My June, 2015 cruise went up:(

[Iamcruzin]

That does not apply for all sailings. The prices on our October TA kept going up and up and now the ship is sold out over 5 months from sailing. The last 123go or pick your perk did not apply on Transatlantic's so the promo had no effect on bookings or price.

 

 

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Exactly my point. People are claiming that the price went up to compensate for the promotion. I don't think it has anything to do with the promotion other then the promotion filling the ship and driving the price higher. The transatlantic is a one way trip that only happens twice a year to reposition the ship so there is less inventory and the price will rise as the ship books. Bermuda sailings are available from May until Aug. There is much more inventory so some weeks are far less expensive than others.

[lexdisic]

Before the 123 the profits of RCI was in the order of 7% and that was including the revenue gained from selling the packages. Thats just $70 for each $1000 in revenue after costs are taken out. That was with full ships, so no extra cabins to get more revenue from. Fast forward to now and they are giving away the packages instead of charging for them. This used to be a major contributor to their revenue, which they now dont get as well as the cost of the package which has to be paid for. Where does the money come from - the $70 profit ? They are expected to do better than 7% this time around so where does that come from ? It can only be by cutting more staff (which they are doing) and costs or to increase revenue from either cabin sales, payg drinks, specialities and even zumba classes. If it were only a handful of people that took the packages, then yes it could be a loss leader to a point, but considering my TA says that 80% of booked pax had the package - without the extra revenue they would not survive and it comes from somewhere. Nothing is free - it just may appear so to some who's timing was spot on, but someone else will pay for it in other ways. Supply and demand still plays a part but all costs including OBC, packages, etc., will be factored in as well as any other revenue generating and nickel & diming they can do, to set the cabin price.

I prefer A La Carte where alcohol is concerned and is the main reason I wouldnt sail with Azamara. They build it into the cabin cost so why wouldnt X

[Christine Frances]

You are basing this on what your TA has told you? Maybe we should all canvas our TA's;) I still maintain that the drink pkg costs X just as much as free grats or the OBC. The cruise lines get their booze really cheap. All they have to do is raise the cabin price by maybe $300 to cover the drink pkg. I think it is working as they get higher pricing for cabins and don't have to rely on liquor sales for their bottom line. They would probably prefer pax to opt for the free grats or OBC because that would force the pax to pay full price for their drinks (which has a huge profit margin)

[lexdisic]

You are basing this on what your TA has told you? Maybe we should all canvas our TA's;) I still maintain that the drink pkg costs X just as much as free grats or the OBC. The cruise lines get their booze really cheap. All they have to do is raise the cabin price by maybe $300 to cover the drink pkg. I think it is working as they get higher pricing for cabins and don't have to rely on liquor sales for their bottom line. They would probably prefer pax to opt for the free grats or OBC because that would force the pax to pay full price for their drinks (which has a huge profit margin)

 

My TA's figures were based on their bookings - obviously not an accurate X figure , by all means poll yours if you wish, but I was merely demonstrating that is a large proportion whatever it is

You are right about the cost to X of the drinks, but, I was pointing out the lost revenue not the cost and it is the revenue that has to be made up. The drinks package cost we will never know as its not just the booze but all the costs that go with it and that fact that they wont give it on TA's & TP's shows it may cost more than we think. You summed it up by saying that "all they have to do is raise the cabin prices up by $300" - exactly what I have been saying - what none of us know is by how much - the lunch is therefore paid for, although I dont know if $300 per pax is enough.

DW and me between us on average spend around $50 a day on coffee,soft drinks and booze and if offered the drinks package I would have to accept it as the OBC we have been offered has been in the order of $20 a day (UK offering) - hardly a good substitute. The only drawback then is that what little we do drink comes from the premium package (martini pre dinner), so all around it is not good value for us - to you it may be worth it. What I would like to see is the prices reduced where they have been increased to compensate the drinks package, and everyone who wants one, to pay for it as they originally did. Perhaps X would rather have drinkers on their ships and the likes of me to go elsewhere - if so, I will get my coat and let the arguing and bickering that these packages are causing, carry on ad infinitum.

"If its not the booze that causes arguments - its the arguments about the booze " I have a drink to enhance my cruise and not cruise to enhance my drinking - something these package related threads seem to forget - the cruise!!.