Price tracking for RCL cruises

To help with the age old question of "Is this a good deal?" I wanted to put together some sort of a shared spreadsheet where we could enter our cruise info. Then you could reference what others have paid to see if the current sale is really a good deal or not.

I put together a sample spreadsheet for the Oasis Class ships and entered my recent 3 bookings as an example.

I used Microsoft Excel OneDrive to host the file and the below link is supposed to allow others to open it / edit it in Excel Online. If someone could test this to see if it works I would appreciate it.

I hope this does not violate any rules of Cruise Critic. If so, please delete this post.

https://1drv.ms/x/s!Aj45z9uQHMvvyWBAiotvq0OFbVLh

I did not click on the link, but I am not sure you would be able to compare apples with apples. There are so many factors with cruise pricing.

Just a few come to mind...Date of cruise, when one booked, type of booking sale, applicable C&A-resident-senior military etc. discounts, number in a cabin, and so on. Then there may be certain travel agent or RCCL incentives to factor in.

We have a price point we are comfortable paying, and that is our starting point. If we are considering a cruise date, and the price is less than our price point, then we think we have a good deal. If the price is higher, then we might book a lower type cabin or look for a different date. Sometimes we want to sail a certain date only so we pay the going rate.

Good luck

M

Yes, there definitely are many variables. That is why I wanted to put something together. You could look at similar cruising dates (like October Oasis cruise 8 months out) and see what others have paid in the past. I have columns in the spreadsheet for:Date Booked (so you can see how far in advance it was purchased)

Ship

Price

# nights

Sale Date

Itinerary (Easter Caribbean is usually more expensive than Western)

Cabin Type

# People in Cabin

Any OBC?

Any Discounts (C&A, Military, etc)

Residency

Notes: for any other details on your booking.

I wanted to put something together as it is IMPOSSIBLE to know if any RCL sale is a good deal or not on its own due to their pricing.

For example, I track the pricing on our cruises (Oasis Class) so I know that a good price is under $1800 for an Ocean View Balcony. But look at how the pricing on our October cruise has moved around since Feb when we booked. If you are booking closer to the cruise date, you would understand that prices tend to be higher (as the below shows).

Oct 1 - 8 Allure Eastern Caribbean Cruise Ocean View Balcony

Booked Feb 12th: $1,793.32

2-22: $1834.32

2-24: $1874.32

2-28: $1856.98

3-2: $1981.32

3-8: $2032

3-14 & 3-22: $2304 & $200 OBC

4-2: $2303 & $200 OBC

4-27: $2,615

5-1 & 5-10 & 5-19: $2,583

5-26: $2,641

6-1: $2,807

6-13 & 6-19: $2,822

6-22: $2,947

Just throwing this out as an idea to help know when a price looks like a good deal.

I think this is a great idea. Definitely shouldn't make it exclusive to Oasis class though.

I think this is a great idea. Definitely shouldn't make it exclusive to Oasis class though.

If people would use it / benefit from it I can easily save a file for each Class (or use a separate tab for each class).

I wanted to see if it works if someone else adds a cruise to the spreadsheet. It does not have to be real data -- just add anything and let me know so I can then access it and see if it updated.

I am not sure if you have to "Save" it somehow when you are done. Or just Exit. That is what I want to try and figure out.

I wanted to see if it works if someone else adds a cruise to the spreadsheet. It does not have to be real data -- just add anything and let me know so I can then access it and see if it updated.

 

I am not sure if you have to "Save" it somehow when you are done. Or just Exit. That is what I want to try and figure out.

there ya go. all i did was fill it out and close the window

Looks like it worked!!! For those not wanting to click on the link, here is a screenshot of what it looks like. I started with my 3 cruises (Allure, Oasis, Harmony) and Cool Cruiser added the sample Jewel cruise.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/v4zp6i5kq258w8w/Screenshot%202017-06-22%2011.22.31.png?dl=0

(Had to post a link to the screenshot as I can't get the file size small enough to post an image here).

I assume we are just posting cabin fare? No taxes port fees, etc I will post our upcoming Oasis for October and look back to see if I can find our last Allure.

I assume we are just posting cabin fare? No taxes port fees, etc I will post our upcoming Oasis for October and look back to see if I can find our last Allure.

I was using my final price that included everything (taxes and port fees). I just added that those were included in the Notes field.

I was using my final price that included everything (taxes and port fees). I just added that those were included in the Notes field.

Just saw that and included mine also. I couldn't find a "SAVE" command so just closed it out, but it looks like it saved my data.

There's a fairly well known website out there that you can see past prices for any cruise and how the price changed over time.

There's a fairly well known website out there that you can see past prices for any cruise and how the price changed over time.

Yeah, but if this is maintained we won't have to keep "fishing" for other websites. We can just link up on this

Someone mentioned a site to me privately but when I checked it out their forums had posts about the prices not being accurate. Maybe it was a different site.

I was using my final price that included everything (taxes and port fees). I just added that those were included in the Notes field.

I used my final price as well. The only thing I didn't include were gratuities.

I looked at a "fishy" site that is supposed to track prices and none of the prices are correct (off by hundreds of $$) for the cruises I have booked and have been tracking the past 4 months.

Just entered 2 of my cruises on Allure & Symphony, and an additional suggestion you need a separate column for any balcony discounts to identify apples and oranges. I entered it as a note and also entered as a note any obcs from my TA-- if of any value.

I looked at a "fishy" site that is supposed to track prices and none of the prices are correct (off by hundreds of $$) for the cruises I have booked and have been tracking the past 4 months.

The site, just like any shared spreadsheet, does not account for things like resident, C&A, and other various discounts.

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The site, just like any shared spreadsheet, does not account for things like resident, C&A, and other various discounts.

 

 

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I understand, but it was so far off. I figured out what was wrong... I was reading the table wrong on the site I was looking at. It had "2P" at the top which I incorrectly assumed was the rate for 2 people. But that is the per person rate based on double occupancy.

I posted total cost for two people with port taxes and fees. I included only the RCL OBC and not anything I got from my TA.

Ok, I get the concept, but.... you are assuming that people will provide accurate information, and that people will not lie. Then, the staleness factor, how do you two years from now account for a completely different economic climate for example 2007 and 2009.... two years and yet two different universes...

Hello, may I introduce you to the internet. Home to fake news, science that is unproven, and opinions that are just wrong.......:evilsmile:

Waste of time and effort, but please enjoy yourselves and keep tilting at those windmills, because a knight has to do what a knight has to do.

JC:halo:

Ok, I get the concept, but.... you are assuming that people will provide accurate information, and that people will not lie. Then, the staleness factor, how do you two years from now account for a completely different economic climate for example 2007 and 2009.... two years and yet two different universes...

 

Hello, may I introduce you to the internet. Home to fake news, science that is unproven, and opinions that are just wrong.......:evilsmile:

 

Waste of time and effort, but please enjoy yourselves and keep tilting at those windmills, because a knight has to do what a knight has to do.

 

JC:halo:

Using that logic, why even post on forums if they are filled with lies? I guess I have a less cynical perspective of people who would take the time to share their information. Wait... maybe your entire post was a lie. :rolleyes:

The fact that you could sort by when a person booked their cruse removes the staleness / time factor.

However, the past 24 hours I have used the "fish" site someone mentioned to me yesterday. Once I figured out how to use it, it seems to do a good job of showing price trends so this spreadsheet is probably not needed since that tool already exists.

^ cruise plum also has historical data, though not quite as granular.

Ok, I get the concept, but.... you are assuming that people will provide accurate information, and that people will not lie. Then, the staleness factor, how do you two years from now account for a completely different economic climate for example 2007 and 2009.... two years and yet two different universes...

 

Hello, may I introduce you to the internet. Home to fake news, science that is unproven, and opinions that are just wrong.......:evilsmile:

 

Waste of time and effort, but please enjoy yourselves and keep tilting at those windmills, because a knight has to do what a knight has to do.

 

JC:halo:

Thanks for the input we will give it all the consideration it's due.

Oh wow nice job and thank you for helping us. I also continue with my own rules, book the day the schedule is out or wait past the final payment if you are flexible. No matter what people say ever since I'm sailing with Royal my cabin price drops over 100-200$

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