Cruise price fixing.!!

Has anybody else noticed that nearly all cruise web sites are showing exactly the same price.checked five tonight for April sailing on the allure and four were the same to the penny,what's going on is it just in the uk...sorry if its being covered on previous threads.

Has anybody else noticed that nearly all cruise web sites are showing exactly the same price.checked five tonight for April sailing on the allure and four were the same to the penny,what's going on is it just in the uk...sorry if its being covered on previous threads.

Don't know about UK pricing, but in the US the travel agents cannot discount Royal prices. The only exception that I know of is if they have booked some group space at lower pricing.

We've recently booked a Royal Caribbean Cruise Line cruise for March, we too asked for quotations from several travel agents. We were informed that travel agencies are no longer allowed to discount their prices...there were a few discrepancies between what 'extras' each agency could offer...half price tips, free parking etc...not a lot of difference between any. We found each company kept phoning us to see if we'd decided to book with them.

In the end we booked with our usual agent whom we know will sort us out should we run into a problem !

The price is set by the cruise line. This is not price fixing. If different cruise lines were colluding to fix prices, that would be a different story. The different cruise web sites are only acting as booking agents. There are places where you can get some discounts in the form of on-board credits or discounts on the actual fare, if an agency has reserved a block of cabins at a group rate.

You're not really new to the boards here, but for several years now..Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and several other lines have not allowed TAs to under sell their list prices. So what TAs have to do is give back from their commissions...such as - OBC, gratuities and other things.

Marc

Cruisin MarcnFran

You're not really new to the boards here, but for several years now..Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and several other lines have not allowed TAs to under sell their list prices. So what TAs have to do is give back from their commissions...such as - OBC, gratuities and other things.

Please explain the relevance of the comment in red !!!!

Price fixing is when multiple companies conspire and coordinate prices in a market. What you have here is one company and multiple agents representing the company selling the company's product for an identical price. That is not price fixing.

My interpretation is "this has been discussed several times and perhaps you just missed it, since you are not a new CC member."

Cruisin MarcnFran

 

You're not really new to the boards here, but for several years now..Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and several other lines have not allowed TAs to under sell their list prices. So what TAs have to do is give back from their commissions...such as - OBC, gratuities and other things.

 

Please explain the relevance of the comment in red !!!!

It is true that prices are the same for the most part within each market.

That said, prices can vary significantly from market to market. Here in Europe RCI has 5 regions I think. Even there, Germany runs Switzerland only pricing on the Swiss website. When I go to pay it will only accept my Swiss credit card. If I try to pay with other card it cancels the reservation.

My last cruise from Barcelona had Swedes that had all booked a Groupon offer and Spanish that had paid next to nothing. *Based on overheard conversations in Spanish, so not verified. I suspected they were former passengers of RCIs Spanish cruise line, Pullmantur. whose ships had already positioned to the Caribbean.

Even in the USA they have state resident pricing. You have to have a photo ID from that state when you board the cruise, according to the terms

Prices shown reflect the Exclusive Rate that you have selected. A valid driver's license or state-issued ID; U.S. or Canadian military ID; or U.S. or Canadian local, state or federal law enforcement, fire department, or EMT employment badge or ID must be presented at the pier to validate eligibility for the applicable Exclusive Rate. If eligibility cannot be validated, you will be charged the standard rate or otherwise will be denied boarding.

Cruised with celebrity and rccl nine times and I can't honestly remember every ta giving me the same price in them cruises,what I did learn from rccl last July when booking adventure ots is that they have started using non schedule flight companies what I mean by that is low cost airlines ie jet2,that never happened not to long ago....

Hi just had a quote for serenade for march 2013, it was over £4500 for two weeks, inside room, told RCI on way and booked a land vacton

I recently booked a cruise for April 2013. I booked my cruise using an online travel site.

I also had to book the same cruise for my parents that are in the UK. I priced their cruise using my online travel site here in the USA and the UK RCCL site and the price was the same. So, I booked theirs through the UK site. That way if they had any questions or wanted to make changes, it would be easy for them.

Another way to get a discount that's not a discount is what I did in my recent booking. The flights to San Juan from Minnesota are limited and overpriced- but the local small market airline (Sun Country) sells air and cruise packages, so I ended up saving over what I would have paid booking the cruise and air separately.

Okay, so now it is 2015. We're on N.Y. harbor and avid cruisers. We always look for deals on most lines. Not much this year. Could it be most lines have new ships coming and the mortgage is due?

One other thing, we booked a back-to-back on Caribbean Princess (N.Y. to

Quebec and back. Unfortunately it leaves from Brooklyn...but returns to Bayonne...NO CAN DO...Americans, check "The Jones Act". Check your refund

too.

Not sure what you mean??? When I check prices (US/CAD site), the exact same cruise (e.g. Allure Eastern itinerary) varies from week to week.

Okay, so now it is 2015. We're on N.Y. harbor and avid cruisers. We always look for deals on most lines. Not much this year. Could it be most lines have new ships coming and the mortgage is due?

 

One other thing, we booked a back-to-back on Caribbean Princess (N.Y. to

Quebec and back. Unfortunately it leaves from Brooklyn...but returns to Bayonne...NO CAN DO...Americans, check "The Jones Act". Check your refund

too.

It can do.........it's not one cruise.........it's 2 different cruise segments. It's treated like a repositioning cruise

Jimbo:)

It can do.........it's not one cruise.........it's 2 different cruise segments. It's treated like a repositioning cruise

 

Jimbo:)

The cruise line can sail those two routes, but, per US law, no passenger can do a back to back. Pity.

One other thing, we booked a back-to-back on Caribbean Princess (N.Y. to

Quebec and back. Unfortunately it leaves from Brooklyn...but returns to Bayonne...NO CAN DO...Americans, check "The Jones Act". Check your refund

too.

It can do.........it's not one cruise.........it's 2 different cruise segments. It's treated like a repositioning cruise

 

Jimbo:)

Under the current PVSA act you can not board in one US port and disembark in another US Port. If the cruise line allowed this they would be in violation and have to pay a hefty fine per passenger along with other consequences.

We ran into the same problem when we tried to book a b2b on Serenade. We wanted to board in Port Liberty on October 7th, take the cruise to Quebec and then stay on board and go from Quebec to Ft Lauderdale on October 19.

I emailed the Air/Sea Dept. and this was their explanation......

"Unfortunately the agents advised you correctly. We cannot allow you to embark in Cape Liberty on the first cruise and disembark in Fort lauderdale on the second one as the ship does not reach any port that would be at least 600 Nautical miles away from the closest US shore in between the two".

Okay, so now it is 2015. We're on N.Y. harbor and avid cruisers. We always look for deals on most lines. Not much this year. Could it be most lines have new ships coming and the mortgage is due?

Prices have little to do with the cruise lines needing money; they are based on supply and demand. As long as ships continue to sail at or near capacity, prices will rise.