Atlantis Rio Cruise Feb. - Sambadrome Tickets

[amusea]

Atlantis has finally contacted those of us who are booked on the Rio to Buenos Aires cruise starting Feb. 3, 2008 about purchasing Sambadrome tickets. I was really amazed at the prices they are quoting. The cheapest tickets per night for Sunday and Monday are unreserved Grandstand in Sections 7 and 11 but the price for each night is $355. per ticket. Since I have googled two sites that sell tickets for the event it made me wonder where their pricing is coming from. The lowest quotes I found on the internet were:

 

Grandstand - Section 7 - $190.00 per person for each night

Grandstand - Section 11 - $140.00 per person for each night.

 

The problem is that the Atlantis tickets include the shuttle bus service back and forth to the ship throughout the night. Since I have previously sailed on Cunard and used their shuttle bus to the Sambadrome I know that you MUST have this shuttle service because the bus has a special lane that reduces travel time by about any hour. A taxi is out of the question. Also, if you want to leave during the AM hours it might be very difficult to find transportation other than the shuttle bus. But the Atlantis quote includes a statement saying that you can only use the shuttle bus if you buy their tickets.

I have e-mailed Atlantis and asked why I can't buy tickets independently and use the shuttle bus - even if I have to pay it would be worth it since the price differential for tickets is so huge. The reserved grandstand and box seats are much more expensive and are definitely out of reach for most folks, especially since they will not guarantee that everyone will sit together.

 

I can also tell you that all hotel rooms in Rio are completely sold out around Carnival time. The only availability is about 50 miles away. The fact that Atlantis has just announced that the pre-cruise hotel on their package will be in Sao Paolo confirms that my statement is correct. They will transport you to the ship in Rio on Feb. 3rd which is the day of embarkation but it is also the first night of Sambadrome. I reserved my hotel in Rio many months ago and even then rooms were scarce.

[HotlantaCruiser]

The honest answer is that Rich is not in the bus company business, and wants to guarantee that people who are buying the Sambadromo tickets from him have bus service. It's honestly very simple.

 

The first year, Atlantis didn't mark up the tickets above the amount that covered their credit card processing fees. It would appear that this year, he is making a profit on it. Thus, he wants to make sure that his bus space is used by people paying for his tickets. I can't begrudge him that piece of profit this time, as he will either barely break even on this cruise, or take a loss. Still way too many categories unsold at this stage of the game, for this very exotic and expensive cruise.

 

The low prices you quote are the outlier to the other prices from the established sellers that I saw. Not to say they're shady, just dramatically lower than sites that I used as a comparison when we bought ours in 2006. (I checked their sites today to compare against the prices you quoted)

 

I will also say that the expensive seats that Rich had (and assume he will have access to about the same this year) were in the frisas right on the rail, at the section between the drum squad alley (forgot the Brazilian name for it) and the finish line. I thought they were worth what we paid for them at the time.

 

You are correct when you say that you MUST use a bus, otherwise you will waste hours trying to get to/from the sambadromo. It would be foolish to attempt it otherwise, if not downright dangerous. Getting into the Sambadromo on the bus could be compared to taking a Military transport into the Green zone in Iraq. It was complete chaos outside the bus until we got into the "secured zone". No way on earth would I try it without bus service knowing what I know now.

[amusea]

I appreciate your perspective on this situation which has much validity. I do not begrudge Atlantis some profit on the tickets but I also think it should not alienate its clientele. As you say, this cruise is a very big gamble for Atlantis because of the size of the ship. I have never understood the reasoning from a financial point of view. I have watched the availability chart on the Atlantis site almost every day and it never seems to change. There seems to be a lot of cabin availablity except in the lowest and highest priced categories which is not the bulk of the ship' staterooms. However, I do not want to subsidize the undersold cruise because of this. A reasonable profit to Atlantis for the arrangements is fine.

I also was surprised at the price because my 2004 cruise on the Queen Mary 2 - 24 days from Miami to Rio round trip with three days in Rio including Sambadrome tickets for both nights in Section 11 and shuttle bus - was about $5000. per person for a balcony room. The tickets were for everyone on the ship - a much larger group than Atlantis and it was handled perfectly. We all sat together. I guess I am disappointed because I wanted to sit downstairs but at those prices I will again be sitting in the bleachers:(

[HotlantaCruiser]

Don't forget that in 2004 the Real was a little over 3:1, now it's slightly under 2:1. That's a 33% increase in the cost of anything in Brazil, excluding inflation (which in Brazil, is anything but ordinary). So, take your 2004 cruise, jack it for inflation on everything (think of what diesel fuel costs then vs. now), then add 1/3 price increase for Brazilian taxes, and your sambadromo tix. Also the QM2 has 500 additional pax (excluding 3rd and 4th bunks) to spread out the fixed costs, and then you have to count in some profit for Atlantis. Not quite as dramatic a price differential as it seems at first blush.

 

But honestly, at this stage he's going to probably lose money on this cruise. The serious discounting hasn't begun yet, and come Halloween it will probably be dramatic (airfare discounts, "discounts on Orbitz" etc).

 

 

Can't argue about rooms being scarce. That's a given during Carnaval time.

As for your comment about the pre-cruise hotel package being in Sao Paulo. That's not necessarily a comment about Rio being sold out as a true realization of what Rich thought his guests might want. This year the Rio cruise STARTS in Rio, with three nights of the ship subbing for your hotel. Rich probably determined that people want time to enjoy the nightlife in Sao Paulo, beyond the one overnight (which honestly, given the 1 1/2 hour commute to Santos, makes enjoying the late Brazilian party life a bit iffy). It really doesn't make sense to offer 2 more days in Rio, when you've got the first three full days of the cruise docked there. Again, he's thinking about the vast majority of his clients, who can't do 12days of cruise, a full day travel down and back, and potential extra days in BA. If someone is going to do more than 14 days of vacation, they probably aren't doing 3 more in Rio, so thus the offering of the pre-cruise package in Sao Paulo.

 

I'm not an Atlantis apologist, just noting the finances

[amusea]

My e-mail from Atlantis states everyone should try to order tickets by September 7th. I guess the reason is that is when Liesa starts distributing to ticket agencies. Actually the dollar price of tickets has not risen that much in two years considering the sinking dollar. Two of the largest agencies that specialize in Sambadrome tix have the prices I quoted and seem to be reliable and they deliver one or two days before Sunday Feb. 3.

Atlantis says they are "working" on pre-cruise hotel arrangements in Sao Paolo but still wants everyone to buy the tickets now before many have arranged hotel and/or transportation. Please understand that I am an Atlantis supporter. I am booked on the Liberty and also

went on the Freedom last year. I have been troubled about the delay in arrangements for Rio and also wanted to make sure that the cruise would not be cancelled before I buy travel insurance. The announcement about tickets helps to alleviate those fears.

I don't know which city, Sao Paolo or Rio, is better for pre-cruise but if the transportation for cruisers on pre-cruise package is by bus it is a six hour ride. Then embarkation. Then Sambadrome. A long day/night to say the least.

Lastly, all internet sites including Liesa have a price differential between Grandstand sectors 7 and 11 but Atlantis does not.

I still will probably buy the tix from Atlantis in hopes of being with the group from the ship. On QM2 most folks left by midnight!! We stayed to 6 AM both nights. The only thought might be to just do Monday night and splurge on a box. One of the reasons I wanted to repeat the experience was to be with a group of people who were animated and enjoying themselves which was not the case with the very elderly QM2 bunch. Decisions, decisions.

Thanks for all your input.