Why do you think there is so much of a price difference between cruise lines?

[AF-1]

Hi,  we are looking to book a 12 night British Aisle cruise.  Why is there such a price difference?

 

Crown Princess 12 night out of Southampton

$2019: Inside Cabin

$13,518: Vista Suite

 

Jewel of the Seas Royal Caribbean 12 night out of Amsterdam

$1161 Inside Cabin

$10,371 Grand Suite

 

$858 dollar difference for inside cabin

$3,147 dollar difference for Suites of same size

 

Neither Cruise has wifi, drinks, or gratuities included in above price;  so why is there such a large price difference?   Just curious.  We have sailed Princess for the past several years and have not been on a Royal Caribbean ship in ten years.  Looks like Royal Caribbean wins this round

[Cruzaholic41]

The algorithms that determine price are very complicated. For that particular cruise, Princess might be selling better, which is jacking up the price. 
 

That said, I’ve cruised both ships and I would prefer Jewel anyways. Both are a little aged now, but RCI’s Radiance Class is beautiful and feels far less crowded than Grand Class. 

[Donald]

Why does Starbucks coffee cost so much more than Hills Brothers coffee?

Why does a BMW cost more than a Cadillac?

Why does an international flight on Delta cost more than the same flight on American?

 

There is a multitude of factors that determine the selling price of anything. Most far too complex for us to discuss here.

But the biggest factors - that are relatively easy to grasp - are:

1. perceived value

and

2. supply and demand

Many companies are very skilled at selling their products at the highest possible price. If enough of the public - for whatever reason - are willing to pay more, the price goes up. If not, the price goes down.

This (partially) explains why middle America nearly riots in the streets when petrol goes up to $4 per gallon, but is very happy to stand in long lines at Starbucks (with no service and paper cups) to pay $32 per gallon for mediocre coffee.

[AF-1]

Thanks. I know varius factors come into play.  It just seems that princess for this particular route is a lot higher than all the other lines. Disney doesn’t  count; becasue they are higher regardless of where they cruise. Oh well. I am taking the Jewel of the Seas cruise next year. Like I mentioned; we havent sailed with Royal in over ten years and radiance class is the only class we have not been on.  Should be fun. 

[ldubs]

2 hours ago, Cruzaholic41 said:

The algorithms that determine price are very complicated. For that particular cruise, Princess might be selling better, which is jacking up the price. 
 

That said, I’ve cruised both ships and I would prefer Jewel anyways. Both are a little aged now, but RCI’s Radiance Class is beautiful and feels far less crowded than Grand Class. 

 

I like both too!  Good memories all around for these two ships.  I would be happy with either but if I had to pick, I think I would also agree with the Jewel.    

 

I can't really add to the pricing discussion beyond what has already been said.   

[AF-1]

Thanks for your input Idubs

[Aquahound]

I agree with ldubs.  I think you have 2 fine choices here.  I haven't been on those 2 exact ships, but I've been on their sister ships....Caribbean Princess and Radiance of the Seas.  They are very even in most regards, like entertainment, service, and dining.  But also like ldubs and cruz said, I too would lean toward Jewel.  I just like the design better.  The $3k in savings makes it a no-brainer.  By the way, I cruised in a Grand Suite on Radiance.  I LOVED it.  

 

I also can't speak to the pricing.  That's something that has baffled me for years.  Donald's perceived value and S&D makes sense to me.  

 

Enjoy whichever you choose. 🙂

[ontheweb]

Are those prices from the websites of the two cruise lines or from calling a TA? I ask that because I believe Princess allows TAs to discount prices, but Royal Caribbean does not. I specifically said calling because they are not allowed to post the lower price.

 

We once decided to cruise Alaska from Seattle and went to the website of a TA we usually use. There were 3 cruises that fit our timeline and ports. The Princess cruise had the highest price on the website, but the lowest price when we got actual price quotes from him on the phone.

[AF-1]

9 hours ago, Aquahound said:

I agree with ldubs.  I think you have 2 fine choices here.  I haven't been on those 2 exact ships, but I've been on their sister ships....Caribbean Princess and Radiance of the Seas.  They are very even in most regards, like entertainment, service, and dining.  But also like ldubs and cruz said, I too would lean toward Jewel.  I just like the design better.  The $3k in savings makes it a no-brainer.  By the way, I cruised in a Grand Suite on Radiance.  I LOVED it.  

 

I also can't speak to the pricing.  That's something that has baffled me for years.  Donald's perceived value and S&D makes sense to me.  

 

Enjoy whichever you choose. 🙂

As of today we are booked on the 12 night British Aisles out of Amsterdam on Jewel of the Seas.  Aug 19, 2022.  Grand Suite so although we have little status; we will be taken care of.  Cheers

[AF-1]

1 hour ago, ontheweb said:

Are those prices from the websites of the two cruise lines or from calling a TA? I ask that because I believe Princess allows TAs to discount prices, but Royal Caribbean does not. I specifically said calling because they are not allowed to post the lower price.

 

We once decided to cruise Alaska from Seattle and went to the website of a TA we usually use. There were 3 cruises that fit our timeline and ports. The Princess cruise had the highest price on the website, but the lowest price when we got actual price quotes from him on the phone.

ontheweb;  we do use our own private travel agent; who belongs to a large consortium; so normally gets discounts with obc.  So as of today we have bookd GS on Jewel of the Seas; 12 night British Aisle out of AMS, 19 Aug 2022

[ColeThornton]

3 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

ontheweb;  we do use our own private travel agent; who belongs to a large consortium; so normally gets discounts with obc.  So as of today we have bookd GS on Jewel of the Seas; 12 night British Aisle out of AMS, 19 Aug 2022

 

Please forgive the correction but it is "British Isles", not "Aisle".   😉

Edited January 30, 2021 by ColeThornton

[AF-1]

Cole Thornton;  no thank you for correcting me.  I have a invoice in front of me and still made that spelling mistake.  All is good;  have a great weekend.

[Hlitner]

There are some major differences between booking RCI and Princess.  One of the biggest differences is that Princess allows the "stacking" of On Board Credits whereas RCI generally does not allow it.  We have taken Princess cruises where we have had thousands of dollars of OBCs (mostly refundable) and actually received a big check after our cruise (the refundable OBCs).  Another benefit we get with Princess that is not nearly as good with RCI is that Princess has an excellent airline booking site where we can often save thousands of dollars on International Business or First Class.  

 

But if you want to eliminate all that stuff (which really does impact the total price of a cruise) then like somebody posted, cruise line's use complex algorithms coupled with yield management in an attempt to sell every berth.   If one line is able to get more money when compared to another line that generally tells you that the more expensive line charges more because they can :).    

 

Hank

[AF-1]

Hank   I appreciate your feedback.  Right now we booked 12 nights with RCI.  Their price is $4,000 less than Princess.  We have tons of airline and hotel points.  Like Half Million plus;  so we will use points for airfare and hotels.  Have a pleasant evening

[Joebucks]

This is a topic that can be debates for hours. Supply and Demand is the easy answer. There's so many threads here such as "why did it go up in price?" "why is this one so much?" "why isn't the price what I expected when I added an extra person?" etc etc when it is all a similar answer.

[AF-1]

Joebucks;  so you're saying;  that because one company charges a higher price than the other cruise line for the same cruise length;  it's all about supply and demand? 

[Hlitner]

On 1/30/2021 at 4:33 PM, AF-1 said:

Hank   I appreciate your feedback.  Right now we booked 12 nights with RCI.  Their price is $4,000 less than Princess.  We have tons of airline and hotel points.  Like Half Million plus;  so we will use points for airfare and hotels.  Have a pleasant evening

For that kind of savings we would do the same thing :).  RCI used to be our favorite cruise line (our DD was Diamond before age 15) but lost our business when they changed (as we have also changed) to something that was not as much to our taste.  For the few years prior to COVID we primarily chose our cruises for the itinerary and length of cruise (we prefer 25 - 70 days).   For a few years we were pretty big fans of the Radiance Class vessels and would still go back on one of those ships under the right circumstances (like saving $4000).

 

I should be clear that we are not anti-RCI but just find there are many other lines we rate significantly higher in many categories.

 

Hank

[AF-1]

Hank,  I hear what you're saying.  We as we got older we started to pick cruises that had less of the theme park mode and more relaxed mode onboard.  We picked the itinerary to British Isles based on the port stops not the ship;  just so happens the Jewel of the Seas had best price

[navybankerteacher]

19 hours ago, AF-1 said:

Joebucks;  so you're saying;  that because one company charges a higher price than the other cruise line for the same cruise length;  it's all about supply and demand? 

Of course, at the end of the day, pricing of goods and services are always about supply and demand.  Without some demand, nothing could be sold at any price,  and scarcity (limited supply) will drive up price.  

 

The company which can can sell its (presumably comparable) product at a higher price than its competitors must be performing a better marketing job than those competitors.   Marketing skill certainly plays a part - but over time consistent price differentials must indicate a perceived difference in quality;  be it food, service, entertainment, onboard

ambience, etc.   

 

(I remain curious about the aisles through which those ships were going to sail.)

Edited February 2, 2021 by navybankerteacher

[ldubs]

On 1/30/2021 at 5:46 AM, AF-1 said:

So as of today we have bookd GS on Jewel of the Seas; 12 night British Aisle out of AMS, 19 Aug 2022

 

That sounds terrific.  The British Isles itinerary is one of my all time favorites.  I would like to do it again some day.  

[iancal]

We typically buy cruises inside the final payment window, often weeks prior to sailing.  For a Med cruise we would typically narrow it down to good ships, three cruise lines.  Often very similar itineraries and very similar cruise ships.  

 

Not unusual for us to see pricing differences of 30 percent.  Not only between ships and cruise lines but also on the same ship, same itinerary, same date BUT priced differently, some by significant amounts, on different days.

 

Our last SA cruise we selected Princess.  The effective price went down by just under 30 percent for one day-and it might have even been less.   It was a CAD at par day.  I happened to to see it and booked immediately.   We had also been considering HAL and Celebrity.  But thirty odd percent difference on ships and cruise lines that we felt were comparable sealed the deal as it were.  One of our first bookings before final payment in a number of years.

[getting older slowly]

I agree to supply and demand   premise..      what the market will bear

 

An example use to be the Circumnavigation of Australia cruise... cost per day compared to any other Australian based cruise was about 25% more.....

Mainly due to being only one or two trip per year and being very popular......

 

Cheers Don

 

[AF-1]

iancal;  so if you buy less than the 90 day window;  do you still get decent airline pricing?

[AF-1]

9 hours ago, navybankerteacher said:

Of course, at the end of the day, pricing of goods and services are always about supply and demand.  Without some demand, nothing could be sold at any price,  and scarcity (limited supply) will drive up price.  

 

The company which can can sell its (presumably comparable) product at a higher price than its competitors must be performing a better marketing job than those competitors.   Marketing skill certainly plays a part - but over time consistent price differentials must indicate a perceived difference in quality;  be it food, service, entertainment, onboard

ambience, etc.   

 

(I remain curious about the aisles through which those ships were going to sail.)

I hear what you're saying;  I guess that is why we are taking Royal Caribbean for British Isles cruise and taking Princess to New England/Canada.  Pricing and supply and demand

[navybankerteacher]

3 minutes ago, AF-1 said:

iancal;  so if you buy less than the 90 day window;  do you still get decent airline pricing?

That is why it is important to think wholistically.   If air fare is involved, vs a short drive to the port, things can change.   Also, if your in-laws could take you to the airport and pet sit the first week of February and not the third week of February, that $300 lower fare per person might not make sense.  

 

There are are a lot of pieces to consider - more for some of us than for others - so there is no such thing as a “great deal” unless it fits in with the rest of the puzzle.