Royal's Dynamic Pricing Policy Is An Absolute Joke

[SNJCruisers]

As usual, Royal's Dynamic Pricing policy is an absolute joke when you compare it to all of their competition.  Many companies such as Celebrity offer all inclusive pricing that has the drink package already included.  Others such as Princess, NCL, MSC and HAL offer the drink package as an optional add on package with other perks either all of the time or on occasion like HAL.  Carnival offers their Cheers package as a stand alone add on @ 51.95 per day if bought pre-cruise and 56.95 on board.

 

The Dynamic Pricing policy fluctuates depending upon which ship you're sailing on and when you sail.  The on board price of 88.00, which recently went up is only better than NCL's 99.00 per day, but nobody pays those prices.  At a 30% discount it comes to 60.99 and even @ a 40% discount it's 52.80 a day, still slightly more than Cheers, which can be purchased at anytime prior to sailing on Carnival and you don't have to keep wasting your time looking for a "sale" like you do with Royal.

 

On all 14 cruises I have taken over the last 9 years since drink packages started up I have gotten them whether through a perks situation like NCL, Celebrity or MSC or a la carte on Carnival and Royal.  But 30% off at 60.99 per day, plus the 18% gratuity on top comes out to 71.97 per day.  This equates to just over a grand for a 7 day cruise for two people.  I will be taking a hard pass and get the refreshment package @ 50% off and save about 725.00.  I'll survive on my B2B on the Oasis.  I have the drinks package on my 9 other cruises booked for 2022 on Celebrity, NCL, Princess and Carnival.

[Sobro]

NCL also charges gratuity on their "Free at sea" drinks package. Enjoy your 10 cruises. 

[neverbeenhere]

Sorry, I was unaware that Corporate had announced what passengers pay for drink packages. 

Edited November 28, 2021 by neverbeenhere

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, Sobro said:

NCL also charges gratuity on their "Free at sea" drinks package. Enjoy your 10 cruises. 

And how does this factor into the thread regarding Royal's ridiculous policy?

[SNJCruisers]

2 hours ago, neverbeenhere said:

Sorry, I was unaware that Corporate had announced what passengers pay for drink packages. 

Go into your cruise planner and your individual sailing will have a percentage off as to what you'll pay that day.  And two weeks later, this price could be higher, or possibly be lower.

Coco Cay Beach Club is regularly 199.00 per person and there is a Cyber Monday promotion of 50% off, so it's a bargain @ 99.50.  NOT....I had it for 65.00 pp before Royal cancelled our Oasis cruise last August.  A nice sit down lunch, infinity pool and comfortable loungers for two is bearable at 130, but a joke @ the "sale" price of 199 and downright ridiculous @ 398.

[Sobro]

12 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

And how does this factor into the thread regarding Royal's ridiculous policy?

 

You are the one who mentioned Royal`s 18% gratuity in your original post about the "joke" prices they have. I suppose you are so deep into your rant you forgot about it. 

 

And BTW, anyone ranting about drink prices on a cruise ship (especially with 10 booked cruises!) might want to consider that it's a first world problem. 

[not-enough-cruising]

As if this is the only industry with a dynamic pricing model……..

[jacads]

My TA said other cruise lines offer those inclusive drink packages because they are not as good as royal Caribbean, and they did that to fil up the ships.   I had asked her about it previously.

[bucfan2]

7 hours ago, jacads said:

My TA said other cruise lines offer those inclusive drink packages because they are not as good as royal Caribbean, and they did that to fil up the ships.   I had asked her about it previously.

Apparently your ta has never cruised Celebrity…or just gets higher commissions selling royal.

[LGW59]

On 11/28/2021 at 5:39 PM, SNJCruisers said:

And how does this factor into the thread regarding Royal's ridiculous policy?

I’m pretty sure you are the one who added comparisons to those other cruise lines.

[LGW59]

9 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

As if this is the only industry with a dynamic pricing model……..

And trying to recover from a pandemic 

[SNJCruisers]

21 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

I’m pretty sure you are the one who added comparisons to those other cruise lines.

The 20 bucks you pay for the gratuities on NCL is certainly a lot cheaper than the 60.99 + 18% gratuity that RCI is charging (at a 30% discount on 88.00)

[SNJCruisers]

9 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

As if this is the only industry with a dynamic pricing model……..

No, not the cruise industry.  Only one company, Royal.  No dynamic pricing with their corporate cousin Celebrity, or Carnival or NCL or MSC or Princess or HAL or P&O or Azamara or Viking or any other cruise line.

Take off the rose colored glasses and accept reality.

[MrMarc]

I think every cruise line has quirks and somewhat misleading pricing.  Whether it's variable pricing, including various things as free when you know you are actually paying for them or charging extra for things that may be included on other ships.  It keeps it complicated to try and compare cruises to each other.  

[LGW59]

14 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

The 20 bucks you pay for the gratuities on NCL is certainly a lot cheaper than the 60.99 + 18% gratuity that RCI is charging (at a 30% discount on 88.00)

Sounds like NCL is the line for you 

[SNJCruisers]

12 hours ago, Sobro said:

 

You are the one who mentioned Royal`s 18% gratuity in your original post about the "joke" prices they have. I suppose you are so deep into your rant you forgot about it. 

 

And BTW, anyone ranting about drink prices on a cruise ship (especially with 10 booked cruises!) might want to consider that it's a first world problem. 

First of all, the 20% gratuity that NCL charges is all you pay since the package is an included perk.  Royal is charging over 71 per day including gratuity on my Oasis cruises.  

Fully aware it's a first world problem, but then again, 95% of the threads on cruise critic are first world problems.

[SNJCruisers]

Just now, LGW59 said:

Sounds like NCL is the line for you 

I don't like to keep all my eggs in one basket, just cruise on the newest ships from varied cruise lines.  B2B's on the Apex, Mardi Gras, Discovery Princess and a repo cruise on the Prima highlight my 2022 choices.

[KALCJ1]

I agree that the "sales" are frustrating.  But I also know that the prices fluctuate ALL the time.  I never count on the Black or Cyber Monday sales to be better than the prices have been at some point in the months prior. 

 

A couple of things to consider...Royal Caribbean does not limit the amount of drinks you can have per day.  Many of the other cruise lines do.  For cruise lines that offer the perks, the "free" perks are built into the pricing.  So you're paying for the perks one way or another. 

 

With the pandemic and everything the cruise industry has been through I think a little higher prices is somewhat expected.  Just keep watching the prices as I anticipate they'll go back down in the coming weeks.  🤞🙂

[binro01]

Royal knows their product and what their consumer base is willing to spend for it.

 

Just because company A charges one amount does not mean company B is required to follow suite. Especially for an add on when people think the cruise itself is a better value then the other lines.

 

This is called capitalism.
 

You have the choice to move your money where you find the most value for the experience you want.

 

me personally, I had maybe 2 beers over the last 8 years, so no skin off my back. But if I cruised celebrity, I would probably choose the always included package because of the value and enjoy a beer or a wine a couple of times.

 

 

[twangster]

Celebrity sucks if you don't drink alcohol or you don't use the internet while cruising, or if you are solo.  If any of those apply, X is at a significant disadvantage on the playing field of comparison shopping.  But they must figure the majority of their target audience like to drink and post on the internet while cruising, together.  Their cruise line, their rules.

 

Carnival is capped at 15 drinks per day.  Less risk to them.

 

Every line has a different target audience.  

 

It would be cool if we could take the best things we like from each cruise line and mash them all together to create "the best cruise line for me" but we can't and it doesn't work that way.  

 

Royal is more efficient at making money on their ships.  If you were a stock holer you'd like that.  Other lines leave money on the table or choose to do so for other reasons.   Smart business.

[Jarmo]

52 minutes ago, SNJCruisers said:

First of all, the 20% gratuity that NCL charges is all you pay since the package is an included perk.  Royal is charging over 71 per day including gratuity on my Oasis cruises.  

Fully aware it's a first world problem, but then again, 95% of the threads on cruise critic are first world problems.

Nope.  To get the equivalent package on NCL you need to pay $30 more per day plus the grats on that.  Not to mention you are paying more for a similar room, just to get the 'free' perks.

[not-enough-cruising]

1 hour ago, SNJCruisers said:

No, not the cruise industry.  Only one company, Royal.  No dynamic pricing with their corporate cousin Celebrity, or Carnival or NCL or MSC or Princess or HAL or P&O or Azamara or Viking or any other cruise line.

Take off the rose colored glasses and accept reality.

ANY line that has “inclusive pricing” has the same dynamic pricing, as the cruise fare changes regularly, which means all the “packages” are fluctuating regularly. 

[SNJCruisers]

55 minutes ago, KALCJ1 said:

I agree that the "sales" are frustrating.  But I also know that the prices fluctuate ALL the time.  I never count on the Black or Cyber Monday sales to be better than the prices have been at some point in the months prior. 

 

A couple of things to consider...Royal Caribbean does not limit the amount of drinks you can have per day.  Many of the other cruise lines do.  For cruise lines that offer the perks, the "free" perks are built into the pricing.  So you're paying for the perks one way or another. 

 

With the pandemic and everything the cruise industry has been through I think a little higher prices is somewhat expected.  Just keep watching the prices as I anticipate they'll go back down in the coming weeks.  🤞🙂

The 15 alcoholic drink limit that Carnival and Princess has doesn't matter to 95 % of the people that purchase the package.  Serious beer drinkers are the only people consuming more than 15 per day.

[SNJCruisers]

26 minutes ago, Jarmo said:

Nope.  To get the equivalent package on NCL you need to pay $30 more per day plus the grats on that.  Not to mention you are paying more for a similar room, just to get the 'free' perks.

If you're 30 per day is true, plus the 20 for grats, that's 50 per day compared to the 72 per day that Royal is charging at a 30% discount on my Oasis cruises.  Thus still making Royal more expensive.  And of course we still haven't discussed the dynamic pricing fluctuation on excursions, which is pure highway robbery.  A 50% discount on Coco Cay Club is 99.50.  I had it for 65.00 on my cancelled Oasis cruise, that's a 51% increase. 

[takeabreath3]

IMHO, if you don't like the way Royal does things then why are you sailing with Royal???  It's not like Royal is the only cruise line in the world.  I never have understood why it has become necessary for anyone to come on Cruise Critic to bash the way a cruise line operates.  It's a business, if you don't like the prices, shop somewhere else.

Wait, yea, I forgot.  We are living in an age where it's okay to bash business's or people whenever we feel like it just because we have a sense of entitlement!

I'm getting off my soap box now.

 

Sea ya on the Sea someday,

Judy