Los_Pepes

The conversation was about cruise line debt not VW or anyone else. Your comment of "Companies carrying massive debts is nothing new and there isn't a NEED to get out of it quickly" was in response to the comment "I think we all know they have huge debt, and that they need a plan to get out of it." RCL tripled their debt during Covid and issued junk bonds. That is new and no company wants to pay 11% interest for very long. RCL carried roughly $7.5b in debt on average for the 10 years going into Covid and it ballooned to $25b in 2022.

The top three major cruise lines took on incredible amounts of additional debt during Covid. RCL even issued 11% junk bonds last year to restructure existing debt.

I booked a cruise when the $1000 OBC offer was given. If I move the cruise to another sailing, does the OBC transfer?

I still don't get why adding AI to a guaranteed OV cabin is $1400+ pp but adding it to a specific OV cabin is a little north of $800. Its the same package with presumably the same cost basis.

Actually what I am saying is that it doesn't make sense. Why would it cost so much more to add AI to a guaranteed cabin vs a selected one?

Off the beaten path question. I am sailing with my two teenage kids coming up. Do they care about the age of the passengers being the wine on? Can we each bring on two even though they won't drink them? Does anyone have a link to the T&C regarding this policy?

That happens when when the three largest cruise companies have a combined 85% market share. Competition in sparse and they can simply mimic each others reduction in services without any real fallout. Just look at what happened when we were left with 3 mainline air carriers. When one puts in a new fee before the ink is dry on the press release, the other two follow suit.

Imagine paying $1,428PP for AI. My point of this thread to figure out why is booking AI on a guaranteed cabin almost always more expensive than on a normal cabin. In the case I show it is $553pp more expensive. The cynic in me thinks it is by design as X been accused of three card monte pricing.

Sure. I want 10-1 odds.

I was messing around on the Celebrity site tonight and found something interesting. There most likely is an explanation for this, so please feel free to let me know. I did this same exercise on 6 different sailings had the same issue. Pricing below is from the 3/27/2023 sailing of the Equinox. I asked the site to produce pricing on an OV cabin and this is what I got back: $1,158 for an OV stateroom $849 for a Guarantee ($312 cheaper for the Guarantee) When you the AI option: $2033 for the OV Stateroom $2277 for the Guarantee (Guarantee is now $244 more expensive) Why is adding an AI to a selected room $875 but when added to a guarantee $1,428pp?

It isn't price gouging since no one is forcing anyone to buy anything. Price gouging is when there is huge spike in demand for necessities generally during an emergency, and retailers charge obscene prices. What is happening here is RCL is testing "Price Elasticity". How high can they go before there is a drop in overall income from whatever was raised. If they think the same amount of drink packages are going to be sold under the new pricing scheme they most likely are wrong. I bet you overall drink income decreases under the new pricing.

I am inclined to agree with you on most points. I will add however that customer loyalty/retention is a KPI that these lines care deeply about.

Great analysis and it looks like NCL is going to drown in debt. RCL added a significant amount of debt as well and it looks like all of the cost cutting is going towards debt service. This will backfire as the nickle and diming, the reduction in service and overall reduction in value is going to drive passengers away. I have a trip booked a few months from and deeply regret having booked it.

They didn't offer the soda package when I looked. We only have 1 sea day so if they buy a couple of drinks on board it won't kill me.

I briefly was trying to convince 3 couples to join my family on an upcoming sailing. 2 of the couples only book suites and when they priced it out, they balked. For the price asked by X, they could go on SeaDream, Seabourn etc..

I was considering buy a Zero Proof package for my kids on our upcoming 7 night sailing. $453 for both of them. Even they told me not to do it and they generally spend our money freely. It was the first time I ever saw my 16 year old do a cost analysis of any purchase.

My two device addicted kids would love it if they had an extra WIFI device available! I will keep my fingers crossed.

Thanks for taking the time to respond and I appreciate the insights. You make an excellent point about X looking for service touch points that might have been less than satisfactory and I certainly don't want to put anyone at risk. I am sort of over it at this point and am focusing on the positive aspects of the trip. I will ask about the WIFI connection once on board.

Thanks for the note and help. It is bewildering to me. I literally said yesterday "You all make good points and I appreciate everyone's concern for the hard working crew. Let me think about other ways to cut costs out of this trip " and yet people are still wound up.

1) You sure sounded ticked off to me that they wouldn't change your booking.- Not quite. I am actually more upset at myself and have repeatedly pointed to my own culpability in this situation . I was upset at the way I was spoken to by a supervisor. 2) I have no idea who you did or did not contact.- Exactly.. you don't. Which is when you said "But he has resisted our suggestion that he escalate his complaint to the CEO's office." You had no idea what you were talking about. 3) I never said that the tips were pooled. The cabin attendant gets X amount/day depending on what sort of cabin you have booked. So, if you withhold the cabin attendant's tips, the cabin attendant is penalized.- You didn't say in post #26 "FYI, @Los_Pepes, if you remove the gratuities from your kids' room and give the cabin attendant cash, he/she is obliged to turn the cash in to the pool." You offered to step away from this thread and I would appreciate it if you would.

I completely agree. The vast majority of comments were very helpful and helped contextualize my overall issue. I appreciate those who took the time to contribute.

Not quite. The last I post made was Over 24 hours ago and it read: "Agreed on all fronts. At the end of the day the sky didn't fall. I simply lost $500. Things could be worse. Happy new year to you as well." Today others brought this thread back to life and one specifically posted something that I felt needed a response.

I don't think you read all of the posts on this thread. I already accepted it and I am prepared to have a great time with my kids.

I don't believe that to the case since AI is sold as a package and not A la carte, but I will play along. As of right now I am paying $1201 for drinks, WIFI and tips. If I bought them individually it would be $822.50.

Let's try it this way. Below is the cost of a cabin for a solo pax in an OV. Adding AI is $1,201 for a single passenger. Below that is the cost of adding AI for two in a cabin and adding AI is $597pp.