Perpetual Sale

[Gary1960]

Is it a sign of desperation that as soon as one sale finishes another starts. Prices are double what they normally are yet they have the chutzpah to con people into thinking that prices have been cut.

[Ourusualbeach]

10 minutes ago, Gary1960 said:

Is it a sign of desperation that as soon as one sale finishes another starts. Prices are double what they normally are yet they have the chutzpah to con people into thinking that prices have been cut.

Nothing new.  They've been doing this for close to the last 10 years

[Engineroom Snipe]

Repeat and rinse.

 

RCI will raise the cabin prices $75 per person/double occupancy and then give you $150 OBC.

 

"Kids Sail Free", not quite, taxes and port taxes required, $18 gratuity per day minimum regardless of age. And you will find that three person rooms come with a premium compared to the two person room.

 

All the cruise lines do this just like hotels and airlines. You have to read the fine print and try to compare apples to apples.

 

That is why you see so many long time cruisers booking cruises as soon as they are offered to get the room and itinerary they want. Sometimes the price is cheaper as time goes by but in most cases, if you have very specific desires or needs, the price rarely is less.

 

The only exception is a couple who just enjoys any cruise in general in an inside room. You will see some deals with travel agencies in their "blocked" rooms that are significantly less than what RCI wants at about 120 days out if bookings are lagging. At that point, they are just trying to move inventory and meet quotas, kind of like a car dealership at the end of a month they are behind in sales.

[TheDawg79]

Nothing new here

[Chiliburn]

1 hour ago, Gary1960 said:

Is it a sign of desperation that as soon as one sale finishes another starts. Prices are double what they normally are yet they have the chutzpah to con people into thinking that prices have been cut.

It’s a bit like feeding sharks.

Just keep throwing burley in the water and the sharks will just brainlessly bite it .

or in this case the punters will brainlessly buy it .

[neverbeenhere]

Can I get this conversation with 60% off the second reading? 

[Eddie Wilson]

The BEST SALE of the year is that one near that one holiday, the…..Black Cyber Going Wednesday Gone Sale.

 

Best because I think it was 100% off the second person*

 

 I have trouble with fractions and decimals, but I don’t worry too much about it as I know 5 out of every 4 of us also struggle with fractions.

 

* Subject to terms and conditions, first person pays double. 

[Merion_Mom]

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

[Eddie Wilson]

3 minutes ago, Merion_Mom said:

plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

I had to look that one up, and agree.

[cruiseguy1016]

3 hours ago, Gary1960 said:

Is it a sign of desperation that as soon as one sale finishes another starts. Prices are double what they normally are yet they have the chutzpah to con people into thinking that prices have been cut.

 

Just a guess but, you're new to Royal Caribbean, aren't you?

Edited January 17 by cruiseguy1016

[Gary1960]

25 minutes ago, cruiseguy1016 said:

 

Just a guess but, you're new to Royal Caribbean, aren't you?

100 days Diamond and I did not get here paying these crazy prices there asking

[Mick B]

Hi,

The best thing I find is this...

 

First talk to the wife about where she would like to go in a couple of years time and for how long (which depends on if its from the UK where we live or the US which involves long flights which means we want a cruise of 12 days or more).

 

Then work out how much per day we want to spend - so we can start saving in advance.

 

Then when a cruise that fulfils our desires come available at that price (or in some cases far less, but comes back to that daily price if we have to factor in flights and hotels), then find the cabin we want and put a deposit on it.

 

We now have our cruise locked in at that price (which may become cheaper at some point, but not so much these days), but better still, we have our room in the location we want and do not need to bother with Royal Up or waiting for a GTY (unless GTY is the only way to get the cruise at that price, but that would be a last resort).

 

I have a 15 night TA from the US to the UK on the Jewel that comes in at less than £50 per day each. Yes I have to factor in the one-way flights and a hotel, but still comes in at around £100 per day per person in total. Yes we are in an inside cabin, but is a TA so that is what we want in case of bad weather.

 

Next year in May I have a 12 night Canaries Cruise on the Indy from the UK. Yes the prices have gone up, but we don't need to fly so only the train and a hotel the night before is the extra. It works out at £120 per day per person.

 

BTW Both cruises are with Gratuities Paid.

As you can see though, the first cruise is for 15 night and the second one is only for 12 but the prices are higher for the the short ones and they don't even have flights in the price.

 

At first glance it looks like a massive increase in 2025, but I think that price for they way the work is is not actually that bad. The first cruise is a TA and not everyone's cup of tea and has 7 sea days towards the start and was on offer back in 2023 at a really really good price, so that's why we jumped at it.

 

And that's the thing. If you are not too bothered about lots of sea days (which also reduces port fees) and are not bothered about the class of ship or the time of year, then there are still some good deals to be found - even after factoring in flight and hotels.

 

The best thing we do is find the cruise and then book it through our TA and get them to add on the flights and hotels etc and turn it into a package that not only can save money, but also protects you if something goes wrong.

 

Also, with ref to the 2025 Indy sail. I can tell you that P&O were offering a 14 night cruise that same year to the Canaries for an amazing £800 per person which sounds good. However, it was in October/November when the weather would be colder and the sea more rough. Also as D+ we get 5 free drinks a day with RCI so when you factor that it, the Indy in May is the better choice for us.

 

Again, its down to you what you want to do, but I can tell you that there are plenty of nice options for a reasonably price cruise out there if you do your homework.

 

Now looking for somewhere to go in 2026. Cost might not the issue by then, but a lack of ports that allow old big cruise ships to dock may be another problem that may force our hand when it comes to planning ahead.

 

Mick.

 

 

[FionaMG]

Fuzzy maths. Royal are experts in it. The only thing anyone should look at is the bottom line.

[cruiseguy1016]

I'm not sure I have ever logged onto RCI's site and NOT seen a sale of some sort. Those "sales" are to lure people that don't know better into booking a cruise thinking they are getting a deal.

[ONECRUISER]

14 hours ago, Eddie Wilson said:

The BEST SALE of the year is that one near that one holiday, the…..Black Cyber Going Wednesday Gone Sale.

 

Best because I think it was 100% off the second person*

 

 I have trouble with fractions and decimals, but I don’t worry too much about it as I know 5 out of every 4 of us also struggle with fractions.

 

* Subject to terms and conditions, first person pays double. 

During Startup  2021-2022 many Cruises I scored many of those no Single Supplement. SOLO like me Cabins were Cheap. PreCV Royal was running 108% Capacity, now 120%, High Demand on Royal and Higher prices not going see Great Deals though I been able get some Good Deals last month on older Ships. Have to look and watch, not many but got Booked 2 at less then 90days out and 4 in 2024.

[Engineroom Snipe]

14 minutes ago, ONECRUISER said:

During Startup  2021-2022 many Cruises I scored many of those no Single Supplement. SOLO like me Cabins were Cheap. PreCV Royal was running 108% Capacity, now 120%, High Demand on Royal and Higher prices not going see Great Deals though I been able get some Good Deals last month on older Ships. Have to look and watch, not many but got Booked 2 at less then 90days out and 4 in 2024.

There were some excellent deals on the smaller ships late November into the first week of December, 2023. Some of them only were available for a few days at the best price and weeks at a slightly higher price. One had to be quick with the credit card and be capable of making a quick analysis. If you were not actively looking everyday, you missed them.

[Eddie Wilson]

16 hours ago, Mick B said:

Hi,

The best thing I find is this...

 

First talk to the wife about where she would like to go in a couple of years time and for how long (which depends on if its from the UK where we live or the US which involves long flights which means we want a cruise of 12 days or more).

 

 

I certainly don’t want to interrupt the posting, but Mick we sound similar but on different sides of the pond.  DW wants to do first European cruise in 2025, is there one that is a must do for European rookies?

 

Sorry, back to regularly scheduled programming………

[Tree_skier]

What retail business doesn't have some sort of promotion or sale running almost continuously?  I'm not sure why anyone is surprised Royal does it.

 

Right now...

 

Princess up to 40% off

Carnival $100 OBC + 1/2 deposits + 35%off

NCL 50% off + $250 OBC

 

Dillards up to 40% off

Home Depot up to45% off tools

Camping World up to 40% off

 

I could go on and on and on but I've made my point. Why people seem to want to slag off Royal Caribbean but not other retail establishments is utterly incomprehensible to me.

 

 

[Eddie Wilson]

1 minute ago, Tree_skier said:

What retail business doesn't have some sort of promotion or sale running almost continuously?  I'm not sure why anyone is surprised Royal does it.

 

Right now...

 

Princess up to 40% off

Carnival $100 OBC + 1/2 deposits + 35%off

NCL 50% off + $250 OBC

 

Dillards up to 40% off

Home Depot up to45% off tools

Camping World up to 40% off

 

I could go on and on and on but I've made my point. Why people seem to want to slag off Royal Caribbean but not other retail establishments is utterly incomprehensible to me.

 

 

And hotels and rental cars offer several discounts, AAA, senior, brand member, you name it, but somehow amazingly I always end at relatively the same price for any combo.

[Mick B]

Hi Eddie, sorry for the delay, but no internet yesterday.

 

The only cruise in 2025 I have booked is the 12 night Canaries cruise in the May from Southampton.

The main reasons (in no particular order) for booking this cruise are the following....

 

1) No flights from the UK as they are silly price.

2) Cut down on amount of time needed in hotels before and after cruise.

3) Back on the Indy which is my fav ship.

4) In May when the weather is good as the Indy is an outdoorish ship.

5) Its the only 12 night cruise I could find other than a TA as doing 7 night cruises means the holiday is over with.

6) Its an older ship, but still nice, which hopefully means it will be more relaxed on board as opposed to queuing for the latest invention.

7) Its going to not just the Canaries but also Spain and Portugal so you get a good selection of Europe.

 

 

Obviously, this suits us coming from the UK, but most of the cruises out of Barcelona seem to be on the bigger and newer ships and only for a week at a time and going to the same ports. 

If I could have booked a cruise round the med where I could have done a B2B and stayed in the same cabin and gone to different ports for each leg then I would, but those days look like they have sailed (pardon the pun!)

 

To me it now looks like a lot of the newer and bigger ships are more about them than the ports they are going to. It looks like there are some very high prices for going on a new ship and then having the hassle of deciding if you get off at a port you want to visit or stay onboard and enjoy the ship whilst most guests are ashore.

 

Now, that may work fine for short trips from Miami that just go to the same ports in the Caribbean week after week where a lot of passengers who live near a Florida port can get many a good deal and have probably have been to most ports of call before so therefore can miss some ports and enjoy the new ship.

 

However, if you are travelling all the way to Europe to visit some ports you have waited a long time to visit, then surely you don't want to miss them in order to take advantage on an empty ship just to get a go on a zip line or water slide etc.

 

So, my advice if you want a cruise in Europe for more than 7 nights is to jump on the Indy for 12 and have an enjoyable and relaxing time. Plus there are a few sea days too to recharge ready for the next port of call.

 

So I will let those with money spend it on the newer ships if that's what they want to do, and I will spend what little I have on the older ones having a good time enjoying what they have to offer.

 

Mick.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[FionaMG]

@Mick B, we did the 12 night Canary Islands cruise on Anthem in September/October 2022 and it was great; probably the most relaxing cruise we've done. No long flights, no silly o'clock excursions.

 

If you're looking for b2b on an older ship, maybe take a look at Voyager. What's interesting about her itineraries is that they are A-B rather than 7-night round trip, so you can sometimes get an itinerary like Barcelona to Rome followed by Rome to Athens or something along those lines. There are also some 9 or 10 night ones at the start/end of the season.

[Mick B]

Hi,

And we jumped on the Anthem in October 2022 straight after that cruise to do the 12 night TA into Bayonne which went via The Azores, Halifax and Boston and was great and cheap too and with what we saved, had a few days in NYC and then flew back to the UK.

This year we are flying out to Miami in April to join the Jewel for a TA back to the UK. Again, plenty sea days to relax on a older ship.

 

There are plenty of reasonably priced cruises still to be had, as long as you don't mind the older class of ship.

 

Mick.