Just booked Liberty sailing from Bayonne

[angelofsin]

I am glad to see that I am not alone in thinking these prices were a bit excessive. I get that is a higher class ship than the explorer but I am going to have to go across the water to NYC and try NCL or Carnival to get a better price.

[emmy]

I am sitting and waiting as well

 

My 12 night Quantum in April/15 is less than the 9 night Liberty sailing...nope going to wait:)

[yj2cute]

If it comes down to it, I wouldn't have much choice. My only other option is to fly somewhere...while still more expensive, it gets the price closer. I guess I was just hoping for Florida prices.

 

Well then my post doesn't apply to you. I'm referring to the people who will cancel if the price doesn't come down.

 

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[Guest maddycat]

If it comes down to it, I wouldn't have much choice. My only other option is to fly somewhere...while still more expensive, it gets the price closer. I guess I was just hoping for Florida prices.

 

You should look into Celebrity. The Summit is a great ship and it also sails out of Bayonne. However, I think that she only does 7 night Bermuda cruises.

[racerxspeedy]

Agreed - don't book now.

 

Explain this to me: Why would anyone book the Liberty to go to Bermuda for 5 days at 4000, or 3000, or even 2000 when Norwegian is offering 7 days on the Breakaway this May for 1500 OV, balcony 1900? Two more days at half the price. Simple economics - Supply and demand drive price. There is not enough of a difference between explorer and liberty to justify the current price.

[Ocean Boy]

Looks like the prices might already be coming down. The sailing is now showing $4337.00 for two people in an E2 cabin. :)

 

Still a ridiculous price... in my opinion of course.

[TravelerThom]

I agree. If people book with the intention of waiting for a price drop it won't happen because you're filling up the cabins. Only if Royal sees empty cabins will they drop the price. Booking now at a price you have no intention of paying defeats the purpose...

I am retired and quite often pick up great deals (such as the 14 day TransAtlantic at just over $400 I am about to take) after Final Payment, when the cruise line gets desperate to fill cabins. I think everyone should book all those cabins at the current ridiculous rates, then cancel immediately before Final Payment. RCI will panic, rates will drop precipitately and I will then swoop in and get a "New Booking Only" at a very low price.:)

 

Thom

[A&L_Ont]

Still a ridiculous price... in my opinion of course.

 

I'm right there with you, ridiculous prices.

[roe2ship]

This is the exact reason why Quantum of the Seas is setting sail for China......You won't pay the prices now for Liberty, you surely won't pay the prices they want for Quantum.

 

That is why it's going to China where it will get those rates.

 

 

Jimbo:)

Explorer had premium pricing every single Summer she was in Bayonne no matter how old she got. On a per day basis, the prices were sometimes just as high as Oasis and Allure during the Summer. There is no doubt in my mind that the NY/NJ market will have been willing to pay a lot more for Quantum with it being a brand new ship. The differences between Explorer and Liberty are so minimal that it simply does not justify the significant increase in prices.

[Dave85]

Welp, we reacted to the ridiculous Liberty pricing by booking Oasis instead :D

 

If I'm going to open my pocketbook for anything out of Bayonne it will be Anthem. I could not and will not justify paying that premium for Liberty.

[Jimbo]

Don't judge the Liberty prices for summer sailings to Bermuda.............to the Winter/Spring Prices on Quantum.........thats just plain not right.........

 

 

If you think Liberty prices are high for the summer, then you would never want to see how high the prices for Quantum would have been for summer sailings..............and that is why it's going to China........they will pay those high rates.

 

This might seem like a last minute thing that rccl did, but don't bet the house on it that this wasn't the plan all along.

 

 

Jimbo:)

[Loyal2Royal1995]

I was waiting to see what would happen where quantum can't sail to Bermuda, really pleased to see liberty, I think this should be her home port, kinda nice with the Statue of Liberty, BUT I won't pay those prices... I just came back 3 weeks ago off the EOS and had a grand suite on a 10 night for the price they are asking for a balcony.

 

 

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[MaritimeR&R]

Agree in principle, but I wanted a specific cabin. If it was unavailable I would have defaulted back to "any balcony will do" and not reserved yet. I suspect that there will still be a ton of unsold rooms.

 

Like you, I agree in principle, but this was a long-planned family cruise with my children and their kids that was originally planned to be held on the Quantum . When that got axed, I looked at Liberty and after recovering from the sticker shock for a 5 ni cruise, I booked now because I need specific cabin types and want them next to or as close as possible to one another. I am prepared to pay the price for all the cabins but am hoping for my pocketbooks sake that their a drops. Time will tell.

[LovesCruising]

I'm excited about Liberty sailing out of my homeport, but not at those prices. I'm going to sit and wait too.

 

Losing interest in RCI after some of the recent choices they've made. If I didn't have 4 NCCs, we'd jump over to Celebrity.

 

Have to completely agree

 

Looks like the prices might already be coming down. The sailing is now showing $4337.00 for two people in an E2 cabin. :)

 

WHAT???:eek: For an E2? No Way!

[LovesCruising]

I am glad to see that I am not alone in thinking these prices were a bit excessive. I get that is a higher class ship than the explorer but I am going to have to go across the water to NYC and try NCL or Carnival to get a better price.

 

:) Agree

[beachbuddy]

I won't be booking Liberty anytime soon. Those prices are crazy!! We did 5 nights on Liberty the end of November in a promenade cabin and paid less than $700 for everything including tips. And we even got $25 OBC from Royal. If prices don't come down we'll be booking Florida cruises. I met people on the ship that paid even less than us at the last minute and they had a balcony.

 

 

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[GJM]

We just got off Liberty yesterday out of Ft. Lauderdale, it was booked very last minute. We had a balcony cabin and a promenade cabin. I think total we paid $1900 for 4 people. The promenade cabin was $249 per person before taxes. It was cheaper to take a cruise then book a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale on the beach.

 

Those prices are crazy

[beachbuddy]

We just got off Liberty yesterday out of Ft. Lauderdale, it was booked very last minute. We had a balcony cabin and a promenade cabin. I think total we paid $1900 for 4 people. The promenade cabin was $249 per person before taxes. It was cheaper to take a cruise then book a hotel in Ft. Lauderdale on the beach.

 

Those prices are crazy

 

Yep, that's what I say. Guess I'll be flying from NJ to Florida to cruise.

[Dave85]

If I were an airline exec I'd be very excited reading this thread LOL. I'd probably send flowers to Adam Goldstein and whoever heads up the revenue department at RCI.

 

 

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[beachbuddy]

If I were an airline exec I'd be very excited reading this thread LOL. I'd probably send flowers to Adam Goldstein and whoever heads up the revenue department at RCI.

 

 

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Hahaha. Good one!!

 

 

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[crisndeefromde]

If I were an airline exec I'd be very excited reading this thread LOL. I'd probably send flowers to Adam Goldstein and whoever heads up the revenue department at RCI.

 

 

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Good one

[A&L_Ont]

If I were an airline exec I'd be very excited reading this thread LOL. I'd probably send flowers to Adam Goldstein and whoever heads up the revenue department at RCI.

 

 

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Made me laugh.

[MaritimeR&R]

I took a few minutes to research the 5 night Bermuda sailing prices for August of 2013 on the Explorer and compared them to the same time period this year for Liberty. This is basically what I found.

 

With the exception of the suite categories (which rose anywhere from $500.pp and up) the balcony, outside, and interior cabin prices for Liberty this year rose anywhere from $200. to $300.pp as compared to the initial pricing on Explorer August 2013.

 

With one or two exceptions for inside categories that lasted for about a week (price drop of approximately $200. pp) and category Z which ended $40. pp cheaper than it began, there were no price drops for the other categories. On the contrary, prices ended anywhere from $60pp to $150.pp more by the time Explorer sailed. Insofar as I could tell, both August 2013 sailings were at full capacity.

 

I can only assume that given Explorer's booking history, the rising price for fuel, and the difference between a Freedom class versus Voyager, RCCL is projecting that the Liberty Bermuda sailings will do just as well as Explorer's did, perhaps even better.

 

If history proves to be true, the pricing on Liberty will go up, not down. :-(

[marci22]

If history proves to be true, the pricing on Liberty will go up, not down. :-(

 

If they can get higher prices than what are currently posted I really will be surprised. There comes a time when people simply cannot afford a price point.

 

I usually budget 5k for my family of 5 for the 5 night Bermuda (and I think that's a lot!) I've paid around $500 more or less over the years. I mix up the categories depending on sales. I have done a combination of GS, interiors, JS and Ds.

 

This does not include extras/excursions.

 

Once I get over the $5500 max price point for this 5 nighter, although very convenient, my interest plummets. Severely.

 

And I am at the point where I no longer have to do peak summer sailings, but it seems that the May prices have jumped as well. So far I'm not buying.

Edited April 19, 2014 by marci22

[A&L_Ont]

If they can get higher prices than what are currently posted I really will be surprised. There comes a time when people simply cannot afford a price point.

 

I usually budget 5k for my family of 5 for the 5 night Bermuda (and I think that's a lot!) I've paid around $500 more or less over the years. I mix up the categories depending on sales. I have done a combination of GS, interiors, JS and Ds.

 

This does not include extras/excursions.

 

Once I get over the $5500 max price point for this 5 nighter, although very convenient, my interest plummets. Severely.

 

And I am at the point where I no longer have to do peak summer sailings, but it seems that the May prices have jumped as well. So far I'm not buying.

 

With the pricing I have seen airfare to FLL and a seven night sailing might become a better option. In saying that it sounds crazy, especially when I see you are from Jersey. RC want new ship prices for Liberty and the ship is 7 this year. If I lived in NY/NJ area I would miss the convince but I would be looking at Florida options.

 

I feel for the cruisers that were looking forward to having Quantum all year and have lost it. It is like RC dropped you because they found a better date to the prom.