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Just wondering if Royal is really filling their ships

caribbean sailor
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MADflyer

MADflyer

Posted
Posted

A year ago this week I was able to get an amazing deal on a September Legend TA from Oslo to Bayonne via Iceland. They were giving away cabins and I paid only $359 for a 14 night sailing.

 

This certainly is not the case this year. Due to inventory shifts, I think RCI have one less TA this year than last and both the Brilliance and Serenade TA sailings appear to be sailing full.

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RadioRob

RadioRob

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Posted

I'm somewhat confused by so many people thinking the cost of a cruise is so outrageous.

 

I just took a quick look on RCL's site and see rates as low as 67.25 per night per person (and that factors in the cost of the port taxes). I'm seeing anywhere from that to about 500 per night per person for a Transatlantic from England to Boston.

 

The average cost of a hotel room per night in the US is $137 per night plus taxes according to hotels.com. The average cost for city taxes is 13.73% nationally. That brings the cost to $155.81 per night. And that cost does not include meals, entertainment, etc. And that's taking the AVERAGE costs!

 

If we want to look at the cost of a typical trip... Pacific Business News had a story last month on the cost of places to visit...

 

In the study’s most expensive city in the U.S., a three-day trip in Seattle would cost $2,080. Boston, which ranked third, cost $1,931 for a similar trip; followed by San Francisco and New York City, at an average of $1,909 a trip.

 

The least-expensive U.S. city for a three-day trip was Dallas, where it would cost an average of $1,171 a trip. Other least expensive cities include New Orleans, Miami, Minneapolis and Atlanta.

 

The same article also says that cost did not factor in the cost of airfare. Instead that cost was based on:

 

* Accommodations at a four-star hotel stay

* An organized tour or activity at local attractions

* A roundtrip taxi ride

* A lunch and dinner.

 

We obviously know cruises include a lot more (3 meals a day, no transportation costs once onboard the ship to get to activities, etc)

 

I just took a look at the cruises on RCL's site... and all of the 3 day cruises that I found were all under $1000 even when factoring in the port costs, fees, and taxes.

 

Can a cruise get expensive? ABSOLUTELY. A drink package, a day in the spa, some momentos, etc... it all can add up. But at the same time, I can rack up a good sized bill too while traveling (especially in the big cities).

 

But I don't think the pricing available for a cruise is too far out of line for what people already spend on vacations (and with a cruise, you wake up somewhere different every day)!

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springaussie

springaussie

Posted
Posted

What you see on the booking sites is not the true status of how full a ship is in reality.

We have no idea of how many cabins are not allocated for guarantees.

How many have been sold to travel wholesalers.

How many are in the casino rewards system.

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karena1

karena1

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Posted
CAN'T believe royal is filling their ships at these crazy prices. :confused:

 

We are on the 8/28 Enchantment and as of this morning (even with another drop) there were over 105 cabins still available, of which at least 18 were balconies. I have never gone on Enchantment where there were this many balconies still available this close to a cruise.

 

They called us and gave us an upgrade to a balcony from our OV for $90 total. Our balcony total price is still less than the lowest inside cabin available. I booked this cruise when BOGOHO first came out so got it for an amazing price

 

So even though they are finally lowing prices, it is still higher than I originally paid.

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karena1

karena1

Posted
Posted (edited)
What you see on the booking sites is not the true status of how full a ship is in reality.

We have no idea of how many cabins are not allocated for guarantees.

How many have been sold to travel wholesalers.

How many are in the casino rewards system.

 

That is not necessarily true. When they called and offered me a balcony, there was a mixup with the new program ( 6 week old program to call and offer upgrades for a really low price) and they said they could not give me a balcony b/c they were all guarantees. So if you see a balcony online it is not part of the guarantee. They resolved it for me and got revenue to release a cabin

 

2 days later over 20 D1 cabins became available b/c revenue released them from the guarantee pool. so if you see them in a mock booking, they are available.

 

If there are guarantees, then it means even more cabins than what you are seeing are available.

 

Did not know this until I just went through it with this balcony upgrade

Edited by karena1
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Havingfun2010

Havingfun2010

Posted
Posted
I'm somewhat confused by so many people thinking the cost of a cruise is so outrageous.

 

I just took a quick look on RCL's site and see rates as low as 67.25 per night per person (and that factors in the cost of the port taxes). I'm seeing anywhere from that to about 500 per night per person for a Transatlantic from England to Boston.

 

The average cost of a hotel room per night in the US is $137 per night plus taxes according to hotels.com. The average cost for city taxes is 13.73% nationally. That brings the cost to $155.81 per night. And that cost does not include meals, entertainment, etc. And that's taking the AVERAGE costs!

 

If we want to look at the cost of a typical trip... Pacific Business News had a story last month on the cost of places to visit...

 

 

 

The same article also says that cost did not factor in the cost of airfare. Instead that cost was based on:

 

* Accommodations at a four-star hotel stay

* An organized tour or activity at local attractions

* A roundtrip taxi ride

* A lunch and dinner.

 

We obviously know cruises include a lot more (3 meals a day, no transportation costs once onboard the ship to get to activities, etc)

 

I just took a look at the cruises on RCL's site... and all of the 3 day cruises that I found were all under $1000 even when factoring in the port costs, fees, and taxes.

 

Can a cruise get expensive? ABSOLUTELY. A drink package, a day in the spa, some momentos, etc... it all can add up. But at the same time, I can rack up a good sized bill too while traveling (especially in the big cities).

 

But I don't think the pricing available for a cruise is too far out of line for what people already spend on vacations (and with a cruise, you wake up somewhere different every day)!

 

What sometimes people compare is the fact that a ship, and bare bones cruise on Carnival, could be $50.00 a day or less, and use that as a price point. But it's like comparing a Super 8 or Red Roof, to a Hilton. Since I don't stay in a Red Roof Inn, and I like good food, entertainment and an overall better service, than RCCL is priced where I would exptect it.

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DonnaK

DonnaK

Posted
Posted

In the summer, the ships easily sail full because school holidays are "high season". It'll be interesting to see if that will continue into the fall, once school is back in session in all parts of the country. (In the northeast, we don't go back until after Labor Day)

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FLCruisin'Mom

FLCruisin'Mom

Posted
Posted

It might make more sense if they DON'T fill their ships in order to "change their brand".

 

Reading the pricing forums, and looking at my own booking for late October, if the cruise industry is anything like airlines and hotels, then it makes sense for them not to fill a ship just to fill a ship.

 

I'm in the airline industry. You can book last minute XYZ low cost for $49 or ABC great airline for $149. Who do you choose? The ABC price has been about the same, Low cost XYZ is a "sale". You look at reviews online for XYZ and they are not as good as ABC. Do you go knowing that you might have a worse time because the fare is cheaper? You "might" get there, you "might" get your luggage, you "might" have to sleep in the airport one night.

 

From the looks of all the mock bookings I have done, it looks like RCI is trying to establish itself as an elite cruise line, ala Disney.

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Jay Sam

Jay Sam

Posted
Posted

Was just wondering the same thing just before I saw this thread.

 

Certain times of the year like post Thanksgiving there is a lot of capacity from Florida and the demand isn't there yet to keep up with the added capacity.

 

RCL has tightened up it's close in booking sales that other lines still do, which makes me wonder in low travel times of the year especially, how full their ships are.

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teecee60

teecee60

Posted
Posted (edited)
CAN'T believe royal is filling their ships at these crazy prices. :confused:

 

I'm somewhat confused by so many people thinking the cost of a cruise is so outrageous.

 

I just took a quick look on RCL's site and see rates as low as 67.25 per night per person.

 

Can a cruise get expensive? ABSOLUTELY. But I don't think the pricing for a cruise is too far out of line for what people already spend on vacations (and with a cruise, you wake up somewhere different every day)!

 

Agree COMPLETELY! :)

 

My favorite pick right now would be the 12 night Liberty OTS repositioning cruise on 1 November. $712pp with $200 OBC from an online site, (a different online site is offering prepaid gratuities) and another $200 OBC from the shareholder benefit.

 

THAT makes for a pretty darn reasonable price on a nice vacation! :D

Edited by teecee60
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GUT2407

GUT2407

Posted
Posted

Oh and I still think cruising is a bargain.

 

I cannot get a room in a hotel and three (or more) meals a day for what I pay per day for a cruise, then throw in entertainment and transport and it is hard to match.

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