Why is one cruise so much cheaper?

[Hunter308]

Hi all,

 

This is my first post and will also be my first cruise! I love the site and have gathered and will continue to gather tons of great, valuable info from it over the next few months.

 

I'm wanting to take a honeymoon cruise either February 7th or 8th of 2016 so I've begun researching my options. I should say I'm not interested in the readily available Cozumel-based cruises but prefer the St. Thomas/St. Maarten route. I'm available to depart from anywhere in Florida or Texas as I'll be flying to this location the day before or two days prior to the cruise.

 

I've found the following so far that I like:

 

Royal Princess - Princess Cruises departing February 8th to Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maarten

 

Freedom of the Seas - Royal Caribbean International departing February 7th to CocoCay, St. Thomas, St. Maarten

 

Turns out the Princess Cruises' rate is about $100 cheaper for a SUITE when compared to Royal Caribbean's mere ocean-view balcony room. Can someone explain why this is? It may be common in the cruise industry but you can imagine to an outsider/newbie how it could seem a bit strange to have a suite on one ship be $1,400 while a room with a balcony would be $1,500+ on another ship. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Edited September 29, 2015 by Hunter308

[GUT2407]

Im not sure Einstein could explain cruise pricing.

[Essiesmom]

The only guess I can make is that The Freedom cruise is Sunday to Sunday, and the Princess cruise is Monday to Monday. The latter requires people to take more time off work and therefore might be harder to fill.

Please be aware that you are probably pricing a mini-suite on Princess, which is an extra large balcony cabin, but not a full suite. EM

[DocF]

The reason is called yield management. The idea is to fill the ship. If it takes cutting prices, so be it. There are many books that explain this system. It is used by airlines, Amtrak, hotels, and all the cruise lines.

[GUT2407]

The reason is called yield management. The idea is to fill the ship. If it takes cutting prices, so be it. There are many books that explain this system. It is used by airlines, Amtrak, hotels, and all the cruise lines.

 

Yep but most of it still doesn't make sense.

 

But your right it is all about getting the best return they can.

[luddite]

Supply and demand.

[fishywood]

The Royal Princess will normally do 10 night sailings from Port Everglades this winter. She has two odd seven night sailings on Monday Feb 8 & 15. At this date both are priced noticeably lower than not only competing cruise lines but even what Princess is charging for similar seven day cruises on Regal Princess the same month. So if a Monday-Monday round trip works for you I suggest jumping on that price while it lasts.

Edited September 29, 2015 by fishywood

[SantaFeFan]

The exact formulas that each cruise line uses to determine prices are kept strictly to themselves. But like any other business on the planet, prices will rise and fall based on how much supply there is and how much demand there is for that supply. If a cruise is selling well, prices will stay higher. If it isn't selling well at all, prices will drop. No different than putting items on sale at any retail business when there is too much inventory. Think of the lower prices on Princess as them having a sale to sell off extra cabins.

 

It is quite simple, actually. There is quite a bit of logic with these pricing fluctuations when looking at it from strictly a business perspective - something we customers usually aren't familiar with. Being a successful business owner, I can attest to having used these same pricing tactics when business was slower than normal. When business is good, there is little to no incentive to lower my prices.

Edited September 29, 2015 by SantaFeFan

[Keith1010]

A lot of this comes down to overall demand versus occupancy.

 

Also some cruise lines will realize more on board revenue per person and make up the revenue that way.

 

Keith

[GUT2407]

But supply and demand isn't the whole answer. One cruise I've been watching has a lit if vacancies and recently had a huge price spike.

[dorisis]

Princess suites are not all really full suites. Princess has a mini suite which is larger than standard Princess balcony suites. The mini suites are a little larger than RC's standard balcony. RC has Jr.suites which are also larger than their standard balconies.

 

if you are talking about full suites, I would pick Princess but full suites cost much more than the minis or jrs.

[navybankerteacher]

The only guess I can make is that The Freedom cruise is Sunday to Sunday, and the Princess cruise is Monday to Monday. The latter requires people to take more time off work and therefore might be harder to fill.

Please be aware that you are probably pricing a mini-suite on Princess, which is an extra large balcony cabin, but not a full suite. EM

 

This alone more would than explain a mere $100 differential. There are many people for whom a Monday-Monday itinerary would be dillicult to align with work requirements. All you need is a minor snag to reduce demand - which reduction will necessarily result in a price reduction.

[Cruzaholic41]

That suite you are looking at on Royal Princess is the same size as the balcony room on Freedom of the Seas. Also, the balcony on that suite is about half the size of the balcony you'll have on Freedom.

 

Having been on both ships, I highly recommend going with Freedom. Princess really struck out with their new ships and frankly, there isn't one single thing I can say stands out about the Royal Princess. Freedom, I can name several - like the entertainment, ice show, Royal Promenade, bow helipad, wrap-around outdoor promenade, larger and more comfortable staterooms, Flowrider, and much more pool space.

 

Plus, I would take Coco Cay over Nassau any day.

[Hlitner]

We agree with the last post about the mini-suites. Keep in mind that a mini on the Royal is only about 60 square feet larger then a standard cabin (which is nice). And the Royal gives the mini-s the same postage stamp balcony used for most of the regular cabins. The balcony is so tiny you cannot sit facing the sea and stretch your legs (a frequent criticism of this new class of Princess ships). We would rather be on one of their older Grand Class ships or on the Freedom.

 

Hank

[hubofhockey]

We agree with the last post about the mini-suites. Keep in mind that a mini on the Royal is only about 60 square feet larger then a standard cabin (which is nice). And the Royal gives the mini-s the same postage stamp balcony used for most of the regular cabins. The balcony is so tiny you cannot sit facing the sea and stretch your legs (a frequent criticism of this new class of Princess ships). We would rather be on one of their older Grand Class ships or on the Freedom.

 

Hank

 

I agree with this. The mini suites on the Royal are nice and they are larger than the Freedom of the Seas balcony cabins, but the balconies are tiny. We had a mini suite on the Royal Princess for a Baltic / St Petersburg cruise.This was a summer port intensive cruise, but in cooler weather than a Caribbean cruise. I wouldn't take a Caribbean cruise on the Royal Princess for reasons Hank details on the balcony and also that Princess cut down on its pools. They went from four good sized pools to two pools on the Royal class. The Royal is a beautiful ship, but I would prefer a grand class ship (love the Ruby Princess) or Freedom of the Seas on Royal Caribbean.

[Hunter308]

Thanks guys for all the valuable info. :)

 

And yes, it was a mini-suite. Customer video tours seem to reflect the (albeit small) size difference between the MS on the Princess vs. the Balcony room on Freedom(The MS has more total square ftg than the largest Freedom balcony room I believe). That extra space and especially the bathtub rather than a shower is quite an enticement.

 

One point you guys brought up: I have watched extensive tours of the Royal Princess but I need to watch tours of Freedom to see what's a better fit.

 

Do you guys have any general recommendations or do's/don'ts regarding Royal Princess and/or Freedom of the Seas(any tips on room/deck placement would be helpful)?

 

Thanks!

Edited September 29, 2015 by Hunter308

[hubofhockey]

Thanks guys for all the valuable info. :)

 

And yes, it was a mini-suite. Customer video tours seem to reflect the (albeit small) size difference between the MS on the Princess vs. the Balcony room on Freedom(The MS has more total square ftg than the largest Freedom balcony room I believe). That extra space and especially the bathtub rather than a shower is quite an enticement.

 

One point you guys brought up: I have watched extensive tours of the Royal Princess but I need to watch tours of Freedom to see what's a better fit.

 

Do you guys have any general recommendations or do's/don'ts regarding Royal Princess and/or Freedom of the Seas(any tips on room/deck placement would be helpful)?

 

Thanks!

 

I'll give you a couple of tips about things I really liked about the Royal Princess as well as some tips about cabin location.

 

The Enclave on the Royal Princess is about $21 per day per person and books by the voyage. It is well worth it. They limit the amount of people and it is really nice. There is a special mineral water pool, turkish sauna, steam sauna, cool hard rock beds, and water beds. It a great way to spend an hour or two on a sea day or even before dinner after a day in port. There is a casual (no charge) italian restaurant as well, which has pizzas, salads, and Italian tapas, and good drinks.

 

Cabin selection - the elevators are atrocious and because of the lack of a central staircase that goes all of the way up, are overly crowded and cause long waits. I would get a cabin near an exterior staircase to avoid those problems.

 

Each ship will have its advantages. Princess has better better standard food and dining and RCI has better entertainment. I already explained why I would not book the Royal Princess for a Caribbean cruise, but many love this class.

 

As for how to book, booking through a travel agent can get you on board credit that a direct booking might not get you. Princess does offer heavy discounts through large volume travel agents. I know there is one who I used and saved $1,000 plus upgrade to Mini over Balcony for our Baltic cruise in 2014. Can't mention names though as against CC policy.

Edited September 29, 2015 by hubofhockey

[Hunter308]

I'll give you a couple of tips about things I really liked about the Royal Princess as well as some tips about cabin location.

 

The Enclave on the Royal Princess is about $21 per day per person and books by the voyage. It is well worth it. They limit the amount of people and it is really nice. There is a special mineral water pool, turkish sauna, steam sauna, cool hard rock beds, and water beds. It a great way to spend an hour or two on a sea day or even before dinner after a day in port. There is a casual (no charge) italian restaurant as well, which has pizzas, salads, and Italian tapas, and good drinks.

 

Cabin selection - the elevators are atrocious and because of the lack of a central staircase that goes all of the way up, are overly crowded and cause long waits. I would get a cabin near an exterior staircase to avoid those problems.

 

Each ship will have its advantages. Princess has better better standard food and dining and RCI has better entertainment. I already explained why I would not book the Royal Princess for a Caribbean cruise, but many love this class.

 

As for how to book, booking through a travel agent can get you on board credit that a direct booking might not get you. Princess does offer heavy discounts through large volume travel agents. I know there is one who I used and saved $1,000 plus upgrade to Mini over Balcony for our Baltic cruise in 2014. Can't mention names though as against CC policy.

 

They limit the amount of people in the Enclave at one time or the amount of passes they sell? I saw a week pass was $115 for a couple. Sounded great to me.

 

Why are the elevators "atrocious"?

 

Are you specifically referring to person to person TA or do online TA sites count?

 

Thanks!

[Underwatr]

They make the beds up with king-size (queen-size?) sheets so while there are two top mattresses you wouldn't slip down between them unless you're having quite a romp.

 

The greater issue is that the mattresses typically are somewhat firmer at their edges which includes the middle of the joined bed.

[hubofhockey]

They limit the amount of people in the Enclave at one time or the amount of passes they sell? I saw a week pass was $115 for a couple. Sounded great to me.

 

Why are the elevators "atrocious"?

 

Are you specifically referring to person to person TA or do online TA sites count?

 

Thanks!

 

The elevators are overcrowded and stop at every floor.

 

Some Princess regulars provided me with the name of an agency that has an office but most bookings are national and can be done by phone.

[Aquahound]

The elevators are overcrowded and stop at every floor.

 

Very true, especially the midship elevators. The stairs on Royal Princess don't go higher than deck 7, so you can't use them to/from the cabin decks.

 

To be fair, Freedom of the Seas doesn't even have mid-ship elevators/stairs. They do double up on the amount of elevators fore and aft though.

 

To answer the Op, I've been on Freedom and Regal Princess (Royal's sister). I love Freedom Class ships and I did not like the Regal, so I would gladly pay $100 more for Freedom. A D1 on Freedom is roughly the same as a mini suite on Royal, and the balcony is alot bigger.