Prices??

[Cruise Junky]

How can people continue to book RCI? Are you really feeling their prices are inline with other lines?

 

We want to book a 7 day Mexican Riviera for late April 2006. Same dates, same itinerary. Balcony Cabin:

 

RCI Vison of the Seas = 1,349

Princess Sapphire (brand new ship) = 1,149

HAL Osterdam = 1,305.

 

Why would anyone want to sail a ship as old as Vision when it's the most expensive out there? I love RCI, but for $400 for the two of us, Princess is my choice.

[Merion_Mom]

Have a fabulous time on your Princess cruise.

 

Carol

[Kaylas Mom]

I think the start of the thread tries to be a bit too provacative, but there is a gem of truth here. We just booked a Baltic Cruise for summmer 2006. I had waited and waited for Jewel to open but when it did, I was shocked by the prices and surprised that I couldn't seem to find a discount anywhere -- all the on-line agencies, even the deep cut ones, were exactly the same to the penny as RCCI.

 

Anyway, I went over to Princess and booked the same itinerary, same dates on a wonderful ship, the Star Princess and saved -- I am not making this up -- $3,400 on two balcony cabins.

 

I love RCCI, but I think they had better rethink this new rule about discounting.

[bUU]

I disagree. Rather, now that they have a more direct tie to the customer, they should adjust their prices based on what they learn about the market, in terms of how much folks are willing to pay.

 

As long as the ships are full, they're not overcharging. When the bookings decline, they know they need to reduce fares. Simple.

[Ocean Boy]

I don't think it just comes down to whether or not the ships are sailing full. If they are sailing full with many repeat customers on board then that is a good thing as these folks are likely to keep coming back. If they are sailing full with mostly first time cruisers on board then that may not be such a good thing as many of them may never become repeat cruisers. If in the future your ships are not so full dropping your price may not attract your formers customers back.

 

It isn't good to give your customers a reason to try the competition. They might just find out that they like it better "over there". And it is always important to keep a present customer happy and coming back rather then constantly trying to attract a new customer in who may just be there for a one shot deal.

 

There were many repeaters on all of my RCI cruises. Those numbers were significant enough that if they were not there it would have had a major impact on the revenue production of those sailings.

 

One thing is for sure, I would not label the matter as "simple". I think it is anything but that.

[NYDee]

I did some research on pricing for the Baltic cruise next summer for Princess and RCI and couldn't find that great a descrepency in pricing. What I found was the Princess cruise was $209 less pp for double occupancy than the RCI. However the cruise was also 2 days shorter. Princess is 10 days and RCI is 12.

 

Many people, not all, have stated that they would be willing to pay more for better food and service. I have no complaints about the food or service. Maybe this is the first step in upgrading it. I am glad prices are increasing so that people looking for the RCI experience will be my fellow passengers rather than people looking for the cheapest cruise experience.

 

Flame away!

[normaxs]

NY Dee,

Have to agree with you. Once I pick my itinerary, I check all the major lines are rarely find a big difference. If there is one, I look more carefully and usually will find there are less days or flights from departure port is more expensive.

I've learned to really do my research before I book.

Norma

[dougp26364]

Originally, I had booked NCL out of Seattle for our Sept. cruise in 2006. When RCI came out with Vision sailing out of Seattle and the price was $190 pp cheaper, we switched back to RCI. NCL's price for a balcony catagory AF cabin was $1,489. A Cat. JS cabin for RCI started out at $1,299. The price of the same cabin on RCI is now $1,519. I have no idea what the AF cabin would be on NCL.

 

Plus, with RCI we are Plat. members so we will also get a $100 discount for booking a balcony cabin, making the price difference $240 pp. Each cruise will be a case by case situation for us. Price is a major consideration as I don't believe there will be that much difference between cabins and service at the level we can afford. Benfits of being Platinum members is a small consideration as I anticipate we'll enjoy those privledges.

 

Why do some people continue to book an older ship when newer ships are out there and cost less? Some people are very happy with RCI and comfortable that they know what they're getting for one. As far as Vision, or any ship for that matter, being older. IMO, that doesn't matter. All lines seem to keep their ships in like new condition anymore. So to us that's not a consideration at all. Some people like the older, smaller ships vs the newer, larger mega ships. I'm sure there are several more reasons for people to cont. to book RCI, even if the itenerary is more expensive. Personally, I'm more loyal to my pocket book and so far, RCI's prices have been inline with or better than the compitition, even with their new no rebating policies.

[greatdanemom]

Shucks, I thought booking RCI was a bargain after stepping off of my recent Disney cruise!!! :o I love the mouse but he cleaned out my savings account...

[Cruise Junky]

I have to agree that giving up quality for a couple of dollars isn't worth it, but I've sailed Princess as many times as I have RCI and in my opinion, they are very comparable. I would never pay less to sail NCL or Carnival. But by booking Sapphire, my balcony is almost twice the size. Too bad, I would have liked to go back to RCI.

[JCSM-Mom]

I am glad prices are increasing so that people looking for the RCI experience will be my fellow passengers rather than people looking for the cheapest cruise experience.

 

Flame away!

 

No flames here Dee. I have to agree. This will be my first RCI cruise. I chose it for the amenities, not for the $$. But, then I also pay top $$ to take my kids on Disney's Land/Sea Packages. Disney also, is not the most inexpensive cruise line around, but it's great for the kids. I have heard that RCI is the BEST cruise line for families (after Disney of course)....so that is what attracted us.

 

Happy sailing.:D

[Sigtau21]

Supply and demand... If someone is willing to pay $1000 why would you lower the price? On the whole, until they have a drop in consumers, I doubt they will drop prices.

[Ocean Boy]

I am glad prices are increasing so that people looking for the RCI experience will be my fellow passengers rather than people looking for the cheapest cruise experience.

 

Flame away!

Yeah, get those prices up. We don't want any "riff raff" finding its way onto an RCI ship. Cruising needs to go back to being the domain of the financially elite. :rolleyes:

 

I'm sure RCI sets rates by some economic reasoning and not by who you would like to have on the ship with you.

 

You did ask for a flame....

[wblynch]

Out of curiosity, were the cruises beig compared at the "brochure rate" or at least at the official web site of the different lines ?

 

I'd bet the street pricing differences are related more to the "no discounts" rule at Royal Caribbean than the list price.

 

I know that it is inconsequential what the list price is since people pay the street price but I'm sure if RCCL is able to make their policy stick that Princess and Holland America will follow suit.

 

Our next cruise is booked on Holland-America out of protest to RCCL's policy.

We are apprehensive about Holland-America but maintain optimism.

 

We have relatives and friends that have endured some heartbreaking disappointments on HAL, Princess, Carnival and NCL. No one we know personally has been disappointed with their Royal Caribbean cruise.

 

We have always been very happy with our RCCL cruises.

[NYDee]

Yeah, get those prices up. We don't want any "riff raff" finding its way onto an RCI ship. Cruising needs to go back to being the domain of the financially elite. :rolleyes:

 

I'm sure RCI sets rates by some economic reasoning and not by who you would like to have on the ship with you.

 

You did ask for a flame....

 

I didn't mention "riff raff" which is different than people looking for the cheapest commodity. And your are correct, RCI sets rates according to economic reasons. I would think that if some of the stories of spring break cruises with wild kids are true that there was considerable cost for repairs and replacements. Thus a good reason to increase the rates for 3rd and 4th passengers in a cabin. An economic consideration. Keeping the investors happy has to be concern number one for any business.

[Aldeya]

I don't think it just comes down to whether or not the ships are sailing full. If they are sailing full with many repeat customers on board then that is a good thing as these folks are likely to keep coming back. If they are sailing full with mostly first time cruisers on board then that may not be such a good thing as many of them may never become repeat cruisers. If in the future your ships are not so full dropping your price may not attract your formers customers back.

 

It isn't good to give your customers a reason to try the competition. They might just find out that they like it better "over there". And it is always important to keep a present customer happy and coming back rather then constantly trying to attract a new customer in who may just be there for a one shot deal.

 

There were many repeaters on all of my RCI cruises. Those numbers were significant enough that if they were not there it would have had a major impact on the revenue production of those sailings.

 

One thing is for sure, I would not label the matter as "simple". I think it is anything but that.

 

Excellent post. I was able to find a great Mastercard giftcard deal for my July' cruise before these perks were terminated also.

 

Anyway, as Ocean Boy said the returning customers should be very important. I can't start counting how many people I encouraged to try cruising after my first 2 cruises. It's a free advertising for a cruiseline.

 

After 6 cruises on RCI (actually going on 7 in July) I'm looking at another line. The prices are too steep right now.

 

Who knows may be we'll like "there" better. :)

[atljoo]

No flames here Dee. I have to agree. This will be my first RCI cruise. I chose it for the amenities, not for the $$. But, then I also pay top $$ to take my kids on Disney's Land/Sea Packages. Disney also, is not the most inexpensive cruise line around, but it's great for the kids. I have heard that RCI is the BEST cruise line for families (after Disney of course)....so that is what attracted us.

 

Happy sailing.:D

 

We booked for the "family atmosphere" on RCCL, too. We did Disney Wonder in Jan 04, and the cost was significant but manageable. I believe people will pay what they are comfortable with. Any product you purchase can be bought cheaper somewhere. It's your experience before, during and after that count the most to us. If I'm happy paying x-number of dollars for an RCCL cruise, so be it. There are certainly enough ships out there for everyone's taste.

 

We looked at flying/hotel in the Caribbean during the same week, and the money was equal when we averaged in our food costs. Plus, if we hated the resort or the island we're stuck for 7 days. At least with a cruise we move on to the next port.

[Ericknow32]

I have heard that RCI is the BEST cruise line for families (after Disney of course)....so that is what attracted us.

 

Happy sailing.:D

Um, I would say that RCI is the best cruise line for families ahead of Disney. My mane reason is that RCI has things for everyone in the family. Disney is primarily just for the kids.

[Ocean Boy]

I didn't mention "riff raff" which is different than people looking for the cheapest commodity. And your are correct, RCI sets rates according to economic reasons. I would think that if some of the stories of spring break cruises with wild kids are true that there was considerable cost for repairs and replacements. Thus a good reason to increase the rates for 3rd and 4th passengers in a cabin. An economic consideration. Keeping the investors happy has to be concern number one for any business.

All of what you say is true. I also know some wonderful people who are not so economically well off who who would very much enjoy the "RCI experience." Not all folks looking for the cheapest commodity fall into the spring breaker catagory. And the points you raise are exactly the reason why RCI has a minimum age for the primary person booking a cabin. There are ways to avoid a ship being trashed other than fare structure. And, by the way, there are some spring breakers with some very wealthy parents. So price is not necessarily going to keep them from boarding.

[NYDee]

All of what you say is true. I also know some wonderful people who are not so economically well off who who would very much enjoy the "RCI experience." Not all folks looking for the cheapest commodity fall into the spring breaker catagory. And the points you raise are exactly the reason why RCI has a minimum age for the primary person booking a cabin. There are ways to avoid a ship being trashed other than fare structure. And, by the way, there are some spring breakers with some very wealthy parents. So price is not necessarily going to keep them from boarding.

 

Sometimes children of wealthy parents have the least respect for other's property. I still prefer to cruise with people who chose the ship for its ammenities and atmosphere even though they may have booked the cheapest cabin and not because they booked the cheapest cruise they could find.

[ajpack]

How can people continue to book RCI? Are you really feeling their prices are inline with other lines?

 

We want to book a 7 day Mexican Riviera for late April 2006. Same dates, same itinerary. Balcony Cabin:

 

RCI Vison of the Seas = 1,349

Princess Sapphire (brand new ship) = 1,149

HAL Osterdam = 1,305.

 

Why would anyone want to sail a ship as old as Vision when it's the most expensive out there? I love RCI, but for $400 for the two of us, Princess is my choice.

 

The cruise we plan to book on Celebrity for the Mexican Riviera in March of 2006 is only $1100 for 11 nights! It's an outside cabin, not a balcony.

[Cruzenbabe2]

I also believe that RCI has really become too expensive for the average working class family.

 

Try to look for deals with your company or place of busiiness. Ask your travel agent what kind of specials they have right now.

 

I work for USairways and we have what they call "interline rates".

 

We just came off the Explorer and I paid 599 per person which included port charges. With taxes, our total cruise was 1270.00. It was an inside cabin, but, I didn't care, I got the same kind of servcie as someone who paid over a grand, plus, I just wanted a chance to be on a Voyager class ship without breaking my bank account. And with free air from Philly, me and hubby were very happy campers. I looked on RCCL website, this same cabin was going for 1,009 p/p and that didn't include port charges.

 

So, always have a talk with your agent, you never know what's out there.

[Jenna1983]

I was originally scheduled to go on the Voyager of the Seas to Bermuda last weekend for a wedding, but the bride ended up pregnant and had to cancel her wedding for then. It was going to cost $2400 for 3 people for 5 nights.

 

We then were all going to book the Enchantment next January with family for the 5 night sailing. However, all of the family backed out and my dad decided he didn't want to go on a cruise without my brother, with just my mom & I. It was going to cost us approximately $2100 with taxes for 3.

 

My mom and I then decided to go to another cruise line and we paid $1700 for 7 1/2 nights. It was a good cruise and I'd still like to try RCI on a big ship because of the ice rink LOL However, we might be trying Disney (Friends/Family discount of an employee).

 

Don't all cruise lines have a minimum age? Because My best friend just tried to book on Carnival and she's 20, her boyfriend, 23. They told her unless they take a parent, she's not boarding the ship since she's not 21.

[Kaylas Mom]

Let me explain further about why I reckon to have saved a bundle moving from RCCI (our preferred line) to Princess (a terrific line and a new and lovely ship)

 

First, I am aware the cruise is two days shorter, but it covers the same ports and even adds an additional one. In my mind, it's the same itinenary and two sea days are not worth $3,400.

 

I am booking two cabins on a Scandinvian/Russia cruise. I had planned to book with RCCI. As with all my past cruises I:

 

a) called the cruise line and got their best price.

 

b) checked the price with my local TA.

 

c) checked the price with expedia, travelocity, yahoo, cruise.com, etc.

 

d) checked the price with a large internet only on-line agency with which I have booked three previous cruises.

 

In all my previous cruises, Option D was around $1,000 cheaper than the next cheapest option (Option c) and usually $1,500 cheaper than Option a or b.

 

THIS TIME, I called all four and all four quoted me the identical price on RCCI.

 

Then I did the same thing on the Star Princess. Like all previous cruises, option D -- booking with the on-line only agency was a LOT cheaper.

 

In fact, booking the Princess ship through the on-line agency saved almost exactly $3,400 vs. what booking the Jewel would have cost.

 

The two cruises I have booked on the other line cost EXACTLY $3,400 LESS THAN the cabins I wanted to buy on RCCI. LESS THAN the price supplied by the RCCI reservation agent - not some ridiculous brochure price.

 

Don't get me wrong. I LOVE RCCI, but I don't love paying too much for a cruise.

[Kaylas Mom]

I also should have added, Dee, that I agree with you about how to choose a cruise. We would never choose based soley on price. We book based mainly on itinerary and also on the quality of the ship. I scour the reviews posted here and elsewhere, I look at amenities, etc. After a thorough read through everything I could find, I found very little substantive difference between the RCCI Jewel and the Star Princess. In fact, several posters on the Baltics Board prefer the Star Princess to the Jewel.

 

I did sail on NCL once, not because of price, but because of their creative "around Hawaii" itinerary. We didn't like it nearly as much as RCCI, but we all admitted that any cruise is a nice cruise and we relaxed and had an amazing time. It wasn't torture -- it was still a great vacation. And there were features that we liked better than RCCI -- the bathrooms were much nicer, the Freestyle dining feature was nice, and disembarking was head and shoulders above our RCCI cruises. Will we sail on NCL again -- probably not, but maybe if the itinerary is good.

 

I used to think that we would only sail RCCI because we were "RCCI people". Now I see my snobbishness might have been costing me money, and keeping me from exploring something fun and new and different.

 

We are cruising in August to Alaska. Looked at RCCI, but we had already done the same old RCCI itinerary and wanted something new so we went with Princess. Prices at that time (with the mastercard rebate program still in existence) were roughly similar. Then I booked the Baltic thing for summer 2006 based on itinerary, ship reviews, AND price. And so, Princess is getting my $10,000 in cruise costs next year, not RCCI.