Royal's Dynamic Pricing Policy Is An Absolute Joke

[SRF]

Just now, firefly333 said:

I will enjoy my 4 free drinks per day as a diamond ...soon to hit diamond plus. Perfect amount to me. Maybe not free as I cruised to get them as perks ... but kinda free?

 

Same here.

 

But loyalty does cost.

 

I am flying to Chicago for a hotdog next week, to maintain my loyalty status on American. 😄

[zekekelso]

Just my two cents:

 

- overall price of RCI drink package? Too damn high

 

- RCI offering sales all the time? Good

 

- RCI raising prices then adding a sale to give the appearance of a deal? Lame, but welcome to capitalism and marketing 101. 

 

- RCI advertising prices without the mandatory 18% gratuity? bogus

 

 

 

 

[xtremegk]

11 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

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. 

 

This.

 

No cruise line is throwing drinks in as a perk. They're just pricing for it -- and nobody knows whether that's always at a consistent price -- in your cruise fare.

[Merion_Mom]

10 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

The Dynamic Pricing policy, which is what the thread is about pertains to all aspects of it, not just the alcohol package.  After all, I am the OP, not You. And you're only comparing NCL and Royal.  How about Carnival, where Cheers is 51.95 and RCI is about 12 bucks more per day including tax.  84 bucks is 84 bucks.  You can spin doctor things all you want.  RCI should include Vaseline with their excursions and alcoholic drink package pricing.

 

There is no tax on the beverage packages.

[Buckeyefrank100]

13 hours 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.

Not reallyl true.  NCL charges the 20% gratuity and the drink package is "free"..   However the base rate when selecting the "free" drink package almost always goes up....  generally by less than the full cost of the drink package but it goes up.

[loman]

If you dont like the product or its policies , dont use them. Thats what i would do .

Its nice to have choices.

[deliver42]

I've priced the Cheers package on Carnival and the drink package on Royal, and they both came in at about $842.00 including grats.

[alyssamma]

10 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

I've priced the Cheers package on Carnival and the drink package on Royal, and they both came in at about $842.00 including grats.

But...lots of ways to get a 10% discount on Carnival. And Carnival's price is steady...Royal's might be higher (or lower) tomorrow.

 

Hard to read through all of this, but I *think* that is the OP's point...with the other lines you buy what you want to buy and you're done. Yes, you check back on the overall cruise price, but that's it.

 

With Royal, after you buy you have to keep checking to see if the price goes down. If it does, you cancel and rebook...and you do this with *everything*. It's a little exhausting.

 

Note, I am NOT complaining. I have 3 Royal cruises coming up so obviously I'm willing to "deal" with it.

 

And, there seems to be a subthread going on about NCL vs RCCL for drinks. I will take RCCL drink package any day of the week. For starters, you get water with it. For NCL, you have to upgrade to their top level. RCCL also has a really good "refreshment" package that includes most non-alcoholic stuff. I actually think that's the best non-alcoholic package across all lines.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Royal have chosen the Dynamic pricing model for ancillary items, and to not offer bundled/inclusive pricing options at booking.  Celebrity offers bundled pricing, but still has dynamic pricing for ancillary items like Royal does.  I as a consumer have chosen to take my business elsewhere - primarily to Princess, Holland and NCL - for this EXACT reason!  We have choices as consumers.  If you don't like Royals pricing model, choose a brand that better suits your needs.  I have and I'm not looking back!

 

 

Edited November 30, 2021 by AtlantaCruiser72

[Merion_Mom]

26 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

Royal have chosen the Dynamic pricing model for ancillary items, and to not offer bundled/inclusive pricing options at booking.  Celebrity offers bundled pricing, but still has dynamic pricing for ancillary items like Royal does.  I as a consumer have chosen to take my business elsewhere - primarily to Princess, Holland and NCL - for this EXACT reason!  We have choices as consumers.  If you don't like Royals pricing model, choose a brand that better suits your needs.  I have and I'm not looking back!

 

 

 

I am REALLY confused.  Why are you reading and posting on the Royal Caribbean forum, then?

[AtlantaCruiser72]

3 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

I am REALLY confused.  Why are you reading and posting on the Royal Caribbean forum, then?

 

So if we disagree with a policy or pricing of a particular brand are you playing internet police and saying I'm not allowed to express my personal opinion on a particular subject?  If so I'm so glad you have appointed yourself to that position as I was under the impression this was an open forum .....

 

That said, I like to keep abreast of what's going with them as a brand, as it's important for my business.   I work in sales for a travel agency and sell a good amount of Royal Caribbean because that's what consumers want, despite my personal opinions of their pricing shenanigans.  Myself personally I take my vacation $$ elsewhere.

[zekekelso]

1 hour ago, alyssamma said:

With Royal, after you buy you have to keep checking to see if the price goes down. If it does, you cancel and rebook...and you do this with *everything*. It's a little exhausting.

You don’t have to. 

[alyssamma]

8 minutes ago, zekekelso said:

You don’t have to. 

Right...only if you want to pay less. If you are content to not possibly pay less then you are good to go.

 

I assume you do that?

[Merion_Mom]

17 minutes ago, AtlantaCruiser72 said:

 

So if we disagree with a policy or pricing of a particular brand are you playing internet police and saying I'm not allowed to express my personal opinion on a particular subject?  If so I'm so glad you have appointed yourself to that position as I was under the impression this was an open forum .....

 

That said, I like to keep abreast of what's going with them as a brand, as it's important for my business.   I work in sales for a travel agency and sell a good amount of Royal Caribbean because that's what consumers want, despite my personal opinions of their pricing shenanigans.  Myself personally I take my vacation $$ elsewhere.

 

I do not think that my post read like a prohibition.  I was genuinely curious.  Your explanation makes sense.  (even after the fact 😉 )

[Tree_skier]

16 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

But there are newbies that have to be educated.  Me getting grilled by some Loyal Royals who think that RCI does no wrong is a small price to pay.

You are a noble and virtuous individual.  Thank you taking one for the downtrodden.

[Tree_skier]

7 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

Well said.

 

Was just in Roatan last week on LOTS, hired a driver and a jeep from Victor Bodden, had a fantastic day on the "untouched" parts of the island.

 

ENJOY!!

Is this something that you booked in advance or was it something available when you got off the ship.  I'm on the same cruise as @firefly333 and haven't booked anything for Roatan yet.

[not-enough-cruising]

5 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Is this something that you booked in advance or was it something available when you got off the ship.  I'm on the same cruise as @firefly333 and haven't booked anything for Roatan yet.

I booked it ahead of time. 

On Victor Bodden's website (https://www.boddentours.com), click "private tours" then "best of Roatan.

 

They meet you at the dock, and you have a driver and a vehicle for as long as you want, and they provide exactly the experience you want, on your schedule.

[Tree_skier]

4 minutes ago, not-enough-cruising said:

I booked it ahead of time. 

On Victor Bodden's website (https://www.boddentours.com), click "private tours" then "best of Roatan.

 

They meet you at the dock, and you have a driver and a vehicle for as long as you want, and they provide exactly the experience you want, on your schedule.

Wow that looks like a great one thank you.

[not-enough-cruising]

2 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Wow that looks like a great one thank you.

Enjoy!  We did spend an hour or so at the sloth sanctuary, it was a bucket list item for my wife, it was very enjoyable.

Edited November 30, 2021 by not-enough-cruising

[Btank]

16 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

But there are newbies that have to be educated.  Me getting grilled by some Loyal Royals who think that RCI does no wrong is a small price to pay.

Thank you for your service. 🙄

 

      --bruce T.

[LGW59]

26 minutes ago, alyssamma said:

Right...only if you want to pay less. If you are content to not possibly pay less then you are good to go.

 

I assume you do that?

When I make my original booking, I do so because I am pleased with what I am presented at that time.  If the price goes down (while I don't obsess about spending loads of time looking) to save $100 or so, if it happens great, if not no biggie.  Again, I booked what I did and was very pleased with what I got at the time.  JMHO

[alyssamma]

3 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

When I make my original booking, I do so because I am pleased with what I am presented at that time.  If the price goes down (while I don't obsess about spending loads of time looking) to save $100 or so, if it happens great, if not no biggie.  Again, I booked what I did and was very pleased with what I got at the time.  JMHO

Comment wasn't directed at you, but you missed my point. Most people do want to pay the least they can and with RCCL, unlike other lines, it takes a lot of effort for that.

[HBCcruiser]

8 hours ago, not-enough-cruising said:

don't care how they manage their pricing, I buy what I want when I like the price; period.

 

Ditto. I look for itinerary, date and pricing differences. For instance, I just booked a 4-day cruise on the Royal Navigator in a Grand Suite instead of booking the same cruise on Princess in a Princess Penthouse Suite (even though I am higher in Status on Princess). The suite perks are basically the same. We are saving over $1000 for the same dates/itinerary on Royal, even when taking into consideration the price for VOOM/Deluxe Beverage Package, Ultimate Dining and $200 on board spending.  It does not always work out that way but this time it did. Royal had a better sale. NCL Suite/Haven prices are SO MUCH higher right now, but that too may change in the future. 

[firefly333]

36 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

Is this something that you booked in advance or was it something available when you got off the ship.  I'm on the same cruise as @firefly333 and haven't booked anything for Roatan yet.

Just booked it yesterday because another couple you have meet booked it. I know nothing about this but 3.5 hours sounds just right to me. 830 am .. ha. Myself I would have picked the 930 time. But I wanted to go out in roatan with them. 

 

They are doing a 7 hour in Costa maya they booked but that's too long of a day for me. You might ask as I forget what it is except it said 7 hours. I signed up for 830 for the one in roatan with them. 

 

 

 

[Tree_skier]

3 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

Just booked it yesterday because another couple you have meet booked it. I know nothing about this but 3.5 hours sounds just right to me. 830 am .. ha. Myself I would have picked the 930 time. But I wanted to go out in roatan with them. 

 

They are doing a 7 hour in Costa maya they booked but that's too long of a day for me. You might ask as I forget what it is except it said 7 hours. I signed up for 830 for the one in roatan with them. 

 

 

 

I've got Costa Maya (Maya Chan) and Cozumel (Xcaret) booked already.  Only thing outstanding was Roatan.  @not-enough-cruising's recommendation looks perfect.