2011 pricing: Take a deep breath

[BroncosFan2010]

GREAT!!! you pay for what you get! i am happy to pay more as long as the quality on all lines starts to get a little better!

 

I agree with this. I don't mind paying more for a better vacation, better quality food, service, etc. I miss the little extras that used to be a part of cruising.

[Captain Jake]

I agree with this. I don't mind paying more for a better vacation, better quality food, service, etc. I miss the little extras that used to be a part of cruising.

 

Same here.The problem is that once something is taken away it may not come back.Cruising use to be the best vacation for the buck.Now with the cutbacks the playing field is a little more level.We are planning to cruise every couple of years now and taking more land vacations which can be done very reasonably at nice places with a little planning

:cj

[marci22]

We booked LOS for 2/11 but now we are cancelling because the price is ridiculous compared to other cruises. $909 per adult is bad enough, but $599 for kids is an outrage.

 

Maybe in off season, but I typically vacation during school holidays and the 3rds are always very high. I am paying $499 for a 3rd on a 5day Bermuda and I am happy about that relative bargain.

[madelinerose]

GREAT!!! you pay for what you get! i am happy to pay more as long as the quality on all lines starts to get a little better!

 

I'm all for quality and higher end everything, but other than food, how would quality get better on the Enchantment, the ship the OP is referencing?

[Debde]

I agree that cruising used to be the best bang for your buck vacation.

 

Looking at this purely from someone who travels as a family of four [and BTW-seems Royal is trying to attract the family cruisers now] who also does not want to cram 4 people in an inside to make it cheap-I have said it before and I'll say it again-AI's are becoming much more appealing.

Face it-a family is not going to stay on a ship-not do excursions and have a small sea pass bill. All this adds up.

I'll cruise for sure but I do not consider a cruise a cheap vacation anymore.

Specialy restaurants are a fee-specialty coffee-a fee-soda a fee- drinks-excursions-arcade adds up to ching cha ching for a family. I've looked into a Freedom cruise and a Voyager cruise. Freedom was way more expensive then Voyager. I'm talking thousands. These are known as family friendly ships. Freedom on up, to me, may not be worth that price right now. I wanted to visit Labadee but Voyager is not going there. :(

 

I'm sorry to say-shoot me if you want. RCCL seems to get alot of pressure from it's returning guests for more more more. I am a returning guest and feel we may be our own worst enemy. No resort or AI has to go through what this cruise line goes through. Very simple reward program for most-the more you use that resort chain-bigger your discount each return visit -easy as pie. They don't have to spend time, money and staff for this freebie-these coupons, this venue closed at this time for more freebies, more loyalty staff on board and the list goes on. and-on top of all this-we still get discounts on return sailings.

Am I the only one seeing this??

[boulders]

I agree that cruising used to be the best bang for your buck vacation.

 

Looking at this purely from someone who travels as a family of four [and BTW-seems Royal is trying to attract the family cruisers now] who also does not want to cram 4 people in an inside to make it cheap-I have said it before and I'll say it again-AI's are becoming much more appealing.

Face it-a family is not going to stay on a ship-not do excursions and have a small sea pass bill. All this adds up.

I'll cruise for sure but I do not consider a cruise a cheap vacation anymore.

Specialy restaurants are a fee-specialty coffee-a fee-soda a fee- drinks-excursions-arcade adds up to ching cha ching for a family. I've looked into a Freedom cruise and a Voyager cruise. Freedom was way more expensive then Voyager. I'm talking thousands. These are known as family friendly ships. Freedom on up, to me, may not be worth that price right now. I wanted to visit Labadee but Voyager is not going there. :(

 

I'm sorry to say-shoot me if you want. RCCL seems to get alot of pressure from it's returning guests for more more more. I am a returning guest and feel we may be our own worst enemy. No resort or AI has to go through what this cruise line goes through. Very simple reward program for most-the more you use that resort chain-bigger your discount each return visit -easy as pie. They don't have to spend time, money and staff for this freebie-these coupons, this venue closed at this time for more freebies, more loyalty staff on board and the list goes on. and-on top of all this-we still get discounts on return sailings.

Am I the only one seeing this??

 

I agree with you. Except for the last couple of years, cruising has not been very budget friendly for my family of 4.

 

I was looking for a cruise after Christmas this year and I've also been looking at European cruises for next summer. For the Christmas time period, I've already booked accommodations in a very nice timeshare near WDW. Total cost of accomodations in a 1700 sq ft condo with multiple pools, golf etc is $1500 for 10 nights. We already have our WDW season passes, so the only additional cost will be food. For a 7 night cruise, it's about $6500+. I can eat at my favorite sushi restaurant in Orlando, every night, for much less. For the European cruises, we're looking at 10K+ for a 12 night cruise. 7 nights are 5500K+. This year, we went on a 11 night DCL Med cruise for $2200 for all 4 of us! Totally spoiled me for other pricing. I'm glad I went then, I don't expect to see pricing like that again.

[Meatballs]

Maybe in off season, but I typically vacation during school holidays and the 3rds are always very high. I am paying $499 for a 3rd on a 5day Bermuda and I am happy about that relative bargain.

 

We are cruising during our kids' winter break as we have the last five years. Never have we paid anything close to $599 for 3rd and 4th. NCL charges only $249 for basically the same ports, same week. Granted the ship is smaller that LOS, but is it really worth an extra $1200 for one more day at sea and 1200 more people to fight for lounge chairs?

[marci22]

We are cruising during our kids' winter break as we have the last five years. Never have we paid anything close to $599 for 3rd and 4th. NCL charges only $249 for basically the same ports, same week. Granted the ship is smaller that LOS, but is it really worth an extra $1200 for one more day at sea and 1200 more people to fight for lounge chairs?

 

I believe you, but maybe you've been lucky. I usually pay more like $799 for 3rds, and as much as $999. For a 12 night Med I paid $1799 for a 3rd. Is it worth it? That's a personal decision.

[marci22]

This year, we went on a 11 night DCL Med cruise for $2200 for all 4 of us! Totally spoiled me for other pricing. I'm glad I went then, I don't expect to see pricing like that again.

 

How did you get that price? What time of year? I paid that for one kid on my 12 night Med.

[jty1220]

About all I can say is wow! In looking at a June 2011 cruise out of Baltimore, I am dismayed. We're talking increases of hundreds of dollars on a cruise identical to one we took this month but from Norfolk. Expect it everywhere, our agent said. So much for advance booking. Yes, we have plenty of time to look for sales, which we surely will do. But this seems harsh. Others seeing this?

 

 

I found the complete opposite. We are booked with Oasis in 2011 and paid alot cheaper than what we paid this past May. Also was looking at Freedom cruises for under $600

[Cuizer2]

We are booking NCL instead which has better ports.

 

Okay, but how do the starboards compare?

[Cuizer2]

Come on now. Let's get to the real question. . .

 

Which has the better aft?

 

Good question. Take a bow. :D

[Cuizer2]

Note how I managed to get the answer before the question. :p

[bionicman97]

Okay, but how do the starboards compare?

 

Come on now. Let's get to the real question. . .

 

Which has the better aft?

[bionicman97]

Note how I managed to get the answer before the question. :p

 

Noted and amazed:eek:. Not sure how you did that:confused:

 

Are you reading my mind:cool:

[wgraves]

The only cruise I have booked for 2011 is a September sailing on the Oasis (Eastern), and we only paid $729 pp. Granted, it's an inside cabin, but I would consider that a good price for the Oasis.

[pcur]

It's Oasis/Allure that are going to start to really have the tough time trying to get families booked...been saying this for a while now.....there are so few interiors and rooms sizes have shrunk making most families are having to book 2 cabins (at least thats what makes sense being what they are charging for 3rd and 4th)....thats a bit hard when you are looking at paying $1279+ per child compared to like $199 on NCL....they sure need to figure something out.

 

Interesting you should mention this, Steve. I've been waiting for the Freedom prices to come down since she was built. I finally booked a cruise on her for September 2011 and the price including taxes, fees, and gratuities is $798 per person for 7 nights.

 

I'm hoping to do the same for the Oasis and Allure: just wait a few years for the prices to come down once the hoopla is over.

 

My opinion is there's a reason why NCL is so much cheaper: I believe you just don't get a good product compared to RCCL. My friend who is with me on the Freedom next year agrees. She went with me on the Enchantment and then sailed 6 months later with her family on NCL. She said there was no comparison.

 

She is now booked with her daughter on the Jewel for next January, and didn't even look at NCL. We were together on the Mariner this February and I told her to grab the Jewel even if she wasn't completely sure about it. With the reduced deposit and obc it was a good idea, since she could cancel and get her $200 back later.

 

It's all about keeping in touch with the prices, seeing the marketing trends, and booking when it all meets your own needs. I'm happy I waited for the Freedom.