No more last minute deals

Thank you for the link to the article.

Very interesting.

I'm not convinced they'll be able to do this across the board. If they have avails, they'll want to fill them.

But I have an idea for folks at RCCL (or anyone else listening): offer credits if the price of someone's room goes down, even after final payment is made.

If a cruise line wants to show that it's aligning its interests with those of its customers, that's the way to do it. Then they can discount last-minute all they want... but it'll cost 'em. ;)

Thanks for sharing the article.

Keith

Quite interesting! Thanks for the link.

More consistency in pricing would be appreciated by many of us who do not wait until the last minute to book. :)

LuLu

They've been trying to do this for years... yet, still there are last-minute deals. Why? Because there will always be sailings that don't book up as much/quickly, and as their main source of profit is on-board spend, they will want to fill up those cabins.

The only way that RCI can show it's committed to not offering last-minute discounts is by letting cabins go empty, and I'm not sure they're prepared to do that.

The only way that RCI can show it's committed to not offering last-minute discounts is by letting cabins go empty, and I'm not sure they're prepared to do that.[/color][/size][/font]

I agree. I don't see how this is a good policy for them, especially in this market.

Burt

They've been trying to do this for years... yet, still there are last-minute deals. Why? Because there will always be sailings that don't book up as much/quickly, and as their main source of profit is on-board spend, they will want to fill up those cabins.

The only way that RCI can show it's committed to not offering last-minute discounts is by letting cabins go empty, and I'm not sure they're prepared to do that.

They are just trying scare cruisers into buying early. They lose significant revenue with every empty cabin and their marginal cost of adding last minute pax is close to nothing.

I think Carnival Corp said they were going to sail with vacant cabins rather than deep discounting. Not sure how it has worked.

Quite interesting! Thanks for the link.

More consistency in pricing would be appreciated by many of us who do not wait until the last minute to book. :)

LuLu

Agreed!

They are just trying scare cruisers into buying early. They lose significant revenue with every empty cabin and their marginal cost of adding last minute pax is close to nothing.

Royal's CEO was not just talking to potential customers. That statement was also for the company's shareholders (See we are doing things to try to improve profitability), and I suspect for the CEO's of the other two large cruise companies (OK guys between the three of us we have a 75% market share in this industry. Can we now try to practice a little more pricing discipline? nudge, nudge ;) ;) ).

Thanks for posting. I sail on a line that is considered somewhat "upscale" but it has its share of passengers who only sail on "deals". Those who must book early because of special needs or time constraints then complain that the line is "forcing" them to pay higher fares. It's come to be expected so much that some board members ask others about booking strategies for particular sailings. Yet the same people who want the "deals" then complain of "cutbacks".

Effective last year, vessels over a certain size had to meet staffing levels, time off, and housing standards according to the "MLC2006" maritime labor convention. So they cannot cut fares, for example, by sailing with 20 less cabin stewards.

Cruise lines have shot themselves in the foot with this continuous cycle of deeper and deeper fare cuts that cannot be financially sustained.

I have to admit, I'm one of those that HAS to book way in advance (due to my job and time restraints) and always get jealous when they give away the last minute deals, but it is what it is and if you "plan" it right, it can still be a better deal to book early.

I normally sail with NCL and always book when they have their Kids Sail Free Promo or the ...everyone after the first 2 paying customers pay is free promo and I can tell you that even at the discounted prices at the end, I STILL pay less for my cruises. So if people plan ahead and watch for the sales, you can still get an awesome deal.

However if I lived in Florida and could do a last minute sailing, I would jump right on that.

I really can't see how any of the cruise lines would just sail empty on the rooms vs getting them booked at a discount deal right before sailing. They would just be losing too much money. Yes, I'm sure they want to increase their loyalty to their customers, but bottom line is always money. This should be interesting to see how it all turns out. :)

As long as the cruise lines let me take full advantage of price drops before final payment, I have no problem with last minute deals. It's no different than any retail business out there. They all lower prices to liquidate slow moving inventory. It's just smart business.

However, it would be nice if the situation went away entirely. As understanding as I am about the process, it does sting a bit to be paying twice what someone else is paying just because I planned ahead and they jumped in at the last minute. ;)

Some times, some cruise lines limit their late booking special pricing to new bookings only and do not match the prices for those who booked early. The theory is we got choose which cabin we wanted by booking early and they held it for us so that could be considered what we may be paying 'extra' for.

Some times, some cruise lines limit their late booking special pricing to new bookings only and do not match the prices for those who booked early. The theory is we got choose which cabin we wanted by booking early and they held it for us so that could be considered what we may be paying 'extra' for.

Too many however demand to have it both ways. On Cunard many late promotions are guarantee category only and one doesn't get to choose between early or late seating for dinner. Tables for two (by far the most popular) get assigned according to booking date. To most of us it's reasonable that those who booked early at full freight should get choice and priority. Nonetheless I read of complaints that one's health requires early dining, no HC cabins are available, one needs mid-ship due to propensity of motion sickness, etc, etc.

What happens when an itinerary can be filled only with deep discounting? The line doesn't repeat the itinerary and/or pulls out of that embarkation port. Saks Fifth Avenue stops carrying a designer if the clothing can only be sold at below-cost markdowns.

The past two years I've read requests on the Cunard board asking for B2B NY-Southampton-NY sailings. Maybe there's a reason they don't? Like having to deeply discount those sailings in the past? Or once people do get on board their spending is nearly zero?

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-10-27/royal-caribbean-to-cruisers-stop-expecting-last-minute-discounts#r=rss

Even more important to the effort will be a cruise industry without any major new PR blows dominating cable television, the kind of events Carnival executives term “voyage disruptions.”

Having your ship stop working or sink is considered a voyage disruption? Then what is losing your luggage called?