Why The RCI Premium ?

[Sargent_Schultz]

Royal costs more because their costs are higher - plain and simple. They can't compete with Carnival on price without going bankrupt.

 

Carnival has sales and promotions, too.

 

On one upcoming Carnival cruise we have $900 in OBC and that will go to at least $1000 once I apply for the shareholders credit. And some people complain about Early Savers. :p

[firefly333]

As others have stated, you're comparing apples and oranges here. The Allure is the Biggest, Newest (we'll I gues a couple other "babies" have come out already), ship in the world and commands a premium. We're waiting till the premium is less than $1000, then we'll book.

 

There was a tuesday special of prices starting at $399 on insides for Oasis. new bookings only on tuesday sales.

 

My bookings started at $729 though I didnt pay that much, but some people did. Just look for curiosity. Im a great group rate which carnival no longer really has as much. discounted group rates.

 

Every cruiseline has sales ... Carnival sales are never sales except sometimes their last minute pack n go rates.

[genegri]

I wouldn't consider Royal premium. Cunard, HAL, Celebrity (maybe). Royal? Not really.

 

That being said, I like Royal ships much better. If both were the same price, I would book Royal every time. So when it comes to price, it's because more people are willing to pay more for Royal than for Carnival. Plain and simple.

[Sargent_Schultz]

Every cruiseline has sales ... Carnival sales are never sales except sometimes their last minute pack n go rates.

 

Baloney. Explain the $900 OBC.

 

 

That being said, I like Royal ships much better. If both were the same price, I would book Royal every time. So when it comes to price, it's because more people are willing to pay more for Royal than for Carnival. Plain and simple.

 

Don't have to worry about that, because Royal's fixed and variable costs are higher than Carnival's. Period.

 

Carnival has better value and better food. Plain and simple.

[genegri]

Don't have to worry about that, because Royal's fixed and variable costs are higher than Carnival's. Period.

 

They certainly don't have to worry since there are people willing to pay more.

 

Carnival has better value and better food. Plain and simple.

 

For you, but not for people who like Royal better. Plain and simple.

[Luckycruising]

My last cruise was aboard the Freedom of the Seas (Royal). I had been on 2 Carnival cruises prior (Destiny and Valor). In all honesty, i think both cruise lines are VERY much alike. Yes, the Freedom had a little more bells and whistles such as ice skating which we tried once, rock climbing (which we didn't go to), surfing thing (can't remember the exact name).

 

Both myself and my husband felt the same way. The food and food service is the same (in our opinion), a room is a room. Bottomline, we enjoyed ourselves on both!!

 

This time, i chose the Carnival Dream. I picked it because of several reasons: good timing, good price, ports of call and yes, i'm intrigued by that waterpark that looks so much fun!!!

 

So i say chose the ship that suits your specific needs, and you'll have a good time!

[sunshine002]

I have sailed with RCL twice and have a 3rd booked and have sailed with CCL 12 times and have another book on CCL as well. I have booked my cruises based on:

 

1. price, ports of call and who I am traveling with.

 

All my RCL cruises have been with my family at amazing prices.

I always enjoy Carnival and prefer Carnival at the moment.

 

On CCL I prefer the:

 

1. food

2. Piano bar

3. the pizza

4. the beds are amazing

5. the size of the cabin

 

On RCL I was on a Freedom class ship and enjoyed the Royal Promanade with the parades and the many places to grab a bite there. I like that the cafe and pizza place are open 24/7 and you can easily grab a coffee/ tea or a quick bite near everything is located. (piano bar, lounge, casino, show room etc)

 

As someone else stated on RCL you have the ice skating (enjoyed the show), rock climbing (not for me) along with a few other such perks.

 

I am sure you will have a great cruise which ever you choose.

[bmiers]

I've sailed on both Carnival Pride and Destiny, both great ships. The reason I chose those ships were for the water slides. My son was younger and I felt he would enjoy this feature, and he did. There were many children on board too.

 

Before those two cruises I had sailed RCI twice, I absolutely loved those cruises. I felt the entertainment was fantastic and I didn't think Carnival compared in that category. I also found the announcements over the loudspeakers on the Carnival ships distracting, I felt that they advertising to their guests the entire time.

 

When my son got a little older I switched back to Royal Caribbean. I am enjoying the lack of loudspeaker advertising on board and my son loves the teen programs on board the ships.

 

We've sailed on both Oasis and Allure. These ships are so beautiful! They are so large that you don't feel crowded on board. There are so many things to do that the people get dispersed to different areas of the ship. There are "neighborhoods" on board that cater to different kinds of people. Boardwalk is very family oriented. Central Park caters to the more affluent. The promenade is for everyone and is so large, they hold street parades there that can handle the size of the parade and the crowd quite easily. The Solarium is adults only (16+) so you can enjoy the hot tubs and lunch without the gleeful exclamations of children running around and splashing you in the hot tubs. There seems to be something for everyone on those ships, and if your traveling with a diverse group, I'm sure that they can all agree that these two ships will be agreeable to all. The teens have their own large (supervised) area where adults are not allowed. They have the Living Room, video arcade and teen disco. The Wipe Out cafe that serves standard teenage fare (burgers, fries, etc) is located adjacent to this area. The teens generally congregate in this area, again, somewhere for everyone.

 

The shows on Allure and Oasis each run for several days and you reserve those shows and times. So instead of having an early and late viewing of a show that everyone goes to on the same day, Allure and Oasis splits up the crowds into several days for each shows, with many of them showing simultaneously. This really keeps the crowds down. This also allows you to build your own itinerary, if there is an excursion that you will return later to the ship for, you can book a later show for that day.

 

I've enjoyed every cruise I've sailed on and I do feel that the more expensive cruises were well worth the extra money.

[nytraveller53]

I've sailed on both Carnival Pride and Destiny, both great ships. The reason I chose those ships were for the water slides. My son was younger and I felt he would enjoy this feature, and he did. There were many children on board too.

 

Before those two cruises I had sailed RCI twice, I absolutely loved those cruises. I felt the entertainment was fantastic and I didn't think Carnival compared in that category. I also found the announcements over the loudspeakers on the Carnival ships distracting, I felt that they advertising to their guests the entire time.

 

When my son got a little older I switched back to Royal Caribbean. I am enjoying the lack of loudspeaker advertising on board and my son loves the teen programs on board the ships.

 

We've sailed on both Oasis and Allure. These ships are so beautiful! They are so large that you don't feel crowded on board. There are so many things to do that the people get dispersed to different areas of the ship. There are "neighborhoods" on board that cater to different kinds of people. Boardwalk is very family oriented. Central Park caters to the more affluent. The promenade is for everyone and is so large, they hold street parades there that can handle the size of the parade and the crowd quite easily. The Solarium is adults only (16+) so you can enjoy the hot tubs and lunch without the gleeful exclamations of children running around and splashing you in the hot tubs. There seems to be something for everyone on those ships, and if your traveling with a diverse group, I'm sure that they can all agree that these two ships will be agreeable to all. The teens have their own large (supervised) area where adults are not allowed. They have the Living Room, video arcade and teen disco. The Wipe Out cafe that serves standard teenage fare (burgers, fries, etc) is located adjacent to this area. The teens generally congregate in this area, again, somewhere for everyone.

 

The shows on Allure and Oasis each run for several days and you reserve those shows and times. So instead of having an early and late viewing of a show that everyone goes to on the same day, Allure and Oasis splits up the crowds into several days for each shows, with many of them showing simultaneously. This really keeps the crowds down. This also allows you to build your own itinerary, if there is an excursion that you will return later to the ship for, you can book a later show for that day.

 

I've enjoyed every cruise I've sailed on and I do feel that the more expensive cruises were well worth the extra money.

Yep - after all my research, I am willing to pay the "RCI Premium" to cruise on Oasis or Allure (or both!). But otherwise, I consider Carnival a better deal. So for some cruises, the "premium" is justifies, some other cruises, the premium is NOT justified.

[capndinghy]

After reading all of these good analysis if think one of the main factors my be :

 

SNOB APPEAL

 

Plain and Simple...

As one poster put it 'a better class of people"

 

Just all me,

Bubba!

[firefly333]

I booked my next cruises thru some ebay vouchers, which you redeem after going thru the forum to the lists of cruises. I paid the same price for Oasis inside as Conquest inside .... willingly. I like both for different reasons. Oasis means plane trips each way. Conquest is a drive to port and oh so convenient. ...so its not snob appeal, I paid the same price for each more or less auction prices aside. Conquest just opened and the insides for the group sold out in less than one day. ... Conquest must be pretty popular.

[misguidedangel]

Stargate Fan--I completely agree with you...

 

I don't quite understand how some can say RCI has a better nightlife. I just got off the Glory a week ago and I can safely say that the nightlift on Carnival is plentiful to the point where you have to decide what your going to do and when. Between the main show lounge, piano bar, punchliner club, and the action on Promenade it was difficult to decide what to do. Heck, I wanted to go to the piano bar every night, but with two/three places to be at the same time I only made it there twice!!!!

 

RCI pricing--I did a fake booking on the Allure and after I did the selection and such had to pick myself up off of the floor because when I saw the price, I fell down hard!!!! It was close to 200% of the cost of a similar balcony cabin for the future sailing of the Magic I am looking at for December of this year......The ships may be more resort like, but not willing to pay that price. Nor do I want to have a resort like looking ship. I like the theme/concept of Carnival's ships.....

 

Each to his or her own, so please respect each others opinions because we are all truly unique individuals and capable of deciding what we like and don't like....

[Cruzaholic41]

I have only cruised Carnival...but I would imagine one reason for the higher price has to do with RCCL not having the buying power that Carnival has.

 

Carnival Corporation (last time I heard) had 50% of the cruising business while RCCL had 35%.

 

Of course, the more expensive RCCL ships have a lot of bells and whistles that some people are willing to may more for.

 

I would agree with this if Carnival Cruise Line had 50% of the cruising business and RCI had 30% of the cruising business, but all too often the stats of the parent company are confused with the stats of the actual cruise lines. There are no official reportings on the actual cruise lines, but RCI does carry more passengers than CCL and they do have a higher repeat cruiser rate.

 

To answer the Op's question - because they can. Simply put, people pay it and the ships sail full.

[nealstuber]

....I don't quite understand how some can say RCI has a better nightlife.

 

Never said RCI "has a better nightlife." I said we liked it better.

 

See..

We think the RCCL ships are nicer and we like the entertainment and night life better. .....

 

One of the reasons we like the night life better is the way the Promenade is used for the Captian's party - we also like the abmiance of the Casinos and the two story night clubs. The Ice shows also added a lot to our experience.

[Sailor_Sally]

I have sailed on RCL three times . It was okay . No better than NCL or Carnival and the rooms were tiny . On the one cruise I thought the ship was dirty . I saw dishes outside a room stay there for two days .

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

Some people pay too much for cruises because they are are morons. Plain and simple. Others because they think if something costs more it is better which I guess is pretty much the same thing. There may be other reasons and excuses.

 

If you got 900 OBC sounds like you paid a very steep price to sail on a CCL cruise which carnival was forced to lower prices drastically to fill the ship as often happens these days and rarely happens with RCL. Looks like you are the one that paid way too much and was fortunate that many others did not hence the drastic price drop and your ES OBC.

 

Other than pack and go CCL has no sales period.

 

RCL gets more $$ for their cruises simply because people think it is worth it period. You can bash these folks all day for paying a premium but that is their choice.

 

Give me a C.. give me an A.. give me an R

 

LOL

[Sargent_Schultz]

$200 from FCC, $200 Past Guest. $500 from SALES and price reductions. RCCL is well known for bribing past guest to book their overpriced balconies, in addition to bribing their cheerleaders. :p

 

Yes, it is their choice. PT Barnum would be proud.

 

Give me a D.. Give me a U.. Give me a M...

 

Hope you don't pull a muscle patting yourself on the back.

[PAPERBKWRITER]

Platium on Carnival and 4 times on RCCL. Carnival has more night life but the theather shows aren't as good and they don't change them often enough and have cut back on shows, and other entertainment. We've seen Ticket to Ride 3 times in the last 2 years on different Carnival ships and they all have the same corny hairy chest contest. My wife prefers RCCL but to me if you close your eyes you couldn't tell the difference. Both have great service and good people working for them. I go with Carnival because of the better prices and as a stock holder I get the $100 OBC. (that deal is also available to RCCL stockholders) To me the only half way reasonably priced cruise lines that are a step above the rest are Princess, HAL, and Celebrity.

[Coochuck]

We completed the Maiden Voyage on the Allure of the Seas inn December....what a fantastic experience...like no other ship. The shows including Chicago, and the Aqua Show were as good as anything we have seen in Vegas or NYC. We are going on the Carnival Dream next weekend. There are many differences in the lines, however I can safely say I've never been on a cruise I didn't enjoy. If you can afford more..try the Oasis or the Allure, if not...you will be just fine with any cruise line. The views out of your balcony are the same no matter what line...and to me food is food..I"m ok with the food on any ship......'Have FUN...ENJOY'!!!

[Carnival Platinum Cruiser]

$200 from FCC, $200 Past Guest. $500 from SALES and price reductions. RCCL is well known for bribing past guest to book their overpriced balconies, in addition to bribing their cheerleaders. :p

 

Yes, it is their choice. PT Barnum would be proud.

 

Give me a D.. Give me a U.. Give me a M...

 

Hope you don't pull a muscle patting yourself on the back.

 

500 from price reductions: That is not a sale, that is you paying top buck for a cruise that CCL had to drop prices on to fill the ship. Great sale! LOL

 

200 for FCC: That is not a sale, BTW 200 is for cruises a least 12 days is that what you are taking? Great sale! LOL

 

200 for PG: Yeah that is the OBC you get for their big sale increasing the price 200 to get 200 OBC which costs them only a fraction of. Great sale LOL!

 

 

So I say again where is the sale? CCL has no sales period.

 

Can you say you paid too much to begin with and got lucky many others did not?

 

Some people just don't get it

[DebJ14]

We cruise out of Galveston to avoid air fare. We prefer Royal to Carnival, but both are great. Royal costs just a little more than Carnival out of Galveston, but Royal is not year round, so we have a lot of Carnival cruises. We think the Voyager is a nicer ship, and has better service than Conquest and Ecstasy, and we like the past guest perks, although we don't have anything bad to say about Carnival. All our cruises have been great. If it comes down to a couple of hundred dollars, we will go with Royal.

 

We have found the prices for RCI and Carnival out of Galveston very close. We do one RCI every year while they are here and Carnival the rest of the year. Prices for a GS on RCI were within $10.00 of a GS on the Conquest for our January 2011 cruise - RCI was cheaper. We like the suite perks on RCI, but can't complain about the Platinum benefits on Carnival, regardless of what category we book.

As long as you go when the kids are out of school we have found Carnival to be just as grey-haired as RCI in the winter and have often had better dressed and better mannered table mates on the Conquest than on the Voyager. Looking forward to both the Magic and the Mariner.

[Sargent_Schultz]

500 from price reductions: That is not a sale, that is you paying top buck for a cruise that CCL had to drop prices on to fill the ship. Great sale! LOL

 

200 for FCC: That is not a sale, BTW 200 is for cruises a least 12 days is that what you are taking? Great sale! LOL

 

200 for PG: Yeah that is the OBC you get for their big sale increasing the price 200 to get 200 OBC which costs them only a fraction of. Great sale LOL!

 

 

So I say again where is the sale? CCL has no sales period.

 

Can you say you paid too much to begin with and got lucky many others did not?

 

Some people just don't get it

 

I can say you are clueless. One OBC was from a Europe on Sale, a SALE. I do concur that you don't get it, or more likely pretend not to.

 

We are doing a b2b and there have been no price reductions on the first cruise. In fact, nothing but price increases.

 

The only thing I don't get - but then I don't really care, is why you don't tell the truth. :rolleyes:

 

You are clearly just a trouble maker. Welcome to Ignoreville - but I guess you are used to it. :p

[laurenpie]

I have cruised both, and my preference is Carnival.

Sure its great that they are cheaper, but there was not really anything less to do, food was better (personally), and staff were better. - I should have gone to the maitre'd with my staff issues in the MDR (but that is besides the point), on Carnival they were so much more approachable and happy to have a chat.

 

We are going to book on RC as well as Carnival the next time we cruise to give them another go - it can't hurt.

 

But value for money - I'd go Carnival. you won't lose out. :)

[SkyMaster]

R.C.I has to pay for those "mega-ships", and there are some people who'll pay their prices. Simple as that in my opinion.

 

"SKY"

[Cruise, J.D.]

Carnival would charge RCI fares if they could. As many of you cheerleaders like to point out in the Mobile threads, it is a business. Carnival has lower fares because of supply/demand.

 

Lower fares do not mean less profitability. If a cruise only cost Carnival $0.01 per passenger, they would still charge the maximum fare the market would bear. Why wouldn't they?