Jump to content

Costa prices are hugely DIFFERENT for different continents & regions


drsel
 Share

Recommended Posts

Costa prices are hugely DIFFERENT for different continents & regions.

Dear Costa expert cruisers,

I notice Costa prices are hugely DIFFERENT for different continents & regions (for the same cabin, same ship, same sailing).

Any idea why this DISCRIMINATION?

Do other cruise lines (Royal, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian, MSC, Princess) also have differential pricing for different regions, or is it only Costa?

Thanks, drsel

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This does seem to be fairly standard, although Costa appears to be the worst.

 

I got quoted in Euros for one cruise while on board yet they tried to charge me the same in Sterling when I went to book it at home.

 

Offered the All Inclusive Package and OBC while on board but they were removed by English TA's when trying to book it.

 

But most lines charge a little more in Sterling than dollars or Euros.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Costa prices are hugely DIFFERENT for different continents & regions.

Dear Costa expert cruisers,

I notice Costa prices are hugely DIFFERENT for different continents & regions (for the same cabin, same ship, same sailing).

Any idea why this DISCRIMINATION?

Do other cruise lines (Royal, Celebrity, Carnival, Norwegian, MSC, Princess) also have differential pricing for different regions, or is it only Costa?

Thanks, drsel

 

 

In the industry its called yield management or similar.

 

Supply and demand. Different prices and discounts for different states in the US too.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The price policy of Costa is very complicated, I’ve no idea how it works. My next sailing through the Caribbean with following transatlantic I‘ve booked on my “regional” Costa website (rest of Europe, mainly CEE and Scandinavia). On the German site the price was based on double occupancy even more expensive than my single cabin of the same category, the double cabin price was about 450 € per person higher there. The Dutch website stated another 300 € more and in the UK Costa stated the same amount as the Dutch one - but this has been in Sterling and not in Euro, this has been the most expensive I found - more than double the price I was quoted at home for the same type of cabin! But this is not a fixed rule. Recently I got a newsletter from a German TA with an offer for four weeks sailing from the Mediterranean to India for just about 1000 €. Again I searched around and this time the German price has been the cheapest, even with a higher single supplement than I would have paid at home. Also some other Costa national sites stated a lower price than the rest of Europe site, the UK was in this case the most expensive again. At least booking Costa from another country is no problem.

 

Others also have different prices, but some even try to force you to book where you live. For example MSC even doesn’t allow you to check prices on their websites, if your IP address is not from the county the site is made for. Besides the fact I don’t use them any more for other reasons it is another way to scare away customers. Somewhere when searching for cruises I also read something like “if you don’t live here you can’t book online, but call…” NCL has even a very different AI policy depending on the country of booking. At home I can book the cruise apart from drinking package and so on. In Austria and Germany you book automatically AI. This way you have much more to calculate to compare prices - and I don’t know whether they have other policies in countries I haven’t mentioned or not.

 

For me the result is always to compare. In any case the money saved on the cabin price can be spent way better on the cruise!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Yes. Very common on most lines. We generally find booking in Europe to be more expensive that booking in North America.

 

Having said that sister booked a Celebrity Baltic cruise in the UK. It wa 15 percent less than booking in North America. We did a late booking Australian/NZ cruise directly by phone with RCI Australia. It was over 30 percent cheaper than booking in North America. We did a Rome-Barcelona booking on RCI while we were in Europe. As I recall, the NA price was about 20 percent less than booking in Europe .

 

I pays to shop. Some cruise lines are trying to prevent people from doing this. HAL is one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Not just prices, but also Terms and Conditions. For example, Costa USA includes "Waterusa" in everything, Costa France, the "Basic" package you pay for everything, the "Premium" package (currently) includes Brindiamo AI. Consumer protection laws vary wildly. The HSC is mandatory in France but Costa Germany it's optional, so presumably they add something for that. In Ontario there are fairly strict rules about what's included in the quote and mandatory bankruptcy insurance (shown as part of the agent's overhead, of course you eventually pay). Other jurisdictions can give you low-ball quotes with complete impunity.

Make sure you're looking at everything. But yes, there are inexplicable differences.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

If one books in an EU country it is worth checking the different sites. Costa make it not so easy, for example, for somebody in Germany to book through the Austrian site, but they have to allow it due to EU regulations (free movement of goods, services and people). I sometimes book on their Italian site and it tends to work better with my Costa Club number. The site will try to 'force' you to have an address in Italy, but I just write my street name, number, etc and leave 'Italy' at the end, or whichever country I am booking through.

 

Once my mother was trying to book a cruise ex-Dubai in South America and a simple balcony cabin was quoted as almost the price of a Yacht Club one on a MSC ship. If that was their way not to want bookings for these cruises from passengers in South America they succeeded as we booked the MSC one instead (which by the way, was quoting the same price, for the same cabin categories, on their German, UK, Italy and other web sites around the world)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

We booked a cruise with them last year. I checked the price on the Dutch site and the Australian one. For the Dutch site it came to $1200 AUD (800 Euro), for the Aussie site it was $2000 (1450 Euro). Crazy difference.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just booked a Costa cruise and it's true: it pays off to compare. Didn't know you could book as if you were from another country :o ! Going to try that next time!

I just looked for the best deal on comparison websites (through cruise critic) and then sent a mail to Costa stating the difference between the price on their site (Belgium) and the other site (American). They sent me a new offer, slightly better than what I had found :p.

So instead of using complicated ordering processes, just ask them...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Price Costa site Belgium: € 1359 (per person, premium balcony, Costa Club discount)

--> incl transfers: € 1393

Price American site: € 1261 (same service level but without Costa Club discount and without transfers)

Price local tour agency: € 1549 (:eek: only the state room, transfers was + €90 pp!)

Price Costa after mail: € 1257 (incl transfers)

 

So actually I got more or less the same price as on the American site and our transfers for free. Saved us €136 pp so a 10% discount :D.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow! Great advise! I did book ours over the phone but had not compared with other country's Costa sites... have been checking for price drops but nothing so far. One site predicts that the price will go up so we may not get a better offer but I was satisfied with the price we got at booking.

:cool:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...

Has any non-EU residents made successful booking through the Costa website within EU countries, be it Italian/French/XXX website? Any possibility for the non-EU resident booking is to be rejected?

 

Was the booking concluded with direct/immediate payment on the website or with optional hold and booked through the Costa agent subsequently?

 

Thanks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

I have been looking into a booking with Costa and read this thread. The price was 375 dollars more for United States than the dummy booking I did for Ireland with the latest conversion. I called up Costa - they would not do anything for me about the price difference. Wish I didn't read this thread!!!! I have cruised the mainstream US lines but am interested in Costa and MSC due to the selection of European ports.

 

Sent from my SM-J700T using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Regardless of what the cruise price is from different Counties the best thing to do is consider the overall price compared with other lines.

Costa on the whole are cheaper than most other lines for the same type of cruise. Yes it will upset us if we see the price in say Euros against the pound but given the value of the cruise as a whole I rate Costa as the best value.

 

Also do look at any cruise over a period of a few weeks they change all the time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just checked. For an inside cabin on a 7n cruise, the German site price is 70 euros more and Netherlands is 110 euros more than other EU countries.

 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So the 70 euros Daily service charges are already included in the price on the German site, with an extra 40 euros being charged from the Dutch. I also think Aussies pay the most.

 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The US site charges $110 more than the Asian site, again to include the daily service charges. Hence the Americans have also prepaid these charges

 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So for the same Inside cabin, same 7n cruise, same departure, prices are

USA $599

Germany 479 euros

Netherlands 519 euros

Other EU countries 409 euros

Asian countries $489

UK £379

 

Sent from my Lenovo P2a42 using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just booked a Costa cruise and it's true: it pays off to compare. Didn't know you could book as if you were from another country :o ! Going to try that next time!

I just looked for the best deal on comparison websites (through cruise critic) and then sent a mail to Costa stating the difference between the price on their site (Belgium) and the other site (American). They sent me a new offer, slightly better than what I had found :p.

So instead of using complicated ordering processes, just ask them...

 

DITTO for me that way....Canadian price was ridiculous so I paid with my US visa.....saved over $1000.00 on Premium Balcony!!!!!!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We booked a cruise with them last year. I checked the price on the Dutch site and the Australian one. For the Dutch site it came to $1200 AUD (800 Euro), for the Aussie site it was $2000 (1450 Euro). Crazy difference.

If you book from another country, can they deny you boarding?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...