A positive Spin on Prices

[aeonix01]

I've read a lot of negative things about pricing, and costs...etc. For a room with a balcony, food, travel which uses fuel to places that are beautiful, and entertainment I'm paying about what I would in the New York area for just an average room on a per night basis with no extras.

 

Yes, I feel that cruising has given more in the past for the same money, times have change and so has money. For the industry to survive it has to evolve to include more types of passengers.

 

I do miss the extras, and the quality may have been better, but tell me where I can get this kind of value? My brother and sister in law have baby-sitting which actually entertains the kids. They can have fun as a family or alone. Gambling is within walking distance, and so is adventure. Can $150 or so per night get you all of this elsewhere?

 

I'm just saying, forget what was because it isn't like that anymore, and live for what is now. I enjoy that for my per night dollar, I'm getting a lot more than I would elsewhere for the most part.

[bluefintuna]

I totally agree with you and we still get a lot of bang for our buck. We have taken 28 cruises since '94 and although there are many subtle changes, not enough detremental changes to stop us from cruising. We still feel we get great service and have never been hungry at sea. Where else do you have the security you have on a cruise ship? Never noticed it as much as when sailing Allure this last May. Cruise fares today are cheaper than they were 10 or 20 years ago, but this is due to more ships sailing and they make up the difference in specialty restaurants and liquor.

[WeLove2CruiseRCI]

Completely agree with you. For what you pay we feel it's a great value for what is available. What other vacation can you stop at so many different places for the cost of a cruise?

[Babyberger]

I also totally agree! Yes I understand that there are more additional options now, but it is what you chose to do. We were on Oasis and ran up a decent seapass account, our cousins got on the day we disembarked and barely had a balance at the end of their week.

 

For us, it is the PERFECT vacation and that comes with a premium price that we are willing to pay. We only take one major vacation a year and we want to make it the best we can. We spend the day with the kids, doing fun family things (most days), then at night the kids go to camp and we get to enjoy the evenings as adults. H2O Zone by day, Chef's Table by night, what can be better! For us the choices, the experiences, and the memories are what make it worth every single penny!

 

Maybe it is because we only recently really started cruising, but when we have compared it with land based vacations it really is not out of line.

[Texmike]

What we like is that you don't have to worry about driving and staying in motels or hotels.

 

Not many of our friends or family choose to cruise and like driving or flying to different places.

 

We will always prefer cruising, when we can afford it, to any other type of vacations.

[emtb12]

My DH and I took our first cruise this past April and were hooked! We have decided to take our family vacation on the Navigator of the Seas in February. We hope that the children will also be hooked! One of the things that hooked us was what we received for our $. We could not have done half the things we did for the price we paid on a land based vacation!

[Sequim88]

On top of the tremendous value for most cruises we favor the really low cost per day on the Transatlantic repos. I was looking at the RCI catalog this morning and at the opposite end of the spectrum are the Hawaii and Trans-canal routes where the cost per day is twice as much. Even those can be a bargain travel wise. Only downside when comparing to land vacation is small cabin size versus average hotel rooms.

 

Another factor for us is that by the time we "deduct" the expensies we would have had at home (car gas, electricity, water, groceries, restaurants, entertainment, etc....) but don't while away we end upeven better. True for any vacation but for cruise enough to offset the airfare to/from port(s). Our next cruise will be a three week trip (with pre & post port time) so will "save" most of a month of variable expenses.

[Woodmnky]

I agree. Even with prices going up for cruises I still consider it a bargain compared with the expense of hotels, food, travel to different destinations, entertainment. Taking a cruise if only slightly more expensive for us than taking a trip to the NC or SC beach and we tend to travel really cheap when we are not on cruises.

Now this isn't to say that I don't miss the fantastic prices of a couple years ago that allowed us to cruise Alaska in a nice balcony cabin for under $600 pp.

[kittyneutron]

I totally agree. In fact, when planning next years vacation we ended up going with a cruise, just because we can combine the best of all worlds for the best price.

[orville99]

Absolutely:)

 

Can't help but chuckle at the "good old days" threads. When we started cruising, balcony cabins didn't exist; if you wanted to sleep four in a cabin, it was always two twins and two pullmans. And, (in constant $$), it cost 4x what it does today;)

[aeonix01]

I'm happy to see that pretty much everyone agrees that an RCI cruise (or other as well) are a great vacation value!

 

There were just too many negative posts going on, and complaints about what we're not getting. I know that I'm getting a great vacation at a great price with both indoor, and outdoor entertainment, food, and other things.

 

Additionally, on a cruise, I meet more people than I would with just a regular land travel vacation. I don't normally dine with strangers. It's really fun, and different every time.

[phoenix1181]

I won a 5 day cruise on the Navigator. It was at the time of year we normally take a 2 week vacation so we decided to stay in Florida for the remaining 9 days.

 

After working out the cost for a hotel, food, car rental & parking, I booked the following 2 cruises & we stayed onboard for the full 2 weeks.

 

It was much more cost effective & we enjoyed every minute........

[NeuroQueen]

Just to compare prices of the good ole days. We paid $1200.00 PP for a regular cabin with a window on the Carnival Holiday in 1986. There were few balconies back then.

[caseymorgan]

I love being able to go from a bar, to dinner, to the casino, to a show, back to the casino and then stagger (a bit drunk) back to the cabin. If you tried all that in a big city you would either spend a fortune in cabs or get a DUI.

 

Also we've found European cruises to be an excellent value. How else can you explore three or four countries in a week without trains, busses, cabs, airfare, hotels, packing and unpacking, etc? And return each night to a good meal, hotel room (cabin), english speaking staff, and pay entirely in US dollars?

[lovemylab]

I also find cruising to be a tremendous value. Sure 10 years ago there was a lot more included, but prices were also a lot higher then too.

 

IMO, people love to complain about the cutbacks yet when you look at their signature you see they have several cruises planned for the future. If cruising is that bad of an experience, I question why they have so many booked and why they spend their free time on a cruise message board.

 

If you don't feel that a particular ship or sailing is worth the price, then don't book it!

[karena1]

I agree! Great value for the money and sometimes you can get great savings on top of it.

 

We always book while on a cruise to get the OBC.

We are D+ so we get the Balcony discount, gift in the cabin, etc etc

Prices are not any more than years ago.

We can spend as much/little as we choose

We can drink and have a great time and not have to drive!!!!!

Shopping, beaches, food, entertainment all at our fingertips and all I have to do is pack to get there. Then someone waits on me, picks up after me, feeds me and totally takes care of me

 

WE love cruising and love RCCL:):)

[granddutchess]

I am in agreement as well. I feel it is the best vacation based on cost basis. Like a previous poster said you are able to visit so many different islands. I also feel the prices have come down since I started cruising over 14 years ago.

[aeonix01]

Yep, I think we all know that in time either the prices will go up (or continue to go up), or they will shrink portions more, or they will make other things optional, but to date, inflation really hasn't gotten the best of the industry in terms of what is still offered to cruisers.

 

To give you an idea of what the car industry in some cases does in Europe vs. America is like this:

 

In America, we like packaged deals with our vehicles which includes x number of cup holders, a navigation package, a sound package, standard air conditioning...etc.

 

In Europe, almost everything is an individual option. You get a base vehicle with no power windows, no sound system, no air conditioning..etc. You choose every feature going into the vehicle. This keeps the base price down to a minimum.

 

If you take a look at how things are headed with RCI and other cruises, it's somewhat like the Euro model mixed with the American model described above. I could see it eventually going completely in the style of that Euro model. You'd get the ship with built in features like a pool and such, but everything else is an option. This might include food options (maybe tiered), Show options (maybe some are included, and others are extra), and whatever else can be thought of as above the base experience.

 

To be honest, I think we see this now, and it causes complaints because people are paying more than what they see as a base price, and one they've seen at roughly that level for years with things that were previously a more inclusive set of features for a similar dollar over the years.

If you say, well, it's been that price roughly since the 80's or 90's, how are you getting less? The dollar is worth less, and there is inflation. I think they're keeping the base price stable, and covering costs by including what they can for that base cost. Just my opinion.

[romnan]

I totally agree that cruising is one of the best vactions options around.You must remember that the cruise industry is a business and not a charity.:)

 

It really grates me when I hear all the moaning about what people are not longer getting. IMHO if you are going to complain that much find something else to do:rolleyes: