. (bargain, ? ? ? )
Perhaps.

Kids ages estimated.

Crazy price increases. 2016 will be our last. We can't do *GT.

DCL prices at the CL level during summer are higher now than luxury lines.

More power to DCL if they can fill these cabins at this price.

It's insane. But if the cabins are sold, ..... buy their paper on dips, IMO.

JME/O

Happy New Year to All