Help with pricing! - UK sailing with 1 child

[Billy Baltic]

Is Southampton really that accessible from most of the UK? If you’re in Scotland, north of Wales or north of England then it must be a brutal bus journey or a flight. Even from a lot of the rest of England it’s not a journey that you’d want to do on the morning of the cruise, so you’d need a hotel the night before. 

[Pandamonia]

36 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

You'll be waiting forever for that one for an August sailing.

 

Thats not true. 

 

I found my brothers holiday for him on Anthem for 9 days in August for 4 people in a balcony for 3200 GBP. 

 

Its just timing, the ships are not sailing full out of the UK and Europe so royal is playing pricing games. you just need to learn how they play them and what a good price is. 

[Pandamonia]

33 minutes ago, Billy Baltic said:

Is Southampton really that accessible from most of the UK? If you’re in Scotland, north of Wales or north of England then it must be a brutal bus journey or a flight. Even from a lot of the rest of England it’s not a journey that you’d want to do on the morning of the cruise, so you’d need a hotel the night before. 

 

isnt living in Scotland brutal in general? Driving to southampton should be easy 😆

 

Ive met plenty of scots which have to get to london airports to go anywhere decent as most airports north of the border are useless for a lot of destinations. 

[Reina del Mar]

Many moons ago, there used to be a ‘boat train’ from Scotland to Southampton for P & O- no idea if it still exists but may be worth looking.

[firefly333]

10 minutes ago, Pandamonia said:

 

Thats not true. 

 

I found my brothers holiday for him on Anthem for 9 days in August for 4 people in a balcony for 3200 GBP. 

 

Its just timing, the ships are not sailing full out of the UK and Europe so royal is playing pricing games. you just need to learn how they play them and what a good price is. 

What you might have found even a hear ago isnt applicable this year unfortunately. Prices are a lot more crazy this year. Lots more demand with no covid this year.

 

I could have done a balcony for $329 to alaska last summer when air travel was over $1k and not dependable. This year demand is back. 

[UKexplorer]

To answer some questions:

• We’re looking at 2024 not this summer.
• August specifically as it’s for a special birthday.
• We don’t particularly want to fly if we can avoid it.
• The nearest airport is an hour and a bit away, Southampton is 2 and a half hours so it’s pretty straightforward to get to.

 

I haven’t managed to find another cruise itinerary I like as much with other cruise lines so I’m tempted to gamble and just keep checking the pricing for a better deal. If we miss out then at least I’ve saved £8k!

 

 

[Pandamonia]

46 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

What you might have found even a hear ago isnt applicable this year unfortunately. Prices are a lot more crazy this year. Lots more demand with no covid this year.

 

I could have done a balcony for $329 to alaska last summer when air travel was over $1k and not dependable. This year demand is back. 

 

i booked my holidays this year. 

 

There are times you should and should not book a royal cruise. 

 

I got 12 days on Anthem with free balcony upgrade for 1100 GBP per person leaving on Sunday 4th June. This cruise has been 1400-2000 GBP per person for the entire year depending on promotion for a balcony. 

 

sometimes you catch the right promotion and sometimes it never comes. School holidays are risky as it depends on how much demand there is but there are two periods i never book. One is a year in the future around the time people are going on holiday and the second is around the time people are thinking of going on holiday in the next 3-6 months. 

 

I book my holidays often in November/December or January for June or July because nobody else is thinking of summer holidays. This means that ships are not filling up and the algorithms which control the pricing are not meeting the conditions set and thus prices come down and offers increase in variety and type. 

 

Royals dynamic pricing model looks complex but in reality its basically just computer code checking for variables. These are 'Ship capacity by stateroom type' which is likely checked against a curve checked against time to sail date and then finally by the number of bookings in that month or promotion period. 

 

So for example

 

1000/5000 capacity on a ship 12 months out is a low priority to fill  = less deals

 

2000/5000 capacity on a ship 7 months out is getting higher risk of sailing less than full and then the run rate of bookings is likely to be the final variable which tells the model if they need to increase or decrease the pricing or offer values. 

 

So ideally...

 

low occupancy + less than 9 months till sail date + low rate of bookings = best price for a cabin. 

 

Id say ive hit the lowest price on any cabin type i wanted on 9/10 cruises i booked using this method. its really not that hard when you think about it. Nobody is thinking about booking summer holidays before the Xmas period and that is getting close to the 6-9 month window of where they want the ships 2/3 capacity booked so they can milk the final 1/3 with higher prices. 

 

 

[Pandamonia]

4 minutes ago, UKexplorer said:

To answer some questions:

• We’re looking at 2024 not this summer.
• August specifically as it’s for a special birthday.
• We don’t particularly want to fly if we can avoid it.
• The nearest airport is an hour and a bit away, Southampton is 2 and a half hours so it’s pretty straightforward to get to.

 

I haven’t managed to find another cruise itinerary I like as much with other cruise lines so I’m tempted to gamble and just keep checking the pricing for a better deal. If we miss out then at least I’ve saved £8k!

 

 

 

You are trying to secure a highly desirable month during peak booking season for the following year. 

 

Wait until end of this year in the winter and the deal will be better. 

 

Royal is scamming right now. 

 

August 2023  = 2200 for 2 people in a balcony (1100pp) but its 6k for 3 people!!!! 

 

The website is claiming as soon as you add a kid then all the rooms are sold out but without the kid the rooms are free....

 

This is their computer system locking you out for some unknown reason. Its likely because all cabin types have not been released so it basically looks like there are no sofa beds in any category which isnt true.

[little britain]

1 hour ago, UKexplorer said:

To answer some questions:

• We’re looking at 2024 not this summer.
• August specifically as it’s for a special birthday.
• We don’t particularly want to fly if we can avoid it.
• The nearest airport is an hour and a bit away, Southampton is 2 and a half hours so it’s pretty straightforward to get to.

 

I haven’t managed to find another cruise itinerary I like as much with other cruise lines so I’m tempted to gamble and just keep checking the pricing for a better deal. If we miss out then at least I’ve saved £8k!

 

 

You’ll fly to Southampton but not to Barcelona? 

[UKexplorer]

5 minutes ago, little britain said:

You’ll fly to Southampton but not to Barcelona? 

No. The drive to our nearest airport is an hour and a bit. The drive to Southampton is 2 and a half hours. So it’s much easier for us to cruise from Southampton than drive and fly to cruise.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

4 minutes ago, little britain said:

You’ll fly to Southampton but not to Barcelona? 

I think you read that wrong. The OP doesn't want to fly and is stating its not much further for the OP to go to southampton then the nearest international airport.

 

Op. Hope you manage to find a cruise, it is a gamble but i totally agree with you. I would keep checking and book anything that falls into your requirements and price range. Safe travels

[little britain]

10 minutes ago, UKexplorer said:

No. The drive to our nearest airport is an hour and a bit. The drive to Southampton is 2 and a half hours. So it’s much easier for us to cruise from Southampton than drive and fly to cruise.

Sorry; thought you were in Scotland !

[TeRriii]

Change your booking region to US or Singapore on RC website, then compare the prices after converting to your local currency. 

[Tin can]

On 5/30/2023 at 10:00 PM, Billy Baltic said:

The op is talking about over £8k STG. They might be able to fly to the US and cruise for less 😂

 

Said in jest I'm sure but we flew to New York pre covid and cruised to the Bahamas on Adventure over August for less than sailing out of Southampton on Anthem at the same time. 

[gingerpeaches]

On 5/30/2023 at 9:42 PM, UKexplorer said:

We did it this year as our son is still 4, but from next year we can get a fine if we take him out of school. Not sure how much it is in our area but we’d have to take it into consideration. AlsoI want to go in August to be away for my 40th birthday.

The fine in England is £60 per parent, and it's at the discretion of the school. If your child's attendance is good, and if you explain that the cost is so prohibitive during school holidays that you would be unable to go at all, often the holiday will be approved (an unauthorised absence so it still affects your child's attendance figures) without the fine. Honestly, you'd save way more than £120 and I know you want to go for your birthday in August, but you really need to weigh the pros and cons here. We're going on Symphony from Barcelona this August and for four people (including flights) it cost just under £6K. I have to go in the school holidays because of my job, but even what you're being quoted seems ridiculously high to me.

Edited June 3, 2023 by gingerpeaches

[Mum2Mercury]

On 5/30/2023 at 11:42 AM, UKexplorer said:

... Does anyone have any advice on getting a reasonable quote that includes a child? Or are we destined to be cruise-less until our son is too cool to holiday with us? TIA.

Those prices are insane.  Several thoughts: 

- I get that you're set on a specific month for a milestone birthday right now, but -- for future vacations -- consider that flexibility is your friend.  Sometimes moving just a week or two forward (or back) can save money.  I understand it's hard to juggle schedules for two jobs and school; more than once I paid more because a specific week was what we COULD do.  

- Also, consider off-season.  The lowest priced cruises tend to be late September - February.  The weather in the Caribbean is mild in those months; they're our favorites. 

- I don't know what ship you're considering, but -- in general -- the newest, largest ships demand a premium price.  Royal Caribbean's mid-sized ships (hard to think of Independence, Explorer and their sister ships as "mid-sized") are our favorites, and their prices are lower than the big boys.  

- Don't assume your son will ever be "too cool" for family vacations.  We traveled heavily when our girls were in high school and college, and we have a family cruise scheduled for next year.  They endure our interest in historic sites, but -- other than that -- they've always been quite enthusiastic about vacationing with us.  My siblings' children are the same.  

On 5/30/2023 at 11:45 AM, firefly333 said:

Sounds like it would be cheaper to do 2 connecting cabins. A adult in each. I sail solo. The 2 pts are nice. There arent many 3 and 4 pax cabins and they are a different category if you look at your mock booking. And summer rates have lots of kids booking. 

Dunno 'bout this.  It'd be nice to have the second bathroom, but paying "both halves" of that second room is expensive.  Speaking only for myself, I wouldn't be willing to pay this for a 4-year old, but I probably would pay later when he's a teen.   

Royal Caribbean does offer "Kids Sail Free" fairly often.  I know my oldest daughter booked that for her son next fall.  When the kiddo is staying in his parents' room, you pay no ticket price -- that leaves only a couple taxes.  

On 5/31/2023 at 5:14 AM, FamilyCruiserUK said:

... I think the big question is what you want from your cruise what do you specifically enjoy with royal.

Dont forget with your little one only being 4/5 there will be a lot on board an rcl oasis class ship that she cant do. Water slides, for example.

 

Also dont forget 6000+ people on cruises each week yet only the negative people post reviews. 

Yes, look into the kid-details for your specific ship.  A four-year old will be able to enjoy the kids' splash pad + the main pool + slides + the playground + mini-golf.  That's a lot of little boy fun.  

On 5/31/2023 at 6:02 AM, Pandamonia said:

... Your ideal situation is getting the 3/4th guest cheap and booking a guarantee cabin either large inside or balcony. Stick the kid in the sofa bed and you should be fine with one cabin. two cabins does not fix your problem as you will then have 4 full price fares to pay ... 

We shared one room when our kids were younger.  Sure, it was crowded, but we weren't cruising for the fun of staying in the room.  We always got a balcony back then because it was the cheapest way of getting a separate space for our family ... a space where one person could go outside to read quietly or Dad could disappear while the girls were dressing for dinner.  

A tip for sharing 3/4 in a room:  Choose a room near the gym (where one person can shower ... but if this is your plan, bring a small tote with toiletries) or near a public rest room.  

On 5/31/2023 at 8:00 AM, firefly333 said:

What you might have found even a hear ago isnt applicable this year unfortunately. Prices are a lot more crazy this year. Lots more demand with no covid this year ... 

Prices are crazy right now, and I'm missing the price drops of the past.  I hope this is "a bubble" and things will get better in a year or two.  

On 5/31/2023 at 8:59 AM, UKexplorer said:

... I haven’t managed to find another cruise itinerary I like as much with other cruise lines so I’m tempted to gamble and just keep checking the pricing for a better deal. If we miss out then at least I’ve saved £8k!

If this is the ship and the itinerary you really, really want, and it's a milestone birthday ... you have to decide whether it's worth the cost.  Personally, if I could do it AND still keep my savings goals on track, I'd pay.  For a once-in-a-lifetime trip, I'd be willing to skip other smaller trips and economize at home for a while.  

 

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Mum2Mercury

[kasi1979]

Which cruise is it you are looking at? 
The cruise on august 2nd? or the longer one on the 11th?